Owais Mughal
Yesterday ATP completed its firsr year. A year, that went past very fast and a year that I thoroughly enjoyed. My association with ATP started in late June of 2006; when I received an introductory email from a friend who was very impressed by the infant ATP site. In my first visit to the site, I immediately noticed that ATP was different from any other Pakistani web site I had ever come across. The difference was in the quality of material that was (and is) posted here as well as the unbiased views of its editor Adil Najam. From that day onwards, I was hooked on to this blog, whenever I got chance. Sometimes it was several times a day. Soon I joined the team of ATP editors along with Bilal. I must admit that Adil laid the foundations and did all the initial hard work wheras I joined ATP when it was time to reap the fruit of his hard work.
In the last one year we have made a conscious effort to keep up with our standard of research and homework that goes behind the scenes for anything we post here. We have views on things, as do our readers and we do not hide them. But above all we want to be fair. This is ‘All Things Pakistan’ and it is also ‘All Views Pakistan’ as long as they are presented in a decent manner that also respects alternative viewpoints.
We like Pakistan, we like Pakistanis and we like talking about Pakistan. But this is NOT a propaganda site. When we see something good we want to say it is good. When something is bad that should be improved we want to say that too. Ignoring things that should be improved will be as wrong as ignoring things that deserve to be praised.
Above all we have tried to keep up the tone of our posts simple. We want them to be like the way Pakistanis talk about common things that connect them to Pakistan. Long-time readers will remember that in teh early days the Header used to say “Speaking about Pakistan the way Pakistanis talk about Pakistan.” We still believe in that. As an example I want to present our discussions on tea, fountain pens, cap styles, coins, highways, politics etc which is just the way these things are discussed by common people in Pakistan in drawing rooms and streets. We have also made a conscious effort to mix-and-match our posts across a wide range of topic so that everyone gets to read their topics of interest.
Another thing that attracts me to ATP is the total freedom of choosing a topic here. I’ve been writing here for almost a year and Adil or Bilal have never directed me on any topic to which I should write about. We have tried to give teh same freedom to our many guest writers. As long as it is about Pakistan. We try to write from the heart and so far it has been making connection with our readership who also write their comments from the heart.
Now to talk about the disappointments. One big disappointment for me is that we are still learning the etiquettes of a ‘majlis’ while leaving comments. Sometimes it seems like people are shouting at each other instead of reasoning. Many people who used to write comments in our earlier days are now shying away on fear of being shouted at by those who do not agree with them. I guess we need to evolve as a community on how to be respectful and how to disagree without being disagreeable.
Before keying-off I also want to thank my dear wife who has always supported me in my writings. She herself being very busy with her schedule, has always made sure that I get enough time on my own to write. I also want to welcome Darwaish as our new addition to the team.
Thank you, all, for your continued support. ATP is your own website. Come here often and continue to leave your valuable comments.
Owais:
You first invited me to visit this forum and I have been hooked ever since. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best blog on Pakistan that I have seen. It is active, has diverse contributors and a high level of participation in terms of comments from diverse visitors.
I have particularly enjoyed your posts and the “slice of life” nature of topics they covered. While I enjoy the posts on political issues as well, your posts provide a welcome distraction, interspersing humor and nostalgia with truly informative content.
Please accept my congratulations, on behalf of the entire ATP team, on an excellent first year and best wishes for the future.
Well, i have to say, this is one of my fav websites. Really like your blogs and also like people commenting, and best of all i like the name of your website.Very informative and keeps me connected with my
Pakistan.
Dear MQ:
What can one do to help you incentivize the parents and students? ZJAN
PMA and Zehra Jan,
Your sentiments on educating the poor children of Pakistan are commendable. We are getting off topic, but I think the problem of educating the poor in Pakistan is a little more complex than it appears. (I am not talking of just literacy.) Let me share with you some of my personal experience in this area.
I started a school for less privileged children in 1999 in the garage of my farmhouse in a village. My motives were more “selfishâ€Â? than altruistic. I simply wanted to structure my time — and spend it usefully. I had just returned from abroad, was not hard pressed to look for a job immediately, and thus had plenty of free time on my hands. So, I hired a woman teacher locally, enrolled 19 boys and girls, ranging in age from 5 to 10, who were not going to school, gave them books and stationery, and set up classroom in the garage. Without blowing my trumpet any louder or longer, all I would say is, today we have today 200 students, 10 teachers, a computer lab and a small purpose-built schoolhouse.
Some of the problems we face are:
1. Illiterate parents. Thus no reinforcement of education at home
2. Economic pressures — parents pull out their kids from school when they are old enough to work (child labor).
3. Non-availability of quality teachers
4. School syllabus — too restrictive
5. Parents’ concern about safety of their children. Won’t send them to school too far away from home
There are many more and complex problems, but we need a separate post to discuss them in detail.
Good point, Aqil, about politicians getting enough space in the media laready. I take my proposal on that point back.
All I want is more discussion of political issues here and with more and varied voices.
Every now and then there is a good article on Pakistan’s politics in a less known journal or newspaper. Perhaps Adil can look out for these.
Also, we can occasionally discuss well argued political articles from the Urdu press as most regular blog wallahs only seem to read Dawn, the Daily Times and The News. Even good arguments from ‘The Nation’ and ‘The Post’ are missed.
Of course, on the point about elite not showing respect for the politically more astute “Jahil Awam” you and I are in full agreement.
Dear Pervez sb:
I agree with your point about education. However, please allow me to add that literacy and political awareness are not the same thing. As an example, just check the voting behaviour of educated urban Pakistanis. Many of them don’t even vote, and those who do don’t really demonstrate any greater maturity than the so called “jahil” awam.
I am from Islamabad and have often wondered why the city does not have an elected local government under the devolution system and why Islamabadis are least bothered about it. We love to say that our ‘jahil’ awam are not fit for democrasy and our pet explanation for functioning democrasies for the west is that they have educated societies. But then, why is the largely educated population of Islamabad not pushing for an elected local government? What is their excuse?
So while I fully agree with your point on the need to help others in their education, I don’t think that alone is the solution to our political problems.
While it’s true that most of us ATP valas come from a certain socio-economic background, getting people like BB, NS, Imran Khan etc to post here is hardly the way to make the discussions more representative of Pakistanis. Politicians already get plenty of space in the media. All kinds of statements by them (sensible as well as utterly idiotic) get more coverage than what is actually needed. It is the voice of the so called common man that is always missing and both politicians and the urban educated elites endlessly go on speaking on their behalf with their own assumptions.
Interesting that you mention it, I came to this site through Google news; ofcourse searching for news on Pakistan. Good work guys and keep it up…