Newsletter of the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Spring 2019 From the Dean’s Desk

Dear Colleagues, Students and CONTENTS Friends, Punjabi Returns to LUMS The fourth issue of Guftugu is with you. The newsletter helps us share the HSS Annual Conference breadth and intellectual vibrancy of the MGSHSS. This semester was especially Humanities and Social Sciences Seminar busy; we had several highly successful Series and well attended international The Newsletter is the conferences, workshops, symposia, and Queer Futures seminars. Where events related to art, official voice of the Office aesthetics, book launches, and literary of the Dean, Mushtaq External Scholar Interview: Dr. Anjali discussions were a weekly feature, there Ahmad Gurmani School we also focused on social issues around Arondekar of Humanities and Social gender equity, analysed the past election, Sciences, LUMS. and created forums to discuss social Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature marginality. Gurmani Centre’s Workshops Along with these progresses, we have Saida Waheed Gender Initiative We would like to thank been busy with hiring new faculty Anam Fatima Khan and and consolidating new programmatic initiatives. As MGSHSS seeks to become Mahbub Ul Haq Research Center Ateeb Gul for their work the center of cultural life on the LUMS on this issue and for their campus, Guftugu is developing as the Faculty News contributions to it. We are vehicle to represent our efforts in its also grateful to Nazish Riaz pages. As always, it represents the Heads of Departments Head for Sabbatical for helping out with the best of what we offer as a School and pictures. highlights the creativity, dedication to Faculty Interview: Dr. Maryam Wasif Khan excellence, and the vision of our faculty, Faculty Interview: Dr. Khalid Mir Special mention must students, and staff. be made of the Out in the Open photographer Faizan Our guftugu continues. Ahmad, whose pictures Pakistan@100: Future of Policing have been used for the front and back covers, as Korea Calls well as for some articles within this issue. A Debate on Military Courts

The layout has been FemSoc—Feminism, Society, and Freedom of designed by Nazish Riaz. Speech We also thank the authors who not only provided us with the write-ups but also pictures to go along with them.

2 Conferences at MGSHSS Punjabi Returns to LUMS Ammara Ahmad In a first, LUMS has started a new Grierson distinguished various shrines in a community. Eventually, tradition of organising a Punjabi nationalities by language and attempted everyone on the panel and in the room conference around the Mother to distinguish them from one another started lamenting the role of the previous Language Day (February 21). The second despite being similar. A heated discussion Punjab government for wreaking havoc such conference was organised this year followed this stimulating lecture. with heritage sites without paying any and this time the focus was the Punjab— attention to vociferous protesters. its culture, history, and language. Punjabi Ajay Bhardwaj, a documentary filmmaker, scholars, writers, academics, activists, and presented his film “Kitte Mil Vay Mahi” There was a session on the Indian artists from all over the world gathered (Where the Twain Shall Meet). The movie Partition, a very significant event in the at LUMS. The Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani was a poignant representation of the history of the Punjab and the Punjabi School of Humanities and Social Sciences syncretic culture of rural Punjab and language. Professor Furrukh Khan of LUMS at LUMS was able to come up with an focuses on how those from the fringes of presented his documentary on the eclectic mix of speakers and topics. the society—low castes, revolutionaries, experiences of women survivors of the rural poor, and gypsies—still find Partition in the Pakistani Punjab, titled Professor Javed Majeed, a doctorate from space for themselves in the environs of Stories of the Broken Self. Dr. Pippa Virdee Oxford, delivered the inaugural lecture. the shrines of long-dead mystics. led the discussion that followed the film He presented his research on Sir George screening. Abraham Grierson, an Irish linguist who The session on the “New Histories of published the Linguistic Survey of India Lahore” brought writers and researchers Academic Ilyas Chattha shared his in 1928. Majeed pointed out some of the like Haroon Khalid, Tahir Kamran, Ammara research on the Partition riots in areas problems in the survey and Grierson’s Maqsood, and Ghafir Shehzad (an surrounding his native Gujranwala. Sara own approach. This was a befitting start Auqaf Department official) together. Khalid Kazmi conducted the session on “Re- to the conference. mentioned how the people’s history and sistance Poetry from Punjab” that had narrative of a place differ from the official respectable names like Tauqeer Chughtai, version while Shehzad, the Auqaf official, Zubair Ahmed, Shakeel Ahmed described the significance of Tahiri, and Anjum Qureshi on the panel.

3 Dr. Anne Murphy presented her thesis on the evolution of Baba Guru Nanak’s image over the centuries. The founder of Sikhism has gradually become a more sophisticated and less rural version of his old self. This has also changed how his admirers interpret his poetry.

The conference was well-attended and most of the sessions were either fully or partially conducted in Punjabi. The speakers, as well as the guests and the attendees, gradually became more comfortable with the language.

Last year, it was impossible to think about how the conference could be improved but this year it has taken a step forward. More They all agreed that Punjabi is a language sessions on more diverse issues like of resistance and has survived all Punjabi cinema, theatre, the history of suppression. They attributed this leftist politics, emerging fiction, and tenacity of the Punjabi language to the poetry were organised to cater to lower economic strata who have still not everyone’s intellectual needs. The adopted other languages of the elites. conference concluded on the last day with Punjabi poets like Najam Hussain Syed, an equally nourishing rendition of Heer. Mushtaq Soofi, Ashoo Lal Faqir, and Nasreen Anjum Bhatti were read and The leadership of Gurmani School was applauded in this session. not only present but also deeply invested in the proceedings. One can only imagine Zainab Sattar led a session on teaching how much more exciting this conference regional languages and literature. Ashok will become in the coming years. Kumar, a Sindhi professor from Mithi who is currently teaching at the Punjab University, expressed his views on teaching Punjabi.

4 5 HSS Annual Conference Critical Interventions: Mapping Emerging Scholarship on South Asia

The conference brought together humanities and social sciences scholars whose work interrogated the concept of South Asia as reality and construct. The two-day conference comprised 30 panels with presentations by over a 100 scholars from Pakistan, India, the UK, France, the US, and Canada. The panels showcased research on a variety of subjects such as regional conflict, nationalist formations, urban development, political governance, education reform, gender contestations, indigenous literature, knowledge production, popular culture, and environmental concerns.

The Department of Humanities and Social There were two keynote addresses. The In his lecture, titled Beyond the Narrative: Sciences at LUMS hosted its Thirteenth first was delivered by Dr. Asma Abbas Recovering the Personal and Emotional in Annual Conference on April 10 and 11, 2019. (Professor of Politics and Aesthetics at History, Dr. Elias located the personal as an The conference was Bard College and Dean at the Indus Valley important motivator in human actions and co-sponsored by the Shahid Hussain School of Art and Architecture, Karachi). argued for the importance of human Foundation and the Mahbub Ul Haq Dr. Abbas’s address, titled Anticolonial experience as a valid source of Research Center at LUMS. Maps for Lost Lovers: Notes on the Aesthetics and Politics of Method, explored information and motivation in writing historical narratives. The theme for this year’s conference was the entrapments of neoliberal knowledge Critical Interventions: Mapping Emerging production and social reproduction that The first day of the conference included Scholarship on South Asia, and was predominate in the wider post-colony. The the launch of the Mahbub Ul Haq Research convened by Dr. Saba Pirzadeh and second was delivered by Professor Jamal J. Center with a discussion on Humanizing Dr. Sameen Mohsin Ali. Elias (Professor of Humanities and Islamic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania). the State: Mainstreaming Human Security in Pakistan’s National Security Narrative. The centre also hosted a panel on Women in Politics with MPAs Hina Parvez Butt, Maleeha Bokhari, and Malaika Raza.

An art exhibit—Dhaak Ke Teen Pat (Three Leaves of the Flaming Tree)—ran in parallel to the conference. Bibi Hajra Cheema exhibited work that focuses on the role of trees in a rapidly changing Lahore. She spoke about her inspiration from Punjabi folklore that featured trees as sites of women’s agency, romance, physical and emotional healing, and divinity.

The conference featured multiple thematic panels with scholars, academics, and activists. We highlight three panels in this article.

4 5 Panel: South Asian Literature and the Episteme Aima Nisar

mere childish entertainment to a story about the amalgamation of the fantastical and the material in early Islamic culture.

Dr. Habibah Rizvi, too, interpreted a vital text in the South Asian literary canon in a new light: Faiz’s Ham Jo Tareek Rahon Mein Maray Gaye. The poem, usually considered a metaphor for the poet’s relationship with the state, was reworked in terms of its aesthetic value. The themes of sorrow and beauty were expressed in the same Romantic tone as John Keats. By drawing a comparison with a Western writer, Dr. Rizvi clarified that the gap between Eastern and Western literature and scholarship is arbitrary, that literature transcends regional boundaries. However, she The all-women panel featured academics their mere existence at the time was an act interpreted Faiz’s aesthetic appraisal of from various universities in Pakistan as of subverting the traditional literary mode. beauty differently from that of Keats by they presented papers focusing on a saying that Faiz redefines the idea of the specific text or series of texts from the Similarly, Dr. Mariam Zia’s analysis of the beloved’s beauty by making it bigger than South Asian literary tradition. magnum opus of South Asian literature, existence itself. Like Keats’ lovers forever Dastan-e-Amir Hamza, uprooted suspended in a moment of embrace, Faiz’s Amina Wasif’s paper traced the history of traditional ways of reading the text. By time in prison opens up for him a moment the Urdu detective novel as representative interpreting it through the Freudian of suspension, of freedom to think. That is of the para-literary trends of the 1960s Uncanny, Zia made the text accessible to where his beloved transforms from angry and 70s in Pakistan. Using Zafar Zuberi’s Western audiences as well. She traced the to beautiful to timeless. “We”, then, is not Ibram Daku, Colonel Faridi’s Safi, and H. Uncanny back to the first recorded just Faiz and his lover, but everyone who Iqbal’s Sabiha Bano, the paper explored the incidents of dastangoi in India, showing has sacrificed something for the cause. literary tropes of the trickster, the rational how the dastan reworks the Uncanny by The amalgamation of seemingly investigator, and the femme fatale. She refusing to clearly demarcate the contradictory images in Faiz’s poem conclusively argued that the personhood boundary between the material and the becomes a metaphor for a meaningful of detective figures in Pakistani fiction of fantastical. In bringing Islam as a existence. the two decades is never subservient to foundation for Dastan-e-Amir Hamza, Dr. their sleuthing capabilities. Zia’s paper elevated the dastan from

