I had the opportunity to borrow a thin Young Adult's book about Pakistan.
Most of the facts in there, i have already heard from Zubair previously. But it kinda got legitimated by this book (written by a non-native! LOL) but additionaly, it details the background of how things came about.
The Aryans were the early settlers of this region of which most Pakistanis are descendants of. They were tall and fair. and thought they were superior to the dark-coloured natives of the Dravidians and invented the caste system putting the latter at the lowest called Untouchables and themselves at the top as Brahmins. They were also the one who developed Sanskrit, from which a lot of languages are derived from including, Urdu, Bengali and even Malay! Why the name Singapore originally Singa (malay for Lion) + "pur" (City in Sanskrit).
It's funny how when we were learning history in Seconday school, i had never associated the Aryans and the Indus Valley as modern day India and Pakistan! It's mind blowing when i discovered it recently.
If you had watched the movie Little Buddha starring Keanu Reeves, you would know that Gautama Buddha was an Indian Prince who fled to find divination and fasted for days and weeks until he was bony skinny. One thing that always confused me was whether Buddhism is an Indian or Chinese religion. Ayah ever attempted to enlighten me on this topic but i never got it.
Only after i read this book, did i know that although Buddha was indeed Indian and preached there, the great Emperor Asoka helped to spread it to China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka where it remained to be the dominant religion in some of these countries, i believe.
Most of us would know that Pakistan was part of India once upon a time. But what Zubair didn't tell me was Pakistan and India share the same date of independence! Well almost. They were declared independent by the British officially at the stroke of midnight on 14th Aug 1947. While India celebrates on 15th, Pakistan does do on 14th. This part i have yet to ask why :)
Roughly, this is what happened. During the Mogul dynasty ruled by Muslim leaders, that Islam flourished and being embraced rather widely all across the board though some may be for reasons other than true revelation. However, there were times and places when a Muslim Sultan reigned and at others an Indian Maharaja governed.
This, in a way, caused confusions and tensions. Esp in tolerating and respecting each other's beliefs. Islam and Hinduism are very contrasting religion. For eg: Cows are sacred to Hindus and therefore they cannot kill nor eat beef. On the other hand, we celebrate our Eidul Adha by SLAUGHTERING and feasting on them. Another eg and i quote from the book, "Sometimes these riots occurred because HIndus staged noisy processions near mosques".
These brought the likes of Dr Mohammed Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah aka Quaid-i-Azam to come to the conclusion that it is just too impossible to even try uniting faithfuls of these two religions together and so they worked on dividing the peace of land into two: India and Pakistan.
Sections where the dominant residence are Muslim became part of Pakistan and vice versa. This, in turn, led to the disputed territory of Kashmir. While it is dominantly Muslim, the ruler was an Indian Maharaja. For fear that the King would get military assistance from India to oust the Muslims in order to maintain his reign, the people rioted and caused exactly what they feared to happen, happened.
Now, i've heard of all those names before but could never relate who they are and what they've done for the country. For eg: i didnt know Muhd Ali Jinnah and Quaid-e-Azam is the same person! *slap forehead* Masya Allah, this book has helped me to understand a lot.
I remember laughing when Zubair said that during his grandfather's time, there were a lot of abandoned houses with treasures inside or buried underground! He simply said bcos during that time was partition was in the making and the Hindus migrated over to India and the Muslims to Pakistan.
What he missed out though was that, there were war like scenes going around, riots everywhere. the people of those times literally fled for their lives! So that's why they had no time to sell their lands nor pack their valuables with them. Poor them. But i'm sure the Muslims in India suffered the same fate as well.
I used to think that Karachi is Pakistan's capital because that's the city i frequently heard or read about being the heart of the business centre and near the sea. Well.. i wasnt totally wrong. Karachi was indeed the city of choice to be capital right after independence. However, the govt found it to be too overcrowded with refugees, businessmen and the lot that they decided to move it temporarily to Rawalpindi and i quote, "partly so that the govt could not be said to be influenced by business interests".
in 1967, after 6 years of construction, Islamabad was born and is till now the capital of Pakistan.
