The Pakistan Experience

Author, Professor and Historian, Kamran Asdar Ali joins us for a deep dive podcast on the history of the left in Pakistan.   Why did class politics not take root in Pakistan?   What do we see so many nationalists movement in Pakistan?  What has been the politics in Karachi?  Kamran Asdar Ali and I discuss the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, Muslim Nationalism, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Jinnah's politics on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  Kamran Asdar Ali is professor of anthropology, Middle East Studies and Asian Studies at UofT Austin. . He served as the the Director of the South Asia Institute at the University of Texas, Austin (2011-2017).  He is the author of Planning the Family in Egypt: New Bodies, New Selves (UT Press, 2002) and the co-editor of Gendering Urban Space in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa (Palgrave 2008), Comparing Cities: Middle East and South Asia (Oxford 2009) and Gender, Politics, and Performance in South Asia (Oxford 2015). He has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1998-99), a senior fellow at ISIM, University of Leiden (2005) and a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg at Berlin (2010-2011). He has published several articles on issues of health and gender in Egypt and on ethnicity, class politics, sexuality and popular culture in Pakistan. His more recent book is Communism in Pakistan: Politics and Class Activism 1947-1972 (IB Tauris and Oxford, 2015).     Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.           Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience        And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience            The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.             Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89     Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Question of Muslim Nationalism 14:00 Nation states, nationalities and 'quomiyat' 19:30 Jinnah's politics 24:30 Politics of Constituency: Sajjad Zaheer and the Communist Party of Pakistan 35:30 Identity Politics and class being the only criteria 44:40 Quamiyat, Mazhaab and the State using religion 53:00 Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case 1:01:00 Progressives and Perverts: The Middle Class Morality 1:09:00 UT Austin Ben Shapiro Edition? 1:11:30 Faiz and Jalib  1:17:30 Using religion as a strategy 1:26:30 Politics of Karachi 1:45:00 Daily Wage Labourers 1:51:30 Karachi is a port city without a port culture1

On the 140th episode of the TPE Series, and the first episode of The Sports Experience series, one of our favourite people in the world, Ali Aftab Saeed comes back on the podcast to discuss Pakistani Cricket, Match Fixing, Muhammad Aamir, Shohaib Akhtar vs Nauman Niaz, The Ahmed Hasan Rana Interview, and the legend that is Aamir Liaquat.  Ali Aftab Saeed is a content creator, cultural commentator, analyst and host.    Kya Cricket mai captain ka koi role hota hay?  Toss Factor kaisay fix karay?   Kya jo giyara keltay hain woh waqayee best XI hay?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.      Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience    And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience      The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.       Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89   Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 Aamir Liaquat 4:00 Nauman Niaz vs Shohaib Akhtar 9:30 Heartbreak of being a Pakistani cricket fan 12:00 Economy, Air quality and industries 17:30  Fixing the toss Factor and the role of the Captain 22:00 Neutral Pitches and Umpires 25:30 Racism and Banter 28:00 Vs India in T20 World Cup 31:00 Kya ye giyara best hay? Selection issues 40:30 Asif Ali Apology Form 43:00 Muhammad Aamir and team morale 52:00 Match Fixing 53:40 Hasan Ali ka badla aur cake cutting and hair cutting 56:00 Ahmed Hasan Rana 108:50 Snooker Club 1:12:00 Conclusion

Mubbashir A. Rizvi was the Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Georgetown University and is the author of "The Ethics of Staying: Social Movements and Land Rights Politics in Pakistan". Mubasshir joins us on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Okara farms case study, land rights, social movements, Anjuman Muzareen Punjab, Farmers Movement and the state.    Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Smog and Air Quality 7:00 Ethics of Staying: Social Movements and Land Rights Politics in Pakistan 12:00 The moral argument for Land Rights 14:50 Ethnicity and social hierarchies 19:30 Distrust of the state 22:00 Resistance Movements 30:00 Land as a connection to several things 48:30 The System is the problem 55:00 Anti-Terrorism laws being used against social movements 1:01:00 Sub-altern 1:05:30 Nehru's land reforms 1:10:00 Landed Elite and Partition 1:16:30 Mubasshir not receiving tenure

