Thursday 17 November 2011

Conclusion


In the development of Pakistani society, its cultural heritage has played a vital role. Pakistani nation is justly proud of the historical period which brings with nearly 4th century B.C and continued with the advent of Islam in the Sub Continent in 8th century A.D.

Our cultural heritage expresses courage, patience and hard life. They all are in connection with life which is a fundamental part of Islamic teachings.

Post Independence Period


Pakistan was born on the map on 14 August 1947.  At its birth Pakistan had two parts commonly referred to as East and West Pakistan.

During the year 1970 when Pakistan had a war with India, East Pakistan was completely cut off from the West Pakistan and following the elections in 1971, the East Pakistan was separated from the West and since then it is known as Bangladesh.

The story of separation of East and West Pakistan is a tragic.  It becomes worse when stories related to this separation are narrated on both sides.  Efforts must be made to avoid blaming each other and concentration must me focused on how to live and help each other  to live peacefully and in harmony.

Pakistan now has 4 provinces namely, Balocistan, Punjab, NWFP and Sindh. The country is governed by the Federal Government based in Islamabad.

British Period


By the end of the first half of the 19th century, Pakistan was occupied by the British. Control was exercised by the creation of a new comprador class to represent their commercial interests; and the creation of a new feudal class assigned to controlling the local population. Manifestations of this new development were a demographic explosion, the expansion of the irrigation systems and the concomitant settlement of new canal colonies, railways and other forms of communication. While these were designed to further the commercial and strategic interests of the rulers, they also made the population more mobile.
The British also introduced a new language and a new educational and administrative system, disconnecting with the traditional use of Farsi and the mosque-school, the madrassah. With the introduction of the English language came European cultural paradigms, which changed literary works and led to the emergence of a new urban culture. Cricket, which has now become a part of our culture, was a product of this period. Social stratification also underwent considerable change both in the urban as well as rural areas. 

Sikh Period


The Sikhs established their Empire in the Punjab after the death of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1707. With the death of Aurangzeb the country saw a series of rapid governmental changes that stressed it in to the depths of anarchy.  Taking advantage of this certain Charat Singh, who was the head of one of the Sikh Clans, established his stronghold in Gujranwala in 1763. Charat Singh died in 1774 and was succeeded by his son, Mahan Singh, who in turn fathered the most brilliant leader in the history of the Punjab: Maharaja Ranjit Singh.  It was this remarkable leader who united the whole Punjab under one flag.  His rule stretched from the banks of the Jamuna to the Khyber and from Kashmir to Multan.  Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the most powerful of all the Sikh Rulers and ruled over for complete 40 years. After his death in 1840 the Sikh Empire was divided into small principalities looked after by several Sikh Jagirdars.  This weak situation provided a good opportunity to the British of East India Company to put an end to the Sikh strong hold in the Punjab in 1849.

Sikhs are the followers of Baba Guru Nanak Sahib. He was the son of Mehta Kalu Chand and Tripta Devi, both of them Khatris by caste.  He was born at Nankana Sahib in 1464.  Sikhism was born as a direct reaction against rigid, cruel and inhuman practices of Brahamanism and its rigid caste system.  But another important factor which influenced the mind of the people who contributed to the growth of Sikhism, was the impact of Islam which had spread from Arabia to Iraq, Turkistan, Persia and Afghanistan and came in to contact with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism.

The Sikh religion is in fact a product of the Sufi and Bhakti school of thought.  Guru Nanak was greatly influenced by Kabir and Shaikh Ibrahim Farid  (1450 - 1535) a descendent of the famous Sufi saint Shaikh Fariduddin Shakarganj of Pak Pattan whose works were incorporated in the Garanth Sahib.  Guru Nanak studied books of Hindu and Muslims religions and it was only after deep study of both the religions that he evolved his own school of thought. The basic principles of the Sikhism are much closer to Islam than to Hinduism. A study of the life, events of the Gurus and the large numbers of the monuments sacred to them will, however, reveal how deeply all the Sikh Gurus in general and Guru Nanak, Ajen Dev and Har Gobind Singh in particular are associated with Pakistan.

Islamic Period

Pakistan is an ideological Islamic State. Its very existence is due to Islam, so the Pakistani culture is primarily based on the Islamic way of life. All other ingredients of culture are inspired by Islam. Pakistani culture is highlighted by its grandeur, simplicity, firm convictions and noble deeds and ideas.

Although Buddhism as a religion was ejected by Brahmanism, its impact on our culture had been enormous. When Islam appeared in this region, it was Buddhist culture which embraced it willingly. It must be pointed out that the areas that constitute Pakistan today were on the periphery of the Muslim empire in Delhi, yet Islam established itself in Pakistan with more speed than around the Muslim seat of political power. This testifies to the cultural values of this area, which were more open and liberal than their counterparts in Central India.
Starting with the Arabs (711 ACE) in Balochistan and Sindh, it culminated with Muslim influences from Central Asia. Knocked loose by the depredations of the Mongols in Central Asia, streams of Muslim religious and secular scholars flowed into Pakistan in the wake of the conquerors. The result was the development of cities, centres of learning, trading centres, and bazaars. The mosque occupied a unique place for religious purposes and for commercial and social gatherings. Music, dance, painting and song contributed significantly to some of the philosophical dimensions of Islam.
Pakistani culture bears a deep imprint of the thought and the life style of Sufis who used local medium to convey the intellectual content of the message of the Prophet of Islam. Even those Sufis who had received their education and training in Iran and Central Asia adopted local practices in order to appeal to a wider public. Shah Latif’s story of Marvi, Baba Farid’s Dohra and Rahman Baba’s poetry all represent the local modes, natural environments and regional symbols in the service of Islam. The Mughals introduced new innovations in architecture especially mosques, tombs and gardens. Exotic flowers and plants were introduced. Dress, music, cuisine and painting achieved new dimensions. The impact of Islam was felt on local religions and the emergence of Sikh religion and Bhakti movement could not have been possible without an interaction with Islam.