Zubair ever mentioned in passing that Bangladesh used to be a part of Pakistan too. Well.. it was the first time i heard about it and i just took his word for it. But i finally got to know the details from this book.
Bangladesh used to be known as East Pakistan. They are separated by 1,600km of land that is India. They speak a slightly different language called Bengali. They only thing that kept them together was Islam. After Pakistan became independent, East Pakistan had lots to complain about. For eg: Why should the capital be in West Pakistan when East Pakistan outnumbered their counterpart in population? So on and so forth. Until at last, Pakistan recognised them as a separate nation of Bangladesh (dont know on which date).
- Pakistan has a lot of desserts. I mean deserts. haha! They have sandy, rocky earth and not much greenery.
- Bcos Lahore is a more inland plain, it is about 20 celsius in the day but can drop as low -1 degrees at night. I suppose that is why it will be diff to snow on the plain w the day going up to 20. But there sure are a lot of snows on the mountains!
- I knew Pak means pure. but i just found out that "istan" means land in Sanskrit
This has been from the book of Major World Nations. Written by John C Caldwell. Published by Chelsea House Publishers.
Before i got married, i surfed scores of websites to get more info about Pakistan. Somehow, it felt either too limited, or shallow, or too boring to read. I resorted to Lahore Metblogs to know how the modern pple live in the now. But i still felt like i dont really know Pakistan yet. Not to mention having NOT seen it yet. I was hungry for pictures!!
This book has quenched my thirst to know my husband's country of origin. (Well, actually i have always liked Pakistani / Indian guys. So im not exactly just interested in it bcos my husband happens to be a Pakistani. LOL)
It has even conjured some national maybe patriotic spirits for this country. I want to contribute something. I fantasized working at the Singapore embassy there. Setting up one management model not just to be envied of, but to be adopted as well by other organisations.
Still, not wanting to be in politics, i want to help to reduce poverty, increase employment rate, abolish bribery or favouritism and the incumbent terrorism, increase efficiency and order. Plant more trees and grasses, develop the farms, promote tourism. OMG... a long list of aspirational things i would like to do there.
Just two things are hindering me from doing just so. My monthly financial commitments payable in SGD and the Ex. Go figure.
Note to Pakistani readers: Do feel free to correct me if im wrong or to add any other info
15 glasses of Juice:
JUS
Some corrections:
1. Singa is not a Malay word. Singh or Singha - lion -is originally a Sanskrit word, which has been adopted by Malay like many other words. The first kingdom of Singapura was formed in North-Western India after Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism. However, with the gradual resurgence of Hindusim, the kingdom and the followers of Buddhism, or at least the name was pushed back to the south. At one stage predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka was also named, before the name eventually reached the Malacca strait.
2. Bengali is not slightly but much different to the languages spoken in (West) Pakistan.
3. Pakistan did not just recognized East Pakistan as an independent state, they seceded after a biter war.
I am afraid that the story of Pakistan is very patchy.
Hi JayJay!
Wow you read and comment fast!
You mean there was a Singapura in India back then. AMAZING! and i wonder does the Sankrit lang still spoken?
I gotta know a man who has a mixed Pakistani and Bangladeshi parentage and lived in Spore. He speaks a bit of Bengali but says he's often confused the words for Urdu cos he said they are quite similar? Oh well.. he's prolly VERY confused. LOL!
Oh Gosh, another war? That's sad. No it wasnt detailed in that book much. Prolly in the Bangladesh version of the book.
Thanks for your input!
PS: Yeah, tt's y me & my bro concluded tt burning tyres are prolly some usual scenes you guys hafta endure and that we shldnt be overly alarmed, our loved ones there would know how to stay safe.
I hope and pray Pakistan will one day be peaceful. It is certainly NOT impossible. Like |eemz said, Time.
