1

FEBRUARY EDITION SPRING 2021

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

An Ode To Those Who Accommodated Us………………………………………………………………..…………..........Page 1 & 2

Cancel Culture…………………………………………………………………………………………..………………….Page 1 & 2

In Conversation With LUMS Cricket Team……………...…………………….………………………………..…...….Page 2 & 3

A Magnificent Feat……………………………………………………………………………………………...…………Page 3

Politics vs Justice………………………………………….………………………………………………………….…….Page 4

The GameStop Saga……………….……………………………………………………………………....…........…...Pages 4

Interview with Interim Student President……..…,……………………………………………………...…….……....Page 5 & 6

Dictatorship in Asia..…………………………………...……...…………………………………………….………Page 6 & 7

A Year Lost in Transition…………………...……………….……………………………………..…………..……….Page 7

Recipe by LUMS Culinary Club………….….………………………….…………………………………………...…Page 7

IN THIS ISSUE

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of LUMS.

In Conversation with Our Favorite Instructors

It was odd at first-being able to glimpse into a very personal sphere of our professors’ lives. The way there was a book missing from their Sherlock Holmes collection in the background, the way their kid hammered on the door at exactly 5:15 and insisted on ‘meeting the class’, the way their face broke into an embarrassed smile as they struggled to remove a cigarette box from the line of vision of the camera, the way the wind chime in their background tinkled softly every now and then. As the curtain of the fall semester was slowly drawn, we found ourselves becoming enamoured of those very endearing quirks. LDF can be filled with horror stories about instructors who were unaccommodating during the transition to online learning. You have read those posts and so have I. But no, this article isn’t going to revolve around that. This article is an ode to those exceptional instructors who made this disconcerting transition more palatable for the student body. To my surprise, my research led me to the epiphany that professors from all schools have been generous and thoughtful to a large extent. This year had been a hard pill to swallow for the instructors as well and their efforts to make the online classes more engaging and fruitful for the students should be lauded. Personally, my instructors such as Sir Muhammad Hanif (who made sure we started off our classes with discussions about our favorite book openings, titles and dialogues), Dr. Saba Pirzadeh (who executed a virtual pet show during our break when students looked too deadpan and tired because of the online semester), Dr. Fozia Parveen (who made science classes inclusive by engaging students from all disciplines and departments) and Dr. Furrukh Khan (who gave us a virtual tour of his orange gardens and introduced us to his lovely dog) brightened up my days and made me realise how much of a difference a generous instructor can make. Stephen King once wrote, “We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why” but this is exactly what

a good instructor’s niche is: inspiring the uninspired and awakening those who have been induced into an academic slumber of sorts. Here’s a catalogue of a handful of your favorite instructors who went an extra mile for their students!

Usama Habib:

Homework has been the bane of our existence ever since we dipped our toes into the academic realm. But what if you were assigned the homework to call up an old friend and reminisce about fond memories together? Well, that was exactly what Professor Usama assigned to his anxious, corona phobic students back in the spring semester last year! Cherry on top, he even forbade students to work during the Eid days and chirply remarked that he would give them a ‘penalty’ if they even dared. His students aspire to be carbon copies of him someday when they join academia so that they too can encourage their students to be kind when times are tough and the tempest is raging.

Dr. Zafar Ayyub:

For many of us, family support and proximity has kept us from tumbling down ridges of despair during this cumbersome time. When a student informed Dr. Zafar that she was going home after 7 months because of being stranded due to the pandemic, he eagerly gave her a generous extension on an assignment. His understanding demeanor and professional vigour motivated the student so much that her college applications began to unconsciously overlap with his CS course. A lot can be said about an instructor’s disposition by the way their students react to it! Continued on Page 2

Cancel Culture: The Cannoli Situation

By Maha Uzair

On January 21st, a video emerged on social media, which in the coming weeks would be liked, shared, and parodied by hundreds of users across multiple platforms. Two women, owners of the Islamabad branch of Cannoli Café, were seen mocking one of their employees for not being able to speak English properly - by making pointed jokes and pushing him to say things in English. The spectacle infuriated social media users, and hashtags began trending on Twitter calling for a boycott of the café. The furor did not end there. Insults and profanity were hurled at the owners as people called them out for workplace harassment, and it eventually got to a point where the owners had to issue an ‘apology’ on their Instagram account. The apology was half-hearted, to say the least, with the owners citing the conversation as ‘gup shup’ and ‘never meant to be taken in a negative or hurtful way’. They also said that their team has been with them for a decade, and apparently that should ‘speak for itself’. Amidst the backlash, Cannoli also changed its logo to one which was written in Urdu. The apology was ridiculed on social media, and a small Urdu mushaira was also held outside the café. Most people angered by the

