From oligarchy to Technocracy

Among the champions of democracy, the United States of America believes that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, as it was defined by the American president Abraham Lincoln in the latter half of 19 century. But when we look around the elections 2024 in the USA recently, we can see that the elections have been dominated by the wealthy and technically very strong people like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, who are technically expert and owners of billions of dollars and are seen attempting to establish technocracy. This calls for an attempt to understand what democracy has become overtime in the 21st-century that instead of the significance of peoples’ vote to elect the ruler it is the money and the power that makes the people elected or selected for the government and this is happening in almost around the world. During my childhood, I used to listen in my village that the villagers would vote for that person or party who will be voted by the elder of the village. So, the contestants of elections would meet and visit the village elder instead of the people. It meant that a successful connection with the elder of the village or the tribe can ensure the victory of the contestant. Here again the common man and the word of the common man was not significant. 

It was expected in the 21st-century that the information and awareness spread far and wide would make it possible that the people may be able to elect their representatives on their own responsibility and without taking care of the dictates of the elder or the bigger people of the town. But the 21st-century awareness has only changed the mode of this type of election engineering and has not resulted in the change because of the vote of the people. If one just looks at the globe and its politics on the globe one can see that the biggest democracies in America and Europe are also getting their leaders when a particular type of people support them who have a big sway on the assets and the working of different technical corporations. These are the modern as well as very wealthy technical oligarchs who hold the hugest possible amount of money in their bank accounts and therefore can manipulate the vote psychology of the people and make their desired candidate win the election. These are the movers and shakers of the working of democracies almost in every wealthy country. This syndrome of technical corporations has entered the democratic lives of the people in the less developed countries as well. If you look around the elections in 2018 and then in 2024, it is quite evident that the election contesting candidates could win their seats if they were supported by the wealthy and the rich donations of these people in Pakistan. These people have a sway on the funding and can change the psychology of voting people at least if not by buying the vote with money. There have been some examples of giving gifts to the people, offering food to the people and promising for the jobs and hence attempting to buy the favors of the people to win the election. This amounts to buying the boat with power of money instead of convincing the people for their votes with their performance. It means the more money and the power one has; the more are the chances to become the premiere of the country. Moreover, if we tend to look around us in Pakistan, we can see that most of our rulers or the elected representatives come from elite families and almost continue to do so throughout their life and after them their next generation begins to gear up for becoming the ruler of the country in the same fashion even after the passage of decades of years. 

Although Pakistan does not have the rich technical corporations and their experts the way American and European democracies have but in Pakistan also there are the rich and the powerful people who can or have the capacity to manipulate and exploit the vote of the people. In American and European democracies, the mode seems to be the winning of the election based on the corporate supports. These corporations are, with respect to their money technical expertise and their public holdings, so strong that they can play a major role in the winning of the elections by their favorite candidate, probably to win back there spent money along with the profit from the policies of the elected government. This may be right, or this may be wrong but the fashion of the democracies in 21st-century is going to be government of the corporates, for the cooperates and by the cooperates. 

Representing the Marginalized

 

            In his world-famous critique of ‘Orientalism’ Edward Said declared that the marginalized (colonized) cannot represent himself and must be represented by the Colonizer which is never fair because it is the representation from the point of view of the master, not that of the marginalized. The same was critiqued by Ashcroft in his book ‘Empire Writes Back’, when he said that the marginalized has adopted number of ways and means to use English language to reflect his resistance to the master and to attempt to represent his culture and identity as far as possible. But the same issue was repeated with emphasis by Spivak that a subaltern cannot speak and even if he does, no one listens to him. Although these instances are from the postcolonial literary scene, but the analogy holds good about the sociopolitical situations all around the globe, especially about the democracies in the third world.

 

            Democracy is defined as the government by the people and for the people and is meant to represent the common man with the focus to increase the middle class and reduce the lower and upper class. But in the third world democracies, only the middle class is decreasing, while the upper and lower classes are increasing. The expansion of the lower class means that the people in such democracies are not able exercise their right to develop and progress as they are poorly represented because the representatives elected are mostly from the upper class and so, like the colonial master, they cannot represent their toiling masses in the true sense of the world. So, that is why, government after government comes and goes, election after election takes place but the lot of the people remain the same.

