Impact of Social Media

Pakistan as a state and decision makers of Pakistan are struggling to grapple with impact of social media. A book review relevant to the subject is posted here for the readers. Assuredly, it will be worth your time.

WAR IN 140 CHARACTERS

(Book Review by Dr Muhammad Samrez Salik)

The book ‘War in 140 Characters’ is permeated with the theme ‘How Social Media is Reshaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century’. David Patrikarakos has authored it. It was published in the US in 2017 by Basic Books, a subsidiary of Hachette Books Group, Inc. The hard-bound book of 301 pages has a high standard of printing, quality paper, and fine binding.

        David Patrikarakos is a London-based journalist and an alumnus of Oxford University. He is the author of Nuclear Iran, The Birth of an Atomic State. He is also a contributing editor at The Daily Beast and Politico. He has also written for The New York Times, Financial Times, and Wall Street Journal, among many other publications. His media background, coupled with his insightful coverage of war zones from Congo to Ukraine, garnered his prowess for evaluating the impact of social media on modern conflict. The book reaffirms David Patrikarakos’s credentials for writing on this momentous subject. It is a well-researched book annotated by fifteen paged notes. The book is divided into eleven chapters. The introduction of the book, as well as the conclusion, covers conceptual aspects. The book is handy for war strategists, war practitioners, media managers, and narrative builders, as well as for academicians and planners. Its factual, easy, and non-technical parlance makes it even more palatable for laymen. The evolution of warfare has been an ongoing process.

        The nature of war is constant; the character of war adapts itself to the zeitgeist of the time. The drivers of conflict include economy, technology, tactics, and grievances. The advent of mass media in the last few decades, in general, and the recent phenomenon of social media, in particular, is influencing all dimensions of human life. There is a consensus among the experts on how and why social media is transforming human behaviour, attitudes, and perceptions. Many students who have been involved in conflicts and wars have keenly observed the impact of social media. In this context, the book is the first authentic, comprehensive, and palatable material on the subject. The book is about the study of the changed conduct of war. It is also about stories, the narratives of conflicts and conflict of narratives. The modern means of conflict are taking us closer to Sun Tzu’s dictum, “To subdue the enemy without fighting is acme of skill”. Social media has provided a means to build narratives, perceptions, and sapping of will, enabling us to subdue the enemy without fighting.

The author argues that social media has fundamentally changed the character of war and blurred the line between the battlefield and political discourse. Facebook posts and tweets are increasingly emerging as sources of information and determine who wins the narrative. In today’s world, the narrative is what largely determines victory. Military muscle alone does not suffice; wars are evolving every day, but today, a new element has entered them: first-hand information sent by people to inform the world and sometimes change the narration of events. The author understands how social media drives operations in today’s undeclared grey zones of conflict and sets the conditions for the reader’s understanding of the modern operational environment. Key conceptual aspects are:

• Social media has opened vital communication spaces for individuals once controlled exclusively by the state.
• More than a war fought by tanks and artillery, it matters who wins the war of words and narratives.
• Within the ambit of the Hybrid War, social media has gained the extraordinary ability to endow ordinary individuals, frequently non-combatants, with the power to change the course of the physical battlefield and its discourse.
• The narrative dimensions of war are arguably becoming more important than its physical dimensions.
• War, as a military fight distinct from peace, still exists. However, the general tendency, driven by the information revolution, is away from that paradigm and towards open-ended networked conflicts that occupy a grey zone between war and peace.
• Homo digitalis is a new type of hyper-empowered individual, networked, globally-connected, and more potent than ever before.
• They can actively produce content on social media platforms with almost no barrier to entry.
• They can form transnational networks Using [various] forums.
• They are especially dangerous for authoritarian states.
• If you don’t understand how to deploy the power of new media effectively, you may win the odd battle, but you will lose a twenty-first-century war.
• Social media platforms now spawn a political reversal: a regression from centralised communicative modes to an earlier age’s more chaotic network effect.
• Social media is both centripetal and centrifugal. It shatters unity and divides people in two overarching ways. The first is obvious. It sets them at loggerheads as direct engagement between opposing camps becomes more accessible. The second is more insidious. Most of the populace gets news from social media.
• Social media platforms are not impartial; they are capitalist enterprises designed to profit from their users.
• It is both a force for good, bringing greater transparency, and a force for evil, destabilising.
• It has brought the post-Truth Era, which denotes circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.
• Tweets are replacing metal bullets.