Dr. Sarah Abdullah highlighted the importance of periodicals by Muslim women in pre-partition India as a counter discourse to male-centric narratives. At a time when prescriptive novels like Bihishti Zevar were all the rage, magazines like Tehzeeb-e-Niswan, penned by women for women, became a safe space for resis- tance. Abdullah’s argument was incredibly nuanced; it went on to question the extent to which these women magazines actually resisted the patriarchal hegemony of their time. She concluded that even though the magazines reified the phallogocentric patriarchal order by representing quintes- sential versions of womanhood,

6 7 Panel: Pop Culture and the Politics of Representation Zainab Mubashir

Chaired by Dr. Saba Pirzadeh of the English Fatima Bilquis, also a LUMS graduate, programme at LUMS, the session Pop followed up by presenting her academic Culture and the Politics of Representation work, co-authored with Sara Tahir, hosted three rising academics to present focusing on the portrayal of hegemonic their research on the critical relationship masculinities on the Pakistani small between Pakistani popular media and screen. Titled Expression of Masculinities the social narratives they represent and on Pakistani Television, their research propagate. built upon Raewyn Connell’s theoretical framework of masculinities and Edward Fareeha Shah, a writer with a degree in Said’s exposition of Orientation to view English Literature and Political Science the representation of kinship structures in from LUMS, presented abstracts from her drama serials. Using the serial Chhoti Si thesis titled Rape and Repentance on Zindagi (2016) as an example, Bilquis talked Pakistani Small Screen. of the complicated portrayal of masculinities on screen through the relationship dynamics of men with the Building upon Julia Kristeva’s theory of women and other men in their lives. Her abjection, and using the Lacanian idea of analysis involved the dissection of dra- Symbolic Order, Ali offered a brief matic events to infer portrayals of power summary of discourse analysis and hegemonic control within the family conducted on eight short stories by structure. Malik. Citing examples from the texts, Ali presented a comprehensive analysis of the Syeda Minaal Ali, from University of the complex relationships an individual Punjab, shifted the conversation from experiences with the self and the entities television to fiction by analysing the short outside of itself. Drawing upon Zaigham stories of the Pakistani author Usman T. Sarfraz’s division of Pakistani history Malik. In her research, titled The Curious into three epochs, Ali explored notions of Case of Liking Disgust: Exploring the normalcy, disorder, and social apathy as Genre of Weird Fiction in Light of depicted within Malik’s fiction as well as Abjection Theory to Study the Disordered Dr. Sameen Mohsin Ali their relationship to Pakistan’s political in Pakistani Society, Ali explored the landscape. representation of order and disorder in Pakistani fiction through graphic Shah’s presentation involved the analysis depictions of horror-inciting imagery. of two Pakistani television drama serials—Sangat (2015) and Muqabil (2017)— in light of their distinct portrayals of sexual assault. Aided by video clips from the concerned serials, Shah presented close readings of the scenes representing acts of rape and analysed the social implications contained within the artistic portrayal of such acts of violence. Her specific focus rested on the sensationalist depictions of trauma and the limited subjectivity granted to female characters victimised by sexual violence. Shah emphasised the importance of responsible media representations of gendered violence by citing their con- tribution to national social and political

discourse. Dr. Saba Pirzadeh, Fareeha Shah, Syeda Minaal Ali, Fatima Bilquis

6 7 Panel: Mapping Nationalist Politics in Sindh Muhammad Hani Ahsan

Dr. Muhammad Waseem chaired a continued membership of Karachi in the Farhan Hanif Siddiqui presented an session in which panelists discussed Province of Sindh. PPP has also analysis of the Muttahida Qaumi ethno-nationalist politics and political legislated on issues related to Sindhi Movement. He argued that the quota parties. The discussion explored identity including the language bill. system led to polarisation that served different facets of Sindhi Since PPP meets the criteria of as the context for the rise of MQM. But ethno-nationalist movements. Dr. Asma particularity, temporality, and centrality, he then argued that there is confusion Faiz focused on the Pakistan Peoples it is an ethnic party. within MQM with regards to the quota Party as an ethnic party. Saeed Rid system based on Altaf Husain’s inter- discussed Sufism’s connections to Sindhi The topic for Saeed Rid’s presentation view from the 1980s. Siddiqui considered ethno-nationalism. Farhan Hanif Siddiqui was Sufism and Ethno-nationalism in CSS allocations under the quota system: discussed the role of the quota system Sindh. He explored GM Syed’s 20% of the population of Sindh was in the rise of the Muttahida Qaumi reformulation of Sufism and Sayyidism. urban but under the quota it had 40% Movement. Using Syed’s Paigham-e Latif, he representation while the rural areas had reclaimed Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai’s 80% population but only 60%

Dr. Asma Faiz, a member of the poetry for Sindhi ethno-nationalism by representation. The presentation political science faculty at LUMS, began connecting it to the land of Sindh. But explained the history of MQM and its the discussion by attempting to define the presentation then moved onto transition from Muhajir to Muttahida what an ethnic party is. She identified Socialist Sufism of Ibrahim that Qaumi Movement. He argued that the three essential characteristics of an postulated the role of “holy men as reason for a lot of Muhajirs being ethnic party: particularity, temporality, spiritual reformers” according to Rid. He deterred from applying for CSS is and centrality. After explaining the then argued that the Pakistan Peoples because of Bhutto’s reforms which history of PPP, she argued the although Party under the first Bhutto politicised the bureaucracy. Sindhi nationalists criticise PPP as a adapted mainstream Sufi discourse; to “Punjabi Party”, PPP and traditional this day PPP celebrates Sufism as an The session enlightened the audience Sindhi nationalists do not differ on any integral part of Sindh in the celebration regarding different facets of of the major issues related to Sindhi of the Sindh festival. ethno-nationalism in Sindh and how it identity. This includes the construction is manifested among different groups in of the Kalabagh Dam, quota system, and different forms.

8 9 Humanities and Social Sciences Seminar Series Dr. Asma Faiz

The HSS Seminar Series is organised by His talk brought together both the Dr. Mohammad Waseem and Dr. Asma academic and policy sides of the debate Faiz. It strives to provide a platform to on CPEC. The second seminar featured a faculty both from LUMS and beyond who presentation by Professor Brodie who are at various stages of their academic developed a profile of the changing careers. The spring edition of the series nature of conflicts in International brought together a diverse mixture of Relations, especially highlighting the speakers who covered different domains rising significance of intrastate wars and of research ranging from potential the threats posed by non-state actors. impact of the CPEC to the use of cellular This was followed by Dr. Umair Javed’s technology in counter-terrorism strategy, presentation based on his fieldwork in politics and sociology of Bazar economy, Lahore. Dr. Javed examined the and the amalgamation of science and confluence of religion and politics among religion in Sir Syed’s discourse. the merchants and traders from Lahore’s old city. The series saw presentations from speakers who belonged to distinguished An interesting detour from these compared patterns of patriarchy and national and international institutions discussions was provided by Dr. Gwen migration in three working class including Professor Matthew McCartney Kirk who presented her work on the neighborhoods of the city. (Oxford), Professor Bertrand Brodie articulations of diaspora in the Punjabi (Sciences Po), and Dr. Asad Sayeed cinema. The next seminar in the series The series concluded with Dr. Fatima (Collective for Social Science Research). saw a presentation by Dr. Nauman Faizi Mustafa’s presentation of her quantitative who provided an account of debates study of use of cellular phone shutdown Professor McCartney opened the spring between Sir Syed and Mehdi Ali touching by the government of Pakistan as a edition of the seminar series by the domains of religion, philosophy, and counter-terrorism strategy. The spring discussing the potential of CPEC as a science. Dr. Sayeed in his seminar edition of the HSS Seminar Series provided game changer for Pakistan. elaborated upon the findings from his a rich mixture of debate across various fieldwork in Karachi that disciplines of the humanities and the social sciences and generated interest among students and faculty at LUMS.

8 9 Queer Futures Aiza Hussain

What does it mean to be queer in asking questions. Each panelist had a Pakistan? What spaces exist for such an placard with not just their name but also expression in Pakistan? Must a history their preferred prefix in place so as to of queer existence be traced or is queer allow for the individual to ascertain their presence in the now testament enough? Is identity themselves and avoid overt there a need to develop a local queer judgement by others. vocabulary? How important is language in offering/countering rebuke? Who will Over the last few years, significant shape the queer futures that we are progress had been made in the queer envisioning? landscape for Pakistan: three new gender categories had been issued by the national database; exhibits of homo-erotic art displayed in galleries; strong messages delivered through a markedly greater and Dr. Anjali Arondekar far more inclusive Aurat (woman) March; legislative reform granting increased protection to additional gender categories. of desires that fell beyond the established The platform was in place, and the time quagmires, of sensing that indeed there was ripe, nearly yearning for such a was a void in place, and eventually using gathering to be arranged—and so it was. these sentimentalities into shaping new, more welcoming, queer futures. The next The workshop commenced with an address two days were full of discussions around from Dr. Nida Kirmani, Dr. Omar Kasmani, identity, activism, and the history as well and Dr. Kamran Asdar Ali (Dean, MGSHSS), as the future of queer presence in the also jovially termed ‘Qutb-e-Queer’ (or the local landscape. Dr. Nida Kirmani ‘Patron Saint of Pakistani Queers’) at the workshop. This was followed by a keynote Dr. Anjali Arondekar’s intervention was by Dr. Anjali Arondekar, Associate pivotal in this conference. As a scholar of Professor of Feminist Studies, UCLA. There the histories of sexualities in South Asia, These were some of the questions raised was emphasis on using this space to share she mentioned that the gaps present in during the three-day workshop on Queer lesser-told tales, of producing modes these histories were numerous and Futures at LUMS. Centred upon gender and sexuality, this workshop was co-organised by Dr. Nida Kirmani, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Omar Kasmani, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Freie University, Berlin, under the Saida Waheed Gender Initiative, LUMS. More than 25 academics, activists, artists, comedians, writers, and students chaired discussions at the workshop, bringing in diverse voices into the room. Friends from across the border were also present, while those unable to show physical presence participated through Skype.

