Activity room

R. KRITHIKA

Relations between India and Pakistan have entered a new phase following the visit of the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. In the days leading upto the visit, newspapers and magazines saw this as "another historic chance to rise above the pervasive prejudices of their estrangement and to weave a pragmatic pattern of constructive engagement." (See The Hindu, July 14, p. 10)

Columnists also spoke of the issues that could possibly be discussed between the leaders like Siachen, Kashmir, terrorism, security and defence and the narcotics trade. ("The Summit" by Kanti Bajpai, The Hindu, July 4, p. 10) Comparisons were made with the visit to Pakistan of Prime Minister Vajpayee and the Lahore Declaration in February 1999 and the Kargil war that followed it.

While most of the writer discussed the main topics at stake here, some chose to go off the beaten track. While the media tripped over themselves to project positive signals, it was a different ball game in cyberspace where the war games were played out unabated. (See article in The Hindu, July 12).

Use the following points for a group discussion.

1. Did the visit of Gen. Musharraf contribute to breaking down the tension between India and Pakistan or was it vice-versa?

2. Should India accept that Kashmir is the central point of dispute between the two countries and agree to discuss it with Pakistan? (See The Hindu, July 24, page 10)

3. Discuss media coverage of the Summit. Some feel that the whole issue was given too much importance while others feel that it was an important point in the history of Indo-Pak relations. (See Media Pulse, The Hindu Sunday Magazine, July 15 and 22, p. 3)

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Dr. Elango, lecturer in the department of English, Loyola College, Chennai, has come up with an interesting use of the newspaper in the classroom. Following the death of actor Sivaji Ganesan, Dr. Elango used the following exercise in his classroom.

1. Find the various terms used in newspaper obituaries.

2. What were the specific terms used to describe the actor?

3. Write out a condolence message to the family.

4. Write a feature on Sivaji Ganesan based on the reports you have read.

Moving on from these, the extended activities could include

1. An examination of writing epitaphs with an effort at writing one.

2. Moving into literature, a news issue like this could be used to analyse elegies.

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