Song of the Times

Stumbled across this hilarious gem of a song by legendary Indian composer Madan Mohan from the first film he ever composed for. The film was Aankhen, the year was 1950. The singers are the vocal giants Shamshad Begum and Mukesh. The song is timeless, and nothing if not pertinent to Pakistani politics these days.

By the way, the news today is that Sindh University has asked the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to be given further two months (TWO MONTHS!) to verify the degrees under its purview. That can mean one of two things. One, that the Sindh educational bureaucracy is really as inefficient as everyone thinks it is. OR. Or two, that after failing to delay the inevitable coming to light of fake degrees by using all manner of underhand pressure tactics (such as blackmailing the HEC Chairman by arresting his brother and raiding his home and threatening other education department staffers), the government has decided to employ this latest tactic of postponing the issue. I really don't feel like discussing this complicated and sordid business any further (yes, it's not a simple black and white case as columnist Mosharraf Zaidi eloquently explains here). But I am quite happy to make light of it, for God knows we need some light in our lives.

So here's to you, Babar Awan.

Name the Next Military Op

So, who says the Pakistani military is not divided? It is very much divided along language, at least as far as those who name military operations are concerned. One only has to take a look at the last two operations launched in Buner / Dir and now in Swat...

The Buner / Dir operation was/ is called "Black Thunder",  a name that was obviously coined by one of those hip officers more into James Hadley Chase or death metal than Abdullah Hussain or Iqbal Bano. But before those officers could crow about the coolness of their annointed name, the 'apni-zabaan'officers staged a counter-coup in the naming of the Swat operation. So now that one is called "Rah-e-Haq." Could it have been inspired by that 1965 Naseem Bano melody so beloved of the armed forces:

In any case, it seems that some sort of equilibrium is now in place within the armed forces wherein both of the English-wala and Urdu-wala groups can name every alternative military operation. I respectfully submit for consideration the following for subsequent ops:

The next English operation can be called "Operation The Unforgiven", "Operation Fade to Black", "Operation Shook Me All Night Long" or "Operation Highway to Hell". After that, since it would be the turn of the local boys, there really can be only one follow-up to "Rah-e-Haq": the next one should be called "Operation Wafa(q) ki Tasweeron".

Further suggestions welcome! :)