Analysis on 'Interpreter of Maladies'

       “Interpreter of Maladies” is a collection of nine short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri that explores a diverse range of themes through admirable narrative styles and writing techniques.  We enter the inner world of her fictitious characters through her powerful imagery and metaphors. The themes range from identity crises in the post-Partition era, communication gaps, immigrant experience and differences in relationships. The interlinked stories are evocative of the dispersion of Indians.

     Communication gap is a recurrent theme throughout Lahiri’s stories. This difficulty is reflective of hostile relationships, failing marriages and emotional turmoil. It is a void that leads to unalterable complications between spouses. In “Temporary Matter”, we encounter Shoba and Shukumar going through a turbulent relationship. The reason for this discord is Shoba’s anger and frustration on the loss of her son. Since the death of her son, she has been getting distant from Shukumar and hardly speaks to him. The death of the son becomes a consequence for a communication barrier in marriage. Silence becomes a destructive element as they both become strangers and avoid each other at all costs although they reside under the same roof. It is only the power outage that enables them to reveal their unspoken secrets. Ultimately, in the end, the baby leads to dissolution of their relationship.

     Difficulties in communication are also prevalent in “Interpreter of Maladies”. We confront Mr. Kapasi, a tour guide and interpreter of symptoms who barely speaks to his wife and drinks his tea in silence during the night. Formerly, he was fluent in many languages and wanted to be an interpreter for diplomats. However, his life did not turn out as he wanted and he now works as an interpreter for doctors, much to the dissatisfaction of his wife because his job reminded her of their son’s death. Similar to “Temporary Matter”, death of a child in this story too becomes a reason for communication breakdown and dwindling affections.

     Mr. and Mrs. Das are also going through a loveless marriage. Their marriage is rampant with hostility and indifference. Both Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are yearning for communication. When Mrs. Das asks Mr. Kapasi for his address to send the family pictures, he starts fantasizing about the possibility for communication and friendship with her which would reveal sorrowful secrets concerning marital problems. They both are very lonely and unhappy and Mr. Kapasi contemplates over the fact that sharing problems is feasible. However, Mrs. Das’s unpleasant revelation and the flying away of paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address eliminate all possibilities for communication and friendship. When the story comes to a close, everything in Mr. and Mrs. Das’s relationship remains unchanged due to Mrs. Das’s incapability to communicate her secret to her husband.     

     Another instance of lack of communication is prevalent in “Mrs. Sen”. The story focuses on the emotional tragedy of Mrs. Sen who is depressed, nostalgic and refuses to assimilate in a new country. Unlike Mala in “The Third and Final Continent”, she feels frustrated, confined and lonely and makes no efforts in adjusting to Western customs. No exchanges take place between Mr. Sen and her. She is unable to express her turmoil and her husband seems unable to comprehend what she is really going through. Moreover, following the accident, Mr. Das informs Eliot’s mother that Mrs. Das is sleeping, even though Eliot hears her weeping. When the story comes to a fold, Eliot informs his mother that he fine, although he is clearly in distress. Even Eliot is unable to convey his sources of anguish to his mother.

     Another prevalent theme is that of fragmented perception, which is apparent in “Interpreter of Maladies”. Mr. Das always views Indian life through a guide book and lens of his camera that he always carries around. The camera is symbolic of limited perception. To him, like other Westerners, poverty and underdevelopment in India is exotic. He looks at it from a Western perspective. As a tourist, he romanticizes his surroundings. He finds the starving peasant’s miserable plight fascinating and takes a snap shot. He sees reality through a camera and is indifferent to the peasant’s predicament. He lives in his own world and perceives his environment the way he likes to. He also takes a picture of Bobby when he is surrounded by the dangerous monkeys. This is indicative of his self-centrism, selfishness and insensitivity. He fails to connect emotionally with India, the home of his parents, owing to his exotic and warped view of Indian life. He dismisses the dilemma of Indian life and his marriage. The snapshots of his family are mere fabrications of a harmonious and happy family life. He refuses to acknowledge the complexities of life.

     There are other characters besides Mr. Das who do not see the complete picture. Mrs. Das’s glasses enable her to see others through a tint and prevent people from really seeing her. Her window is faulty and does not roll down, which thwarts her from seeing the world outside the taxi. In addition, Mr. Kapasi looks at her through the rearview mirror. He, therefore, cannot get a complete picture of her. He does not suspect that Bobby is the offspring of a man other than Mr. Das. He sees them as living in harmony. This segmented perception of characters is a reminder of Aadam and Naseem from Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” – where Aadam loves Naseem in fragments and eventually complications in marriage occur. Furthermore, Mr. Das’s denial of reality is similar to the ‘optimism disease’ in “Midnight’s Children” – a situation where people live in denial, ignoring everyday realities, which is contagious and leads to detrimental consequences in the long-term.

     Another reminiscent theme apparent throughout Lahiri’s stories is Indian diaspora – which refers to the influx of Indians in countries such as America, England and so on. It relates to the dilemma and disconnection that Indians face in the West. According to Ardhendu De, “The dilemma is: it is painful to stay but it is difficult to return. The migrant belongs to both worlds and at the same time to none.” Characters are emotionally connected and attached to India. They relate themselves to India. For instance, Mrs. Sen preserves her memory by wearing her saris, cutting vegetables with a special blade and fish – a reminder of home. Mr. Pirzada feels personally disconnected from his family that lives in India. India is the focus of all stories. It is the home country and metaphoric for peace and unity. Characters often experience trying periods of remorse, alienation and isolation in foreign lands. They struggle with identity and preservation of Indian traditions. Fear of rejection, longing for home country and losing their identities were inherent facets of their immigrant experiences. They also struggle with cultural clashes and disconnection from loved ones. To maintain Indian traditions and conventions while accepting Western customs is a process Indians have to learn to accept. Mala successfully integrates into the Western culture and feels comfortable, much to the appreciation of her husband – they both incorporate successfully into American life – which is the ultimate source of their happiness. On the contrary, it is extremely difficult for Mrs. Sen to accept Western ideals. Furthermore, Twinkle is mesmerized by the Christian iconography she discovers in many places of her house, which Sanjeev disapproves. However, being enthralled by Christian objects does not denote that Twinkle has forsaken the culture of her home country. It suggests a triumphant transition in a new country.

