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SOS ... SOS ... SOS... WE often tend to forget that every member of a majority community is a minority in some context or when somewhere else. For a segment of any society anywhere, a majority status is only true when confined within a fixed....		The constitution remains silent ASMA JAHANGIR, the courageous exponent of human rights and egalitarian society, takes a characteristically blunt view of the issues confronting the religious minorities in Pakistan, arguing that things had gone wrong at the very beginning....
Neighbouring phobia MORE than 40 years ago, the wizards within the then Government of Pakistan clamped a complete ban on the exhibition of Indian films in Pakistan. The wizards did not foresee the devastating effect the politically motivated act would have on Pakistan....		Of doctors and hakeems Doctors, hakeems and homeopaths, all seem to have failed us. Where are we to go? ON THE lawn of Mr. Prism’s house. A calm summer evening. Prism and Pawn are sitting in their chairs....
The seth and his HR follies HUMAN Resource Management is the in-thing these days. Every seth and wannabe-seth alike wants to be considered ‘enlightened’ and is eager to establish a Human Resource Management department. This is more of a fad, slapping your own face to make it as red as the gentleman next doors....		Attitude is driving us all crazy, folks! I REMEMEBER the exact moment when felt the menace of road rage. It happened recently. Around 4 p.m., on Jail road, a man driving Honda suddenly cut in front of our car. My uncle’s foot rammed the brakes...
The weather forecast THE end of the drought came with a bang. Not only did the recent rains throughout the province of Sindh provided the thirsty plains of Indus with much needed water,...		A state of megalomania THERE was an air of expectancy that something was about to happen. When I was a student at the University of Southern California, I had spent a part of my summer vacation working as a farm-labourer picking apricots....
Desert between the mountains THEORETICALLY, it is easy to get to Skardu. The daily flight from Islamabad is relatively cheap, short and flies over awe inspiring terrain. However, that is if the weather allows. Otherwise, it is the treacherous road trip....		Far, far from the madding crowd SWITZERLAND of 1958 was a place that was out of this world; my world of poverty, ignorance and dirt, to be exact. Not only was it different from my Third World, but England and France were no match either....
What we need is a sensible approach EVERY human activity causes disbalance of the natural environmental equilibrium. Environmental science helps take appropriate mitigation measures to restore the environmental equilibrium....		In search of role models ON JULY 30, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation announced that seven individuals from India, China, Japan, the Philippines and East Timor will receive Asia’s most prestigious prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award. One of the awardees is...
Politics by consensus ALL through his public life (1904-48), Jinnah stood for gradualism, moderation, flexibility and the evolutionary process, for constitutionalism and consensual politics. It is not usually recognized that there exists an organic...		Acts of kindness live forever LET US have but one end in view, the welfare of humanity; and let us put aside all selfishness in consideration of language, nationality or religion. “ I came across these few lines which reminded me of the simple goodness of our Sikh neighbours in Calcutta who befriended our...
Building bridges E.M. FORSTER, while writing to Sir Ross Masood, described his novel, A Passage to India, as “a little bridge of sympathy” between two cultures and peoples....		Bangladesh will test Pakistan HOW often have Pakistan found themselves with a Hobson’s choice? In recent times, they faced this head scratching in early 2001 when they returned from New Zealand with paradise further lost, after England had won a series in Pakistan for...
Confusion and more of it WITH a fresh cricket season round the corner, things at home are not quite what they should have been. Though the PCB and its selectors have already announced the probables for...		Victory stand is the target THE other day, I was talking to national coaches Abdul Rashid Jr. and Shahid about the team’s preparation for the Champions Trophy. It was nice to note that both of them...
A new form, a new phase IT CAN be said that indeed the bulk of capital formation in British industry during the Industrial Revolution was paid for by the colonial tributes. The surplus arising in the colonies was accumulated not at home but in the metropolis.”...		Bury the hatchet THERE’S a lot of talk about the normalization of relationships between Pakistan and India. But will it really happen? One small preview that I got was when we applied for a visa to visit Pakistan this year during...
Raincoats and umbrellas EVERYTHING is time begotten and death destined. So were those dear old raincoats, umbrellas and gumboots which so willingly, endearingly and readily offered protection from drenching whenever it drizzled or rained....		Death penalty THIS refers to The ultimate penalty (July 13). Religion is a fundamental set of certain beliefs, and prescribe a judicial system according to one sect. Whatever they may be, these divine texts prevail in societies like those of Muslims....
MOSAIC: Weather, Aboriginal style WHEN the bearded dragon lizard sits upright and points its head to the sky, it is going to rain the next day. If a flock of currawongs flies overhead you’ve only got four hours to get the washing off the line. If the queen wattle blooms heavily; bull ants abandon their tree nests for mounds of dirt...		Newsmaker THE most versatile dancer of his generation is dead. Gregory Hines, known for his fast moving, tap dancing feet lost the fight against cancer last week. In a career that stretched well over half a century, Hines successfully conducted a career that spanned all the three visual mediums...