The book can also be reviewed in the context of war theories, grouped into psychological, anthropological, sociological, information, economic, and Marxist theories. Clausewitz’s Trinity of Military, Government and People also changes its complexion. While the military remains the primary fighting tool, the government controls it, and people support it. In conflicts before the advent of social media, the military operated in a confined space of governmental control and with people’s support. The mass media, in general, started eroding control of governments in the decade of 80s. The advent of social media has further eroded this control. About people’s support, it is now transcending the borders of states and even regions. People worldwide have started affecting the conflict rather than those of belligerent states. Media and social media have occupied a significant space in this Trinity. The following postulates can be discerned:

• Given Psychological Theories, social media impacts the psychology of the masses, decision-makers, and leaders. EFM Durban and John Bowlby postulated that war is innate to human nature. Social media is making homo-sapiens frustrated, impatient, anxious, and impulsive, thus increasing the propensity for conflict. Nationalism is also on the rise in the age of social media; thus, akin to Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin, there is a greater probability of warmongers. 

• Anthropologists view war fundamentally as cultural, learned by nurture rather than nature. Theorists such as Ashley Montagu emphasise the top-down nature of war. According to the author, social media is centripetal and centrifugal, thus propelling nationalistic tendencies, which are considered drivers of conflict.
• In sociological theories, the works of Eckart Kehr and Hans-Ulrich Wehler see war as a product of domestic conditions. They opine that World War 1 was not a product of international disputes, secret treaties, or the balance of power but a product of each state’s economic, social, and political situations. Social media is driving unrest amongst the public due to greater awareness of social and economic disparities. The underprivileged have better access to the state of the overprivileged. This aspect also increases the chances of conflict.
• Given Information Theories, scholars of International Relations such as Geoffrey Blainey argue that all wars are based on a lack of information regarding the enemy’s capabilities. For example, Argentina knew Britain could beat her, but their intelligence failed to assess the UK’s response. Conversely, there is access to information and disinformation in the media-savvy environment. Incorrect assessments are more likely.
• In Economic Theories, war is postulated as an outgrowth of economic competition in a chaotic and competitive international system. Wars begin as pursuits of new markets, natural resources, and wealth. In the World in transition, a lot is happening in the field of economy. Social media is generating multiple analyses, which can lead to faulty assessments and knee-jerk responses from rivals.
• There appears to be no relationship between Marxist Theories of War.
• The balance of Power is in transition from unipolarity to multipolarity. New alignments are in play. The waning of existing power and waxing of new power has reintroduced the Thucydides Trap. The prevalence of a tremendous amount of information and disinformation is causing anxiety and chaos. Social media is raising concerns among the public, which might compel leaders to apply military means.
• Social media has rendered new tools for Psychological Operations, Guerilla Warfare, and Non-Kinetic Operations. Hybrid war and Grey Area Operations have become the order of the day. Short of conventional operations, these forms of conflict are being facilitated in social media and internet environments.  
• Power has shifted from hierarchies or institutions to individual citizens and networks of citizens. Social media is propelling chaos, thus supporting realism as opposed to liberalism. However, China, the emerging power, is favouring liberalism.  Social media platforms now spawn a political reversal: a regression from centralised communicative modes to an earlier age’s more chaotic network effect.
• Instead of Clausewitz’s concept of “war is a continuation of politics by other means,” conflict is now the practice of politics itself. Clausewitzian war is becoming displaced by what Simpson calls coercive communication.

The author has also cited a few case studies. Tweets of Farah Baker, a Palestinian teenager, sparked international outrage against Israel. Her story illustrates that ‘a lone teenage girl can now battle—and threaten—the institutional power of one of the world’s most powerful armies. In an asymmetric conflict like that between Palestine and Israel, the author argues, Palestine could not hope to win the military battle. But ‘Homo digitals’ like Farah won the discursive political struggle.

