Security arrangements at Karachi university
Strict security measures ordered at Karachi university
Karachi, Oct 28:The Vice Chancellor of Karachi University (KU) has directed all the teachers, students and employees
to extend full cooperation to the security staff deputed at various points of
the campus in view of the threats to the educational institutions. As per
directives, no one will be allowed to enter the campus without proper
identification document. Guests visiting the university have been advised to
provide necessary information prior to the campus office about their visit to
the varsity. Campus Security Officer has asked all the students, teachers and
employees to inform nearest security staff in varsity premises if they see any
strange person or unusual activity so as to prevent any untoward incident.
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KU admissions against Reserved Seats
Karachi: Registrar, University of Karachi (KU) has announced that the
Application Forms for admissions against Reserved Seats are available from the
Office of the Deputy Registrar (Academic), First Floor, Administration Block,
University of Karachi on payment of Rs.500/- from 10am to 1pm (Friday till 12
noon) for Bachelor of Studies (BS) First /Third Year/ Masters and Pharm-D from
October 28, 2009 to November 7, 2009. The applicants are directed to apply on
Open Merit as well. They will have to apply and appear in the Aptitude Test
where necessary/applicable. The Controller of Examinations, KU, has
announced that the BSc (Pass) First and Second Year's Supplementary Practical
Examinations-2008 of Physics will be conducted at the Department of Physics,
University of Karachi on November 2, 3 & 4, 2009 at 9am. Concerned
candidates are advised to contact the Chairman, Department of Physics,
University of Karachi, to appear in their respected practical along with
Original Admit Cards and NIC etc.
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SSUET BS Degree Course
Karachi: Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) have informed the prospective students that
those who have the combination of Physics, Chemistry and Biology in Intermediate
Science are also eligible to apply for BS Degree Course in Bio-medical
Engineering. It may be recalled that as per previous policy, only candidates
from the Intermediate Science (Pre-Engineering group) were admitted in the four
year degree Course in Bio-medical Engineering.
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FUUAST announced BS M.Phil results
Karachi: Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology (FUUAST)
has announced the results of BS (Physics) Morning Batch 2006 and M.Phil (Leading
to PHD) Environmental Sciences, Semester II Batch 2008 here on Tuesday. The news
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Examination system to be made credible
Karachi: Describing cheating in examinations as the root cause of
deteriorating education standards, Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq on
Tuesday sought private schools' cooperation to bring an end to the use of unfair
means in exams. Talking to representatives of the All-Private Schools
Management Association, Sindh, the minister said that although the governor in
his capacity as controlling authority of education boards of the province had
taken several steps to discourage cheating in exams, much more had to be done to
ensure the credibility of examination system. The minister said the
issue was discussed with the governor during a recent meeting. He said only
government schoolteachers were included in invigilation teams of education
boards during exams, but it was pointed out that a number of outsiders were
being assigned the task. He said he would soon meet the governor again
to discuss the issues related to examinations conducted by different education
boards. Earlier, APSMA chairman Khalid Shah, other office-bearers and
the minister discussed the issues faced by private schools in the city. Senior
officials of the provincial education department and provincial directorate of
private educational institutions were also present. At the outset, the
minister asked the provincial directorate of private educational institutions to
help resolve the issues being faced by the management of private schools in
consultation with the APSMA.-Staff Reporter . Dawn
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OUP released list of new reads
Karachi: Oxford University Press has come out with a good number of interesting
political reads. Amongst the four books, the most interesting read is, 'Between
Dreams and Realities--Some Milestones in Pakistan's History' by the renowned
civil servant of Pakistan, Sartaj Aziz. The book contains an illuminating record
of the milestones and turning points in Pakistan's political history. It
explores the basic causes of the failure of democracy in Pakistan and tries to
demonstrate that only a genuine democratic dispensation, not military rule with
a civilian facade can ensure its survival as a viable federation. Another
good read, is 'Pan-Islam in British India--The Politics of the Khilafat Movement
1918-1924' by Naeem Qureshi. The writer provides a new perspective on the
origins and development of pan-Islam in British India. He highlights the links
between pan-Islam and nationalist movements in the 19th and 20th Centuries. The
author unfolds a tale of how the pan-Islamic appeal was mobilised for political
gains in the broader context of the British policy towards Turkey and India.
Another wonderful read is 'Comparing Cities--The Middle East and South Asia'
edited by Kamran Asdar Ali and Martina Rieker. This is a collection of conflict,
creativity and politics at work in the continuous reshaping of urban life and
the use of cities to constitute new forms of engagement and interchange among
regions across the global south. 'The Ismailis in the Middle Ages--A history of
survival, a search for salvation' by Shafique Virani. The nation
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Scholars highlight marsia's status in Urdu literature
Karachi: Scholars highlighted the finer points of marsia writing and its
elevated position in Urdu literature at a seminar titled 'Marsia aur
adab-i-aali', organised by the Urdu department of Karachi University in its arts
auditorium on Tuesday. Former chairman of the Urdu department Dr Waqar
Ahmed Rizvi presided over the event. The seminar began with the welcome
address by the current chairman of the Urdu department, Dr Zafar Iqbal, to the
participants and audience of the programme. Introducing the seminar's topic, he
said marsia-writing was an important part of Urdu literature. Dr Iqbal
said that since Lucknow's culture was no longer in vogue, modern linguistic
trends must be kept in mind while writing marsias. He said that non-serious
criticism of marsia-writing was another matter that needed to be looked into.
