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Buddha Civilization in Swat Valley Pakistan

Please dont say that India did not accepted Muslim culture....Please educate yourself more...India has bigger Muslim population than whole Pakistan....I can list more than 1000 Muslim heritage from Delhi to Mysore and from Rajasthan to W. Bengal.

I believe my friends from across the border, very keen to derail this thread have got another fact wrong:
Country Muslim Population
Indonesia 204,847,000
Pakistan 178,097,000
India 177,286,000

List of countries by Muslim population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Buddhist carving in Jehanabad
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---------- Post added at 01:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 AM ----------

There is no need to argue about which country thed heritage belongs to. It belongs to both India and Pakistan since the border between the two nations is only 60 years old. Modern nation states are a mainly European phenomenon coined by the likes of french philosophers such as Voltaire and Roussue.

How about they belong to neither. They belong to the Buddhist's who created them. End of this childish story.
 
SWAT used to have a beautiful Greco buddhist civilization. It was the most important Gandharan site second only to Bamian. Sadly, it is under Taliban and they are destroying the ancient remnants of the civilization.
Before:
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After attack:
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There is no need to argue about which country thed heritage belongs to. It belongs to both India and Pakistan since the border between the two nations is only 60 years old. Modern nation states are a mainly European phenomenon coined by the likes of french philosophers such as Voltaire and Roussue.

Indians need a Pakistani visa and a valid passport to see these Buddhist sites in Pakistan, while Pakistanis can just drive a few miles to see these ancient sites in their own country :pakistan:

LONG LIVE THE BORDER BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN.

Respect to the Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan :pakistan:
 
When East Met West Under the Buddha’s Gaze

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A Buddhist monk looked at a 3rd century Emaciated Siddhartha statue at the Asia Society Museum in New York.

After what seemed like an endless run of geopolitical roadblocks, “The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara” has finally come, six months late, from Pakistan to Asia Society. Is the show worth all the diplomatic headaches it caused? With its images of bruiser bodhisattvas, polycultural goddesses and occasional flights into stratosphere splendor, it is.


That all but a handful of the 75 sculptures are from museums in Lahore and Karachi is in itself remarkable. Any effort to borrow ancient art from South Asia is fraught, even in the best of times. For an entire show of loans to make the trip, and in a period when Pakistan and the United States are barely on speaking terms, is miraculous. (Without the persistent effort of Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the exhibition would almost certainly never have happened.) So the show has a cliffhanger back story as an attraction, and some monumental work, like the fantastic relief called “Vision of a Buddha’s Paradise.” (Dated to the fourth century A.D., it’s a kind of flash-mob version of heaven.)

But most of what’s here is neither dramatic nor grand: a chunk of a column; a head knocked from a statue; a panel sliced from some long-since-crumbled wall. Like most museum shows aiming for a big-picture view of a vanished world, it’s a scattering of small effects: precious scraps and remnants. For every stand-back-and-stare item, there are a dozen others that require close-up scrutiny and informed historical imagining to make their point.

The multilayered and time-obscured history of ancient Gandhara is particularly difficult to grasp. The area, which encompassed what is now northwestern Pakistan and a sliver of Afghanistan, was a crossroads for international traffic. If you had business that took you to or from the Indian subcontinent, you passed through Gandhara. If you were in the business of empire building, you made every effort to control it.

Persia, under Darius I, colonized the area in the sixth century B.C. Two centuries later Alexander the Great, a Macedonian Greek and a conquest addict, charged in and charged out, leaving behind a Hellenistic occupation, which held firm even as Gandhara was absorbed into the Mauryan empire of India, South Asia’s first great Buddhist power.

Over time Greco-Bactrians, Scythians and Parthians dominated the terrain. Then, around the first century A.D., the Kushans, originally nomads from the steppe-lands north of China, settled in, extending their reach down into the Indian subcontinent.

They were genuine cosmopolitans, linked to the Mediterranean, Persia and China, and tolerant of religions. It was under their aegis that Gandharan Buddhist art, compounded of foreign and local ingredients, flourished.

The exhibition, organized by Adriana Proser, a curator at Asia Society, begins by showing elements interacting. The first thing you see is a substantial female figure carved from the dark schist that was the common stone of the region. She has a funny look, familiar but not. She’s dressed in a sort of cocktail-dress version of a Roman stola; her hairdo is pure 1970s Charlie’s Angels, long but with back-flipped bangs.

Because she wears a helmet, she’s been called Athena in the past, though she probably represents some regional genius loci modeled, at a remove of thousands of miles, on Greco-Roman prototypes. Another female figure with comparable features has more certain identity. Much as she resembles a Roman goddess of good fortune, the three clinging children she juggles mark her as the Buddhist deity Hariti, an infant-gobbling demon, who, after a little enlightenment, changed her ways.

