Fighting feudalism
Undoubtedly the world has made considerable progress and will continue do so in the future. Throughout the world, people have rebelled against archaic social norms and have successfully shunned toxic…
Perils of cultural alienation
The culture of Gilgit-Baltistan has evolved over the centuries within a mental framework or worldview that is unique to the region. Likewise, the economy, literature, society, music and architecture of…
Imitation and limitations of liberalism
In the aftermath of 9/11, the question about the compatibility of Islam with modernity, or to be precise liberalism, has become the burning question of the decade among intelligentsia belonging…
Intellectual senility and emerging reality
Over the last four decades social, cultural, economic and political developments in Pakistan has become so complex that existing ideologies and theoretical frameworks fail to explain them within their explanatory…
Earth alienation
Any major development in the field of science and the world of ideas leaves an indelible mark on the course of history and human consciousness. Sometimes society resists an invention…
111 Brigade: only the formality remains
Islamabad diary Calling on the army to protect Islamabad, from dangers yet to be adequately defined, is no one-off affair. It is the latest addition to a pattern we have…
The ignored Dardic languages
Pakistan is home to over 70 languages. Some ten of them are widely spoken; the remaining ones are struggling to survive. In the north of Pakistan, there is a vast…
How to select good books
Many readers and aspiring readers ask about how to select good books, as if there is a universal formula that one can apply on books and select the best ones.…
A scholar of peace (Part – I)
When, as a young man looking for guidance, Wahiduddin moved from one source of knowledge to another, he realised that the books of the time were not sufficient. So he…
H M Jafri: a scholar of early Islam
There are not many bookshops in Skardu, but whenever I happen to be there my friend, Aziz Ali Dad, takes me to Soday Books – a compact and fine place…