     Marginalized minority also composes the themes of “A Real Durwan” and “The treatment of Bibi Haldar”. Boori Ma is a fragile old woman who works as a caretaker. She claims to have been dislocated following the Partition. On the other hand, Bibi Haldar takes care of inventories. In a sorry state of affairs, both work for extended hours in horrendous conditions and are paid low wages by the exploitative upper classes. This situation is a reflection of how people usually treated members of lower castes who were vulnerable to unfair treatment. It shows resentment towards minorities. Bibi Haldar suffers from an unidentified ailment. She is sprinkled with holy water, advised to lose and gain weight, stand on her head and to eat eggs in milk. Yet none of these prove to be remedies to her sickness. She is denied access to appropriate healthcare because the residents of the locality where she lived perceived women as worthless creatures. The town people come to the conclusion that she is in dire need of a man. This is reflective of South-Asian mentality of a male chauvinistic society that women need men to complete them and be looked after. According to a society with unbridled male domination, domestic chores such as cleaning, cooking and caring for a man are aspects that make up a woman. However, in the end, it is Bibi Haldar who proves everyone wrong and looks after her child without any helping hand of a male.   

     Last but not the least, relationships and marriages are intensely convoluted in the stories. We are presented with conflicted characters. Sanjeev and Twinkle, despite having a love marriage, fail to live up to each other’s expectations and are strangers to each other. Their interests, secrets and desires vary. Sanjeev is therefore skeptical regarding his love for Twinkle. The death of a son takes a toll on Shukumar and Shoba’s marriage and gradually causes them to become psychologically secluded from each other and leads to their disintegration.  The story “Third and Final Continent” is the only positive example of a blissful result of a marriage, where spouses prove that disconnection can be closed through sharing experiences. As the narrator recalls his previous years, he is astounded by the fact that he and his wife were once strangers. Nicholas Gipe also comments, “Love and tradition are always at the heart of the story, and the characters who find happiness are always those who can embrace their present circumstance while at the same time never forget their Indian roots.” Finally, the stories “Interpreter of Maladies” and “Sexy” focus on infidelities which show that there are no restrictions to love – it is not bound with strict morals. Moreover, Mr. Kapasi is discontented with his wife and gets momentarily attracted to Mrs. Das, until she makes a confession of her deceitfulness.    

     Lahiri’s writing style is deceptively simple and straight-forward. The simple narrative style enables us to follow her in a smooth pace. She uses neither inflated words nor complex descriptions; nonetheless, the stories have a strong impact and there are profound sentiments involved which evoke our pathos through her ingenious usage of metaphors and imagery. It is this brilliant, figurative writing technique that makes us feel like spectators to on-going events. We can practically feel what the characters are feeling. There is a high amount of suspense which grips us to the core and keeps us engrossed till the end as we become anxious to know what follows next.  We can feel the characters’ pain and emotional turmoil which is probably what make it an undeniably striking aspect of all stories and make Lahiri such a successful author. 

Child marriage

     Child marriage refers to the practice of forcing children, under the marriageable age, into matrimony. It is grossly practiced in several divisions of the world and is more prominent in countries such as: Pakistan, India and South America. Pakistan falls within the bracket of those top countries which report the highest number of child marriages on an annual basis. It is a phenomenon that repugnantly violates the Human Rights Convention. In this essay, the causes and consequences of child marriage shall be taken into account in detail.

     Child marriage is a frequent practice, particularly in rural parts of Pakistan, due to the following reasons:

Lack of education

      Apparently, parents who marry off children at a very young age are not well educated. Owing to their lack of skills and qualifications, they get employed into jobs that pay meager wages or remain unemployed. As a result of lack of money to support children and fulfill their essential needs, they sell them off or marry them to others in the hope of reducing poverty. They are extremely unaware of the fact that marrying children off only leads to more poverty because it disrupts their education. Hence, the cycle of poverty continues and they remain unemployed or find low-paying jobs, which are insufficient to satisfy needs in today’s inflationary world.

Poverty

     Insufficient funds are also one of the underlying reasons of child marriage. When parents do not have adequate resources at their disposal to comply with their indispensable needs that is when off springs become too much of a burden on financial affairs and are, therefore, sold or married off.

Religion

     There have been many religious fundamentalists through the course of history in Pakistan who have interpreted the Quran in a totally absurd way and influenced scores of communities in rural settlements. According to religious myths, early marriages are better than late marriages. This is why illiterate parents get hasty in finding partners for the children. It could also be a means to attain more money. Perhaps this is why parents do not think rationally – they do not contemplate over the detrimental impacts on their children. No religion of the world supports child marriage. No evidence has been initiated as such that supports child marriage. So-called scholars make things up to achieve their own ends and make people fall into their trap, not realizing the fact that they are in fact doing more damage in the name of religion. Without any realistic thought, they spoil the image of a specific religion – in our case – Islam.

