The season of revolts – By:Arif Ansar

Excerpt;

But the winter of discontent is still far off

The Arab Spring is now well underway and appears to have spread to other continents as well. Early signs of a European Spring are visible in UK and Greece, and there is an American version in the form of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Meanwhile, Anna Hazare provided a glimpse of how an Indian Spring may look like. The underpinnings of these protests may be different but at a broader level they signify the widening gulf between governments and their citizenry. In other words, hidden in these protests is a modern crisis of the nation-state system.

What triggered these public uprisings is hotly debated. However, in the context of the Arab world and Pakistan, the WikiLeaks disclosures may have played a major role. These secrets revealed how governments are playing a duplicitous role, especially about their dealings with the US. ….

…. Like many other outcomes of the linked and globalised world, these public revolts are also transnational in nature. There appears to be two contradictory forces at work: on the one hand the technological advancements and social media are making the borders increasingly irrelevant, and on the other, worsening economics is causing nationalism to resurge. The future of nation-sate structure is dependent on how it reconciles the pulls and tugs that emanate from within, with those that act upon it from outside.

To read complete article » Pakistan Today

Sindhi-Mohajir conflict serves the Evil Quad

By: Dr. S. Akhtar Ehtisham

Sindhis and Mohajirs [urdu-speaking-sindhis] have been close personal and family friends since partition. I count Sindhis as my best closest friends. We had Sindhi neighbors in Hyderabad. Sindhis and Mohajirs [urdu-speaking-sindhis] had started intermarrying with each other.

Zulfiqar Bhutto was given a leg up first by leftist students who counted Sindhis and urdu-speaking-sindhis in their ranks. I once met Mr Jalal Zaidi of MQM who was to Altaf what J.A. Rahim to was Zulfiqar Bhutto. He told me that the agenda was to;

a) create a middle class urdu-speaking-sindhis organization,

b) oust Jamaat-e-Islami as an effective political party from Karachi, Sindh and

c) develop cordial relations with Sindhis to speed up the merger of both communities as nation of Sindh.

Altaf Bhai met G.M. Syed of blessed memory several times. Talks were on the right track but the extremist element among Sindhis opposed Saeen G.M. Syed. Suddenly, Mr Zaidi, Altaf asked him to retire or else. He thought that dictator general Zia had told Altaf Bhai not to get too close to Saeen G.M. Syed.

In terms of Sindh, it is in their own interest and it is vital for Sindhis and urdu-speaking-sindhis to get together. In federal terms, it is in the class interest of the working class to get together with the working class of all other provinces. At the Sindh level, the Sindhi-Mohajir conflict serves the interest of the MQM elite and Sindhi wadaras (landowners). At the federal level it serves the interest of what I call the Evil Quad of Feudal, the Army, Bureaucrats and Mullahs.

Courtesy: → Pakistani e-lists/ e-groups, Sunday, August 21, 2011.

Japan – One of the most inspiring approach and attitude towards other cultures and languages

Professor Asada Yutaka has taught Urdu language and literature at the University of Tokyo in Japan for the last 30 years. Two years ago he was honoured with the Sitara-e-Khidmat by the Government of Pakistan for his services to Urdu. You will notice that professor Yutaka is speaking better Urdu than the young Pakistani woman interviewing him.

Courtesy: → A Tv, A Morning with Farah→ YouTube

PML-N vs PTI – Exposing each other!

The discussion between Nawaz Sharif supporter v/s Imran Khan supporter starts from middle after 7th minute. The language of the talk show is urdu/ Hindi.

Courtesy: ARY News TV (Off The Record with Kashif Abbasi, 6th April 2011-2)

via – Siasat.pk – You Tube