Robert Byrne The purpose of life is a life of purpose Arthur Caldwell It is better to be defeated on principle than to win on lies Albert Einstein Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value Mark Twain It is better to deserve honours and not have them than to have them and not deserve them
Thinking Response to an Irrational Act – The Charlie Hebdo Affair
Incidents of sacrilege, whether in the form of a Salman Rushdie novel or a cheapskate U-tube video or the Charlie Hebdo cartoon affair, continue to provide grist to the mills of the hardline Muslim clerics, who use it to whip up a frenzy amongst their ardent followers and influence many others along the way. The general collective response is mostly emotional and if the perpetuators…
Togetherness on the High Seas
There was a time in the distant past when men tentatively set sail into the forbidding seas on light wooden and papyrus- bound boats for the purpose of trade and exploration. Relatively unprotected ships laden with spoils rich for the taking posed an invitation to piracy, which wasn’t long in coming. When the time was ripe, nation states like England cashed in on this piracy…
Deceptive Narratives – Proxy War
In the wake of the horrendous attack on an Army-run Public School in Peshawar in December 2014, the question uppermost in peoples’ minds is whether we as a nation can finally turn the tide against this dire internal menace that hangs like the Sword of Damocles over us all. The short answer: yes, we can, provided we can let go of the false narratives that…
A Tragedy beyond Belief
The horrific events of this bloody Tuesday(‘Murder most foul’), which has finally succeeded in rousing the nation from its decades old stupor, contained elements of unimagined brutality and unbelievable valour. It was arguably for the first time in recent memory that such a large scale massacre of innocent schoolchildren was orchestrated without any political objective in mind. On the other end of the spectrum are…
Maritime Power Play in the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean, since times immemorial, used to be an oasis of peace and prosperity, propelled largely by an overt interdependence on trade. Geography too had conspired to make the Ocean what it was, being encircled on three sides by a land mass, while the fourth towards the South was guarded by a natural barrier, the roaring forties and the fearsome fifties. Another peculiarity of…
From Dharna to Ubharna
If nothing else, the ongoing PTI and PAT Dharna (peaceful sit-in) now nearing its third month has raised public awareness about the major ills plaguing our society that people either took for granted or felt too helpless to do anything about. It has also resulted in sharply divided opinions: one that favours the status quo and the other that agitates for change. Instead of the…
Religion and Science: An Uneasy Co-existence
Can Science and Religion co-exist amicably? There is no reason to suppose they cannot, though for some odd reason, the two have always been at odds with each other. The debate that we keep listening to on the subject is between two incompatible extremes: one group holds that the only true and complete source of knowledge lies in the Holy Scriptures and all scientific pursuits…
Maritime Opportunities
Introduction The global maritime industry is arguably the largest and the most all-encompassing sphere of human endeavour. The distressing part is that Pakistan’s share of this multi-trillion dollar pie is woefully inadequate. Those entrusted with national planning in Pakistan never tire of speaking about the country’s central geographical location. Our military keeps discussing our superior strategic orientation. Our economists speak in glowing terms of our…
Quest for the Truth
The fact that a vast majority of individuals who inhabit our planet tend to stick to the religious beliefs of their parents is beyond dispute. A relatively small number do switch faiths: some because they find the new message appealing, some because they discern greater opportunities, some because of troubled backgrounds and some because contrived circumstances force them to. Those who get disillusioned for any…