Anna Sandalova, the ‘Facebook warrior’, is another prime example. She raised over a million dollars via Facebook for uniforms and equipment for the under-resourced Ukrainian army during the 2014 crisis. Able to mobilise resources in ways Ukraine’s corrupt state apparatus never could, Sandalova was proof of the ongoing power transfer. Patrikarakos describes: ‘As the state fails, homo digitalis (hyper-empowered individual, networked, globally-connected, and more potent than ever before) rises to take its place’. Nowhere is this transfer of power more evident than in the story of Eliot Higgins, the obsessive online gamer whose social media investigation challenged a global superpower. With just an internet connection, Higgins and a small group of individuals conducted an open-source investigation into the downing of MH17 more effectively than the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies.

While individuals like Sandalova and Higgins quickly assume roles traditionally filled by nation-states, how are governments responding? Not fast enough, argues Patrikarakos. Most world leaders ‘govern like twentieth-century officials in a twenty-first-century world’, unable to come to grips with the past few decades’ cultural, social, and technological transformations. But Patrikarakos identifies at least one exception, a leader he calls the ‘master practitioner’ of contemporary warfare: Vladimir Putin. Russia’s ‘twenty-first century ‘military doctrine’ relies on mass-produced memes to reinvent reality. The state may be losing its power to control narratives, but Russia is striking back. The book is worth reading for anyone trying to comprehend Russia’s orchestrated campaigns and to help us anticipate the social media challenges of future wars. Even the so-called Islamic State is trying to establish a Digital Caliphate. There is a whole chapter on how Sophie (living in France) was recruited for ISIS in Syria.

Finally, the author concludes that new information technology is reshaping almost all the practices of war from the battlefield to cyberspace. The transformation has empowered people to a degree previously unthinkable: a simple smartphone now opens up a world of information. This empowerment has created Homo digitalis- a hyper-networked individual, above all Manichean, responsible for both good and evil. The boundary between war and peace is also blurred, and social media disrupts the older order in three ways: time, space and method. Military operations can now become information operations that seek political rather than specific military outcomes. Clausewitzian war is becoming displaced by what Simpson calls coercive communication. The shift from hierarchies to individuals and networks of individuals is clear. Everyone can now be a broadcaster, but not everyone can be a journalist. Populists are once more dominating international politics. The global environment is more conducive to wide-scale conflict than ever since 1945.    

These aspects are equally applicable to our situation in Pakistan. Extremists, recently in and around Pakistan, used a mix of ideological, political, religious, social, and economic narratives based on a range of genuine or imagined grievances. Social media has been widely used to spread images, pictures, and memes to further the cause. This clearly shows the impact of social media, which is even being used in Pakistan for political ends as well as by our enemies as part of a hybrid war. We need to adapt to these transformations.

The Shackles

Nature has blessed immeasurable potential and capacity to human brain. It seems unfathomable akin to universe. However, the creator has created the beholder of this machine so fragile, susceptible and vulnerable that exploitation of its endowed potential seems impossible. There are shackles to contain this potential to acceptable limits. It’s a strange juxtaposition of immense potential and shackles to contain that potential. Although, God has blessed the potential to humans of breaking these shackles but the journey is so hard that only a minuscule of humans might attain that rare feat. The logic of juxtaposition of potential and shackles can be best known to the Mother Nature. With shackled intelligence humans are challenging the Mother Nature in many ways. May be it was desired to keep this monster in check.

It’s important for humans to understand these shackles only then can they strive to get rid of them. In Hamlet Shakespeare had said, “I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space”. That’s the kind of confinement imposed on human brain. The shackles could be termed as chains or cage and these are innumerable. Strength, binding potential and efficacy to these shackles is given by the human itself. Noticeable shackles are: greed, lust, ego, fear, jealousy, duplicity and ambitiousness. Unless human brain is unshackled and free of these, it cannot even function at lowest level what to talk of unleashing its potential.

In routine functioning of common humans, tranquillity of mind is essential for super qualities of brain viz, sharpness, wittiness, creativeness, etc. A mind which is agitated, conflictual and embroiled cannot be witty, sharp or creative. Peace of mind – essential for these qualities is linked to worldly blessings vs contentment. Worldly blessings are never sufficient. The more we get the more insufficiency we feel. Thus, it seems that the key is CONTENTMENT. One can only have peace of mind if one is contended with whatever one is blessed with and remains grateful. Stephen Hawking who had unfortunately led a miserable life by worldly standards, had advised his readers, “enjoy what you are blessed with and don’t curse what you don’t have”.

