An Analytical Study of Hazrat Abdul Rehman (RA) Ibn Samara As Conqueror of Balochistan

Hazrat Abdul Rehman (may Allah be pleased with him) belonged to Arab tribe of Quraish and was a close relative of Mohammad (peace be upon him). At the time of conquest of Makkah He (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the circle of Islam. He (may Allah be pleased with him) is counted among the companions of Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with him) who came to sub-continent specially Balochistan in order to preach for Islam and Jihad during the Khilafat of orthodox caliphs. He (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Balochistan twice for Jihad and conquests first during the Khilafat of Hazrat Usman (may Allah be pleased with him) and second time in the early era of Hazrat Muawia (may Allah be pleased with him). He (may Allah be pleased with him) played a vital role in the wars of Balochistan. He (may Allah be pleased with him) established Zehri his abode and capital after conquering Kalat, Khuazdar (Sajistan), Kachi, Gandhava, and Chaghi, and from here he expanded the series of his conquests till Kabul and Qandar. Besides this, he included many areas of sub-continent in the Islamic empire of conquered areas. His (may Allah be pleased with him) life is consists of great chapters of sincerity in deeds. Wisdom and valor, determination fearlessness, strife, hospitality, simplicity and patience. He (may Allah be pleased with him) is counted among the great generals of Islam had the honour to have carried the message of Holy faith in every corner of Balochistan in tough and unfavorable conditions and planted the flag of Islam in Balochistan forever.  

Exploring Patterns in Conceptions and Enactment of Democracy by Secondary School Teachers in Karachi, Pakistan

The concept of democracy is a set of contestable yet elastic notions about human interaction in a diverse and ever changing socio-political set up. Like many other socio-political concepts democracy has also been used ambiguously by political as well as non-political elements to serve their own vested interest. However, there is a general agreement that the democratic practices of deliberation and participation by the people can be strengthened through education. In this study, I focus on the school as an institution that has been used as an instrument to promote certain ideologies and forms of regimes ranging from democratic ideals and participatory norms to orthodox military and religious ethos. The basic purpose of this study is a critical examination of teachers' conceptualisation of democracy and its enactment in secondary schools in the context of Pakistan. In other words the study attempts to unpack and explain the teachers' theoretical and practical positioning' about democracy and how such positioning is mediated by curriculum directions and pedagogical trends in government and private sector schools. The study involved a multi-method design of data collection and analysis, starting with a survey method and then to deepening understanding by using critical ethnographic methods. For the purpose of the survey a questionnaire was developed using a 5-point-Likert scale ranging from 'strongly disagree' through 'neutral' to 'strongly-agree' along with five open-ended questions. The survey study spread over a period of two months covering 80 secondary schools from government and private sector in the city of Karachi, Pakistan. The overall response rate was 80% as 320 teachers out of targeted 400 completed the questionnaire. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to extract 'factors', which were interpreted by computing factor loadings, mean score, and standard deviation values. In addition, responses to the open ended questions were analysed using frequency distribution and percentage scores to identify major trends. During the second phase of the study, critical ethnographic methods of semi-structured interviewing, observations, and document analysis were applied to generate data with the participation of four teachers from selected government and private sector schools. The study was completed in three stages; first compiling the primary records for preliminary reconstructive analysis and second a dialogical data generation and reconstruction of theories. At a third stage, results obtained from the survey and the ethnographic interviews and observation were synthesised to elicit findings and conclusions. The study demonstrates that the teachers' conceptualisation of democracy