The workshop drew upon a number of formats including academic talks, artist dialogues, literary readings, round table discussions, and a film screening. The environment created in each session was such that it stirred great conversation and made the audience comfortable with

10 11 had been filled from archives of slavery, colonialism, and nationalism—all coloured in a language of lament and loss. She challenged the preoccupation with loss as the structuring mode of narration of the histories of sexuality and probed the audience into reverting the lens from loss to abundance. By offering a new mode of viewing archives, her analysis grounded the framework for the discussions that ensued over the next couple of days.

The sessions stirred debates around language, the politics of identity formation, and loss. Mehlab Jameel—LUMS alumni, researcher, and activist—evidenced through her research that no one Most famous for his “Shumaila Bhatti” through them partially explained; universal meaning could be applied to social media presence, Mohammad Moeez identities thus partially revealed. feminine soul in a male body, trans-gender highlighted the ostracisation, vitriol, and or trans-woman. She employed the word harassment that often marked queer Queer struggle wears multiple forms, one Hijra—rooted in Hindi and Persian—as an experiences in Pakistan. He oscillated of them being literary. This workshop also umbrella term for individuals who did not between Urdu, English, and Punjabi in his featured a number of literary dialogues, identify with the prevalent gender conversation with Aimen Bucha (Program readings, and discussions—memoirs were binaries. Amongst acclaimed scholars, Manager at SWGI), hence demonstrat- read, unsent letters shared, tales of love, research was also presented by current ing the cruciality of language in one’s ache, and loss told. The literature read was LUMS student, Ihsan Arslan, who spoke expression. Language, its ability to injure, more than often obviously intimate; the of the existence of homo-eroticism within and its inability to host certain terms were kind of prose shared was charged with Islamic literature in South Asia. brought up time and again. Languages great emotion. These were received with were often partially known: emotions laughter, claps, and reassuring nods, and at other times met with a deafening silence.

10 11 Whatever the reaction, the literary texts distinct. Activists participating included queer lives in a South Delhi resonated strongly with those in the room. Mehlab Jamil (activist and anthropologist), neighbourhood. This was followed by a Asad Alvi (current IBA student), Momina Aun Shahid (member, HOPE Foundation), Skype session with Priya Sen, the director Masood (graduate student at University Khursand Bayar Ali (community activist of the film, who elaborated on the motives of the Punjab), and Fazal Rizvi (faculty and member, Saathi Foundation), Sarah behind embarking on such a project, the member at Indus Valley School of Art & Suhail (scholar and activist), Raza Haider labour that went into it, and the Architecture and interdisciplinary artist) (member, Sabrung Society and Humraaz), relationships that her cast had with her were amongst those who shared their and Aqib Ali (activist, researcher, and and one another during production. literary stories. faculty member, LUMS and Lahore Grammar School). The workshop ended with a concluding The workshop also featured author Sanam note from Dr. Omar Kasmani, Dr. Nida Maher who read out portions from her While the ultimate solution to the Kirmani, and Dr. Anjali Arondekar. book The Sensational Life & Death of discussed issues was structural, and Reflections were made on the debates Qandeel Baloch. Qandeel was not willing to needed to take place on a governmental that had taken place. Feedback, including conform to society’s set guidelines and it level, NGOs and activists could help heal suggestions, were taken from participants, was this desire of hers that got her killed; gaping wounds. The future was premised especially on carrying on with the however, Qandeel was not extraordinary on the milieu set by the present, where conversation and organising similar or special. Her circumstances were not one would learn from another, partake in events in the future. The workshop was special. It was society that made her collective thinking, and utilise collective acknowledged as a small yet significant special. The ordeals faced by Qandeel labour to yield beneficial results for all. step in the development of queer futures. could be paralleled to those felt by gender non-conformists for Qandeel, in her own Last but not the least, the film screening way, too was queer. of Yeh Freedom Life exhibited a tale of

The future of queers was more profusely discussed in The Activists’ Roundtable. Multiple voices engendered multiple debates which circulated around visibility, state attitudes, societal policing of thought and bodies, queer participation in women’s movements, donor bodies, and activist outcomes, amongst others. The activism that each was engaged in stemmed from very personal experiences, which perhaps made their brand of activism most

Mohammad Moeez 12 13 External Scholar Interview Dr. Anjali Arondekar Anam Fatima Khan

Your presence at the Queer Futures conference and your keynote speech was inspiring and so I will start with asking you about your work and what informs it? How the personal is political?

I think most intellectual work is necessarily political. We often tend to privilege academics and/or activists as having more of a stake in the political, even as most of us are constantly trying to reiterate that those assumptions are rarely true. In my case, I was born and brought up in western India (specifically Mumbai/Bombay), in a multilingual and lower-caste household. I come from a Devadasi community (devadasi literally means slave (dasi) of god (deva), and is often falsely interchangeable with terms (I am 50 years old, and so of course recall My parents were both feminists and my such as courtesan, prostitute, and/ a time when conversations around sexuality and gender choices were never or sex-worker) and as such, I was very sexuality and gender identities were a site of contestation. In fact, for my par- aware of the entanglements of politics mostly taboo!). My answer to such a ents, sexuality has always been a non-is- and sexuality from an early age. I often question is more counter-intuitive that sue, a place of ordinary articulation. All get asked if it was “hard” being a queer you would imagine. I would say that it this to say, yes, the personal is political, person in India at a time when such was more challenging for me to work but in ways that are often surprising, formations were not only punishable by through the challenges of my caste and quotidian, and endlessly challenging. law but also societally unacceptable family background than those summoned by sexual orientation. Could you elaborate on the kind of work that you do?

I am primarily a historian of sexuality, with a strong focus on South Asia and Indian Ocean studies. My early work was focused on British colonial India (Karachi featured prominently in that book!) and since then I have moved on to thinking of the intercalations of sexuality and colonialism in Portuguese India. And the next project I’ll be working on will be on similar questions in French colonial India. As you can see, comparative empires has been a source of great interest to me, especially as we think through genealogies of sexuality in South Asia.

12 13 and have done some work on that front. As I noted earlier, I belong to an OBC community (Other Backward Caste) and thus was keen to hear how similar projects of difference (as emblematised in the NOP initiative) were understood on this campus. I must confess I was concerned with how the NOP student/ faculty presence was articulated more as a problem of assimilation and integration than as a locus of radical institutional change. In other words, it is not just enough to bring in more students and faculty from diverse backgrounds to LUMS; we need to more robustly shift the paradigms within which such ideas of diversity emerge. So, if you make an effort to bring in folks from under-rep- resented communities, nothing changes if you simply have them aspiring to be For the past few decades, I have also the School of Humanities and Social like the majority. Diversity must translate become a little fatigued with Sciences. As a member of the advisory to a diversity of knowledge formations, Euro-American queer studies and its board, I was not directly addressing as it does to a diversity of embodied continued focus on histories of the here questions of sexuality, though it is my subjects. and now, and as such, my work writes work in sexuality that clearly informs against the press of such presentism. my relationship to administration and Do you have any advice for women Because I work in South Asia, I also evaluation. who are taking a stand, going to the wanted to think of how the questions Aurat March, and women in general and archives we navigate here move the in the humanities and social sciences conversations around gender and Speaking of the advisory board, you at LUMS? sexuality to a very different set of spaces have also served on such committees and temporalities. The conference I back in India how would you compare I obviously cannot proffer any easy attended here provided rich and ample your experiences? digestible capsules of feminist wisdom! evidence of such an argument. We had Everyone’s experience is unique and papers and presentations that traversed I have not served on an advisory board unevenly marked by histories of periods and genres, and were in India, per se, but I have always been inclusion and exclusion. Take my case, multilingual and multidisciplinary. committed to thinking about the for example—I have rarely encountered presence of caste and difference within discrimination as a queer person in India More vulgarly put, I would say that the university contexts, last twenty years of my intellectual life have been an attempt to stage a dialogue between two field-formations that are often segregated: south Asian/area studies and queer/sexuality studies. Area studies is often perceived as a rigorous discipline while queer/sexuality studies is (falsely) seen as an identity based knowledge-formation, even as both obviously require an incredible amount of erudition, training, and thought. For example, I came to LUMS, one could argue, precisely to renew my commitment to this dialogue. On the one hand, I gave the keynote at the Queer Futures conference, but I also served on the advisory board for

14 15 (which is what one would stereotypically liberatory narratives of reform and Histories of gender and sexuality, after expect)! Rather, I have dealt more with rights. The book I am currently writing all, are not identitarian forms (though the challenges of caste and linguistic (Abundance: Sexuality, Historiography, they can be), but more about uneven discrimination. More importantly, I would South Asia) engages two key questions: relationships of power writ large. Instead say that feminism is not a script. It is What if we are to shift our attention of creating hierarchies of value within more a process of emergence and you from the reading of sexuality as loss projects of difference (the queers are have to figure out where your zones of to understanding it as a site of radical more oppressed than X, etc.), I would comfort and discomfort are, and what abundance—even futurity? What would urge us to think non-competitively, risks you are willing to take, without it mean to let go of our attachments to alongside and athwart each other’s jeopardising your safety. We live in such absence, to unmoor ourselves, as it were, politics and visions. That is why I am precarious times that daily survival from the presence of reliable ghosts? always excited to return to Pakistan can itself be an act of radical feminist The talk I gave, for example, draws from because there are only staged differences possibility. a diverse set of archives from Portu- between our two countries, differences guese India, and slants these questions that we must continue to surmount. If through the history of a Devadasi dias- anything, the Queer Futures conference Finally, are you currently working on pora, the Gomantak Maratha Samaj. has signaled the urgent and critical need a project and should we look forward for more collaboration. to something? One additional point I would make here is that histories of gender and sexuality As I noted earlier, I am drawn to compar- continue to be minoritised within his- ative histories of gender and sexuality tories of nationalism, progress, devel- in South Asia. Sexuality, particularly in opment, especially in places like India South Asia, is rescued from the detritus and Pakistan, and it is always important of hegemonic histories of colonialism to reiterate that you cannot write one and nationalism and placed within more without the other.

