Our education system is very poor and it will divide nation in future. There should be unified education for all and no different categories. But our leaders are corrupt and our public is just blind followers and sleeping. We need to create awareness in society. The syllabus should be islamic and modern sciences comparable to best top 10 counties in world.
Pakistan's Education system | Reforms & Upgrades.
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Arsala.nKhan
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Inconsistent policies blamed for most educational challenges
December 23, 2016
Print : Islamabad
Islamabad
Pakistan has a number of challenges in the field of education mostly due to the inconsistent policies of the past and frequent change of governments.
This was stated by State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Balighur Rehman during a conference on National Education System 2016 at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) on Thursday.
The event was organised in collaboration with Islamic International University at NUML.
The minister commended NUML Rector Maj Gen (r) Ziauddin Najam and his team for conducting such an important conference on educational system in Pakistan.
He said such conferences not only provided a platform to educationists and academicians but also gave guidance to government and policymakers.
"We are the sixth largest population of the world but unfortunately we rank among the lowest in terms of education," he said.
The minister said the country had number of challenges in the field of education and things could not get improved in the last de
cade due to inconsistent policies and change of governments.
"However, the situation is improving. We are hopeful that it will further improve in near future," he said.
The minister said unfortunately, 24 million children were out of schools that was quite disgraceful but what shouldn't be forgotten that the number was 26 million in 2013 when the current government was formed.
"The school dropout rate has come down; provincial educational budgets have increased; literacy rate has improved, and HEC budget has increased to more than double. And due to increase in tax to GDP rate and increase in GDP, we have got more fiscal space to spend on education," he said.
The minister said the country needed more scholars for applied research.
"It is time that we start investing in this area," he said.
The minister said the concept of smart schools should be introduced in the country and everyone should work for it.
He also talked about the National Education Policy 2016, National Curriculum Framework, Early Childhood Education Development and Technical and Vocational Training.
December 23, 2016
Print : Islamabad
Islamabad
Pakistan has a number of challenges in the field of education mostly due to the inconsistent policies of the past and frequent change of governments.
This was stated by State Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Balighur Rehman during a conference on National Education System 2016 at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) on Thursday.
The event was organised in collaboration with Islamic International University at NUML.
The minister commended NUML Rector Maj Gen (r) Ziauddin Najam and his team for conducting such an important conference on educational system in Pakistan.
He said such conferences not only provided a platform to educationists and academicians but also gave guidance to government and policymakers.
"We are the sixth largest population of the world but unfortunately we rank among the lowest in terms of education," he said.
The minister said the country had number of challenges in the field of education and things could not get improved in the last de
cade due to inconsistent policies and change of governments.
"However, the situation is improving. We are hopeful that it will further improve in near future," he said.
The minister said unfortunately, 24 million children were out of schools that was quite disgraceful but what shouldn't be forgotten that the number was 26 million in 2013 when the current government was formed.
"The school dropout rate has come down; provincial educational budgets have increased; literacy rate has improved, and HEC budget has increased to more than double. And due to increase in tax to GDP rate and increase in GDP, we have got more fiscal space to spend on education," he said.
The minister said the country needed more scholars for applied research.
"It is time that we start investing in this area," he said.
The minister said the concept of smart schools should be introduced in the country and everyone should work for it.
He also talked about the National Education Policy 2016, National Curriculum Framework, Early Childhood Education Development and Technical and Vocational Training.
niaz
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In my humble opinion, the fault lies in the attitude of the polity in general. Especially since the Zia era, bigotry and forcing your opinions on others through brute force has created a claustrophobic environment which chokes out original thought. People are afraid to express their opinions because and even the unintentional use of words which could be misinterpreted by the bigots can be life threatening. As happened in the recent case of Imran Khan.
Salman Taseer never insulted our holy Prophet (PBUH) but the mere fact that he was against the blasphemy law cost him his life with his cold blooded killer revered as a saint. I have heard Imran Khan’s speech but I couldn’t find Imran committing blasphemy, nevertheless he had to apologize otherwise another bird-brain Mumtaz Qadri would have killed him earning sainthood in the process.
Isn't this intolerance direct result of the madrassah education?
According to the World Bank Statistics until the early 80’s ( before the bigot Zia could enforce his bigotry) average Pakistani enjoyed higher standard of living than an average Indian.
Using the globally accepted Purchasing Power Parity or PPP method to analyze and compare the per-capita income of various nations, reports prepared by the World Bank found that every Indian earns around USD 5,630, while a Pakistani earns around USD 5,090. A closer look at the statistical evidence provided in these WB reports reveals that one U.S. dollar is equal Pakistani Rupees 104.56, an Indian earns 54,000 Pakistani rupees more than his Pakistani counterpart.
According to a 2013 report
Quote
India’s Muslims have the lowest living standard in the country on a per capita basis, according to a government survey. Muslims, who account for about 14.4 percent of India’s vast population, according to data from Pew Research, spend, on average, only 32.7 Rupees ($0.52) per day. At the other end of the wealth spectrum, on average, India’s tiny minority of Sikhs spend 55.3 Rupees per day. Christians (51.4 Rupees) and Hindus (37.5 Rupees) fall somewhere in between.
"The average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of a Sikh household was [1,659 Rupees] while that for a Muslim household was [980 Rupees] in 2009-10," said a study by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) called “Employment and Unemployment Situation Among Major Religious Groups in India.” The average MPCE for Hindus and Christians amounted to 1,125 Rupees and 1,543 Rupees, respectively. The Times of India explained that average household MPCE serves as a proxy for income and the living standards of an Indian family.
The survey also suggested that urban Indians (MPCE of 1773 Rupees) were almost twice as wealthy as their rural counterparts (901 Rupees). Even in India’s vast rural hinterlands, Muslims ranked at the bottom in terms of spending and wealth, while Sikhs had the most disposable income. (Again, Hindus and Christians fell somewhere in between). The same hierarchy was seen in urban regions – with Sikhs at the top, with an average MPCE of 2,180. On the whole, the average MPCE for all Indians amounted to 1,128 Rupees.
http://www.ibtimes.com/surprise-sur...oorest-worst-educated-religious-group-1392849
Unquote.
Application of Ijtehad, Ijma (consensus) and Qiyas ( reasoning), the tools provided to the Umma to keep up with the changing world are totally ignored by the self appointed theologians; and those who oppose this view such as Maulana Ghamdi are hounded out of the country. This has choked off scholarship and research resulting in declining education standards. On the other hand, instead of us becoming 'Sadiq & Amin'; persons convicted of forged degrees are being re-elected by the voters with suicide bombers (described as Sin) are being told that they are going straight to heaven. Teachers of 'Ghost' schools have no fear because they offer daily prayers & can perform Hajj from the salary earned without ever delivering a lecture.