The culture mix thickens further. On a fragmentary stone panel we find in relief a Persian-style column with an Indian nature goddess posed in front of it. A squat stone figure in baggy Kushan pants turns out to be Skanda, the Hindu god of war. And a stele devoted mainly to sober scenes from Buddha’s life doubles as a playground for dozens of cupids.

The point is, Gandharan art was all over the map. Yet confusion sparked innovation. The first known figurative images of the Buddha are thought to have emerged from this region. So did, despite all the crazy components, an instantly recognizable sculptural style, on persuasive display in the second of the show’s three sections.

Here we find the classic Gandharan Buddha. Dating from the second to fifth century A.D., he is a standing figure in an ankle-length tunic and a togalike cloak that falls in rhythmical folds, with hints at the shape of the body beneath. The facial features are symmetrical and crisply cut, and idealized, though on ethnic and aesthetic terms different from those of a Greek Apollo.

On the whole the image is naturalistic in a way that the purely Indian equivalents being carved from sandstone farther south were not. And the naturalism is especially pronounced in Gandharan images of bodhisattvas, those evolved beings who postpone nirvana to aid struggling creatures on earth.

One example from the Lahore Museum suggests a leader-of-the-pack biker: slightly paunchy, with a handle-bar mustache, a cascade of curls and a challenging stare. Technically, he’s Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, though judging by his ornamental hardware — bicep bracelets, neck chains — he still has something to learn about the spiritual path of less-is-more.

The show’s highlight, “Vision of a Buddha’s Paradise,” is in this section too, and culturally everything comes together here. The big Buddha seated at its center wears an off-the-shoulder robe, South Indian tropical attire, while a couple dozen of mini-bodhisattvas around him mix and match international fashions, with no two outfits, or gestures, or poses, quite the same. Two figures gaze raptly up at the Buddha; another, chin propped on hand, looks daydreamingly away; far below, two tiny observers feed lotuses to fish in a stream.

Was this really designed as a vision of Paradise? We don’t know, though we might if we had some clue as to the piece’s original setting, probably as one of several related panels in an architectural context. But, as is true of most Gandharan art collected before very recent times, such information went unrecorded, and an accurate sense of what this art meant to its makers and early viewers is lost.

Ms. Proser addresses the issue of context in the exhibition’s last section, which is in its own gallery, by going with what we know: that much Buddhist art from Gandhara took the form of carved narrative panels depicting episodes from the life of the Buddha; that these panels once appeared on the walls of sanctuaries or cylindrical stupa mounds; and that many of the artists were entertaining storytellers.

Their skills are evident in the sequence of a dozen or so panels arranged around a stupalike structure in the gallery. In one, the Buddha’s mother, Maya, anticipates his birth in a dream, and the artist has made her look like a Roman matron en déshabillé and asleep on her couch. But in a second panel, carved by a different artist and showing the infant Buddha being examined by a sage, we’ve switched countries and cultures: now we’re in a land of turbans, boots and layered outwear.

A third episode takes place after the Buddha’s enlightenment, as the lords of the four directions, essentially Vedic or Hindu beings, decorously offer him bowls of food. And a panel set next to that is packed with the figures of demons who had tried hard to prevent that enlightenment. The scene looks like a Wookiee convention. It’s very funny, but also rich with information about armor and weaponry in use centuries ago.

For historians the value of an exhibition is in just such details, while for nonspecialists the main attraction is likely to be visual impact. Ordinarily, I’d rather look at Kushan-era Buddhist art carved farther south from rosy Indian sandstone than at sculpture made in cold, dark stone in Gandhara. (Asia Society had a show of both in 1986.) But that’s just personal taste, and, besides, the show has changed my mind about this: it pulses with human warmth. That’s one of the things we go to great art for, though in this case, and against very long odds, some of that great art has come to us.


“The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara” remains through Oct. 30

at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street; (212) 288-6400, asiasociety.org.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/a...ra-at-asia-society-review.html?pagewanted=all

Museum exhibit highlights Pakistan's Buddhist roots - CNN
 
Indian team visits Taxila Museum

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The Taxila Museum - Photo courtesy of Danial Shah


TAXILA: After taking various initiatives to normalise relations between India and Pakistan, now parliamentary diplomacy is being pursued to bridge gaps for greater benefit of the two peoples.

Speaker Lok Sabha Meira Kumar said this while talking to newsmen at Buddhist ancient site of Dharmarajika stupa and monastery on Thursday.

She along with six-member Indian parliamentary delegation including Shahnawaz Hussain, BP Bashiya, Indar Singh, Madan Lal, Tarun Vijhay and Syed Saidul Haq visited ancient Buddhist site and Taxila Museum in the sideline of her official visit to Pakistan.

