English
A guide to essay writing with eleven practical rules, followed by fully worked sample essays with synopses and vocabulary notes.
Unfortunately very few people develop the habit of thinking. Modern world discourages original thinking. Therefore, most of us suffer from paucity of ideas. G.K. Chesterton has rightly remarked, "None of us think enough of those things on which the eye rests. Why should the eye be so lazy? Let us exercise the eye until it learns to see the starting facts than run across the landscape as plain as a painted fence. Let us be ocular athletes. Let us learn to write the essay on a stray cat or a coloured cloud...." One can learn to write only by writing. So just write on.
Synopsis: (1) Introduction — the daily newspaper has become an integral part of our life. (2) The various functions of newspapers: to spread news; to give news and views on all subjects of general interest like politics, religion, literature and commerce; to act as a kind of liaison between the government and the people; to spread political awareness among the people. (3) Cheap journalism, scandal-mongering — newspapers often fall a prey to cheap journalism and scandal-mongering and then become a vicious influence and deserve some kind of censor. (4) Conclusion — the editors must be fully conscious of their responsibility; since they wield a mighty influence on the society, it is very important that they behave in a responsible manner.
To know what is going on around us is a primitive instinct. In a smooth and uneventful mode of life, this instinct would be moderate and perhaps resistible. But in modern times, when each new dawn is likely to bring a momentous change, it is hard to live in ignorance of the events. If ever a newspaper observes a holiday, a feeling of vacuum grips our mind. The morning newspaper is as indispensable for a good start to our day as the morning cup of tea. And this is not the case with the city-bred modernite only. The usually self-centered villager is equally enthusiastic to know about the world. The two lakh plus readership that a popular Pakistani newspaper enjoys today is well spread over towns and villages.
Of course, the primary function of the newspaper is to disseminate news, local, national, as well as international. But along with the news, the newspaper carries views also. Whenever information is passed on to someone, it is usual to add a direct or indirect comment. This is nothing but the expression of views. The newspaper performs this function consciously and with a well-defined purpose.
A newspaper is, in fact, a book, pulpit, platform and forum, all in one. And there is not an interest – religious, literary, commercial, scientific, agricultural or mechanical – that is not within its grasp. It may thus be described as the 'people's university.' Someone might be interested in recent political developments in a neighbouring country; another in the detailed report of some hockey, cricket or tennis match; still another in the outcome of a strike in a local college. A student of literature may look up to a newspaper for a fair evaluation of the latest arrivals. A man of commerce would like to be acquainted with the current market trends. The farmer is interested in the weather report and the newest innovations in the modes of land cultivation. A student might be more attracted by the sports column or the scientific articles, or just the latest cinema releases. A newspaper is the most intimate friend of the politician, the most reliable guide of an average citizen and the sole recreation of an old man.
The newspaper acts as a kind of liaison between the government and the people. It acquaints the people with the policy and principles of the government. At the same time, it reflects the public reaction to this policy and thus enables the government to modify it. Since it gives such extensive publicity to the movements of the ministers and other high-up, it exercises a very sobering influence on them. It does not let them forget that they are in office as the representatives of the people to whom they are finally answerable. Thus it keeps a powerful check on the corruption and tyranny of the government. It is perhaps this aspect of a newspaper's function that prompted Thomas Jefferson to remark; "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
Perhaps the most important function of a newspaper in a democratic government is to spread political awareness among the public. An average citizen has neither capability, nor will, nor even time to formulate and express original opinions on most of the issues. He seeks guidance from the newspaper he subscribes to. The observations he makes in the circle of his friends with flourish he has perhaps borrowed from the day's editorial in his favourite newspaper. Thus a newspaper has a definite educative value. The success of democracy depends upon the judicious use of one's vote, which is impossible without political education and a newspaper is the most effective source available to us for this type of education.
