{"id":4399,"date":"2020-01-06T13:51:30","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T13:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daastan.com\/blog\/?p=4399"},"modified":"2020-08-17T19:16:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T19:16:25","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-noor-vs-khizra-plagiarism-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daastan.com\/blog\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-noor-vs-khizra-plagiarism-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Noor vs Khizra Plagiarism Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a time where copies and duplicates make up a big part of any industry, originality is a rare feature of a work, appreciated by those who understand what it takes to create something unique and independent. Like in any other community, time and again, the literary world has been shocked by the surfacing of \u00a0plagiarism: the 1978 <\/a>Roots<\/a><\/em> scandal<\/a> or more recently the speech<\/a> made by First Lady Melania Trump which turned out to be Michelle Obama\u2019s are quiet some examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plagiarism is the “unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author<\/em>” (HEC); an act of stealing all or parts of someone\u2019s original work and passing it off as one\u2019s own<\/strong>. Basically, it means to take credit for that which an individual has not personally created. It is a practice that the literary community is riddled with but one which is seriously frowned upon by readers and writers alike.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plagiarism – A Crime<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, in Pakistan, there is a lack of action <\/strong>taken by the authorities when it comes to plagiarism. It seems that the focus is mostly on research works and theses: since 2007<\/strong> approximately 80<\/strong>% of all plagiarism cases regarding research works were solved<\/a>. The literary industry, however, suffers still. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is plagiarism a social evil but also has legal consequences.<\/strong> Again, in Pakistan, the law is more concerned with academic plagiarism than literary plagiarism. It involves dismissal or rustication for teachers and students, respectively. A literary author, however, runs the risk of defamation, blacklisting, rejection from publishers for all future works and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Daastan handled Plagiarism Cases? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As a publishing house based in Pakistan, we at Daastan <\/a>have had our share of dealing with cases of plagiarized works. In most cases, writers copy another work, word by word; in others, we see extensive use of the thesaurus. For the latter kind, it takes a sharp eye and a detailed read to weed out manuscripts that are unoriginal. A \u201cplagiarism check<\/strong>\u201d is an essential part of our editorial process; our editors judge a manuscript by its ability to stand on its own, without the help of outer influences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are no qualms about being inspired by other writers (some of the best works are born that way), we strongly oppose the practice of plagiarism in literature. The beauty of literature is the perspectives it offers to readers<\/strong>. Behind that perspective is an author\u2019s hard work, research and dedication. When works are copied, that hard work is disrespected. We, as a community, stand firmly against that.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Noor vs Khizra scandal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Recently, the plagiarism incident of a book titled \u201cThe moon has my heart\u201d<\/em> has been making waves across social media platforms. It has induced the anger of the literary community as a whole but has also split us in \u201cfor\u201d and \u201cagainst\u201d teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the 27<\/strong>th<\/strong><\/sup> of December, 2019,<\/strong> a local publishing house launched a poetry book titled \u201cThe moon has my heart\u201d written by the Instagram influencer and poetess Khizra Zaheer<\/a>. The book was in the works for some time: pre-orders, cover launches and giveaways were all set to go. On the website, the book was said to be \u201ca rich and beautiful collection of poetry about life, love, loss, inspiration, hurt, strength, nature and family\u201d. The author herself was receiving praise from her readers on the accomplishment of a second poetry book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here comes an end to 2019\u2764 I am marking the end of year by sharing some more launch pictures of my newly arrived book {the moon has my heart}\ud83c\udf1a\u2764 On this day I want to wish everyone a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020\u2764 May you get to greater success that you ever wished and may you become the reason of everyone's smiles. \u2764 \u062f\u0631\u062f \u062f\u0644 \u06a9\u06d2 \u0648\u0627\u0633\u0637\u06d2 \u067e\u06cc\u062f\u0627 \u06a9\u06cc\u0627 \u0627\u0646\u0633\u0627\u0646 \u06a9\u0648 \u0648\u0631\u0646\u06c1 \u0627\u0637\u0627\u0639\u062a \u06a9\u06d2 \u0644\u0626\u06d2 \u06a9\u0645 \u0646\u06c1 \u062a\u06be\u06d2 \u06a9\u0631\u0648\u0628\u06cc\u0627\u06ba . . . . . Enjoy the New Year's Eve and have a great year ahead. P.S : Get my book {the moon has my heart} and get a giveaway of free bookmarks and signed love card to reminisce new year celebrations.\u2764\ud83e\udd17\u2764 . . . . . . . . #themoonhasmyheart #khizrazaheer #khizrapoems #artistsoninstagram #poetry #writerscommunity #booklaunch #poetrybook #bookstagram #giveaway #welcome2020 #poetrylovers #writersblock #relatablepoetry #yareads #bookstagrampakistan #2020 #wordsofwisdom #aesthetic #booklovers #bookish #bookreader #happynewyear #booknerdigans #newyearvibes<\/a><\/p>

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