PositivePakistan.com
The global community has a completely different image of Pakistan: The image of a nation full of extremism and terrorism. This website is an attempt to portray the true picture of Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the most culturally rich and socially diverse places in the world.
Click Below To Enter Website
With a population of roughly 160 Million; Pakistan is one of the most culturally rich and socially diverse places in the world. Its numerous breath-taking sceneries and centuries old historical sites complement the deep rooted culture of hospitality and sharing that its people possess. Unfortunately, the global community has a completely different image of Pakistan: The image of a nation full of extremism and terrorism. This website is an attempt to portray the true picture of Pakistan.
This page features positive news about Pakistan, as well as a selection of amateur video clips that portray the normalcy of life in Pakistan to the world. Feel free to browse the remaining links for other exciting and educational features.
It is better to light a candle, then to curse the darkness! this an effort of a group of people who are interested in highlighting the positive aspects of Pakistan. Pakistan, unfortunately, is highlighted in negative light in the West. This is mostly a result of a lack of information, and a plethora of negative press. The reality is that bad news is contagious, and one can hardly blame the media for propagating sensational news to expand their readership. The problem resides within the fact that most positive news about Pakistan rarely make headlines for reasons that are far too complicated to discuss here. We aspire to change that.
We are a group of technologists, marketers, academics, social engineers who would like to show the world a different point of view. We are not affiliated with any government organization or special interest group.
Please feel free to leave comments on our guest book, and suggestions for improvements.
This section is dedicated to information regarding business and commerce in Pakistan. From being a highly protected economy with various market imperfections, the Pakistani economy has undergone tremendous reforms to become an extremely efficient and liberalized economy. Led by privatizations of inefficient state enterprises, the core of the reforms program consisted of banking reforms. Today, Pakistan's banking sector is the engine of Pakistan's economic growth; and all major international banking institutions (such as HSBC, Barclays, Citigroup, Standard Chartered) are expanding their operations and services in Pakistan. Other than banking reforms, Pakistan today has one of the most phenomenally growing, efficient, and nominally priced telecom sectors in the world. Pakistan's IT sector is also cashing in on the wage disparities that lead the global IT outsourcing industry. Pakistan is definitely a country to keep one's eye on, from a business point of view.
The history of present-day Pakistan is very eventful, deep, and rich. Visitors can look back into this history through various historical locations such as the Mughal architecture, ancient Budhist towns around Taxila, the Indus Valley civilization, colonial heritage, and many more! Using these notable sites to look into Pakistan's history gives one a good understanding of Pakistani culture, and the role of historic sites, events, and civilizations in shaping this culture.
Discover Pakistan
Official Name:
Islamic Republic of PakistanFather of the Nation:
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)Ideological Thinker:
Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938)Head of the State:
General Pervez Musharraf, PresidentHead of Government:
Shaukat Aziz , Prime MinisterCapital:
IslamabadArea
Total 796,095 Sq. km. Punjab 205,344 Sq. km. Sindh 140,914 Sq. km. North West Frontier Province 74,521 Sq. km. Balochistan 347,190 Sq. km. Federally Administered Tribal Areas 27,220 Sq. km. Islamabad (Capital) 906 Sq. km. Population:
160.05 Million (E)Administrative Setup:
Pakistan is divided into four provinces viz., North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. The tribal belt adjoining NWFP is managed by the Federal Government and is named FATA i.e., Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas have their own respective political and administrative machinery, yet certain of their subjects are taken care of by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. Provinces of Pakistan are further divided into Divisions and Districts
Divisions Districts NWFP 7 24 Punjab 8 34 Sindh 5 21 Balochistan 6 22 While FATA consist of 13 Areas/Agencies and Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas have 7 and 5 Districts respectively.
Religion:
95% Muslims, 5% others.Annual Per capita income:
US $834
GDP:
8.4%Currency:
Pak. Rupee.
Imports:
Industrial equipment, chemicals, vehicles, steel, iron ore, petroleum, edible oil, pulses, tea.Exports:
Cotton, textile goods, rice, leather items carpets, sports goods, handi-crafts, fish and fish prep. and fruitLanguages:
Urdu (National) and English (Official)Literacy Rate:
53%Government:
Parliamentary formParliament:
Parliament consists of two Houses i.e., the Senate (Upper House) and the National Assembly (Lower House).The Senate is a permanent legislative body and symbolises a process of continuity in the national affairs. It consists of 100 members. The four Provincial Assemblies, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Federal Capital form its electoral college.
The National Assembly has a total membership of 342 elected through adult suffrage (272 general seats, 60 women seats and 10 non-Muslim seats).
Pakistan National Flag:
Dark green with a white vertical bar, a white crescent and a five-pointed star in the middle. The Flag symbolizes Pakistan's profound commitment to Islam, the Islamic world and the rights of religious minorities.National Anthem:
Approved in August, 1954
Verses Composed by: Abdul Asar Hafeez Jullundhri
Tune Composed by: Ahmed G. Chagla
Duration: 80 secondsState Emblem:
The State Emblem consists of:
1. The crescent and star which are symbols of Islam
2. The shield in the centre shows four major crops
3. Wreath surrounding the shield represents cultural heritage and
4. Scroll contains Quaid's motto: Unity Faith, DisciplinePakistan's Official Map:
Drawn by Mian Mahmood Alam Suhrawardy (1920-1999)National Flower:
JasmineNational Tree:
DeodarNational Animal:
MarkhorNational Bird:
ChakorFlora:
Pine, Oak, Poplar, Deodar, Maple, MulberryFauna:
The Pheasant, Leopard, Deer, Ibex, Chinkara, Black buck, Neelgai, Markhor, Marco-Polo sheep, Green turtles, River & Sea fish, Crocodile, WaterfowlsPopular games:
Cricket, Hockey, Football, Squash.Tourist's resorts:
Murree, Quetta, Hunza, Ziarat, Swat, Kaghan, Chitral and GilgitArchaeological sites:
Moenjo Daro, Harappa, Taxila, Kot Diji, Mehr Garh, Takht Bhai.Major Cities:
Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan and SialkotIndustry:
Textiles, Cement, Fertiliser, Steel, Sugar, Electric Goods, ShipbuildingEnergy:
Major sources Electricity (Hydel, Thermal, Nuclear) Oil, Coal, and Liquid Petroleum Gas Power Generating Capacity 19,389 MW Transport & Communication:
Total length of roads 259, 758 km Pakistan Railway network 7,791 km Locomotives 580 Railway stations 781 Pakistan International Airlines Covers 38 international and 24 domestic stations with a fleet of 49 planes. Major Airports 8 (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan, Faisalabad and Gwadar) Seaports:
International 2 (Karachi and Bin Qasim) Gwadar deep sear port is under construction Fish Harbours-*****-Mini Ports 3 (Minora, Gawadar, and Keti Bandar) Famous Mountain Peaks:
Height World Rating K-2 (Chagori) 8616 m 2nd Nanga Parbat 8125 m 8th Gasherbrum-I 8068 m 11th Broad Peak 8065 m 12th Gasherbrum-II 8047 m 14th Gasherbrum-III 7952 m 15th Gasherbrum-IV 7925 m 16th Disteghil Sar 7885 m 20th Kunyang Kish 7852 m 22nd Masherbrum (NE) 7821 m 24th Rakaposhi 7788 m 27th Batura I 7785 m 28th Kanjut Sar 7760 m 29th Saltoro Kangri 7742 m 33rd Trivor 7720 m 36th Tirich Mir 7708 m 41st Rivers:
Length The Indus 2,896 km Jhelum 825 km Chenab 1,242 km Ravi 901 km Sutlej 1,551 km
Land
Pakistan has a generally hot and dry climate, with desert conditions prevailing throughout much of the area. Along the western border and in a section of the north are semiarid steppe lands and deserts; a subtropical climate with marked summer rainfall is found in a small section of the northeast along the Himalayan foothills; and a mountain climate that varies with altitude is found in the north. The Indus is the chief river of Pakistan and is the nation's lifeline. It flows the length of the country and is fed by the combined waters of three of the five rivers of Punjab—the Chenab, Jhelum, and Ravi. The waters of the other two rivers, the Beas and the Sutlej, are largely withdrawn for irrigation in India. Along the Indus and its tributaries are found most of Pakistan's population, its chief agricultural areas, and its major hydroelectric power stations.
Pakistan is divided into four geographic regions—the plateau of W Pakistan, the plains of the Indus and Punjab rivers, the hills of NW Pakistan, and the mountains of N Pakistan. The plateau region of W Pakistan, which is roughly coextensive with Baluchistan province, is an arid region with relatively wetter conditions in its northern sections. Numerous low mountain ranges rise from the plateau, and the Hingol and Dasht rivers are among the largest streams. Large portions of the region are unfit for agriculture, and although some cotton is raised, nomadic sheep grazing is the principal activity. Coal, chromite, and natural gas are found in this area, and fishing and salt trading are carried on along the rugged Makran coast. Quetta the chief city, is an important railroad center on the line between Afghanistan and the Indus valley.
East of the plateau region are extensive alluvial plains, through which flow the Indus and its tributaries. The region, closely coinciding with Sindh and Punjab provinces, is hot and dry and is occupied in its eastern borders by the Thar Desert. Extensive irrigation facilities, fed by the waters of the Indus system, make the Indus basin the agricultural heartland of Pakistan. A variety of crops (especially wheat, rice, and cotton) are raised there. Advances in agricultural engineering have countered the salinity problems involved in farming the Indus delta. The irrigated portions of the plain are densely populated, being the site of many of Pakistan's principal cities, including Lahore, Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur), Hyderabad and Multan. Karachi, the nation's chief port, is located west of the irrigated land at a site accessible to oceangoing vessels. The higher parts of the plain, in the north, as in the vicinity of Lahore, have a more humid subtropical climate.
In North West Pakistan, occupying about two thirds of North-West Frontier Province is a region of low hills and plateaus interspersed with fertile valleys. The elevation of the region tempers the arid climate. It is a predominantly agricultural area; with wheat the chief crop; fruit trees and livestock are also raised. Peshawar and Rawalpindi, the largest cities of this area, are the only major manufacturing centers. In the northern section of the North-West Frontier Province and in the Pakistani-occupied sector of Kashmir are the rugged ranges and the high, snowcapped peaks of the Hindu Kush, Himalaya, and Karakoram mountains; Tirich Mir (25,236 ft/7,692 m) is the highest point in the country outside Kashmir.