In the poor countries, the Assemblies are full of public representatives who are mainly from the elite class of the country and so all legislation done is the representation of the Elite, not for the proletariat. Consequently, the Proletariat are not represented by the legislature and nor can they represent themselves. In a country like Pakistan, where local democracies are also not functional, the poor and destitute feel even more underrepresented. The same is the case with the social set up where the poor don’t have a voice and so all schemes launched are for the benefit of the upper-class systems. One of the examples is the raise in the salaries of the elite multiple times and the cuts, decrease and taxes added in the income of the poor and the middle class.

This is reflective of the ancient and old kingships and the ruling dynasties where the people were of two types only, i.e. the king and his associates while large number of people on the other hand were simply toiling more than their capacities to generate revenues for the king and his party. The same is the case with the modern day capitalism where the resources are controlled by a few capitalists and the huge number of people have to sell their labor at the lowest possible rates to earn a few pennies and these pennies too they spend to procure his day to day needs and consequently the profit of the capitalist only increases because of the difference in the value of the commodities and the toil of the labor. The extraordinary difference as compared to the purchase value of commodities again stays in the pocket of the elite, as is put forwards by Karl Marx in his critique of the capitalistic system, titled as ‘The Capital’.

This should not have happened in the modern world as here kings have no space to live because people have rights, and they can speak their rights through representatives. But the masses and the poor don’t have their voice and have no way to raise their voice, and even if they try to raise their voice, no one is willing to listen to them. In the absence of their voice being heard, they remain unable to represent themselves and hence no progress takes place, and the existing system keeps on running backwards instead of forwards. So, the need for the hour is that the people must be represented, listened to and allowed to raise their voice because by doing so one can establish an egalitarian state in which all classes are entitled to receive their rights. This has become even more necessary in this age of ours because of the machine technologies like Artificial Intelligence which are already threatening humans to go jobless and so penniless because the rich can make these machines to perform their tasks of earning profits without paying the least amount to any of the workers. The sociopolitical, religious, ethical and cultural dynamics all demand that their must be a well-defined, protected and implemented plan to preserve the rights of the toiling masses which can be secured only if they are effectively and adequately represented

Off Days are Blessed Breaks

The universal fondness for days off is deeply rooted in Pakistan’s cultural and social fabric. While people everywhere cherish a break from work, several unique factors make this sentiment particularly pronounced in Pakistan. Besides cultural context, there are family connections, climatic conditions, and centuries old love for relaxation from work and assumption of power feeling of breaking the routine. Pakistanis generally have a positive and celebratory attitude towards holidays, but the approach varies depending on the type of holiday. There are religious Holidays like Eid-ul-Fitr,  Eid-ul-Adha, Ramadan and Muharram. Then there are National Holidays like 14th August and 23rd March. This is followed by cultural holidays such as Basant (Spring Festival). Christmas, Holi, Diwali, and other holidays are celebrated by Christian, Hindu, and other minority communities with cultural flair. This article is more about the casual holidays that prompts us to take an off from work or office. 

There several reasons of feeling tempted to an off. Pakistan experiences a diverse and often extreme climate, from scorching summers to freezing winters in certain regions. Days off offer a respite from harsh weather, allowing people to stay indoors, relax, and avoid the discomfort of the elements. This downtime becomes especially valuable during the more challenging seasons. As for example, Fridays hold spiritual significance in Islam, serving as a day for communal prayers and reflection. Many Pakistanis use this day to focus on their faith and spend time with family. Such days off not only accommodate religious practices but also provide a sense of peace and purpose. 

Furthermore, the harsh climate and the rising expenditure of life also tempts the men to reduce or to avoid commuting from and to the workplace and to save the fuel. These days traveling to the workplace by public transport has become really an issue because most of these vehicles are outdated and do not save the travelers from the harsh climatic conditions. Moreover, the condition of the roads, smoke, and pollution on the roads also makes one feel shirking from travelling to reach the office. The rising cost of living and the prices of the fuel also tempt human beings to save money and not to travel to the workplace. Besides the workplaces have also become congested, too much authoritative, the non-affordable working style, the problematic situation around associated with the harassment of men and women also makes it difficult to attend to the work or temps the workers to go on leave instead of being regular at work. 