It appears that while there is too much stress on the rituals, the spirit of Islam represented by honesty, compassion & kindness displayed by our holy Prophet (PBUH) has disappeared altogether.
Education has become a business, entire polity ( Gov't & the people) accept it. But what do I know? Munawar Hasan, Sami ul Haq & Pir Sahib Qadri know all there is to know about how Pakistanis should be educated.
The following article expresses the situation of Muslims in South Asia much better I possibly can
The deepening crisis of scholarship
By Harris Khalique
January 04, 2017
Part - III
Side-effect
So what does this deepening crisis of scholarship mean for us as a people – South Asian Muslims – in our daily lives and social experience while living within South Asian countries or as diaspora elsewhere?
The absence of a critical mass of scientists, social scientists, historians and scholars means weak generation and impartation of knowledge, a lack of a sense of history and an incredibly small number of formidable thought leaders who can encourage people to question their preconceived notions. Meaning thereby that our individual and collective psyche, which not only determine our actions and reactions but are beginning to define us as people, are guided by three things – prejudice, isolation and rage.
A significant number of South Asian Muslim women and men are among the most prejudiced people I have come across. Let me accept that there are other communities of people in the world whose majority may well be equally prejudiced but, one, I am naturally more interested in my own lot, and, two, the alarming thing about our people is that their prejudice is on the rise. They have strange ideas and understanding about people of other nations and faiths.
In Pakistan, one can understand that due to a certain kind of homogeneity in terms of belief and a lack of exposure to other faiths and peoples. But you would find almost similar, if not the same, ideas about others being subscribed to by most South Asian Muslims – particularly those living in the diaspora. Spending time with other people and communities at schools, workplaces or public areas, and exposure to different lifestyles and behaviours have not helped our people to the extent that they should have.
Undoubtedly, Pakistan is the worst among all in that sense and the Pakistani diaspora is even more prejudiced and hardnosed when it comes to understanding or dealing with any kind of difference. But you would find the same patterns of attitude and behaviour among Bangladeshi and Indian Muslims. Indian Muslims are perhaps marginally better off, one reason them being a minority and the other being exposed to a completely different faith like Hinduism or other religions like Christianity and Sikhism since their childhood.
But in South Asian Muslim societies or communities overall, there is this increasing prejudice against everyone who is different from them. This is based either on ignorance of how other individuals and societies think and behave or due to a paranoia that is partly their own failing and partly imposed upon them by this new wave of Western politics based on imperial hegemony.
However, for whatever reasons and doings of your own or others, if you have cultivated inherent universal prejudice against all those who look different, speak differently, pray differently or do not pray at all, you will be blinded to the possibilities of finding companions, friends, allies and partners in other communities. That leads you to the impossibility of a dialogue with anyone who is or seems different, and a stasis in any kind of understanding of a collective human society, culture and civilisation.
The prejudice against others is rooted in the certitude that what we believe in and practise makes us not only superior to others but that we are the only ones who are on the right path in this world. This self-righteousness does not stop at the level of religion but takes us down to the level of sects, sub-sects, schools of thought within sects and sub-sects, and even to a very narrow interpretation by a particular institution or individual in some cases.
When I was in Delhi a few years ago for a conference at the Jamia Millia Islamia, a postgraduate student was delegated the responsibility of guiding me around the city. After my session at the conference, since I knew a little bit about Delhi from before, I took an auto rickshaw on my own and went straight to Dargah Nizamuddin to pay my respect to Ghalib, Amir Khusro and, finally of course, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia.
When I met that young man again, he expressed displeasure over my going to the dargah since it was a wrong practice. According to him, I should have visited the Tableeghi Jamaat’s markaz instead which has been opened very close to the dargah and where he could have taken me to meet some scholar. Then a few non-Muslim women students at the Jamia, whom I met when speaking to a class the next day, told me that some of their Muslim class fellows do not engage with them at all.
In 2015, when I spent some months at the University of Iowa in the US I also travelled and met many Pakistanis. The general nature and composition of Pakistani diaspora in North America is different from the one in the UK and Europe. There are many more educated professionals in the US than in the UK. I had thought they would be different from the people I had come across in the UK in terms of their knowledge and understanding, view of the world and openness to new ideas and opinions.
Unfortunately, there was very little difference. For instance, one whole evening at an educated Pakistani household was spent on why ‘Khuda Hafiz’ must not be used as a pleasantry by Muslims and why Afghans and Iranians are misled because they still do that. There was also discussion on children must be discouraged to hold the fork in the left hand when using a knife and fork to eat. To my surprise, I met very few American Pakistanis who had even a single non-Pakistani or a non-Muslim friend. A Pakistani woman told me that she would not like her children to mingle with non-Muslims, eat their food or go to their parties.
One may argue that personal anecdotes should not be generalised and of course not everyone thinks the same way. But when you see how the youth is being radicalised across South Asian Muslim societies and communities and how we face isolation within the comity of nations and within the global human society as a whole, these anecdotes are not isolated incidents but show us a pattern of how ignorance is on the rise.
South Asian Muslims are bringing isolation upon themselves. But what to do when we have religio-political leaders with limited intellect and a lack of sense of their times; such leaders tell cheering supporters in Pakistan that Muslim countries should shun the UN and create their own union. Sirajul Haq conveniently ignores the fact that his Jamaat-e-Islami has always enjoyed a special relationship with those Middle Eastern Muslim countries that are now flying planes to Tel Aviv and boosting their trade ties with the rest of the world. But the abstract South Asian Muslim desire to create a Pan-Islamist movement fails to fade away even after it is obvious that no one else is interested.
The insistence of segregation within the larger world has a bearing on the South Asian Muslim mind, our children and young people. We are producing uninformed, myopic, socially inept and confused generations. Some simplify their existence by espousing extremist views or joining outfits professing these views. But most live in confusion because not only does the world move at its own pace, but three quarters of the world practise faiths or believe in ideologies which are different from our own. Even within our faith, there are sects which in our minds pose us more danger than outsiders.
Therefore, the prejudices we have cultivated and the isolation we have imposed upon ourselves continue to enrage us. We are angry. We are unhappy. Without seeking knowledge and scholarship, nurturing of minds that question and challenge and developing an attitude for understanding and dialogue, we are heading towards total destruction.