If newspapers can check corruption in the government, they can themselves be a victim of the worst kind of corruption. Rivalry and competition may lead a newspaper to be breezy and sensational. It may try to win cheap popularity by publishing scoops and scandals or spicy, sordid but baseless gossip about the personal lives of the people in power. It may colour fact with fiction or may disguise fiction as fact and thus mislead the masses. Since almost every important newspaper is either the organ of some political party or some business magnate, there is every fear that it may sacrifice objectivity and fairness in the interest of the party or the individual. It may omit a report or suppress it. It may so edit a statement that it might belie the intention of the speaker. Sometimes it might give misleading, tendentious headlines. A newspaper run by a party with a communal bias can be still more dangerous. It can vitiate the entire social atmosphere of the country and shatter communal harmony. Newspapers often foster communal, regional and religious rivalries among the masses. It helps them to thrive but they conveniently forget at what cost. Some newspapers are unabashedly sycophant. They extol everything the government does, even those measures that are anti-people or anti-nation. These newspapers betray the masses to pursue the interest of their owners.
This places a great responsibility upon the editors, the correspondents and the professional reviewers of a newspaper. If we depend upon it to get news, we expect it to furnish us with authentic news only. If we place so much confidence in its reviews of films, books, cultural events, the least it should do is to be disinterested and fair in the reviews it publishes. It is possible to be honest even in the slant given to the interpretation of policies and events. Let a newspaper be free to criticise and project a certain point of view if deems reasonable but let it not misquote and misrepresent.
Vocabulary — Liaison: connection; primitive: original, very old; resistible: that which can be checked; Indispensable: without which we cannot live; Disseminate: to spread; Pulpit: platform; Innovations: new things introduced; Accumulate: to collect; Scoop: a sensational news; Tendentious: purposely giving a slant; Vitiate: to spoil; Foster: to encourage; Unabashedly: shamelessly; Sycophant: flatterer; Extol: to praise; Authentic: genuine, authoritative.
Synopsis: Opinion governs people — it controls our religious beliefs, social habits, moral and ethical outlook, and governments swear by the name of the people to justify their actions. What is public opinion? It is the opinion held in general by the people on important issues in spite of difference of disposition, circumstances, interest, attachments and habits; mutual forbearance and tolerance are necessary. Since the good of the community in general is the aim, there is agreement on essential points. Kinds of public opinion: passive and false; active and real. Agencies through which public opinion is expressed: press, platform, political parties, educational institutions. Its power is most felt in social and political spheres. The voice of the people is the voice of God.
Today people are governed by opinions. The power of opinion manifests itself not only in politics but in almost all the spheres of human activities and thoughts. It controls our religious beliefs, our social habits, our moral and ethical outlook. People want to make their voice heard and to manage their own affairs. So loud and persistent is the demand of the people that rightly or wrongly all states now claim to be based on the opinion of the governed. Whatever they do, they do in the name of the people. The most constitutional governments and despotic rulers swear alike by the name of the people to justify their actions.
What, then is public opinion? Public opinion is the opinion held by the people in general on any important issue. People are not made in the same mould, like a lot of bricks. It would have been unfortunate if it had been so. Consequently, even in the same country, men differ in disposition and manners and opinions. Their sentiments, aims and objectives, thinking, all differ. It is necessary for us, therefore, to cultivate a generous spirit of forbearance and tolerance towards those who may think and act differently from ourselves.
Public opinion must be based on reason and must aim at the good of the community on the whole. It cannot be called public opinion unless it is substantially shared by the dominant portion of the community. This does not mean that all people must think alike and in the same way. All that is signified is that on essential points they must be in agreement, though on non-essential matters they may differ.
Public opinion may be passive and false, or active and real. It is claimed in theory that all governments are ultimately based on the opinion or sanction of the governed. But we find that, in practice, the people's rights are often trodden down and tyranny and oppression are allowed to continue. The government succeeds in being tyrannical not because the people want it to be so but because they are too idle, too uneducated and too disunited or timid to oppose the government. Such public opinion is passive and false, and not an active verdict. But when we find people alert, intelligent and determined to let the government know their will, when they want to exercise actively their voice in the management of their country, we have an instance of true or active public opinion.
