Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 23 July 2018 | Page 13

COOPERATIVE CUPIDITY
D
RAGONS are known
to be cunning in the
defence of their gold. But
this one seems merely obn­
oxious. A Tamil Nadu man,
C. Kumar, alleges that he
pledged an amount of gold
(perhaps 138 grams, but the
news reports con-
tradict each other)
as security for loans
from Kanch­eepuram
Central Co-Oper-
ative Bank in 2010
and 2011, and repaid it all in
full shortly afterwards—but
the bank refused to return
the gold, citing a pending
balance of Re 1 on each
loan. Offers to pay this were
apparently rejected. The
Madras High Court has
admitted a writ plea
from Kumar and
directed a govern-
ment advocate to get
instructions from
the authorities.
ECUMENICAL DAANBHUMI
T
EMPLES to secularism are going up all
over UP and Bihar. A Lucknow-based rea­
ltor, Rashid Naseem, wants to donate the land
and funds needed to build 51 Hindu temples in
the two states. Naseem, who sees PM Modi as
his inspiration, said, “Being a Muslim does not
stop me from working towards the betterment
of other religions. I think this is a step towards
communal harmony.... It is simply an example
of the Ganga-Jamuni culture.” The first temple,
located on the Allahabad–Varanasi highway, is
nearly finished. Naseem plans to complete 21
temples this year and all 51 by the end of 2019.
A PLEDGE UNTO THE LAST
I
N Nepal, Ganga Maya
has decided to follow
her hopes to the grave. Her
18-year-old son, Krishna
Prasad Adhikary, was
kid­­napped and killed by
Maoists in 2004 during
the civil war. Ganga Maya
and her husband, Nanda
Prasad Adhikary, began a
hungerstrike in October
2013, seeking justice for
their son. Nanda Prasad
died a year later, while
his wife soldiered on.
When the Supreme Court
dire­c­ted the Centre to pro­­
secute the killers in 2015,
Ganga Maya broke her
fast, but resumed it after
Balkris­hna Dhungel—a
Maoist ex-MP and convic­
ted murderer serving a life
term—received a preside­
nt­ial pardon in May. “I
want to die as there’s no
hope of getting justice for
my son,” she said.
Poll Tweet in Baloch
S
OCIAL media in general and Twitter in particular is fast
becoming the most important platform for political
parties and candidates to campaign for the forthcoming
elections in Pakistan. Surprisingly, it is Balochistan, the least
expected region in the country, that is setting this trend.
Earlier this month, president of the Balochistan National
Party and the former chief minister, Sardar Akhtar Mengal,
announced a Twitter campaign. Through a tweet he urged
his supporters to plump for the BNP. Within a few hours,
BNP supporters reacted in a flood of tweets in support of
the campaign. No wonder that by midnight the hashtag of
Mengal (#BNPhope4Balochistan#) easily made into the top
ten trends on Twitter in Pakistan.
This was first time in history of Balochistan when a
political party leader planned, announced and carried out
a Twitter campaign. “Mechanics of political landscape are
changing in Balochistan,” writes
Adnan Amir in the daily News
Sardar Akhtar
International.
Mengal of the
A week before this, on June 28,
Balochistan
Twitter was once again at the
National Party
cen­terstage when Akhtar Mengal
has taken to
engaged in an exchange of state­
ments with Balochistan Awami
Twitter
Party chief and former state min­
before the
ister Jam Kamal. It started when
polls. He even
Mengal warned of strong reaction
had a spat
from his party if polls were rigged.
with a rival on
Jam Kamal tweeted in response
Twitter.
without naming Mengal. However,
Mengal responded by quoting the
tweets of Jam Kamal and both traded allegations.
The Twitter debate between both leaders was reported on
newspapers and websites of TV channels. Once again, a new
trend was set, where politicians in Balochistan used Tweets,
as opposed to newspaper statements, to trade allegations.
Clearly, BNP’s Mengal is leading when it comes to using
social media for election campaigns in Balochistan.
According to Amir, the election campaign on Twitter
was a success and so far no other party has successfully
replicated that experience. BNP and Mengal have strong
presence on social media, particularly on Facebook and
Twitter. But the social media accounts of the party are
managed by activists and not by hired professionals.
It’s generally thought that Mengal’s team is not the best
equipped to handle social media. The Balochistan Awami
League Party and the Pakistan–Tehreek-i-Insaaf of Imran
Khan do a much better job. But the forthcoming election is
the first one where social media is an influential stake­
holder. This is another example which shows the deep
ingress of technology in today’s Pakistan.
23 July 2018 OUTLOOK 13