Students to make Inter board's policies

Karachi: For the first time in history, an educational board had added student representatives in it's educational policy-making. Intermediate Board of Karachi has announced to form "Students-Educationists Syndicate" where the position holder students will participate in the policy-making of the board. Speaking to Common Room, Chairman Intermediate Board of Karachi Professor Anwar Ahmed Zai said that the syndicate comprises of 36 position holders of this year from all groups, 12 teachers and 12 educationists. Working together, they'll formulate the best policy and patterns". The position holder students were present at the ceremony. "Throughout our history, students were never asked what do they want. We have added the students in policy-making to get their direct feedback. Their participation will help us out in improving standards.", Chairman IBK added. He said that the current syndicate will remain functional till 31st October 2011, then the next year's position holder students will replace the current ones.

Rage against the social evils – Pakistani music fights back

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow defines music as the universal language of mankind. What expressed through music is the musician’s inside or around. Love, betray, patriotism and joy are emotions that are usually expressed through tunes. Hate, corruption, prejudice, war, riots, conflict, extremism and terrorism are the bad sides of society and unfortunately we, the Pakistanis, have witnessed them badly since our country’s inception. This is the time when one is concerned about his/her society and this is where the music depicts it too. Pakistan has witnessed some great music on social issues.

As music is simply human emotion, social issues music’s history is old too. Rage against the machine (An American band of 1990s) presented fiercely polemical music with heavy metal instrumentation. One of the greatest names of western music Michael Jackson also raised voice against prejudice.

In Pakistan, Junoon was the first band that dared to raise voice on social issues. In 1994-95, Junoon were courted for their controversial video and song “Ehtisaab” sung with Najam Sheraz from album Kashmakash. “Kitni aankhen dekhengee aadhi sadi purana khwab, ehtisab ehtisab… Kitni bar pukarengay zindabad aur murdabad!” The video of Ehtisab depicted the corrupt Pakistani elite. The PPP’s democratic government immediately banned the song and video. In their last album Deewar, Junoon again pointed out the social evils in the song “Dharti ke khuda”. Throughout their career, Junoon has been a socially-concerned band.

Talking about Najam Sheraz, his song “Yeh baat kisay maloom nahin”(1996) is a curious song. The song highlights the deprived part of the society and how the “sarmaye ke bhookay sher” (capitalists / politicians) exploit them. This song was censored on national TV and the reason was its being against establishment. “Sona chahta hoon” (1

995) is a song where Najam sheraz wildly cried for Kashmiris. The one-of-its-kind screaming song was banned on national radio (reason: the lyrics and vocal performance was too wild for the youth).

Jazba, a band appeared in early 90s, were also one of the few musicians who raised voice against Indian aggression in Kashmir. Heavy vocals, gloomy composition and revolutionary lyrics made it something never made before.

Another band likely to be mentioned here is Strings who have just came back with Atif Aslam in “Ab khud kuch karma parega”. It is a messag

e to Pakistanis to standup against terrorism and fear. Earlier, they’ve also done “Berut”, a song for Gaaza.

Karavan, the rock band of masters, also set a benchmark in social issues. ‘Rakh aas’ and ‘Yeh zindagi hai’ are the band’s social thoughts.

How can one forget the lahori band Entity Paradigm (EP) here? Kahan hai tu and Humain aazma represent youth and motivation while the aggressive song “Fitrat” questions the elite for exploiting people “Bol qabeel tu chahta hai

kya, uska haq ya ke uski dua?”… the lyrics are amazing specially at a place where he says “Kaghaz k tukray (money) to dikha jinhain jor ke tu bana khuda”. Tremendous stuff!!!

In 2007, when Pakistan faced the collision between Government and Lawyers, the socialist approach raised among common men. This is where a young band ‘Laal’ raised up and followed revolutionary poems of Habib Jalib and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. ‘Meine us se yeh kaha’ and ‘Umeed-e-Seher’ are inspiring enough.