situation believed that colonialism was to blame, and that the English language should indeed not be a standard against which intelligence or worth is measured. The incident was also highlighted as an issue of class, which makes discrimination of the less privileged a pervasive phenomenon in Pakistani society. People were quick to cancel Cannoli, insisting that Urdu, the national language, should be given respect. The video in question, still making rounds on social media, has revealed some uncomfortable truths; not only does it highlight the superior status ascribed to the English language, but it also confirms that Urdu is still regarded by Pakistanis as an essential and unerasable part of their identity to be protected at all costs. The fact is that Urdu is only spoken by about seven percent of the population. Various regional languages continue to exist and be spoken (such as Saraiki, Gujari, Brahui), amongst which four are provincial languages (Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Balochi). However, when discussing the negative leftover impact of Pakistan’s colonial era, these languages are rarely ever part of the debate. The Bengali-Urdu problem that is said to be one of the factors which separated West and East Continued on Page 2

By Aiman Rahman

2

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

Continued from Page 1

Hashim Kaleem:

Physical ailments tend to hinder a student’s progress more than anything. Our system is fashioned in a way that it favors certain students while putting others at a disadvantage. Professor Hashim didn’t succumb to this apathetic system and when a student brought to his attention that on the account of certain spine issues he’d have appointments with his surgeonon the same days as

classes, he excused him on the attendance policy. Not just that, but he also let his students snack up during classes instead of imposing a strict regimentary routine on them. And we all know how big of a difference a packet of cocomo can make to a person’s productivity levels!

Professor Faisal Bari:

As students, the biggest fear that lurks in our minds is that of being scrutinized by the DC. Most professors use it as a threat to ward off students from cheating and plagiarizing. But Professor Faisal? Nope, not this guy. After a couple of students plagiarized in his course, he asked them to rewrite and resubmit their essays instead of referring their case to the DC. A heart of gold, I’m telling you!

Professor Fareed Zafar:

Senior year has its way of pulling your leg, we can all admit to that. Amidst the bewilderment and fogginess of senior year online, Professor Fareed was adamant on escorting his students to the next chapter of their lives. He went out of his way to offer them multiple sessions on grad school Do’s and Don'ts and was more than willing to review student resumes and applications. This came hand in hand with the words of wisdom he imparted that motivated his students to make the best of their experiences.

Dr Amir Kazi:

It is rare to come across professors who not only hold you accountable for academic progress but also themselves. Dr. Amir was very diligent in receiving feedback from his

students regarding the course content and structure. He encouraged students to fill out anonymous Google Forms so he could incorporate the constructive criticism into his teaching methodology. He was also keen on answering last minute panic questions on the class discussion forum before the exam. I don’t know about you but that would really help soothe my nerves!

Other (spectacular) instructors:

It would be wrong to not mention some other exceptional instructors who went out of their way to protect the interests of their pupils. Professor Tania Saeed was quite generous towards the freshmen and omitted the CP component to relieve students of the pressure to speak up in online classes. Professor Maha Rahman was kind enough to offer a student an alternative between an exam and a Viva when they expressed some genuine issues. Dr. Nauman Faizi and Dr. Baqar Syed were crowned as all-time HSS favorites as they made efforts to take students on call themselves if any connectivity issue presented itself. Professor Shireen Waheed from SDSB offered to take quizzes on some other day if the students weren’t in a mental space to sit for an exam. And last but not the least (and this one’s my favorite), Dr. Qasmi gave students a week off from readings to watch Netflix when they looked too mentally drained because of the online semester drill.

The highlight of my fall semester was probably the Luminite tradition of students holding up placards reading “We’ll miss you, professor!” or “Thank you Sir/ Ma’am!” to surprise instructors who would smile shy smiles or squeal out of glee in response. There’s a certain kind of joy in commemorating the student-teacher bond you cultivate over the period of six months stuck behind virtual windows. The purpose of this article is not to earn brownie points if I ever end up in these professors’ classes (OK maybe just a little) but to acknowledge the teaching staff who has continued in its educational endeavors in spite of all the odds. We see you and you’ve changed the ways we see the world.

Cancel Culture

Pakistan as well as dubious dictates in the past, such as the issuing of circulars in schools banning the use of Punjabi, are often overlooked by the public when discussing linguistic alienation in post-colonial times. Punjabi is seen as a crass language, while Pashto speakers are stereotyped as ‘typical pathans’ who lie in a separate societal stratum. Essentially, most languages other than English or Urdu are greatly undermined or simply overlooked by much of the population. However, it stands to reason that, while pushing for inclusivity and equal progress in the sphere of language, all regional tongues should also be a part of the debate - as well as deserving of similar protection when threatened. Amidst the indignation and reprisals, a curious sense of hypocrisy also made itself apparent. People were rightfully angered when they watched the video, but the video itself seemed

to be reminiscent of how we often ridicule each other in everyday conversation for having a ‘funny’ or ‘improper’ accent. But the problem goes far deeper than even this, with people getting rejected from jobs and schools on the basis of inadequate English-speaking abilities. Famous personalities, for instance Pakistani cricketers like Shoaib Akhtar, are also ridiculed for the way they speak. People have been very quick indeed to cancel the Cannoli owners, but this cancel culture seems to be rather selective. Such performative activism, where one advocates to stop ridiculing people based on the language they can or cannot speak but then goes on to do the same thing, is problematic in itself. Indeed, a lot of things need to change, but this is only possible when we, as individual citizens, are ready to act for that change.