True public opinion is formed by and expressed through the press, the platform of political parties and educational institutions. These institutions have sacred duties to perform, duties on which depends the ultimate good of the entire community. Hence, they should thoroughly realise their responsibilities. The press today wields a tremendous influence. So it should support the right cause and movements and condemn the wrong ones and thus teach people to form correct opinions. The people should have access to accurate and unbiased information. The masses get disillusioned and feel frustrated when the government adopts important policies without bringing them to the gaze of the public. A free and fair press ventilates the grievances of the public. Thus, a healthy relationship develops between the people and the government through an unbiased press. The service which is done on a large scale by the press is also done in a limited way by speeches from the platform. Political parties also help to create and regulate opinions. An equally important part is played by the educational institutions which train the minds of the young people who will be the citizens of tomorrow. It has been said that modern Germany and China have been made by their universities.
The field for the exercise of public opinion is very wide. However, its power is most felt in social and political spheres. It has assumed great strength. The voice of the people is the voice of God. It is the inexorable voice of destiny that has now made itself felt everywhere. It is people's will as expressed through the elections that appoints the government and can dismiss the government at the polls. It now serves as a check on the high-handedness of the government. With the gradual awakening of the masses it is assuming an unthinkable proportion and potency.
However, the force of public opinion has not yet been fully formed in our country, for an ideal democratic government in which all men enjoy equal rights and privileges and the state exists for all is yet to be fully realised here. It is necessary that the young and the growing minds should imbibe the spirit of fellow-feeling, the spirit of tolerance, the habit of compromise, and show due regard for the feelings and opinions of others, without which a democratic society cannot function, let alone succeed. When there is true awakening of the people, we shall have the real and conscious public opinion. And justice will reign on earth and truly will the voice of the people be the voice of God.
Synopsis: Corruption is a deep-rooted menace that has soaked into every sphere of life and grown into gigantic proportions, so much so that we have stopped feeling scandalized by it. Opportunities for the growth of corrupt practices have multiplied after independence. Even the fields of education and religion that should foster morality have got corrupted. The philosophy of corruption: some people accept bribes because there are others to offer it, and common people embrace corruption because they find it difficult to behave like angels in isolation. Corruption spreads from top to bottom. Reform should also begin at the top: top-level officials in the government and our political leaders should cultivate moral values if this menace is to be tackled successfully.
Corruption is a deep-rooted menace that has eaten into the vitals of society, distorted all values and made mincemeat of morality, truth and virtue. The evil has grown to gigantic proportions and there is hardly any sphere of social, political, economic or even religious activity that is free from deception and corruption of some kind. Like the air we breathe in, it has become all pervasive. It has seeped into the social fabric to such an extent that now it looks like its natural colour. One wonders whether we should accept it as the price of socialism, progress and civilization.
Edmund Burke warned the world that a corrupt influence is a perennial spring of decay and disorder. Once the evil of corruption is born, it grows very fast. The opportunities for palm-greasing and bribery have increased with the increase in trade and commerce. Securing of raw materials and permits and licences becomes much simpler if there is an attractive sum to offer.
Shocking enough, our education system is also not free from corruption. Parents have to offer huge 'donations' to procure admission for their children. It is indeed shameful that meritorious students are denied admission in prestigious courses like engineering and medicine while those with large pockets find their way through. The power of money can be seen even at the places of worship where the ones with generous offerings manage to meet the Lord first!
The philosophy of corruption operates interestingly. So long as there are people to offer bribe, there are also people to take it, directly or indirectly. We rationalize the situation and console ourselves that easy money is a human weakness difficult to overcome. The standard of living is constantly rising, soaring prices of essential commodities have broken the back and we indulge in corrupt ways for our children's sake and since everyone else does it, why not us? Must we be the only angels on earth? Every man, it is said, has his price. When the entire economic and social set-up breathes of what is called 'speed money' to push things through, it is almost impossible to resist temptation – human beings are, after all, human beings. But the stink lies not only in the prevalence of the lure but in the hypocrisy also that accompanies it. People accept bribes under the table, then come out to raise anti-corruption slogans at the top of their voice and urge others to be honest and pure.