Concluded
The writer is a poet and author based in Islamabad.
Email: harris.khalique@gmail.com
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/176556-The-deepening-crisis-of-scholarship
Salman Taseer never insulted our holy Prophet (PBUH) but the mere fact that he was against the blasphemy law cost him his life with his cold blooded killer revered as a saint. I have heard Imran Khan’s speech but I couldn’t find Imran committing blasphemy, nevertheless he had to apologize otherwise another bird-brain Mumtaz Qadri would have killed him earning sainthood in the process.
Isn't this intolerance direct result of the madrassah education?
According to the World Bank Statistics until the early 80’s ( before the bigot Zia could enforce his bigotry) average Pakistani enjoyed higher standard of living than an average Indian.
Using the globally accepted Purchasing Power Parity or PPP method to analyze and compare the per-capita income of various nations, reports prepared by the World Bank found that every Indian earns around USD 5,630, while a Pakistani earns around USD 5,090. A closer look at the statistical evidence provided in these WB reports reveals that one U.S. dollar is equal Pakistani Rupees 104.56, an Indian earns 54,000 Pakistani rupees more than his Pakistani counterpart.
According to a 2013 report
Quote
India’s Muslims have the lowest living standard in the country on a per capita basis, according to a government survey. Muslims, who account for about 14.4 percent of India’s vast population, according to data from Pew Research, spend, on average, only 32.7 Rupees ($0.52) per day. At the other end of the wealth spectrum, on average, India’s tiny minority of Sikhs spend 55.3 Rupees per day. Christians (51.4 Rupees) and Hindus (37.5 Rupees) fall somewhere in between.
"The average monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) of a Sikh household was [1,659 Rupees] while that for a Muslim household was [980 Rupees] in 2009-10," said a study by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) called “Employment and Unemployment Situation Among Major Religious Groups in India.” The average MPCE for Hindus and Christians amounted to 1,125 Rupees and 1,543 Rupees, respectively. The Times of India explained that average household MPCE serves as a proxy for income and the living standards of an Indian family.
The survey also suggested that urban Indians (MPCE of 1773 Rupees) were almost twice as wealthy as their rural counterparts (901 Rupees). Even in India’s vast rural hinterlands, Muslims ranked at the bottom in terms of spending and wealth, while Sikhs had the most disposable income. (Again, Hindus and Christians fell somewhere in between). The same hierarchy was seen in urban regions – with Sikhs at the top, with an average MPCE of 2,180. On the whole, the average MPCE for all Indians amounted to 1,128 Rupees.
http://www.ibtimes.com/surprise-sur...oorest-worst-educated-religious-group-1392849
Unquote.
Application of Ijtehad, Ijma (consensus) and Qiyas ( reasoning), the tools provided to the Umma to keep up with the changing world are totally ignored by the self appointed theologians; and those who oppose this view such as Maulana Ghamdi are hounded out of the country. This has choked off scholarship and research resulting in declining education standards. On the other hand, instead of us becoming 'Sadiq & Amin'; persons convicted of forged degrees are being re-elected by the voters with suicide bombers (described as Sin) are being told that they are going straight to heaven. Teachers of 'Ghost' schools have no fear because they offer daily prayers & can perform Hajj from the salary earned without ever delivering a lecture.
It appears that while there is too much stress on the rituals, the spirit of Islam represented by honesty, compassion & kindness displayed by our holy Prophet (PBUH) has disappeared altogether.
Education has become a business, entire polity ( Gov't & the people) accept it. But what do I know? Munawar Hasan, Sami ul Haq & Pir Sahib Qadri know all there is to know about how Pakistanis should be educated.
The following article expresses the situation of Muslims in South Asia much better I possibly can
The deepening crisis of scholarship
By Harris Khalique
January 04, 2017
Part - III
Side-effect
So what does this deepening crisis of scholarship mean for us as a people – South Asian Muslims – in our daily lives and social experience while living within South Asian countries or as diaspora elsewhere?
The absence of a critical mass of scientists, social scientists, historians and scholars means weak generation and impartation of knowledge, a lack of a sense of history and an incredibly small number of formidable thought leaders who can encourage people to question their preconceived notions. Meaning thereby that our individual and collective psyche, which not only determine our actions and reactions but are beginning to define us as people, are guided by three things – prejudice, isolation and rage.
A significant number of South Asian Muslim women and men are among the most prejudiced people I have come across. Let me accept that there are other communities of people in the world whose majority may well be equally prejudiced but, one, I am naturally more interested in my own lot, and, two, the alarming thing about our people is that their prejudice is on the rise. They have strange ideas and understanding about people of other nations and faiths.
In Pakistan, one can understand that due to a certain kind of homogeneity in terms of belief and a lack of exposure to other faiths and peoples. But you would find almost similar, if not the same, ideas about others being subscribed to by most South Asian Muslims – particularly those living in the diaspora. Spending time with other people and communities at schools, workplaces or public areas, and exposure to different lifestyles and behaviours have not helped our people to the extent that they should have.
Undoubtedly, Pakistan is the worst among all in that sense and the Pakistani diaspora is even more prejudiced and hardnosed when it comes to understanding or dealing with any kind of difference. But you would find the same patterns of attitude and behaviour among Bangladeshi and Indian Muslims. Indian Muslims are perhaps marginally better off, one reason them being a minority and the other being exposed to a completely different faith like Hinduism or other religions like Christianity and Sikhism since their childhood.
But in South Asian Muslim societies or communities overall, there is this increasing prejudice against everyone who is different from them. This is based either on ignorance of how other individuals and societies think and behave or due to a paranoia that is partly their own failing and partly imposed upon them by this new wave of Western politics based on imperial hegemony.
However, for whatever reasons and doings of your own or others, if you have cultivated inherent universal prejudice against all those who look different, speak differently, pray differently or do not pray at all, you will be blinded to the possibilities of finding companions, friends, allies and partners in other communities. That leads you to the impossibility of a dialogue with anyone who is or seems different, and a stasis in any kind of understanding of a collective human society, culture and civilisation.
The prejudice against others is rooted in the certitude that what we believe in and practise makes us not only superior to others but that we are the only ones who are on the right path in this world. This self-righteousness does not stop at the level of religion but takes us down to the level of sects, sub-sects, schools of thought within sects and sub-sects, and even to a very narrow interpretation by a particular institution or individual in some cases.
When I was in Delhi a few years ago for a conference at the Jamia Millia Islamia, a postgraduate student was delegated the responsibility of guiding me around the city. After my session at the conference, since I knew a little bit about Delhi from before, I took an auto rickshaw on my own and went straight to Dargah Nizamuddin to pay my respect to Ghalib, Amir Khusro and, finally of course, Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia.