An Ode To Those Who Accommodated Us

In Conversation with LUMS Cricket Team: Multan Tour

By Abdullah Bin Muhammad

Recently, the LUMS Cricket

Team (LCT) played a two-match

fixture against Al-Insaaf Cricket

Academy, one of the most

renowned cricket clubs in Multan.

The team embarked on their tour

of Multan on January 10, with

members gathered from all over

Pakistan including Lahore,

Karachi, Quetta and Islamabad. In

order to get the full story behind

the tour, we contacted the

Captain, Huzaifa Nasir, who

shared his thoughts regarding the

team’s first trophy of the season.

How was the whole tour

organised? Did you face any

difficulties while planning the

trip and if so, how were they

overcome?

“Planning the trip was hard. It

was delayed several times due to

unavailability of team members,

financial restrictions, and the

luring threat of a possible Covid

outbreak within the team.

However, once we decided to go

forward with it, every member put

in their efforts to make sure that

the tour became a success as well

as an experience which we will

cherish for many years to come.”

Considering the pandemic, how

were SOPs implemented during

the trip?

“The trip was organised while

keeping in mind the prevalent

Covid situation Continued on

Page 3.

3

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

A Magnificent Feat: Summiting K2 in Winter

Part of the Karakoram Range that straddles the

Pakistan-China border, K2 is the second highest

peak in the world - home to harsh winds, extreme

weathers and sweeping avalanches. In the category

of mountains above 8000m tall, it is notorious for

having the second highest fatality rate amongst

climbers. K2, nicknamed 'The Savage Mountain' by

US mountaineer George Bell, was the only mountain

among the 8000ers that had not yet been summited

in winter.

That is, until now.

While the entire world battled against a second wave

of the pandemic, 10 Nepali climbers were able to

successfully summit K2 in winter, setting a new

world record. Originally, a huge group of 60 Nepalis

gathered at the K2 Base Camp and then divided into

3-4 teams. They started the ascent at an ideal time,

when there was low wind and bright sunshine.

However, sometime later, the team reshuffled and 10

people, led by Nimsdai Purja, continued forward.

The conditions of the ascent were hardly favourable.

For a major part of the climb, the temperature was

below -50°C - fears of frostbite grew with every

step. In addition to this, there loomed a constant

threat of avalanches, ice falls and rock falls.

Dangerous obstacles like the notorious 'Bottleneck,'

an entire path made up of frozen blue ice, awaited at

every turn. The mountain appeared to be alive,

daring them to keep going. In one of his instagram

posts, Nimsdai sketched the enormity of the danger,

calling K2 in winter "a beast of a challenge."

However, despite extremely harsh and unforgiving

conditions, the group was successfully able to reach

the top on January 16, 2021 at 17:00 local time. 10

metres before the summit, they crowded together to

walk the final steps forward as a team. It was an

emotional moment for all of them. Several tears were

shed and the epic moment of reaching the peak was

also recorded on video. Nimsdai narrated this

historic moment in an Instagram post: "Brother to

brother, shoulder to shoulder, we walked together to

the summit whilst singing the Nepali national

anthem."

"We are proud to have been a part of history for

humankind and to show that collaboration, teamwork

and a positive mental attitude can push limits to what

we feel might be possible," he added.

After the descent, the group met the President of

Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, as well as the Chief of Army

Staff (COAS) General Qamar Jawed Bajwa and the

Tourism Minister of Pakistan, all of whom

congratulated the team on their success. They were

also greeted by the Nepali Prime Minister at the

airport along with several others upon their return

flight home.

What was extraordinary about this ascent was the

fact that no supplementary oxygen was used. It was

a "calculated risk," according to Nirmai. He made

the decision based on the condition of his body and

the health of his group members.

Indeed, the summit is not just an extraordinary feat

in the history of mountaineering but also in the

history of the Nepali and Sherpa people. Despite

being the driving force behind several successful

summits, they have never before been at the

forefront of such a climb. Their role has been to

guide and provide assistance to several

mountaineers, mostly without any recognition for

these efforts. But this team, made up entirely of

Sherpa people, have now brought that acclaim and

recognition to their country. In his exclusive

interview to 'Rock and Ice', a US climbing magazine,

Nimsdai said," It was for Nepal. We were trying to

show the world that we could make the impossible

possible.”

