Power of the pulpit
The power of the minbar (pulpit) in Muslim societies such as ours is considerable. For whatever flows from this source is heard with rapt attention and largely accepted as true…
Foreign investment
Four features of Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s budget stand out. First, thanks to its obsession with reducing the fiscal deficit, the budget fails to raise social-sector expenditure – just when…
Argo: an embrace of US foreign policy
A new political thriller, Argo, starring and directed by Ben Affleck, has earned critical praise and a number two spot on the box office charts for the second straight week.…
The fundamentalist mind
Fundamentalism is a controversial term, ascribed first to 19thcentury American Protestant groups which preached strict adherence to basic biblical tenets. It is now applied loosely to all groups exhibiting broadly…
Overlooked demographics
There are some facts that both news reporters and readers become overly fond of. For example, it is a fact that populations across the Muslim world are growing at an…
Enemies within
The single most important factor that determines the fate of a nation and its state of socio-economic development is education. It is the scientists and engineers that are changing the…
In Karachi’s mirror
That first SMS I received on Friday morning could well have been a good morning wish. But it brought bad news. The message from friend Kamran Arif just said that…
The coming wars
"Changes in our environment and the resulting upheavals - from droughts to inundated coastal areas to loss of arable lands - are likely to become a major driver of war…
Inequality in society
With elections approaching, the usual claims from incumbent political parties of being pro-poor and even ‘revolutionary’ have increased in both frequency and amplitude. Notwithstanding their magnificent promises of ending corruption,…
Changing mindsets
When Sheema Kermani launched her play Zehreela Dhooan, she probably didn’t realise how formidable would be her battle against the cigarette. In this play a cast of eight earnest people…