14 15 Centre Events Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature Maira Asaad

The Gurmani Centre for Languages including Ali Akbar Natiq, Ikramullah, and and Literature, in its continued efforts Dr. Tahira Iqbal. The series also paid tribute to draw attention to the contemporary to the late Fahmida Riaz. Over the course of literary and artistic circles of Pakistan, the semester, audiences were familiarised spearheaded a series of events curated with their works through excerpt readings for this purpose. as well as with their writing processes and struggles. Dr. Moeen Nizami, Professor of Persian at LUMS, and Bilal Tanweer, Professor of On a more concentrated level, the Ahmad Comparative Literary and Cultural Stud- Bilal Awan Bazm-e Adab series was oriented ies at LUMS, presented the following in around the theme of Pakistani literature. Dr. Spring Semester 2019: the Halqa-e Dan- Aziz Ibn ul Hassan, Dr. Maryam Wasif Khan, ish Ham-‘Asr Urdu Afsana series, the Dr. Najeeba Arif, and Dr. Nasir Abbas Nayyar Ahmad Bilal Awan Bazm-e Adab series, were invited to lead discourses on the and the Raag Shaam series. In addition, history of Pakistani literature as well as its The Raag Shaam series, introduced in the semester also saw the continuation role in the contemporary literary setup. The Spring Semester 2019, aimed to introduce of the Khoka Natak series, a student-led speakers covered a broad range of audiences within LUMS to the various initiative curated by Waqas Manzoor arguments and discussed the nuances of Indian classical music. Moder- who is currently pursuing an MPhil at distinguishing features of the Urdu novel ated by Ali Aftaab Saeed, Bilal Tanweer, and LUMS. and short story fiction writing, the politics Dr. Moeen Nizami, the series invited Ustad of regional languages, and the development Imran Jafri to guide the audience through In a similar vein, the Halqa-e Danish of Pakistani literature in both literary and various kinds of raag—and to discuss the series brought in renowned religious streams. more technical aspects. contemporary Urdu fiction writers,

16 17 ‘Cinema ka Ishq’, a performance based on Krishan Chander’s play ‘Vo admi jo mar chuka hai’, as well as a comedic, impro- vised performance of Ibne Insha’s ‘Sada- rat’. Additionally, the series also featured an originally-scripted mime performance on the colours of basant, as well as a dance performance to Hadeeqa Kiani’s ‘Aaj Rang Hai’, which celebrated the festive colours of Holi.

Of notable interest was a tribute titled ‘Rebel Angel’, held in honour of the late graffiti artist, painter, and LUMS alumni, Asim Butt. Asim Butt pioneered the Stuckist art movement within Pakistan and popularised the use of graffiti as a form of protest art. Over the course of the series, the these processions through instances The event was curated by Younis B. audiences were introduced to raag aimen, of its flagellating crowds, caught in deep Azeem and arranged as a panel raag darbari, raag bhairavi, raag bilaval, devotional reverie, as well as discussion. The panel comprised of and raag khamaj, and was privy to rich, monochromatic images of the horses’ Nazish Afraz, Khurram Husain, Nafisa evocative performances by Imran Jafri, caretakers. Nad-e-Ali commented that Rizvi, and Shehrbano Hussain, and Shayan Jafri, and Ali Aftaab Saeed of Arif Mahmood and Robert Frank were they spoke of Asim’s life in various various popular—and beloved—musical two notable influences on his own work, capacities—as friend, brother, artist, scores. and, for further understanding, supplied and visionary. the exhibition with a catalogue of images Khoka Natak, a student-led initiative that and essays. It will be on display Another independently-arranged event aimed to introduce street theatre to the throughout the semester. was Nad-e-Ali’s photography exhibition culture of LUMS, in its second installation The Other Horses, curated by Ali Sultan. of the series continued this Spring The subject of the exhibition was Lahore’s Semester 2019 with a variety of fresh Shabih-e Zuljinah’s processions. The performances. These included an action photographs displayed the spectacle of comedy on Patras Bokhari’s piece

16 17 Gurmani Centre’s Workshops Khadija Zaidi

This year, the Gurmani Centre for This was followed by a two-day Languages and Literature organised a workshop on Research Methods in the series of workshops featuring journalists, Humanities for students belonging to artists, writers, and thinkers. Each various educational institutions at the workshop aimed at embedding and graduate level (MA, MPhil, and PhD) exploring a certain form of art, technique, and disciplines as diverse as English or idea in ways beyond just the discussion. literature, History, Anthropology, Social Development and Policy, and Media and In January, the Gurmani Centre organised Communications. The workshop was a two-day workshop on Transcreation, conducted by Dr. Ali Raza (Assistant Pro- the process of adapting content—in this fessor of History) and Dr. Maryam Wasif case, language—to a new target audience. Khan (Assistant Professor of Compara- The workshop was led by Naveed Alam, Dr. Aamir R. Mufti and Dr. Stathis Gourgouris tive Literature) of the Mushtaq Ahmad an instructor of creative writing at the Gurmani School of Humanities and So- Beaconhouse National University. cial Sciences. Through close examination Shujrah, Ali Safdar, Hussain Iqtidar, and According to Alam, transcreation is of scholarly works such as those of Raza Naeem. Moderated by Naveed Alam, “a merger of the translator and the Shahid Amin, Faisal Devji, and Edward the participants read one another’s works translated to broaden a poetic realm”. Said, the instructors discussed the and gave feedback. The transcreated In transcreation, one takes a leap or an systematic invention of the archive and works that were produced either for the inspiration from a work. The result is, in the stages of historical production, the workshop or during it included those addition to being a translation, a work of need for scholars to develop a critical of Ibne Insha, Jaun Elia, Ghalib, Perveen poetic creation that is as much the gaze, as well as the question of ‘method’ Shakir, Gulzar, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Allama translator’s own as it is of the original while writing. Iqbal, and Munir Niazi. author’s. The participants included Syeda Abeera Bukhari, Ateeb Gul, Mahnaz

18 19 With help from Publications at LUMS, the Centre also held an event titled “Immersive Science Fiction” with the writer Usman T. Malik—a Pakistani writer resident in Florida, the first South Asian to win the Bram Stoker Award and later the British Fantasy Award as well. The event, held amongst many writing enthusiasts, began with Malik reading out excerpts from his own work. His writing deals primarily with the genre of Science Fiction which was what the entire event was geared towards discussing. After he had read out parts of his own work, a discussion began around these works and how he had come to write them as well as his writing styles and process. The event concluded with Malik taking several questions from the audience and pointing out various workshops where those Towards the end of the session, the interested in the genre could apply to and instructors urged the participants to further hone their craft. gender and international development; revise the initial research proposals they Pakistani women’s narrative in the had submitted in light of the insights The Centre also collaborated with the western media; feminism at home, they had gained from the workshop. Saida Waheed Gender Initiative and invited #MeToo in Pakistan; history of feminism The two-day workshop was brought to Haneya Zuberi, a journalist and visiting in the world and its link to Pakistan’s a conclusion by a sustained emphasis lecturer based in Lahore, who conducted own history of feminism; gender on the core principles and consider- a Workshop on Women, Gender and the portrayal from a storytelling perspective. ations which must be kept in mind by Politics of Storytelling. A graduate of the Greatly interactive and engaging in all committed scholars and researchers, Columbia Journalism School, Haneya nature, it prompted participants to and an offer of continued assistance and Zuberi worked in media and advocacy in express their interest in the idea of a guidance to the participants. New York for several years. Prior to that, she worked at UN Women on the series of further workshops centered on the subject of gender and its role in Sarak Chaap was another creative ‘HeForShe’ campaign.In light of the topic different fields and their landscapes in initiative which allowed for an informed of discussion, Zuberi highlighted funda- Pakistan. engagement with art and the mental themes such as: post-colonialism, city—a street photography workshop held fortnightly in February, conducted by Lahore-based visual artist, Nad-e-Ali. He guided his students through the sights and sounds of Lohari Gate, Lakshmi Chowk, Anarkali, and the like, illustrating his approach while photographing the city’s unravished cor- ners. Within his practice, he is interested in capturing the social and political cli- mate evident on the streets of Lahore. He works in both digital and analog formats of photography. His work has been fea- tured in Vice, the Herald, and EOS Dawn, and has been exhibited nationally and internationally since 2012.

Haneya Zuberi

18 19 Saida Waheed Gender Initiative Aimen Bucha

Since its inception, The Saida Waheed talk. Her talk, titled Postcolonial Echoes registrars in punjab, Pakistan—she Gender Initiative has been hosting monthly of Hir: The Feminist Poetics and the discussed the possible gaps between laws seminars and inviting local scholars of Vernacular Imagination, explored the that govern marriage and divorce as they gender studies to share their working feminist poetics of postcolonial Punjabi are found in law books and the de facto research and/or published work with the poetry, focusing specifically on practice of the law. She argued that community at LUMS. This semester started Amrita Pritam and Nasreen Anjum Bhatti. Pakistan is a good example: the off with a talk by Dr. Gwendolyn Kirk Through a close reading of their poems, government officials who register (Assistant Professor, MGSHSS). Her talk, “Ajj aakhan Waris Shah nu” and “Neel marriages often follow their own titled ‘You need to know a little yes/no’: karaiyaan neelkaan”, she discussed how judgment rather than complying strictly Crossing Gender and Linguistic Boundaries these progressive poets deployed the Hir with the law. Many are not even aware in Pakistani Cinema, examined two films in narrative as a genre of contestation to of the laws on the books. To address this, detail—1957’s Yakkey Wali and 1979’s Aurat critique the multiple patriarchies of she shared that the government of Punjab Raj, to ask how vocal drag and nation, region, and community. is conducting the first-ever mandatory translanguaging perform identity crossings training of marriage registrars in the in ways that complement or complicate This was followed by a book talk by Dr. province to inform them on women’s other narrative dimensions of these films. Sara Rizvi who is an Assistant rights in marriage, including child Her work seeks to explore the Professor at Forman Christian College in marriage and women’s right to initiate gender-transgressive roots of such the department of sociology. In her talk divorce, and of the legal consequences to performances by asking the following she discussed her book, Women, registrars for non-compliance. The study questions: what role do vocal and Healthcare and Violence, in which she used a randomised rollout of this training linguistic elements play either in alignment sheds lights on the near million women programme and complementary informa- or non-alignment with gender-crossing healthcare practitioners across Pakistan tion experiments to answer the question: performances in film? What are the who face some form of workplace how can state intervention increase local semiotic relationships between visual and violence almost daily during care delivery. officials’ compliance with and vocal elements in film? And how do the enforcement of de jure laws protecting meanings of these performances develop The Initiative then held a talk by Dr. Kate women’s rights? She shared the initial over time? Vyborny (Postdoctoral Associate, findings of the study. Department of Economics, Duke Sara Kazmi, who is currently pursuing a University). In her talk—titled This was followed by a talk by Dr. Laine PhD in postcolonial literatures at the Institutional Reform and De Facto Munir, a Research Fellow at the School for University of Cambridge, gave the next Women’s Rights: Evidence from Marriage Conflict Analysis and Resolution (SCAR),