Alan Arnette hailed this achievement for the Sherpa

in 'Rock and Ice,' stating,"that this latest holy grail of

mountaineering should fall to a Sherpa and Nepali

team is a clarion sign that the scales of high-altitude

mountaineering are shifting."

On January 16 2021, 10 men stood on the second

highest peak in the world and gazed at the swirling

sea of ice and rock below. Time stopped for a while.

There was no sound except for the low rumbling of

the mountain as it settled into a new shape - a shape

carved by these new climbers, by their feet in an

unrelentless drive forward. What a magnificent,

humbling feat it must have been.

In Conversation with LUMS Cricket Team

Continued from Page 2

at the time. SOPs were implemented during travel,

and no more than 2 guys were allowed inside a room

at once. All team meeting sessions were held

outdoors, with everyone present wore masks, in

order to avoid the spread of Covid in case someone

contracted it. Everyone in Multan realised that by not

following SOPs, they weren’t just putting themselves

at risk, but also their team members and each team

member’s respective families too. We managed to

finish the tour without any reported cases.”

How were the freshmen integrated even though

they hadn’t practiced with the team before?

“The LCT held unofficial net sessions on campus in

the one week during which the campus was opened

for day scholars. Two freshmen were inducted in the

team based on those net sessions. I would like to

give both the freshmen a big shout out for

accompanying the team in Multan. It must have been

tough given the fact that they had not interacted with

a majority of the team before the tour, but they really

came through.”

What was it like playing together after a year

without any formal practice? How did the team

prepare against a really strong opposition bearing

in mind the Covid situation?

“It is obviously tough for a team to come together

after a break which has almost spanned for a year.

Playing conditions become alien and new

combinations have to be formed before the team

starts performing at its optimal level. However,

because LCT comprises individuals who are

extremely passionate about the game of cricket,

several of them had been involved in cricketing

activities within their home cities. Most importantly

though, because all the boys share such a brotherly

bond with each other, it was easier for us to

acclimatise to conditions much quicker than

expected. Also as mentioned above, many of us had

been playing some form of cricket in our respective

home cities so we came into the Multan tour with

decent preparations. What I as a captain stressed

most on was the need for everyone to stand up for

each other at all costs, and to back each other

especially when the chips are down. The team

responded really well and we managed to beat quite

a strong opposition in their own backyard to bring

home the first trophy of this year.”

What else has LCT planned for this year and

what do you as a captain hope to accomplish?

“If the current Covid situation permits, LCT would

ideally want to travel to Karachi in order to play

archrivals IBA once again. We lost last year, and I

would love to graduate with a win against IBA under

my belt to set the record straight. This year has been

tough on all of us, but LCT is making do with

whatever is at hand. My aim as captain is to make

sure that I give enough exposure and confidence to

my juniors so that they can take the legacy of the

LUMS Cricket Team forward in years to come.”

LCT has surely made LUMS proud by securing the

first trophy of the season under difficult and

uncertain circumstances. Captain Huzaifa Nasir and

Vice-captain Omer Abdullah deserve all the praise

for their brilliant leadership skills and responsible

management. PLUMS wishes the team the very best

of luck for future fixtures!

By Eeman Binte Fayyaz

4

THE PLUMS DISPATCH The Trade-off: Politics vs Justice

The persecution of the Hazara

community is not a recent

development, however the recent

incident where 11 innocent souls

lost their lives to intolerance shook

the nation. The aforementioned

incident took place in Mach,

Balochistan, where Islamist

militants kidnapped 11 coal mine

workers and fatally shot them at a

nearby mountainous location. The

attack, believed to have been an act

of sectarian discrimination against

the predominantly Shiite Hazara

community, was claimed by the

Islamic State (IS) group.

The attack triggered thousands of

Hazaras to stage a sit in in Quetta

with the corpses of their loved ones,

demanding justice for the deceased

and resignation of the provincial

government. This impassioned

outrage and the subsequent

demands were ill received by Prime

Minister Imran Khan, who in a

controversial move termed it a

“blackmail” tactic.

This ill-advised move only served

to add more fuel to the flames of

unrest, especially on social media

platforms. Comparisons were

drawn between the premier’s

response to this case and the

outrage of Sunni extremists upon

the appointment of Atif Mian, an

Ahmadi, to the Prime Minister’s

Economic Advisory Council in

2018. It was noted that the

government did not speak against

the latter demands, and even swiftly

agreed to them, but was quick to

label these demands by the

persecuted members of the nation

as blackmail.

PDM (Pakistan Democratic

Movement) leaders Maryam Nawaz

and Bilawal Bhutto were quick to

visit the grieving families and the

countless protestors to show their

solidarity. They also, however, took

this opportunity to call out the

government and Imran Khan. They

expressed a degree of

dissatisfaction at the Prime

Minister’s inability to visit the

protestors, and criticised his

meeting with Turkish stars

associated with the well received

show “Ertugral” while the Hazara

community suffered in solidarity.

