Why did the ruling Pakistan People’s Party boss and Benazir Bhutto’s husband, Asif Ali Zardari, choose Yousaf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister, a man who’s unlikely to act as his proxy? The answer is attempted by a wellknown Pakistani columnist Ms Mariana Baabar, who has written an interesting piece in the recent issue of The Outlook, a respected Indian magazine.
“Loyalty too tilted the balance in Gilani’s favour. A day before Gilani was elected PM, Zardari told The News, ‘Gilani sahib slept in Adiala jail without any proper bed for three months but he never contacted his powerful friends and influential relatives for help, he remained loyal to his party during his four years of jail time (served during Musharraf’s tenure), we have a lot of respect for him and he was the best available choice for the PPP for the post of prime minister’.
“Gilani has already won accolades for releasing the Supreme Court judges from house arrest. He now has to prove he can overcome the economic crisis and overpower the militants.”
Meanwhile for a ‘juicy’ bit of Youtube clip (related to the new PM) doing the rounds in Pakistan please click here…
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.