Just for one day
No conversation about American literature is complete without at least a mention of Mark Twain: the man who penned two of American literature's most famed works: The Adventures of Huckleberry…
India’s ‘forest of living languages’ grows to 880
A staggering 880 languages are spoken in India, a four-year survey will show Thursday, in the first comprehensive study since the 19th century. This major increase from the 122 languages…
Language and thinking
Education is a much talked about issue in today’s Pakistan. Unfortunately it provokes little serious thinking and even less action. I keep hoping that this talk will turn into action…
On the brink of extinction
I was sitting in one of the classrooms of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) this weekend. The yellow and green room, with white lights and furniture, reminded me…
The lure of linguicism
The term ‘linguicism’ was coined in the 1980s by Finnish linguist and educator Tove Skutnabb-Kangas. She defined linguicism as the “ideologies and structures that are used to legitimate, effectuate and…
Why English again?
Since 1999, when Unesco first declared Feb 21 International Mother Language Day, this issue has received much attention throughout the world. In Pakistan, where the language issue has always had…
End of humanity?
With the gradual and inevitable integration of artificial intelligence, human civilization is undergoing unprecedented changes. The question of whether we are witnessing the final phase of genuine humanity has become…
Came Modi, and there was light?
NOBODY should take S. Jaishankar’s barbs to heart. The foreign minister has to say what he says because his job is to shore up Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s self-congratulatory foreign…
Learning to love
A FEW months ago, I attended a seminar on education where the Sindh education minister was the chief guest. When he rose to speak, a mob of demonstrators gatecrashed the…
Teach the girl child
By most accounts, 2023 seems to be election year for Pakistan. In that case, all political parties will prepare their manifestos and go into electioneering mode. Media, civil society and…