Dr Taqi Abidi, who is settled in Canada, was the keynote speaker. His
impassioned talk kept the audience glued to their seats. Dr Abidi spoke at
length on the subject and quoted many a couplet and stanza from Mir Anees and
Mirza Dabeer, eliciting applause from the audience. Tracing the history
of elegiac verse, Dr Abidi said Sohrab's mother wrote a marsia after her son was
murdered; Amir Khusrau composed one on Multan's destruction; Umrao Qais dabbled
in it too. All of this indicated that there was a rich tradition available to
us. He said in Urdu literature marsia revolves around the tragedy of
Karbala. He lamented that this form of writing had not been given its due
status, and told the audience that Mir Taqi Mir wrote more than 34 marsias, and
Mir Anees over 213. Dr Abidi said marsia-writing contained many
essential elements of nearly all poetic genres – it had ghazal's sonority,
masnavi's flow and even certain elements of an epic poem. He severely criticised
those who never took such poetry with the seriousness it deserved. In
this regard, Dr Abidi quoted Altaf Husain Hali's Muqaddama-i-Sher-o-Shaeri in
which the author had attached great importance to the genre. This made him pose
a question: "Why haven't experts on the subject followed that line and why
haven't institutions done enough to undertake research on the topic?" Dr
Abidi claimed that Mir Anees and Mirza Dabeer had used more words in Urdu poetry
than any other poet. He said Nazir Akbarabadi had written 8,500 couplets,
whereas Dabeer's tally was 120,000, and Anees's 86,000. Dr Abidi
educated the students present in the auditorium on the poetic tools employed in
poetry, and praised Anees and Dabeer's remarkable use of metaphors and similes.
He talked about one of Dabeer's marsias in which the poet had come up
with seven metaphoric arrangements, without making them clash with one another.
He said it was disheartening to know that marsia-writing was associated with
only one religious order, and added that since the genre had been ignored by
scholars, the institution of Imambargah had kept it alive. Dr Abidi also
spoke on the moral lessons marsia embodied, which was why its message was
relevant in modern times and would remain relevant for all times to come.
Dr sahib was unhappy with Shibli Nomani's thesis
Muwazna-i-Anees-o-Dabeer, saying Shibli had done grave injustice to Dabeer in
it.Dr Shamsuddin, dean of the arts faculty, thanked the scholars and students
who had gathered to take part in the seminar. Dr Shabihul Hasan's paper
was read out by the Urdu department's teacher Rahat Afshan because he could not
make it to the seminar. The essay pivoted around the high moral values spread
through marsia-writing. The genre originated in the subcontinent, and once
Lucknow was the hub of all cultural activities in India. Then times changed, and
so did literary trends. Anees and Dabeer belonged to the Lucknow
tradition. The 20th century saw the disintegration of society, and uncertainty
was rife in every sphere of life. It also had its effect on literature. The
marsia writers who came after Anees and Dabeer helped connect poetry to society
rather than individuals. Iqbal, Safi Lucknavi, Ali Sardar Jaffery, Josh
Malihabadi and Jamil Mazhari brought into the genre the issues that concerned
them; Naseem Amrohvi experimented with its structure. And contemporary marsia
writers brought forth political and social issues. Dr Hilal Naqvi's
paper carried profundity that everybody sensed and learned from. He said
the history of mankind was full of gory incidents. Writers tried and expressed
it in their own way, but very seldom truth was represented the way it should.
He also lamented that marsia-writing had been limited to only one
section of society. He said when the young ones studied it, they moved away from
the genre because it was portrayed as the kind of poetry in which dead people
were discussed, while ghazal was defined as conversing with a (beloved) woman
and qasida was known as a poetic piece written in praise of somebody. Dr
Naqvi asked why the culture of keeping one's head high in the face of adversity
was not encouraged in our society. He said man's relation with other men, with
the universe and with God was the basis of marsia. He illustrated the
point by saying that today cloning, computers and nuclear technology dazzled our
eyes. Man was being de-linked from civilisation and culture, and his mind was
getting increasingly wayward. People were being killed in the name of religion.
In such a situation marsia-writing could help mitigate the problem.
Speaking on the subject Prof Sahar Ansari said marsia had all the
attributes of sublime or great literature. Karbala was a bouquet of metaphors,
so much so that it had now become a metaphor itself. He claimed that
Urdu marsia had originated from Urdu poetry. He said the tussle between good and
evil existed from the very beginning. Just like thesis and antithesis resulted
in synthesis, Karbala too was a synthesis. He praised Mir Anees and Mirza
Dabeer's intelligent use of words and said marsia-writing contained elements of
epic poetry. After the papers were read, a question-answer session was
held in which Urdu department students put quite a few questions, mainly to Dr
Taqi Abidi. Dawn
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