PESHAWAR: Panelists at a study circle have urged youth to adopt habit of critical thinking to grab objective truth and review social constructs based on biased generalisations in the light of existing reality.

University graduates, students and bibliophiles attended the event Peshawar Circle, a monthly study session in which a bestselling book is brought under debate to promote critical thinking.

The event was held at the main hall of Archives Library and the celebrated book ‘Orientalism’ authored by noted writer Edward Said was presented for review discussion.

Shafeeq Gigyani, the chief of the circle, said it was 27th event being held with a vision to create a community of informed readers and thinkers to promote critical thinking and knowledge-sharing, leading to the city’s peace, growth and development.

He said that Peshawar Circle impacted the community by providing a safe space for intellectual debates where students, scholars and literati turned up. Its regular attendance swelled to 2, 000 and its online followers shot up to more than 60,000 since its inception in 2021, he added.

Haris Karim Khan, a young graduate, said that Edward Said was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual and founder of the academic field of post-colonial studies.

Prof Dervaish Afridi, head of department of gender studies at University of Peshawar, said that Edward Said’s theoretical framework of textual analysis had transformed the academic discourse of researchers in literary theory and literary criticism.

“Our youth should come of post-colonial conspiracy theories and should critically analyse things being practiced around us. Once it is done, local discourses will die down and no biased narrative based on unfounded social-construct will ever prop up,” he said.

The speech of Prof Dervaish was followed by open debate in which the participants shared their viewpoints showing their in-depth study. Also the main speaker answered queries of the audience. At one point, a panellist forgot the name of a writer and participants rained him with titles and names of so many authors that left every one stunned.

Aslam Mir, Dr Naeem, Rayyan, Hamza and Hasnain Khan also spoke at the event.

Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2023