Hi, I've been reading yr blog for a few weeks now and I'm attracted to revisit yr blog again n again cos I find a certain affinity with u cos I'm part Pakistani. My late paternal grandfather was from Pakistan but as we were never close, I've never found out where he was from, etc. It's certainly interesting to read up about the country and its peoples' origins. Thanks for sharing!
oh, and btw, although my IC states Pakistani cos my father is Pakistani and my mother is Arab, I rasa almost 100% Melayu :) The joy of a mixed marriage in a melting pot called Singapore!
And If i remember correctly Kahwa in Arabic means coffee? But i cant quite put you as a guy or girl.
(after a few min) Ahhh... found your blog!
Thanks for frequenting my site! How did u come to stumble upon it? Thanks also for appreciating this post. It was a joy writing it too!!
Im sorry to hear abt ur grandfather, but im sure u can ask ur father about ur family history? And from d photo of ur dad tt one, he doesnt really look like Pakistani~ Or maybe cos he was looking down.
Jus
It will be interesting to read your impressions after your visit to Pakistan.
Do note the similarities, which are many, between Malay and Urdu/Hindi. Both languages have liberally borrowed from Arabic and Sanskrit, not to mention English, although there will subtle differences when it comes to pronounciations and usage of the common vacabulary.
I am pretty sure you will enjoy your stay in Lahore, with its rich architectural and cultural heritrage, if you are ready to ignore general pollution and the rowdiness of daily life there.
Keep reading and writing.
Hi again Jay Jay,
i will be there pretty pretty soon! INsya'Allah! Actually, i would love to meet you guys but im not sure my husband would agree to it.
Cant wait to see the what (Shalimar or something) garden, Lahore Fort & Badshahi mosque and the markets that PS always post on Lahore Metblog!
JayJay, are u the one who greeted me in Bahasa INdonesia over there in LMB? Bcos u seemed to know a lot abt Malay!
Some of the commons words i know are like Roti (some kind of bread), Chadar (bedsheet!), minar (minaret), Majlis etc... the last two being Arabic too!
Well i suppose pollution and rowdiness are parts of what makes Lahore just what it is. But i WOULD like to experience the mountain and the rural village / farm. But How do u think the toilet condition is over there? If its hmmm decent, then i might sleep over, if not just a day trip! Sorry but you know for girls.. its very diff.
Anyways, do you know how come Pakistan and India celebrate Independence Day on diff days?
Hi Jus
Yes, I know a little bit Malay -- currently I am trying to learn Bahasa Indonesia. I only started it in mid-November 2007.
The infleunce of Sanskrit and Arabic on the Malay languages came via India. Of couse, the first wave of influence from India came in the form of Sanskrit with Hindusim and Budhism between 800 to 1300 AD -- thus the anceint script of the Malay language was Devnagri (Sanskrit). Influence of Arabic followed (and a smattering of Persian - Pehlawan (hero) and Chador, for instance, are from Persian -- when Rajas along the Malcca Strait started conversting to Islam under the influence of Muslims preachers from India. It meant the adoptation of Persian/Arabic script to write Malay. We still use it to write Urdu. This script is called Jawi and is still used in Brunei, southren Thailand and parts of Malaysia.
That period was followed by the interaction with the Portugese traders, who also enriched Malay (Jendela, Lemari, Sabun, etc) and lastly it was the colonial rule (the British in Malaya and the Dutch in Sumatra and Java, that further cross pollinated the language and influenced to change the writing script to Roman.
If you are able to read Malay in Jawi script (which is not much different the Arabic of the Quran), you will discover heaps of similarities between Malay and Urdu. Happy to discuss this topic further if you are interested.
