Investing in technology
Knowledge is now the single most important factor for socio-economic development. Countries that have realised this and invested heavily in developing their human resources to the highest possible levels have…
Affirmative action for all
Few case studies are as revelatory of both the vigour and the perversity of Indian democracy as the mass protests in the past week by the influential Patel (or Patidar)…
Ready for war
In 1915, a mother’s protest against funnelling children into war became the theme of a new American song, ‘I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier’. Although the ballad…
MSMEs: an engine of growth and prosperity
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for 99.7% of all enterprises in the world. MSMEs play a significant role towards boosting economic growth, poverty reduction and social inclusion across…
Quality and teacher training
Saadia teaches mathematics to children in the fourth grade in a rural government school in Punjab. In a conversation with her, where she mentioned many challenges she faced (lack of…
Tsunami-ravaged Aceh rises rapidly from the ruins
Rows of new houses and beautiful mosques with glittering minarets give little clue that the sleepy Indonesian fishing town of Meulaboh was the ground zero of the 2004 Asian tsunami,…
Reason & revelation
The nature of the relationship between reason and revelation has been of considerable importance in the context of Muslim societies, though it may be true in the case of other…
Beyond clichés
The Pakistan High Commission in London recently organised a councillors’ convention that for the first time brought together members of parliament and local government representatives of British Pakistani origin. The…
Wayward teachers
In the last few days, I had occasion to witness the work of government teachers at three schools in Larkana district. At a boys’ primary school, a government teacher in…
Refugees help fill gaps in German labour market
Like a growing number of German employers, garage-owner Robert Menhofer has decided to give a young refugee a chance and is lavish in his praise for George Romanos, a young…
