By Devika Mittal
For Nelson Mandela, education is the “most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” His assertion echoes the sentiment towards education across societies. While education is an important institution of socialization that strives to re-produce a society, it also carries a crusader image that can usher a desired change. This pertains to its potential to influence mindsets and guide action. This image and potential draw different interest groups, among which an important one is the modern nation-state.
Among the significant tasks taken up by the modern nation-states has been the formalization of education. Gellner (1983) links the need for formalization of education with the origin of nations and nationalism. He, like several others including Durkheim (1961), Green (1990), Hobsbawm (2000), Levinson (2011) and Smith (1991), delve into the role of schools and the education system to create a national identity and a
This is what students of India and Pakistan want
R Umaima Ahmed
Small
Large
Peace – that was the single message in over 200 paintings that were sent by students from cities across India and Pakistan
This year marked the first virtual launch of an annual calendar featuring paintings by students with peace between India and Pakistan as its theme. With the coronavirus pandemic halting in-person gatherings, over a hundred participants attended the online event.
The ninth Indo-Pak Peace Calendar is part of a flagship initiative of Aaghaz-e-Dosti (Start of Friendship), which was launched in 2012 as a joint venture of Pakistan-based The Catalyst of Peace, and India s Mission Bhartiyam (Being Indian). Over 200 paintings from around India and Pakistan were received; all had one message: Peace.
Peace activist Dr Devika Mittal on encouraging dialogue between Indian and Pakistani youth
Peace activist Dr Devika Mittal of Aaghaz-e-Dosti is working to normalise relationships between the youth of India and Pakistan. January 16, 2021 / 09:14 AM IST
As a schoolchild raised in Delhi, Devika Mittal always wondered why neighbours India and Pakistan continued to be enemies. Her grade-12 history textbook and its chapter on Partition made her aware of the human cost of the conflict, and how much people from both sides suffered immensely.
While doing her higher studies at Lady Shri Ram College and then South Asian University, she took up the cause of Indo-Pak peace and joined youth-led peace organisation Aaghaz-e-Dosti as its India convener.
India blocks pilgrims from Pakistan
Modi administration is using the coronavirus pandemic to restrict pilgrimage visas
Stock Photo
LAHORE:
The perennially tense relationship between India and Pakistan has hit a new low during the Covid-19 health crisis. While Islamabad continues to allow Sikhs and Hindus to cross the border to perform religious rituals, the Narendra Modi government remains rigid in its policies towards pilgrims from Pakistan.
According to detail available with The Express Tribune, the Indian government has stopped issuing visas to pilgrims from Pakistan. “Pilgrimage visas to India are not being processed,” confirmed a resident of Lahore, who wishes to cross the border for an upcoming Urs of a revered saint.