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Bureaucratic babbling THIS article is not a plea for the revival of the much-maligned CSP (or its DMG successor). Nor it is an attempt to decry the ongoing process of democratic decentralization, which...		United in demolition REFERENDUM is over. Votes cast. The temporary permanent ink blotted on the thumb. Speeches, rallies, strikes, TV appearances. Over. But remnants of the rampant cloth attack still stand. Billboards with ‘YES’...
From Jogi’s diary THESE are extracts from Jogi’s diary. I am under oath not to discuss him. Jogi cherishes his anonymity. Thus, in the age of high profiles, he keeps no profile. As a...		Despite convulsions, social life goes on CONVULSIONS, catastrophes and terrorist excesses come one at a time, and, at times, together. And, yet, life must go on. Or, as a chorus in Murder in the Cathedral by T.S...
Hitting the PR jackpot I HAD not travelled West since I returned from England in 1953. I had, however, gone East to China and Japan with Bangkok and Hong Long thrown in as the transit...		Proud to be a doctor Throughout my childhood, I saw my cousin in starched white lab coat with her red littmanns stethoscope. With dreamy eyes, I often wondered, if I would be able to own this...
Clinton as a TV host! EX-presidents and ex-prime ministers in the West take to different jobs in order to make both ends meet. The last prime minister of UK, John Major, considered taking up cricket commentary...		The storm of war WHEN President General Pervez Musharraf warned of unleashing a storm if the Indian forces set foot across the Line of Control (LoC), Lahore had already experienced one of the worst storms...
The urban design of Gawalmandi ALLAN B. JACOBS in his classic work, Great Streets, has outlined characteristics of such streets: places for people to walk safely, physical comfort...		Exploring the Karoonjhar ECOLOGISTS and environmentalists are of the view that the future of human being is linked with deserts, oceans and mountains....
Whiteout: the US war on terrorism LIVES there an American with a soul so dead, who never to himself has said, ‘why does the world oh hate us so?’ Intellectual ‘rock star’ Noam Chomsky has the answer....		The world of words I ventured into the world of written word by chance. To be honest, that chance was actually thrown my way, courtesy the carpenters. If you are confused, let me explain how...
The postman HE was just a postman like any other postman, but there was something unusual about him. Of course, he was old like any other old postman. He carried with difficulty the...		Haiko in contemporary Urdu poetry Haiko is a popular form of expression in Japan, but recently, it has become popular in this part of the world as well. In case of Urdu literature, it has been...
Let Europe rise ON the most critical criteria, the European Union (EU) today is a mighty conglomerate — politically, economically, and culturally — with a long overreach, extending its powerful and pervasive influence across...		CHAPTERS FROM HISTORY: Approaches to colonial rule THOSE Asian and African countries that experienced colonialism and its effects, suffered immensely as their culture and history was distorted and reshaped by the colonial powers. After independence, the first important...
POINT OF VIEW: Three poets, three views AS usual, most of the books I have received in the recent months are collections of poetry. I am overwhelmed. I don’t think I will be able to read all these...		Aiming to be on top Down Under EVEN though Pakistan won the World Cup in Australia in 1992, and then it won the annual triangular there a few years ago, beating West Indies 2-0 in the finals, Australia...
THROUGH THE COVERS: Good, but not good enough IN the last column, we had discussed the Indian side of the deal, but inherent in any deal is the existence of the other side, and that happens to be in...		Killing the natural skill THE huge difference in the magnitude of the two World Cups is truely amazing. One can draw several comparisons to highlight the contrast, but, in our own context, none can be...
Smuggled petrol is selling like hot cakes I SEE the tanks carrying Iranian petrol everyday, but I never thought of buying it myself. One day, I finally stopped in front of a point selling Iranian petrol, to...		War: a no-win situation NEW DELHI was the setting of the scene. Outside a modest restaurant, an army of semi-naked people was sitting, crawling, hawking and begging for food. Food was never in plenty for...
The bionic eye NECESSITY is the mother of invention, and much of science begins with speculation. The roots of many an amazing invention lay hidden in some fabled imagination, such as that of the...		NEWSMAKER Name: Hansie Cronje Age: Gone with the wind Nationality: South African Claim to fame: Had the best and worst of both worlds...