Pakistan Press On Allama Iqbal, France And Pakistani Journalists: New Age Islam's Selection, 13 November 2020
By New Age Islam Edit
Desk
13 November
2020
• Allama Iqbal On Economics
By Dr Pervez Tahir
• Macron, France And Liberté
By Aneela Shahzad
• Who Will Wipe The Tear-Soaked Face Of Sindh?
(Part-II)
By M Alam Brohi
• Journalists Under Threat
By I.A. Rehman
• From Divided To United States — Of America?
By Dr Moonis Ahmar
-----
Allama Iqbal on Economics
By Dr Pervez Tahir
November
12, 2020
Every
November we celebrate Iqbal’s contributions to the idea of Pakistan, philosophy
and poetry. How many know of his first book, Ilmul Iqtisad, or The Science of
Economics, published in 1904. Here are some excerpts from the preface to give a
different flavour of Iqbal.
“The
science of economics discusses the ordinary business of human life and its
objective is to investigate the matter as to how people get their income and
how they use it. Thus in one respect its subject matter is wealth and in
another respect it is a branch of that vast body of knowledge whose subject
matter is man himself. It is an accepted point that man’s ordinary business has
a great influence on his habits, conduct and his way of life. So much so that
even his mental faculties cannot wholly remain free of this influence. There is
no doubt that the religious principle too has been extremely influential in the
spate of human history. But it is also borne out by every day experience and
observation that the business of making a living is all the time with man,
quietly moulding his visible and inner faculties. Just imagine the extent to
which human behaviour is affected by poverty, or put another way, the
inadequate satisfaction of the necessities of life. Poverty has a huge impact
on human faculties, nay, many a time it covers the shiny bright mirror of human
spirit with so much rust that its being is equated with nothingness in moral as
well as socio-cultural terms.”
“Is it not
possible that every individual is free from the suffering of poverty? Can it
not be that the heart-rending calls of those quietly groaning all over the
place silence for ever and the sad spectacle of poverty that frightens a caring
heart, disappear from the face of the earth like a blot on the landscape? To
give a categorical answer to this question is not the task of economics
because, to some extent, the answer depends on the moral abilities of human
nature for whose discovery the experts in this science do not have any
particular method in their hands. But since the answer also largely depends on
the events and outcomes which enter the sphere of inquiry of economics, this
science is therefore of immense interest to man and its study is very nearly
among the necessities of life. The study of this science and reflecting on its
results is particularly important for the Indians, as poverty is becoming a
common complaint here. Due to the lack of universal education, our country is
completely unaware of her weaknesses and again of the socio-cultural factor,
the knowledge of which is judged as a panacea for national welfare and
prosperity. History of man is witness to the fate befalling nations who
neglected their socio-cultural and economic conditions. In a valuable speech
made fair recently the Mahraja of Baroda has observed that adjusting our
present economic condition is the ultimate prescription for all our ills and
our destruction is guaranteed if this prescription is not applied. Thus if the
people of India wish to retain their name in the comity of nations, it is
necessary for them to seek awareness of the principles of this important
science to find out which factors are obstructing the rise of the country. My
aim in writing these pages is to explain in an intelligible manner the most
important principles of this science and also to discuss at places the extent
to which these general principles apply to the present condition of India.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272053/allama-iqbal-on-economics
-----
Macron, France And Liberté
By Aneela Shahzad
November
12, 2020
“Liberty,
equality, fraternity” is the French national motto that comes from the historic
French Revolution (1799). Sadly, just like these slogans barely hide the
10-year-long, blood-soaked Reign of Terror of the revolution, likewise they fail
to warp a pretty face on France’s present imperialistic inclinations, though
France does pose to put up a pretty face anyways.
The French
character of the colonial-era in Franc-Afrique is not worth forgetting. The
massacre of around 1,500,000 Algerians in their War of Independence from France
gives a glimpse of how ‘liberty’ was valued in French mentality even after
World War II. However, the colonial era ended and states got their freedoms,
and ex-colonials became the slogan-bearers of democracy and freedom in the
world. In the new world, France became a leading member of UN organisations,
with several organisations like the International Federation for Human Rights,
the Interpol and Unesco, based in France. The FATF, mandated to combat
terrorism financing, is also situated in France.
