The curse of bribery

The curse of bribery

In French the word ‘bribe’ was originally used for a piece of bread given to a beggar. Now, this word has nothing to do with beggars or pieces of bread. Bribe is the money or some other thing, offered to someone in order to get illegal and undeserved favours.

Bribe is offered only to those who hold some office of importance and influence, and can oblige their clients. Sometimes bribe is offered willingly, sometimes it is received forcibly. Sometimes you bribe an officer for getting an undue advantage, sometimes you have to pay this compulsory fee for obtaining your right.

Bribery is perhaps the greatest curse that corrupts a society. It is dishonestly, deceit and coercion. Those who accept or demand and those who offer bribes are the enemies of the people and the country. They sin both against Allah and man. They break the laws of the country and deny the people their rights. They encourage injustice and dishonesty.

The government that is run by corrupt officials is the worst of all forms of government. The government is responsible for administering the country and not destroying it. The first duty of the government is to look after the welfare of the people. If its officials treat the people badly and cruelly in order to get bribes, there is no use of the government.

No one wants to part with his money. If he gives it to some official, he does so because he is forced to do it. He may do so for getting what is not his or he is forced to buy an officer’s attention for getting his right.

If we want to establish Islamic system of social justice in Pakistan, evils like bribery will have to be wiped out as soon as possible. Bribery is a curse of unjust society and it causes further injustice.

A person who accepts or demands bribery is a dangerous person. He looks after his own selfish interest only, and ignores all other things. He does not believe in any principle or values. He has no place in a free and just society. He must be eliminated the sooner, the better.

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Technical education means specialized training in the fields of technology, industry or mechanics. Its aim is to provide instruction and training in skills that have a practical and immediate utility. It is not concerned with the spiritual, moral, intellectual and cultural aspects of personality. Its aim is to train skilled and efficient workers engineers, mechanics and builders etc.

The engineers, builders and mechanics are the most useful and essential section of an industrial society. Ours is an age of industry and mass production. In our part of world where industrialization is just beginning, the need for technical workers is all the more pressing. Even agriculture which has been our major occupation will not prosper if modern ways of cultivation are not employed. It is possible only if our framers are trained to use agricultural machines. Thus they will be able to do more work in less time and give their bent backs a well deserved rest.

Technical education is not only necessary, but also the answer to the problems of our expanding economy. It produces doers and workers; and the workers, not clerks and idlers are the people who make real and important contribution to the welfare of society. Naturally society must honour them and pay them better wages.

Unfortunately, we have not appreciated the changing circumstances. Our Youngman still hanker after office jobs. They hesitate to learn practical skills and dislike working in factories. But the offices are full and there are only a few white-collar jobs available every year. If all the Youngman are to be employed in useful work, they must shed their prejudice against manual work. Society must also learn to respect those who work with their hands for its material welfare. It should know that technical education is of vital importance for the countries of the third world who are struggling to enter the industrial age.

Our educationists have realized the need for technical education. More and more technical institutions should be established if we want our country to progress and prosper.

STUDENTS AND POLITICS

STUDENTS AND POLITICS

Whether or not students should take part in politics is a controversial matter. While some regard it to be permissible, even desirable, others think it to be very harmful. Let is study the case in some of its details.

Those who favour the proposition argue that students are an important part of a country’s intelligentsia. They are educated, sensible people, fully knowing what is good or bad for their country. They have vigour, energy and patriotic zeal that can be of great service to a nation. Their services for the establishment of Pakistan, for example, are unforgettable. It is also said that since it is they who will be controlling the state-affairs tomorrow, we should let them have a practical experience of it today. Lastly, it is held that taking part in politics will make them mature and more responsible.

Arguments on the other side seem to be equally strong. If is maintained that students are young and, therefore, emotional and highly inflammable. They are, thus, incapable of cool analysis and unbiased thinking. Moreover, they are immature. They are also easily exploitable and can be misguided by selfish politicians. It is claimed that the recent world-wide student agitation, which started in France and continued in Italy, America, Japan, India and Pakistan was caused by politicians who succeeded in making students their tool. Above all, however, the duty of students is to concentrate on their studies, the neglect of which will be harmful to them.