When I met that young man again, he expressed displeasure over my going to the dargah since it was a wrong practice. According to him, I should have visited the Tableeghi Jamaat’s markaz instead which has been opened very close to the dargah and where he could have taken me to meet some scholar. Then a few non-Muslim women students at the Jamia, whom I met when speaking to a class the next day, told me that some of their Muslim class fellows do not engage with them at all.
In 2015, when I spent some months at the University of Iowa in the US I also travelled and met many Pakistanis. The general nature and composition of Pakistani diaspora in North America is different from the one in the UK and Europe. There are many more educated professionals in the US than in the UK. I had thought they would be different from the people I had come across in the UK in terms of their knowledge and understanding, view of the world and openness to new ideas and opinions.
Unfortunately, there was very little difference. For instance, one whole evening at an educated Pakistani household was spent on why ‘Khuda Hafiz’ must not be used as a pleasantry by Muslims and why Afghans and Iranians are misled because they still do that. There was also discussion on children must be discouraged to hold the fork in the left hand when using a knife and fork to eat. To my surprise, I met very few American Pakistanis who had even a single non-Pakistani or a non-Muslim friend. A Pakistani woman told me that she would not like her children to mingle with non-Muslims, eat their food or go to their parties.
One may argue that personal anecdotes should not be generalised and of course not everyone thinks the same way. But when you see how the youth is being radicalised across South Asian Muslim societies and communities and how we face isolation within the comity of nations and within the global human society as a whole, these anecdotes are not isolated incidents but show us a pattern of how ignorance is on the rise.
South Asian Muslims are bringing isolation upon themselves. But what to do when we have religio-political leaders with limited intellect and a lack of sense of their times; such leaders tell cheering supporters in Pakistan that Muslim countries should shun the UN and create their own union. Sirajul Haq conveniently ignores the fact that his Jamaat-e-Islami has always enjoyed a special relationship with those Middle Eastern Muslim countries that are now flying planes to Tel Aviv and boosting their trade ties with the rest of the world. But the abstract South Asian Muslim desire to create a Pan-Islamist movement fails to fade away even after it is obvious that no one else is interested.
The insistence of segregation within the larger world has a bearing on the South Asian Muslim mind, our children and young people. We are producing uninformed, myopic, socially inept and confused generations. Some simplify their existence by espousing extremist views or joining outfits professing these views. But most live in confusion because not only does the world move at its own pace, but three quarters of the world practise faiths or believe in ideologies which are different from our own. Even within our faith, there are sects which in our minds pose us more danger than outsiders.
Therefore, the prejudices we have cultivated and the isolation we have imposed upon ourselves continue to enrage us. We are angry. We are unhappy. Without seeking knowledge and scholarship, nurturing of minds that question and challenge and developing an attitude for understanding and dialogue, we are heading towards total destruction.
Concluded
The writer is a poet and author based in Islamabad.
Email: harris.khalique@gmail.com
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/176556-The-deepening-crisis-of-scholarship
Last edited:
Mevechan
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Reform starts from the people imparting the knowledge, from having a comfortable student to teacher ratio, quality and well balanced curriculum along with a tier of progression. There is zero uniformity in the primary and secondary education sector in Pakistan.
Start from the top, focus on the professionals, then give the professionals quality tools, adequate facilities and a decent salary and these professionals will ensure that knowledge is imparted, retained and children enter to learn and leave to serve.
Start from the top, focus on the professionals, then give the professionals quality tools, adequate facilities and a decent salary and these professionals will ensure that knowledge is imparted, retained and children enter to learn and leave to serve.
Solomon2
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...I remember putting the same question to my grandmother some three decades ago. Her answer was comprehensive and inclusive, embracing diversity in religion and culture. She said that private education was a privilege that most middle class parents want to provide to their children, and missionary schools provide quality education at an affordable price, being 30% to 40% cheaper than most other independent private schools. She also insisted that many sought a spiritual grounding alongside academic education for their children, and missionary schools are an answer to that...
...Some 20-years-ago, I moved from Pakistan, with a very myopic view of Islam, where I was taught that only I was right or that the view of Islam taught in Pakistan was right. I was ready to judge others at the drop of a hat. However, I feel that my children have a very wide, accepting and non-judgmental view of Islam. In fact, their teachings at a Catholic school has made them closer to their own faith, and has also taught them respect and tolerance of others’ faith...
niaz
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A worthwhile read from a hero of Pakistan.
Muslims and science
Random thoughts
Almost two decades ago, a large number of Muslim scientists and engineers were invited at the World Muslim Conference in Islamabad. The moving spirit behind this initiative was Senator Raja Zafarul, secretary general of the Muslim conference. He has the future of Muslims as his top priority and has always been active in trying to evolve a joint mechanism for their common goal. Unfortunately, due to lack of interest by the governments of Islamic countries, no substantial progress has been made. Only Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia have been able to make some progress. By becoming a nuclear and missile power, Pakistan earned a respectful place in the comity of Muslim nations.
My own experiences have convinced me that if we wish to be among the respected countries of the world, we will have to excel in the fields of science and technology – the two agents of change and respect. I am also convinced that if we wish to defend ourselves from the injustices of the advanced world, we will have to equip ourselves with the weapons of the latest research and development that are the vanguards of a powerful society. I also believe that if we wish to cure our misery-stricken Ummah from the curses of hunger, disease and exploitation, the path of science and technology is our only way out. These two instruments alone can lead us to a better future.
Science, it is said, was born from man’s curiosity to know about the nature of things around him and to understand the events that were taking place in the universe. While this curiosity is natural to mankind, it is made stronger among Muslims by their religion, which repeatedly exhorts them to ‘think’ and ‘reflect’ and try to comprehend the wonders and secrets of the cosmos and of biological existence.
The Quran places great emphasis on individual and collective research. It gives great importance to ‘men of understanding’ – scientists and engineers – whom it frequently refers to as ‘men who are wise’, ‘people of knowledge’, ‘the ones who consider’ and ‘those who understand’. No wonder Islam’s inspiration for scientific investigation served as a catalyst for the Muslim spirit of enquiry in the heyday of their civilisation. They made revolutionary contributions to scientific thought and activity at a time when the pursuit of science was considered taboo and punished like witchcraft elsewhere in the world. This contribution is fairly well-documented and well recognised. It is widely known that from the eighth to the 12th centuries, Muslims laid the foundations of ‘observational’ and ‘experimental’ techniques.