Gandhara Civilization


Gandhara is the region that now comprise of Peshawar valley, Mardan, Swat, Dir, Malakand, and Bajuaur agencies in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Taxila in the Punjab, and up to Jalalabad in Afghanistan. It is in this region that the Gandhara civilization emerged and became the cradle of Buddhism. It was from here that Buddhism spread towards east as far away as Japan and Korea.

The intriguing record of Gandhara civilization, discovered in the 20th century, are found in the archeological sites spread over Taxila, Swat and other parts of NWFP. The rock carving and the petroglyphs along the ancient Silk Road (Karakoram Highway) also provide fascinating record of the history of Gandhara.

Taxila is the abode of many splendid Buddhist establishments. Taxila, the main centre of Gandhara, is over 3,000 years old. Taxila had attracted Alexander the great from Macedonia in 326 BC, with whom the influence of Greek culture came to this part of the world. Taxila later came under the Mauryan dynasty and reached a remarkable matured level of development under the great Ashoka. During the year 2 BC, Buddhism was adopted as the state religion, which flourished and prevailed for over 1,000 years, until the year 10 AD. During this time Taxila, Swat and Charsadda (old Pushkalavati) became three important centers for culture, trade and learning. Hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh, both in The Gandhara civilization was not only the centre of spiritual influence but also the cradle of the world famous Gandhara culture, art and learning. It was from these centers that a unique art of sculpture originated which is known as Gandhara Art all over the world. Today the Gandhara sculptures occupy a prominent place in the museums of England, France, Germany, USA, Japan, Korea, China, India and Afghanistan, together with many private collections world over, as well as a vast collection in the museums of Pakistan. Buddhism left a monumental and rich legacy of art and architecture in Pakistan. Despite the vagaries of centuries, the Gandhara region preserved a lot of the heritage in craft and art. Much of this legacy is visible even today in Pakistan.


Swat, the land of romance and beauty, is celebrated throughout the world as the holy land of Buddhist learning and piety. Swat acquired fame as a place of Buddhist pilgrimage. Buddhist tradition holds that the Buddha himself came to Swat during his last reincarnation as the Guatama Buddha and preached to the people here. It is said that the Swat was filled with fourteen hundred imposing and beautiful stupas and monasteries, which housed as many as 6,000 gold images of the Buddhist pantheon for worship and education. There are now more than 400 Buddhist sites covering and area of 160 Km in Swat valley only. Among the important Buddhist excavation in swat an important one is Butkarha-I, containing the original relics of the Buddha.

Indus Valley Civilization



The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the world's first enormous urban civilizations. It flourished in the vast river plains and contiguous regions in what are now Pakistan and western India.     

                
The earliest cities became incorporated into an far-reaching urban culture around 4,600 years ago and continued to overlook the region for at least 700 years, from 2600 to 1900 B.C. It was only in the 1920's that the buried cities and villages of the Indus valley were accepted by archaeologists as representing an undiscovered civilization.

This untimely beginning led to the meditation of population into the small towns, such as Kot Diji in Sindh and Rahman Dheri in Dera Ismail Khan district. It is this social and cultural exchange that led to the rise of the famous cities of Moenjodaro and Harappa, with largest concentration of population including artisans, craftsmen, businessmen and rulers.This culminated in the peak of the Indus Civilization which was primarily based on intensively irrigated agricultural land and overseas trade and contact with Iran, Gulf States, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Dames were built for storing river water, land was cultivated by means of bullock-harnessed plough - a system which still prevails in Pakistan, granaries for food storage were built, furnace was 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 dividends that enriched the urban populace who developed a new sense of moral honesty, discipline and cleanliness combined with 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 Moenjodaro, the First Planned City in the World, in which the streets are aligned straight, parallel to each other with 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, seen for the first time in the world.


Overview

Cultural Heritage Of Pakistan
The inheritance of our predecessors at the time of our independence, on August 14, 1947, came to us as a fortune which may be known as Pakistan’s state heritage. So prosperous and diversified is this heritage that Pakistani nation can be arrogant of its wonderful past, be Islamic, Post Islamic or pre-Islamic period as far back as pre-historic times. No other country of the world can produce the treasure of by gone days as can be found in Pakistan. It is now present ahead us to riches our national heritage and save it from further worsening and stealing.

The Cultural Heritage of Pakistan is spread over the centuries, starting from pre-historic times to the present day and which may be summarized in the following periods:

v  Indus Civilization:

v  Gandhara Civilization:

v  Islamic Period:

v  Sikh Period:

v  British Period:

v  Post independence Period