INDUS Newsletter – April 2016
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Subscribe Share Past Issues Translate New Member, Learning & Media Opportunity, Event Update... View this email in your browser Dedicated to American Ideals, a progressive and politically stable Pakistan, and strong USPakistan relations. www.induspk.org April Contents: 1. INDUS & SAIS host Dr. Ayesha Jalal 2. Dr. Farzana Shaikh, Academia/Scholars Panel 3. State Department meeting with INDUS 4. Communities Integration Initiative 5. #CombatExtremism #PromoteTolerance 6. Our Focus 7. Media Review Like INDUS on Facebook Follow INDUS on Twitter INDUS & SAIS host a conversation with Dr. INDUS & SAIS host a conversation with Dr. Ayesha Jalal, "Pakistan's Search for Identity: An Inexplicable Trajectory" Washington, D.C. On April 22, 2016, INDUS: Mobilizing People's Power collaborated with the Johns Hopkins SAIS South Asia Studies Department to host respected historian, Dr. Ayesha Jalal, for a discussion with SAIS Dean Vali Nasr about ethnoreligious identity in Pakistan. The discussion touched on the influential role individual and community identities play in shaping Pakistani society, the country’s national character, and international perceptions. "Almost 70 years after Pakistan came into being," Dr. Jalal, a professor at Tufts University, told the audience, "we're still discussing issues of identity because the identity crises of Pakistan exist at and emanate from the state level, not from the people.” In this way and others, “India is still defining the way Pakistan thinks about its past, present, and future.” The event, "Pakistan's Search for Identity," was wellattended by officers from the U.S. Department of State, the Voice of America Urdu, other news media outlets, prominent members of the PakistaniAmerican community, academics and scholars, and students. Dr. Jalal said, from a historical perspective, the insistence that Pakistan was created for “religion only” was false and served to “blur the lines between worldly and religious matters.” The problems in Pakistan are not religious in nature, but they can appear that way because "religion is utilized by fringe groups for their own strategic goals.” Through the launch of ZarbeAzb, Dr. Jalal believed the military was trying to change Pakistan’s internal dynamics with a counterinsurgencywithout counterterrorism strategy. She also addressed the recent hope that, after years of dealing with extremism, a Sufi counternarrative would emerge. Instead, Dr. Jalal believed that Pakistan should look toward its youth. She was hopeful that the growing engagement and activism of Pakistani youth would positively affect the country’s trajectory. "I have great faith in our youngsters," she said. When asked about the role and responsibility of Pakistan’s intellectuals to national development, Dr. Jalal responded that, instead, the question should be, “What has Pakistan done to its intellectuals? Independentminded Islamic scholars like Fazlur Rehman and Daud Rahbar have been weeded out and silenced. People have to define religion for themselves since Islam is not something which you blindly worship but rather something you practice.” She said that Pakistanis need to be more aware of and engaged in their religion but to approach it rationally and in the context of their secular selves. The discussion continued on social media and Twitter, with some attendees using the hashtag #identityofPak. The event concluded with a lively Q&A session, with audience members directly engaging with both Dr. Jalal and Dean Nasr about identity in Pakistan and in South Asia generally. INDUS: Mobilizing People's Power firmly believes in the importance and value of discourse and discussion on topics affecting Pakistan’s history and future. We look forward to supporting other events later this year. INDUS Newsletter April Share Tweet Forward Dr. Farzana Shaikh Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London and a Fellow of the Asian Studies Center at St Antony's College, Oxford INDUS: Mobilizing People's Power is honored to have Dr. Farzana Shaikh as a distinguished member of our Academia & Scholars panel. Dr. Shaikh has published widely on Pakistan and the intellectual history of South Asian Islam, and held lectureships in the UK, the US and Europe. Her books include Community and Consensus in Islam: Muslim Representation in Colonial India, 18601947 (1989, 2012) and Making Sense of Pakistan (2009), which was selected by Outlook India in 2014 as one of ‘100 Best Books of All Time’ and by The Guardian in 2010 as one of four ‘essential books’ on Pakistan for Prime Minister Cameron’s government. Her new work explores the politics of Sufism in Pakistan. She is a frequent media commentator on Pakistan and has testified