But there is such a stark contrast between our past and present. Those who liberated the human mind and taught men to think rationally and scientifically have now become prisoners of suffocating inaction. Those who led the world in the Middle Ages now lag way behind in following the lead in the modern age. They have few scientific institutions. They invest little in scientific research and their share in the growth of modern science and technology is dismal.
It is sad to note that while the Muslim Ummah constitutes one-fifth of the world population – it is larger than the populations of the US, Western Europe and Japan put together – its scientific community is not even mentionable when compared to that of these advanced countries. According to estimates made at the Islamic Conference held in Islamabad in 1983, the Muslim Ummah as a whole only had a total of about 46,000 research and development scientists and engineers.
At present, the science and technology manpower of Muslims in the world is estimated to be around 8 million – the lowest in the world. A recent study reveals that there are only 50,000 scientists and engineers in all the Muslim countries combined compared to 40,000 in Israel alone and 500,000 in Japan. Today, almost 94 percent of all research and development scientists are in the developed countries: there are 3,000 scientists for every one million people. In the Muslim world, this figure is less than 100 per million. Today the Muslim world only has one scientist for every 1,000 people while the former USSR has 100, Western Europe 50 and the world average is four.
Out of the approximately 100,000 scientific books and over two million articles produced in the world every year, the share of all Muslim countries put together is only about 1,000 publications. The lack of importance given to science and technology is further illustrated by the amount of money allocated to this vital field. We do not even spend one percent of our budget on science and technology while the advanced nations spend about five to seven percent.
Against this backdrop of apathy and indifference, it is satisfying to note that the importance of science and technology is gaining appreciation in many Muslim countries. Change is happening but needs to be greatly expedited. We possess an unlimited pool of human and material resources. Muslim countries supply 40 percent of the world’s raw materials, 60 percent of crude oil, 40 percent of natural gas, 80 percent of rubber and 75 percent of jute. However, despite such precious wealth, we still take a back seat when it comes to sharing the benefits.
Let us face these problems head on. Let us join hands for a better tomorrow by mutual cooperation and collaboration. Let us supplement each other’s efforts in promoting a science-friendly environment in our individual countries. This demands a firm commitment on the part of our respective governments.
We must give priority to putting our science and technology house in order. We need to frame our national science and technology policy and avoid duplication and wastage of valuable resources. We must give priority to scientists, researchers and engineers while framing policies as only a technical mind can comprehend the technical intricacies of a problem.
We also need to restructure our basic and higher educational systems as these lack the capability of meeting the demands of our time. An all-out effort should be made to acquire the maximum level of literacy. It is my belief that a joint front for our development will enable us to carve out a better world for our future generations.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/197653-Muslims-and-science
Muslims and science
Random thoughts
Almost two decades ago, a large number of Muslim scientists and engineers were invited at the World Muslim Conference in Islamabad. The moving spirit behind this initiative was Senator Raja Zafarul, secretary general of the Muslim conference. He has the future of Muslims as his top priority and has always been active in trying to evolve a joint mechanism for their common goal. Unfortunately, due to lack of interest by the governments of Islamic countries, no substantial progress has been made. Only Pakistan, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia have been able to make some progress. By becoming a nuclear and missile power, Pakistan earned a respectful place in the comity of Muslim nations.
My own experiences have convinced me that if we wish to be among the respected countries of the world, we will have to excel in the fields of science and technology – the two agents of change and respect. I am also convinced that if we wish to defend ourselves from the injustices of the advanced world, we will have to equip ourselves with the weapons of the latest research and development that are the vanguards of a powerful society. I also believe that if we wish to cure our misery-stricken Ummah from the curses of hunger, disease and exploitation, the path of science and technology is our only way out. These two instruments alone can lead us to a better future.
Science, it is said, was born from man’s curiosity to know about the nature of things around him and to understand the events that were taking place in the universe. While this curiosity is natural to mankind, it is made stronger among Muslims by their religion, which repeatedly exhorts them to ‘think’ and ‘reflect’ and try to comprehend the wonders and secrets of the cosmos and of biological existence.
The Quran places great emphasis on individual and collective research. It gives great importance to ‘men of understanding’ – scientists and engineers – whom it frequently refers to as ‘men who are wise’, ‘people of knowledge’, ‘the ones who consider’ and ‘those who understand’. No wonder Islam’s inspiration for scientific investigation served as a catalyst for the Muslim spirit of enquiry in the heyday of their civilisation. They made revolutionary contributions to scientific thought and activity at a time when the pursuit of science was considered taboo and punished like witchcraft elsewhere in the world. This contribution is fairly well-documented and well recognised. It is widely known that from the eighth to the 12th centuries, Muslims laid the foundations of ‘observational’ and ‘experimental’ techniques.
But there is such a stark contrast between our past and present. Those who liberated the human mind and taught men to think rationally and scientifically have now become prisoners of suffocating inaction. Those who led the world in the Middle Ages now lag way behind in following the lead in the modern age. They have few scientific institutions. They invest little in scientific research and their share in the growth of modern science and technology is dismal.
It is sad to note that while the Muslim Ummah constitutes one-fifth of the world population – it is larger than the populations of the US, Western Europe and Japan put together – its scientific community is not even mentionable when compared to that of these advanced countries. According to estimates made at the Islamic Conference held in Islamabad in 1983, the Muslim Ummah as a whole only had a total of about 46,000 research and development scientists and engineers.
At present, the science and technology manpower of Muslims in the world is estimated to be around 8 million – the lowest in the world. A recent study reveals that there are only 50,000 scientists and engineers in all the Muslim countries combined compared to 40,000 in Israel alone and 500,000 in Japan. Today, almost 94 percent of all research and development scientists are in the developed countries: there are 3,000 scientists for every one million people. In the Muslim world, this figure is less than 100 per million. Today the Muslim world only has one scientist for every 1,000 people while the former USSR has 100, Western Europe 50 and the world average is four.
Out of the approximately 100,000 scientific books and over two million articles produced in the world every year, the share of all Muslim countries put together is only about 1,000 publications. The lack of importance given to science and technology is further illustrated by the amount of money allocated to this vital field. We do not even spend one percent of our budget on science and technology while the advanced nations spend about five to seven percent.
Against this backdrop of apathy and indifference, it is satisfying to note that the importance of science and technology is gaining appreciation in many Muslim countries. Change is happening but needs to be greatly expedited. We possess an unlimited pool of human and material resources. Muslim countries supply 40 percent of the world’s raw materials, 60 percent of crude oil, 40 percent of natural gas, 80 percent of rubber and 75 percent of jute. However, despite such precious wealth, we still take a back seat when it comes to sharing the benefits.