It is not difficult to locate the causes of corruption. Corruption breeds at the top and then gradually filters down to the lower levels. Gone are the days when people who joined politics were imbued with the spirit of serving the nation. Those who threw themselves in the fight for freedom knew that there were only sacrifices to be made and no return was expected. So only the most selfless people came forward. But the modern politicians win elections at a huge personal cost and then try to make the best of the opportunity they get. Powerful business magnates who are forced to give huge donations to political parties indulge in corrupt practices not only to make up their losses but even to consolidate their gains. When people in power indulge in corruption so unabashedly, the common man gets a kind of sanction. Ironically, instead of fighting against the menace of corruption, our political leaders declare it a world-wide phenomenon and accept it as something inevitable.
Promises and oaths of honesty are made and soon forgotten. However, measures calculated to produce a wholesome social climate both among public servants and in the general public are essential. A new tradition of integrity can be established only if the members of the government set the example. Our freedom-fighters were selfless people; so the common man was willing to sacrifice his all for his country. Since the majority of the modern political leaders are interested only in self-advancement, the common man too is hankering after the loaves and fishes of office. Today, the first step is to be honest and admit that our conduct and character lack that grace and strength which are the distinguishing marks of free people everywhere. We must submit to some serious introspection and realise the enormity of the decline in our character. Once we have realised this, it should not be difficult to end corruption at all levels of life. In fact, public apathy is unconscious sanction to corruption.
Vocabulary — Gigantic: of immense size; indignation: anger; emulate: to try to do as well as or better than; Rung: levels; Menace: danger, threat; Blatant: shameless; Perennial: perpetual; Deterrent: that which discourages; Stringent: strict; Introspection: looking into one's heart; Apathy: indifference.
Synopsis: Machines can perform miraculous feats. They relieve man of tiresome, monotonous work — transport, agriculture and industry have all been mechanized. An analysis of the daily routine of an ordinary man shows the all-round utility of machines: while getting ready for the office, at the office, and back home in the evening, most of our work is done with the help of machines. Housework has also become much simpler with mechanical kitchen aids. Conclusion: unfortunately, machines are gradually becoming our masters.
In our childhood, all of us must have read about the amazing feats performed by Alladin's Jinn. But the feats performed by modern machines are far more amazing than any we have ever read about. Sitting in our own house, we can see a match being played in Australia, or in the West Indies. Just pressing a button can take us into the immeasurable space and merely pulling a lever can destroy a whole country in an instant. All this has been achieved with the help of machines.
Ever since man started scientific experimentation, he has been trying to relieve himself of weary, monotonous work. He found walking tiresome and time-consuming. So he invented the bicycle, the motor car, the railway train, and the aeroplane, and now there's the rocket that can fly at an astronomical speed. Agriculture was man's major occupation. But he found tilling and cultivating land a difficult job and kept on transferring most of his work to machines. Today bulk of agricultural work right from the ploughing of land to the harvesting of crops is done with the help of machines. Industry has, of course, been completely mechanised.
In fact, if we analyse our daily life, we shall discover that it is completely dominated by machines. The little time-piece whose chiming awakens us is just a small, simple machine. We wash with water pumped into our house with the help of machines. We eat our breakfast also prepared with the help of machines. The clothes we wear are mechanically produced. A machine takes us to our place of work. There we either directly operate machines or work with the help of things manufactured by machines. If we feel hot, we turn on a fan, a cooler or an air conditioner; in winter we switch on an electric heater. All these are small machines. Two of the most useful instruments in our office are a telephone and a typewriter, and both of them are machines. When we return home in the evening, we switch on a radio, a television, or a record-player. Sometimes we go to the movies. All these are examples of machines.
Like the agriculturist and the office-goers, the housewife also found her kitchen work a kind of drudgery. But the latest electrical appliances like cooking ranges, mixers, refrigerators, hot cases, ovens, etc., have made the kitchen work mere fun. In addition, there are the washing machine and the electric press to take the sting out of her work. Gone are the days when the lady of the house had to sweat hard on her work. Now she presses a button and the garments are washed clean and she presses another button and the dough is ready. If we describe the twentieth century as an age of machines, it should not be an exaggeration.