20 21 Dr. Kate Vyborny Dr. Laine Munir Dr. Shirin Zubair

George Mason University’s Korea campus. Administration (IBA), Karachi. Her talk, Based on extensive interviews and In her talk, titled No Wealth for Women: titled Performing Religious Authority as a participant observation in several Natural Resources and Gender Inequality Woman: Resources, Constraints, and neighbourhoods, her research shifts in Africa, she surveyed the relationship Cultural Entrepreneurship, was based on attention away from solely using violence between the resource curse and her research on Pakistani women who as a lens to understand urban space— gender by drawing on illustrative cases in participate in the religious classes and an approach that has so far dominated sub-Saharan Africa. reformist activities of the group Al-Huda. studies of Karachi in general and Lyari in She explored how the standards of ethical particular—and away from seeing women Dr. Shirin Zubair, a professor of English at conduct are especially pronounced for a mainly as victims of violence. Rather, by Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, gave female religious authority figure, as are the focusing on the multiplicity of meanings the next talk. Her talk, titled Negotiating risks of courting controversy and being space holds for women and girls and by Multiple Identities: Pakistani Women and deemed illegitimate. She used the highlighting their own creative Media Representations, explored the ways conceptual framework of cultural navigations and everyday forms of in which media representations of entrepreneurship to show how influence resistance, she brought new insights into Pakistani women are understood to is acquired by drawing on social network discussions on gender and urban space. represent broader international ties and recombining symbolic as well as development discourses. By focusing on organisational resources. Student Colloquium development narratives with regard to women’s empowerment and their social Dr. Nida Kirmani (Associate Professor of This year the SWGI had its fourth student and political positioning, and by looking Sociology at LUMS) delivered the last talk colloquium to amplify research work in at the visual and linguistic of the Spring Seminar Series. Her talk, gender studies being done by students representations, images, and portrayals of titled Can Fun Be Feminist? Gender, Space across public and private universities in women, she aimed to capture the and Mobility in Lyari, Karachi, focused on Pakistan. The colloquium allowed competing discourses of femininities one of Karachi’s original settlements, Lyari, students to present their research on offered on the cable television channels in and explored the multiple ways in which topics including gender and religion, the Pakistan. women and girls in particular experience media, literature, politics, social and understand this area. She documented movements, feminist theory, masculinities The next talk was by Dr. Faiza Mushtaq, the various tactics used by women and girls and femininities, health and the body, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Chair to negotiate this landscape in the course of sexuality, gender-based violence, and of the Department of Social Sciences and their everyday lives, as they travel for the development. Liberal Arts at the Institute of Business purposes of work, education, and leisure.

Dr. Sara Rizvi Dr. Nida Kirmani Dr. Gwendolyn Kirk

20 21 Mahbub Ul Haq Research Center Nazam Maqbool

The Mahbub Ul Haq Research Center aims main strands: first, conducting research Three research papers—“Mahbub ul to improve human development and and policy work in the form of research Haq’s Vision of Human Development in human security through a focus on papers, conceptualising the annual South Pakistan: Challenges and Policy Options”, research, policy change, and outreach. Asia Human Development Report (SAHDR), “Climate Change, Water and Human With a special focus on South Asia, the and pursuing a flagship policy project on Migration in South Asia: A Case of India Center carries out activities to support “Humanizing the State”; second, developing and Pakistan”, and “Agricultural Trade research and policy-making across its a strategic framework for the MHRC; third, Liberalization and Development in core pillars: freedom from fear and conducting outreach activities through Pakistan”—were submitted by the freedom from want. Working across seminars and roundtable discussions. Center’s research staff. Two of these have issues of democracy and governance, already been published, with the third social justice, peace and conflict, gender During this semester, the Center held scheduled for publication within this and security, environmental consultations to finalise the theme for the semester. sustainability, and socio-economic 21st Annual SAHDR 2019. A cross-section development, the Center offers a holistic of experts is being consulted in Islamabad The Center also initiated a flagship and evidence-informed approach to the and Lahore (within and outside LUMS). research project: “Humanizing the State: challenges of human security in South In addition, to harness previous work A Roadmap to Put People First”. The Asia. undertaken through the Center, all the purpose of the project is to produce a research papers and statistical tables of report and undertake a broad narrative Originally established in November 1995 the 20th Annual SAHDR 2017/2018— building exercise to advocate putting by the late Dr. Mahbub ul Haq, founder focusing on “Environmental Sustainability human development and human security and chief architect of the United Nations with Equity in South Asia”—were at the center of Pakistan’s national Development Programme (UNDP) Human reviewed by a panel of leading South narrative. As part of this project, the Development Reports, the Center became Asian experts. This work is now Center organised a roundtable part of LUMS in 2016. It draws upon the undergoing revision and will be completed discussion. Participants included Nida expertise of LUMS faculty and its rich, this semester. Usman, Gen (R) Waheed Arshad, Shaigan multidisciplinary foundation of academic Sharif, Tariq Khosa, Saeed Shafqat, Ali work that extends across disciplines. The Center continued to provide Usman Qasmi, Ahmad Yunas Samad, original research contributions to the Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Ali Sultan, Hassan The Center has undertaken a number of Social Science and Policy Bulletin, Javid, and Ali Hasanain. Participants at activities this semester, focusing on three published by MGSHSS, LUMS. the roundtable highlighted the need for

Dr. Moeed Yusf and the pannel

22 23 for exploring and developing evidence The Center convened a talk on the “Critical Interventions: Mapping that emphasises a people-centric “Importance of Technology and the Emerging Scholarship on South approach as the mainstay of Pakistan’s Right to Privacy”, led by Akbar Nasir Asia” hosted by the HSS department. As national narrative. Khan (the COO of the Punjab Safe City part of the conference, the Center held a Authority), which explored topical issues panel discussion on “Women in Politics in The research and policy work undertaken about the use of technology for citizen Pakistan”. Malaika Raza, Maleeka Bokhari, by the Center is evidence of the Center’s welfare and the concerns this might raise and Hina Pervaiz Butt, representing the strong focus on human development in in terms of data privacy and the three main political parties of the country, South Asia. To ensure that this work involvement of the state in peoples’ lives. debated the state of women’s takes place within a larger strategic Initiating the trend of partnering with participation in politics and framework, the Center is currently other think tanks in Islamabad, the decision-making. Thematically, given undergoing a strategic planning process, Center supported a roundtable discussion human development’s wider focus on through which it seeks to amplify the on “Reshaping Asia: CPEC and the BRI”, gender dynamics and the Center’s two work undertaken at LUMS by increasing co-hosted with the Jinnah Institute. Ivan Annual Reports (2000 and 2016) on the linkages between academics and Rasmussen (Assistant Professor at NYU gender and women empowerment in practitioners in the social sciences. As Shanghai) and Nazish Afraz (Teaching South Asia, this was an important area part of this process, multiple Fellow at LUMS) presented on the for the Center to explore. These consultations have been held within topic, while well-known journalist Zahid initiatives offered an opportunity to the and outside LUMS to solicit views, input, Hussain moderated the session. This was Centre to contribute to wide-ranging and advice from researchers and followed by a discussion with a group debates in the field of human practitioners. A Strategic Plan (2019–21) of experts, notably Aliya Hashmi Khan, development over the course of the is being developed and will be shared Musharaf Zaidi, Gen (R) Talat Masood, semester. with the faculty for further input by the Nazam Maqbool, and others. The event end of this semester. allowed the Center to connect academics at LUMS with a wider audience of policy Finally, the Center renewed its efforts in analysts in Islamabad. The Center cospon- terms of outreach to LUMS faculty, sored the Thirteenth Annual Humanities external researchers, and policy-makers. and Social Sciences Conference on

22 23 Faculty News

Ali Khan (Associate Tania Saeed (Assistant Professor, HSS) published Professor, HSS) published RESEARCH GRANT an article titled “Cricket, a chapter titled society and religion: a “Islamophobia and the Two HSS faculty members, study of increasing Muslim Student: Dr. Mohammad Waseem religiosity in the national Disciplining the Intellect” (Visiting Faculty, HSS) and cricket team of Pakistan” in the Routledge Dr. Asma Faiz (Assistant in Sport in Society (2019). International Handbook of Professor, HSS), have been Islamophobia, edited by awarded the prestigious Irene Zempi and Imran three-year PERIDOT Awan. She also Research Programme grant presented on “Constructing for their project on the resilient citizen: A case federalism in Pakistan. of education policies and the fight against PERIDOT is the extremism in Pakistan” Franco-Pakistani Hubert at the Comparative and Saba Pirzadeh (Assistant Curien Partnership (PHC) International Education Professor, HSS) published a Program that brings Studies (CIES) Conference, chapter titled together Pakistani and San Francisco. “Postcolonial French academics to Development, collaborate of research Socio-ecological projects. In Pakistan, the Degradation and Slow programme is implemented Violence in Pakistani by the Higher Education Fiction” in the Routledge Commission (HEC) and in Baqar H. Syed (Teaching Handbook of France jointly by the Fellow, HSS) has a forth- Ecocriticism and Ministry of Foreign Affairs coming article on “Kalam Environmental & International in a Post-traditional World: Communication, edited Development (MAEDI) and Shibli Nu‘mani’s Con- by Scott Slovic, the Ministry of Higher struction of Authority in Swarnalatha Rangarajan, Education and Research ‘Ilmul-Kalam and al-Kalam” and Vidya Sarveswaran (MESRI). in the Pakistan Journal of (Routledge, 2019). Historical Studies (2019). The proposal by Dr. Waseem and Dr. Faiz received the highest marks in evaluations in Paris as well as in Islamabad. The Sadaf Ahmad (Associate project will enable leading Professor, HSS) published political scientists in France article titled “Pakistani and Pakistan to conduct a policewomen: questioning thorough study of the role of gender in post-18th Amendment circumscribing police federalism in Pakistan. corruption” in Policing and Society (2019).