In the first stage it’s important for a human mind to attain peace and tranquility, sans which it cannot have super qualities. In the next stage it’s important to unshackle the mind of the chains and cages. It’s an arduous journey and very few can reach the pinnacle. But it’s worth trying. If not fully unshackling, one can achieve weakening of these shackles. Incapacitation of mind will be directly proportional to the strength of these shackles.

At societal level, deprivation, injustices, inequality and poverty rob the human mind of peace and tranquility. These state functions create shackles for the human mind. For a human to enjoy peace, tranquility, super qualities and freedom from shackles, it’s essential that he resides in a good society which is governed by good people who are wise, concerned and selfless. Lower the level of society, harder it is to unshackle the mind. Governance, justice, fairplay, management, civility, rule of law and education are much needed in Pakistani society for the people to unshackle their minds.

Is it a Life?

Each day kills a part of me

Fag end of life seems hardest

Lofted egos are in play

At the cost of motherland

Personal vendetta is being played

At the cost of fair play

Each day kills a part of me

Human rights are being trampled

Mothers and daughters being molested

When injustice is unabated

Highhandedness is in abundance

Exploitation at its peak

Each day kills a part of me

If I express, I am a traitor

If I don’t, I burn from inside

Each day a battle rages inside me

As I cannot tolerate crimes against humanity

Each day kills a part of me

65 & 71 wars marred my childhood

Dismemberment was a crushing blow

Youth saw finale of Cold War

Scars became wounds

Enjoyed soldiering and gentlemanship

Felt proud of mother organisation

Each day kills a part of me

Middle age fought against terrorism

Had narrow misses of life

Perpetual anguish left festering wounds

Still on the whole life was good, but now

Each day kills a part of me

Pride of completion of service ruined

As fragile systems frayed so fast

Might ruled and morality decayed

Every morning takes to farther low

Each day kills a part of me

Staying quiet seems safe

But it’s agonising and frustrating

Saying one is damned not saying is doomed

Each day kills a part of me

Dark clouds are on the horizon

Those who have resources are fleeing

Those who have power are unmoved

Wish we don’t see the day, that

Those who stayed back envy

Those who fled

Each day kills a part of me

Rise or Fall

Sanity is aghast, bewildered and at loss to understand; what is happening in Pakistan. Everyone with a bit of concern and realisation daily fights a battle in mind on available options, helplessness and agitation. Our motherland is faced with two kinds of battles which mutually drive each other. The outside battle is to decide which pole Pakistan will be in – US or China. The inside battle is between status quo and non-status quo forces.

Owing to the prolonged periods of conflict, monopoly, debauchery, mismanagement, lust for easy money, leadership crisis, ascendency of unfair means and might is right; the country seems to have lost the plot. The people have no voice, vigour, power and say, whereas those who have power are lacking realisation.

I have felt since long that, THE WRONG is prevailing in Pakistan while THE RIGHT is cornered. I will rather say that the mere definition of right and wrong is cockeyed and different from rest of the world. The power, unfairness, wealth and cheatery can get you anything and ironically the society at large has no problems with it. Everyone instead of resisting immorality is waiting for own turn, while the bulk is indifferent. The positive knowledge which I say is meant for good is lacking while the negative knowledge which is meant to do bad things is prevailing. One can find abundance of guidance for cheating, land grabbing, rigging, mis-interpretation of law, befooling people while those trying to do good are considered misfit and foolish.

Lawlessness, highhandedness, might is right, serving of vested interests, mismanagement, rule of power instead of rule of law and domination of the crooked have further aggravated in last two years. Each day we rise to shocking news holding our breath and wondering how further can we fall. All segments of power are hedging behind self-defined national interests and bent upon seeking objectives tangent to sanity, morality, ethics, humanity, fair-play, justice and people-centricity. Actions of the state, seem to be testing nerves of the people and daring them to take things in their own hands.

