The Worst Human Tragedy.

Published in English Daily, Pakistan Observers.

December has always been the most cruel and deadly month for Pakistan. It dismembered Pakistan in 1971, deprived us of a genuine, learned and enlightened leader, Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and now it has befallen upon us the worst human tragedy. Words fail to express the grief on this heinous barbarism perpetrated on innocent school children and tongue and heart seize to produce words of consolation.

It certainly not only is a national but a human tragedy and December 16 would always be remembered as one of the darkest of the darkest days in the history of mankind. There should be no doubts left that terrorism and extremism are the existentialist threat to our survival, the most pressing and formidable challenge we are faced with and are the canker eating into the very vitals of our society.

This incident is a stark reminder to the fact that we as a nation immediately need to recognize our actual foe, shun our differences, realize the sensitivity of the challenges we are confronted with, come on one page and throw away the apologetic attitudes towards those monsters which are not sparing our innocent children either.

It is high time all the stakeholders, be that political elite, security establishment, civil society, media or intelligentsia, revisit their priorities. Otherwise it would be too late and beyond getting corrected. Both the government and opposition are requested to forge a consensus and stand by the security apparatus to shutdown this barbarism to safeguard and rebuild Pakistan, if their claim of rebuilding Pakistan is not mere a rhetoric aimed at gaining political mileage.

TASSAWUR BOSAL

Mandi Bahauddin

Daily Pakistan Observer

December 19, 2014.

THE WORST HUMAN TRAGEDY.

Published in English Daily, Pakistan Observers.

December has always been the most cruel and deadly month for Pakistan. It dismembered Pakistan in 1971, deprived us of a genuine, learned and enlightened leader, Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and now it has befallen upon us the worst human tragedy. Words fail to express the grief on this heinous barbarism perpetrated on innocent school children and tongue and heart seize to produce words of consolation.

It certainly not only is a national but a human tragedy and December 16 would always be remembered as one of the darkest of the darkest days in the history of mankind. There should be no doubts left that terrorism and extremism are the existentialist threat to our survival, the most pressing and formidable challenge we are faced with and are the canker eating into the very vitals of our society.

This incident is a stark reminder to the fact that we as a nation immediately need to recognize our actual foe, shun our differences, realize the sensitivity of the challenges we are confronted with, come on one page and throw away the apologetic attitudes towards those monsters which are not sparing our innocent children either.

It is high time all the stakeholders, be that political elite, security establishment, civil society, media or intelligentsia, revisit their priorities. Otherwise it would be too late and beyond getting corrected. Both the government and opposition are requested to forge a consensus and stand by the security apparatus to shutdown this barbarism to safeguard and rebuild Pakistan, if their claim of rebuilding Pakistan is not mere a rhetoric aimed at gaining political mileage.

TASSAWUR BOSAL

Mandi Bahauddin

Daily Pakistan Observer

December 19, 2014.

A Dangerous Trend

Published in English Daily, Pakistan Today.

The prevailing political turmoil has polarized and divided the already fragmented nation to an unprecedented extent, witnessed ever.

Most, if not all, appear to have taken a clear side. Either they are supporting a particular party or they have grudges against a specific person. Every second person is looking at the other with the spectacles of suspicion and is skeptic about his patriotism, sincerity and even mental stability. The belief in the system is fast waning and the mistrust on the institutions is on a constant rise. And worst of all, media is fueling this fire of frenzy. The sanity seems having departed completely.

Sad enough, the saner voices which already are in scarce number and which in such chaotic circumstances are ardently vying for the safeguard and stability of the system are oft being labeled as neo-traitors having sold their minds to one stake holder or the other. What we fail to understand is that being not a party to this ‘Inqilab’ does not demonstrate that one is with present regime nor by abhorring this madness devoid of any iota of method means that one is preserving the status Quo. It is earnestly needed that an early and largely accepted political solution of this political crisis is evolved expeditiously before it gets too late. Rest assured when boots march forward, the nations step backward.

TASSAWUR BOSAL

Mandi Bahauddin

Daily Pakistan Today

September 03, 2014.

Indian General Election , 2014 .

Published in English Weekly, Friday Times.

India is the largest democracy in the world and the ongoing elections are going to be the world’s largest.

Some 814 million Indians, more than the entire population of Europe, will cast their votes to elect the 16th Lok Sabha in India. There are a total of 543 parliamentary constituencies in India, and the winning party or coalition needs 272 seats to form the next government. The voting process has been divided into 9 phases that began on April 7 and will conclude on May 12.

This voting will take place across the length and breadth of the country, from the deserts of Rajhisthan to the tiny islands in the Indian Ocean. The Election Commission of India has assured that no person needs to travel more than 2 kilometers to cast his vote. In 2009, a polling booth was created in Western Gujarat so that one single voter could cast his vote.

Regardless of the outcome, this would not merely be an exercise of choosing a new government in New Delhi, but the results of the Indian elections will have an impact on the world at large and the region in particular.

Unfortunately, since the inception of Pakistan, our experience with democracy has not been pleasant, and we have remained unable to develop a potent political culture. We need to observe keenly the experience of India and the present developments and learn from our arch-rival.

Fortunately, we already are on right track since 2007. A good number of steps that we can take pride in – including the purging of dictatorial tempering in the constitution, increased provincial autonomy through the 18th amendment, development of a consensus on 7th NFC awards, formulation of an independent election commission, and a peaceful transition of power – have proved instrumental in fostering democracy, revitalizing the parliamentary system, and strengthening national institutions.

However, a lot still needs to be done to establish a democratic culture.

Towards this end, devolution of power to the grassroots level through local election can go a long way in nurturing democratic culture and establishing better governance.

We should wish India a peaceful election and should learn from their experience.

TASSAWUR BOSAL

Mandi Bahauddin

Weekly Friday Times.

April 18, 2014.
http://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/letters-9/

Future of UN ; An Analysis

Published in English Magazine, World Times.

Future of UN; An Analysis