24 25 Nadhra S. Khan (Associate Patterns of Words in Fatima Mustafa (Assistant Professor, HSS) published Images” at the Global Professor, HSS) presented an article, “Ayina-Kari in Conversation on Creative on “Counter-terrorism in the Sheesh Mahal, Lahore Pedagogy: Mapping Pakistan: Can Cellphone Fort: Issues of In-between Spaces Across Shutdowns Reduce Attribution, Appreciation Cultures; visiting the Clark Terrorist Violence?” at the and Interpretation”, in Art Institute, Massachu- HSS Seminar Series. She Artibus Asiae. She chaired setts; attending the LUMS also presented a paper a panel discussion on FTG for the International in the 13th Annual HSS “Conflict & Belonging in Conventions of Asia Schol- Conference on “Cell phone Literature” at the 13th ars (July, 2019) in Leiden. Shutdowns in Pakistan: Annual HSS Conference The Intersection of and also presented a paper Technology and Violence”. on “Home in the Post-9/11 Anglophone Pakistani Shayan Rajani (Assistant Ateeb Gul (Teaching Novel”. She was awarded Professor, HSS) presented a Fellow/Senior Editor, the CAA-Getty International paper at a workshop at the HSS) published an English Travel Grant in February New York University, titled translation of Dr. Najeeba 2019 for the following “Regionalization without Arif’s poem (Azal Abad events and projects: Vernacularization: The Ke Darmiyan) titled “In Moderating a session on Changing Place of Persian Between Eternities” in Sky “Orientalism/Occidentalism” in Eighteenth Century Island Journal (April 2019). at the Global Conversations Thatta”. He also published a poem 2019 Preconference titled “Hurried Greeting” in Colloquium; presenting the Eureka Literary a paper titled “Images of Magazine (May 2019). Guru Nanak: Locating

24 25 Heads of Departments Head for Sabbatical

Dr. Turab Hussain and Dr. Ali Khan

Dr. Ali Khan (Head of Department, Humanities and Social Sciences) and Dr. S. Turab Hussain (Head of Department, Economics) have not just been heading their respective departments for many years, they have been intellectual main- stays of the Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences. They have been professors, administrators, mentors, and visionaries. Their departments—and therefore the School—have grown tremendously under their leadership. One downside of this has been that they have not been able to have any time for themselves throughout all these years of leadership. Beginning in Fall 2019–2020, both Dr. Ali Khan and Dr. S. Turab Hussain will go on a one-year leave of sabbatical. On April 27, the MGSHSS Dean’s Office organised a get-together to celebrate their accomplishments.

26 27 some light on the thought process Faculty Interview behind it? Well, the Comparative Literary and Dr. Maryam Wasif Khan Cultural Studies (CLCS) minor is a more cutting-edge and focused redesign of the South Asian Literary Traditions (SALT) who made both classrooms really come alive! minor. SALT had a national, single- Your teaching methods are quite unique. tradition teleology implicit in its courses. I would like to know more about how you CLCS asks for Urdu to be seen alongside conceived the pattern of your courses. Persian, Punjabi, or Sindhi, and also for the literary to be imagined as one of several I think it depends on what I am teaching. aesthetic practices including film and If there is one thing at the heart of every music. All of these elements ought to be single lecture or seminar, it is close reading. considered within the historical contexts I try and make close reading—for me the of empire and modernity. Likewise, we foundational practice for any scholar of lit- wanted to create a curriculum that allows Photo Credit: Faizan Ahmad erature—the heart and soul of any teaching I students with diverse interests—whether do at the 100 or 200-level. Close reading asks visual, creative, or critical—to be able to really pursue these interests, while at Could you tell us a little about your work? us as readers to be attentive right down from the level of the word to the broader location the same time also having a sense of the field. For the latter, we will be piloting our I am trained in comparative literature, so of a passage in a text. Each time that I teach 100-level core which is team-taught by the the work I do usually spans languages and students the basics of close reading, I recall entire faculty, and covers works as diverse historical moments. For the past few years, I that this was the first thing I was taught as as Homer’s Odyssey to Maji Majidi’s Iranian have been working with sources in French, a college freshman. Interestingly, the person films. As for the other cores, students have Urdu, English and my very rudimentary, who taught me the basics of close reading a choice of whether to pursue fiction- dictionary-dependent Persian. I have just was a historian (and he remains one of the writing, translation, or research methods finished a book manuscript, tentatively- reasons that I am unable to ever see litera- in film or comparative literature. But I titled Who is a Muslim? Orientalism and ture as distinct from history). “What is the am super excited for Dr. Moeen Niza- Literary Populisms, which argues that text telling you about a people? What is the mi’s course on Qavvali (cross-listed with modern Urdu literature from its inception in author trying to tell us about himself and Religious Studies) and Dr. Fatima Fayyaz’s colonial institutions such as Fort William his moment?” were his guiding questions course on the Shahnameh this Fall. College, Calcutta, to its dominant forms in for freshmen reading Homer and Ovid. All contemporary Pakistan—popular novels, this had to be gleaned from a passage of Finally, what should we expect from you short stories, television serials—is formed no more than a 100 or so lines, but it was, in the future? Any new courses, book around a question that is and historically has and still is, for me, an exhilarating exercise. projects, or events on the horizon? been at the core of early modern and modern But if that is the one skill I want students to Western literatures. The question—who is a leave with, the other critical element remains I think (and hope), a number of things. I Muslim—is predominant in eighteenth- non-national thinking. I never teach a course am beginning work on a new book century literary and scholarly orientalist in a single language or to do with a single manuscript. Beginnings are painfully slow, texts, the English oriental tale chief amongst moment or people. My Jane Austen course but I think I am gaining some traction. them, but takes on new and dangerous is actually a longer study of the novel and Right now, the project is envisioned as meanings once it travels to the North-Indian domestic politics from 19th century England a contemplation on teaching canoni- colony, and later to Pakistan. The manuscript into present-day Pakistan. The readings and cal works of the Western Canon in 21st is currently out for peer-review. materials are always in English and Urdu. Likewise, the Western Canon courses are century Pakistan. Parts of it frighten me because of the sheer grandeur of these I have spent this past semester reorienting invested in two questions: what is Europe works, and my own personal attachments two of my usual courses: the 200-level Sins and how to read these works when we move to them, but I am also excited because it is of the Reader and the 400-level seminar on them outside of the Euro-American academy an engagement with the very foundations Orientalism. Not being stuck in the and into the fragmented, godless present that of a Euro-American comparative literature. quagmires of writing, but just working with we ourselves exist in? I want students to I will be teaching a couple of new courses new materials and new questions in the question the totalising and insular concepts this year for the CLCS minor—one on the classroom is revitalising (at least for a bit). I of a single “tradition” or a literature in a cultural legacies of empire and the other have absolutely loved teaching this single language. on methods in comparative literature. I semester—not only did I have great texts, I also want to organise a small workshop on also had fantastic and engaged students In a recent email, the Gurmani Centre revamped the SALT minor. Could you shed present-day fascisms in the Spring.

26 27 Faculty Interview

The line is borrowed from Robert Spae- co-operative beings who only sometimes Dr. Khalid Mir mann—so nothing new there! The reason act out of narrow self-interest? Our for starting the book with that sentence better selves also love, sacrifice and play; was that I wanted to question the idea that build, sing and write. And we do all these research has to be “original”, as is typically things with other people. From a religious claimed by the research university. Iris perspective, could there even be an ‘I’ Murdoch once wrote that part of a serious without a ‘Thou’? education involves going back to the roots of a discipline. So, why can’t memory be So, I’m really questioning whether we inventive and creative? Instead of a head- should think of reason as a mechanical de- long rush into incremental additions to a cision procedure and of economic agents body of knowledge perhaps we sometimes as acting out of individual rationality. need to move backwards in order to move forwards. And that going back to the fun- Are you done with Philosophy and damental and often hidden assumptions Economics? Or do you plan to work on of a discipline becomes crucial when the it and write on it in the future as well? system that rests on them shows signs of Also, what is your next “project”? Let us start with your book that came collapse. out just a few months ago—Ethics and My next project will probably be some- Economic Theory (Routledge, 2019). What Also, though, there actually is nothing thing along the lines of Religion and Eco- made you write it and what is it about? new in the book. nomics. How does religion give us a new (old?) way to think about persons (rather The book challenges the core assump- You are someone who takes language than the isolated and amoral individual of tions of the field of economics, especially and its nuances seriously. How do economic theory)? Religion (and perhaps the assumption that economic agents language and jargon affect the way poetry as well) gives us a different vocabu- are rational, self-interested individuals. we think about the rational being in lary to talk about human beings and their There is a growing body of literature in economics? relationships amongst each other and with economics and beyond that focuses on other non-human beings. That very old the criticism of mainstream economics. One of the core assumptions of economics idea of personhood is bound to change I’ve tried to add to that critique by saying that I question in the book is the idea of a the way we see economics as it provides that many of our contemporary problems, rational being. Rationality, as understood an ethical paradigm which mainstream from climate change and the decline of by economics, is just one way of describing economic theory has typically avoided. the public sector to the crisis of democra- the way in which human beings act or cy and the neoliberal university, stem from think about how to act. But it’s not a very And while I am not quite done with a ‘relational’ crisis. That is, the inability of good description. The language, let us say, Philosophy and Economics, it might have market economies and economic theory to is too ‘mechanical’. We often think with, done with me after the book came out! But ‘picture’ humans as essentially creatures for, and about other people. The isolated you’re never really ‘done’ with anything that understand themselves in relation to rational thinker of economic theory turns in academia. I’m not sure if that inability time, place, and to other beings. out to be more like a robot than a human to conclude is necessarily always a good being! William Blake wrote, “He who sees thing. I have been teaching a course on Philos- only ratio sees only himself”. I think that’s ophy and Economics for many years now. about right. There is no timeless, abstract, Finally, what are you reading these I have investigated the “and” between the or perfect understanding of who we days? two fields and the range of possible rela- are and how we choose. Instead, we are tionships that it implies between the two embodied beings who learn how to think I have been reading a lot of, and around, subjects. In some ways, pretentious though clearly over time, with the help of other Robert Spaemann recently. Also, Rowan it may sound, my monograph arises out of people. All of that means that we shouldn’t Williams is one of my favourite thinkers. that simple word. tie our idea of reason too closely to the His small, gem of a book, Being Hu- language of mathematics. man, is proving to be insightful. Eugene The very first sentence of the book Vodolazkin’s novel, Laurus, take us back states: “There is nothing new in this This takes us back to ‘relationality’. How to an older way of thinking. And I’ve just book”. Why did you open the book with would economics change if we said hu- finished Olav Hauge’s wonderful collection this statement? man beings are fundamentally social and of gentle, quiet, and wise poems.