With all
this good work, one might presume that a modern and refined state like France
would not be involved in any crime against humanity at the least. But the truth
is a bit ugly. It seems that even as most colonies gained their freedoms after
WWII, those that were under French rule were not so fortunate. In fact, the
bunch of 14 Franc-Afrique states from Mauritania to Niger and down to Gabon,
never really got their independence because they practically remained in the CFA-Franc
zone that was created in 1945. CFA, short for colonies francaises d’Afrique, is
the name of the joint currency that is pegged with the franc and later with the
euro, used in all these states. The CFA franc is printed under the supervision
of the French National Bank and all these African states are bound to keep 50%
of their foreign exchange reserves in French treasury, and 20% more of their
foreign exchange is to be paid to France as financial liabilities, because
France ‘is taking care of them’. According to Dakar-based economist N Samba
Sylla, “the CFA franc is more than a symbol of the monetary system, which is
designed to organise African countries in a way that treats the interest of
French businesses, French government and more generally European businesses.”
With the
CFA, a French ‘financial and economic’ trap, tightly controlled by the French
Ministry of Finance and the French treasury, a highly overvalued exchange rate
of the CFA franc on the colonies of French multinational companies is retained.
These French multinationals have exclusive rights to purchase or reject any
natural resources extracted from the soil of former colonies, like crude oil,
natural gas, gold, diamonds, uranium, etc. French firms such as Avera and Total
control these resources and take them at cheap prices, and only with the
approval of France can these be sold to someone else. For instance, in Mali,
French firm Bouygues controls the construction sector, Bolloré Africa Logistics
controls the transportation sector, Orange controls the communication sector,
whereas the financial sector is controlled by BNP-Paribas.
France has
intervened militarily 40 times in these countries since the 1960s. Moreover,
all these states are members of ECOWAS, a political and economic union that was
made for “African solutions for African problems” but has practically been
dominated by France, who ensures its own economic and strategic interests in
the region. Under the cover of providing security and training, France
maintains several bases in this region. French militarily interventions in the
Central African Republic (2013), in Chad (1986-present), the Ivory Coast
(2002-present), in Congo (1999-present) and in Mali from 2013 conducting the
ongoing Operation Barkhane, give a clear picture of how France dominates these
states.
In fact,
when, in February 2011, Libya was toppled by NATO’s Operation Odyssey Dawn — of
which France was a major participant — thousands of Tuareg fighters that had
previously been part of military squads of Gaddafi’s army, fled back to their
homeland in Mali, and started agitating against the government there. At this,
French forces, stationed permanently in Chad, launched Operation Serval,
wherein 90 missions including 30 airstrikes were conducted only in the first
three days, to clear the land of the unworthy Tuareg. Make a guess about the
collateral damages — of course Mali is an information-locked country like most
of Africa — and the only news agency releasing reports on Mali was the Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
With all
this hegemonic baggage in place, Macron in a neo-Napoleonic air, seems to be
craving for a more global role. First, he steps into the streets of Beirut
after the devastating double-explosion, asserting that he would be “the savior
of Lebanon” and that “France will never let Lebanon go”, only to remind us that
he or France for that matter haven’t been able to overpass the memory of being
the occupier of Syria after WWII and thereby carving Lebanon out of it as a
separate state. It is also notable that the protesters that rocked Beirut after
the explosions literally demanded that Lebanon should go back under the “French
mandate” as if they were the true crusaders of Crux Transmarina, greeting their
Emperor in Outremer.
And now,
Macron has done what it really takes to get the attention of the world — to
become the leader of Islamophobia. Islam “is in crisis” and he is going to
“liberate” it from foreign influences, he said. He criticised those who seek
French citizenship without accepting France’s “right to commit blasphemy” as
“Islamist Separatist” and that he “will never accept that violence can be
justified”, nor can that France’s “freedom to speak, to write, to think, to
draw” be taken away. In essence, what Macron is securing for his people is the
right to ‘hate and insult’, things that are dragging France and the West into a
lethal ‘Christian Separatism’.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272056/macron-france-and-liberte
-----
Who Will Wipe The Tear-Soaked Face Of Sindh?