History
Pakistan, the Indus land, is the child of the Indus in the same way as Egypt is the gift of Nile. The Indus has provided unity, fertility, communication, direction and the entire landscape to the country. Its location marks it as a great divide as well as a link between central Asia and south Asia. But the historical movements of the people from Central Asia and South Asia have given to it a character of its own and have established closer relation between the people of Pakistan and those of Central Asia in the field of culture, language, literature, food, dress, furniture and folklore. However, it is the Arabian Sea that has opened the doors for journey beyond to the Arabian world through the Gulf and Red Sea right into the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia and Egypt. It is this Sea voyage that gave to the Indus Land its earliest name of Meluhha because the Indus people were characterized as Malahha (Sailor) in the Babylonian records. It is for this reason that the oldest civilization of this land, called Indus Civilization, had unbreakable bonds of culture and trade link with the Gulf States of Dubai, Abu Dabi, Sharja, Qatter, Bahrain and right from Oman to Kuwait. While a Meluhhan village sprang up in ancient Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), the Indus seals, painted pottery, lapis lazuli and many other items were exchanged for copper, tin and several other objects from Oman and Gulf States. It is to facilitate this trade that the Indus writing was evolved in the same proto-symbolic style as the contemporary cuneiform writing of Mesopotamia. Much later in history it is the pursuit of this seaward trade that introduced Islam from Arabia in to Pakistan. The twin foundations of cultural link have helped build the stable edifice of Islamic civilization in this country. All these cultural developments are writ-large in the personality of the people of Pakistan.
As in many other countries of the world, man in Pakistan began with the technology of working on old stone by using quartzite and flint found in Rohri hills and stone pebbles found in the Soan Valley. The oldest stone tool in the world, going back to 2.2 million years old, has been found at Rabat, about fifteen miles away from Rawalpindi, thus breaking the African record. The largest hand Axe has also been found in the Soan Valley. Although man is still hiding in some corner, the Soan pebble stone age culture show a link with the Hissar Culture in Central Asia. Later about fifty thousand B.C. at Sangho Cave in Mardan District man improved his technology for working on Quartz in order to chase the animal in closed valleys. Still later he worked on micro quartz and chert or flint and produced arrows, knives, scrapers and blades and hunted the feeling deer and ibexes with bow and arrow. Such an hunting scene is well illustrated on several rock carvings, particularly near Chilas in the Northern Areas of Pakistan along the Karakorum Highway - a style of rock art so well known in the trans- Pamir region of Tajikistan and Kirghizstan. However, the first settled life began in the eight millennium B.C. when the first village was found at Mehergarh in the Sibi districts of Balochistan comparable with the earliest villages of Jericho in Palestine and Jarmo in Iraq. Here their mud houses have been excavated and agricultural land known for the cultivation of maize and wheat. Man began to live together in settled social life and used polished stone tools, made pots and pans, beads and other ornaments. His taste for decoration developed and he began to paint his vessels, jars, bowls, drinking glasses, dishes and plates. It was now that he discovered the advantage of using metals for his tools and other objects of daily use. For the first time in seventh millennium B.C. he learnt to use bronze. From the first revolution in his social, cultural and economic life. He established trade relation with the people of Turkamenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and other Arab world.
He not only specialized in painting different designs on pottery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This early bronze age culture spread out in the country side of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province.
And this early beginning led to the concentration of population into small towns. Such as Kot-Diji in Sindh and Rehman Dheri in Dera Ismail Khan District. It is this social and Cultural change that led to the rise of the famous cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappra, the largest concentration of population including artisans, craftsman, businessmen and rulers. This culminated in the peak of the Indus Civilization, which was primarily based on intensive irrigated land agriculture and overseas trade and contact with Iran, Gulf States, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dams were built for storing river water, land was Cultivated by means of bullock- harnessed plough - a system that still prevails in Pakistan, granaries for food storage were built, furnace were used for controlling temperature for making red pottery and various kinds of ornaments, beads of carnelian, agate and terracotta were pierced through, and above all they traded their finished goods with Central Asia and Arab world. It is these trade divided that enriched the urban populace who developed a new sense of moral honesty, discipline and cleanliness, and above all a social stratification in which the priests and the mercantile class dominated the society. The picture of high civilization can be gathered only by looking at the city of Mohenjodaro, the first planned city in the world, in which streets are aligned straight, parallels to each other, with a cross streets cutting at right angles. It is through these wide streets that wheeled carriages, drawn by bulls or asses, moved about, carrying well-adorned persons seated on them, appreciating the closely aligned houses, made of pucca bricks, all running straight along the streets. And then through the middle of the streets ran stone dressed drains covered with stone slabs - a practice of keeping the streets clean from polluted water, for the first time seen in the world.
The Indus Civilization is the first literate Civilization of the subcontinent. The cities were centres of art and craft. Where the artisan produced several kinds of goods that were exported to other countries. Sailing boats sailed out from Mohenjodaro and anchored in the port of the Gulf, which region was perhaps known as Dilmin. However, it was the city administration that managed the urban life in strict discipline and controlled the trade in their hands. The discipline is derived from the strict practice of meditation (yoga) that was practiced by the elite of the city, who appear to have trimmed their beard and hair combed and tied with golden fillets. The body was covered with a shawl bearing trefoil designs on them. Such a noble man with a sharp nose and long wish eyes shows a contrast with a bronze figurine of a dancing and singing girl, plying music with her fully bang led hand, as we find today with the Cholistan ladies having bangled hands. Obviously there were distinctive ethnic groups of people in Mohenjodaro but the dominant class of rulers and merchants appear to be distinctive from the rest of the population. It is these literate people who inter- acted with the Arabian people and continued to maintain strict discipline in the society. It is they who developed astronomy, mathematics, and science in the country along with numerical symbols, weights and measures but they thoroughly intermixed in the society and also believed in the local cult of tree and tree deities and animal totems. The most prominent animals as attested in the seals are bull, buffalo, elephant, tiger, rhinoceros, alligator and deer and ibexes. However, Mesopotamian influences are seen in the figures of Gilgamash, Enkidu, joint statue of the bull and man and other animals with several heads and bodies. However, the unique local concept is that of highly meditative man, seated in his heels, with three or four heads, and combining in himself the power to control the animals probably with a crown of horns or some times a tree overhead. It is this supreme deity, depicted on Seals, that draws the serpent worshippers and overpowers the animals. A part from these there was no concept of nature worship as we find in the Vedas of the Aryans. The ritual consisted of offerings through the intermediary of mythological composite animals to the tree deity. These dose not appear to have been any concept of animals sacrifice nor worship of any idol or idols. The Indus civilization lasted for nearly five hundred years and flourished up to 1750 B.C. when we notice the movements of nomadic tribes in Central Asia. As a result the Asian trade system was greatly disturbed. Consequently the trade and industry of the Indus people greatly suffered with the result that led to the end of the Civilization. The cities vanished, the noble lost their position. The writing finished. The common people met with the influx of new horse-riding pastoralists who hardly understood the system of irrigated agriculture and hence the value of dams. Such nomadic tribes are known from the large number of graves and their village settlements all over Swat, Dir and Bajaur right up to Taxila. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan different group of such tribes, known as Dardic people are known from their graves. The tribes of the plains are recognized as different groups of the Aryans from the hilly tribes of the North- the ancestors of the Kalash people and those who now speak Shina, Burushaski and other Kohistani languages. They had nothing to do with the cities as we find them building small villages nor did they know irrigation. Infect they believed in nature gods, one of them Indra destroyed the dams and spelled disaster on the local Dasyus who differed from them in colour, creed and language. These Aryans conquerors developed there own religion of the Vedas, practiced animal sacrifice and gradually built up tribal kingdoms all over the Indus Valley. The most prominent being that of Gandhara with capitals at Pushkalavati (modern Charsadda) and Taxila, the last having been the older capital of Takshaka, the king of serpent worshippers. Taksha-sila (a Sanskrit word, literally translated in to Persian Mari-Qila) survive in modern Margala. It become the strong hold of the Aryans, whose great epic book Mahabharata was for the first time recited here. Since that time Takshka-sila or Taxila lying on the western side of Margala remained the capital of the Indus land, which was called Sapta- Sindhu (the land of seven rivers) by the Aryans. It because of this central location, en routs from Central to South Asia that the new capital of Pakistan has been established at Islamabad on the eastern side of Margala hill , thus giving a historical link from the most ancient to modern time and new significance to Pakistan as a link between Central and South Asia.
The city of Taxila began to grow from 6th century B.C. onward when Achaemenian kings by name Cyrus and Darius joined this city by road and postal services with their own capital at Persepolis in Iran. Here one can see the Aryan village at Hatial mound lying above the pre-Aryan bronze age capital of Takshakas (Serpent worshippers). One can also visit the Achaemenian city at Bhir mound, where old bazaars and royal palace, with long covered drain, have been discovered. Land rout trade with Iran and the west once again started with the issue of coin currency for the first time in the Indus land. But the most important was the great use of iron technology, which produced several kind of iron tools, weapons and other objects of daily use as known as from the excavations at Taxila. Above all a new writing known as Kharoshti was developed here. At the same time the oldest University of the world was founded at Taxila, where taught the great grammarian Panini, born at the modern village of Lahur in Sawabi district of the Frontier Province. It is the basis of this grammar that modern linguistics has been developed. It is in this University that Chandra Gupta Maurya got his education, who later founded the first sub continental empire in South Asia. He developed the Mauryan city at Bhir mound in Taxila, where ruled his grandson, Ashoka, twice as governor. He introduced Buddhism in Gandhara and built the first Buddhist monastery, called Dharmarajika Vihara, at Taxila. Ashoka has left behind his Rock Edicts at two palaces, one at Mansehra and another at Shahbazgari written in Kharoshti.