Now let us come to the different dates of Independence for Pakistan and India. The last Governor General of the British India, Lord Mountbatten, could not be both at Karachi – the first capital of Pakistan – and New Delhi simultaneously to honour the freedom ceremonies. Therefore, the ceremonies to lower the Union Jack and raise the Pakistani and the Indian flags were spread over two days. As Pakistan refused to continue with Lord Mountbatten in the governor-general’s role (the post was taken up by Jinnah), the flag raising ceremony for Pakistan was held first on 14 August 1947. The Indian ceremony followed a day later, with Lord Mountbatten continuing in the office. Both countries however continued to be dominions of the British Crown until they became republics – India in 1949 and Pakistan in 1956.
Hi again JayJay,
Masya'Allah.. How did u come to know all these?
You DO know that bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are quite different right? Like we dont say Lemari, but Almari. Lewat in Indon means pass by but in Malay it means LATE!
I loathe reading Islamic/Arabic books translated into BHS Indo. It hinders smooth understanding of the content, not being proficient in tt lang myself.
Yeah i did learn Arabic and Jawi writing in school. Yes its quite easy to read Urdu too But the short hand version is too wormy to read!
Oh Wow its only 3mths and u're already good at it? I think you're indeed a genius! I've been trying to learn Urdu for 1yr 3mths but still struggling esp at the tenses. Karta/karte/karti hoon/hai/ho...
Hi again JayJay,
Masya'Allah.. How did u come to know all these?
You DO know that bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are quite different right? Like we dont say Lemari, but Almari. Lewat in Indon means pass by but in Malay it means LATE!
I loathe reading Islamic/Arabic books translated into BHS Indo. It hinders smooth understanding of the content, not being proficient in tt lang myself.
Yeah i did learn Arabic and Jawi writing in school. Yes its quite easy to read Urdu too But the short hand version is too wormy to read!
Oh Wow its only 3mths and u're already good at it? I think you're indeed a genius! I've been trying to learn Urdu for 1yr 3mths but still struggling esp at the tenses. Karta/karte/karti hoon/hai/ho...
No, Jus, I am no genius. I took tuition for BHS Indonesia for six weeks during Nov and Dec but have not touched my books since 22 December. Probably my general interest in languages and about history helped me broaden my knowledge of Malay language and culture.
I know Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia have differences in vacabulary and the use of vacabulary but the basic language structure and 80 of vacabulary is same. If you know one, you can understand the other, isn't it?
Once you visit Pakistan and try to interact people in Urdu, I am sure you will be able to increase your grasp of the tricky terms, karta/karti/karte etc, and will be able to improve your reading of hand-written texts.
Best
Hm hm thanks for all the feedback and discussion on History. I like History so very much. I hope to make some contribution later, as it is quite late, when I saw your fruitful comments.
I was in Delhi in August 07, and presumed the climate and terrain would be the same as Lahore.
Dry, pebble-sandy, windy, crowdy.
So juss i dun think you need a map from me anymore, as you have found a better one.
Ayah, i would still need a physical map lah... not just an online one.
I would need some gadget to pen down my thoughts tho... like a pda or laptop? hehe
I dunno wats pda but i would discourage a laptop, coz it is difficult to take care of too many things at hand. Laptop is also a kind of luxury items that anyone would like to have it for free and the easiet source is a traveller, who will be busy with so many things, and thier laptop will be behind their eyes.
I remembered the last trip to Bkk where you actually left your hp on the dining table at Mabunkrong in a very busy food court, without notifying us to have a look of it.
So it will better you travel light with a simple physical and normal exercise books or a 'peanuts' notebook and to use pen to write your thoughts. Coz noboby will want to take this cheap note book. Even if you drop them people would perhaps run and return to you, unlike pda or laptop, once it gone, it will be forever gone.
It would be better that you occupy most of your time observing than figiuring your electronic gadgets.
Then you would probably neglect your husband, who would be jealous of you spending too much time on your pda or laptop.
Its different when I bring the laptop to Perth. We stayed with my brother-in-law, who also has many laptops in their house. We went in a group of 4 with Syifaa' being the 5th. Even then I was always clinging on the laptop most of the time during flight, arrival and departure.
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