Sorry state of education in Pakistan - by Sankalp Tripathi

i.e. Pakistan's education system. 

Above is a passage from a Physics book in Pakistan’s upper-elementary school. It is really very sad to see religious theocracy mixed with actual scientific facts and truths in these school books. Pakistan faces too many internal threats today but it turns blind eye towards false scientific facts and distorted history - the basis of tomorrow's future, being taught in its schools.

In 2008 an Indian Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, Hemal Trivedi, after losing her friend in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, documented some shocking revelations on Pakistan's current education system in her 2015 film, Among the Believers (2015) . Below is a small clip of the film.

The film encompasses the conflict between two schools of thoughts prevalent in Pakistan’s educational system today - liberalism and extremism, and shows how innocent young minds are poisoned by the religious fanatics at a very early age during their childhood. Such a sorry state of affairs presents very grim picture of the future Pakistan where seeds of future generation of terrorists have been sown at an early stage and this crop is being nurtured with full fanatic belief to destroy in the name of Jihad. Today Pakistan’s internal military operation against home-grown terrorism, Zarb-e-azab, seeks to hunt down the present terrorists but what about future generation of extremists being raised in Pakistan? It's quite surprising to see that all Pakistan does is ban movies like Among the believers instead of being more proactive towards reforming its education system in order to destroy the roots of future terrorism.

Are the British people biased towards Indians when it comes to choosing between a Pakistani and an … by Robert James

I don’t disagree that quite a few people in Britain have a more positive attitude to India than Pakistan.

Watch this brief BBC news clip…

How Azad Kashmir city of Mirpur became Little England -BBC News

The British Pakistani population is not a representative cross-sectional sample of Pakistani society. 70% of British Pakistanis are from a Mirpuri background. What Britain has with a large proportion of the British Pakistani population, is a concentration from one very small area which often continues to set itself apart somewhat from the rest of Britian.

Here's a quote from a British Pakistani academic who lectures in Political Science:

Cultural conservatism… has deepened among many British Pakistanis

Cousin marriage is more common among Pakistanis than among Bangladeshis, as is the bringing over of partners from the subcontinent

- Parveen Akhtar

So, the cultural divergence appears to be deepening - and that leads to distrust. The Indian population in Britain tends to be more open to the rest of society and better integrated.

In this climate of separation, with a high proportion of spouses brought in through arranged marriage with close clan-like family ties to their partner (60% of British Pakistanis marry a Pakistani national, and 55% of British Pakistanis are married to their first cousin), what you effectively have are largely non-integrating communities where the “1st generation” is repeated over and over. There are something like 4.7 children born to every British Pakistani woman, so this is also growing fast.

A lot of British people are quite uncomfortable with this situation, and it is negatively reflected in their opinion of Pakistan as a whole.

22 years ago, this was the big news story about Britain & Pakistan:

Pakistani cricket legend & progressive politician Imran Khan marries British beauty Jemima Goldsmith. Back in the 1990s this is probably how a lot of British people thought & hoped society here would progress - a gradual integration of cultures and populations, but the reality in many parts of the country with the British Pakistani community has been very different. These are the news stories making the headlines now.

A mainstream political rally for a British Pakistani Labour candidate in Birmingham - this photo caused a political controversy for Labour.

A Muslim extremist rally in London arranged by widely hated British Pakistani Anjem Choudary.

Mohammad Sidique Khan - British Pakistani ringleader of the 7/7 London suicide bombers.

This British Pakistani man, Asad Shah, was a much liked and respected citizen of Glasgow:

Mr Shah was an Ahmadi Muslim who had released YouTube videos speaking in favour of world peace. Hours before his death, he posted the following on Facebook:

Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation... Let's follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ and get the real success in both worlds

Then, he was brutally killed in a premeditated religiously motivated murder.

