Three questions

In the spirit of the idea, that perhaps the simplest explanation is the best one, I am wondering if we could find those elusive simple explanations to what we see all around us. Today, my quest is to do just that.

Since I am not among the privileged few who enjoy a talk-show at prime time and get to ask questions to eager ministers, politicians from the opposition and other opinion makers (also labelled as “senior tajzia kaar” these days), I thought of sending my three questions here, hoping that someone might ask them in their show and enlighten us about simpler explanations of everything that is happening around us.

The first question is why don’t the politicians (including high-ranking government ministers) follow the SOPs? On any given day (and I mean literally any day) cabinet members are seen not wearing a mask. The Prime Minister does not wear one in most indoor gatherings. Opposition leaders are seen sitting or standing next to each other, and could be seen mingling with the crowd. Ministers and bureaucrats, on social media and on TV, keep talking about following the guidelines, but few if any ministers do that. The UK variant is flourishing in the country, the infection rates are climbing, yet those in charge of decision-making refuse to follow the very protocols that their own government is pleading the public to follow. So the question that should be asked is a simple one. Mr Minister Sahib (fill in the blank with name), why don’t you wear a mask?

I am genuinely curious about the answer. Maybe I am missing something that they know. Maybe the rest of the world is missing something.

The second question is to our senior opinion makers, some of whom seem to believe that the biggest issue in the country is the “wayward” behaviour of women. These colleagues believe that our great society that has been perfect for the last 70 years and has worked so well for women, is at the risk of collapsing. But before I get to my question, let us do a little thought experiment. Imagine a world where members of my tribe (i.e., men) are almost completely absent from positions of decision-making in all bodies of the government and other institutions. In this world, men have far fewer opportunities than women to study or work. In this very world, men are constantly harassed (on the street, in the marketplace, in institutions) and violence against them is not unusual. Cruel and crude jokes are constantly made at their expense, and they could be married off in their early teens. But in the imagination (not action) of everyone they are sacred and have the highest station. Because such a world sounds perfect — the question I have is whether our senior analysts like to live in that utopia, or better yet, exchange their current high responsibility position with one in this parallel universe? Sounds like a no-brainer to me, but I am curious about the answer nonetheless.

The third question is to another tribe that I am a member of. Here, I am talking about my academic brethren. Perhaps I may have missed it, but I am genuinely curious as to what is the single biggest challenge facing higher education in the country at the moment. Is it lack of resources for research? Is it financial crises that our universities are facing and poor support from the government? Is it recruitment and retention of quality scholars? Is it a declining standard of scholarship? Or is it about the behaviour of female students and their uniform on campus?

I am eagerly waiting for the answers.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2021.

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