I have held a view since long that people of Pakistan have to take their destiny in their own hands to make Pakistan rise. Else masters will keep changing, pseudo-intellectuals will keep ruling, tainted judiciary will keep doing injustice, and people of Pakistan will keep suffering. Sri Lanka won 27 years long insurgency based on Rajapaksa model. Second principle of the model says, “go to hell (that is, ignore domestic and international criticism)”. We are exactly opposite of this, we are more concerned about external opinions than internal ones.

Unfortunately in today’s Pakistan:

1. Ashrafia has become Badmashia

2. Money matters the source doesn’t 

3. Marks matter the education doesn’t 

4. Power matters the morality doesn’t 

5. Money can get you anything and everything 

6. Constitution is disrespected but common man is asked to follow traffic rules

7. Mediocrity is prevalent

Punjab seems more indifferent than smaller provinces. On one hand it may be due to known and established historical meekness of Punjabis and secondly it may be due to fact that Punjab is usurper of rights of smaller provinces. Bulk of state machinery is from Punjab, thus Punjab seems to be beneficiary of this cockeyed system.

It’s high time people of Pakistan should take reins in their own hands. Not that God forsake a civil war is desired or wished for, it only means people beginning to say out loud what they want. People call-out right and wrong. Decision makers who are calling shots with impunity should be concerned about voice of people of Pakistan. Whenever elections are held, people vote en mass and based on call of conscience. Pakistan should be left on auto-mode and new experiments should be avoided. It’s now or never. Either people of Pakistan rise to this occasion or fall for ever. Choice is ours.

Name your top three pet peeves.

1. Uncleanliness

2. Uncivility

3. Loud voices

What have you been putting off doing? Why?

Writing a blog on Time. Because it’s the most complex, intriguing and exciting concept

Council of Elders

Pakistan has lived through 73 years of its chequered history. It has passed through golden as well as tumultuous times. Though, the reader will feel constrained to stretch his memory for golden eras. In my view, the prolonged conflict has been one of the major reasons besides many more for the poor evolution of society, degeneration of social fabric, societal decay, loss of national character, and erosion of law and order. Most of the time the country has been seen at the crossroads of its history. Each crossroad unfortunately has led to the next crossroad. Though, there are many achievements too, for which Pakistan can be proud of itself.

Pakistan is defined by two keywords; ‘turbulence and resilience’.  The country has oscillated between extremes of pendulum. Liberalism to orthodoxy, non-violence to extreme violence, better democracy to sham-democracy, forgiving to unforgiving, and civility to savagery. Notwithstanding the causes for this, Pakistan is apparently passing through a period of internal strife, infighting, and squabbles. Political parties are shooting at each other and all organs of state are exchanging barbs with each other. Evils of TTP and ISIS are staring into our eyes. Society is polarised like opposing poles of a battery. Oppositely charged poles cannot coexist without sparking. It seems the complete body politic of Pakistan is agitated, full of vengeance, charged, and ready to cut throats. To top it all Pakistan is surrounded by hostile India, sanctioned Iran, dysfunctional Afghanistan and maliciously looking US. External challenges are being exacerbated by infightingwhich can best be tackled by a house in order. 

It is interesting to note that the benchmark of neighbouring China for an upward trajectory is 1978, while that of Pakistan for the downward spiral is 1979. China got a peaceful environment, visionary leadership, and continuity in the last four decades and it grew its economy ninety-one times. In the same period, Pakistan witnessed perpetual conflict, inept leadership, mismanagement which has led to economic losses, blood losses, poor growth, and worst of all loss of national character. No single segment can be squarely blamed for this state of affairs as certain strategic choices were thrust upon Pakistan. Seemingly, all segments have done their part to exacerbate the woes of Pakistan.

With that in view, we are what we are. In a pursuit to find the causes of our decay, one can argue for many. However, a couple of glaring causes may be; the early departure of founding fathers which precluded a strong foundation for the nascent state and projection of vested interest groups, the prevalence of prolonged conflict in and around the state, and lack of visionary leadership. In a perpetual state of conflict, the men of means opted to fly off for prospective safety and security. Peshawar and Quetta were known as dying cities. To cite an example;until the 80s, Quetta was one of the better-managed cities of Pakistan. Its PTV station was highly vibrant in producing new dramas and throwing up new actors. Off late Quetta has been a conflict-ridden and poorly managed city. All these causes and many more have left indelible marks on the canvas of Pakistan. Mainly, these are; people have remained in search of nationhood, it has lost its national character, it has lost its intelligentsia as well asbrain and the social fabric of the society has been torn apart.

