| December 17, 2003 | Wednesday | Shawwal 22, 1424 |
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In defence of humanities
Where are the parks?
INDONESIAN President Megawati Soekarnoputri’s three-day visit to Pakistan is a milestone event in that it will not only help renew traditional ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, but will lead to greater cooperation in areas that have long been neglected in the past. Already, the two countries have agreed to initiate consultations for a preferential trade agreement that would ultimately lead to a free trade agreement. Indonesia is an emerging economic power in south-east Asia and is seen as a key player in an important and vibrant region. Any agreement that will allow Pakistan easy access to this market on a reciprocal basis is bound to be beneficial to our exporters and other traders. In this regard, the understanding by the two governments to intensify private sector collaboration is expected to go a long way in promoting trade and economic cooperation. Pakistan needs to look at Indonesia as a potential source of foreign investment and the agreement between the two governments is expected to help encourage Indonesian investors to come and assess possibilities here.
While economic cooperation can be a cornerstone in building relations, there are several other areas where much needs to be done. Indonesia is also a regional power in south-east Asia. Like Pakistan, it is a Muslim country that is also playing an important role in the war against terror. Similarly, Indonesia has suffered from acts of terrorism in the past and is also home to some religious groups that believe in and practise a more militant form of Islam. An agreement between the two countries will help them share intelligence and information that should help to check the rise of religious extremism. Both Indonesia and Pakistan embody the moderate face of Islam. Cooperation between the two will help dispel paranoiac impressions about Muslims and Islam in some quarters in the West and elsewhere. Further, with special reference to Pakistan, Indonesia is seen as a transit country by some unscrupulous elements involved in trafficking illicit drugs and illegal immigration. Consequently, over the past few years there has been a rise in drugs and immigrants that end up in Indonesia originating from Pakistan. This unnecessarily strains bilateral relations. Keeping these factors in mind, if the governments of the two countries work closely, they will be able to curtail this unwelcome activity.
In a banquet for the visiting dignitary, President Musharraf stressed the need to build synergies between south-east Asia and South Asia to create a favourable climate for the Asian region as a whole. This is a sound path to follow and with the process of normalization of ties between India and Pakistan underway, one can hope for greater cooperation between the two regions in the near future, perhaps at the level of Saarc and Asean. In this regard, Indonesia should favour Pakistan’s interest in joining Asean in an observer capacity keeping in view the importance this country attaches to developments in south-east Asia. As two Asian nations that are both newly emerging democracies, there is a lot that Indonesia and Pakistan can share. Such cooperation is mutually beneficial and needs to be strengthened, with the onus on the two governments to now follow up on the understanding reached between the two sides on matters of common interest.
SPEAKERS at a seminar in Islamabad the other day have correctly pointed out the neglect of social sciences and humanities in institutions of higher learning. Studying history, anthropology, sociology, psychology, music, art, literature or economics for that matter can be extremely rewarding since subjects like these have the potential to not only provide academic knowledge but can also play a vital role in the development of one’s personal character, outlook and attitude. A grounding in the humanities not only provides knowledge and understanding of the past but also enables an individual to better appreciate the finer points of civilizations and societies other than one’s own. It also can teach some lessons in ethics, sharpen one’s analytical and reasoning abilities and help in the formation of interpersonal and communication skills. A doctor equipped with all these in addition to the knowledge of medicine is more likely to make a better doctor than one who had no exposure to humanities or the social sciences.
The crucial role that such subjects can play in the fuller development of human faculties and traits of mind that are vital in the wider social context should not, therefore, be underestimated. Unfortunately, Pakistan lacks a strong base in either the social sciences or humanities and, worse still, interest in such subjects is constantly on the decline. The quality and quantum of research and the interest at the graduate and postgraduate levels in these fields is next to nothing, although much the same can perhaps also be said of the natural sciences. The government, the ministry of education or the Higher Education Commission are not entirely to blame because as a society we tend to place a lot of premium on the study of so-called “professional” subjects like medicine, engineering, business studies or, as the trend is these days, information technology. This is not to say that such academic pursuits should be abandoned but rather that studying them should not mean exclusion of other equally valuable subjects like sociology, literature or music. The government and administrators of private sector institutions should consider adopting a minimum level of humanities and social science courses for students enrolled in professional degree programmes.
PRESIDENT Musharraf’s lament over the lack of coordination among government departments in Karachi rings very true. This problem has resulted in a delay in the implementation of the Rs29 billion development package for the city. Two of the most glaring examples of this are the central recreational parks promised to the people of Karachi by the president. Both these parks remain undeveloped with no sign of any effort being made to build either of them in the near future. One of these is to be developed at the site of the old Sabzi Mandi and the other is to be located at the Gutter Baghicha. The old Sabzi Mandi site was handed over to the army authorities in 2001 for developing it into a park. For the other park, the promise was to free the area of encroachments and develop it into a recreational park. President Musharraf had promised that both these sites would be turned into exemplary parks by the army authorities as a gift to the people of Karachi. This has not materialized yet. What is happening instead is that encroachers have started appropriating parts of both parks gradually with the rest of the land being used for dumping garbage.
The government needs to wake up to this and take action at the earliest. As it is, Karachi has very few parks and recreational grounds. This is largely because many of the amenity plots designated for the purpose at the planning stages of the city’s were converted into residential or commercial plots by successive governments and sold off. This has caused a civic deficiency that must be removed as much as possible. The old Sabzi Mandi site is expected to be extended once the Karachi Central Jail is shifted to another location. All this can happen if work begins on the available site straightaway and the task is completed without further delay or prevarication.