Let us face these problems head on. Let us join hands for a better tomorrow by mutual cooperation and collaboration. Let us supplement each other’s efforts in promoting a science-friendly environment in our individual countries. This demands a firm commitment on the part of our respective governments.
We must give priority to putting our science and technology house in order. We need to frame our national science and technology policy and avoid duplication and wastage of valuable resources. We must give priority to scientists, researchers and engineers while framing policies as only a technical mind can comprehend the technical intricacies of a problem.
We also need to restructure our basic and higher educational systems as these lack the capability of meeting the demands of our time. An all-out effort should be made to acquire the maximum level of literacy. It is my belief that a joint front for our development will enable us to carve out a better world for our future generations.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/197653-Muslims-and-science
Solomon2
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"The campus has three mosques with a fourth one planned, but no bookstore. No Pakistani university, including QAU, allowed Abdus Salam to set foot on its campus, although he had received the Nobel Prize in 1979 for his role in formulating the standard model of particle physics."
see What Might be Missing in the Muslim World?
@WaLeEdK2 @I.R.A @Kambojaric @Anubis @Avicenna @Sky lord @Super Falcon @SecularNationalist
SecularNationalist
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Well i am repeating one more time as long as hardcore extremist elements with zia ul haq mindset exist in our country our future is not so bright.
Separation of state and religion is a must.
Gentelman
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PMLN Ate 60% of HEC budget for year 2016-17 again
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017
Multan: Minister for Planning Development and Reforms, Ahsan Iqbal who is from ruling party, PMLN, just a month ago on May, 30th hinted a rise for cash starved HEC. He announced this while addressing to National Consultative Conference on HEC vision 2025. He did golden promises of increasing HEC budget from Rs-/21.48 Billion in 2016-17 (That ended this June 30th) to Rs-/50 Billion.
HEC current budget in year 2017-18 is Rs-/35.5 Billion. According to Ahsan Iqbal, PMLN entrusted HEC with every single penny and HEC authorities were free to spend that fund in the right direction. HEC initiated many new programs including Intra University Olympics to promote sportsmanship, training ERP to 100,000 students, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif disbursements for laptops, US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor and establishing multiple sub campuses of universities.
According to Ahsan Iqbal, current government of PMLN prioritizes education in Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself is taking interest in making Pakistan great through education and working on Youth’s leadership skills.
Despite all these claims by the ruling party of PMLN, education in Pakistan is facing a constant downfall owning to the poor policies and constantly slashing of funds.
Recently they government failed to provide HEC with the allocated funds in the last facial year of 2016-17. The government didn’t even provide 50% of the decided budget which affected Higher Education Commission (HEC) pretty badly.
According to the released figures, out of allocated Rs-/21.8 Billion, only Rs-/8 Billions were released. Data shows that only Rs-/4.29 Billion were provided to HEC in first quarter and Rs-/3.68 during the second quarter. HEC was utterly neglected during the 3rd and 4th quarter. The remaining Rs-/11.73 billion were not released by government to HEC according to HEC’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) funds.
This hold on funds has already started putting harmful effects on several ongoing projects. The PM, Nawaz Sharif was done after some publicity and inauguration ceremonies of new university campuses, but no work was ever started because of recent slashing of HEC development funds.
PM announced universities and their sub campuses in each district of Pakistan in 2014 but time proved it to be just another pump and show and false promise. The designing of this program was planned and was in final stages. Universities were taken on board and work was about to commence when the government realized there was a better use of those funds which were to be invested on future of Pakistan. This non serious behavior of government disappointed many educationists and HEC officials now find it difficult to completely execute this project.
The US-Pak Knowledge Corridor program initiated by HEC and announced by Ahsan Iqbal in June, 2015. This program is to increase PhD’s and send as many as 10,000 students to complete their doctorate in United States. This budget cut hasn’t just affected HEC capability to carry on this project but also HEC's and Pakistan's reputation in international community. Similarly the ongoing plan to train 5,000 general graduates also has been stopped due to non availability of finances.
PSPD documents show that there were 122 projects, 83 ongoing and 23 new and all these projects are in uncertainty. Some new projects have been cancelled and HEC is struggling to continue with the on going projects too.
The current government of PMLN is not showing seriousness for education and playing with the future of this country’s Youth. The government is using up this fund allocated for the future of Pakistan for their own uncontrolled expenditures led my misguided priorities. Pakistani Youth’s future is in jeopardy and uncertainty due to poor planningand lack of seriousness by PMLN.
http://www.sensationsx.com/2017/07/promised-not-fulfilled-hec-budget-sees.html?m=1
Trisonics
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THESE days Pakistan’s professors are too busy to read books because they use their time publishing what are called ‘research’ papers and procuring PhD degrees for their students. For example, a world record of sorts was set last month by the Faculty of Management Sciences at the International Islamic University when five PhD degrees were awarded in quick succession in areas ranging from finance to psychology — all under the supervision of one person who had received a PhD from a local university (MAJU) five years ago.
Meanwhile, teaching standards continue to plummet. In the so-called hard sciences — math, physics, chemistry and engineering — this fact stares you in the face. Student performance indicators in these subjects tell of a train wreck. The best US science and engineering schools have graduate departments teeming with Chinese and Indian students but Pakistanis are a rarity. Most Pakistanis do poorly in the GRE tests required for admission.
Exceptionally talented students are, of course, smart enough to learn anything on their own anywhere. But the rest may equally well have stayed at home. Their professors have impressive degrees but poor subject knowledge and hence are poor teachers. That’s because the teachers who taught these teachers were also this way.
Our universities need to be reoriented towards teaching and moved away from so-called research.
This has a historical backdrop. Relative to India, for political and cultural reasons, the areas that currently constitute Pakistan were educationally backward. In 1947, Pakistan had only one university and just a few colleges. It lost its best faculty members, who were mostly Hindus, to the subsequent migration. Pakistan has no significant academic tradition to look back to.
Nevertheless, like other post-colonial states, Pakistan slowly cobbled together a modern university system. Although standards were generally low, there were occasional pockets of excellence. In 1973, when I joined Islamabad University (later renamed Quaid-i-Azam University) as a junior lecturer, some departments were comparable to those at a middle-level American university. Although few PhDs were awarded annually and research publications were rare, the graph pointed upwards.