Long before the rise of Chandra Gupta Maurya the Achaemenian empire, which had extended from Pakistan to Greece and Egypt, had collapsed under the onslaught of Alexander of Macedonia. He first finished with the Greek city states, united the Greeks, and dashed forward to annex the Achaemenian empire and hence proceeded to all those places where the Achaemenian had ruled. In this march they come to Taxila in 326 B.C. where he was welcomed by the local king Ambhi in his palace at Bhir mound. It is here as well as at Bhira in Jhelum district that Alexander's remains can be seen. However, he fought the greatest battale on the bank of the Jhelum river opposite the present village of Jalalpur Sharif against Porus, the head of the heroic Puru tribe, whose descendents still supply military personal to the Pakistan army. Alexander's battle place was at Mong, where he founded a new city, called Nikea, the city of victory. The other city which he founded was called Bucaphela after the name of his horse that died here. However, the most captivating site is at Jalalpur Shaif, laying on the bank of rivulet Gandaria, perhaps Sikanaria, where Alexander's monument has now been built on the spot where he stopped for about two months before launching his attack on Porus.
The Achaemenian and Alexander's contacts with Pakistan are very important from the point of view of educational and Cultural history. The Achaemenian brought the learning and science of Mesopotamia Civilization that enriched the University of Taxila. They also introduced their administrative system here, on the basis of which the famous book on political science, called Arthasastra was written in Sanskrit language in Taxila by Kautilya, known as Chanakya, the teacher of Chandra Gupta Maurya. It is this book that was adapted for the administrative of the Mauryan empire. On the basis of Achaemenian currency the Mauryan punch marked coins. So well known in Taxila, were produced. It is their Aramaic writing, used by Achaemenian clerks, that led to the development of Kharoshti in Pakistan and trade with the Semitic world that created the Brahmi writing in India. On the other hand Alexander brought Greek knowledge and science to Taxila and introduced Greek type of coin currency. It is Taxila that philosophers and men of learning of the two countries met and developed science, mathematics and astronomy. Above all Alexander left behind large number of Greeks in Central Asia, who founded the Bactrian Greek kingdom in mid-third century B.C. it is the descendants of these Bactrian Greeks who later advanced in to Pakistan and built up the Greek kingdom here and built up their own city at Sirkap in Taxila. This is the second well planned city in Pakistan. The Greeks introduced their language, art and religion in the country of Gandhara, where ruled thirteen Greek kings and queens. Their language lasted more than five hundred years and their art and religion and considerable influence on the flourish of Gandhara Civilization.
This civilization was the result of interaction of several peoples who followed the Greeks, the Scythians, the Parthians and Kushans who came one the other from Central Asia along the Silk Road and integrated them selves into the local society. It is under their patronage that Buddhism evolved here into its new Mahayana form and this become the religion of the contemporary people in Pakistan. Under their encouragement the Buddhist monks moved along the Silk Road freely and carried this religion to central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. It is again the trade along the silk road that was particularly controlled by the Kushana emperors, who built a mighty empire with Peshawar as their Capital, the boundaries of which extended from the Aral Sea to the Arabian Sea and from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal. It is the dividends of trade that enriched Pakistan and led to the development of Gandhara Art, which mirrors the social, religious and common man's life of the time. It is an art that was blend of the Greek classical and local arts, which created the finest statues of Buddha and Buddhisatttvas that today decorate the museums all over the world. At the same time the sculpture depict the whole life of the Buddha in a manner that is unsurpassed. Many Greek themes, their gods, typical toilet trays, Greek life scenes showing musicians, drinking bouts and love making are presented in there natural fashion. The Kushanas period was the golden age of Pakistan as the Silk Road trade brought unparalleled prosperity to the people of the country.
The luxury items produced in the country enrich the museum at Taxila at that show the Cultural and trends of life of the time. Gandhara art is the high water achievement of the people of Pakistan. Mahayana Buddhism was the inspiring ideal of the time and the Buddhist stupas and monasteries survive in every nook and corner of the hills. It was this time that the country was known as Kushana-shahar, the land of the Kushanas, to which came the Romanships to carry the luxury goods in exchange for Roman Siler and Gold, that were used by the Kushana emperors and as a result their gold currency flooded the country and all along the Silk road. It is these Kushana kings who have gifted the national dress of shalwar and kamiz and sherwani to Pakistan. Their dress and decorations are deeply imprinted on the Indus land, that is now Pakistan.
Then came from Central Asia the Huns and the Turks who gave to Pakistan the present ethnic, their Culture, Food and Adab. The Jats, Gakkhars, Janjuas (Jouanjouan of the Chinese) and Gujars all trekked into Pakistan and made their home here. The Rajput rose and founded the feudal system in Punjab and Sindh in the same way the Pashtuns, who borrowed the surname of Gul and later the title of Khan from the Mongols, their Sardari system in Balochistan, and slowly developed the Wadera practice in the Indus delta region of Sindh. This feudal arrangements, which was the result of confederated tribes of the Huns, led to new administrative system in the country and created a new form of land management that has lasted until today. The tribes have fused into the agricultural society but their brotherhoods have survived and they have given a permanent character to Pakistan.
In the early eight Century A.D. the Arabs brought Islam in Sindh and Multan built up the kingdom of Al-Mansurah in Sindh. At the same time their east ward Sea trade introduced porcelain and called on were from China and popularized glass were from Iran Syria- new materials that can be seen in the excavations at Bambhore in Sindh. With the Muslims Turks came the Sufis and Dervishes from Central Asia. Iran and Afghanistan and they spread Islam all over the country. It is Sultan Mahamud of Ghazni who made Lahore- the city of Data Sahib as his second capital. However, the city of Multan become famous as the city of Saints although it lay en route the camel caravan that carried on trade between Pakistan and Central Asia right up to Baku in Azerbaijan. It is these cities that the famous Muslims monuments of old are to be seen. As a result of the Saintly activity Pakistan become a land of Islamic Civilization. In several villages and cities we now find the Dargah of these Muslims Saints. While Shahbaz Kalandar is a well known in Sindh, Baba Farid Shakarganj resided over Pak Pattan in Punjab, Buner Baba rules over the Frontier region, and Syed Ali Hamdani is the real Sufi Saint in Kashmir. The capital city of Islamabad enshrines the well known Golra Sharif and Barri Imam. It is in these Saints who influenced the development of Sufi literature in all the languages of Pakistan and their monumental tombs that attract the people from all the country. In the old city of Thatta at Makli hill several tombs and Mausoleums are spread over the place that surpass in the beauty of stone carving but much more than this they evidence the historical evolution of architecture from 12th century A.D. to the Mughal time.
This was a period of great change in the historical integration of the people in Pakistan when the country was brought closer to Central Asia and the Arab world. The mixing of several tribes from both these regions transformed the ethnic complex of the country. Just as in the period of Kushanas of Mahayana type rose here and the Buddhist monks out from this land along the Silk road to carry the massage of the Buddha, now it was the Arabs and the Muslims Saints from Central Asia who came in the reverse direction and flocked in the prosperous land of Pakistan. New trade route were opened in the reverse direction from those countries into the Indus land. From the Huns to the Turks the age of cavalry dominated the life scene. Many Rock carvings in Central Punjab show men riding, even standing on horse back and brandishing their swords and shooting arrows. Hence forward Polo game become common and sword dance was common, as seen in the Rock carving near Chilas. The foundation of Muslims state was firmly laid, in which the dominate position first occupied by the Arabs in Sindh and Multan and later by the Gaznavid and Ghorid Sultans who made the Indus country as their spring board from the onward conquest of India. A beautiful monument in memory of sultan Ghori can be seen at Suhawa on the National Highway. It was therefore in the fitness of things that the first missile made in Pakistan was named after Ghori. Several Muslims kingdoms grew up in this country. Beginning from north we find the Tarkhan ruling dynasty, who came from trans-pamir region here and become supreme in the Gilgit area. The descendent of Shah Mir founded the Muslims Sultanate in Kashmir maintained its independents until the time of the Mughal emperor Akbar. The Pushtun tribes made their movements and asserted their independence in the land watered by the western branch of the Indus River. The Langhas and later the Arghuns become the Master of Multan. The Sama ruling dynasty started a new era of Cultural development and prosperity in Sindh. The Baluchis in concert with Brahuis leapt forward not only to build their kingdom in Balochistan but also migrated eastward and northward. Apart from these political shape of the country, there was an unparalleled development in art and architecture, literature and music, and particularly new social integration took place on the basis of the patronage of local languages, such as Baluchi, Sindhi, Panjabi, Pashto, Kashmiri, Shina and Burushaski. All these languages received literary form with the support of the Muslims rulers and the first time their literatures began to take shape. They received influence from Arabic and Persian and added many themes from the Folklores as well as from those of Central Asia. Such an unusual developments transformed the society with the stories from Shahnama and Hazar Dastan and with the Folk-tales from Lila-Majnun, Sassi-Punnu and Hir-Ranjha. The stringed instruments, the dholak and the dhap and also flute and trinklets gave a new tone to the life of the people of Multan, Thatta, Marha Shrif in D.I. Khan, Swat and Kashmir, and finally Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistan created the finest architecture of the time. That was the period of new religious activity in the country side when Islam become the dominant religion of the people who were directly linked in religious ties with the people of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and Arab world.
The migrant people had brought the new technology of straining the horse from Central Asia and Iran. Were ever the horse galloped right up the corner of Bengal and Orissa, the Turks and Afghans advanced from Pakistan and established new empires. Here the artisans and craftsman gathered in new centre, cities began to grow with new craft mohallas, and they began to specialise in the products of Shawl and carpets in Kashmir, chapkan, chadar and dopatta in Punjab and Chitral and Northern Areas, tile work in Multan, Hala and Hyderabad, block printing in Sindh and fine carpentry in Chiniot, Bhira and Dera Ismail Khan. As a result several families occupied themselves in traditional crafts and passed them on to their own children.
