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The Dynamics of Desire and Entanglement in South Asian Fiction: Selected Works of Sidhwa, Roy, and Firdaus Kanga
Get PDFThis paper aims to explore the dynamics of desire and the forms of suffering in the modern practices experienced by the South Asian parent generation because those practices are directly linked to their succeeding generation. It contends that in contemporary south Asia, the parent generation depicted in the selected South Asian texts is intertwined as they suffer from the pain of conventional as well as modern appeal. The key question that this study aims to pose is in what ways the entangled generation (parents) suffers while practicing the modern lifestyle? This paper offers a comparative textual analysis and character study based upon the reading of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997), Bapsi Sidhwa’s The American Brat (1993), and Firdaus Kanga’s Trying to Grow (1990). The study takes theoretical support from Homi K. Bhabha’s (1994) concept of ‘ambivalence’ and James Booth’s (1999) philosophy of a community’s political identity. However, this research proposes the concept of ‘entanglement’ as a predicament of the parent generation, and thereby does not rely entirely on the said theories. While introducing this concept, in other words, it pushes beyond the ideas and prescribed boundaries of postcolonial theory and political philosophy. Consequently, this study leads to the discovery of various ways in which the parent characters under study suffer within their respective contexts
Al-Huda International Influencing Lifestyle of Urban Women Through Islamic Religious Learning
Get PDFThis research entitled “The role of Islamic education in developing and educating females: A case study of Al-Huda Institute, Islamabad” answers several questions regarding the increasing trend of acquiring Islamic education for urban women and how Al Huda is playing its part in it. The research objectives are to investigate the reasons behind the increasing trend of seeking Islamic education by urban/rural women. It will also investigate and analyze the impact of Islamic education on the lives and lifestyles of women acquired by Al-Huda and finally investigate the role of Al-Huda in the development of women’s lifestyles. An effort has been made to comprehend and reveal the variables behind developing and educating for the Islamic part not just urban but rural females too, and the component that Al Huda is experienced in practicing these females. The circumstances of Al Huda are portrayed since it is a standout amongst the most well-known otherworldly organizations offering the requirements of females. Looking at the Al Huda, the research talks about the impact of Islamic education and its way into developing and improving the lifestyles of females. The reason for doing this analysis is to assess the steadily improving notoriety of otherworldly scholastic organizations, other than the conventional madrasas, which furnish an energizing and magnificent aggregation of sciences and anthropological subjects. The results from the investigation uncover that females are drawn towards getting Islamic parts because of an open mixture of components, for example, the most up to date comprehensive and across-the-nation occasions; absence of Islamic learning; singular regard for understanding Islam all the more completely; and occurrence of a method for lifestyle upgrading occasion. Ladies are running across to select Al Huda on account of its novel view which centers fundamentally on joining Muslims to Allah by making the learners aware of their moral obligations and the quality of Islam for self-development. Al Huda has progressed to impact the method for the lifestyle of numerous females by offering them a stage to grasp Islam and work at it. The practicing of Islam furnished by Al Huda is not a trend that may vanish inevitably, yet is a reason behind the distinction in the method for the lifestyle of numerous females who have encountered progressions both identifiable and not-so-noticeable, for example, changes in outfits (reception of Hijab), changes in aggregation, avoiding Un Islamic customs and festivals. Al Huda is experiencing a discriminating feature in changing and making the method for the lifestyle of city females effective
Government Revenue, Expenditure, and Public Debt in Mali: Empirical Evidence and Policy Implications
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between government revenue, expenditure, and public debt in Mali (2000–2024) using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM). The Johansen cointegration test confirms a long-term equilibrium, highlighting structural fiscal imbalances. Results show that expenditure negatively impacts revenue (-1.3017 elasticity), indicating that excessive spending weakens revenue mobilization. Public debt has no significant effect on revenue, suggesting inefficiencies in debt-financed policies. In the short run, expenditure adjusts significantly to disequilibrium (ECT = 0.6998, p = 0.001), while revenue and debt remain unresponsive. Furthermore, Granger causality tests, based on the Toda-Yamamoto approach confirms a bidirectional relationship between government revenue and expenditure, supporting both the tax-spend and spend-tax hypotheses. Additionally, there is supporting evidence that public debt is Granger-caused by both revenue and expenditure, indicating that fiscal deficits in Mali are primarily financed through borrowing. These findings stress the need for fiscal reforms in Mali, focusing on tax efficiency, prudent expenditure, and sustainable debt management to prevent macroeconomic instability
