The History Trauma

By Ayesha Ahmad

"Austria- Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia got involved to defend Serbia. Germany seeing Russia mobilizing against Austria-Hungary,declared war on Russia. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Germany attacked France through Belgium pulling Britain into war. Then Japan made an entry which was followed by the association of United States of America and Italy on the side of the allies- one of the many root causes of world war I."


Messy, tangled and mind-numbingly tedious. Yes everybody, welcome to the exclusive classes of European History in the art's department of Karachi University.

After ending up with a 'D' in General History in the GCE O-level exam, I still ventured to opt for History ( read: European History) as one of my subsidiaries. Why? Oh, that is just because English timings did not suit me, IR had nothing of my interest and since two out of the only five of my so-called-friends then in the university were going for it, I thought I should too. And that, I did. But hey those were the bygone days and as the writer Nargis Dalal says, "present moment, only moment."

So, every Thursday and Friday, only if my lazy phase subsides and I feel that I have had a good night's sleep, I make an effort to come to the university 'just' to attend the dull, monotonous, boring, lifeless, uninteresting, annoying, drama-lacking (wondering if such a word exists) and draggy European History classes.

Located right across the Sindhi department in the thick of many lofty, shady palm trees lies a spacious and a well-ventilated room dedicated solely to the handful of 'spirited' students (precisely 5 pupils in my batch) . This particular class stands out from all the other classes. It does not only have its own peculiar aura but the presence of the variety of different maps of Europe in various sizes and shapes in its ambience definitely makes this room rather prominent and distinct.

Yeah, so every or no, every other Thursday and Friday, I step my foot in usually room no. 4 at around ten-ish, that is, if the teacher is present and make sure to grab the desk which guarantees me the most protection from the teacher's sight. But teachers will be teachers of course (sigh), therefore, I'm more than often either caught day-dreaming, snoozing or being unanswerable to a senseless question thrusted upon me. Even worse is the fact that sitting between Sidra and Tehmina (the two friends of mine whom I had mentioned earlier), who supposedly are the class geeks, I feel like an ultimate idiot possessing a mindless brain which seemingly appears to be good for nothing. Simply put, History classes are dreadful and I absolutely hate taking them.

However, despite all the hatred and the confusion, I always manage to pull the highest or the second-highest grade in every quiz, mid-term and the term examination, that is, if I manage to beat Tehmina. How ironic! But here i would like to pay immense gratitude to Tehmina's notes, which make me familar with the course, and Sidra's incessant text messages which keep reminding me to study at each and every hour. Seriously, without these wonderful people, I wouldn't have managed to reach the last semester of this hideous subject.

Unfortunately, this December, I will have to appear twice for this course's terminal's examinations as I did not bother to study for the exams last year. The course is very lengthy and there is certainly a lot to study but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

P.S. please say a silent prayer for me after reading this as im in great need of luck.

Foreign students of Karachi University

 By Aden Dahir- Writer is a Somali student, studying in University of Karachi.

Students from many countries come into Pakistan for the purpose of studying. The process of applying to universities begins very early through the concerned authorities of both counties. Normally, the ways of admission acceptance are two, self -finance, and scholarships. Applications are annually submitted by the Pakistani government to certain embassies, and most of scholarship seats are in MBBS, engineering subjects, and pharmacy.

Studying abroad is so difficult, but looking up to better future motivates the students to study for longer hours. While facing many problems, difficulty in understanded the local language, house management, time spent away from their families, students brave the new environment.

In University of Karachi, the number of foreign students are approximately 500. According to the foreign students advisor’s office, the biggest number of students are from Somalia, while the second position is occupied by the Sudanese students, and others are Nepal, Palestine, Turkey, Uruguay, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt, UAS, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Japan …. Etc.

Some foreign students those who have graduated from KU are recently working at big organizations such WHO, UNICEF, WAMY and other government positions.At Mass Communication department (where I study), there are three Somalis, three Turkish and one Omani  currently studying at Mass communication. Two Somalis who graduated from the department are working now with BBC and Swedish News Agency.


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GREASED ---- AGAIN!!!

By Sidrah Roghay

As I made my way from the arts lobby to the sociology department, last Friday, I saw puddles of grease spread all through the corners of the raised pavement where students generally sit for a small bite or chit chat.

Rumour has it that a certain student wing of a political party performs this “noble” deed religiously every month or so, to prevent girls and boys sitting together on the pavement. With such creative ideas prevailing in our society I wonder why it does not prosper!

“Young love is hard to contain” they say. So what if couples can not sit, they choose to stand in the corners, leaning by the side of pillars, smiling at each other.

With the recent splurge of greenery in the university after the rains, couples have a lot of other places to sit. The Valika Cricket ground, lush green nowadays, is a cherished place by many. Generally marooned, most time of the year except the “Paigham-e-Aman Cup”, an occasional couple or so may be spotted sneaking out here to enjoy the scenery and privacy in this vast area.