Then came the Mughal emperors, descendent of Amir Timur, who, following the Mongol ruler Changiz Khan, had embarked on building a new world empire on the basis of organizing a new type of cavalry and making a new disciplined army in the unites of hundred and thousand. The later still survive in the name of Hazara both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first Mughal emperor, Zahiruddin Muhammad Baber, who had to come out from Farghana, brought a new taste of poetry, baghicha and architectural forms from the natural environment and landscape from Farghana and Samarqand, latter city reflecting the delicious water of Zarafshan (golden) river. Baber built his first terraced garden in Kabul and then choose the beautiful spot at Kalda or Kallar Kahar in Chakwal district and built here Bagh-i-Safa on the very spot marked by this throne seat. It was again terraced garden watered by a near by spring. At the old Bhira on the bank of Jhelum he built a fort and then proceeded to Shah Dara (the Royal pass Gate) that opened his route the city of Lahore. At Shah Dara several garden were laid by by the Mughal noblemen but only one is preserved inside Jahangir tomb that was built by his queen Nur Jehan who lies buried in another mausoleums. The tomb along with the garden is now desolate. There is also Kamran's baradari, without the garden, that still defies the flood of the Ravi river. When the Mughal emperors followed Baber one after the other, they choose the old Lahore on the bank of Ravi to their main Urban centres in Punjab. It was developed as a city of gardens with numerous gardens around but the main Mughal fortress was built in an Island, surrounded by the Ravi on the three sides and only on the east it was joined to the city proper. Here third Mughal emperor Akbar transferred his capital from Agra to meet the challenge of cousin Mirza Hakim. Here he laid the foundation of a typical Mughal citadel with royal residences, called Akbari Mahal and Jahangiri Mahal, with a prominent Diwan-i-Aam built in the traditional Iranian style, all constructed in red sand stone imported from Rajistan. Later Akbar's grandson Shah Jehan, the King of architecture, transformed many buildings and renewed to his taste with white marble. He added Diwan-i-Khas that overlooked Ravi, his palace and Turkish Bath and still more important the Moti Masjid, the gem of monuments, with beautiful decorative
designs in precious stones set in marble.
However, his choicest building is the Shish Mahal, the Mirror Palace that was the constructed by the side of a Char-bagh style garden with running water channel and fountains, but later destroyed by the Sikhs, and quadrangles remodelled. Such garden, called Mehtab, can be seen in other quadrangles in the Fort. The Shish Mahal is the luxurious place of resort particularly during summer months with rest rooms of a long hall at its either end, opening on to the brilliantly dazzling Veranda that looks at the marble paved quadrangle with a fountain in the middle side. The mirror reflects the stars and the bedrooms presents, in its ceiling, the panorama of a star lit Sky. On the western side there is a unique building of Bengali style, called Naulakha, whose brilliance of precious stone outshone the natural setting of flowers and tree leaves that decorate the walls. Alas ' the Sikh and British soldiers have robbed many of the precious stones. Even then the Shish Mahal, even in its changed character by the Sikhs, presents a dazzling brilliance in its perfect creation by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan. It is the climax of Mughal luxury surpassed nowhere in the world.
The exterior wall of the Shish Mahal one can see the beautiful mosaic paintings that depict everyday sport of the Mughal princes for the enjoyment of the people who used to gather below the fort not only to have a view of the emperor sitting in the Jharokha but also to admire the brilliance of colour on the wall. Here one can observe galloping horses, humped camels, elephant ride, hunting scene, animal fights, horse man plying polo or chaughan, camel fights, figures of angels, demon head sand moving clouds, horse and elephant riders crossing Swords and verities of floral and geometrical designs. There are three gates to enter the fort, all three of them showing different tastes. The Masti (or correctly Masjid) Gate on the east shows Akbar's taste of red sand stone. The Shahburj gate on the west presents the fine mosaic decorations of the time of Janhangir. The last is the Alamgiri gate built by Emperor Aurangzeb, showing tasteful simple entrance with multiple facetted Tower at either end, crowned by Kiosks.
From Shish Mahal one can have a magnificent view of the Badashahi Masjid built by Aurangzeb on a spot regained after the river Ravi shifted further away. Its magnificent Stair way leading to the elegant red sand stone gate way on the east is highly impressive. It is on the left side that later the tomb of Allama Iqbal was built. The gate way, which is preserved the relic of the Prophet and also in one of the copy of the Holy Qur'an with brilliant calligraphy, leads into a wide open courtyard, having a washing pond in its middle, and rows of cells on its sides. On its west is the main prayer chamber of oblong shape marked by four tall corner towers. On its roof are three marble dooms of bulbous shape that attract the eye from a long distance. The interior of the mosque has chaste decoration in the mehrab chamber that opened in to equally well decorated side aisles. It has a Verandah on the front that is again tastefully decorated. But the most elegant are the tall towers at four corners of the quadrangle, from the top of which one can have an unforgettable view of the city of Lahore.
There are two other beauties in the city of which the greatest monumental gems of Lahore. The first is the most chaste fully painted mosque of Wazir Khan, which was once the centre of religious and educational activities during the Mughals period. In its original design the mosque was fronted by an open maidan that presented from a distance a marvellous view of the mosque. It was built by Ilmuddin Ansari, hailing from the old trading city of Chiniot, but later he gave rise to the city of Wazirabad. He was raised to the high post of governor by Shah Jehan for his devoted service and great skill of Hikmat. But of greater importance in his taste of decorative architecture which he has translated into this mosque. The mosque plan, which is typical Mughals style but for its squat domes has tall minarets crowned by tasteful Chhatris. The most attractive is the mosaic ornamentation of the facade, the minars, and particularly the mihrab, which remains unsurpassed in its setting and choice of decorations and calligraphic work. In its charging decoration the mosque symbolises high sense of taste and marks a magnificent attraction in Lahore, to which both Shah Jehan as well as his officials gave a new face of colour and charm.
And yet the greatest jewel of the city of Lahore is the Shalimar Bagh, the unique pleasure resort that has been gifted to the world by the Mughal emperors. With paying a visit to this garden one can hardly understand the Mughal love for pleasances. In its creation what a real pleasure they have bestowed to the people of Lahore. The garden sumbolises the elixir of life that the Mughals alone could imagine. They had long left Farghana but the beauteous charm of its terraced fields lingered behind that has been recaptured in the Char bagh style of the garden in Shalimar, as Taj Mahal in Agra is the symbol of unforgettable love of emperor Shah Jehan, in the form of unique architectural creation, for the beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal, so is the Shalimar, the epitome, of Shala (fire of love), the embodiment of the highest playful joy in life that the emperor and empress could have in this world. The garden is a combination of Char baghs, water channels, fountains, Cascades, water falls and bathing hall in three different terraces, each terrace headed by beautiful pavilions for a pause of pleasurable enjoyment and then to pass on the other ponds of joy, inset with showering fountains, each terrace presenting varieties in scenic complex. Starting from a elaborate gate way in the south , with a water fountain in its middle chamber, we enter the open space, surrounded on right and left, by residential quarters, having long walkways, in the middle of either side of a channel marked by fountain, that join together on the four sides on a watery platform. And then we pass to the first pavilion that looks at a square pond remarkable sitting a cascade of a water falling down below the pavilion, series of fountains around a central seat for musicians and dancers and smaller pavilions at the four corners. From the top pavilion the elite royalties draw their pleasure from the scenic panorama in front and from the corner pavilions guests could roll in pleasance and enjoy the music of the running fountains coupled with the music of the singers and dancers. The next lower terrace begin with a rare bathing hall in the middle with water fountains lower down and lighted lamps in the arched niches of the walls. Here one could cool the legs during summer months- a novel way of cooling the atmosphere in the days when there were no electricity and air conditioners. And thus we find here a thrilling atmosphere where natural art has been channelised in the service of man. What a creation of charming loveliness that is combined with cooling water in various forms to soothe the evening of warm Lahore.
That is not all of Mughal architecture. If one likes to see the Mughal fondness for hunting, one can go to Sheikhupura, not far from Lahore , and admire the construction of Hiran Minar by Emperor Jahangir on the spot where his dearly loved deer died. That minar stands by the side of a tank which has in its middle a three storied pavilion for a general view around. If one is interested to see the defence arrangements of the Mughals, one can go to Attock on the bank of the Indus River, where Akbar built a magnificent fort, made arrangements for crossing the river by boat-bridge and laid a new road south of the Kabul river leading to Peshawar through the Khyber pass to Kabul. And then come to Attock the empress Nur Jahan, who constructed here a caravan serai, known as Begum Ki Serai, with a platform at its four corners and living rooms cooled by the Indus breeze. It is from one of the top platform that one could look at the magnificent expanse of the Indus River, full of flowing life and natural beauty, that perhaps will remain as the lasting memory of the Indus land, that is Pakistan.
People
The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people is Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects. Pakistan has one of the world's most rapidly growing populations. Its people are a mixture of many ethnic groups, a result of the occupation of the region by groups passing through on their way to India. The Pakhtuns of the northwest are a large, indigenous group that has long resisted advances by invaders and that has at times sought to establish an autonomous state within Pakistan. Balochis, who live mainly in the southwest, have also pressed for the creation of a state that would incorporate parts of Afghanistan and Iran. Punjabis reside mainly in the northeast and Sindhis in the southeast. Pakistan is an overwhelmingly (about 97%) Muslim country. Urdu is the official language, but Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi are also spoken; English is common among the upper classes and in the government. Pakistan has a population of 165,803,560 (2006 estimate), yielding an average population density of 213 persons per sq km (551 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2006 at a rate of 2.1 percent a year. Only 34 percent of the people live in urban areas.
Culture
Pakistan's culture is very diverse. This stems from the fact that what is now Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where indigenous pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.
Pakistani society is a “Male Oriented Society”, and males are given great respect. The family is headed by a male member, usually the oldest male member of the group. Old people are given positions of prestige, honor and respect in Pakistani culture. Social life is simple. Social customs and traditions reflect Islamic touch: people are very much conscious about their social traditions and feel pride in following them. Ulema, Mushaikh and Sufi poets occupy highly honored places in Pakistani culture.
Increasing globalization has increased the influence of Western culture in Pakistan, especially among the affluent, who have easy access to Western products, media, and food. Many Western food chains have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities. A large Pakistani community exists, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Australia as well as in the Scandinavian nations. A large number of Pakistanis are also living in the Middle East. These emigrant and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, by traveling to Pakistan, and especially by returning or investing there.Despite tense relations with India, Indian movies are popular in Pakistan. Ironically, Indian films are officially illegal, but they can easily be found across Pakistan. An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood, producing over forty feature-length films a year. Music is also very popular in Pakistan, and ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern groups that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music.