Daughters seen as a burden

     This is yet another heartbreaking reality that Pakistan has to confront on a regular basis. The birth of a son, in rural areas, becomes a cause for joy and celebration as boys are seen to be powerful and physically and mentally capable for the daunting, challenging tasks of a job. Girls are seen as less intelligent, proficient and competent to survive the intimidating tasks of a job. This is a reflection of an utterly preposterous male chauvinistic society where men stand out among the crowd whereas women are looked down upon. As soon as a girl is born, parents start worrying about her marriage. Her very entrance into the family becomes a financial burden on the parents and they marry her off or sell her in order to obtain more finance.

     The causes of child marriage are overwhelming and so are the consequences. The fact that children, at their young age, should be playing with toys are forced into matrimony is distressing. Their whole childhood is destroyed and they do not even get the opportunity to get educated and work. The selfish motives of parents rob children of their youth and they are compelled to live in devastating circumstances. The results of child marriage are as follows:

Fertility complications

     Young married girls are physically incapable, which the parents are too illiterate to be aware of, and hence are not able to rear children appropriately. Their nutrition is not aptly catered to which leads to miscarriages, premature births and high mortality rate. According to Dawn, of 60 million girls under the age of 18 across the globe, 24 percent were married in Pakistan alone in 2012. When girls should be playing with dolls, they are delivering babies. Dawn further mentions the fact that one woman die every twenty minutes during childbirth, which places the mortality ration as high as 276 per 100,000. The risks of dying are comparatively higher among female children.

Hormonal misbalance

     As soon as female children get married, they start going through physical, mental and emotional changes. Early marriage places a lot of psychological pressure on them which disrupts their health and nutrition. The trauma of a forced marriage is too grave to handle and causes girls to undergo psychological problems. They experience stress, anxiety and depression which results in their malnutrition. Girls also ultimately become suicidal.

Male domination

     Girls are often married to men twice their age and much older. As a result, they become more submissive and dependent on their husbands for emotional, financial physical stability. This only promotes a false conception among rural communities that men are in ultimate power, they can exploit women, women cannot survive without men and that females are needy, demanding and dependable figures that rely on men for support.

Interruption in education

     Children who get married early cannot get educated. Hence, their skills are qualifications are inadequate to land them into good jobs. They, consequently, remain poor. Early marriages also contribute to grave health complications among children because of the unnecessary pressure of matrimony that is unreasonably imposed upon them.

Population Explosion – degeneration

Given the high number of female children being married, the ripple effect is that population of a particular region increases by a significantly sizable amount. This leads to the phenomenon of population explosion. It is a huge obstacle to a nation’s progress because with the finite resources available at her disposal, a country can fulfill the needs of a limited number of people.

     Another issue that is common in Pakistan’s rural slums is marriage to Quran. Islam strictly forbids marriage to Quran. However, this is not being respected here. Marriage to Quran is practiced on a large scale, the reasons being: illiteracy, poverty and to save property. Apparently, people in slum areas do not have the means to acquire a good education. They interpret the Quran in a totally wrong light. The practice is illegal and strictly regulated by the Shariah law. People may also marry off girls to save property, gold and the costs of a marriage. Another reason is that parents do not prefer marrying girls off to boys.

     Having considered the unfavorable causes and consequences of child marriage, a conclusion arises that unless the government and agencies do something to raise awareness in order to curb this malpractice, child marriage will be continued on a wide scale and will become a huge hurdle to nation’s progress.

Knowledge in Philosophy

The meaning of Philosophy

     Philosophy, a combination of Greek words – Philo – meaning ‘to love’ and Sophia – meaning ‘wisdom’, etymologically means ‘love of wisdom’. Since wisdom is abstract and has no empirical possibility, Philosophy is more practically defined as the systematic study of the four fundamental questions of human life. These four questions are concerned with: Metaphysics – the study of reality, Epistemology – the theory of knowledge, Ethics – the study of human conduct and lastly, Aesthetics – study of human sense of beauty and sublime.

Epistemology – Theory of Knowledge

     Epistemology – the theory of human knowledge – deals with the evolution, configuration, process and soundness of human knowledge. It is concerned with the intellectual phenomena of comprehending, perceiving, knowing and thinking. Philosophy of knowledge is also called Gnoseology – derived from Greek words gnosis meaning knowledge and logos meaning study. Paul Gerard Horrigon defines it as  “the science of knowledge studied from the philosophical point  of view, or the science of knowledge in its ultimate causes and first principles.”

     A question surfaces in Philosophy: what is knowledge and whether we have any knowledge. The notion of ‘Radical Skepticism’ holds that we do not know anything at all. Having lots of information available is not a good thing unless an individual can distinguish between good – useful, and bad – useless – information.

Knowledge and its types

     Knowledge can be classified into propositional knowledge and ability knowledge – both of which are interrelated. First of all, propositional knowledge is also called knowledge-that – where a particular proposition is the case. For instance, it is being aware that Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and planets make up the Milky Way.

     Furthermore, there are two conditions for propositional knowledge. Firstly, it consists of the ‘truth condition’. This is when an individual knows something is true. If a person knows Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad has to be the capital of Pakistan – the proposition has to be true. Knowledge, therefore, requires truth and the person to know that the proposition is true. Secondly, knowledge requires belief. The person believes a proposition which is well-known. Knowledge comprises of the relationship between a person and a fact – which lies at the core of belief. If a person believes something to be true and it is true, he or she is in the market for knowledge.

     Second of all, ability knowledge, also referred to as know-how, concerns with the appropriate skills of an individual in performing tasks accurately. For example, it could be a person’s knowledge regarding how to play the piano or drive a car.