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Nighat Said Khan ‎ is a Pakistani feminist activist, researcher and author. She is the director and founder of the Applied Socio-Economic Research (ASR) Resource Centre and a founding member of the Women's Action Forum.  Nighat joins us on the podcast to discuss the sexuality spectrum, how patriarchy seeks to control women's sexuality, using religion as a strategy in politics, the Aurat March, Zia's legacy and why The Left needs to unite as a collective.  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:00 Intersectionality, LGBTQI Spectrum and the South Asian identity 12:00 Patriarchy and the control of sexuality 28:00 Capitalism co-opting Feminism  40:00 Using religion in politics5 7:00 Why can't The Left identity a collective enemy? 1:05:00 Indira Gandhi's assasination changed India 1:15:00 Zia is alive in his legacy 1:23:00 The economics of Mumtaz Qadri

Dr Mariam Chughtai is the Director of the National Curriculum Council, she comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Single National Curriculum and dispel social media rumours.  In this deep dive discussion, we get into the weeds of the program, from discussing what it is, what it aims to do, and what has people afraid. Dr. Mariam and I discuss the minimum standards for education, the problem with NOCs, Policy Making, Teacher Training, Overloading Islamiat and the criticism from minorities.  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Should the SNC be limited to just giving minimum standards?  Is the state using education as indoctrination?  Does SNC do anything to fix the education apartheid in Pakistan?  Is SNC looking to convert people?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  Dr. Mariam Chughtai is Associate Dean and Assistant Professor at the LUMS School of Education. She is also the Director of Pakistan Programs for the Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute. Previously, Dr. Chughtai taught several courses at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, along with Negotiations at Harvard Law School and Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. She has a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from Harvard University specializing in Education Policy, Leadership and Instructional Practice. She has two Masters degrees from Harvard University, in International Education Policy and Education Policy and Management, and a Bachelors in Political Science from Rice University. Dr. Chughtai is based in Pakistan and working on her forthcoming book on the politics of making and breaking identity through education in Pakistan.  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89 Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 1:28 Is the Single National Curriculum just minimum standards? 5:18 Getting NOCs and the Punjab Textbook Act 9:30 Punjab Ulema board and the need for a NOC 14:50 Yaksan Nizaam vs Yaksaan NIsab 20:50 Indoctrination 21:30 Teaching religion 25:00 Criticism from minority sects 29:50 Policy making and compromises 32:46 Reforming Pak Studies 38:21 Using Technology: Individualizing education vs a single national curriculum 44:00 Does SNC do anything to change the 3 tiers of education in Pakistan? 49:30 How does it prevent rote learning? 54:30 Teaching General Knowledge in Urdu and regional languages 1:02:00 Teacher Training 1:06:30 Political considerations for policy 1:09:00 Educational Consultancy Business 1:15:00 Teaching Islam to minorities  1:20:00 Is SNC trying to convert Non-Muslims? 1:29:33 Overloading Islamiyat 1:41:00 Madrassa Education

Live with Amna and Mariam Shafqat Goraya.  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience   And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Ben Burgis, author, podcaster, and philosophy instructor comes on to discuss why the left is fixated on ideas of moralism, individual responsibility and identity, and suffers from defeatism. We get into a deep dive discussion on performativeness, identity politics, cancel culture and the nationalization of social media.  Is Joe Rogan a far right podcaster?  Was Dave Chappelle's special transphobic?  Who will win the oppression olympics?  Would Ben Burgis kill a baby Jordan Peterson?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  Ben Burgis is philosophy instructor at Georgia State University Perimeter College, a columnist for Jacobin Magazine and Arc Digital Media, and the co-host of the Dead Pundits Society. He also does a regular segment on The Michael Brooks Show called "the Debunk." Ben is also the author of "Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left" and "Canceling Comedians While the World Burns: A Critique Of The Contemporary Left"  Chapters: 0:00 Cancelling Comedians while the world burns 7:19 Joe Rogan and the collapse of mainstream media 22:00 "Bernie Bros" as a stick to beat Bernie with 26:00 Defeatism in The Left 35:30 Dave Chappelle, The Closer and Transphobia 53:00 Oppression Olympics and the politics of Victimhood 1:05:00 Identity Politics and the vision of a consolidated left 1:22:00 Jordan Peterson and the right making heroes out of idiots 1:35:00 Should social media be nationalized? 1:48:00 US Imperialism and what Leftist politicians can do 2:02:00 Michael Brooks    Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Dr. Amna Salman is a Forensic Psychologist who has recently completed her PhD from the University of Birmingham. Dr. Sharmeen Khan is a Clinical Psychologist with years of experience in the field.  After the recent cases of violence against women, we decided to bring both of them on to discuss the ethics of Therapy and  the Psychology of Violence.  Why is Pakistan prone to mob violence?  Is cancel culture toxic?  Does 'Mental Health' excuse violence crimes?  Does the news demonize Mental Health?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Ethics of Therapy 8:30 Seeing humanity in everyone 20:00 Mob Violence 32:00 Are we all unconsciously racist/sexist and discriminatory? 35:00 How to protect yourself from the news 41:00 The Therapy industry in Pakistan 55:00 Demonizing Mental Health and Schizophrenia 1:00:00 Mental Health, Crime and the Law 1:08:00 You are not your diagnosis 1:14:10 At what point should a therapist intervene to prevent violence 1:20:00 Risk factors for violence against women 1:24:00 Distinguishing Mental Health illnesses and Mental Health problems 1:28:38 The toxicity of Social Media and cancel culture 1:34:30 Lovism

Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience Ali Hasanain is the Economics Department Chair at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and was a Oxford-Princeton Global Fellow, he teaches Economics, Media and Corruption.  Ali comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the underlying issues in Pakistan's that impede our Economic growth - what does the country need to do to ensure sustainable Economic growth?  Will the Pandora Papers lead to anything?  What is PTI's Economic Policy?  Are Subsidies bad?  Will CPEC be good for Pakistan?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 0:30 Are Pandora Papers Important for Pakistan? 5:40 Why should the common man care about Economic numbers? 10:30 Corruption led Growth 13:00 Khata hay toh lagata bhi hay 17:15 Why is Pakistan lagging behind 22:17 Free Market, Voluntary Exchange, Competitiveness and Growth Models 29:00 The downside of Subsidies 42:00 Political Establishment 49:30 Trade with India: State Interests vs Free Markets 55:15 What are the foundations of an economy? 1:08:30 Boom/Bust cycle of our economy 1:13:00 Police Reform 1:21:00 Analyzing PTI's Economic Policy 1:27:50 Petrol Prices 1:32:10 Hyper Inflation 1:35:30 Does the US printing dollars have any effect on us? 1:39:00 Quick hitters: Audience Questions 1:39:30 is CPEC good? 1:45:00 How can we revive Pakistan's engineering/manufacturing 1:47:30 Public policy for poverty reduction 1:49:30 Will cheap Indian goods destroy our industries? 1:51:10 Military Spending 1:52:05 Team MASEK 1:55:12 Can Consumer Behaviour combat Inflation? 1:57:50 Is there any hope? 2:00:20 What books to read to understand India/Pakistan's economy  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.    Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89

In March, Tariq Banuri was removed as the chairman of HEC by the Federal Government, a move that is being challenged in the courts.  Dr. Tariq Banuri joins us on The Pakistan Experience to discuss why he was removed by the Government as the Chairman of HEC, exposes the corruption within the HEC, and discusses his philosophy of Education, and his vision for the HEC.  How should Research grants be awarded?  Do HEC rankings make any sene?  Why do we need the HEC to verify our degrees?  What are his thoughts on the SNC?  Should HEC have a sexual harassment mechanism for Universities?  Join us for all this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  HEC Sexual Harassment policy: https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/Documents/SEXUALHARASSMENT-POLICY.pdf  Tariq Javed Banuri is a Pakistani academic, development economist, environmentalist, climate scientist, educationalist, human rights advocate, and author who holds a PhD in economics from Harvard University and who is the fourth and current Chairperson of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), a statutorily established regulatory agency whose mandate is to improve and promote higher education and research & development (R&D) within Pakistan.   Chapters: 0:00 Why was he removed as the chairman of the HEC? 8:00 Corruption in the the HEC 17:25 Research Grants 22:10 Using NAB against the Chairman of the HEC 27:50 The vision for Research and Research Programs 38:00 Why do we not see great research coming out of Pakistan? 43:10 Are most research journals in Pakistan fraudulent? 51:30 Digitizing archives in Pakistan 57:00 Fixing Higher Education in Pakistan 1:10:10 HEC Rankings 1:18:20 People being jobless after M.Phil 1:33:20 Government opening Universities just to score points 1:35:30 HEC's verification of degrees 1:43:00 PECs 1:48:00 Government spending in education is very low 1:52:00 Ed Tech 1:55:00 Single National Curriculum 1:57:00 Adil Najam 1:58:30 Governance structure of Universities 2:01:40 Mechanism for Sexual Harassment     Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience   The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tinder.     https://www.facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ https://twitter.com/shehzad89