Perhaps the most popular sport in Pakistan is cricket, and large amounts of Pakistanis gather around TV sets to watch the Pakistani team play in World competitions, especially against Pakistan's rival India. Pakistan has one of the top teams in international cricket, one that won the World Cup in 1992. Field Hockey is also an important sport in Pakistan, Pakistan having won the gold medal at the Olympics a number of times in the sport. Football is played in Pakistan as well, but is not as popular as cricket or field hockey. Polo is believed to have originated in the Northern parts of Pakistan, and continues to be an important sport there with large competitions throughout the year.
Language
Pakistan is a country of rich ethnic and linguistic diversity. According to Ethnologue, more than 72 Living Languages have been listed for Pakistan, giving it a Diversity Index [of 0.83, while 1.0 being highest] that is amongst the highest in the World. While the social diversity is obvious and desirable, accurate numbers for most of these languages have largely been elusive. National census has established Punjabi [44%] to be by far the largest language, while Pashto [15%], Sindhi [14%], Urdu [8%] and Baluchi [4%] having significant number of speakers. Language of importance for the Independence Movement and national unity remains Urdu, while Arabic and Persian are arguably the most influential languages in academic circles of the country. Most of the living languages of Pakistan belong to the family of Indo-European languages, where Indo-Aryan is predominant in the Eastern parts, Iranian being in the Western and Dardic being in the North/North-Western parts of the country.
Urdu is the official language of Pakistan since 1978. Choosing Urdu as the national language provides a linguistic basis for a Muslim national identity, as Urdu was the language of the educated Muslims of North India that led the Pakistan Movement. Even though merely 8% of Pakistanis speak it as their mother tongue, Urdu cuts across the linguistic, ethnic, religious and provincial boundaries as the National Language. It is estimated that more than 75% of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu in general, where in urban areas close to 95% of the people can communicate in Urdu. Most Pakistanis however are bilingual and an overwhelming segment today is trilingual with English, Urdu and a regional language. For all practical purposes, therefore, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system [based on British Common Law], judicial system, private educational institutions and English language media has promoted English to be the language of choice for educated and forward-looking youth of the country.
Arabic and Persian are also popular languages in Pakistan because of religious influence, literature and immigration. Arabic is taught as a common heritage of Muslims in certain schools and religious institutions. More than a million speakers of Persian reside in Pakistan. It is also taught in universities because of its highly developed literature, and because of its major influence on Urdu. Many immigrants from war-torn Afghanistan speak Persian as their first language. In Azad Kashmir, Kashmiri, Mirpuri and Hindko are popular.
MAJOR LANGUAGES OF PAKISTAN:
Seven languages are considered to be major languages in Pakistan, collectively representing 85% of the people of the country. All four provincial languages [Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi], the National Language [Urdu], the Legal language [English], and the literary language [Persian] are all considered major by the linguists in Pakistan.
Punjabi
Pashto
Sindhi
Baluchi
Urdu
English
Persian
PUNJABI:Punjabi [also Shahmukhi, Gurmukhi in literature], one of the world’s biggest languages [10th at 104 million speakers], is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by almost half the people of Pakistan [44% + 11% Seraiki + 2.5% Hindko], making it the dominant language in the vast Pakistani landscape. Its speakers are spread in a large area from foothills of Karakorum to the borders of Sindh, and from the banks of Kabul [at Attock] to the banks of Yamuna [at Delhi]. Excluding Seraiki [11%] and Hindko [2.5%], which are sometimes considered Punjabi dialects, Punjabi is spoken by 44% population of Pakistan, and is also represented in all major non-Punjabi cities of Pakistan by its immigrants. It seems to be the only language that has kept the people of Pakistan and of North India at ease with each other, in an otherwise rough history of their relationships.
The roots of Punjabi are Indo-European, within the Indo-Iranian family of languages. In Pakistani Punjab, it is largely an oral language but it had a Gurmukhi/Shahmukhi script in the pre-Independence history and has a Persio-Arabic [Urdu] script in academic circles of post-Independence Pakistan. Linguistic analysis on the word “Punjabi” is simple, as the word is a combination of two simple Persian words: “Punj” [five] and “Aab” [water]. The word, therefore, literally means “Five Waters” or more precisely “The people of the land of five Rivers”. The name was given to them because of the five tributaries of River Indus that have flown through the landscape of Punjab since time immemorial, namely Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Satluj, Beas. Unique amongst the Indo-European languages, Punjabi is a tonal language [with High-tone, Mid-tone and Low-tone] as a reinterpretation of different consonant series in terms of pitch. With the words usually ordered Subject-Object-Verb, it is an agglutinative language in terms of morphological complexity.
Punjabi has several dialects and is rich in their use. Most important dialects in Pakistani Punjab are Pothohari, Lahndi and Multani. Majhi is the written standard for Punjabi in both parts of Punjab. Punjabi has had its share of influences from all sorts of languages from Arabic to Persian to Sanskrit to Dravidian. Recent modernization and industrialization of Punjab has witnessed an English influence on Punjabi, as Punjab absorbs the Science and Technology. Modern Punjabi uses Shahmukhi [from the mouth of the Kings] script in the Pakistani Punjab, which is a modified Persian-Nasta’liq script. Sikhs of Pakistan, however, use the Gurmukhi [from the mouth of the Gurus] script, in compliance to the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib. These two scripts are considered the official scripts of the Punjabi language. Gurmukhi is written from left to right and the orthography is called Peti as the number of its letters is thirty five. Punjab is the land of Vedas, of Saints and of Gurus. Punjabi is the preferred and official language of East Punjab, as it holds a central position in the Sikh religion and culture. It is the language in which the Sikh religious literature, called Guru Granth Sahib, was written by Guru Nanak Dev and nine other Gurus. Punjabi is to Sikhism as Arabic is to Islam.
Punjabi is also the language of the Sufi saints of the Indo-Pak Sub-Continent, at the advent of Islam. Sufi mysticism used Punjabi to influence and spread the message of Islam throughout the North India. They gave birth to a distinct stream of the poetry of this land, called Sufi Kavya-Dhara. Great Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah, Ghulam Farid, Sultan Bahu, Waris Shah, Shah Hussein and Ilyas Ghumman have read and sung in this language and their contribution today is considered amongst the greatest Classical literatures and heritage of the Eastern world. Folk tales of Punjabi are the collection of the traditional urge of thousands of years of history. The folk tales and love stories of Saif-ul Maluk, Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahinwal, Sassi Punnu, Mirza Sahiban, Yousaf Zulaikhan, Dulla Bhatti and Poran Bhughat continue to enrich the minds of Punjabi speakers till today. The oldest and most famous book of folk tales, Vad Kaha, composed by Rishi Gunadhya was written in the Panjab in the then prevalent dialect of Paishachi. The Arabic collection of fables, Kalilawa Dimnah, is also very popular and is based on the Panchatantra. Mystical Folk music sung as Kafeeas of Ghulam Farid, Shakookas by Ganj Shakar, baits, dohras, loris, Sehra and Jugni can be heard throughout the rural and urban Punjab to this day. Traditional joy songs are sung on the weddings by women from the villages, all over Punjab to this day. A woman's sentiments are deftly woven into the fine fabric of the folk-songs of the Punjab. They seldom sit idle and when they are free from household chores, the women of all ages from surrounding households bring out their spinning wheels and sit out in the open under a tree, singing as they spin. In more recent times, the traditional Punjabi Bhangra music, which uses extensive Punjabi lyrics, has gained immense popularity throughout the South Asia and the world. It is the Punjabi expression of the Islamic culture, Hindu philosophy and Sikh thought that unites the Punjabi speakers from all backgrounds into one people.
PASHTO:Pashto, spoken by more than 24 million [15%] of Pakistan’s population, is an Indo-European language of Indo-Aryan family. The Indo-Aryan influence on Pashto is very evident, and the language can be linguistically related to Ossetic spoken in the Caucasus Mountains in the present-day Russia, as well as Yaghnobi spoken in Tajikistan. It is primarily spoken in NWFP, as well as in corners of Baluchistan and the Afghan immigrants in the Punjabi and Sindhi metros. Along with Persian, it is the official language of Afghanistan [35% speak it as their mother tongue] and therefore has much Afghan influence in its literature and poetry. It is believed to have originated from the Kandahar-Helmand area of the Southern Afghanistan – right next to Baluchistan and Frontier province of Pakistan, where it is still the dominant language.
Pashto has two major dialects; Northern [spoken by 60%] and Southern [spoken by 40%] dialects. Another dialect besides these two is the Southern Pashto, spoken in Kandahar and in Baluchistan; both Pakistani province and Iran’s Sistan-va-Baluchistan province. Grammatical structure of a Pashto language phrase is on the format of Subject-Object-Verb, while the adjectives come before nouns. Pashto phonology is distinguished by the presence of the retroflex consonants that are borrowed from the surrounding Indo-Aryan languages. Such consonants are absent from the Iranian languages. Pashto also allows consonant clusters at the beginning of syllables, unlike other Iranian languages.
Pashto vocabulary has borrowed heavily from the Arabic and Persian, just as any other language of this region. It also has been influenced by other regional languages, besides them. We can also find some of the oldest borrowed words from Greek that date back to the Greek occupation of Bactria in third century BCE. There is also a trace influence of traditions like Zoroastrianism and Buddhism on the language.
From the time of the advent and rise of Islam in the Central Asia, Pashto has used a modified Persio-Arabic script with some indigenous alphabets. Pashto has been written since the sixteenth century but was only standardized in late eighteenth century.
Pakhto language is said to be spoken since last two thousand five hundred years. The language is therefore rich in poetry and oral literature. Many Sufi and non-Sufi poets and story-tellers have written and sung in the language, giving it a mystical richness paralleling Punjabi and Persian in their diversity and richness. The first written records of Pashto language are believed to date from the sixteenth century and consist of an account of Sheikh Mali's conquest of Swat region of present day Pakistan. Amir Karor is considered to be the first documented Pashto poet, while Bait Neka’s mystical poetry is considered to be the purest in the language. Rehman Baba is one of the most influential poets of the Pashto language, while the warrior poet Khushal Khan Khattak is remembered for his extraordinary contribution to the diversity of thought in Pashto literature. Ajmal Khattak, Khatir Afridi, Pareshaan Khattak, Ghani Khan and several others have assured the continuity and enrichment of the centuries old traditions of Pashto poetry. Besides stories set to music, Pashto has thousands of two and four line folk poems, traditionally composed by women, reflecting the day to day life and views of Pathan women.