Intelligentsia serves to steer the society in a direction based on the culture, strategic thought, and values of that society. The absence of a potent intelligentsia is affecting the evolution of the society of Pakistan and the country appears to be a flotilla of rudderless ships. Like PM wanted to convert Pakistan into ‘Medina Kee Riasat’, while TV dramas were taking it elsewhere. Entertainment TV, which plays a major role in forming opinions, collective attitudes, and responses is only concerned with viewership and making money. There seems a sheer absence of steering mechanisms. Particularly all three places meant to groom future generations are dysfunctional. The mosque is teaching violence; the school is teaching cheating and households are indifferent and careless.

Extraordinary situations warrant extraordinary measures. The situation isn’t hopeless and we have no option to give up. The proposed solution isn’t supra-constitutional or the replacement of existing systems. With a view to filling the gap of the intelligentsia, more than any time in the past; there is now a need for the Council of Elders. An apolitical organization comprising sages (approximately a score) to provide direction to the society. While security, geo-strategy, and hardcore functions of state may be handled by established organs of the state, this body should look at mundane issues afflicting the body politic of the society.  

It should comprise mature and elderly people from all segments of society. It may comprise men and women of character, non-ambitious, apolitical, non-partisan, non-self-projectionist, balanced, free of vested interests, and preferably volunteers. In a merely advisory role, it can be mandated to; fill the gap of missing intelligentsia, focus on societal decay, provide direction to various segments of society, look beyond day-to-day functioning and governmental issues with a view to focussing on key debilitating factors and building capacity for non-time barred, non-politicized, honest and long-term analysis on issues of national importance. 

Unless we take certain drastic measures, afflictions of Pakistan cannot be cured through routine functioning. Violent tendencies grown over decades need to be transformed into non-violent attitudes. Mosque, school,and homes have to be revamped for better grooming of next generations. Else deplorable incidents like recent in Sialkot will not abate and may rather increase.

Story of Pakistan

There is no denying, that the story of Pakistan isn’t very encouraging. Rather it has been horrifying and appalling. What went wrong? Where did we falter? Why we are the way we are? Who is responsible? These are significant questions everyone is asking. Books can be written on the causes. But I am reminded of the book, “Awaken the Giant Within” by Anthony Robbins. He said to focus on where you want to go and not on where you are heading. He said if you are about to meet an accident and you are focusing on the impact point, the accident will be more severe. However, if you focus on the point where you want to take the car, the accident may still be there but it will be less severe. 

In my life of 59 years, Pakistan has hardly been ever out of the woods. Pakistan is defined by two words, “Turbulence and Resilience”. Turbulence is natural as well as of our own making. The leadership creates turbulence while the people of Pakistan display resilience to come out of turbulence. The system doesn’t hold creators of turbulence accountable so we get into a vicious cycle. Accumulatively, Pakistan has come to a stage where the resilience of the people of Pakistan is losing its viability.

So much on the past, as I said we need to focus on where we want to go. Mostly, discussions on social media are related to the causes. Indeed, analysis of the past gives us lessons. However, we should focus greater energy on the solutions rather than analysis. ‘Paralysis through analysis’ isn’t desirable. As a nation, we have been so terribly wrong that no analysis will be sufficient. Our situation is unfortunately so precarious that no amount of energy can be adequate to turn around. Instead of questions like what happened? Our questions may be, how can we turn around? How can we contribute? What are the solutions? Etc. This article is intended to suggest certain measures that seemingly are easier said than done, but there is no other solution. 

First and foremost, we need to stick to democracy and a parliamentary form of government and avoid experiments. Let democracy evolve itself and take firm standing.  

Human actions are inhibited by two factors. Firstly, a feeling of inadequacy of one’s action and secondly, fear of the response of the opposing party. We need to overcome such inhibitions. We need to chip in whatever we can. Religion is a very touchy subject, so very briefly I want to suggest we need to be more practicing Muslims than ritualistic/ showoff Muslims. We need to take our founding fathers out of the closet and practice their injunctions. Recently I was at Karakorum University. I advised the youth that if we merely focus on one injunction each of our founding fathers we can be a different society. We pick one from Quaid e Azam, “Our duty to the State comes first: our duty to our Province, to our district, to our town and to our village and ourselves comes next”. And one from Allama Muhammad Iqbal i.e. the concept of uprightness. If the bulk of us start to follow these principles we can reform our society.