Money is everything, says the band Azal in song ‘Aisi Taisi’. The song with excellent music arrangement and strong lyrics depicts society running after money. It is voice of a rebel.

Socio-political satire can’t be unnoticed when talking about social issues. Shehzad Roy tops the list with ‘Laga reh’ and ‘Qismat apne hath main’. His lyrics are always strong and thought-provoking and through satire, he has successfully delivered his wakeup call. As a social activist, Roy has wide eyes on society and surroundings. Awaz boy Haroon Rashid also presented social satire in his pop / rap style with ‘Corporation man’ and ‘Paisa’.

A lot of other musicians have also attempted music on social issues but the ones mentioned above were the milestones in the industry. Music surely reflects what’s around in our society and Pakistani music does it well.

- Jibran

Dedicated to Air Blue crashed flight passengers

The plane i'm on is going slow
I look and stare down below

Something is wrong people are crying
I wondered if anyone was dying

I never saw anyone steering the plane
I wonder if the captain has gone insane

The plane is moving downward from the sky
I prayed to God and begged Him not to let me die

Everyones out of their seats yelling and screaming
I wonder if anyone here is a demon

I looked out the window,
we're close to being dead

I wish this was a dream and I could wakeup in my bed
But it wasn't a dream it was real life
I wish I had my really sharp knife

Then I could put this all to an end,
and I wouldn't have to take the time to mend

Soon enough we crash on hill
After that I couldn't hear a single sound

Everyone was dead, and so was I
I never wanted it to end like this, "I never wanted to die"

Novartis BioCamp - A milestone

The significance of Biotechnology in Pakistan was realized as far back as 1959 when the country’s first commission on Science & Technology emphasized the need of setting up research organizations. Pakistan’s educational system is growing up by time but what still needed to minimize the gap between Academia and Industry. The research conducted at our universities is rarely applied in the industry. Here, Novartis Pharmaceuticals took a step and initiated the first Local BioCamp in order to bring the students in direct contact with the pharmaceutical industry.

The 2-days BioCamp is an effort to bring young, talented and energetic students from diverse faculties and different universities closer to the field. 26 Students and researchers from different cities of Pakistan were evaluated and selected to participate in this exciting event. The participating universities were University of Karachi, HEJ institute, Baqai University, Ziauddin University, Hamdard University, University of Sindh, University of Punjab (Lahore) and Islamia University (Bahawalpur). On the other hand, two participants from media were also invited as participants’ i.e (Jibran T. Siddiqui, Health Reporter, News1 TV and Ovais Ahmed, Dawn News TV). Thus, Novartis succeeded to make a diversified combination of individuals from the areas of Pharmacy, Drug research, Molecular research and Health Journalism.

As a Health Reporter, I was a bit confused when called for BioCamp as I’m not a medical student. I had no idea if I would be able to understand the terms and discussions about an advanced discipline as Biotechnology. I was fortunate to have students like Muffrah, Shahid, Shahrukh and Hina in my group who belonged to different universities and had different specialities and skills. Throughout the conference, we worked together. Preparing and presenting the marketing plan about an Alzheimer Test was a challenging task and we together accomplished to a satisfactory performance. Thank you guys! All the presenters did very well and their marketing plans (prepared in 90 minutes only) were excellent from any point of view. This will surely help them in future.

The BioCamp participants were very fortunate to be accompanied by the distinguished experts from various fields. Speakers like Dr. Iqbal Choudhry (HEJ Institute), Dr. Saifullah Khan (HEJ Institute), M. Khalid Yousuf (Novartis), Dr. Ahson Siddiqi (Novartis) and Dr. Tasneem Farzana (NIBD) proved to be the best guiding stars. Moreover, sessions by Mr. Merajuddin (HR, Novartis) and Urooj Mazhar (School of Leadership), other feathers in the cap. Prof. Masood Hameed Khan (VC, Dow University of Health Sciences) spoke about BioTech at the inaugural ceremony and opened new doors of information to the students. Undoubtedly, the eminent speakers inspired the participants to create waves.