But a very deplorable fact about the modern age of machines is that the relationship between man and the machines is getting perverted. Machines were supposed to be extra limbs of man, and he could use them whenever he liked. They were man's slaves, like Alladin's jinn. But today machines have become so powerful that it is man who has been reduced to the level of a slave. Man's dependence on machines is total. A minor breakdown of machines anywhere is capable of causing a major disturbance. Power breakdown or a breakdown in the means of communication can put the whole country out of gear. Besides, machines work at a tremendous speed. Man finds it difficult to cope with the speed of machines and this creates tension in his mind. Large machines also cause unemployment, or if that is a fallacy, at least they keep on disturbing the pattern of employment. It is easy to conclude that although machines have relieved man of much of his irksome work, they have not made him happier than before.
Vocabulary — Monotonous: dull; Drudgery: dull work; Deplorable: regrettable; Irksome: annoying.
By: S.G. Jilanee
The purpose of this article is not to discuss how women's rights are practiced in Muslim society today, but what they mean in a truly Muslim society. It is necessary to understand this difference, because Muslims today are facing much confusion over this issue and it has, in fact, percolated to every sphere of life and created two schools of thought.
One propagates western thinking and value system. According to it, the restraints Islam imposes on women are not only oppressive and unjust but also responsible for the material backwardness of the Muslims. They advocate "moderating Islam" and adapting it to a western model. The other view presents notions of strict seclusion for women, and that they should not be seen outside their homes unless chaperoned by a male, not in the prohibited degree, or participate in social affairs on equal terms with men or even gain more education.
"Women's rights" is the mantra that everyone aspiring for entry into the "mainstream" chants. Let us take a look at its background. The slogan reflects women's reaction against prolonged "persecution". In ancient times, roles were strictly defined for men and women. So "Adam delved and Eve span" became the proverb.
At the same time, women were regarded as "the weaker sex," incapable of performing physically arduous functions and even of protecting themselves. They were, therefore, treated as inferior to men. Even though Queen Bodicea led a rebellion against the Romans (62 A.D.) and Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl, led the French armies against the English in the early 15th century, still there was no place for women in social affairs.
Gradually men became more aggressive and began to treat women like chattel. Even queens were not spared. King Henry VIII of England had two of his queens (Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard) beheaded on charges of infidelity and adultery. Two he divorced and banished.
In Hinduism, women were required to worship their husbands. They ate separately after all males had finished eating. A widow was burnt to death on her husband's funeral pyre, according to a rite called sati. After Viceroy William Bentinck intervened to ban this religious practice, their widows were subjected to other torments. A widow had to keep her head permanently shaved, eat a frugal meal only once a day, always dress in coarse white, not remarry, nor participate in auspicious rituals such as marriages etc. And the Hindu law, embodied in manusmirti (the "Law of Manu") and its two offshoots, the Mitakshara and Dayabhaga schools, both exclude women from inheritance.
Judeo-Christianity had no provision for inheritance nor did it define conjugal rights, such as maintenance and divorce. Fornication and adultery were cursed like other sins, in passing but not treated as culpable.
Christianity's failure to solve social problems triggered a revolt in 16th century Europe which came to be known as the period of Enlightenment. The world view expounded by its apostle, Francis Bacon, emphasized the need for man to "consult only things themselves." Hobbes followed, rejecting everything, other than material existence, as unreal. And Descartes put the seal on it with the postulate "Never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such." This new weltanschauung banished God from human affairs. A new concept of liberty synonymous with license emerged, evoking Milton's famous line, "License they mean when they cry liberty."
Women took the cue from the Enlightenment to organize and agitate. Thus the expression "feminism" was born in 1895, implying "political, social and economic equality between sexes." But, as they won victory after victory, the success spurred them to claim absolute liberty. So, feminism became "women's lib." Their new claims included the right to use their body as they wished, to have babies out of wedlock, besides lesbianism and abortion.
This attitude amounts to a revenge on religion for its failure to give them relief. So the laws on women's rights in non-Muslim societies were made by man. But human knowledge, despite all his achievements, is never the last word.
By contrast, Islam had codified the laws to protect the rights of women, 1,200 years before the phrase "women's rights" had been coined. And eight centuries before King Henry VIII banished his divorced wives, Muslim women had been assured of appropriate settlement on divorce.