At the individual level, psychologies also play huge role in it. This brings a great feeling as well when the system wants to keep the personnel engaged and one can deny it by offering some lame excuse of being ill disposed. This also lends an air of superiority to those who don’t dare defy the system. This brings a feeling of power one may claim to exercise one’s will instead of following the dictates of others. Besides socio-cultural rational behind work shirking, there are physical reasons also. In the hot climates areas of Pakistan bodies are lazy and not strongly built to compete the harshness of life. It is considered by many to avoid the drudgery of life and prefer the comfortable home environment.  This also lends freedom of gossip at longer intervals with friends and family which again provides a pleasure of lifestyle, sometimes to settle the scores and sometime to engage in the extended family dialogue.

Besides, there are technical issues also. In today’s work world in the 21st-century the rapid introduction of AI tools and the computerization and digitalization of working environment is creating hurdles for the traditional workers and so they have lost interest in their work and the workplace. Only the people who are interested in digital work and are ambitious enough to use AI tools to facilitate their work and to reduce the hard working and create interest in the work, are feeling interested in their work and happily the commute the difficult way to their workplaces and attend to their work. Not only this one more emerging factor has brought new situations and trends before us. This new situation is related to the private ventures where the working environment is good and also tempts one to take interest in the work alongside the regularity and punctuality. The public sector institutions could not develop this environment and so there are problems of casual leaves and of not getting interested in work. But in case of private ventures the same people do their work honestly regularly and with responsibility and enjoy the off days which are permitted by the system only.

The love for days off in Pakistan is a blend of cultural, religious, and personal values. Whether it’s cherishing time with loved ones, participating in vibrant celebrations, or simply finding solace in a break from daily routines, these moments are deeply treasured. In essence, days off symbolize more than just rest—they reflect a way of life that prioritizes connection, celebration, and well-being. In Pakistan, like elsewhere, achieving a healthy work-life balance is a priority for many. Days off serve as a vital chance to unwind, recharge, and engage in personal interests or hobbies. This balance not only enhances productivity but also promotes mental and physical well-being, making these breaks an essential part of life.

Teaching in 21st century

 

Education Next!

Now when Artificial intelligence has gained ground everywhere, the modes of education also need to be revised. Now the teacher no more needs to read books and make notes for the classes because all these notes are available all around and more can be had by the giving a suitable and good prompt to the chat GTP. Now, in 21^st century lectures, elaborate slides and a large variety of notes are not required because all this available prepared. learner can summaries, get significant information and the analysis of the same as well. So, what should the classroom do now. Now, the classroom should not be a place for lectures rather it should be a place of open discussion forum under the guidance of the teachers. However, classes based on practical skills are to be done in the laboratories. Similarly, the classes based on research are also to be completed in the research labs. It means that classes which are based on theory are mostly to suffer the burden of artificial intelligence. Although the benefit can be achieved at the level of practical as well as research-based classes by using AI yet most of the time this is the theoretical lecture-based classes which are to bear the burden of AI.

Now what should the authorities of the universities and colleges do? Should they shut down these institutions? No. There is no denying the fact that the teaching methodologies are to be changed as these have evolved throughout the ages. The same thing would be done with these teaching methodologies in the age of artificial intelligence. The classrooms are required to be turned into smart classrooms with a fast Internet connection and the availability of computer screens for each and every student or the tablets or laptops in the classroom so that they can navigate the Internet in order to find the answers to their questions and the solutions of their problems with the help of AI. On the other hand, the teachers need to be trained so that they are well versed in the art of computing as well as using artificial intelligence so that they can guide their students perfectly in order to achieve targeted education. The teachers must be able to provide knowledge about the prompt-giving skills of the student so that the right question can be put and the right answer can be obtained. Once the students have given prompts to AI to obtain the answers to their queries as well as to their problems, all these should be connected in order to discuss them one by one. The discussion would evolve into ultimately final opinion which may be broadly based on the topic and that can be discussed even more to achieve a consensus. Once the consensus is achieved the students would be required to undergo a kind of creative activity so that one may be able to generate a similar kind of situation which was under debate or under focus. Finally, the teacher should come forward to provide his own opinion about the knowledge shared and generated so that the students may also find it feasible to follow the same knowledge.