Who said seminar libraries are there to enhance your knowledge about the book world? Reading the daily newspaper can be even more enjoyable if you have your sweet love sitting right beside you, stealing a quick whisper or joke with you.

The department of mass communication is another favourite dating spot, probably because it is the only department with leather sofas in its atrium. Couples may very conveniently come here an hour early for their “subsy” as they like to call it, and leave an hour, or hours, after class. And, of course... this department also holds a medal for not pasting sign boards saying “students not allowed” in its spacious atrium!

So well I am proud to be part of a generation with epic ideas of having their own way.

Shoot! I hope the department of Mass Communication is not the next target for these nocturnal grease-rs!

To bunk or not to bunk???

                                                                                     By Saman Hashmi

Ahhh Bunking....!! I think there is no word more attractive for KUrians other then the word "bunk". I never bunked my classes when I was in school, or college, but the atmosphere and circumstances are very different in KU.
It does not really matter, as no one usually cares whether you take the class or not. So, whenever students get a chance or are in a mood to bunk, they don’t hesitate to skip the classes.

Bunking is something everyone does, at least once in their lives. But the question is...why KUrians bunk so much??? The reasons are several... First being, since it is such a big place, there is more room for "susti", some pending work, good weather, or a plan for "khappa" at Sufi. Even if a KUrian feels a minor headache, then the only cure for him/her is to BUNK.
Whatever the reason is, bunking is not a big deal for students and it has now become a trend followed by many. Not to say that only KUrians are gutsy enough to bunk, but at almost all the educational institutions, students are addicted to the high of bunking. When the whole class bunks a lecture together on purpose, here, it is called an "Ijtimai tullah", and this way, we as the most regular bunkers, feel good and satisfied to see the unity of class.

The only drawback of bunking is when we fall short of attendance, which in extreme cases, becomes a serious headache. According to the rules of University of Karachi, if a student does not manage to attend 60% of the lectures in a semester, then he/she is not allowed to sit in the exams; and if the attendance is below 75% then they must pay a fine.

Bunking is a lot of fun but it is not something to be taken as a habit. At times I really wonder that if a student is maintaining his/her grades, then what's the harm in bunking classes? I know many students who don’t attend their classes so regularly but do well in exams - including myself!

“Main cheater tou nahi….”

Maimoona Ejaz

Allow me to showcase my distaste for the universal defamation against those who cheat. Furthermore, I believe that the word ‘cheat’ itself is potentially a highly derogatory term. Call us the Crusaders, please... Why? Obviously, we are on a crusade. That’s why. We were, are, and always will continue to stand united against the abuse that has disguised itself as an academia.

Those buildings made in the name of education have been playing with the dreams of countless since many years now. Spreading education is their idea, then why should we pay to execute their idea? Alright, we still go to the extent of throwing our money to fulfill their dream of “providing education”. What happens next? They burden us with baseless subjects comprising of unsubstantiated propagandas. If not that, then a set of some out-of-space ideas, generated by some brainy geek of the bygone days. If Einstein used eleven per-cent of his brain, it was his decision. Why should I copy him? Let me be original. Besides, he worked on the subject of his choice. Unlike us (the students), who are expected to be robots with no life of their own and take care of the bomb of subjects thrown upon us, rather ruthlessly. Whether I am made for numbers or not, I am to study Mathematics. No matter how much I loathe geography, I have to go through the torture. I am interested in knowing when’s Atif Aslam performing next but what I am fed with, is, when Muhammad Bin Qasim entered Sindh?

Like they say you can take the horse to the water but can’t make it drink. Similarly, when they can’t teach us what we want to learn; they shouldn’t expect us to learn the way they want us to.

But there’s an Armageddon towards the end of every story; there are exams to make our lives hell. And because most of us ‘crusaders’ believe in being a ‘ghazi’ more than a martyr, we have to take special measures to save our souls. And let me mention it’s not as easy as it sounds. Indeed, it’s a highly daunting process that has failure destined if one isn’t hard working, original and creative.

There are lots and lots of planning and preparation involved before one, as they like to put it, ‘cheats’. Do you think deciding where to hide those paper chits is an easy task? No way! Haven’t you seen how smart some teachers have turned these days? Hiding answers in socks and under pants is no more a viable solution. While pre-decided gestures still work but they are confined to the MCQ’s and/or answers having choices. So you see we too have to go through a countless hurdles to make sure we fight this establishment. And fight them well.

Many at times, we even have to make do with impromptu techniques (read ‘peeping into the neighbor’s work’/ sticking answers on the roof) and that sure needs guts and alertness.

With the advances in technology we had to become sophisticated in our ability to cheat. For example, now many of us are skilled enough to utilize text messaging with the phone hidden in a pocket. Some send exam answers to another student using this method. Not everyone can do it, I tell you.

I am yet to be convinced that “cheating” is immoral.  I shall continue to defend my clan and fight for it till our teachers and parents accept that we are humans too. What we need is not a bombardment of every other existing subject in the world, but something of our own choice.