How do the students themselves think on the subject? They, too, are divided into two groups, supporting either of the two opposite views.

A disinterested approach towards the subject makes one feel that there is some truth in both the views. College students are certainly more educated than 80% of the population, but they are also emotional by nature. While they may not be allowed to indulge in politics at the cost of their studies, it is unreasonable to cut them absolutely off from the country’s political developments.

Students are rightly expected to spend most of their time in study during this period, their chief aim should be to get knowledge and prepare themselves for the practical life. They should acquire as much knowledge as they can. They should aware of the events happening all around them. Active participation in political activities is not to be recommended at this stage. However, in a national emergency as during the Pakistan movement they may be permitted to enter the political field, because then the nation needs them.

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SMUGGLING

SMUGGLING

Smuggling means illegal import or export of goods without the permission of the government and without paying custom duties. It is thus a very serious crime. It harms not one or two persons but injures the welfare of the whole nation. It is a pity that all of us know this; still some of us are engaged in this dangerous activity and most of us are encouraging it in one way or another.

In a society, people are individually and collectively responsible for the welfare of the society. The laws of a country are made for the good of its inhabitants. They are made to ensure peace and prosperity of the country. If some persons break these laws, they are acting against the good of all citizens.

A person, however rich he may be, cannot buy everything he sees in the shops. In the same way a nation cannot import all the things of the world. If Pakistan imports goods from another country, it has to pay in gold or goods. Thus what we import depends on the amount of goods we sell in the foreign countries. Our exports are limited. Naturally we can import limited and selected number of goods. We cannot afford to impost things that are unimportant or useful only for a few persons. We should import things that are very much necessary for us. We should import things that are essential for our progress.

Pakistan imports machines, steel and other such things necessary for our industry. Those things that are made in the country are generally not imported. Luxury goods like big cars, expensive cloth, cosmetics etc. are imported in a small quantity. Very high custom duty is levied on such imports and few persons can pay the price of these things.

Many persons are tempted by things made in foreign countries. This why foreign goods like cloth, watches, crockery etc. are smuggled into the country. Their price is paid in food and gold which are smuggled out.

Smuggling can be stopped only if very strict laws are made and they are enforced without fear or favour.

POLLUTION

POLLUTION

In the last two or three centuries science has made great progress. It has given man the knowledge and power to control the resources of earth, and use them as he wishes. We are living in the age of a continuous industrial revolution. We have built vast industries that are producing large quantities of good and machines.

We like to think that we have achieved what no previous age was able to attain. There is much truth in this claim. We produce all sorts of goods, from chewing gum to space ships. We are ready to conquer other planets. Is this the golden age man has been dreaming of for centuries?

A little thinking, however, will tell us that it is not. We have certainly made a great progress, but let is consider the cost of this progress.

Millions of factories in all parts of world are sending huge quantities of carbon dioxide and other poisonous gasses into the atmosphere. This is not the whole story. They are pouring continuous streams of harmful chemicals into the rivers of the worlds. Every hour our cars, buses and airplanes are discharging deadly poisons into our atmosphere.

The result is that our atmosphere, especially over large industrial areas has more poison then oxygen. Fish and other forms of life living in water are dying fast.

The food crops irrigated with poisonous waters also become poisonous. From them the poison enters into the bodies of human beings, and causes various diseases.

The toxic chemicals we release in the atmosphere are damaging the Ozone Layer above the earth. It is the Ozone gas that protects us from certain very harmful rays of the sum. These rays cause skin cancer, and many other diseases.

The most horrible form of pollution is produced by nuclear waste. This is only a brief account of what we have done to this earth and its atmosphere.

NEWSPAPERS

NEWSPAPERS

In a democratic society, the public must have accurate information and free access to all points of view. If the government is to be really representative of the people. Of all the agencies that perform this function. The newspapers are the most powerful. To give accurate information about the current events is the first purpose of the newspapers. They help their readers in acquiring a thorough knowledge of the events happening around them.