This man, Tanveer Ahmed, was jailed for the crime - he drove from Bradford to Glasgow, stabbed Mr Shah repeatedly and stamped on his head as he lay bleeding to death. He is a Pakistani born Sunni Muslim with hardline Islamic views who entered the UK on a spousal visa through an arranged marriage.

These men, all but one of whom are from a Pakistani background, were jailed for their role in the grooming and rape of as many as 1400 white British girls as young as 11 in Rotherham.

Rotherham: In the face of such evil, who is the racist now?

These are the news stories bombarding Britain today about our Pakistani population. You just simply don't find the same controversy and negativity surrounding British Indians. You could blame the media I suppose, but they could not report these things if they did not happen.

Fear of being branded a racist in a climate of political correctness prevents many British people (especially educated middle class people) saying what they actually think about this, but they obviously do not like it, and soap shoved in the mouth doesn't cleanse the mind; those thoughts will come out more subtly - a detectable preference for India over Pakistan being one of the more obvious.

The most famous British Pakistani at the moment is probably London Mayor Sadiq Khan

Mr Khan is a progressive social democrat who has received death threats from Islamic hardliners in the UK for his stance on gay rights. He is often held up as a good example of a UK Pakistani becoming integrated and playing an important part in society.

However, what most people do not realise is that Sadiq Khan isn't really very Pakistani, his family lived in Delhi, India - only moving to Pakistan in 1947 during partition, as many Indian Muslims did - his own parents moved on to Britain before Sadiq was born in 1970, so the Pakistani connection is a little tenuous.

With Mr Khan becoming mayor of one of the great cities of the world, I don’t believe that Britain is close-minded towards Muslims being part of British society, in fact for many people, the opposite is true.

Its easy to say ‘well, there's a lot of Muslims in London’, and I'd agree, but there are other examples of a more open minded attitude to Muslims than may have been the case 40 years ago. The adorable Nadiya Hussain became the winner of wildly popular TV show The Great British Bake Off in 2015, and has been taken into the nations heart. She has gone on to become popular broadcaster and writer.

She has such a radiant smile - it would be very hard to dislike her. Nadiya is a British Bangladeshi, and now something of a British icon. Its hard if not impossible to find a British icons from a Mirpuri Pakistani background.

This is Natasha Khan - better known as British singer Bat for Lashes. She is mixed race, born to an English mother, her father is famous Pakistani squash player and coach Rehmat Khan and her second cousin is Jahangir Khan, 10 times British Open champion & widely regarded as the greatest squash player of all time. Many owners of a Bat for Lashes record are probably not even aware of the Pakistani connection, and that connection is to Karachi and Peshawar.

Another famous British Pakistani Khan (no relation to Sadiq or Natasha) is boxer Amir - again, his heritage is Punjabi Rajput rather than Mirpuri.

The British Pakistanis I have been friends with over the years have all been from families with middle class urban backgrounds around Karachi or Lahore, and I think its only fair and truthful to say that many non-Mirpuri Pakistanis who migrated to the UK integrated more readily with British society than the numerically dominant Mirpuri Pakistani population.

It is probably the case that the good things British Pakistanis from these commumities do, mostly occur within their communities, and go unreported to the wider society, whilst bad things they do which step outside community boundaries such as the murder of Mr Shah and the disgusting and racist sexual abuse of white girls are widely reported.

This doesn't cast Pakistan in a great light for those who do not understand the strange quirks of Pakistani migration to the UK - and it's fair to say most white British people have not got a clue about this. I first became aware of it from a British Pakistani friend a few years ago.

The UK will be better off as a society in my view if we can find a way past where we are today with better integration, and this may lead to a more generally positive attitude to Pakistan.

Is Hafiz Saeed's popularity growing in Pakistan? by Sohail Khurianwala

As a Pakistani who wants COURSE CORRECTION to happen very quickly in my country,

Hafiz Saeed’s popularity may be growing among the violent and Jihad minded sections of our society and country but it does not bode well for our country and society.

I hate both Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar as well as their financiers and backers - certain politicians and high ranking officers in the ISI and Pak Army.