The opposition further asserted that

recent developments made Imran

Khan unfit to lead the nation.

Concerns were raised, however,

that this was not the time nor the

place for the PDM to further its

political agenda.

When we look at this gruesome act

of terrorism in a wider context, and

the political response to it, we

notice yet again how minorities are

poorly treated in our nation. This

incident was undeniably used as a

basis for political conflict between

the current government and the

opposing Pakistani Democratic

Movement (PDM). The Prime

Minister chose to justify his

criticised response by blaming the

antics of the opposition, likening

them to a “band of crooks”, while

the PDM was seen to be covertly

concerned with inciting animosity

towards the government. In all this,

the actual dilemma of Sunni

extremism in Pakistan was

essentially sidelined, both in

political response and media

coverage.

Ethnic and religious minorities in

Pakistan fail to attain justice despite

striving for it, as the leaders of the

nation utilise the pursuit of power

as the forefront of their party's

agenda under the guise of giving

justice to persecuted minorities. It is

ironic how each government claims

to protect the rights of minorities

yet their desire for political power

and personal gain overcomes their

ability to establish justice.

The GameStop Saga: From Tens to Hundreds

By Maham Asif and Zohair Abbas Rizvi

After weeks of commotion following

Biden’s victory, Americans experienced

some peace and quiet post-

inauguration. However, events seemed

to retake a chaotic direction soon after -

this time because of a brick and mortar

company that sells video games.

GameStop, a retailing company whose

sales dropped drastically because of

COVID-19, has been in the spotlight

for many years along with other public

companies like AMC Theatres and

Macy’s due to its classification under

the category of ‘likely to fail’

businesses. This time, however, it is in

the spotlight for other reasons that have

changed the dynamics of the financial

world. The company’s share price -

falling as low as $2.57 last year and

going up to $18.84 in December - has

skyrocketed by approximately 8000

percent over the past few months with

$350 being the current per share price,

leaving wall street professionals

speechless (The Wire).

While the mantra in stock markets is

usually to “buy low, sell high”, a

category of investors suggested short

sellers do the opposite. These big-shot

investors bet on gradually failing

companies and buy their stocks when

the price is high in the hopes that it will

continue to fall so that they can make a

profit by selling them later. This David

and Goliath situation, an analogy

rightfully drawn by media outlets, is a

battle between these short-sellers –

including a $13 billion hedge fund

company of institutional investors

called Melvin Capital - and the amateur

Reddit stock buyers aka r/

WallStreetBets who use platforms like

Robinhood which charges little to no

fee to buy and sell shares.

The series of events began in January

when activist investor, “m”, joined

GameStop’s board of directors. It

became a harbinger of good times for

GameStop as Cohen had the digital

expertise and had long been pushing for

the company's transformation. With his

arrival, the stock price started to

recover and rose to 13%, forcing short -

sellers to reconsider betting against the

company and buying more GameStop

shares instead. Things started to take a

proper form by January 27 when the

Reddit WallStreetBets forum users, in

order to send a message to the short-

sellers who have been betting against

GameStop for long, decided to act in

unison. They decided that the stocks for

GameStop were still undervalued or

highly shorted, and collectively started

buying shares to drive up the price

exponentially, with the result that short-

sellers were forced to lose billions of

dollars. Word spread quickly, and other

individual investors also started buying

GameStop stocks. A tweet by Elon

Musk added to the melee: “The Tesla

boss loves a tweet - and when he does,

financial worlds tend to take

notice” (BBC news). His one-word

Tweet further added to the problem for

short-sellers when share prices started

soaring - gaining more than 700% value

over the course of a few days. In

simpler words, when investors

successfully pushed up the share price

to $350, short-sellers who had

borrowed shares for $18.57 and sold

them in the market then had to arrange

$301 extra per share to repurchase and

return them to their owners. This left no

room for a profit margin for short

sellers (Independent UK) – the opposite

of what they had hoped and expected.

While amateur investors were enjoying

their success, Robinhood and other

online platforms used for trading stocks

decided to crash the party by blocking

trading activities, leaving investors the

option to either hold or sell stocks. In

contrast, institutional investors were

able to carry on with their activity as

they do not rely on online brokers. As a

result, the shares' value dropped by

40% (CNN), but this did not last long

because of the backlash Robinhood had

to face by prominent figures like

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; within 24

hours, these online applications decided

to resume their activities in a ‘limited’

way.

Although highly influential Wall Street

officials and financial giants have been

unable to control or restrict the

situation, they are hopeful that

eventually, reality will set in as the

fundamentals of companies such as

Robinhood are weak and solely

supported by Reddit users. No one

knows how the story will unfold in the

future, and even if it does not play out

in the long term, it will always be

remembered as one of the few events

that managed to throw Wall Street off

balance.