SINDHI:Sindhi is an Indo-Aryan language of Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European group of families. The estimation of the total number of speakers of Sindhi and, therefore, its percentage in Pakistan has proven to be especially difficult, unreliable and politically motivated. It is estimated that the number of Sindhi speakers in Pakistan is between 20 million to 30 million [22.5 million or 14% is standard]. Besides that, 2.5 million Sindhis live in the neighboring India, and a few live in Hong Kong, S.A.R, Oman, Phillipines, Singapore, U.S, U.K and Emirates. Sindhi is also spoken in Southern Punjab and the Baluch borders with Sindh. Sindhi has been written in Arabic script in Pakistan, and Devangari script in neighboring India. Sindhi is a predominantly Aryan language, but it also embellishes itself with the Dravidian influence making its identity quite unique.
Sindh is rich in sound inventory, having 46 distinctive consonant phonemes and 16 vowels. The language has 52 letters and four separate implosives. In the area of pronunciation, many Sindhi letters are identical to the Arabic letters that heavily influenced the Sindhi language. The British encouraged the Persio-Arabic script for the Sindhi language before the partition in the province in 1852. In India, Dewangari script for the Sindhi was introduced by the Government to make it compatible with the Hindi; an effort that faced a wide-spread opposition in the early days. Sindhi was also written in Landa script during the 19th century. Sindhi first appeared in writing some 13 centuries ago, in 8 CE. The poetry and literature, however, became prominent only in the 15th century.
Sindhi has an official status in Sindh province and is taught as a first language in the province. Its dynamic vocabulary made it a heaven for the writers, poets and linguists, since ages. Sufi saints have sung and written the poetry in Sindhi since long, making Sindhi parallel to Punjabi in its mystical writings and literature. Shah Abdul Latif Bhatai and Sachal Sarmast are particularly popular in Sindh for their theosophical poetry, since their mysticism has helped spread Islam and enrich devotees for many centuries. Muslim holy book, the Quran was translated very early on in 12th century in the Sindhi language, making it one of the first translations of the holy book. This, coupled with Islamic mysticism in Sindhi, helped spread the religion very early on in that region.
BALUCHI:Baluchi, an Indo-Iranian language of Indo-European family, is spoken by 8 million people and in Pakistan is spoken by 4% of the population. It is the official language of Baluchistan, and is widely spoken in Sistan-va-Baluchistan of Iran and Southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken in some parts of Turkmenistan, and also in very small minorities in East Africa and Oman. Many Brahui speakers of Baluchistan also speak Baluchi as their second language. Southern Punjabi areas and North-North-Western Sindhi areas bordering Baluchistan also have many Baluchi speakers. Three major dialects of Baluchi are categorized; Eastern Baluchi, Western Baluchi and Southern Baluchi. The Iranians recognize six dialects of Baluchi namely, Rakhshani [subdialects: Kalati, Panjguri and Sarhaddi], Saravani, Lashari, Kechi, Coastal Dialects, and Eastern Hill Baluchi. The language is closely related to Persian and Kurdish languages of Iranian family language. Because of its similarity to Persian in particular, many linguists insisted on classifying it as a dialect of Persian, which after the creation of Pakistan was rejected by the Baluch people.
Baluchi was been an oral language for the most of its history. It is only in the 19th century that efforts were made to create a script for Baluchi for writing and preserving its traditional poetry, oral literature, vocabulary and other aspects of its speech. In Baluch courts of pre-Independence Sub-Continent, the British used the Roman script for the Baluchi, as they used for many other regional languages. Baluch scholars, after Pakistan’s independence, adopted Nastaliq-Arabic script, similar to Urdu. Beyond the Afghan border, Baluchi is written in a modified Persio-Arabic script based on similarity with Pashto. In 1989, the Government of Pakistan under Benazir Bhutto gave permission for the use of local languages of Baluchi, Pashto, and Brahui, to be used in primary education in Baluchistan. In a similar move, Baluchi Studies section at the Baluchistan University and a Baluchi Academy in Quetta has been established. In a sharp contrast to provincial government’s efforts in Pakistan, the Baluchi language and culture is being swiftly replaced by the official Persian in the Sistan-va-Baluchistan province of Iran.
URDU:Urdu [formally Zabaan-e-Urdu-e-Mualla], an Indo Aryan language of Indo-European family, is the twentieth largest language of the world [104 million]. The language was developed for and used in the Muslim courts of Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire [1200-1800]. It was formed by the combination of the highest quality vocabulary of Persian, Turkish, Arabic and Sanskrit. Linguistic analysis of the word “Urdu” tells us that it’s a Turkish word that means “tent”, “army” or “horde”. Urdu, thus, is poetically called “Zaban-e-Lashkari”, or the language of the army. It was the commonality of Urdu with all major languages of the area, that the army addressed its pupils in this tongue during the ancient wars of the region. The language of the Pakistan Movement, Urdu is today the official language [the lingua franca] of the government and people of Pakistan, after its independence from the British Empire. The language is also the first language of the Muhajir [Original Immigrants that left India for Pakistan after Independence] community, as a sign and living testimony of their loyalty and unity with the Muslim brothers of their new homeland and of the entire Sub-Continent. The language is written almost entirely in Persian script today, while there has been a tradition of writing it in Devangari script of Hindi.
Urdu is an international language. Besides being the second language of all four provinces of Pakistan, it is widely spoken in Azad Kashmir, Northern Areas, Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad (Deccan), Andhra Pradesh and many other states of India. The language is also spoken world-wide by the Muslim immigrants of Northern Sub-Continent: Guyana and Suriname in South America; Canada and American Metros in North America; Australian, Fiji and New Zealand’s Indo-immigrants in Oceania, South Africa, Libya and others in Africa; Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE in Middle East; Japan, Korea, Malaysia, China [Hong Kong], Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal in Asia; British, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Austrian, Scandinavian and other European towns and Cities of the West. Urdu is also one of the 24 national languages of India, and is understood in Bangladesh [former East Pakistan] and Sri Lanka. All major Indian cities are also the flourishing centers of the Urdu language, including metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Mysore and Madras. In fact, must of the literary development in Urdu has taken place in Utter Pradesh [especially Lucknow area] and Delhi.
Linguistically, Urdu is very similar to Hindi – the official language of India – and the speakers of both the languages can easily understand each other. The difference between the two are that while Urdu is written in Nastaliq script and is heavily influenced by Arabic, Persian and Turkish, the Hindi language as replaced some of its those “Urdu” words with Sanskrit words and is written in Devangari. Certain linguists have tried to put Urdu and Hindi as the same language using different dialects, most serious linguists and historians of Urdu have rejected such claims, based on the history, usage, influence and roots of the language. Urdu also has similarity with Punjabi language and its dialects, and the Punjabi speakers of Pakistan and India can easily pick the Urdu speech.
Four recognizable dialects of Urdu are Dakhini, Pinjari, Rekhta and the Modern Vernacular Urdu [based on Khariboli dialect of Delhi]. Vernacular Urdu is widespread across Delhi, Lucknow, Karachi and Lahore; as it loses some of the Persian and Arabic vocabulary, it becomes increasingly divergent. Dakhini [or Deccani], as the name indicates, is spoken in Maharashtar province in India, around Hyderabad Deccan; Compared to the standard, it has fewer Persian and Arabic words. Rekhta is the language of Urdu poetry and is a separate dialect; it was widely used in Urdu literary history.
Urdu is taught as a primary and compulsory language at all levels of education throughout Pakistan, and in most major universities of North India. This has produced millions of Urdu speakers, whose mother tongue is their native language, enriching and expanding the Urdu language beyond the ethno-religio-racial boundaries. This in its self has become the binding force for the four provinces of Pakistan, as the natives from all parts are integrating with the national social fabric in the urban melting-pots of the country. This exercise is also expanding the already rich and fertile vocabulary of the Urdu language, with words from Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, Kashmiri, Brahui, English and Hindi. Moreover, this has also enabled nearly 3-5 million Afghan refugees of different ethnic origins [such as Pathan, Tajik, Uzbek, Hazarvi and Turkmen] to become fluent in the Urdu language, blending with the mainstream urban Pakistan. Madrassas and Universities in Indian Muslim-majority areas are also creating a rich tradition of Urdu speaking and writing. Hundreds of Urdu language newspapers, magazines and television channels are operating in different parts of Pakistan, India and the urban centers of the rest of the world.
Like most Semitic languages, Urdu is written from right to left, making it look very similar to Arabic. Indeed, many Urdu speakers can read Arabic written almost to its entirety; but since Urdu uses more complex Nastaliq script than Arabic, vice-versa is not that easy. Since the script is notoriously difficult to typeset, many publishers used hand-written masters until recently. More sophisticated software for writing Urdu more accurately and with style is under development. Writing Urdu in Devangari script is relatively easier for publishing, and is done in India. However, writing Urdu in Roman letters fails to convey a meaningful text often, as the Roman letters do not produce the similar and complex sounds and expressions of Urdu language. The use of Roman Urdu, however, has gained popularity recently, thanks to the electronic text-messaging and the complexity of the use of Urdu keyboards.