I do not want to play the Kashmir-Card anymore since it is only causing Kashmiris to lose their lives fighting a formidable war machine which is the fourth largest in the world, backed by the second largest population in the world and an economy which is ten times the size of our economy.

Just like the Chechens could not wrest their country free from Russia, or the Tibetans and Uighurs cannot think of breaking away from China, the same holds true for Kashmiris whose interests are best served if they make peace with India and discourage Pakistani authorities from meddling in their affairs.

I have interacted with Indians in Dubai and I can tell you this - Indian Muslims and Hindus are both very angry with this blinkered attitude we demonstrate, where they accuse us Pakistanis of thinking about ourselves to be the sole custodians of Muslims in the entire subcontinent and being more Muslim than the Muslims in India or Bangladesh.

We Muslims in Pakistan are not the model or template for all Muslims in South Asia. We need to recognize this fact. There are Muslims in India and Bangladesh who are doing well or perhaps even better than us.

We Pakistanis have not done anything substantial in humanitarian terms to call ourselves the custodians of all Muslims South Asia - We have not raised the standards of living of either our countrymen in our country now or in the past and nor did we help improve the lives of our former countrymen - The East Pakistanis and keep them with us.

The one thing that has happened consistently since 1947 is this fact:

Pakistan and the Two Nation Theory has led to the marginalization and KILLING of more Muslims in the entire subcontinent in the name of Islam, in the last 70 years than we can ever think of - beginning with the partition riots of 1947 in both Bengal and West Punjab, where the Muslim League supporters first carried out religion-motivated attacks against minorities in both Bengal (Calcutta and Noakhali) and Western Punjab and the Frontier Areas - inviting - massive retaliatory attacks and massacres against Muslims in both Bihar and East Punjab.

Pakistani authorities were responsible for the genocide of Bengali speaking Muslims in East Pakistan in 1971, the killing of many Pashtuns in the blow-back of the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the killing of thousands of Kashmiris in their futile Jihad against India since the lates 1980s and finally the murder of many Muslim minorities like Shias, Ismailis, Ahmedis and Bahai in our own country.

When will all these killings stop in the name of religion ?

When will we stop financing terrorists who want to cause mayhem in South Asia ?

That is the big question… which all upright and conscientious Pakistanis… each one of us need to address.

It can only be tackled if sane, secular minded and liberal folks like me in Pakistan stand up, shake our fists vigorously at the Pakistan Army, Intelligence Agencies and Political establishment who support this carnage and cry out once and for all.

ENOUGH is ENOUGH ! Stop sponsoring Jihads in our neighboring countries … if we do not want our country to be in the world- news daily dues to terror-attacks like these:

Senior police officers among 13 killed as suicide bomber strikes Lahore

During partition why didn't Sikhs support Pakistan over India? by Ajay Kumar

Do you know what happened to the Kingdom of Amarkot? A Hindu majority region opted for Pakistan. Pakistan which was created in the name of Islam for Muslims.

Footprints: Once upon a time in Umerkot

Pakistan was only for Muslims & India was for the rest, that included everyone who was not a Muslim & also for those Muslims who did not want to be a part of a fundamentalist Islamic country.

Bollywood Playback singer - Mohd Rafi’s family returned back from Pakistan as they understood that a fundamentalist Pakistan would discourage anything that was against its interpretation of Islam.

In the 1970’s, main backers of Pakistan, the Ahmediyya Muslims too were declared as non-Muslims. So imagine the condition of non-Muslims.

In the 1971, Bangla speaking East Pakistan separated from West Pakistan, as West Pakistan considered a non-Urdu speaking Bengalis, lesser Muslims.

So, the leaders of the Sikh community clearly understood that their future lies in a India of composite culture than in a Islamic Pakistan.

Just as Jainism & Buddhism are results of intellectual reform movement in Hinduism in ancient era, similarly Sikhism is a result of reform & Bhakti movement in medieval era. Culturally Sikhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism.

