​"Recognising and owning your own cultural and artistic traditions is an essential aspect of cultural identity. Equally and essentially, openness to other cultures is a necessary part of modernity, a vital ingredient of innovation. But setting out to fuse those cultures, being ashamed of and undervaluing their unique characteristics, usually produces an unconvincing and undigested mess of modish, cultural gestures. Even if achieved, they contribute little in themselves, apart from making some people feel good and culturally inclusive. Worse still, globalisation of culture is a code word for domination and all too often suppresses or destroys local cultures."

This was stated by Sir John Tusa, managing director of Barbican Centre, London, former managing director of BBC World Service and acclaimed author of several books and essays on journalism, culture and history. Sir John Tusa made these comments at a Special Lecture Series (SLS) programme organised by Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, on March 3, 2005. The Special Lecture Series is part of AKU's multidisciplinary and broad-based approach to education which aims to enrich students' understanding of the humanities and social sciences. The general public also benefits from this one-to-one interaction with scholars and other personalities of national and international repute.

In an evocative discourse titled 'East is East and West is West and a Good Thing Too', Sir John Tusa enthralled distinguished guests and members of the public as well as faculty, staff and students at the AKU Auditorium. Introducing the Barbican Centre, Sir John explained that it is "the largest integrated arts centre in the United Kingdom, possibly in Europe. Usually, the various performing art forms keep to themselves. Typically, as in London, the National Theatre is one institution in its own building and the Royal Opera performs opera and ballet in its own building," he said. "The same can be said of the English National Opera, the Royal Shakespeare Company or the National Film Theatre." 

But the Barbican, Sir John pointed out, is different in the sense that it "houses all these performing art forms in a single, unified complex. With us, all the arts are under one roof. More importantly still, all art forms are under a single, united direction. While each art form - music, theatre, visual arts - has its own needs and priorities, they do not plan and perform in isolation from their colleagues and peers, still less without sympathy for them. Being aware of the latest ideas and currents in other arts is a crucial way of keeping programmers alert, up to date, open-minded and aware," he stressed. 

Weaving a link between this encompassing-yet-distinct approach and the topic of his lecture, Sir John Tusa maintained that the Barbican is an international, outward-looking, curious and open-minded organisation. "When I talk about the separation of forms of eastern and western expression, I am not talking of isolationism, indifference, superiority, or any kind of cultural apartheid or separate development," he pointed out. "It is possible to retain a sense of distinctness in artistic identity while keeping the most open of minds to the way others do things." 

Admitting that his experience of contemporary Islamic culture, and especially its Pakistani aspect, has been limited, Sir John advanced a series of challenging questions to the audience. "I wonder how strong Islamic engagement with modernism has been artistically? How deep are the traditional roots in which your own modernism exists? How strong is your own sense of artistic culture which allows you to define a contemporary art that is yours rather than western dominated? Is your own culture strong enough to engage with western culture on equal terms? Is your own culture resilient enough to resist the tide of shallowly rooted, commercially-driven, globalised so-called culture?" he asked. 

"I do not see a nation, a culture, a continent retaining a worthwhile identity without its own artistic traditions, definitions, aesthetics and sensibilities," elaborated Sir John Tusa. "I do not see that being modern involves surrendering your own cultural knowledge and experience to the most commercially dominant forms of entertainment. I do not believe that innovating within your own artistic traditions demands a forced merging with others. Awareness of others? Of course. Surrender to others? Where is the benefit?" 

Ultimately, said Sir John, the primary question is one of equality, "the equal strength of cultures to stay as they wish, to redefine as they wish but in their own terms, seeking their own rewards by the process of doing so," he argued. "For we need to keep the biodiversity of thought, expression, forms and culture as rich as possible. Nature is impoverished by the loss of biodiversity. Culture, ideas, aesthetics and sensibility need to be kept alive in all their variety because the world cannot flourish on a restricted range of thoughts, propositions, ideas and expressions. We never know which lesson from which culture may be the lesson we need to assist - if we cannot guarantee - human survival," he added. 

"Besides, homogenised cultures are so deadly boring, so insufferably polite, so scared of difference, so terrified of offence that they cannot sustain the vigour, the creativity, the energy of the activities we associate with and expect from culture. So long live the East! Long live the West! And as the French used to say vive la difference!" concluded Sir John Tusa. 

Earlier in his welcome address, Ambassador Saidullah Khan Dehlavi, Chairman of AKU Board of Trustees, introduced Sir John Tusa as a versatile and creative person who has helped take the BBC to new heights. "Sir John has served that organisation for most of his life. In 1986 he became the Managing Director of its External Services which he later renamed BBC World Service. He is currently the Managing Director of the prestigious Barbican Centre in London, one of Britain's most impressive centres of artistic presentation and innovation," said Ambassador Dehlavi. "Sir John's contribution to the world of news and culture has received deserved recognition. In the eighties he was named the Royal Television Society's TV Journalist of the Year and he also received the coveted Richard Dimbleby Award, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts."

Sir John's varied interests and vast experience, added Dehlavi, are reflected in his books and articles. "These include two volumes of essays on broadcasting and journalism, namely Conversations with the World and A World in your Ear. He has published a book of essays entitled Art Matters, Reflecting on Culture," elaborated Dehlavi. "His latest book, On Creativity, explores the process of creativity through a collection of interviews from his BBC Radio 3 series. Sir John has also co-authored with his wife, the historian Ann Tusa, two books entitled The Nuremburg Trial and The Berlin Blockade." 

Sir John Tusa's talk was followed by a vote of thanks by Dr Nadir Ali Syed, Head of Neurology and Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education, AKU, as well as a question-and-answer session that saw active participation from an enthusiastic audience.