Urdu literature is unusually huge in quantity and high in quality for a language of its age. After Arabic and Persian, Urdu religious material is the largest archive of Islamic books/texts that exist today. Urdu Daastan, Afsaana, Safarnama, Mazmoon, Sarguzisht, Inshaeya, Murasela and Khud Navvisat, all are relatively well-developed and qualitatively competitive. Urdu poetry is similarly high in quality, quantity and diversity, including such types as Ghazal [and Diwan], Nazam [Masnavi, Marsia, Qasida, Diwan], Doha, Geet, Hamd, Kalam, Kulyat, Marsia, Masnavi, Musaddas, Naat, Noha, Qaseeda, Qataa, Rubaiyyat, Sehra, Shehr Aashob and Soz. Since Urdu has historically been the language of courts, upper-class circles, poets and eloquent speakers, it has produced very large amount of poets that became famous in their age, and later. Some of the most famous poets of Urdu [chronologically] are: Quli Shah, Wali Deccani, Mirza Mazhar, Mirza Sauda, Siraj Aurangabadi, Mir Dard, Mir Taqi Mir, Ghulam Mushafi, Nazir Akbarabadi, Inshallah Khan Insha, Khwaja Atish, Iman Nasikh, Mirza Ghalib, Mumin Khan Mumin, Mir Anis, Mirza Dabir, Nawab Dagh, Hussain Azad, Altaf Hussain Hali, Akbar Allahabadi, Hasrat Mohani, Allama Iqbal, Pandit Chakbast, Josh Maliabadi, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Makhdum Muhiuddin, Nun Rashid, Majaz Lucknawi, Alik Jafri, Jan Akhtar, Ihsan Danish, Yazdani Jallandhari, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Zamir Jafri, Qatil Shifai, Nasir Kazmi, Ibn-e-Insha, Jon Elia, Ahmad Faraz. List of famous contributors to Urdu literature and writing is large as well. Some of the earlier important names [chronologically] include: Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Hussain Azad, Farhatullah Baig, Nazir Ahmad, Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Altaf Hussain Hali, Chiragh Ali, Shibli Nomani and Abdul Halim Sharar.
ENGLISH:
English is not the native language of Pakistan, but is spoken widely in the academic and beaurocratic institutions, as well as the Armed forces. It is also spoken in the upper-class families of Pakistan, where it has become more of a status symbol than a conveniently expressive language.
PERISAN:
Persian is also a literary language in Pakistan, and as such is spoken very rarely as the first language in Pakistan. It has a central position in the academic institutions of Pakistan, as it provides the sophistication and vibrancy that the Urdu language has. It is one of the root languages of Urdu.OTHER LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS:
Besides the major languages, several smaller languages and dialects spoken in Pakistan are considered significant, because of the number of speakers and their literary importance. Seraiki [11%], Hindko [2.5%], Brahui [1%] and Gujarati [0.1%] have significant speakers in Punjab, NWFP, Baluchistan and Sindh respectively. Kashmiri is the language of Azad Kashmir and the Kashmiri immigrants from Indian occupied Kashmir. Arabic is a literary language of great social and religious importance in all classes of the Pakistani society.
Seraiki:
Seraiki is the first language of 16 million Pakistanis living mostly in lower Punjab and upper Sindh. Also known as Multani and Southern Punjabi, it is an Indo-European language of Indo-Aryan subfamily. The linguistic analysis of the word “Seraiki” reveals that it is a Sindhi word that means “North” or “Northern”. This is because Seraiki is spoken in north of Sindh and in southern Punjab, and has resemblance to both Punjabi and Sindhi. In fact, there is a much debate over whether the Seraiki is a separate language or a dialect of Punjabi. An alternate view suggests that Seraiki is based on [or at least influenced by] Mudari language of Munda family. Its vocabulary has numerous words from Dravidian and Munda languages. The language is also spoken in the Kachhi plain of Baluchistan, where it is known as Derawali in Derajat area. Most Seraiki speakers are based mainly in the former princely state of Bahawalpur. There are significant numbers of Seraiki speakers in lower NWFP around the D. I. Khan area as well.
Seraiki has a rich tradition of oral literature, but not much of a written literature. However poetry of the celebrated poets like Khawaja Farid [1845 – 1901] and prose of novelists like Ismail Ahmedani are widely available and popular. Kafi, a form of singing poetry, sung by Farid is a part of the legacy of Sufi Saints in the history of northern Sub-Continent. Seraiki is called the “sweet language” and the “language of love” by its speakers. It is documented that Seraiki speakers are spread into neighboring Indian state of Rajisthan as well. Before the creation of Pakistan, the language was written in Devnagri script and converting to Persian script resulted in the loss of a substantial part of its written literature.
An active campaign for establishment of Seraiki language grew in the 1960s, gaining momentum, potency and ethnic radicalism in 70s. This movement for official promotion of Seraiki was strongly dealt with in fear of a political uprising by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980s. Since then Seraiki has gained many supporters and is now recognized as a separate language in the census of Pakistan, decreasing the share of Punjabi from 54% to 44%. Today Seraiki has a thriving cultural and literary tradition sprawling into major cities and towns of Central Pakistan, from the banks of Indus in Punjab to the deserts of Thar in Sindh.Hindko:
An ancient Indo-Aryan language of Gandhara Valley Civilization, Hindko is an orally rich and culturally thriving language widely spoken in Hazara Division, Northern Punjab, Northern NWFP, Peshawar valley and Azad Kashmir. An estimated 4-7 million people [2.5-4.4%] of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir speak Hindko and are thus known by “Hindkowaans”, “Hindkowaals” or “Hazarawaals”. Lexical similarity between Northern Hindko [in Hazara and NWFP] and Southern Hindko [in Potohar and Peshawar valley] is estimated to be between 70-82%. Linguistic analysis of the word “Hindko” reveals that the word is a combination of two words: “Hind” and “Koh.” Hind is the Persian for the land of the River “Hindh”, which itself is derived from “Sindh”. “Koh” literally means mountain. This tells us that the word Hindko can literally be translated into “Indian Mountain”, “Mountain of Hind” or more descriptively “The Mountains of Indus Country.” It is a land of mountains where the mighty Indus flows.
Hindko is closely related to Prakrit and Lahnda group of Indo-Aryan languages, but is heavily influenced by both Punjabi and Pashto. In Potohar region, it is understood as Potohari [with slightly more influence of Punjabi], while in Azad Kashmir, it is understood as Mirpuri [with more influence of Kashmiri]. Hindko is the most significant linguistic minority in the NWFP, representing one-fifth of the population of the province. The influence of modern Hindko language began with the Punjabi brought to the Pathan lands by Sikh occupation of NWFP in 1830s. However, the ancient Hindko traces its roots in a 5000-year old Harappa and Gandhara Civilizations. Buddhist remains in Hazara Division testify the theory of existence of Hindko in pre-modern times. The linguists have, therefore, rejected the notion of Hindko being a dialect of Punjabi and have long considered Hindko to be a very different language, based on a 5000-years old epitaph extracted from a well in Taxila.
Hindko is written in a Persio-Arabic script similar to that of Urdu. The first Hindko dictionary compiled by prominent poet Sultan Sakoon was published in 2003 by Gandhara Hindko Board. Hindko poetry is rich and its Sufi poets like Sain Ahmad Ali Peshawari and Sain Ghulam Din Hazarvi are celebrated for their Islamic mysticism. Modern Hindko poets and intellectuals are promoted by the Board, and are popular among the modern Hindko speakers.Brahui:
Brahui [also known as Brahuidi, Birahui, Brahuigi or Kur Galli], a Dravidian language of Western Pakistan, is a major language in Baluchistan [and to lesser extent in Sindh] with over 1.6 million [1%] speakers. The linguistic analysis of the word “Brahui” has proven to be difficult, as much uncertainty and mystery surrounds the word. Most linguists would agree, however, that the root word is “Ba Rohi”, meaning “of hills”. Others have pointed out to the possibility of it evolving from “Brahin” or “Ibrahim”, a biblical prophet whose stories may have been introduced to the aborigines by the Arab traders, conquerors and missionaries.
The language has borrowed heavily from Baluchi, Persian and Sindhi, and today has more Baluchi words than Dravidian in its lexicon. However, Brahui remains to be the most Dravidian language completely surrounded by Indo-Iranian languages. Two major dialects are popular in Baluchistan today: Sarawan of the upper Brahui Range [Kalat and above], and Jharawan of lower Brahui Range [Kalat and below]. Kalati Brahui is midway between the two dialects and is considered as the modern standard for the language. The influence of Brahui spreads across the borders into Afghanistan and Iran.
Twenty nine nomadic shepherd tribes of Baluchistan speak Brahui as their mother-tongue, united by culture and history. Tribal culture, influence and laws reflect heavily on the modern Brahui language, as the extremes of desert environment around them teach rough and tough lifestyle. Brahui literature is relatively primitive, as less than 5% of population is educated. Brahui remains an unwritten language, but in recent times there has been an effort to write it in the Persio-Arabic script of Urdu. It is estimated that around a quarter of Quetta’s one million people are Brahui speakers. A Brahui speaking community also exists in metropolitan Karachi.
Brahui language came to prominence in Baluchistan in 17th century, when the tribes overthrew the dynasty of Hindu rajas. Under Nasir Khan, the Brahui achieved much of its zenith in the 18th century, before joining Pakistan under the state of Kalat. The Khan of Kalat and his tribe are Brahui speaking, and trace their lineage to the Kumbarini tribe of Brahuis. Mengals, Bizanjos and Zehris are the three largest and most powerful Brahui speaking tribes that date back their ancestry to Scythian era.Kashmiri:
Kashmiri [also known as Keshur] is a Dardic language of Indo-Aryan family, spoken mainly in Indian Held Kashmir, Azad Kashmir and amongst the Kashmiri settlers in urban centers of Pakistan. Mainly an oral tradition, Kashmiri has been written in Sharada and Persio-Arabic scripts. Several dialects of the language are spoken today, including Kishtwari [standard], Bakawali, Bunjwali, Miraski, Poguli, Rambani, Riasi, Shah-Mansuri, Siraji, Zayoli and Zirak-Boli. It is agreed that the word Kashmiri [coming from Kashmir] is derived from two Sanskrit words: Kashyapa [a Hindu sage] and Mira [mountain range]. The name of the language would thus mean “The language of the range of Kashyapa”.
Exact history of Kashmiri is not clear, just like most languages. Some linguists have given the evidence of Kashmiri having descended from Vedic speech. Most linguists, however, consider it a Sanskritic language of Dardic origin. Whatever the origins of the language, it does have a rich archive of poetry, both mystical and otherwise. Even though Kashmiri remains to be a primarily oral language, some great literary tradition has been preserved from times of 14th century mystic poetess Lalleshvari. Since then, numerous sufi and folk poets have used Kashmiri language in the songs called Gewun and Wonwun.