Islam has nothing much in common with Sikhism. Moreover many Sikh Gurus lost their life in the hands of Muslim invaders, who are represented by Pakistan.

Sorry for being politically incorrect, but as the saying goes, one Muslim guy can stay with 10 Hindus / Sikhs, but one Hindu/Sikh can not live with 10 Muslims.

Edit 1: As per the law in Pakistan -

Only a Muslim can be appointed as President.Only a Muslim can be appointed as Army Chief (service Chief), this was one of the reasons for declaring Ahmediyyas, as non-Muslims, to disqualify high ranking Ahmeddiya Muslim Military officers from becoming Service Chiefs. The other reason was Saudi pressure.Only a Muslim can be appointed as District Collector / DM / DC.

In Pakistani Punjab, Muslim Punjabis are a majority, whereas in India, Sikh Punjabis outnumber Hindu Punjabis. Therefore if Sikhs had opted for Pakistan, they would have remained a minority in Pakistani Punjab, whereas in Indian Punjab, they are the majority.

Edit 2: Sikhism & Punjabi in Gurumukhi are inseparable. Punjabi in Gurumukhi is the language of Guru Granth Sahib. In Indian Punjab, Punjabi in Gurumukhi is the official language of Punjab. Punjabi is the first language of education. Punjabi in Gurumukhi is a recognised language of India.

In Pakistani Punjab - Teaching of Punjabi is not encouraged in school or college. It is against the law to speak Punjabi inside Punjab (Pak) state assembly. Whatever little Punjabi survives in Pakistan is as mother tongue (mother speaking to her children). Rest is due to unofficial promotion of Punjabi in shahmukhi (persian script).

Perhaps after a century, Punjabi will survive as a language only in India.

Edit 3: Footprints: Once upon a time in Umerkot

Edit4: For those with doubts -

Who is a Hindu? -

People living on the banks of river Indus (Sindu) & East of river Indus, are collectively called Hindustani, Hindu or Hindi.These people follow a culture, faith, tradition, rituals, costumes, festivals etc which were passed on to them by preceeding generation from the time, when their ancestors were gatherers & hunters. People worshipped snakes, spirits, ghosts, & lord of ghost (Bhootnath).Later agriculture lead to stable village life. People worshipped animal, plants, trees & lord of animal & tree (Pashupati). People worshipped special stones (Vaishnodevi etc). Black magicians were the priest & very popular.Much later, due to excess of food grains, when everyone was not required to be engaged in agriculture or allied trade, some people took part in other work, such as art, dance, teaching etc.Much later, basic literary practices led to higher education, free thinking & knowledge. People worshipped the shedding of ignorance & gaining of wisdom. People worshipped Ganesha.Much later, some of those educated knowledgable guys, questioned the beliefs in God / supertitions / rituals. Much later, this challenge & questioning led to Jainism & Vedas.Much later Vedas were challenged, which led to Srimad Bhagvatgita & later Buddhism.Much later, this led to stories & dance dramas, some inspired by real events & rest based on fiction. Much later, this led to mythological characters being worshipped as deities. People worshipped Rama & Krishna.Much later, love towards certain deities & god, led to Bhakti. During bhakti movement, Sikhism emerged, merging Hinduism with Sufism.

Those who do not consider the primitive / ancient culture, history & rituals of Hindustan as their own, are Non-Hindus. These non-believers include, but not limited to, the present generations of Jains, Buddhist, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Parsis & Sikhs.

A Perfect Reply To Nawaz Sharif On His UNGA Speech

A Perfect Reply To Nawaz Sharif On His UNGA Speech: Hum Kya Yahan Pagal Baithe Hai?

With that green tie, black suit, golden specs, shiny forehead and irrational mind, Nawaz Sharif rocked, surprised and mocked the UNGA with his speech. A speech so well formed that he should be the 2nd person to be given a Nobel Peace Prize for delivering a speech (1st being Obama).