By Javaria Ahmad

5

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

Interview with the Interim Student President Abdullah Haroon: The Extensive Responsibilities of the SC amidst the Pandemic

You have been serving as the Student Council

President for almost over a year beyond your

official term. How has it been for you,

professionally and personally?

Generally, it has been very tough because we

initially had no planning for such a situation.

Usually, when we get into office, we know what to

expect and how to balance everything. We were

expecting to be done by May 2019. But this time we

were suddenly thrust into a new tenure. At first, we

were really confused at what was happening. Our

workforce had reduced and many of our guiding

seniors had left. It was a very difficult thing

professionally because we had to adjust to a new

normal quickly. We were suddenly faced with the

fee hike issue. On top of that, everything was online

– it got difficult communicating with the

administration. It was tough but it was very

rewarding as well. In times like these, you really get

to see what your character is. When your back is

against the wall and you are under a lot of pressure,

how you deal with it, that shows who you really are.

Personally, it was very different, it was really

draining. For everyone, irrespective of their position

in the council, it was really exhausting. The only

thing pulling us through was coming together online

and getting stuff done. No matter how much hard

work you do, you will always have some people who

are not satisfied completely. So emotionally, it was

very challenging.

How is the rest of the Student Council dealing

with having to work beyond their official tenure?

For the first couple of months, we were structurally

disorganised. There were a lot of personal problems

because of COVID and a lot of uncertainty too. No

one had signed up for this. First two months were

just us coming to terms with this new situation. We

pushed for and wanted online elections. Reality had

not set in initially; we did not know we would have

to do this for another year now. We believed a new

council would have been better. There were no

sophomore representatives, so there was a gap with

the student body. But then we realised it is difficult

for elections to happen. We usually have 31

members and 12-13 departments. With the reduced

workforce, we reconstituted our organisational

structure; we had to look into what committees are

essential in the online semester and which ones we

can be merged. So, we ended up making up 5-6

committees from 12-13, since our body was also

half. After this, professionally, it got easier and more

organised. At the end of the day, we were certain

that until the next elections, we will be working.

We were going to have an online election in Fall

2020. What happened there?

It did not happen because, firstly, people were not

ready. They were unsure about how to campaign

online and how an online council would be formed.

Many of the people who were going to stand in

elections were questioning this. That was the biggest

issue. Campaigning online was a big issue. The

council was wondering how to help, we thought of

making booklets etc. to guide candidates. But at the

end of the day, you need to be on ground for this sort

of campaigning to happen. Secondly, the student

body itself questioned, how will the new body take

the reins online? Even in person, you need a month

or two to settle in. There was a hesitancy regarding

the efficiency of the new council. Also, at that time

we were working on the fee hike and sexual

harassment issues.

When can we expect the elections?

We are going to have them early April, before

Ramzan.

How do you feel about the lobbying culture

during elections?

Honestly, this is a very tricky question. There is this

side of the argument that lobbying is not good, and

deserving people cannot win because of strong

groups and lobbies. But if you look at this from a

political science perspective, it is just like having a

political party. When you look at this in a normal

setting, it is a replication of the political party system

we see in national elections. All parties are banded

with an identity, in this case mostly high school. It is

very difficult to combat it. When I got into office, I

wanted to work on this lobbying culture and

somehow reduce it. But when we sat down and

started looking at the constitution, there are not a lot

of steps you can take to stop it. At the end of the day,

the voters have to educate themselves. We have

some voters who usually just vote on the basis of

friendships or first-come basis. But if every voter

starts thinking rationally to achieve an optimum

decision, we can defeat the lobbying culture. It is not

something you can just stop but you need to be

aware of who you are voting for and why. You are

not voting for a lobby, but for a person. When you

start looking for merit, you are not going to vote on

any other basis. Lately, we are seeing a shift towards

our voters becoming more aware before they cast

votes.

How cooperative has the admin been with the

Student Council during the pandemic?

I am going to give a very honest answer here. The

admin does work with us and takes our input.

Consider the fee hike issue. I don’t know if many

people know this, but we have a shared governance

structure. In the fee hike issue, a budget committee

was formed to look into it. Till the very end, our

input was taken. It was a data driven process which

included a lot of number crunching from the RO’s

records. The admin followed through with most of

our points.

We have to look at this issue to issue. Sometimes

they do listen to us but there are also times when we

are not taken into the frame. It is not like they

involve us in every issue. Like the hostel

accommodations and campus reopening, they did

take our input. It is a 50/50. In the online setting,

communication was the major issue. Setting

meetings and getting replies to emails made things

very difficult. They do ask us and involve us, but

mostly it's post a decision and sometimes it's pre.

The change is also new, the shared governance

system started 2 years ago. For admin it is a learning

curve too. We are slowly getting more and more

involved. Some people in the admin are more open

to our involvement and some are not. There is no

black and white answer to this.

How do you feel about and deal with the constant

backlash received by the Student Council on

mediums like LDF?

