KARACHI: Senior journalists and scientists, at the one-day seminar “Blog writing for science promotion, and use of Urdu in media” held at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) on Friday, said that a culture of book reading needed to be inculcated in Pakistani citizens in order to counter the severe intellectual deficit present in the country.
The speakers remarked that developed countries of the world had made progress by focusing on their national languages as well as science and education. They emphasised the benefits of blog writing for the promotion of science in society.
Among those who spoke on the occasion were ICCBS Director Professor Dr M Iqbal Chaudhary, senior poet and intellectual Firasat Rizvi, Professor Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, Bilal Karim Mughal and Aleem Ahmed.
Addressing those present, Prof Iqbal Choudhary said that education was the only way for Pakistan to develop. He pointed out that Pakistani media had failed to impress the significance of science to the average citizen, adding that the country’s journalists and scientists needed to improve their communication skills. He said that science taught people rationality and rationality led to the seeking of truth.
Firasat Rizvi pointed out that even the educated segment of Pakistani society was unaware of the correct use of Urdu language, which he said led to the creation of a social dilemma. He said that Urdu was used inappropriately in media, adding that electronic media was far more to blame than print media for creating the undesirable situation. He lamented that the book reading culture in Pakistan had almost been eliminated.
Professor Tauseef Ahmed Khan, in his turn, said that along with the promotion of education, there was a need to inculcate a scientific way of thinking in the average citizen. He expressed concerns over the methods of thinking employed by the majority of Pakistanis, which he said were irrational.
Talking about the importance of blog writing for the promotion of science, Bilal Karim Mughal said that writing a blog was an easier job than writing an article. Compared to an article, a blog is an informal mode of writing and highlighted that scholars and students of Pakistan could really employ this medium to promote science in the society by writing on issues particular to Pakistan. He regretted that there was no space for science on the important pages of the country’s newspapers.