Following are a few paras of the crap said by Wazir-e-Alam of Pakistan, and my befitting reply to him:

“Turmoil is intensifying in the Middle East. International efforts to defeat Daesh are therefore urgent. For this, it is essential to reconcile the divergent objectives and priorities of regional and external powers.”

Before talking about ISIS why don’t you have a look inside your own hut. You talk about defeating ISIS, but what about Taliban, Jammat e Islam, Lashkar, Zarb-e-Azb, Al-Qaeda, etc, which are still actively being nurtured within the territory of the Islamic State of Pakistan.

“After decades of strong growth, the world economy has reached a plateau. Despite this adverse international economic environment, my government has, in three short years, moved the country towards robust growth.”

Growth? Dafuq? You have a total debt of 72978 million USD at present. You represent 0.44% of the world economy. Your average growth rate went from some 5% to some 4%. What a robust growth. Clearly, vocabulary is not one of your fortes.

“Pakistan wants peace with India. I have gone the extra mile to achieve this, repeatedly offering a dialogue to address all outstanding issues.

But India has posed unacceptable preconditions to engage in a dialogue. Let us be clear: talks are no favor to Pakistan. Talks are in the interest of both countries. They are essential to resolve our differences, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and to avert the danger of any escalation.”

If your extra mile means committing ceasefire then let it be. India being a preacher of democracy has posed such dictatorial preconditions to Pakistan. Pre conditions such as “No involvement of Separatists in talks” and “Pakistan should not engage in talks with separatists (who are potential terrorists)”

And what kind of resolution Pakistan wants is beyond my understanding. I know it’s hard but I have to hand it down to you: Kashmir has never been Pakistan’s.

Did it hurt? It should.

“Burhan Wani, the young leader murdered by Indian forces, has emerged as the symbol of the latest Kashmiri Intifada, a popular and peaceful freedom movement, led by Kashmiris, young and old, men and women, armed only with an undying faith in the legitimacy of their cause, and a hunger for freedom in their hearts.”

If by peaceful you mean shooting army personals, then you seriously need to get your degrees rectified once. Burwan Wani was a militant, a separatist, a terrorist indeed. Gulp this fact and live your life freely in Pakistan. (Sorry, freely and Pakistan are antonyms)

“Pakistan fully supports the demand of the Kashmiri people for self-determination, as promised to them by several Security Council resolutions. Their struggle is a legitimate one for liberation from alien occupation.”

Pakistan first needs to fully or even partially support the demands of its own people. Thousands of human rights violations happen in Lahore and Islamabad but all Pakistan is able to see is Kashmir, which is in India. What ya smokin’ mate?

“Today, from this rostrum, I would also like to reiterate our offer to India to enter into a serious and sustained dialogue for the peaceful resolution of all outstanding disputes, especially Jammu and Kashmir.”

What a subtle way to say that you weren’t serious earlier. Well done Nawaz, very Shareef.

“Judged on the basis of objective criteria, and without discrimination, Pakistan is fully eligible for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group.”

Aur hum toh yha Ch*tiya Baithe hai na

“Pakistan has a vital stake in ending conflicts, fostering peace, fighting terrorism, strengthening democracy, promoting human rights, generating global growth and overcoming the challenges of environmental degradation.”

So many typos in his speech. It should be: Pakistan has a vital stake in NOT ending conflicts, NOT fostering peace, NOT fighting terrorism, NOT strengthening democracy, NOT promoting human right, NOT generating global growth and NOT overcoming challenges of environmental degradation.

“Thank You, Mr. President”

No. Thank you for shutting the hell up.

In conclusion I would like to say that ignorance is the best way to avoid an altercation but when it comes to International disputes, it is not. Pakistan could either accept its fate or wait for some one else to make them realize the truth.

That’s all I got from Nawaz Sharif’s UNGA speech.

Speech taken from: Hindustan Times.

Image Source: DNA India

*This was originally published on EconomyDecoded*