I admit the fact that we have not been very good with

communication. It is really difficult to work so

much, balance your studies, and then market your

work as well. For aspiring council members, this is

one big issue you will face. You will be tired and

exhausted, but you will have to write emails to the

student body. But there are two sides to this. On

campus, we arranged a town hall in the Fall semester

of 2019. We booked the B3 hall and each committee

prepared presentations to update the student body

about what they have done. But when the event

started, only 15 people showed up.

Secondly, about people posting, they have every

right to say whatever they want. But oftentimes we

know that the people who are posting have friends in

the Student Council. And it only takes a minute to

message a council member. If you know someone in

the Student Council, just message them and ask what

is happening and they will tell you. Some people

also spread misinformation. So, there are a lot of

variables to this. There is a communication issue

from our side which we need to work on. The

students, while they have the right to share anything

they want, also have the responsibility to do their

due diligence when posting something publicly. If

you have a connection in the student council, ask

them first instead of posting. Continued on Page 6

By Shaezal N. Cheema

6

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

Dictatorship in Asia: Myanmar’s Coup and Pakistan’s Hybrid Regime

By Ayman Fuad

The British colonies in South-East Asia in the

pre-WW2 era included the entire Indian

subcontinent along with Myanmar, formerly

Burma. After independence from the British, the

sovereignty of these nation-states was still in

question as most of their governments regularly

changed hands between democratically elected

leaders and military rulers coming into power

through coups. Myanmar is one of these states.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar was led

to independence from its British colonists in

1948 through the efforts of the Burmese military

group called Tatmadaw, marshalled by General

Aung San who is revered as a national hero. The

efforts of the military in helping Myanmar break

free from its colonial shackles is why the

military has enjoyed strong support even after

independence. However, the military has failed

to be accountable to democratic institutions of

the nation-state and has consistently breached its

institutional power which should ideally only let

the military provide internal security and

defence from external threats.

Myanmar has been ruled by military

dictatorships from 1962 to 2011, until a

turbulent decade of democracy came in 2011.

This was to be replaced, yet again, on February

1 2021, by a military coup. Aung San Suu Kyi,

the leader of the National League for

Democracy (NLD) and the winner of the

popular vote of the elections in November 2020,

has been detained. Military leaders alleged

widespread election rigging as a reason for

taking power, without providing any proof.

Nationwide protests calling for the release of

Suu Kyi and the restoration of democracy

started on February 6. An internet and

communication channel blackout was also

carried out for one day to stop protestors from

organising.

Glaringly apparent in Myanmar is a blurring of

lines between civil governance and military

control. This is evident in the fact that in 2008,

the constitution was designed by the Tatmadaw

and it allocated 25% of the seats in both national

and local parliaments for serving military

officials. In Myanmar, the constitution of 2008

was designed by the Tatmadaw, and allocated

25% of the seats in both national and local

parliaments for serving military officials.

The military in Myanmar is known for its

atrocious ethnic cleansing objectives, which

were brought into the spotlight after the

Rohingya genocide of 2017. Suu Kyi, then the

democratic leader of Myanmar, refused to

acknowledge the genocide and did not condemn

the military. Support for Suu Kyi dwindled after

this blatant support for inhumanity. The irony of

ironies is that Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter

of General Aung San, former assassinated leader

and founder of the Tatmadaw. The Tatmadaw is

now the very establishment that has detained

Suu Kyi and is depriving her of her rights

(BBC), even after she lent her support to this

establishment in the international arena.

There are also parallels between the Punjabi-

Sunni supremacy in Pakistan and the so-called

Burmanisation in Myanmar. The central

government, even in Aung San’s democractic

rule, was filled with Burmese politicians and

high ranking officials, which sidelined the many

ethnic minorities of Myanmar. Although the

situation is not as intense in Pakistan with only

one dominant ethnic ruling group, since it is true

that we have a Pashtun ruler, and there are

Sindhis in various high ranking positions, we

must concede that these are the only valid

ethnicities to have in Pakistan. This was

exemplified by the recent Shia Hazara genocide

on January 3, to which Khan’s response has also

been heavily criticised.

What makes the situation worse for Myanmar is

the prevailing danger of extreme censorship,

which contributes to the threat against ethnic

minorities, especially since the military faces

minimal accountability in an authoritarian

regime of this sort. Military regimes in general -

of which Myanmar is no exception - are also

defined by a clear lack of access (owing to a

complete shutdown of internet facilities) to

international bodies that may be able to provide

relief and aid.

The international community has mostly

condemned the Myanmar coup, with solidarity

rallies in India, South Korea, Indonesia,

Australia, and Taiwan. Continued on Page 7

Interview with the Interim Student President

Continued on Page 5

Besides communication, what were the three

biggest hurdles the Student Council faced

during the pandemic?

Not having access to the campus. Previously we

could just go directly into the admin offices and

sort things out, this time around we could not.