A major setback happened in 2002 when, in a bid to boost research and production of PhD degrees, the Higher Education Commission hooked the promotion, pay, and perks of university teachers to the number of research papers they published. Teaching became irrelevant. Your salary was the same whether you taught brilliantly or badly, or how well you knew your subject.
Here’s how much productivity boomed: back in 1970-1980, along with 15-20 years of experience, one needed 12 papers to become a full professor. It was then considered a dauntingly high number. Many of my colleagues crossed the retirement age of 60 without being promoted. They were the decent, principled ones who read books.
But once people became aware of a huge pot of money out there, the old system and its ethics disappeared. No one raises an eyebrow today when a student at the same university publishes 10-15 papers or more during the course of his PhD studies. Academic crime was made highly lucrative by HEC’s new conditions.
Like drug gangs in Chicago, a medley of Cosa Nostra style families now controls much of Pakistani academia. Each mafia family boss is at least an associate professor, if not full professor. He has a defined territory, avoids fighting other bosses, and plays the patronage game expertly. Sometimes he has an underboss (chota) who supervises the factory labour, meaning PhD and MPhil students. The factory outputs fakeries that resemble actual research so disguised that you don’t get caught.
The impact on genuine academics — the ones who maintain professional standards and refuse to lie or cheat — has been devastating. In particular, many young ones lose heart when incompetent colleagues race ahead in promotions, receive wads of cash for publishing junk papers, rise to top administrative positions, and be nominated for national awards and prizes.
This scam is privately acknowledged by those connected to university education in Pakistan. I am told that HEC now regrets its 2002 policy but is paralysed by fear of the powerful Mafiosi that includes many university vice chancellors, deans, department heads, senior and junior professors, PhD students, members of HEC, academies of science, learned bodies, and winners of national awards. Some chair committees and make hiring-firing decisions, making sure that no one can rock the boat.
This crime syndicate cannot be dismantled by rewarding teaching competence instead of paper productivity. Judging even one individual’s teaching quality within a single department of a single university is difficult. Preferences based upon religion, sect, ethnicity, and friendships would make such selections meaningless and create new groupings. Similarly, determining who is fit to teach at the university level is controversial. Surely one size cannot fit all. From field to field, and place to place, the answers can be quite different.
But even if there is no perfect answer the bottom line is indisputable: a professor cannot teach what he doesn’t know and has no interest in. There has to be some system for weeding out those utterly unfit to teach.
Whereas ‘knowing’ is not easily defined in areas like anthropology or psychology, minimum (or base) competencies in the hard sciences are determinable. One could exploit the fact that there are plenty of excellent textbooks used internationally which have chapter-end problems and exercises with definite answers. Being able to correctly solve some reasonable fraction of these questions could be one criterion.
Still more robust possibilities can be explored. For example, HEC could insist that all applicants to a university teaching position pass the examination requirements of appropriate distance learning courses (MOOCS) such as those prepared by Coursera, Stanford or MIT. With biometric checking and proper exam proctoring, this may be a cheap, neutral, bias-free assessment of a candidate’s suitability. Local yardsticks must never be used.
It is time to reject the grotesque distortion of priorities and reorient Pakistan’s universities towards their major responsibility and purpose — teaching. Incentivising paper and PhD production has resulted in mega-corruption. HEC’s foolish policy must be reversed even though the professor mafia will bitterly oppose it. Else even duly certified degrees awarded by Pakistani universities will soon have the worth of an Axact degree.
The author teaches physics and mathematics in Lahore and Islamabad.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1342483/pakistans-professor-mafia
Meanwhile, teaching standards continue to plummet. In the so-called hard sciences — math, physics, chemistry and engineering — this fact stares you in the face. Student performance indicators in these subjects tell of a train wreck. The best US science and engineering schools have graduate departments teeming with Chinese and Indian students but Pakistanis are a rarity. Most Pakistanis do poorly in the GRE tests required for admission.
Exceptionally talented students are, of course, smart enough to learn anything on their own anywhere. But the rest may equally well have stayed at home. Their professors have impressive degrees but poor subject knowledge and hence are poor teachers. That’s because the teachers who taught these teachers were also this way.
Our universities need to be reoriented towards teaching and moved away from so-called research.
This has a historical backdrop. Relative to India, for political and cultural reasons, the areas that currently constitute Pakistan were educationally backward. In 1947, Pakistan had only one university and just a few colleges. It lost its best faculty members, who were mostly Hindus, to the subsequent migration. Pakistan has no significant academic tradition to look back to.
Nevertheless, like other post-colonial states, Pakistan slowly cobbled together a modern university system. Although standards were generally low, there were occasional pockets of excellence. In 1973, when I joined Islamabad University (later renamed Quaid-i-Azam University) as a junior lecturer, some departments were comparable to those at a middle-level American university. Although few PhDs were awarded annually and research publications were rare, the graph pointed upwards.
A major setback happened in 2002 when, in a bid to boost research and production of PhD degrees, the Higher Education Commission hooked the promotion, pay, and perks of university teachers to the number of research papers they published. Teaching became irrelevant. Your salary was the same whether you taught brilliantly or badly, or how well you knew your subject.
Here’s how much productivity boomed: back in 1970-1980, along with 15-20 years of experience, one needed 12 papers to become a full professor. It was then considered a dauntingly high number. Many of my colleagues crossed the retirement age of 60 without being promoted. They were the decent, principled ones who read books.
But once people became aware of a huge pot of money out there, the old system and its ethics disappeared. No one raises an eyebrow today when a student at the same university publishes 10-15 papers or more during the course of his PhD studies. Academic crime was made highly lucrative by HEC’s new conditions.
Like drug gangs in Chicago, a medley of Cosa Nostra style families now controls much of Pakistani academia. Each mafia family boss is at least an associate professor, if not full professor. He has a defined territory, avoids fighting other bosses, and plays the patronage game expertly. Sometimes he has an underboss (chota) who supervises the factory labour, meaning PhD and MPhil students. The factory outputs fakeries that resemble actual research so disguised that you don’t get caught.
The impact on genuine academics — the ones who maintain professional standards and refuse to lie or cheat — has been devastating. In particular, many young ones lose heart when incompetent colleagues race ahead in promotions, receive wads of cash for publishing junk papers, rise to top administrative positions, and be nominated for national awards and prizes.
This scam is privately acknowledged by those connected to university education in Pakistan. I am told that HEC now regrets its 2002 policy but is paralysed by fear of the powerful Mafiosi that includes many university vice chancellors, deans, department heads, senior and junior professors, PhD students, members of HEC, academies of science, learned bodies, and winners of national awards. Some chair committees and make hiring-firing decisions, making sure that no one can rock the boat.
