In my last post the news story did not give the exact magnitude of the protest in Pakistan. Here is the latest The Guardian story…
“Thousands of boisterous opposition supporters massed outside Pakistan’s supreme court yesterday in the largest show of support yet for the beleaguered Chief Justice, Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry.
“Activists from across the political spectrum massed outside the imposing marble building as Mr Chaudhry faced disciplinary hearings inside.
“The crowd of thousands hurled colourful insults at President Pervez Musharraf, chanting ‘Musharraf, dog’ and ‘America has a pet, it wears a uniform’.
For more read here…
And mind you the protesters are not street ruffians but important members of Pakistan’s influential middle class.
“Anwar Khan Afridi, a retired army colonel, held aloft medals for bravery won during the 1971 war with India. ‘I am returning these medals until democracy is restored,’ he said at yesterday’s demonstration.
“He also vowed to surrender two plots of land and his £170-a-month army pension. ‘Musharraf is the army. He must take off his uniform.’
“Cricketing legend turned politician Imran Khan was also among the crowd. ‘We have never had an independent judiciary and elections mean nothing. This is the first ray of hope for democracy,’ he said.”
According to a Pakistani newspaper: “The security forces Tuesday baton charged activists of different political parties and a lady lawyer during a protest demonstration in front of the Supreme Court building.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.