     Philosophically, knowledge is in opposition to the conception of ‘getting-it-right’. There is a lot more to knowing than just getting it right – there is more to knowing than having a true belief. True beliefs can be acquired in all random ways which do not warrant for knowledge. Knowing requires accessing the truth in the right kind of way.

     The intuitions in regard to knowledge can be categorized into the ‘ability intuition’ and ‘anti-luck intuition’. Where the ‘ability intuition’ is concerned, the person knows the pathway to obtain the truth is through his or her abilities. Pertaining to the ‘anti-luck intuition’, the person knows it is not a matter of chance that he got things right. It is not luck that assists in getting things straight. A belief is formulated in the correct manner. For instance, taking into account 9/11, a Pakistani national is convicted of crime. If a prejudiced police officer accuses the victim just because he is Pakistani, without weighing the evidence and if his accusation is correct, it is the ‘ability-intuition’ that enabled the officer to accuse correctly. On the contrary, if another police officer weighs the available evidence which proves the Pakistani to be a criminal, it is the ‘anti-luck intuition’ that guided the officer’s decision. Thus, it was not out of pure luck that the second officer got his evidence straight.      

     According to the classical account of knowledge, ‘justification’ needs to be added to true belief in order to acquire knowledge. It is also known as ‘tripartite’ or ‘3-part account of knowledge.’ It traces back to antiquity, to Plato [427-347 BC]. According to this, three conditions have to be fulfilled. Firstly, the person has to have a belief; secondly, that belief has to be true and thirdly, that belief should be justified. Good and valid reasons have to be offered to support why an individual believes in what he does.  Taking into consideration the aforementioned police officers, the officer who articulates his belief on the basis of evidence can provide valid reasons to justify the criminal case. Conversely, the officer who formulates his belief simply out of prejudice cannot offer valid reasons for the criminal case.

The Justified True Belief [JTB] Approach

     In Philosophy, a belief is defined as an inner psychological state that is devoid of understanding of external spectators. The subject itself is unable to fully access what he or she believes. It exists in the head. Alternatively, the truth condition is a statement of fact that exists outside human cognition. It is different from a belief because a person’s belief about a certain aspect of the world may not hold true in reality. For instance, I may believe that there are over thousands of galaxies in the universe. My belief may be false. Where justification – also termed as warrant – is concerned, a person offers valid reasons to support his arguments for what he strongly believes to be the truth. There have been several conflicting theories surrounding the ‘justification’ element. Philosophers argue that beliefs are not justified if: firstly, they result from fear or remorse; secondly, they are a result of desires; thirdly, they are formulated from presumptions; fourthly, they are formulated in an inaccurate way and fifthly, they are determined on the basis of luck.  

Gettier Style Case

     Through the course of history, there have been a few philosophers who have doubted the ‘belief, truth and justification’ - JTB approach. One such prominent philosopher was Edmund Gettier. He published an article in 1963 titled “Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” He presented his rationale – Gettier Counterexamples or Gettier style case – in opposition to the JTB approach. According to Gettier, it is not possible for knowledge to be only justified true belief.

     One of the counterexamples of Gettier problem is famously known as ‘Smith’s Job.’ In this scenario, Smith and Jones have applied for a job. Smith believes Jones will get the job because the president of the company told him so. Smith also believes that Jones is carrying ten coins. Smith devises a proposition that ‘the man with ten coins will win the job’. However, Smith’s belief turns out wrong as he gets the job instead. He is also, without realizing, carrying ten coins. The Gettier problem poses a question: is Smith’s belief knowledge?

     Another counterexample is ‘Jones’ Ford.’ Smith believes Jones owns a car because he can recall Jones giving him a ride once. Smith also has a friend named Brown, whose whereabouts he is not familiar with. He frames up disjunctions such as: either Jones owns a Ford or Brown is in Barcelona, Boston or Brest-Litovsk. Smith’s belief about Jones’ Ford could be wrong, considering that Jones may have rented or borrowed a Ford or recently sold it. Taking this into account, Smith’s belief is false. However, it turns out, by mere luck that Brown is in Barcelona. Gettier problem raises the question: is this knowledge?

     It is for this very reason that a fourth condition was added by Gilbert Harman, to the justified true belief account. It holds that there will be no false lemmas or assumptions. Nevertheless, this has also been subject to doubt.

     Therefore, the questions arise regarding what knowledge is if not justified true belief and whether knowledge is true belief in addition to something devoid of justification. An individual could have a justification and true belief. Then again, it might just be a matter of luck. This gives a rise to further questions such as: what is it that excludes that kind of luck? What do we need to add to true belief to exclude luck, if not justification? It can, therefore, be said that knowledge is not justified true belief. The Gettier cases hold that true belief could be a matter of pure luck. Knowledge is not acquired through luck. Secondly, it is not apparent that a person can add another condition to justified true belief account of knowledge to resolve an issue.

Rene Descartes’ theories

     Rene Descartes – 1596 – 1650 – demonstrated the notion of Radical Skepticism – which is the view that we do not know nearly as much as we think we do. It is not possible to acquire knowledge – we do not know anything and we could never know anything. Radical skeptics appeal to the concept of skeptical hypothesis – scenarios that cannot be differentiated from daily routine but where are making mistakes. Skeptics say that these scenarios cannot be avoided and we cannot be aware of our daily routines because we could be victims of the skeptical hypothesis.

     Brain-in-a-vat is one example of the skeptical hypothesis. It says that we go out into the world and interact with people. We socialize with the entire environment. However, none of that actually happens. In fact, our brains have been taken out of our skulls, put in a vat of nutrients and fed with unreal experiences. BIV drifts out in the world, thinking it is intermingling, perceiving and doing things. However, nothing of the sort is actually happening. The brain is being harvested with experiences.