One of the most interesting parts of the BioCamp was the ‘Cultural evening’. All the participants were dressed up in eastern attire and performed one by one on the stage. These performances included Singing, speeches, poetry and dance. It was surprising the see the students performing so confidently on the stage. Maryah, Munazza, Omair and Shahrukh astonished me by their stage confidence, thumbs up! Ahmed Saleh attempted ‘Laal meri patt’ where the boys danced to the beats. My contribution for the night was an unplugged performance of Imik’s mellow song ‘Piya’. Some participants entertained the audience by humorous poetries that made everyone laugh out loud. Novartis family also delivered some exciting performances including the classic ‘Kabhi to tumko yaad ayengay’ by Dr. Ahson Siddiqi and a song performed by wife of a Novartis family member. Moiz’s stand-up comedy also brought smiles and refreshed the evening. Ovais Ahmed from Dawn presented a piece of poetry by Faiz and an extract from Pitras Bukhari with his skilled voice overs. Well done

The post-cultural evening gathering was the craziest moment. The participants sang and danced like no one watched J

What I learned from BioCamp was working in a team of different minds and utilizing their respective skills to achieve goals. On the other hand, BioCamp also introduced us to the modern trends of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Working together, the participants discovered their skills and talents and analyzed themselves in the context of SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats).

As a participant, I’m very thankful to Novartis who considered media as regular participant. This will help in bringing the three pillars Academia, Industry and Media closer and forming an effective triangle that works for social development.

I would like to thank people without whom this mega-event was not possible. Mr. Shabuddin, Mr. Merajddun, Mr. Khalid Yousuf and others from Novartis. Dr. Ahson Siddiqi remained as the guiding star and the prime mentor throughout the conference. He was physically and mentally present at each and every moment of BioCamp. Mr. Zia Anwer put tremendous effort in organizing the event while Ms. Tania Anjum proved herself a silent storm. I express special thanks for Zia and Tania for being dynamic, supportive and humble at the situations.

The two-day conference earned us great friends. As Ahmed Saleh said that the saddest part is that the night we turned great friends followed the day we left. Thank you Ovais for being a convenient room mate, Muffrah and Omair for being there at every moment, Hanna for bugging around, Ahmed Saleh, Maryah, Nayel, Munir, Sundus and Hanna for the late night fun and Munazza, Ali, Sajid, Kashif, Shahrukh, Shahid, Rakhshanda, Ayesha, Hina, Rabia and others for being there as shining stars. Wish you all best of luck for the future!

Congratulations to Ali Uzair and Hann`a Iqbal, who got selected for the International BioCamp in Basel, Switzerland. Best of luck mates =)

The Local BioCamp 2010 will remain as an unforgettable experience of my career. I hope the event stays as a milestone in our life and we implement the learning for a bright future.

- Jibran T. Siddiqui

Achievement: Pakistani students made a terrific car

Automotive industry is the sector that can bring economic boom in a country. In this industry, China tops the list by manufacturing 13,790,994 cars in 2009 while Japan and USA are next with 7,934,516 and 5,711,823 respectively. Unfortunately, Pakistan has still not appeared in this sector. Is lack of talent our problem? No.

Recently, a group of students from NED University of Engineering and Technology have manufactured a model car that gives 80 kilometers per liter petrol. These ambitious and hardworking students belong to Mechanical and Electrical Engineering departments and the team calls itself ‘WINMARK’. The shining, attractive and compact car can grab anyone’s attention.

Winmark has designed the car to participate in the upcoming global competition by Shell in Malaysia which invites the students worldwide to design car with best mileage.

Speaking to Common Room, the team leader Haris said that all the cost has been contributed by the students themselves. They’ve worked day and night to bring the car from design to execution. “No organization has contacted us for full sponsorship yet. We’re students and we cannot bear the full expenses of manufacturing and especially transporting the car to Malaysia for competition.” said Haris. He said that they’re representing Pakistan in a global competition and therefore need financial assistance for this.

