Oxford University Press (OUP) and Gilani Research Foundation organised a talk based on the book 'The Voice of the People: Public Opinion in Pakistan 2007-2009' edited by Ijaz Shafi Gilani and published by OUP. Dr Gilani founded Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International, which specialises in opinion and marketing research.
He has headed and successfully completed over 100 research projects in the field of social and economic development, strategic studies, and political behaviour. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Gilani gave an analysis of what the people of Pakistan collectively think about a diverse range of subjects from democracy and War on Terror to religious inclinations and consumption preferences.
His research conducted in this context dispels various misconceptions about the general Pakistani public, for example, that the Pakistani public is largely illiterate and therefore incapable of understanding the complexities of governance or judicious foreign policies; or that it approves of wholesale violence in the name of religion; or that it is unaware of global climatic changes and is not concerned with any other issues beyond the basic necessities of life. These misconceptions, in his view, flourish because measuring popular opinion is difficult while passing off unsubstantiated generalisations about an amorphous entity is easy.
Dr Gilani presents the findings of his research in the book, which will serve as a pioneering step towards enhancing a realistic understanding of our society. In her welcome address, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, OUP, said that knowledge of thought patterns and predilections prevalent in a large group such as a whole nation is useful in public policy-making, in meeting consumer demands, predicting future developments and in many other fields. She further added that the kind of time-specific research this work offers provide not only material but also a historical context for anthropological and sociological studies, developments in the polity of the nation and all the other fields it touches.-PR