(Part-II)
By M Alam Brohi
November
12, 2020
Sindh being
in the grip of the self-centered oligarchs and the shortsighted nationalists is
engulfed by multiple threats which are progressively renting asunder its
political, economic and social fabric and rendering its administrative
apparatus dysfunctional. The most disquieting factor is that the informed sons
and daughters of the province continue to ignore the impending dangers to the
very existence of their land as the second big and the resource-endowed federal
constituent of Pakistan. This apathy to their land’s growing woes is
unprecedented and painful.
Sindh has
been politically stagnated since decades. The traditional politicians and the
landed gentry have been strengthening their hold on the political power under
the banner of Pakistan People’s Party since its inception. The circumstances
helped the party frequently capture power in the center and the province of
Sindh. The landed gentry in Pakistan worship the rising sun. So, they firmly
nestled on the party’s perch, discouraging and resisting the emergence of any
political party which could pose a challenge to their political monopoly. This
situation has gone too long in increasing the apathy the educated middle class
has been falling in. This political shackle is to be broken. If left to prolong,
the people would further ensconce into this political bondage and fatalism.
Though the
successive leadership of the party talked of masses, what actually they did was
to strengthen landed gentry giving them political power, recruiting their sons
and nephews to powerful posts and helping them access to the economic resources
of the province from agriculture inputs to irrigation water, bank loans, local
government resources, contracts leaving the common man to fend for himself.
This has enhanced the economic disparity, permanently dividing the society of
Sindh into lower class living under the poverty line, middle class just making
the both ends meet and the so called elite. The economic resources of the
province are also divided on this pattern with the elite taking the lion’s
share, the middle class crumbs condescendingly thrown to it, and the lower
class living with the pangs of deprivation.
Should we,
as a disinterested crowd, see our province being turned into a land of ‘aliens’
or throw the gauntlet down and stand to the oligarchs and their abettors to
take our people out of the dark shadows of disillusionment and despondency
This stale
and stinking system perpetuated by the oligarchs has destroyed the social
fabric of the province with the underprivileged segment of the population
resorting to crimes including kidnapping for ransom, robbery, drug peddling and
theft. They are chased, and, sometimes, patronized by police; their children
remain out of school; their sick die without medical service; their young are
killed in fake police encounters or fill the ranks of religious militants. The
entwined poverty and crime keep creating highway robbers like Paroo Chandio,
Muhib Sheedi and Nazaru Narejo who came to be known as symbols of terror and
fright for the affluent.
Sindh has
never been like this. I feel sad while reviving the reminiscences of political
and cultural ethos and human values that once prevailed supreme in this land
where help came without strings; commitment to merit and fair play counted as
an inviolable norm of life; professionalism and honesty were articles of faith;
politics was a means to public service; political office and public funds were
sacred trust and where it was an unforgiveable sin to think of auctioning
lucrative jobs, promotions and posting to high political or financial bidders.
The oligarchs have defaced and disgraced my land.
An old
colleague, Ambassador Raana while commenting on the first part of my article
says that Sindh needs a dynamic leader to galvanize the silent majority to
challenge the ruling oligarchs. Being from Punjab, she does not know that the
nationalists of this unfortunate province who all hail from the middle class
are divided into many factions. They are so well entrenched into this
factionalism that the idea of leaguing into one political party for the sake of
their land never crosses their mind. Either their political shortsightedness or
the fear of losing their limited political clout holds them back or they have
been deliberately abetting the political machinations of the oligarchs to stem
the emergence of a broad-based political platform as an alternative choice for
voters. Because of their political inertia, the religious political entities
are making inroads in this land.