The goal of achieving the highest level of knowledge with the help of artificial intelligence cannot be realized unless we provide our students with the required tools or computers and a fast Internet connection which is most of the time not possible everywhere. For example, we have seen that in certain areas the Internet connection or connectivity is very poor, and buying internet related tools becomes difficult. In such a situation the digital divide happens to exist between the countries who have such facilities and the countries who do not have such facilities. Pakistan is one such country where although a lot of progress has been made in the field of computer science and information technology but still much more must be done in the far-flung areas of Pakistan. That digital divide won't enable all Pakistan students to achieve the level of efficiency and proficiency in the uses of artificial intelligence. So, a hybrid type of education system can be made available or can be used in order to access the knowledge created and generated by the internet through artificial intelligence. This can be done by holding the class in person for 3 days a week and the remaining half of the time may be used by all the required people for learning with the help of artificial intelligence. This however should be taken as a temporary arrangement because ultimately the countries like Pakistan have also to shift to such type of coaching, teaching and management of classroom where artificial intelligence should be playing its role because we must go with the world. We cannot deny going with the world and that is why it would be always up to some extent necessary that we also employ artificial intelligence in our classrooms without fail.

Drill emphasis is Language learning!

The modern-day fiction The Centre by Aysha Manazir Siddique emphasizes the drill technique to make sure the learning of any language in the world, which in this world of seems like a magical realism because we have innovated many new ways and means of teaching any foreign language ranging from psychological to social ones. The novel may exhibit many other themes like cultural context, romance and the heinous dimension of human life which at times looks more like cannibalism and of attempting to create a brand new cult based on language learning where people may join for learning languages but were convinced to be loyal and very few of them are tempted to join and become a part and part of the larger than life scheme of surviving forever young by making the people surrender to them physically. But the fictionalized technique of learning languages is equally the center of the story.  This fictionalized technique in the novel is however a little different even after being a drill for learning. In the novel, the institution ‘The Centre’ is a secretive place shared by only those who are proven die-hard supporters. The center gives admission at a very high cost and is situated in a secretive place which is not mostly visited by all and sundry. In the centre, the candidates are provided with all kinds of lodging, dining, and sitting facilities in the best possible manner. The candidates learn language while they listen to the recorded stories of the teachers. The learner is required to take fully concentrated lessons of three hours with headphones on the head and nothing to disturb him. There learners spend a maximum of three months and if they are sharp and intelligent, they spend just 15 days to become fully versed in speaking, listening and using that language for communication purposes. The basic technique therefore is drill of listening, be it Russian, Japanese, Urdu or any other, the learners do the drilling and become well versed in any language. 

In the story, the male and female protagonist both become experts of multiple languages by attending this institution. Though apparently it seems implausible because the drill technique is considered old, drab, and boring. But it is a fact that this technique of drills has been successfully implemented. In China, for example, many schools of English language teaching used the technique of gathering the large of number of people in a big hall and the instructor made them drill the words, phrases, and short sentences that can be used to simple conversation of messages. Many teachers practiced the drill method in the schools without teaching facilities like that of A/V Aids. This has been practiced by many teachers in other subjects also like tables, counting and remembering terms. This may sound not so modern but it is exactly as per the nature of human beings. They learn many things when these are repeated multiple times. 

Two famous theories have supported this theory as well under the umbrella of mentalism and behaviorism. The mentalists, like Noam Chomsky, believe that each human being is equipped with some natural software in the minds of humans which is triggered as soon as some linguistic patterns come across and if it is repeated, the mind absorbs it and uses it for upcoming any chance of communication. The behaviorists, who may not believe in the existence of LAD in human mind think that humans absorb language because of the habitual behavior or if they constantly undergo such happenings which may be repeated over time, so, as such language is learned. This is also true in the sense that if a language is drilled, I mean spoken, among the people, humans tend to forget such languages and instead begin learning and adopting other languages.   