Newspapers also promote education and learning. Arts, literature and religion claim equal space with the current events. Events in the social, political and economic fields are, to a great extent, the result of the ideas and pressure of powerful groups of people who fight for their own interests. The problems of the present have their origin in the past. Newspapers make an attempt to supply all the information and knowledge required by the readers to understand contemporary problems. Let us remember that much of the news, and particularly views, are controversial. Opinions differ and they must differ in a democracy. The people who control a newspaper have their own views. Naturally they wish to express their views.

The newspapers are important, not only as a means of spreading news but also for influencing public opinion. Every newspaper expresses its policy in its editorial page. Its readers at least a great section of them are influenced by the editorial comments. It is reasonable to believe that most of the readers buy the newspaper with which they agree. Certainly a newspaper with a large circulation is very powerful. Unfortunately, some of the newspapers do not limit their views to the editorial columns. They let their opinion color and bias the news.

Newspapers are at the mercy of their readers, for newspaper publishing is a business and must fetch at least reasonable profit. Much of the profit comes from advertising and only the newspaper with a large circulation can attract a large number of advertisements. So a newspaper has to respect the tastes and inclinations of its readers. Now most of the readers are interested in exciting and sensational news; murders, riots, scandals and abductions appear more interesting then serious educative material. Newspapers flash such stories across the front page. In this way they become guilty of being vulgar and harmful.

Freedom of the press means freedom from all sports of pressures. The press should not become an instrument of vested interests. If the newspapers are fulfill their purpose of distributing accurate information and educating the public mind, they should remain free from government interference, the advertisers’ influence and a particular group’s vulgar tastes.

Newspapers, if they are tempted to earn more and more money, cause a tremendous harm. There are people who will pay a king’s ransom to control the policy of a newspaper with a large circulation.

The intelligent reader cannot take as correct and honest all the news and the views of a newspaper. He will analyse for himself all he reads, before forming his opinions.

DEPRESSION

DEPRESSION

The world of human beings is not a fairyland, and life is not a perpetual picnic. Here happiness does not grow on trees, and wishes do not always come true. One has to accept life as it is, with all its joys and all its sorrows. It takes courage and an understanding of the nature of life and human condition to do so.

Man, in spite of all his achievements, is still a human being, not superman. He is a creature of emotions and sentiments. Certain things make him happy, and certain things make him sad. A little bird chirping in the early morning may fill his heart with joy. And the autumn wind shaking last dead leaves from the trees may move him to tears.

Everyone feels a little sad, a little worried, a little depressed at times. There is nothing wrong with it. It is as natural as feeling happy. There is no harm in being dejected for a little while. Depression is a natural reaction against a sense of loss, a personal misfortune, or the death of dear one. This is the normal kind of depression.

This normal, natural depression shows that we are capable of feeling and caring. It shows that we are not robots, and the hurry of this machine age has not deprived of the human qualities. It helps us to adjust to the changing realities of life. It brings acceptance.

However, when the state of dejection persists, of life with all its joys and sorrows. It becomes a real depression, some kind of mental disorder.

It is not always easy to distinguish between normal and abnormal depressions. The chief difference is intensity and duration.

Normal depression does not produce radical changes in one’s thinking and behavior. The feeling of sadness may disturb one’s sleep for a few nights, or cause him to skip a meal or two, or neglect the routine of life for some time. But loss it intensity as time goes by. Life reasserts itself, and everything falls into place once again.

The abnormal depression, called endogenous depression, is generally not related to any actual event or loss. If it has a cause, its intensity is excessive in proportion to the apparent cause. This abnormal depression is a sign of some kind of mental disorder. Some patients lose contact with reality and suffer from delusions. Others may become insensitive to events around them. Lose interest in eating and other physical activities.

Abnormal depression may be produced by psychological causes or changes in brain anti depression drugs electro-shock therapy and psychotherapy are effective cures.