     Descartes, in his book “Meditations of Philosophy”, has emphasized upon the conception of Continental Rationalism. Continental Rationalists believe in reason which provides the ultimate basis for knowledge. Descartes presented skepticism of methodical doubt as methodological philosophy. His arguments for methodic doubts are: deceitful five senses, dreams and malicious demon.

     He states our five senses cannot be entirely trusted because they deceive us. If human means of knowledge is experiential, senses are doubtful. Our senses may or may not deceive us. Anything that is beyond doubt is part of knowledge.

     The second methodic doubt concerns dreams. Our whole life may just be a dream; we might be living inside a dream. In truth, we are all in a dream. There is a possibility that we might be deceived by someone who has connected us to a computer and is transmitting signals in order to cultivate our minds with fake experiences. This may not be the real world at all; the real world is being reflected inside a dream.

     The third methodic doubt deals with the malicious demon. Our brains are connected to a computer and signals are being sent to us that direct our behaviour, thoughts, actions and perceptions. The mind is connected to electric wires which enable us to think the world is real – which might otherwise be false. If we are connected to a computer, we can never tell whether the world exists in reality. Descartes related, “ As I desired to give my attention solely to the search after truth, I thought…that I ought to reject as absolutely false all in regard to which I could suppose the least ground for doubt, in order to ascertain whether after that there remained aught in my belief that was wholly indubitable.”

     The problem of skepticism has been labeled as what Professor Duncan Pritchard of University of Edinburgh termed epistemic vertigo. He states that when you contemplate the nature of knowledge, elevate to a reflective mode of thought and ponder over what knowledge is and what the extent of knowledge is, it ceases to become apparent that we really do have as much knowledge as we think we do. If we are unable to rule out the skeptical hypothesis, much of what we think is under threat.

How can knowledge be acquired?

     Epistemologically, knowledge is the relationship between the ‘knower’ and the ‘known’ – where the knower is a cognitive human subject who necessarily wants or seeks to understand and known can refer to anything corporeal, an object and a non-human entity as well. There are five ways to make the relationship between the knower and known possible. These are namely: experience, reason, intuition, authority and instinct.

     Experience is the first form of knowledge. It is limited to empirical cognition – five senses. Empiricists believe experience provides the ultimate basis for knowledge. Empiricism is knowledge of five senses – sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing.

     Nevertheless, there is no universal validity for senses owing to various reasons. Animals have different perceptions. Senses are likely to deceive us, such as optical illusions. Hence, senses cannot provide us with indubitable knowledge. Deception is inevitable; in spite of this, we are aware that we are being deceived. Therefore, experience is fallible; it is not the ultimate basis for knowledge.

     The second form of knowledge is reason-based approach. Rationality is a faculty of mind which is responsible for categorization, abstraction and inference. The levels of human rationality are classified into inductive and deductive reasoning. Induction is a process whereby premises provide irrefutable grounds for the truth of conclusion. Unlimited conclusions are derived from limited premises. For example, a scientist experiments with 100 teapots containing water and they all boil at 100˚ C. The problem with induction is the inductive leap. The scientist concludes that water, thus, boils at 100˚ C. For this reason, induction is always prone to error. It cannot provide absolute knowledge.

     There are three philosophical presuppositions of inductive leap. Firstly, temporal succession refers to a process whereby we presume the identity between the past and the future. This involves believing that laws of nature will operate tomorrow as they operate today – they deal with regularity of time. Future is similar to the past; otherwise it is a miracle – which is a manifestation that future is dissimilar to the past. This aspect is in opposition to inductive leap. Secondly, there is an invariant regularity in the structure of cosmos. We think the universe is regular in its operation; however, the universal law is actually invariant. Lastly, there are limitations to human knowledge. Human knowledge is not conclusive. There are some things in life which are not comprehensible – they are beyond our understanding. We, therefore, have to take leaps to derive immediate conclusions. For instance, in religion, faith is a leap.

     Deductive reasoning is where premises provide conclusive grounds for the truth of conclusion. In this case, if premises are true, conclusion has to be true as well. For example, in Mathematics, it is an established rule that if A = B and B = C, then A = C. The dilemma of deduction, nonetheless, is that leads to contradictions between formal natures of arguments, informal arguments and fact. The rule of ABC cannot be denied because it is a Mathematical fact. Conversely, if a person states that pillow = kitchen and fridge = lounge, then pillow = lounge, his argument is valid but not true. There is, hence, a conflict between statements of facts and formal arguments.

     Intuition, the third form of knowledge is immediate – without mediation, self-evident - devoid of external justification – and necessary – that cannot be otherwise – knowledge. Intuition is knowledge of whole, rather than of parts. World is a totality of facts, not objects. Human senses are empirically limited and we cannot experience an object in totality. We can only conceive things within empirical evidence. The distance between the knower and the know leads to knowledge of part. Overcoming that distance leads to wholesome reality. This may be done by becoming one with object of knowledge and is termed as embodied experience. Our intuitive modes make us innately capable to intuit. A predicament exists with intuitive knowledge as well. Although intuition exists above rationality, there is no justification for it. It can neither be verified nor falsified. Knowledge which transcends agreement cannot be predicated universally. Universal predication of knowledge is not possible without agreement. This is why intuition only exists in art, literature and music. Imagination is the modification of intuition. Believing in an intuitive person is like considering that person a manifestation of God because that person demands blind faith. Intuition can be of anything. This again raises the question: how is knowledge acquired?