Over time many new ways of teaching language skills have been introduced and some of these are working well. For example, Task Based Learning helps increase learner’s language competence. Similarly, Total Physical Response theory employs physical techniques to help learners acquire language and hence it is more enjoyable and less stressful. Then, is the Communicative Approach and Natural Approach helps increase the communicative aspect of language in real life situations, which is done all in natural way. Another way of learning a foreign language is an audio-lingual method which is based on behaviorist psychology that employs repetition and reinforcement via activities of drilling, dialogues, and pattern practices.

So, at the end of the day, if we analyze all the methods of teaching, learning and acquiring foreign and second language learning, human faculties of absorbing language are utilized at the base. So, the method told in the novel, The Centre, may be fictional but is workable for acquiring any language and can be practiced as a method of teaching language non-formally and may be made even affordable by improving its functioning and feasibility. Who says today’s fictional science of teaching may become a reality like many other concepts of science fiction introduced by imaginative writers.

Rising Pollution and Population!

The recent ban on opening of schools and colleges and advising them to conduct education online proves that we are always ready to shut down anything which can be problematic for us. But this is not the solution of the problem because there are multiple reasons and multiple issues related to this. Not only the businesses shut down but also the people get sick and ill because of the harmful effects of this fog or smog. And, therefore, it needs to be discussed and debated at a very large level so that multiple solutions could be found and the debate me give the solution about the rising issues relevant to this. For example, when a business is closed not only the business owner suffers the laws but also the people who are associated with that business, they also suffer losses. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that we should reach the root cause or some root causes of this smog so that we may be able to find some curable workable and liable solutions.

Multiple reasons are being quoted by the government authorities as well as by the experts of this type of weather condition, but no one is paying any attention to the rising population of Pakistan. The graph of the population with respect to the sources has long been adversely or indirectly proportional to each other. Which means that the sources are depleting, and the population is increasing very speedily and as a result and consequently we need to put more effort we need to burn more fossil fuel, and we need to arrange extra ordinary food for such a large volume of population. This rising level of population does have its impact in the rising of temperature of the Earth as well as inviting suffocating air in the shape of Smog in major cities of the world. Imagine the number of young people who are born and become members of the society. All these people need more and more motorbikes as well as the motorcars and if they don’t possess any of such things they need more buses to travel on the roads and consequently there is more of the exhaust of harmful gases into the environment because of rising population of young people and consequently rising number of vehicles by such people. It means more the number of vehicles on the roads the more is the Content which converts this fog into smog and harmful effects of all these things. Imagine if we had made a concerted efforts in order to control our population we may need for lesser number of these vehicles and the use of fossil fuel and the environment would definitely be not only less hot in temperature but also very little contribution into making it worse. 

The time has come that stringent or strict measures must be taken in order to get rid of or reduce the impact of this poisonous smog. If the number of vehicles on the roads in the major cities can be controlled or can be rationed it will be possible to reduce the smoke in the environment by 50% like the city of Singapore who have a band the entry of motorcars for at least two days into the city roads. Consequently, they were able to keep their city as clean as possible. The the same maybe practiced in Pakistan not only by rationing the use of fossil fuel but also by converting all the motorbikes and rickshaws on battery operated Electric vehicles because that has proven to be the best way of preventing the occurrence of such phenomenon as that of smog. Not only does the city government must arrange buses to run on electricity and they should carry maximum number of computers to and from their workplaces that can result into production of polluted Content in the air.

Besides these mayors we need to introduce some plans for the control of population it is. It is said that either the population should be controlled or some measures to increase the available resources. Now in Pakistan, we may not be able to increase the resources. The sole solution is that we may be trying to reduce our population or at least attempting to control it because it is the only way through which number of environmental financial social and health issues can be cured. The need of the hour is also to plant as many trees as possible because plantation is the best way to reduce this carbon effect in our environment. But the plantation of trees must not be restricted to educational institutions only. We may look where the trees are needed to be planted and water can be easily supplied to these to maintain their health and proper functioning. This can be very useful if all the country is dotted with the presence of trees as it would help us reduce or control this pollution up to some extent. To give a better future to our next coming generations, we need to work on the rising temperatures pollution and especially the rising population. When we all join hands in not only doing preventive measures but also introducing revolutionary and innovative ways and means to control this rising poison in the air, we will be able to provide our next coming generations with a better future and be a better environment.