As a society, we need to recreate and nurture our values, culture,and ethics. Respect for women, children, the elderly, teachers, and the needy, preference to source rather than money, and truthfulness have been the hallmarks of our society. These attributes are lost, and we need to revive them. Nations are not made by natural resources and wealth, these are rather made through investment in human resources – a neglected aspect of our society. We need to build the courage to say the truth and bear the truth. In today’s social media-empowered environment, reality cannot remain hidden and the time lapse for truth to come to the surface has shrunk. Once society improves any system will work, else, “bad people can defeat any good system”.

We need to pick the right leadership and our leaders need to harness the power of social media rather than shying away. It’s a reality, we need to take measures to exploit its strengths rather than getting crushed under its pitfalls. We need to support the right even if wrong is more appealing.

Our mosques should teach humanity, empathy, and love rather than, hate, bigotry, extremism, and violence. Our schools should teach the use of fair means, education, and humanity rather than cheating, qualification, and materialism. Our parents should focus on grooming their children through self-example.

I believe we can turn around provided each one of us agrees to change itself rather than venturing to change the world.

Travelouge: Amalfi Coast

On 18 Apr 23, travelled to Amsterdam to celebrate Eid with elder daughter and grand children. Mahema had planned a short hop to Amalfi Coast of southern Italy – I had never heard of. The Amalfi Coast is famous for its picturesque seaside towns, cliffs, and beaches. It’s known for its stunning coastline and colorful villages with steep and narrow streets. Many towns along the Amalfi Coast have a rich historical legacywith important sights of historical and artistic value.

Took a two hour flight to Naples on 21 Apr which was Eid day in Europe. By road travelled for 1.5 hours and lodged ourselves in a serene small town named Moiano. It was a small village of not more than 100 houses. The apartment Suffian and Mahema had booked was comfortable and had good view of surrounding hills merging with the coast. After one day rest we started exploring Amalfi Coast.

On 22 our first travel was to Ravello Villa. It was old construction of 9th century. Located at summit which provided good view of area all around. From the displayed wall hangings one could gather that the premises were used for annual festivals.

From Ravello, we straight descended to Amalfi town. Mostly towns on Amalfi coast are constructed on elevating ground. Colourful buildings and small alleys with steep stairs was good experience. The sandy beach is very small and mostly these are rocky beaches. We returned to our abode after a long tiring day.

After a nights good rest next day we started a little late ie around 1 PM. We straight headed to jewel of Amalfi coast ie Positano. I would google all the places before visiting. It was strange coincidence that a day before a friend had introduced to John Steinbeck, US author. Once I googled Positano, I learnt it became famous in mid 20 Century owing to a visit by Steinbeck. My interest to see the place multiplied. Steinbeck had written an article in Harpar’s Bazaar in 1953. In which he had said, Positano, strikes deep, we do not realise how real it is once we are there but we realise once we have left.

We took 45 mins on a car to reach Positano. In anticipation of parking issues, Suffian parked car short of city and we walked down to coast. Route along road was easy but pretty long. Route along stairs was short but hard. We combined the two. Going down with little Aaliyan in pram was challenging. Experience of what Steinbeck had mentioned of steep and narrow stairs was worth it. After an arduous experience we descended to the beach. A tiny sandy beach where we relaxed on sheets and munched on snacks. Spent good quality 4 hours there, staring at surrounding rocks, colourful buildings, amazing architecture and marvels of engineering. Met a Canadian cum Indian family whose daughter Sloan was same age as Elena my grand daughter. Both girls gelled with each other and played together. The families met too and had a long chat.

Realising that going up to the car will be too hard, we boarded a bus going in that direction. Took a little while of waiting but it was a good fortune. Reached the car with ease and drove back to our abode.

Started next day a little late and followed craving of Mahema and Suffian to visit Positano once again. This time we went to the opposing side. Took photographs by camera and drone and then drove to Sorrento. A relatively large city on Amalfi coast. Spent some time on the beach passed through bazaar and reached Halaal meal restaurant named R&M Kebab. Food was ok. Both at Positano as well as Sorrento liked the quality of dress items and clothing. However seemed cost prohibitive.