     The fourth form of knowledge is authority. This could exist in forms of tradition, religion, culture, power, rule, control, God or discipline. God answers what ought to be and what ought not to be. Tradition – a practice that necessarily precedes theory - embodies the experiences of different generations. Furthermore, repetition of practice is necessary otherwise traditions become outdated. According to Scottish historian, Veeko, three common traditions are marriage – a methodological procedure, worship – belief in supernatural power and funeral. On the other hand, culture is an unwritten expression. It has no language, it is learned. It is highly variable and likely altered, exploited and modified. It exerts authority over body and soul. We cannot disobey it or go beyond it. Discipline is a form of knowledge that determines us but of which we are unaware. There is no direct relationship between the knower and known if authority is deemed to be an epistemological domain. The issue with authority is that it leads to suppression. It is overwhelmingly dominating.

     The last form of knowledge, instinct, is an innate capacity of knowledge that can be modified on an evolutionary scale. It equates us with animals because animals act instinctually. The issue with this is that it is shared with animals and can be conditioned.  It is, nevertheless, necessary for sustenance. In order to persist as human beings, we have to execute our instincts. The only difference between humans and animals is that we can suspend our instincts. It involves an unconscious execution.

Conclusion

     Having considered the theories of knowledge, it can be said, in conclusion, that there is no absolute form of knowledge. It is up to us how we derive knowledge. There have been different theories in this regard and it is entirely dependent upon individuals how they choose to seek knowledge. 

Attitudes of the youth towards Urdu Language

     My topic of presentation is “Attitudes of the youth towards Urdu Language – A crisis in Pakistan”. On a daily basis, we witness increasingly negative attitudes harboured by the young generation towards Urdu. Most of the people feel proud of being able to converse fluently in English; where Urdu is concerned, people, most of the time, feel ashamed of it and they could be seen employing methods of code switching or mixing – a situation where the bilingual speaker mixes words of one language with another in his or her sentences. However, the youth is not entirely to blame.

     Through my research, I wanted to analyze the causes of replacement of Urdu by English and the extent to which it has impacted our society in general. My aim was to analyze the attitudes of the youth towards our national language or mother tongue. Also, I wanted to investigate the extent of respect that today’s youth gives to Urdu, whether young people make any efforts to preserve the national language and how much do they really enjoy entertainment or infotainment in Urdu Language and give it the importance it is worthy of. Moreover, I wanted to examine whether attitudes varied between students of private and public schools.

     Additionally, language plays a vital role in contributing to the development of a country. Where our country – Pakistan – is concerned, Urdu is a significant means of communication that brings the whole nation together in unison and is highly imperative for us in order to sustain our distinctive national identity. Furthermore, the youth population of this country surpasses the elder and child populations. It would be running this country in the future; therefore, scrutinizing their outlooks towards something as essential is compulsory.  

     I had the generous support of two of my peers who assisted me to perform my research and without whom my goals could not have been successfully accomplished. It took us seven days to plan and finalize the theme, one day for preparing questions, two days for coordinating with interviewees, two days for visiting the site and completing our intended work, two days for compilation and analysis and lastly, one day for finalizing the work. Our intended sites for our project were Government Secondary School in Gizri and the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Clifton.

     Government Secondary School was located near Gizri Mohammaden Ground. A coeducation school, it followed the Matric system of education. I, along with my group members, observed several things as part of our research. First of all, the school building was not huge and the infrastructure was of poor quality. The paint on the structure was worn out and the building seemed to be on the verge of inundation. It was bewildering to see students study in shabby conditions. The school employed ancient methods of teaching, such as using black boards and chalk for teaching students. The school was situated on an empty, muddy plot of land which demanded immediate development for the benefits of students. Also, in a sorry state of affairs, there was a lack of facilities for students such as library, computer lab, internet, air conditioners, proper furniture, playground, and canteen and so on. For students studying in privileged and reputed schools and universities, it would have been an extremely complex task to adjust to such atrocious conditions. Teachers also employed unnecessarily stricter methods of punishment, for instance, hitting students with sticks. Such appalling treatment is totally unfair and lamentable. Students came from working-class backgrounds. Their parents were employed in blue-collar jobs such as driving, tailoring, repairing and plumbing. Sadly, in our country, education is divided on the basis of gender, income and class. People from lower classes could only afford to send their children to public schools because private schools demand very high fees.

     It was noticeable the government spent a very meager portion of the overall budget on education. It was disheartening to witness that the government was negligent of education – the only factor that could lead to the country’s progress and frustrating to observe students receiving substandard education, when it is the young generation today who has to run the country tomorrow. Education has obviously not been the top national priority of the State and it is ignored. If the government does not take immediate precautionary steps to improve the education sector, this country is doomed to failure. Education in these schools has to be standardized according to the modern standards of education. It is only when the syllabi are raised to the standards demanded by today’s professions that this country can truly develop. There is an urgent need to end corruption in all public departments.     

     On the contrary, the Convent of Jesus and Mary was developed just like any other private school. It followed the British system of education; students were well disciplined and groomed and came from respectful family backgrounds. The school building was huge enough to accommodate students ranging from Kindergarten till O’ Level high school. It was neat and clean, well organized and had all the necessary facilities available.  The teachers we came across were considerate and tolerant towards us and benevolently took out time for us to convey their thoughts on whatever they observed in students’ attitudes towards Urdu Language.    

     In order to carry out our research, we handed out questionnaires to sixteen students – eight from private school and eight from public school. We interviewed six teachers altogether – three from each school.  We also happened to interview the Head Mistress of the public school.