Winmark member Ashraf says, “We’ve worked very hard to win and Inshallah if we do, we have plans to launch the car commercially. The car is economical, eye-catching and safe so it would be an ideal car for anyone. Its body is made of fiber so its safe it meets any accident. We’ll proud if we launch a car from Pakistan.

Although these determined students have no financial assistance, they have talent, skill and above all enthusiasm to touch skies. Common Room wishes them good luck!

Cartoons raise voice.

Illustration by Ema Anis.

Facebook & the unfortunate King

Long time ago, there lived a king who ruled a small state. The state had deep conflicts with her neighboring states over the boundary issues. The king was a fair ruler and man of justice who always considered his public’s benefits first. It was all fine until one of the neighboring opponent states launched a pre-planned propaganda against the king. They first sent immoral comments about the king to him that annoyed the king. He immediately stopped imports from those neighboring countries that caused problems for the public. In agriculture, they highly depended on the neighboring countries so there came the shortage of fruits, vegetables and other crops. The enemies then sent their agents to the state in order to speed up the anti-king campaign. When the king came to know, he started killing the agents and blocked all the boundaries, confining the state. Now, the exports were also stopped which caused an economic breakdown. The remaining agents started to misguide people about the king. Therefore, the king started killing his people who were reached by the agents. The conditions turned critical and eventually, the state was shattered by drought, hunger, economic collapse and bloodshed. The state disappeared from the pages of history.

The recent blasphemy issue of Facebook reminded me of that state’s story. An evil group on Facebook launched an event and invited the artists worldwide to draw sketches of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) which is a very disgusting act against the Muslims. Throughout the world, Muslims are protesting while Pakistan is leading the front. For this evil act, Lahore High court has banned Facebook in Pakistan for indefinite period. Following the order, websites like Youtube and Wikipedia are also banned by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for “growing sacrilegious content”. It may seem emotionally correct but let’s have a look rationally.

According to an estimate, Pakistan has more than 25 million internet users. In this 25 million, majority is of students, journalists, doctors, bureaucrats, writers, researchers and other professionals. Wikipedia is one of the prime sources of information for students, journalists, researchers and others and over 75% of internet users log on to Wikipedia for information. Be it an academic assignment, news or an article, Wikipedia is one of the most reliable information websites. Wikipedia provides the most accurate and detailed information even when you search a less-known personality of your country. The website tells the background, career, date of birth and even place of birth about a personality. The website is highly trusted and the information is published on unprejudiced basis.

Now I come to the point. When I needed to search the history and backgrounds of the famous personalities like Nazia Hassan, Aitizaz Ahsan and Shahid Afridi, no Pakistani website provided me detailed information but Wikipedia. There is no complete encyclopedia website in Pakistan that could serve the Pakistanis. Banning Wikipedia has created a critical situation for students and professionals who needed information. We’re so dependant on the others that we’ve never made any information and video portals. In this situation, is it correct to ban such websites?

As I said, the present situation reminds me of that unfortunate State that was destroyed by her neighbors. Same as the king did, the Government started with banning Facebook, then Youtube and Wikipedia. There are thousands of other ways that these anti-Muslim elements could use. Let’s see that the government will ban Google, hotmail, yahoo and other websites too. In the end, internet will be blocked in Pakistan and Pakistan will move back to decades. The evil elements will also try to spread their unethical messages through TV, so the government will first ban the channels and then the TV too. I also expect the government to ban all the art schools in the country so that nobody could draw Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)’s sketch. Déjà vu it is.

Is there some other way too? Yes. We have proved ourselves true Muslim nation who don’t compromise on our religion but is only banning such websites a solution? There are thousands of other channels from where the blasphemy messages can be reached so there’s no reason of banning the websites. On the other hand, we have to step ahead and make information portals of our own. In this way, banning won’t even affect us.

Anyway, we have to keep protesting about such disgusting acts but rationale also matters. We have to find the ‘Solution’ instead of what the king did to his state.