From the Chief Editor's Desk

Medical journals are a credible source of disseminating research and innovations, and Launching a medical journal is a challenging task. Many medical science journals are establishing a platform to publish quality research but still the task is tough and requires perseverance and hard work. Shalamar Medical and Dental College (SMDC) Lahore, strives to promote a culture of research. As part of this initiative, SMDC had launched ‘Medical Journal of Sakina Begum Institute’, but publication of the second volume was delayed due to the pandemic. Moreover, the name of the journal had to be changed due to some administrative issues. However, the committed editorial team was successful in bringing efforts for the latest issue to fruition.

Humanism in Pakistani Novel in English form 1985 to the Present

The study was designed to find out whether or not the Pakistani English novelists have incorporated: Secular, Marxist and Religious categories of Humanism in addition to Human Rights in the themes of their novels, in the context of social political, religious and economic conditions prevailing in Pakistani society. The research questions formulated to achieve these objectives of the study were: what is the extent to which Secular Humanism appears in Pakistani English Novel, have Pakistani English novelists succeeded to incorporate Marxist Humanism in their novels, does Religious Humanism figure in Pakistani English Novel, and are Pakistani English novelists successful in creating the awareness of Human Rights? Population of the study was all the novels written in English by Pakistani English novelists and first time published from 1985 to the present (2005). Sample was taken randomly for the study which comprised 11 novels. The categories of Humanism namely Secular Humanism, Marxist Humanism, Religious Humanism, and Human Rights were defined in the light of available literature about the movement of Humanism, and the operational definitions were developed for the study. The novels, randomly chosen as the sample for the study, were analyzed by using, 'Qualitative Content Analysis Technique'. The contents of each novel were analyzed paragraph wise, on the basis of the operational definitions of the categories along with their themes. The data analysis reveals that Pakistani English novelists are not only well aware of the different aspects and facets of the movement of Humanism but also incorporate these concepts in their stories. Humanism, which is 'Human-being-ism', is that wave of conscience and realization which gives birth to such arts and literature that instil courage and confidence in the human beings to face and defeat not only helplessness but also show them the path of social, political and economic liberties. Pakistani English novelists are well aware of their responsibilities and duties as citizens. They are on the way to perform their role effectively in the establishment of a better human society in Pakistan at the creative level.