     We interviewed teachers because they observe students all the time and are hence, aware of their attitudes. They are knowledgeable, experienced and have a lot to say. They gave us factual information on the subject of discussion. Handing out questionnaires to them would have been insufficient to provide us with the answers that we needed. We gave questionnaires to students because they are more comfortable with writing their opinions rather than having face-to-face conversations with people they are unfamiliar with. Additionally, questionnaires are comparatively simple and straight-forward to analyze and administer data and can be answered quickly by the respondent.  They allow collection of information in a well-organized and standardized way. They are also useful for sensitive topics of which the respondent may feel uncomfortable in speaking to the interviewer. Respondents also have time to think over their answers.  

     The following information comprises of a comparative analysis of our findings of government and private schools. Private school students were mostly multilingual whereas public school students were mostly bilingual. Majority of the students had Urdu Language as their mother tongue in both schools. Majority of the students in private school conversed in English with their parents. On the other hand, students of public school conversed in Urdu with their parents. Students of private school came from privileged backgrounds. Their parents were employed in white-collar jobs such as business, exporting activities, social charity work, law firms, judges, teaching and medicine. Parents of the students of government school were mostly tailors, plumbers, drivers and gardeners etcetera. According to students, it is necessary to learn Urdu because it is our national language. It establishes a unique identity for us and is the ultimate source of our pride and should be promoted. Students of both schools watched Urdu programs. Students of public school listened to Urdu songs and private school students listened to both English and Urdu songs. Public school students read Urdu novels and private school students read English novels. Majority of the students in private school participated in Urdu debate and poetry competitions that were held at their school; public school students did not have any such facilities for extra-curricular activities. Lastly, students said that medium of education in Pakistan should be Urdu because it is our mother tongue and makes communication and comprehension simple. They were also of the view that Urdu should remain in the curriculum.

     The results of our interview with private school teachers are as follows. First of all, they said it is vital to learn Urdu because it is our mother tongue. Mother tongues are significant for countries and avoidance of them would lead to an extinction of languages. They also said that students of junior school had casual attitudes towards Urdu. However, in high school they got serious owing to exam pressure and a willingness to excel. Students usually strived for the positions of prefects, proctors and head girls and for that they had to be outstanding in all subjects, including Urdu as well. They learned Urdu but they did not take any interest. Today’s generation gives more importance to English over Urdu because English is a universal language, we are reluctant to communicate in Urdu and people mostly want to show themselves off as cool. The youth is now more comfortable with conversing in English and this has contributed to a huge generation gap. Teachers further said that learning only Urdu is an obstacle to progress.  This is because today’s professions require adequate fluency in English. If English is avoided, we will not progress.  They felt there should be no Urdu at university level because this is a period when we prepare ourselves for professional lives. English at this crucial stage has to be strong and Urdu has to be good. According to them, both English and Urdu should be learned because everything has to be in equilibrium. Last, but not the least, media plays an important role in influencing people’s attitudes. It should promote entertainment in Urdu to increase our level of interest. The drama Humsafar and the translation of Ishq-e-Memnu into Urdu are good moves towards growth.   

      These are the findings of our interview with the teachers of government school. They said it was extremely important to teach and learn Urdu. It is our mother tongue and a firm base on which the foundations of Pakistan were laid. It is our medium of expression for thoughts, ideas and opinions and can therefore be easily understood. They claimed to be proud of teaching Urdu Language because, in essence, they were establishing a language base which is vital for development. English goes over the head and Urdu penetrates easily into memory. Students also tend to mix Hindi words with Urdu Language, for which Star Plus and Bollywood are at fault. Today’s generation gives no respect to Urdu that it deserves. English is rapidly replacing Urdu and this is because of our English medium of education, the media’s influential role and our adoption of Western customs. Teachers motivate students by teaching them well, encouraging class participation and giving them good Urdu novels. Urdu novels were given to juniors to increase their interest.

     The variation in the responses of teachers of both schools is noticeable. Teachers of private school possessed a progressive mindset. They were not totally against English. They were in favour of it because it is essential for development and everything has to be in a balance. The opinions of public school teachers differed in that they opposed the English medium of education. According to them, English was creating hindrances to the success of Urdu Language. The reality is the country cannot really progress if we do not master the universal language – English and we would lag behind in everything.

     Overall, the goals of our research were successfully accomplished. We were expecting negative attitudes from students but they mostly displayed positive attitudes in terms of respect for Urdu Language. They were willing to learn and promote Urdu. They enjoyed watching Urdu dramas and plays and listening to Urdu songs. They gave more importance to Urdu than we expected. There was not much difference in attitudes of private and government school students.

     Our overall learning consisted of the following: interacting with teachers boosted our confidence. It also increased our awareness of the devastating conditions of the government school. Additionally, our detailed conversation with the Head Mistress provided us with an ample amount of details. Our challenges included locating the government school, rejection by Saint Anthony School and Beaconhouse Defence and Clifton campuses as well. We faced difficulty in getting in touch with the head mistresses of both schools. Also, on our first visit to the government school, teachers were crude towards us. It made us realize how privileged we really were to study in a good school, with good teachers and that we were well-mannered, disciplined and organized.

     There were some interesting things that we found out as part of our research. On the first day of our visit, teachers had a casual attitude in the absence of the head mistress and were mean and unsupportive towards us. We had a detailed conversation with the head mistress who poured all the necessary details of pathetic conditions to us. She told us teachers could not even write applications in Urdu; children could not distinguish between city and country - for instance, when she once asked a girl the name of her country, the girl replied Karachi instead of Pakistan. Repeated complaints were sent to the provincial government but so far no steps were undertaken to alter horrendous situations due to soaring levels of corruption. English subjects were taught in Urdu and new teachers were unaware of everything – they earned for sitting at home. The children of government officials studied abroad; if they studied here, they would be aware of the conditions. Lastly, she said that primary school should be improved, otherwise secondary school would remain stagnant, and hence, the basics had to be good.  