Exploring Language, Class, and Identity in Shaw’s Pygmalion: An Analysis through Communication Accommodation Theory
Get PDFIn this article, I will analyze the evolution of speech in Eliza Doolittle in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (1913), through the lens of Howard Giles’s Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). The communication accommodation theory details how individuals adapt their style in the direction of convergence or divergence with people that they perceive (depending on social identity and relationships). The theory can be applied to intercultural communication, workplaces, and social settings. Analyze the social language through the socio linguistic right language is a means to social growth and personal development. It uses the concepts of convergence and divergence in the study of Eliza, a flower seller from the working class with Cockney speech transformed into an upper-class lady to use upper-class language. The study provides evidence of Eliza's growing social mobility through subtle shifts in her speech, as well as how her lowborn background continues to shape her life even as her social position improves. It also analyzes language through the lens of those who either accept or fight against prevailing social structures, particularly when it comes to the social-class differences signaled by differences in language. This paper highlights that class is still a barrier to full mobility and that whilst language is a forte asset this does not equate with being able to penetrate the workings of the elite in their true terms. An interplay of language reinforces the rigid structures of society, but, with a point-of-view this makes Pygmalion a critique of language itself and how it controls the ability to change
Russia - Ukraine Cyber Warfare and Its Impacts on Poland’s National Security
Get PDFThis research analyses the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the cyber domain and its boarder impact on Poland national security. It explains that how the nature of cyber warfare represents the impacts on Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure have the influence on Poland national security. The study highlights that Poland facing cybersecurity threats due to its geostrategic location and key ally of NATO and EU, which makes Poland target of the Russian cyber threats. Key challenges faced by the Poland involves misinformation campaigns, and attacks on their infrastructure. By examining the documents and reports, this research demonstrates that how Poland counters the Russian cyber threats by investing and enhancing their cyber defense co-operations with different institutes and in improving the cybersecurity. These recommendations aimed to suggest Poland better respond to the cyber threats through enhancing Poland’s role in European cyber security and improving their cyber resilience. The Russia-Ukraine cyber warfare involves numbers of cyberattacks, 2017 NotPetya wiper worm, the 2022, and in between 2015-16 attacks on energy grids. Primarily, thee operations targeted the Ukrainian infrastructure but particularly on Poland’s national security. In context of rising global cyber warfare in order to counter the state- sponsored cyber threats they need for adaptive cyber defense policy, collective security agreements and stronger international regulations. The Russia-Ukraine cyber warfare highlights to stay safe from the cyber conflicts international co-operation is necessary, critical infrastructure is a key to protect digital sovereignty and need for strong national cyber plans
China-Japan Territorial Disputes in the East China Sea and Their Impact on ASEAN Security
Get PDFThe territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have emerged as the most significant security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. This study investigates the history of the historical, current dynamics and widespread effects of these disputes for regional security, with special focus on their influence on the organization of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN). Through the analysis of geopolitical political theories and empirical evidence, this research has shown that China-Japan stress creates a security confusion that directly affects ASEAN's strategic autonomy, economic interests and collective security practices. The findings suggest that Asia's response is characterized by strategic hedging, diplomatic balance and efforts to maintain neutrality while protecting the interests of member countries. The study concludes that the resolution of these controversies is crucial for regional stability and continuous effectiveness of ASEAN as a multilateral organization
A Comparative Corpus Analysis of the Folktales Corpus from Gilgit-Baltistan with the Fairytales Corpus from the Oxford Text Archive
No full textFolktales are an important part of any culture and have traditionally been associated with itsoral literature. Folktales usually contain the ideological and cultural capital of a society andcan be analyzed to explore the history of that society. This paper attempts to compare andanalyze a folktales corpus from Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, with an already established onlineFairytales Corpus from the Oxford Text Archive. The target corpus (under analysis) containsaround eighteen thousand words, from around twenty folktales, mainly from the two majorlanguages (Shina and Balti) from the Gilgit-Baltistan region. The comparison and ensuinganalysis have been performed using a software platform, AntConc, using its analysis tools,namely, ‘Word,’ ‘Keyword,’ ‘KWIC,’ and ‘Plot’. The analysis has identified that most of thekeywords are related to gender and religion. Along with the software, close reading strategieshave been employed to make sense of the results received from the software platform andincorporate them into a critical understanding of the folktales. The analysis establishes thatthese tales and the culture where these tales originated were prehistoric and pre-Islamic,patriarchal, and that male characters were accorded more and better agency in those cultures