Work that usually took minutes, now took days;

lack of workforce; seniors who were guiding

pillars for us left; the existing council was also

reduced and balancing everything— you have to

balance your online semester, studies, council

work, and then your personal life. Every council

member had his or her own personal battle.

Q. What has been your favourite part of

serving as the Student Council President?

My team. Getting to know my team and seeing

them being there for each other. I was so

surprised and very proud of them. I got to know

them and saw their strong character and

personalities. There are a lot of leaders within

our ranks who rose to the occasion. I was

pleasantly surprised, a lot of them made me

learn things and I hope they learned something

from me too. Generally, that has been my

favourite thing in this extended tenure.

7

THE PLUMS DISPATCH

Dictatorship in Asia

Continued from Page 6 The United Nations and European Union have criticised the military’s actions and expressed support for the protestors. The Biden administration has also called for a restoration of democracy in the country. The dictatorship will make it harder for the USA to bend Myanmar to its will and USA’s relationship with Myanmar requires that they have a democratic leader so that the USA, in its usual exploitative role as an imperial power, also has a say in the politics of Myanmar. Biden threatened to reimpose the old sanctions that were in place at the time of the last military regime in Myanmar, should democratic rule not be restored. China, notably, has not denounced the hostile takeover and has merely called it a “major cabinet reshuffle” (Al Jazeera), an absurd phrase used in the wake of an

inhumane, genocidal military taking control over governance of a country. This possible approval by China hints at the Tatmadaw enjoying support of the Chinese government, should they choose not to relinquish power. False promises by the Tatmadaw are being used to calm down an agitated public, including a pledge to hold fresh elections in one year, which seems highly unlikely at the moment. Unfortunately, Myanmar’s current situation has a lot of parallels grounded in Pakistan’s political sphere. But the people of Myanmar are fighting back; teachers, nurses, monks alike are calling for the restoration of democracy. Pakistan needs to learn from the escalation in Myanmar’s political arena before our own hybrid regime takes us back into 1980’s Pakistan.

A Year Lost in Transition

By Isbah Khan

I can’t wait for this year to be over already. Everyone tells me, and I tell them. It’s a constant back and forth at this point; a preliminary script to steering conversations, an unspeakable secret we are all in on. We don’t say much else, for there isn’t much to say.

For some reason I believed that with the clock striking midnight on the last day of the doomed 2020, something will shift, everything will be okay. And I will once again know the life as we once knew it. I will be starting my journey at LUMS, seizing life with both hands as they tell you to. Except that my hands are empty; university opening was still a sore spot, a swinging pendulum of maybes and nos. A gap year of sorts with just a lot of course load. It almost felt like a static ground where all reality stood frozen in time. Neither here nor there. A railway platform with no train in sight.

Of course, this provided little room to grow in what were to be one of the most formidable years of my life. Self-reflection felt like a mode of regression more than of development. A disintegrating retrograde of my personhood. All those desi quarantine weddings only made me realise how unequipped I was to our beloved aunties passive aggression. All those walls of filters I had learnt to build had come tumbling down. I said and did simply what I felt at any given moment; like a primal being functioning purely on survival instincts. Perhaps what was most mortifying was when I forgot you are supposed to show a little hesitance when offered Eidi. Goes without saying, the aforementioned aunties were not amused. Definitely going into a decently long list of my embarrassing saga.

They say, a person grows old when they think about their past more so than their future. For someone who always distracted herself from dealing with her emotions heads-on by the everyday normalcies of her life, a sudden disconnection from routine made me feel uprooted and lost. I would constantly find myself hovering over the memory lane; a flimsy retrospection on all that went

wrong, or right for that matter. As a result, the world inside my head was far colourful and vivid than the one outside; just me and myself against LMS and its horrors. I wondered how I am supposed to grow and learn and all that stuff social media tells you when there is not enough room to.

I wanted to slow down and breathe in its truest sense of the word. I did not want to find comfort in the new normal as they call it. Because it was not normal. As surreal and foreign the concept feels to embrace, we are living in a global pandemic. Disconnected from meaningful human connections, confined in our own isolated vacuums, processing the loss of loved ones and our former lives. Every time a friend told me how their humanness doesn’t feel rightfully theirs anymore; that they think they have lost themselves somewhere along the way; that the person staring back at them in the mirror feels like someone else, I wanted to hug them. I wanted to hug them and tell them I still see them. In all their effervescent reality that makes them who they are.

All is not lost. Despite being used to marking our journeys through arbitrary linear measures, we learn and unlearn. We grow and fall back. We build and rebuild. And when the time comes, and we are back at campus, we will start again. In ways far truer than before. In ways of unspoken understanding and deep empathy. In all the ways that transcend half-hearted formalities and unnecessary niceties.

“So, if you are too tired to speak, sit next to me for I, too, am fluent in silence”

Recipe by LUMS Culinary Club