28 29 Out in the Open Learning from Peasants About the Politics of Seeds Dr. Kasim Ali Tirmizey

“Peasants are the world’s unrecognised scientists. We do experiments and we select crops according to our needs”, Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam, a smallholder kisan (peasant) in the outskirts of Sahiwal, tells a group of students from LUMS about their efforts to grow, store, exchange, and share traditional seeds in a world where corporations are increasingly controlling what seeds are sown and sold.

Aslam is making a powerful statement because it also presents a different sense of knowledge: learning happens in the field and peasants have knowledge that comes from experience, intergenerational teaching, and from political self-organising. Yet, these ways of knowing have often been neglected by the academia.

As part of the course that I teach, “Food, Land, and Politics”, I organised a fieldtrip for students to a village just outside Sahiwal. The students were accompanied by the The peasants tell my students that these recover their sovereignty over food, they NGO Roots for Equity. Such fieldtrips are laws are an initiative to take the control are also organising politically through a important because we need to recognise the over seeds away from farmers and into peasant movement—the Pakistan Kissan existence of multiple ways of knowing and the hands of seed corporations. These Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT). In addition to learning. For example, I get students to con- laws give intellectual propriety rights to holding protests when these seed bills duct intergenerational interviews with their companies in producing transgenetic were being discussed in the parliament, parents and grandparents, to understand seeds. The peasants of Sahiwal explained they have also filed a petition in the La- the social and historical processes that have that transgenetic seeds not only reduce hore High Court to highlight the ways in led to changing relationships to food and biodiversity and can have unpredictable which these new laws violate the rights of land. My students were quite impressed by environmental and health consequences, farmers and will lead to a loss in biodi- how knowledgeable these small-scale peas- it also forces peasants to increase their in- versity. ants are about the political, economic, and put costs by having to buy corporate seeds environmental consequences of transgenic rather than using their saved traditional Back in the classroom, I asked my students and hybrid seeds. seeds. about interesting ideas that they learnt from the trip. One student mentioned how Two recently passed laws—the Seed (Amend- Aslam shows a field where there a variety he was struck by something a kisan said: ment) Act 2015 and the Plant Breeders’ of seeds like sarsoon (mustard) are being that these laws were made without any Rights Act 2016—have major implications for dried. He explains their medicinal and participation of small-scale peasants and farmers in Pakistan. The small-scale nutritional qualities. Students took a that if the voices and the labour of the peasants in Sahiwal tell my students that handful of traditional wheat grain and kisan would be valued, the laws and prac- these laws, if fully implemented, make it contrasted it with a hybrid variety har- tices of this land would be very different. a crime to share, exchange, and sell seeds vested from a field nearby. For many of my students, they have devel- if not done through a certified dealer. Yet, oped a growing sense of realisation that these practices have been the right of This agro-ecological project of having a these small-scale peasants have profound farmers since the domestication of plants, a seed bank for traditional seeds is not the knowledge about their land and labour, history that takes us back to the Indus Riv- only way these farmers are trying to as well as about the political dimensions er Civilisation and places such as Harappa. of these.

28 29 Feature Pakistan@100: Future of Policing Muhammad Abubakar Umer

“Do you have faith in the police? Or do The discussion was moderated by Dr. Ali Tariq Khosa also mentioned that currently you see it as a coercive arm of the state? Hasanain, Assistant Professor of the complaints received by the general How many of you will raise the hand and Economics at LUMS and a moving spirit public at the offices of IGPs were mainly say that you don’t trust the police?” These behind Pakistan@100. about non-registration of First were some of the questions asked by one Information Reports (FIRs), faulty of the panelists and former Inspector “How do we want to see Pakistan in 2047”, investigation, bribery, illegal detentions, General Police Balochistan (IGP) Tariq asked Tariq Khosa while setting the registration of false cases, and arresting Khosa at the panel discussion on The agenda for the discussion. Out of the innocent people. Future of Policing in Pakistan. Except for seven broad categories that are to be his wife and a few others in the audience, addressed as part of Pakistan@100, As a method of course correction, Tariq everyone raised their hands to reflect the governance is one of them. Governance Khosa proposed a six-point national

pervasive distrust between the people and means rule of law which depends mainly agenda. First, Police must respond the police. on the future of policing in Pakistan. immediately and with care when citizens call in distress. Second, free registration of This policy talk was organised under the According to Tariq Khosa, currently cases must be given the highest priority joint project of LUMS and the World Bank police is a broken force and he laid out and citizens’ complaints should be re- titled Pakistan@100. Among the other five strategic parameters for the kind of corded whether received telephonically or panelists were former IGP Punjab Shaukat police he envisions for Pakistan in 2047: personally. Also, serious action should be Javaid, DIG Police of IT in Punjab Zulfiqar (1) depoliticisation; (2) accountability; (3) taken against false accusations or illegal Hameed, and Associate Professor of Eco- administrative and operational autonomy; arrests. nomics at LUMS Dr. Ali Cheema. (4) professionalism and specialisation; (5) a sense of service, not a coercive arm of the state.

30 31 Third, instead of relying on ocular of the workings of the police to begin testimony or resorting to fake witnesses, with. The first serious attempt was made investigations should primarily be based in 1985 when a police reforms committee on circumstantial evidence corroborated was formed wholly consisting of senior by scientific methods of evidence police officers and that committee report collection. The only job of the police is is still considered to be one of the best to collect evidence and present it before reports on police reforms. One of the a court of law. Police are not supposed to recommendations of the report was that act as judges. Fourth, no illegal detentions, urban areas had different policing torture, false arrests, or fake encounters paradigm; as a result, a different should take place. Police are not mechanism should be adopted for such executioners. urban centers comprising population of half a million or more. Fifth, police corruption must be curbed with an iron hand. Sixth, police as an Before talking about the challenges in institution can only survive through implementation of these reforms, public consent. With the temperate use Mr. Javaid gave brief historical background of its considerable powers, it will be able and the policing model of pre-Partition to walk the hazardous tightrope of public India. opinion.

Tariq Khosa also claimed that governance and accountability have remained hollow The two parallel systems were working slogans thus far, resulting in issues such in India at the time of Partition. Unfor- as corruption, inefficiency, and high-hand- tunately, none of those presidency towns edness in police. came to Pakistan and Pakistan was devoid of that experience which had gained Former IGP Shaukat Javaid was asked strength in India. about the roadblocks in achieving effective policing in Pakistan. To this, he Soon after our independence in 1947, responded by plainly stating that we have the Constituent Assembly passed the wasted the last 70 years by implementing Karachi Police Act. This act could not get dozens of police reform groups comprising the signature of the Governor General people who had little to no knowledge Muhammad Ali Jinnah as he was in Ziarat (severely ill); as a result, the law could not be enacted and we could not adopt the system which is now prevalent in 60 cities of India. Even Bangladesh has the same system in four of its cities. None of Pakistan’s cities have this model of law enforcement and we are still blindly following the rural model of policing based on the Police Act 1861—this does not have the ability to cope with modern challenges of big urban centers. The police system which was introduced in 1856 in the three presidency towns of After giving this historical context of India—Bombay, Calcutta, and policing, Shaukat Javaid goes on to point Madraas— was based on the model of the out that police was only given some London Metropolitan Police. A year later, importance in autocratic rules, whereas in mutiny took place in 1857 which forced democratic tenures politicians always used the Crown to safeguard its interests by police as an instrument of coercion that introducing another police model based on suited their constituency politics. . Urban the Irish Constabulary Act, in the rest of policing was finally separated in the Police India. The new act was passed and enacted Order 2002 and some specialisation was as the Police Act 1861. introduced.

30 31 However, as soon as the Musharraf much more authority and control within reforms, you have to give up on certain government ended, Balochistan and Sindh the structure”, said Dr. Cheema when things—as a result, the costing of reforms provinces reverted back to Police Act 1861. asked about framing the policing issue in is an equally serious concern. Pakistan. Unfortunately, policing was never the Carrying forward the discussion, DIG priority area in Pakistan so hardly any According to him, the police face three Police of IT Zulfiqar Hameed mentioned attention was paid in its capacity building main challenges. One, partisanship—the that with the help of technology we can unlike civil armed forces or other wings of more you strengthen the link between reduce our costs, for example by doing the security forces (like the army). the executive and the police, the more smart patrolling or by keeping a check Whenever a serious law and order partisan it becomes. Two, we think the on critical spots through strategically situation arose, we would always call the criminal justice system problem as a installed safe city cameras. Hameed, civil armed forces. He ended his talk by problem of criminality, whereas it also has being Regional Police Officer, was the key appreciating the latest KP police model links with social changes such as increase officer of the team that solved the Zainab that gave police more autonomy and the property crimes and contestation over rape-murder case. He talked about how internal accountability mechanism. land rights. Third, the absence of effective technology was used in order to “I am optimistic about police reforms in local government system. apprehend the culprit and the role of the Pakistan now as the beginning has been state-of-the-art Punjab Forensic made from KP”, concluded Shaukat Javaid. Dr. Cheema concluded his talk by stating Science Agency in collecting samples and that we cannot do police reforms in matching DNAs. “Our findings against the “The reason why we couldn’t implement isolation. We have to work simultaneously culprits were scientific in nature and not 19th century London metropolitan police on reforms of property rights settlement merely based on witnesses”, said Hameed. model to Pakistan is because the political as well as on the decentralisation of the In conclusion, he said that while institutions in 19th century England were state structure. When we talk about technology can improve certain aspects led by the parliament and we have an reforms, we should also keep in mind the of policing, the question of its complete executive heavy political institutional financial constraints the state faces. In overhaul would demand a lot more than structure. So the police is partisan by order to divert financial resources for the just the use of information technology. definition because the executive has