In Pakistan, Kashmiri is popular amongst the communities living close to the borders of Azad Kashmir and in Northern Areas of Pakistan. Today, it is exceedingly spoken amongst the immigrant communities that fled backwardness and Indian occupation and have settled into major Pakistani cities.Gujarati:
Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language of Indo-European family of languages, is spoken by more than 100,000 Pakistanis in South Western Sindh next to the Indian state of Gujarat and in other parts of the country as well. It was the mother-tongue of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the “Father of Pakistan”, Mohandas Gandhi, the “father of India” and Sardar Patel, the “Iron man of India”. It, therefore, has a major role in the lives of the soldiers of the Independence Movement of India and Pakistan. The language is one of the bigger languages with its own script, called Gujarati Script.
Gujarati, like all languages, relied historically on poetry and literature for its brilliant success in establishing itself as a major language of the world. Its history can be traced back to 12th century AD and is as such not an ancient language. There are numerous dialects of Gujarati that have been created over time with its intermingling with Persian, Arabic, Hindi, English, Portuguese and regional Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Its vocabulary and formal structure has borrowed very heavily from Persian, because of Islamic influence during the rule of Muslim Sultans. Because of centuries-old trade with British and Portuguese, their languages have added to the richness of the Gujarati language. Gujarati has been used extensively in Hindu mysticism and spiritual tradition.Arabic:
Very few people in Pakistan speak Arabic as their mother-tongue, but the language not only has an immense impact on all the languages of Pakistan but also has a huge religious and spiritual appeal for the people of Pakistan. Arabic is a Middle Eastern language but is extensively spoken throughout the Islamic world. Most of the languages of Pakistan have based their scripts on the Arabic [along with Persian] script. It also has enriched almost every major and most minor languages of Pakistan with its vocabulary. It is estimated that Arabic and Persian have contributed to around 50-60% of the vocabulary of the Urdu language.
In Pakistani educational system, Arabic has a special status of an optional subject, besides Persian. In several schools, it is taught very early on, along with the Islamic studies. At university level, it is optionally taught in great detail with mastery over its root structure. Most educated Pakistanis can, at least, read Arabic because of its scriptural similarity with Urdu.MINOR LANGUAGES:
Besides the smaller languages and dialects, there are several minor languages that are spoken in very remote areas of Pakistan, with relatively very small number of speakers. These languages, nevertheless, are part of the cultural heritage of Pakistan and need to be documented and preserved. Most of these languages have remained in isolation and thus the effects of urbanization [in specific] and globalization [in general] have not reached them yet.Aer
Badeshi
Bagri
Balti
Bateri
Bhaya
Brahui
Burushaski
Chilisso
Dameli
Dehwari
Dhatk
Domaaki
Gawar-Bati
Gawri
Ghera
Goaria
Gowro
Gujari
Gurgula
Hazaragi
Jadgali
Jandavra
Kabutra
Kachchi
Kalami
Kalasha
Kalkoti
Kam-Kataviri
Kamviri
Kati
Khetrani
Khowar
Kohistani
Koli, Kachi
Koli, Parkari
Koli, Wadiyara
Kundal Shahi
Lasi
Loarki
Marwari
Marwari
Memoni
Od
Ormuri
Pahari-Potwari
Phalura
Sansi
Savi
Shina
Shina, Kohistani
Torwali
Ushojo
Vaghri
Wakhi
Waneci
YidghaDEAD LANGUAGES OF PAKISTAN:
Pakistan is not only home to some of the most ancient languages of the world but also a breeding ground to a horde of languages brought by invaders from all sides. Linguistically, therefore, Pakistan is influenced by two directions: India – because of the roots of its Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages; and Middle East – because of the scripts and vocabulary of Arabic and Persian. The original Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages of Indus Valley Civilization are dead now, but have left profound influence on all major languages of Pakistan. Some of those non-existent languages of that glorious past are mentioned here.Dravidian
Dardic
Indic
Sanskrit
Vrachda
Cuisine
At its simplest, Pakistani cooking today consists of staple foods which are cheap and abundant. Wheat and other flour products are the mainstay of the diet, one familiar form being Chapatti, unleavened bread akin to a Mexican tortilla. This is made with dough prepared from whole wheat flour. Another basic food item is Lassi, milk from which curds and butterfat have been removed. Vegetables, usually seasonal, lentils are commonly used. From the earliest times, the imaginative and sometimes heavy use of spices, herbs, seeds, flavorings and seasonings have helped cooks transform rather ordinary staple foods into an exotic cuisine. Consider some of the most common of these in wide use in Pakistan today: chili powder, turmeric, garlic, paprika, black pepper, red pepper, cumin seed, bay leaf, coriander, cardamom, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, poppy seeds, aniseed, almonds, pistachios, and yogurt. Their use in a wide range of pickles, chutneys, preserves, and sauces, together with curries of all descriptions and special treatment for meats, sea, food, vegetables and lentils, gives Pakistani cooking much of its distinctive character. Cultural influences, whether religious precepts, practices, and ceremonies or local traditions, or even esthetic preferences, have made their contribution towards the evolution of Pakistan Cuisine.
Cookery in Pakistan has always had a regional character, with each of the four provinces offering special dishes. In the Punjab, for example, The Moghlai' cuisine using tandoor ovens and elaborate preparations is important. In Baluchistan, cooks use the SAJJI method of barbecuing whole lambs and stick bread in a deep pit. Bunda Pala (fish) is a well known delicacy of Sindh. The fish is cleaned and stuffed with a paste made from a variety of spices and herbs, including red pepper, garlic, ginger, and dried pomegranate seeds. It is then wrapped in cloth and is buried three feet deep in hot sand under the sun. There it stays baking for four to five hours from late morning to early afternoon. Thandal, made from milk and a paste of fresh almonds, is a popular drink. Cooking in the Northwest Frontier Province is a great deal plainer and involves the heavy use of lamb.
Ceremonial occasions such as weddings have inspired a number of fancy dishes. A traditional dish at marriage feasts, for example, is chicken curry with either Pilau or Biryani. Firini, made from cream of rice and milk, is an equally traditional wedding dessert. It is served in clay saucers topped by silver foil.
Tourism
What is a tourist destination? This is. The Northern Areas are one of the main tourism destinations in Pakistan both for foreign and domestic tourists. The natural beauty, some of the highest mountains in the world, the largest glaciers outside the polar region, the rich cultural heritage and the remnants of history with archaeological sites are the proud assets of the area. Thus tourism is one of the major sectors of the economy in the Northern Areas providing employment and income to a large segment of the population. The Northern Areas are considered mountaineer's and tracker’s paradise, due to its unique geography. Lets have a deep look on Northern Areas of Pakistan.
DISCUSSION
MAIN COMPONENTS OF TOURISM INDUSTRY
Northern Areas of Pakistan are spread over 72,496 square kilometres and are as fascinating as its Southern Regions. Amidst towering snow-clad peaks with heights varying from 1000 meters to 8000 meters. The cultural patterns of these regions are as interesting as its geography. The people with local costumes, folk dances, music and sports like polo and buzkashi, provide the tourists an unforgettable experience. Nowhere in the world is such a great concentration of high mountains, peaks, glaciers and passes except Pakistan. Four of the world’s greatest mountain regions, The Karakoram, Himalayas, HinduKush and Pamir Mountains meet in this area (See Appendices Figure 1). Embracing many of the planet's highest peaks, the Pamir Knot of Pakistan is the incredible confluence of these four giant ranges. Out of Fourteen peaks higher than 8000 meters 5 are in the Karakoram region, including the world’s second highest peak Karakoram-2 & the most dangerous mountain in the world, Nanga Parbat (8125 m.). Apart from those 29 peaks over 7,500 meters, 101 peaks over 7,000 meters and hundreds other over 6,000 meters are located in this region (See Appendices Table 1). The Northern Pakistan has some of the longest glaciers (See Appendices Table 2) outside polar region. This, is a great challenge for the mountaineers and mountain climbers the world over.
HISTORY
The Northern Areas of Pakistan has a long and turbulent history. Despite being almost cut off from the rest of the world due to its geography, the people of the area never remained isolated and were influenced by the events taking around the world. This area has been known as ‘Dardistan’ and ‘Boloristan’ in the historical words. The people of the area are descendents of the earliest Indo Aryan tribes, who migrated from Trans-Pamir region between 2000 and 1500 BC, and settled in the northern mountain valleys the present day Chitral and Northern Areas (See Appendices Figure 2).
CULTURE
The population of Northern Areas is as varied as its natural environment and reflects a rich legacy of cultural change, migrations and conquests over the thousands years. In Baltistan the main ethnic group the Baltis belongs to Central Asian-Asiatic stock, closely related to Tibetans and Ladakhis. Elsewhere in the Indus valley the inhabitants are of Indo-European Aryan descent. In Hunza the biggest ethnic group is Burusho of central Hunza. In Gilgit and Chilas, Shinas are the main ethnicgroup, while to the south Kohistanis and Gujjars also live in significant numbers. Other major ethnic groups in Northern Areas include: Wakhis, Dommas, and Kashmir’s.
PLACES WORTH OF VISITING
Click to enlarge images
GILGIT
Surrounded by mountains Gilgit is an old Buddhist centre, which offers beautiful scenery, traditional music, trout fishing, polo matches and a lot of exciting surprises. Some exciting places to see in Gilgit are the Chinar Bagh that comprises of 300-year-old trees along the banks of the Gilgit River. Kargha, a small village famous for fish hatchery and the Buddhist rock carving in the side of a mountain.
Gilgit city is a major hub on the Northern Areas for all mountaineering expeditions of Karakoram to Himalaya peaks. The region is significantly mountainous, lying on the foothills of the Karakoram mountains, and has an average altitude of 1,500 m (5,000 ft). It is drained by the Indus River, which rises in the neighboring regions of Ladakh and Baltistan.
HUNZA VALLEY
A special area in northern Pakistan, the Hunza Valley offers spectacular scenery and the Batura Glacier. The people of the valley are famous for their long lives, which they claim is due to their isolation from modern civilization. The capital of Hunza is Karimabad, which has an intriguing bazaar, fruit orchards and excellent views of the surrounding valley and mountains. Hunza Valley connects the Khunjerab Pass on the Chinese border.
The Hunza valley is situated at