     We have had our strengths, but we were not without weaknesses. We sought to improve our research methodology by selecting a larger sample to provide us with in-depth analysis and a wide range of opinions; going to more schools to conduct research; asking more analytical and qualitative questions and probing more in interviews. However, these do not deny the fact that we have not obtained our required information. Our sample was large enough to give us a reflection of the overall attitudes of students. Therefore, fait accompli – mission has been successfully accomplished! 

Contemporary Marital Issue: obsession with white skin

     Obsession with complexion is a universal phenomenon that is as old as mankind and the Pakistani society is no stranger to it. Marital issues have gravely become widespread predicaments and one of them includes the irrational judgments of mothers-in-law. Preferences for a lighter skin tone have become so deeply rooted in the society that countless girls who are regularly rejected merely on the basis of colour are now experiencing psychological trauma. Through this article, I shall be examining the prevalent racist mentality of uneducated mothers-in-law, how girls are affected by these unreasonable inclinations and the role of the media around the turn of the century.

     Concept of beauty varies across cultures. In the West, white people strive for darker skin tones and spend money to travel to south just the get a tan in order to look beautiful. However, in Pakistan it is a completely different state of affair. Girls, and as of recently, guys, spend hefty amounts of money on whitening cosmetics, visits to dermatologists and cosmetic surgeries to lighten their skin tones, only to be presentable and accepted by society. Preferences for a fair complexion underline the darker, ludicrous facade of the society which is slowly, emotionally damaging young girls who face rejection for being dark-skinned, making them feel hopeless and like lost causes.

     There have been numerous cases when dark-skinned girls are rejected. The scenario becomes like a live drama – where the girl graciously serves tea and ultimately ends up irrationally discarded on the basis of her skin tone and disconcerted due to tactless and insensitive remarks by the guys’ mothers. An educated individual truly feels profoundly ashamed of living in a society that has fallen victim to racial discrimination. 

     It is utterly preposterous that girls are inappropriately judged on outward appearance, and not inner character. Do mothers-in-law really believe that a fair complexion leads to lasting marital happiness and success? It is entirely nonsensical to favour outward appearance over inner beauty. It is true that mostly mothers-in-law disregard an excellent education, career or character in favour of a light complexion. 

     The media has also played a significantly crucial role in promoting a desire for fair skin. More often than not, uneducated dermatologists appear on shows and absurdly give tips for fairer skin tones. It is no wonder thousands are spent on whitening cosmetics because a fair complexion is what attracts positive attention and leaves a good impression for many untoward people who possess a racist mindset. Girls are unaware of the fact that they are actually causing irreparable damage to their natural skin by transforming their skin tone. It is disheartening to realize what the foolish preferences of society, specifically mothers-in-law, have led to. To think that many girls experience depression or psychological disturbance only because of their skin colour is overwhelming.

     This is one of the many issues that seriously need to be altered in order to prevent the collapse of the society. Those who are obsessed with whiteness should consider that inner beauty of character exceeds outward beauty and education. An educated mother brings up educated children. Society should alter its impractical mindset so that future generations do not fall victim to it. Fair skin should not get in the way of what makes a progressive society.

    

Structuration in Sociology

     Structuration, according to Anthony Giddens, is defined as the process of the making and remaking of social structure. The book ‘Constitution of Society: Outline of the theory of Structuration’ defines ‘structuration’ as bridging the gap between structure and action theories.

     In Sociology, the dilemma regarding human action and social structure considers the following issues: how far are we creative human actors, actively controlling the conditions of our own lives? Or is most of what we do the result of general social forces outside our control? Which has primacy: the social constraint exercised by societies or the wishes of individuals?

     According to Durkheim, societies impose social restrictions on our actions. They are solid and firm and have primacy over individuals. Social structure constrains our activities in a parallel way, therefore, restraining what we can do as individuals. It is external to us: systems exist and operate independently from what we make of them.

     The criticism that followed in response to Durkheim was that society is a sum of individuals behaving in normal ways in relation to each other. Symbolic interactionists said there are reasons for our actions and we live in a world developed by cultural meanings. Social phenomena depend on symbolic meanings we assign to our regular activities. We are the creators of society, not its creatures.

     Theories that only focus on structure are beyond the control of human beings. They refer to structure as rigid – something that can not be changed. Individuals do not have the liberty to change structure. On the contrary, action theories mention that individuals deny the power of structures.  

     Giddens wrote structure is fluid – it is produced and reproduced by individual actions. Actions produce structure, structures produce action. They are inter-linked. For instance, in Pakistan, Urdu Language is an established structure. A decade ago, Khaalis Urdu was used – however, today it has changed because people tend to mix Urdu with English language. Hence, we actively make and remake social structure through our daily activities. Societies, communities and groups have a ‘structure’ only when it is shaped by regular behaviours and predictable ways of the people. On the other hand, action is feasible because we, as individuals, possess an enormous amount of socially structured knowledge. In the case of language as a social structure, speakers have to examine certain properties. What someone says would not make sense unless it abides by grammatical rules. Structural qualities of a language exist only as long as individuals conform to rules. Language is constantly in the process of structuration.

     It can thus be concluded that structuration, as Giddens added, always infers ‘duality of structure’ – social actions presume the existence of structure. At the same time, structure presumes action because structure relies on everyday human behaviour.