This crime syndicate cannot be dismantled by rewarding teaching competence instead of paper productivity. Judging even one individual’s teaching quality within a single department of a single university is difficult. Preferences based upon religion, sect, ethnicity, and friendships would make such selections meaningless and create new groupings. Similarly, determining who is fit to teach at the university level is controversial. Surely one size cannot fit all. From field to field, and place to place, the answers can be quite different.
But even if there is no perfect answer the bottom line is indisputable: a professor cannot teach what he doesn’t know and has no interest in. There has to be some system for weeding out those utterly unfit to teach.
Whereas ‘knowing’ is not easily defined in areas like anthropology or psychology, minimum (or base) competencies in the hard sciences are determinable. One could exploit the fact that there are plenty of excellent textbooks used internationally which have chapter-end problems and exercises with definite answers. Being able to correctly solve some reasonable fraction of these questions could be one criterion.
Still more robust possibilities can be explored. For example, HEC could insist that all applicants to a university teaching position pass the examination requirements of appropriate distance learning courses (MOOCS) such as those prepared by Coursera, Stanford or MIT. With biometric checking and proper exam proctoring, this may be a cheap, neutral, bias-free assessment of a candidate’s suitability. Local yardsticks must never be used.
It is time to reject the grotesque distortion of priorities and reorient Pakistan’s universities towards their major responsibility and purpose — teaching. Incentivising paper and PhD production has resulted in mega-corruption. HEC’s foolish policy must be reversed even though the professor mafia will bitterly oppose it. Else even duly certified degrees awarded by Pakistani universities will soon have the worth of an Axact degree.
The author teaches physics and mathematics in Lahore and Islamabad.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1342483/pakistans-professor-mafia
Solomon2
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Of Higgs Boson and water-powered cars
Khurshid Hasanain
Khurshid Hasanain can’t help but try and give proper answers to people’s queries on matters scientific. It rarely goes well
The author, as a Physics educator, has often made the mistake of trying to seriously address 'scientific queries'
I have a teacher friend who had a particular technique for dealing with difficult questions in class. When confronted with such a query, he would smile the most amiable of his smiles and respond with “Good question, next question…” and move on to something else. And seriously, there are some questions that should not be asked, preferably not by the people asking them and definitely not at the time that they are asking them.
Every time there is a story in the media about something big to do with science, it captures people’s imagination and they want to understand it. So far, so good. The problem is that usually the answers to such questions are too complicated or so long that the questioner loses interest by the time you are not even halfway through. e.g. a Real Estate agent – who is also an old friend – with whom I was discussing the renting of a house, wanted to know what makes a Higgs Boson tick. He had heard it was the ‘God particle’ and wanted to know then and there what made it so close to the Almighty.
The Higgs Boson particle attracted keen interest in Pakistan, too
A neighbourhood vegetable seller, who was at that time weighing half a kilo of potatoes for me, wanted to understand in the time it takes the scales of his balance to just about level: “Why can a car simply be run on water?” He had heard someone proclaim on TV that he had invented such a car and was sort of upset when I said it couldn’t possibly be right.
The problem with having been a teacher for a long enough time is that you develop a reflex mechanism whereby any questions that are thrown at you simply have to be answered. It is probably some kind of silly, professional ego problem. Not to respond seems like a dereliction of duty or an admission of failure. So I launch into an answer very sincerely and seriously and watch the progressive change in the countenance of this seeker of knowledge and enlightenment.
We start with an initial state where his shiny eyes seem to say “I am thirsting for this knowledge and you are the fountainhead that will quench my thirst” and you feel like Plato expounding in the Academy. However, within the next couple of minutes there is a noticeable change. There is a gradual dulling of the expression followed by furtive movements of the eyes towards the side wall where there just happens to be a large wall clock ticking away. By the time I think I’ve got the basic principle explained, there seems to be something wrong with the questioner’s fingers as they seem to be tapping on the table without reason. The eyes have by now acquired a glazed faraway look.
Suddenly the questioner seems to awaken with a start. “There are a couple of things you need to remember”, says my Real Estate dealer who has so far been engrossed in the mysteries of the Higgs Boson. He has navigated me and my family through several rented houses in the past and knows us all well, unfortunately.
Testing the impossible: a purported test-drive of the famous ‘water-powered car’ in Pakistan
“Your son must not play the drums at 3 o’clock at night, especially at Sehri time. While most of the neighbours really love his drumming, some of them unfortunately are not into it at 3 am in Ramzan. Others insist that there is a professional Sehri awakener who works the street. They really admire your son’s desire to remind them of the sehri time but he really doesn’t have to perform this duty”.
Before I can fully digest this demand, he warms to his subject. “And how is Bhabhi? Aggressive as ever? These Panipat women. Great, great.”
He nods and I notice certain sympathy in his tone. “Give her my salaam. Ahhm… maybe it would be a good idea if she didn’t tell the children chasing each other across the street to lie down properly if they are so keen to be run over by her car. The children don’t mind but some of the parents don’t seem to agree. It takes all sorts”. He shrugs his shoulders. So much for the lesson in particle physics.
As I take my leave, he rubs further salt into my wounds “That was really a wonderful discussion we had on the Higgs Boson. My teachers in school always said I should study science. Even today I continue learning from friends like you.”
The experience with the vegetable vendor is no different, though he has less time to waste and the end comes more abruptly. While I am just beginning to explain to him what we mean by a fuel and why water is not a fuel, and he is nodding his head in profound agreement, suddenly he beckons me towards himself and says in a low voice, “Wonderful bananas. Indian. Smuggled. I’ve saved some for you at a good price”. He then proceeds to bring forth a bunch of darkened bananas that surely must have seen better days. Seeing me hesitate, he adds the coup de grace in a conspiratorial tone: “Very good for the manhood”. This is his final thrust, the masterly sales pitch he makes when he wants to sell the unsalable. I am by now desperate to get something out of our discussion; at least convince him why a perpetual motion machine is not possible. “Oh leave it sir ji”, he says. “You say ‘not possible’, but there is a person on TV who has already built this water car. The CIA will surely kill him or kidnap him, mark my words”. When I protest about the absurdity of the water-as-fuel claim he says “Chaddo ji, forget the bananas. I’ll just put 10 rupees of green peppers and hara dhunya [coriander] with the potatoes. For you, free. OK?”.
Good question, next question…
The author teaches Physics at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU)
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