The
oligarchs have been auctioning the precious lands of the province in mega
cities and along the Super Highway to estate developers. The middle class of
Sindh has no resources to buy a house in modern mega housing schemes being
developed along the Highway or the so called posh regions of DHA and Clifton in
Karachi. Now the federal authority has conceived the expensive project of
constructing skyscrapers on the Islands of Sindh. These schemes will further
deepen the social stratification in the province. It seems some powers have
been following a deliberate policy of changing the demography of Sindh turning
the indigenous population into a minority. That will be the most unfortunate
day for this land and its people.
We are
simply trustees of the lands of the province which belong to our future
generation. What are we leaving for them? The Punjab and KPK are saturated.
Will they go and settle down in the barren deserts of Balochistan? We have to
grasp the impending menace and its consequences which are dreadful enough to
shake any dimwit out of slumber barring dead souls. We are constitutionally
empowered to fight for the preservation of our lands, resources and rights. No power
on earth can deny us this right. They can only mislead us into acquiescence by
coercion, deception and inducement. This is what is going on, and the oligarchs
are aiding and abetting this shameful game.
Should we,
as a disinterested crowd, see our province being turned into a land of ‘aliens’
or throw the gauntlet down and stand to the oligarchs and their abettors to
take our people out of the dark shadows of disillusionment and despondency. The
daring men and women have changed the destiny of nations. Sindh is waiting for
such daring sons and daughters.
----
M Alam Brohi was a member of the Foreign
Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books
https://dailytimes.com.pk/688043/who-will-wipe-the-tear-soaked-face-of-sindh-part-ii/
Journalists Under Threat
By I.A. Rehman
12 Nov 2020
THIS year’s
report on impunity against journalists facing trial by law in Pakistan, issued
the other day by Freedom Network, a widely respected media watchdog, will cause
much distress to all those who consider the existence of a strong and
independent media essential to good governance and social progress.
The report
begins by recalling the regrettable fact that Pakistan continues to be ranked
as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, as more
than 140 journalists and media assistants have been killed in the country since
2000. After this introduction the report notes the emergence of a relatively
new form of persecution of the media, namely, institution of legal cases
against journalists and entangling them in legal battles.
During
2018-2019, the Freedom Network documented 17 cases against journalists for
which it could secure complete data. Cases started in 2020 were not taken into
consideration as it was thought advisable to allow a one-year period to lapse
before determining the seriousness of the challenge. The authors of the report
have found the result of analysis not only startling but also shocking. The
more significant findings are:
The
humanitarian dimensions of the media’s economic crisis are much too evident to
be discounted.
—
Journalists working for the print media are twice more likely to be targets of
legal action than their colleagues in the electronic media.
— Sindh is
a three times riskier region for journalists than any other province or the
capital territory.
— Most
journalists (over one-third of them) are charged with offences under the Penal
Code while another one-third are likely to be charged with terrorism, while
some others may be tried under electronic crimes or defamation laws.
— The most
common allegation against journalists is “acting against state institutions” or
“defaming state institutions”. Other allegations can be “illegal possession of
arms /explosives”, “drug running”, “keeping proscribed literature”, or
“harassing citizens”
— In 15 out
of the 17 cases (88.2 per cent) analysed action was initiated by the state or
its functionaries.
— Those
initiating cases often demanded more than one remedy from journalists. The most
common demand was proof of journalists’ assertion in their reports, followed by
a demand for an apology.
— In the
two-thirds of the cases in which investigations were completed by the police,
only half of them were declared fit for trial. The trial in 60pc of the cases
was never concluded, leaving most journalists without a chance to prove their
innocence. In over 80pc of the cases in which the trial did conclude, the
journalists-accused were found innocent and acquitted. However, 10 out of the
17 cases never reached a conclusion and thus most of the journalists concerned
did not receive justice at all.
This study
leads to the conclusion that during 2018-2019, the law was used more often than
not to harass working journalists with a view to preventing them from offering
the people truthful accounts of happenings around them.
This year’s
report should be read along with last year’s findings that there was 100pc
impunity for killers and zero per cent justice for 33 murdered journalists.
There are no signs that the situation has changed for the better.
