A poem by Saadia Asad

                                                       MAN

What is this phenomenon: the ‘man’?

A complication or just a simple Sam?

He considers himself the cause of all

True for him, but for us a vain call.

In wars he goes, to fight it out and earn glory

Riding on prayers and wishes, that’s our story.

he goes out to earn bread and butter for family

How it is spent, that secret we hold on to tamely.

Children, the one he causes to bring in the world

Are brought up straight by us, from a position curled.

In ancient times Goddesses ruled the heavens and earth,

By conspiracy of man, that supremacy was brought out of worth.

Man has physical superiority; woman is superior also in beauty

Each utilizes his and her edge, to fulfill their obligations and duty.

The word ‘woman’ has ‘man’ in it, the composition complete

Man himself in living out this life without a woman, is obsolete.

Woman is proclaimed lovely by philosophers, poets and even saints,

All men, all thinkers: does such a picture a woman ever paints?

Man and woman together keep the balance of nature,

Overlapping, yet maintaining their own personal stature.

For some it might be a cause of perpetual contention

Yet it is as simple as a beautiful, joint formation

As per author, Simon Denyer, the present economic growth in India has increased disparity between the rich and poor and left many disappointed youths with unmet expectations.

“It is very dangerous to create expectations and not meet them,” said Rajesh Srinivasan, Gallup’s regional research director for Asia and the Middle East.The findings also raise the possibility of the sort of social unrest that struck Los Angeles 20 years ago after police officers were filmed beating Rodney King, or the sort of upheavals that roiled Tunisia and Egypt last year, said Jim Clifton, Gallup’s chairman and chief executive. “All you need is a matchstick event,” he said.

To read the complete article click to the link;

http://www.washingtonpost.com/indians-say-their-lives-are-getting-worse-despite-fast-economic-growth/2012/04/30/gIQAFfxgrT_story.html?wpisrc=emailtoafriend

Fayyaz

In Egypt, Salafis who are the most ultra conservative sector in Islam, endorsed a liberal candidate, Mr. Aboul Fotouch, for President who basically believes in separation of State and Church. This endorsement makes him a front-runner. He was a prominent leader of Muslim Brotherhood and expelled recently for his beliefs. In New York Times news  article, some of his statements about Islam and State are very revealing.

“understanding of a verse of the Koran declaring, “There is no compulsion in religion,” which he interprets to mean that the state should not compel people to follow religious rules.”

“Salafi endorsement also appeared to provide an unexpected validation for Mr. Aboul Fotouh’s argument that mixing preaching and politics would be “disastrous” for both Islam and Egypt, as he put it in an interview last week with El Rahma, a major Salafi satellite channel”

“he argued that Egyptian Muslims were not waiting for a president to teach them to follow their faith. They wanted a president to develop their agriculture and industry, as he said Islamic law also required.”

“Among other things, he often argues that the first priorities in advancing Islamic law should be individual freedom and social justice.”

The news article is worth reading.To read the complete article click on the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/world/middleeast/conservatives-in-egypt-back-liberal-to-oppose-brotherhood.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&adxnnl=1&emc=eta1&adxnnlx=1335827066-b44ktLNQCBC5SHVgHKMgJg#

Fayyaz Sheikh

The article was forwarded by Mr. Tahir Mahmood.

It is a thoughtful but very scary analysis. Present Afghan Army mix includes 41 % Tajiks. India has built many consulates and is also involved in training police force. America does not trust Pakistan and would like more proxy influence through India. Taliban and other groups from Pakistan are counting days to grab the pie. All the ingredients are in place for an explosive civil war. The question raised by Mr. Khaled about the funding of Taliban and other groups is a scary scenario for Pakistan.

” Therefore, the blowback from Afghanistan this time will be transformational for Pakistan. It may not survive the ‘fundraising’ by its non-state actors through kidnappings and bank robberies in its major cities. This trend among the state-supported jihadi outfits has been in evidence.”

If we are worried about law and order in Pakistan now, we should wait till  American forces are withdrawn, it may be get even worse..To read the complete article click on the link;

http://tribune.com.pk/story/368057/pakistan-after-the-american-withdrawal/

Mirza Ashraf has written on global perspective of ” Subcontinent Indo-Pak”, and is interesting read from global perspective. The link to article;

http://www.thinkersforumusablog.org/archives/456/comment-page-1#comment-232

The articles are relevant to our next topic of  Forum meeting, “Law and Order in Pakistan”.

Fayyaz