Early part of night returned to our abode since had to leave for Naples for return flight at 8 AM. Once got up at 7:30 learnt Mahema and Suffian had again gone to Positano. The words of Steinbeck resonated in my mind, that Positano strikes deep. The best memories we carry of and the desire to be there again is of POSITANO. I wish one day I could visit Positano with my friend who raised my eagerness through introduction to John Steinbeck

Bizarre Analysis

https://fb.watch/k1a6M5u3Qv/?mibextid=l066kq

Palki Sharma in above cited VLog has painted a dooms day scenario for Pakistan. She hails from Pakistan’s perennial enemy and nothing good can be expected from her. Her venomous analysis of situation of Pakistan is most certainly based on her wishes. There is an Urdu idiom, billi ko chhichhron ke kharaab ’ (as the bell chink so the fool thinks).

She has displayed poor understanding of the global geopolitical transitions. She has displayed certain misconceptions of future potential of the US and it’s new found darling named India. The globe is passing through multiple transitions which mainly include:

a. Power is shifting from West to the East

b. China is challenging the US hegemony

c. The US is waning power and China is a waxing power

d. 21st century is Asian century

e. Pan Americana is giving way to Pan Sinica

f. The dollar is losing its might as global currency. Country of Palki Sharma is a contributor towards that end

At the regional level a glaring transition is in play. South Asia has been in centre stage of global geopolitics of 19th and 20th centuries. In these duels of giants, there were always two belligerents, a conduit and a fodder. In 19th century, British and Soviet Empires were two belligerents, Afghanistan and neighbouring regions of British India were conduit and manpower of the region was fodder. In 20th century, the US was the one belligerent where as other was Soviet Empire and later forces of terrorism. Pakistan remained conduit for both the times and Muslim fundamentalist formed the fodder.

In case of 21st century, the US and China are arraying as likely belligerents. India is being tipped, equipped and capacitated by the US to play the role of a conduit. As India seems to be proudly gearing for this role, Hindu fundamentalist will serve as a fodder.

In 2018, the author visited Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) London to deliver a talk on China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Indian defence attaché was sitting right across the table donning Brigadier’s uniform. Towards the end of the talk, the author addressed the Indian Brigadier. Brigadier was asked that keeping in view the status of South Asia as the least integrated, the most impoverished and the most conflict prone region of the World, India should either join CPEC or should not contest CPEC. It was highlighted that this will serve well for the hapless people of the region. The Brigadier was told that the author was seeing India treading on the path of fighting. The Brigadier shrugged his shoulders and contested point of view of the author. He was told that in Indian Ocean there were at least five countries whose one port was being developed by China and second by India. There was an ongoing rivalry between China and India in Indian Ocean. Contending strategies of String of Pearls (China) and Necklace of Diamonds (India) were in play in the Indian Ocean. Over a dozen ports were being developed by China and around 8 were being developed by India. Brigadier was told by the author that this rivalry could any time turn into hostility. Later repeated escalations on Sino Indian border have been fairly serious and indication of projected hostility.

So India should logically brace for the dirty work to do for the US in 21st century geopolitics which was performed by Pakistan in 20th century geopolitics. India and its scholars like Tulsi Sharma may find solace in short term gains but in the long run India is replacing Pakistan in the wrong side of the room.

Indeed Pakistan is passing through challenging times, however Pakistan is best defined by two words, Turbulence and Resilience. Pakistan has always come out stronger, more confident, more self-assured and more resilient from every turbulence. Pakistan has always betrayed such predictions of gloom and doom. Even on the future, Pakistan will betray predictions of nay-sayers like Tulsi Sharma.

Founding father of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah had declared in 1947 that Pakistan will emerge as Pivot state on the world map. Andrew Korybko has now termed Pakistan as Pivot State of 21st century. Tulsi Sharma should better worry about future of her own country than pointing fingers at Pakistan. China and Pakistan have mutually assured destiny and soon a time will come when India is bound to face two front scenario which it had imposed on Pakistan for two decades. Better watch out TULSI SHARMA