Both of
these reports’, however, cover only part of the journalists’ concerns. They do
not extend to the crisis confronting the media houses that has been caused by a
shrinking of their revenues, discrimination in the distribution of
state-controlled advertisements, unlawful restrictions on the circulation of
some newspapers in certain areas, and other insidious campaigns against the
dissidents or vehicles of independent opinion.
The bitter
struggle for survival that has been forced on the media as a whole is gravely
undermining its capacity to help the rulers govern justly and guide the people
to fulfil their unexceptionable responsibilities of responsible citizenship.
Unfortunately, the traditions of civil discourse have been undermined to an
extent that the expression ‘the fourth estate’ itself has gone out of currency.
If there are any people in authority or who have access to it who believe that
a responsible and pro-people dispensation is possible without a healthy and
independent media, the sooner their minds can be disabused of such outlandish
ideas the better for all concerned.
The
humanitarian dimensions of the media’s economic crisis are much too evident to
be discounted. More than 15,000 journalists and support workers have been
rendered jobless, and the process has picked up speed over the past few weeks.
Many more journalists have been compelled to accept unbearable cuts in their
wages thereby causing a sharp decline and deterioration in their services and
lifestyles both.
That this
should cause serious concern to the powers that be is self-evident. Like other
industries, the media industry deserves a rehabilitation package. But media is
much more than an industry, for it plays a significant role in the
dissemination of information, promotion of knowledge, advancement of democratic
values and refinement of culture. To ignore it amounts to disregarding a
vehicle of political development and sociocultural flowering. A holistic view
of the trials and tribulations of the media will clearly bring out the urgency
of a full-scale debate in parliament on the need for a high-powered
parliamentary commission to examine the media crisis in all of its dimensions,
identify the causes and suggest both short-term and long-term remedies.
Tailpiece:
The method of crowd management adopted by the Punjab government has obviously
been copied from the textbooks of Italian and German dictators of the 20th
century. These European dictators used state employees and their so-called
volunteer forces to harass and manhandle opponents and dissidents and used
methods that were eventually condemned across the globe. The kisan
demonstrators were subjected to impermissible violence at Lahore’s points of
entry. They were dispersed by force and at least two of the injured have died.
Afterwards, a mockery of negotiations was staged and an enforced settlement
announced. Such unwarranted and indefensible tactics will shorten the life of
the regime faster than all the labours of the opposition. All those advising
the government to use such tactics or keeping quiet about these matters can
hardly be counted as its friends.
Headline of
the month: Pakistan’s economic difficulties caused by the Pakistan Democratic
Movement.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1589958/journalists-under-threat
----
From Divided To United States — Of America?
By Dr Moonis Ahmar
November
12, 2020
“We have to
stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They’re
Americans. It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature, see
each other again, listen to each other again, and to make progress. I pledge to
be a president who seeks not to divide but unify,” was the victory speech of
President-elect Joseph Biden on November 8.
It will be
a hard task for the Biden administration to unleash the healing process and
transform the divided states of America to the United States of America because
of the mindset which Trumpism deepened in the last four years, based on racism,
intolerance, Muslim bashing, xenophobia and a non-serious approach on dealing
with the coronavirus pandemic which has so far taken 247,000 American lives.
From any
standpoint, the US can certainly be termed “one country with two nations”. On
the one hand, there are people who want democracy, political pluralism, racial
diversity and tolerance as a source of strength for their country. Whereas, on
the other hand, one can observe the segment of American society which is
inward, ultra-conservative, intolerant, authoritarian and unscientific in its
approach. The first nation, which Biden of the Democratic Party represents, won
the November 2020 presidential elections, but the second nation following
Trumpism wants the US to remain exclusively for the white Christian race and
rejects any space for multi-culturalism and pragmatic thinking. The two nations
are so poles apart in terms of their ideology that reconciliation between the
two is not possible in the near future even if Biden tries to pick up the
pieces and attempt to unite America regardless of its structural fault lines.