It is a marvel that Islam's laws relating to women, revealed so long ago, meet all the tests of modern civil law. Among them, marriage is the most glaring example. It is a contract according to the most rigorous definition of the term under the Law of Contract, embodying all the four basic ingredients of a contract — offer, acceptance, consensus ad idem and consideration. The woman's free consent (acceptance) to a marriage proposal (offer) is indispensable. Both must have a unity of minds on the issue (consensus ad idem). And the man must agree to pay a specified sum of money to the woman he marries (consideration). Besides, not only married women have the right to maintenance but even divorcees have such rights under given circumstances. It follows, therefore, that a Muslim woman can only be married to a Muslim man. Therefore, the marriage of any woman to the Quran, for instance, as practiced by some people in Pakistan, is not only invalid in Islam but also an enormous heresy because it amounts to attributing male gender to the Divine Revelation.
The element of tender care for women is reflected in 2:223 where it says, "Your wives are as a tilth unto you..." You have only to ask a farmer how he cherishes, cares for and covets his tilth, to capture the exquisite beauty of the simile. Reciprocal respect is enjoined in 2:187, where spouses are called each other's "garment." There is no concept of the woman worshipping the husband.
Although one of the steps to discipline wives, "on whose part one fears disloyalty and ill-conduct," permits "beating" (4:34), all commentators, including Imam Shafei, are unanimous in holding that "beating" should be deprecated and if at all resorted to should be nominal, without any element of cruelty. Besides there must be no "nagging" if the wife corrects herself. If dispute persists, there is provision for arbitration and counselling (4:35). And 4:128 provides for separation if a wife fears cruelty or desertion on her husband's part.
A woman inherits a specified share in the property of her deceased parents as well as her deceased spouse. A Muslim woman is sui juris. She can sue and be sued in her own name. She can own and dispose of property. Women can go out of doors alone and take part in social, economic and political activities or pursue a lawful vocation. They have the right to offer prayers with men. But "with," here, means "in unison with," as in Makkah, Medina and other mosques, as distinguished from standing sandwiched between men.
Muslim widows are free to remarry (24:32). Launching a charge against chaste women unless supported by four witnesses (24:4) is a punishable offence.
Actually, Islam interprets the laws of nature. It takes note of the perils inherent in excessive gender interaction, because, despite all their masculine achievements, women remain vulnerable as borne out by frequent complaints of gender harassment on job. Recent reports in the American media about the scandals in some of the US Air Force bases and the Lyndee England – Charles Graner scandal at Abu Ghraib prison further highlight the consequences of carrying gender equality too far.
To prevent such ugly eventualities, Islam emphasizes modesty. The Quran asks not only women, but also men, to keep their gaze low. Islam puts a heavy premium on chastity which is still valued even in non-Muslim societies, despite widespread promiscuity. This should explain the restraints on women's dress and conduct among relatives within prohibited degree and others.
"Elderly women, past the prospect of marriage, may lay aside their outer garments provided they do not make a wanton display of their beauty" (24:60). For appreciating its profundity the ayah requires some reflection. Fornication and adultery are crimes in Islam, for which specific punishment is prescribed without gender inequality (24:2). Anything beyond that (e.g. karo kari) is, therefore, transgression. There is no question that adultery is far worse than fornication. It breaks homes. It ruins lives.
Islam preaches that everything in heavens and earth belongs to Allah. That includes the human body. Humans had no choice in the creation of their bodies, the formation of their limbs or their faculties. Therefore, all people are not equal physically and mentally. They cannot stop the onset of decay in their bodies.
In fact humans are lessees in perpetuity; Allah is the owner of their bodies and unto Him shall they return eventually. As a lessee is not free to do whatever he wishes with his leasehold, so humans must use their limbs in the way their Creator and Owner has ordained. Therefore, the concept that women have a right over their own bodies to use it the way they wish is unacceptable in a Muslim society.
To understand the spirit of the Islamic principles with regard to women, a careful study especially of Sura Nisa (4) and Sura Noor (24) is recommended.
Loading…