32 33 Student Contributions Korea Calls Laiba Paracha

College is a time for us to evolve as people, mistakes so I could do better, to force to shake off the remnants of childishness myself out of my comfort zone and expand that cling after the A-levels and take some it at the same time. Korea provided all this steps into the vast expanse of adulthood, for me, and then some. shaky though they may be. Living alone, making a bank account, managing your I would be doing Seoul National University finances, navigating public spaces, a whole a disservice by not mentioning their Buddy list of other quasi-mature actions must programme. Every four exchange students be performed in due time for graduation; are assigned a Korean Buddy, a full time practice, for when we really do have to SNU student who acts as a guide and a grow up and fend for ourselves. friend. The Buddy programme divides the exchange students into groups of 32 and Living in Lahore and commuting via then lets the buddies plan activities for Careem to and from LUMS felt like every week of the semester. Every single university was just an extension of school. week. Picnics, biweekly group lunches, With the dorms at full capacity, living on carnivals, music festivals, ice-skating, campus wasn’t an option either. meditative temple retreats, an international food festival, and multiple I am fully aware of the benefits and overnight trips are a small part of the comforts of having a home and family itinerary. The numerous activities and the close by; however, that also extends the effect of globalisation (millennial and Gen portion of your life where you exist as Z culture merge into one) ensure that some someone held back, sheltered despite friendships pop up spontaneously, others wanting to branch out. Safe, but unaware. are built over time, but they have a strong foundation of shared values that transcend I wanted to live alone, to get lost so I could race, ethnicity, religion, and gender. learn how to read maps better, to make

32 33 SNU students have a reputation to uphold, as do the professors, who don’t go easy on exchange students. As a liberal arts student, though, I was well-prepared for the reading workload and had an easier time adjusting to the weekly writing requirements for some of the courses. What I truly was not prepared for was the amount of running I would be doing to get from one building to the next in time, as the SNU campus is its own mini city—over 30 cafes and restaurants, banks, a farmer’s market, a cinema, numerous convenience stores, salons, gift shops, and a thrift store, among other things, carved into a mountain range. Every day was and still is an uphill battle, quite literally because getting to some of the classes is a hike and a half from the dormitories. Regardless, with the arrival of spring the campus has bloomed, with trees taking on hues of pink and yellow and green and red, streams flowing with clear water next to sidewalks, and a blessed multitude of cats for company on these aforementioned hikes.

With the campus providing for and completely different countries, with catering to every need a student could different cultures and traditions and have, one could expect a comfortable four quirks. When alone, I thought about how months just spent living as a hermit in the much more there is to the world than our dorms. However, as one must also explore limited experiences and understanding the rest of the country one has travelled of it, and how vague and ambiguous the to, the dorms must be left and Seoul term “foreign” becomes when there exist must be seen and heard and known. It’s common passions and fears that transcend really the least one can do for a city that geographic bounds. is so vibrant, so bustling, and so open and friendly and easy to get along with. I am getting better at reading maps, and budgeting, and being comfortable with my So far, traveling outside Seoul with SNU own “foreignness” in this country. It has Buddy and friends has yielded numerous given me so much to be grateful for, and I memories to cherish, and performed the hope the rest of my exchange has more to added function of attaching to Seoul and teach me. the SNU campus in particular a comfort- ing sense of familiarity. Busan, the port city, was mellow and laid back. Gwangju was brief but unforgettable. Yeongwol mad fun but a blur in every sense of the word.

All these experiences were proof that I made the right decision by trying for an exchange programme. Every mistake was only a confirmation of all that I needed to learn. When with friends, I thought of how lucky I was to have met them, how much we all have in common despite being from

34 35 A Debate on Military Courts Marha Fathma

Debates and Recitation at LUMS (DRUMS) He was then followed by the crowd Following her was Taha Iqbal, a junior at organised its last Quarterly Debate of the favourite activist and politician Jibran LUMS who has been a Quarterfinalist as year on April 24. The motion under review Nasir who was welcomed with roaring well as an Octofinalist at the United Asian was “This House Supports the Extension applause. He injected his customary Debates Tournament. He gave a very fiery of Military Courts”. Director Projects, Talha pathos into his speech and his words speech and his sarcastic remarks were Wani, moderated the debate. The motion engulfed the packed auditorium. His sar- most definitely a crowd winner. Renowned was rather controversial but both sides castic remarks were celebrated with even members of the debating circuit and now put up a fierce and engaging debate. more applause. practicing lawyers, Hammad Saeed and Ali Javed, both affirmed team government’s Quite fitting to the motion, General (R) Following him was not an easy task but position with speeches backed by facts General Ghulam Mustafa started off the resident DRUMS debater Momina Khurshid and well-constructed arguments. debate with insights of his own from his took on the challenge and certainly years of service in the army. delivered with her compelling arguments. However, Oxford Union member Mehrunissa Sajjad and Assistant Professor at Forman Christian College Dr. Ammar Ali Jan were not going to back down without a fight. They used humor (a recurring theme by this point) to sway the audience while also building upon and refuting the arguments by previous speakers. People took a keen interest in the topic and the number of hands up during the question and answer session certainly reflected that.

After a fantastic and engaging debate, with the outcome of a public vote granting 103 votes to the proposition and 184 votes to the opposition, team opposition took the victory home.

34 35 FemSoc— Feminism, Society, and Freedom of Speech

that narrative as well. We often find that on campus, men and women ascribe to certain notions of ‘woke-ness’ until it starts threatening their privilege. This inconvenience brings about debate that surrounds freedom of speech and this was particularly noticed in the response to banning Daku Day. However, that brings us to a bigger question of how to ensure our freedom to speak without infringing upon the right of others? That brings me to an incident that took place where the feminist society was subject to slurs as part of a comedy skit and someone very rightly pointed out that humour should punch upward as opposed to punching downward. The use of humour as a tool for certain gander-biased narrative was at work also in the Facebook group. At the end of the day, jokes are always directed to those who are weak or lacking in privilege in one way Nawal Zahra is a Sociology/An- It was an extreme manifestation of or another and that is the problem here. It thropology senior at MGSHSS who sentiments that were heard across is these little snide remarks that many a has been at the forefront on repre- campus, sentiments that are time eventually lead to violence. Recently, senting the female voice at LUMS ever-present in guys-only Whatsapp with the events in Srilanka, Facebook was through her position as President groups and generally most conversations banned for a while due to certain events of the coveted FemSoc. After her that involve women. The unsettling part that sparked Islamophobia and the online retirement from the post, Anam was that in a group of 600 people, only 2 platform does not remove everything that Fatima Khan sat down with her to or 3 people thought it was important to violates its community standards. have a conversation on gender pol- speak up against the vile memes that were itics at LUMS and in Pakistan. They posted about women. This is the kind of spoke about freedom of speech, attitude that we are tackling and that what the term implies, and the brings me to another issue—the qualifications that accompany it. misrepresentation of our society. There is a Nawal reflects on the larger prob- general sense around the campus that we lem of power dynamics associated are a bunch of bra-burning women, with gender and how they play out consequently labeled as extremists. The on a campus like that of LUMS. same language is not used for men who have misogynist tendencies and many a What are your views on what has been time they get away with it by using the happening in terms of a conversation freedom of speech argument. surrounding gender? How would you respond to the free- A lot. After four years of working with dom of speech argument that has been FemSoc, all these issues do not come as posited by many during the past few a surprise to me. Starting with a recent months? problem that was brought to light involv- ing a certain Facebook group, I feel that it It is not very hard to admit that women was not an isolated incident but part of a should have basic rights—they should be larger problem that starts as soon as you allowed to work—but it is important to enter the campus for the Orientation week. note that there is a certain threshold to

36 37 How has the response been after you Finally, we had an informal circle where submitted the recommendations? women spoke up against incidences of harassment and that was a big step in This has been a very busy week and we moving this conversation forward. People are yet to draft a formal letter of recom- assume that LUMS is a place where there mendations. Some of our accounts were is relatively more freedom; therefore, they hacked in response to our actions against do not acknowledge that there is misog- the online community. Since then we have yny here. This circle demonstrated that received stabbing videos and pictures of this community, like others, has women headless women amongst other threats. who have faced trauma through child- Despite everything, our suggestions to the hood sexual abuse, rape, or harassment OSA are not based on retributive justice. of other kinds and that there needs to be We demand an action against this kind of a platform to address these issues and behaviour so that it acts as precedence in this conversation needs to keep going. The preventing future mishaps. worst kind of misogyny wraps itself in a guise of jargon and complex ideas like In terms of the recommendations, we freedom of speech. We need to keep talking suggested that a mandatory session on about how all opinions are not the same sexual harassment be in place, because in a community where one is trying to it is a legal requirement according to the protect their right to exist while the other Workplace Act. Additionally, it needs to is violating that right. be conducted by a professional who can talk about it in detail because currently What does the future hold for you? there is a lot of misinformation about the subject. The session should take place once That is always a tough question but I know every semester and missing it should lead for sure that I want to keep working in to some kind of serious administrative im- this area. This year, I got to know so many pediment. Also, we feel that it is important wonderful groups outside of LUMS who to have formal gender sensitivity train- have been working to advance the cause ing through coursework. This is a very of equality. Most of them are from public nascent idea but we are working with the universities— they arrange street theatre OSA to give it some form. and other activities. I would like to remain active on this front.

There is a link between that and what happened at LUMS—we felt like the presence of online groups that perpetuate such harmful conversations like the beating up of women eventually lead to actual instances of violence. Therefore, after the recent protests against the Facebook group, we gave certain recommendations to the Office of Student Affairs (OSA). We emphasised that a sexual harassment clause be added to society constitutions because we want a systemic, institutional effort to be made.

36 37 38 39 38 39 DHA, Lahore Cantt. 54792 Lahore, Pakistan Phone: +92 42 3560 8000 Fax: +92 42 3572 5048

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