It is for
the first time in American history of 246 years that an incumbent president has
totally disregarded ethics, values and moral principles of elections and
remained adamant that the elections were a fraud, stolen and marred with
irregularities. One example, close to Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the
election results, is that of John Adams, the second US president, who lost to
Thomas Jefferson in November 1800. When he refused to vacate the White House on
January 20, 1801, his staff refused to accept his orders and removed his
belongings, following procedures. Jefferson, the new president then moved to
the White House. It seems that history may repeat itself after 220 years if
Trump remains inflexible and refuses to leave the White House despite losing
elections. The White House staff will simply displace him because they will
follow procedures and are not influenced by any one.
How the
Biden administration can unleash the process of uniting America and how can he
use his pluses in order to garner the support of those Republicans who are
ostensibly wise and are concerned about the enormous damage done because of
Trump’s rash, unrealistic and arrogant behaviour, not only against his
political opponents but also against some of the senior Republican leaders. The
manner in which Trump ridiculed late senator John McCain who lost to Barack
Obama in November 2008 is still afresh in the minds of people. Indirectly
referring to McCain’s services during the Vietnam War, Trump remarked that
“they are losers and suckers”. Trump not only divided America and the world but
also the Republican Party because senior Republican leaders like Mitt Romney
decided to keep a distance from him. Yet, despite his arrogant and humiliating
behaviour, majority Republicans still side with Trump which will create
problems for Biden in the transition period and once he assumes the
responsibility as president on January 20, 2021.
The journey
from “Divided to the United States of America” needs to be analysed by taking
into account three major realities, as follows:
First,
despite the deep-rooted polarisation which Trumpism deepened in the US in the
last four years, the vast majority of Americans will support Biden for
rebuilding their country and taking America out from the mess created during
Trump’s presidency. Referring to the blue and white states divided on party
lines, Biden made it clear that these are united states. Even the saner diehard
supporters of Trump will think twice before plunging their country in the
vicious cycle of economic crisis, racial violence and societal breakdown which
will end once and for all the US status as a world leading power. If the
American public opinion, which was suppressed during the Trump administration,
renders meaningful support to the newly elected president and vice-president to
cope with serious challenges emanating from the pandemic, economic meltdown and
racial polarisation, one can expect positive results to appear in the first 100
days of the Biden administration.
Second, it
is true that Biden got 75 million popular votes as compared to Trump’s 70.5
million, but the influence of Trumpism is reflected in the Senate which is so
far retained by the Republicans and the House where the Democratic Party
despite maintaining its majority has lost seats. In that case, the level of
polarisation in America which deepened during the election campaign and during
the voting process because of Trump’s allegations of fraud and cheating can
only be reduced if the saner elements of the Republican Party marginalise the
influence of their former president and for the sake of America cooperate with
the Democratic Party in making a new beginning. The US is not what it used to
be a couple of decades back. Proliferation of white militia armed with weapons
and hatred against those who are different is a new phenomenon. Had Trump got
re-elected and served as president for another four years, he would have done
exactly what Narendra Modi has done in his second term by sharply dividing
India on communal and religious grounds and by letting loose the forces of
Hindu extremism, targeting and lynching of Muslims. It seems God has been kind
with America and to the world that the forces of retrogression, hate,
xenophobia and intolerance have been booted out of power.
Third, the
exit of Trump perceived as an icon of white supremacists will also mitigate the
culture of populism in Europe and elsewhere. Right-wing political parties and
groups getting patronage from Trump will now find it difficult to expand their
influence using anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric.
The journey
to severely divide America under the Trump administration has taken four years,
but it will take several decades to repair the damage caused and to reduce the
level of polarisation in the deeply divided US. It all depends on dealing with
critical issues of the pandemic, economy, race and the poison which under the
patronage of the Trump administration permeated deep inside American society.
Divisive culture promoted by Trump also impacted the world particularly when he
refused to concede his electoral defeat and vowed to take the matter to court.
As a result, Russia, China, Mexico and some other countries decided not to
congratulate Biden under the pretext that unless issues about alleged rigging,
fraud and cheating are not addressed they will not render official recognition
to US election results.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2272055/from-divided-to-united-states-of-america
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