Online Video in Foreign Language Acquisition at Ekiti State University: Towards Enhancing Students’ Digital Resilience
Get PDFIn the last ten years, the integration of digital media in higher education has revolutionized teaching and learning of foreign languages. Online videos have been discovered as rich pedagogical assets that enhance learners' participation, comprehension and intercultural communication. However, their pedagogical applications in Nigerian Universities remain uneven and uncharted. This study therefore seeks to examine online video in foreign language acquisition at Ekiti state University. The study adopts descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprises all the foreign language students in Ekiti State University. 100 students were sampled from them by using the stratified random sampling in order to ensure adequate representation. A self-constructed questionnaire was used as data-collection instrument. Language teaching experts and instructional technology experts vetted the instrument to ensure content validity, and reliability was determined by piloting the instrument with a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.86. The researcher administered the questionnaire online via Google Form. Data collected were analyzed quantitatively on the basis of frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviations to give answers to the research questions. Results showed that online video resources were available but their integration into classroom teaching was not uniform. Students reported positive attitudes towards learning through online videos, with observations of increased understanding, cultural awareness and interest. However, effective utilization was hindered by unreliable internet connections, insufficiency of technology centers and inadequate lecturer’s training. The paper concludes that the University should intensify digital infrastructural awareness, plan capacity-building programs for lecturers and integrate online videos systematically in the curriculum to enhance students' digital learning experience and resistance
Landscapes of Loss: Ecocritical Reflections on Munazza Yaqoob’s A Lament for the Peach Orchard
Get PDFContemporary Pakistani anglophone fiction as seen in Munazza Yaqoob’s recent collection of short stories “A Lament for the Peach Orchard” grapples with the psychological and ecological impacts of rapid urbanization and the consequential environmental crisis. This paper argues that Yaqoob’s stories articulate a profound sense of loss and alienation that arise when familiar landscapes are altered or destroyed, reinforcing the idea that environmental harm is intertwined with human suffering. The primary arc of the paper is the progression from psychological distress of “solastalgia” through the political and ethical commitment as a necessary pathway to the envisioned “symbiocene”. This paper draws upon Glenn Albrecht's concept of soliphilia to analyse how the narrator navigates a landscape marked by decline due to human exploitation, with a sense of solastalgia – the pain of losing one’s home environment while still inhabiting it. Yaqoob’s exploration of “eco-anxiety” highlights the fear and dread surrounding an unstable future, illustrating the existential unease over the on-going collapse of the natural world. This anxiety is a critical progression from paralysis of solastalgic grief towards a politically engaged “soliphilia”. Furthermore, Yaqoob’s fiction portrays nature as an active, sentient entity as theorized by Donna Haraway and Jane Bennet who ascertain that nature is an active participant in human lives and that humans must recognize its suffering and agency. Yaqoob’s narratives, this study argues, challenge capitalistic anthropocentric perspectives and advocate for a reimagined, empathetic coexistence between humans and nature. Henceforth Yaqoob's fiction is not merely an elegy but a vital call for a restorative, symbiotic ethics in a postcolonial context
From Timber to Concrete: The Historical Evolution of the Kanju Bridge in Swat State Era (1915–1969)
No full textThis article traces the century-long evolution of bridge construction over the River Swat near Kanju, arguing that the successive constructions of the Kanju (1929), Mingora (1962), and Ayub (1966) bridges were central to the political consolidation and infrastructural modernization of the Swat State. By juxtaposing colonial and postcolonial archival materials with vernacular historical narratives, the study reconstructs the chronological and technical development of these projects to reveal how each bridge, frequently damaged and rebuilt after seasonal floods served as a catalyst for economic integration, shaped emerging administrative practices, and symbolized the Walis modernizing vision. Methodologically, it combines textual analysis of British archival record and other relevant sources with spatial-historical contextualization to uncover how infrastructure mediated relations between territory, and community. Besides, the article illustrates a model of State formation in which infrastructure functioned as both a material and symbolic instrument of governance, marking Swat’s transition from a nascent polity to a modern, institutionally organized State