The great ghairat debate
In the past week, two articles have appeared in this very newspaper on the subject of ghairat. The first, penned by nuclear physicist and prominent progressive Dr. Parvez Hoodbhoy and the second by a journalist, Miss Maria Waqar. Dr Hoodbhoy is of the view that ghairat (honour) and “fake nationalism” (the one that can be witnessed by our chest-thumping TV anchors and Baloongras on Twitter) was one of the cornerstones of fascist societies like Nazi Germany and that as societies moved from tribalism to modernism and now post-modernism, the notions of “ghairat” are anachronistic and will not do us much ...
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The birth of our nationalist media
Ever since gung-ho nationalism was beamed into our living rooms (thanks to private channels) some 10 years back, a probing question stirred in my mind: what is wrong with our media? Is it normal to be in a state of continual war with every idea? Is our media a reflection of our society, or is it trying to lead a complete social transformation? It seems that the latter is true, and that the transformation is inspired by a particular mindset that perpetually defends the idea of “national security” while national welfare suffers. More importantly, is our media – especially the electronic media ...
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Let’s love Pakistan: A new resolution (II)
In September last year, I took up the challenge of making a list of 65 reasons why I love Pakistan, the poor broken country, we have begun to take for granted. The idea was simple, but it’s execution not so much, which is why it’s taken me four months to come up with the second set of reasons. I plan to compile the list by August 14, 2012—Pakistan’s 65th Birthday. Here’s a short excerpt from my previous blog to establish the idea behind this otherwise puerile exercise: I’m going to try to complete the list (of) reasons – some small; some serious, ...
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As Pakistani as you
This past summer I met with a prominent lawyer, one who supposedly fights for human rights and women’s activism in Pakistan. Before I met her, I believed her to be a symbol of the fact that women can bring change in Pakistan. However, when I confessed to her my desire to live in Pakistan and engage actively in civil society, I was snapped at and told crudely that my “misplaced sense of patriotism” was unwelcome. Unfortunately, her crass “holier than thou” attitude is not unique to her. There are hordes of Lahoris, Karachiites and more, itching to tell me that ...
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My blue passport doesn’t make me American
There was an incredible comment I read on one of my previous posts about how it’s impossible to live on in the oblivion of being both Pakistani and American. I don’t remember who wrote that to me, but if you’re reading this, thank you. You are a small part of the motivation that inspired this topic you are reading today. I was born in Karachi and lived the first nine years of my life moving back and forth between Karachi and Lahore before moving to the US. Though I can’t recall what the people, culture and society were like ...
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PTI rally: Sights, sounds, observations from Karachi
Participating in the PTI jalsa on Sunday was a transformational experience for me. Originally, I did not plan to attend the rally because I didn’t agree with everything Imran Khan has to say, and felt his policy platform was too vague. Plus, there was a small chance that a bomb might go off, or something else would go wrong – it’s Karachi after all. The tipping point came when Imran Khan positioned this rally as an opportunity to usher a new era of peaceful politics in Karachi. Sitting with friends the night before the rally, we made an impulse decision to attend. “You’ll tell your grandchildren that you were ...
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I am Pakistan
The first time I got into a public brawl was on my way back from work, on the roadside. A crowd had gathered, to watch a man beat up a little boy because he had taken a wrong turn on his bicycle to avoid being hit by the man’s car. Ten minutes later, I managed to stop the beating by utilizing my strength as a woman in Pakistan. The second time I got into a public disagreement was while at gender conference in Lalamusa, with a government official who recently returned from training in Japan. He was boasting of a 400 ...
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Patriotism is for the rich
It was noon on a particularly lazy Sunday. I could not go out as the law and order situation in the city was bad – as usual. I decided to watch television to get my mind off the gloomy state I was in: tired of the situation in the city, where there is a strike everyday because some political figure decides to be inappropriate and crude on national tv. I flipped through news channels because I had heard enough about cars being burnt and people being shot. In hindsight I realise I wanted some kind of escapism. So I landed ...
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Where is Imran Khan’s patriotism?
In 1992 Imran Khan became the first Pakistani cricketer to lift the World Cup trophy, upsetting all odds and leaving the world shell-shocked. Khan remains the only Pakistani captain to have led his team to a world cup win. With the World Cup just a few days away, our players are looking to their national heroes for motivation but unfortunately, they were let down by Khan. After recently calling M S Dhoni the “best player in the world”, Imran has now tipped India for World Cup glory, dismissing his own country’s chances in favour of their archrivals. Where did all of the ‘jazba‘ ...
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A farewell to drawing rooms
As a kid I grew up listening to older members of the family discussing conspiracy theories all of which concluded with ‘Pakistan tootnay wala hai’. I didn’t exactly understand what that meant but the sentence always scared me. By the time I reached my teens, the conspiracy theories were still alive and kicking and the wretched conclusion was still the same. However, by then I knew what it meant and it scared me less; there was faith in the future and overwhelming love for Pakistan to be bothered with the conclusions of drawing-room discussions among withered bureaucrats and bored ...
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