Book Review: The Centre by Aysha Manazar Siddiqui

 

21^st century cannibalism

There used to be movies and fictional tales about human flesh Eaters in the past. Many of them were about interaction between the Whiteman of Europe and the African tribes to show dexterity and prowess of the Whiteman. The tales mostly reflected the Whiteman being caught and tied near a fire cauldron where he was to be boiled and eaten or he was tied above burning wood to be roasted and eaten. The savage tribe along with their leader danced and raised strange voices to show their happiness. Sometime a white woman was also included. But all these movies had one sure outcome that the savages could never eat the victim who was saved right at the nick of time. Besides these fictional tales, occasional news about human flesh Eaters occurred and died. A few movies were also developed about civilized humans eating the flesh of their dead fellows when they were lost in an unknown part of the world because of a plane crash or ship crash. But this practice was never found or reported.

The recently published novel ‘The Centre’, y Aysha Manazar Siddiqui looks like an extension of all the fictional tales in the sense that humans eat the flesh of their fellows in an organized and well-planned way. And the beauty of the whole system is that the organization secures the consent of the body while alive. The author has very intelligently interwoven the subjects of language learning, the intercultural marriages, and the life of women migrants living as Diaspora in advanced civilizations of the world. The Centre is the central place where all subjects link up together. The Centre is the name of a beautifully constructed old building from outside yet from its inside it is converted into a hostel type of building where not only the classes of teaching English are held but also other activities go on. This is a secret place, and no one knows about it because the agreement is signed between the people who come to visit this place and live and work here, but no one tells the secret outside every member who joins this building or center is supposed to tell the secret to only one trusted person and that also after the confirmation that the secret would not be out. The visitors are required also to stay inside the building for at least three months to master the skills of language taught there. Apparently, all these people get involved only in learning the language. However, it is seen that among these members some are superior members, belonging to India, America and England. They are very rich people and are also very healthy and strong. They meet each other after intervals and when they meet, they have parties of human flesh eating.  These are the humans who have been convinced that instead of their bodies being wasted on the earth they should allow that their bodies may be eaten up by the surviving members of the center. The same keeps on happening but very soon Anisa, one of the aspiring members, enters the building to learn languages. She is introduced by her friend, Adam, who was himself expert of so many languages. She enters there to learn different languages like German so that she can improve her profession of translation of different novels and movies and earn more money but with the passage of time she finds out that there are other activities also going on especially at the time when she was able to enter into a frozen hall by chance because she developed friendship with another member of the center who was in the administration of the Centre. Very soon Anisa found that the human beings were being eaten up especially one of the kind old lady the maidservant of the center disappeared all of a sudden and her body was somehow found out by Anisa. Apparently, she became so upset and underwent counseling sessions. Therefore one of the members, Shiba, takes her in her confidence and shares numbers of things with her and they talk a lot and ultimately become friends. They visit India and Anisa lives with her for a long time and there in India she discovers that there are so many people included in this organization, and they tell the benefits of eating human flesh and that the proof is a very useful, spiritually and physically and socially as well. Instead of handing over their loved ones to the earth and wasting their bodies they thought it better that they would become the source of nourishment of the survivors. Although it was very horrible, Anisa still agreed to listen to these details and at a point she became convinced also to become the member but however ultimately, she left the whole system and constructed a new world for herself.

Of course, this is possible only in the fictional world, this may not exist at all. However, at the symbolic level the novel can be taken as a kind of description of the social political and psychological cannibalism of the capitalistic system because it has happened number of times that the people get killed if not physically, at least, mentally or psychologically or socially. They lose their lives because of the system they are forced to do the things which they would not do if they were free. Similarly, the control of the capitalistic system over the thinking or the minds of the people kills them psychologically or people get killed financially when they lose their hard-earned money, and all sources accumulated throughout their life. At such a time the physical death may not be that important but the psychological and social death becomes more important. So, it is right to say that this tale is apparently about the eating of the flesh of humans in a systematic way, but it is also a tale of the human beings suffering at the hands of capitalistic system and dying or being eaten up by this system psychologically socially, physically and mentally.