before the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. Born and largely educated in Pakistan, she has a Ph.D. from Columbia University, New York and is a former Research Fellow of Clare Hall Cambridge. Officers with the U.S. Department of State hosted INDUS at Foggy Bottom on April 6 for a meeting and introduction. Both sides were encouraged, and INDUS looks forward to further dialogue and collaboration and assisting the State Department office of Pakistan Affairs in its ambitious mission. office of Pakistan Affairs in its ambitious mission. Community Integration & Civic Promotion Promoting the concept of citizenship, and highlighting pathways to achieve the “American Dream.” When successful, community integration and civic promotion begin with the individual and then advance collectively, usually through socialization with informal groups and professional and cultural associations and with the support of Federal, State, and municipal programs. However, due to regional, organizational, and programmatic differences, the catalytic potential of civil society organizations often goes underutilized. Such organizations have the capability, as well as a responsibility, to enhance the process of community integration and identify supplemental methods and frameworks to advance government and nongovernmental efforts to integrate new communities within American society. INDUS — Mobilizing People's Power convened several local associations in January 2016, highlighting this need. We are pleased to announce the Community Integration & Civic Promotion program. It is our effort to facilitate and deepen community integration, promote the concept of U.S. citizenship, and highlight pathways to realize the “American Dream.” Viral Peace, an initiative by www.muflehun.org, also endeavors to promote peace and understanding within and between communities, combat extremism, and promote tolerance. We hope our young readers and parents will consider taking advantage of this opportunity. 2016 Fund Raising Campaign #CombatExtremism #PromoteTolerance www.GoFundMe.com (www.gofundme.com/INDUSpk2016) INDUS believes that, by bringing together Pakistanis from around the world to exchange ideas and create awareness, we can lift the trajectory of Pakistan to become a prosperous and powerful nation. In this vein, INDUS is focused on mobilizing the youth of Pakistan, who account for as much as 70% of Pakistani society, to develop a system of inclusive and participatory politics and transform the public and institutional psyche to promote tolerance and respect for the rights of individuals. We strongly believe that sustainable political and social change originates from research organizations, think tanks, and college campuses. We hope to strengthen and sponsor their efforts. Your tax deductible GOFUNDME contribution provides direct and material assistance to our efforts to raise awareness by supporting initiatives like event in April with Dr. Ayesha Jalal. With your essential support, INDUS will be able to help true democratic values and institutions take root in the country and create sustainable and effective policy change. www.GoFundMe.com (www.gofundme.com/INDUSpk2016) OUR FOCUS Youth Leadership Development Creating campusbased, strictly nonpolitical Student Government Associations that offer Executive, Legislative & Judiciary functions experience within the campus environment. Elected student representatives, as Members of Parliament, Senators and judges manage all aspects of student affairs, in conjunction with campus administration. Pakistan Civil Liberties Union Civil liberties are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation. However in today’s Pakistan, rising violence, intolerance, weak rule of law, endemic corruption, lack of social and economic justice, and religious freedom, social exclusion of the vulnerable and the marginalized are a common phenomenon that the people of Pakistan face on a daily basis. Pakistan Civil Liberties Union – PCLU is a watchdog organization intended to combat all the above issues at every cross section of our society. Community Integration & Civic Promotion When successful, the processes of community integration and civic promotion begin with the individual and, alongside support from Federal, State, and municipal programs, advance collectively, often through socialization with informal groups and professional and cultural associations. However, due to regional, organizational, and programmatic differences, the catalytic potential of civil society organizations is underutilized. Partnerships with local, regional, and national civil society organizations will advance community integration, promote the concept of citizenship, and highlight pathways to achieve the “American Dream.” Policy