Meira Kumar said: “I am much pleased to visit the place from where once great Buddhist civilization flourished and today we once again want to spread the message of peace and equality once promoted from here centuries back.

While speaking on the occasion, Indian MP Syed Saidul Haq emphasised the need for normalising Pakistan-India relations for greater benefit of people of the two neighbours. He said the talks between India and Pakistan entered the second phase and hoped all the problems would be resolved through dialogue.

Talking to newsmen Indian MP and spokesman for Bharatyia Janata Party (BJP) Tarun Vijhay said what he saw in Taxila was different from the perception of Pakistan as an extremists and religiously-rigid nation. He said that he was much inspired to see rich cultural heritage of Pakistan and the tremendous way it was preserved. He said he would present this soft image of Pakistan in Indian newspapers. He lauded the Pakistan government for preserving sites related to Buddhism.

Earlier, on arrival, the Indian delegates were received by Director General Federal Department of Archaeology Dr Fazal Dad Kakar, Deputy Director Punjab Department of Archaeology Arshad Khan and other officials.

On the occasion, Curator Taxila Museum Nasir Khan briefed the delegation about the history and significance of the ancient Taxila civilization and artifacts on display at the museum.

The delegation took a round of the museum and visited various galleries comprising sculptures, stucco relieves, stones, plaster and terra-cotta figures, glass tiles and objects as toilet articles, seats, beads, bark manuscripts, silver utensils, carpentry tools, surgical instruments and hundreds of coins and jewellery items of the ancient Gandhara civilization.

Indian team visits Taxila Museum | Entertainment | DAWN.COM
 
Showcasing heritage can boost tourism

TAXILA, Oct 29: Professor Geng Ying, the Chairperson and Secretary General of the China Cultural Heritage Foundation (CCHF) urged the government to showcase its rich Buddhist cultural heritage in China to bring in more tourists and enhance people to people contact between two friendly countries.

She was talking to newsmen here at Taxila Museum on Saturday where she was leading a 40-member delegation of CCHF. Ms Geng, who is the daughter of late Geng Biao, former Chinese vice Premier said that Pakistan had rich cultural and religious tourism potential, especially for Buddhist countries but it needed special projection in these countries. She said that Chinese people know very less about the rich culture of Pakistan although Buddhism flourished in China through Pakistan. She said that Pakistan should organize exhibitions of Buddhist artifacts so that the Chinese people know about rich Buddhist archaeological treasures of Pakistan. Responding to a question, she said that China would continue to contribute more effectively to Pakistan’s economic development and social progress.

She said that it was the first visit of the Chinese delegation to Pakistan and “it has opened new channels and provided new content for Sino-Pak cultural exchanges.” She said that year 2011 was the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between the two nations besides being the Pakistan-China Friendship Year.

She said that CCH delegation’s visit would play a pivotal role in increasing people-to-people contact between the two countries. She said that CCHF was taking a broader approach of including corporate leaders, artists as well as non-governmental actors for social welfare and poverty alleviation. This visit would bring these segments of the two countries closer to each other while paving the way for future cooperation between them.

Responding to another question, Ms Geng said that the purpose of their visit was to strengthen friendship of the two countries taking it to new heights through exchange of cultures. She also called for holding of more cultural and trade related workshops and seminars in China and Pakistan, to educate and create awareness amongst stakeholders about the trade potential. She said people of the two countries had deep love and affection for each other and it was need of the hour that bilateral relations between the two countries should be strengthened.

Earlier the 40-member delegation visited Taxila Museum and ancient Taxila University at Julian. On their arrival, Curator Taxila Museum Nasir Khan briefed the delegation about the history of Gandhara Civilization, various stupas, statues and other artifacts in the museum. The members of the delegation lauded the government for preserving sites related to Buddhism and maintaining Taxila as one of the prominent places for Buddhists.

They were told that hundreds of monasteries and stupas were built together with Greek and Kushan towns such as Sirkap and Sirsukh, both in Taxila. It was from these centers that a unique art of sculpture originated which was known as Gandhara Art all over the world.


Showcasing heritage can boost tourism | Provinces | DAWN.COM

:pakistan: :china:

This is why I respect Pakistan's Buddhist past because its another thing that connects Pakistan to China, but still I'm proud to be Muslim and would not want to follow any other religion. I believe in only Islam. Even the people of Mecca believed in some other religion before accepting Islam so it doesn't matter what our ancestors believed in thousands of years ago, but we should preserve these ancient sites in Pakistan to promote tourism that can benefit Pakistan's economy.
 
SWAT used to have a beautiful Greco buddhist civilization. It was the most important Gandharan site second only to Bamian. Sadly, it is under Taliban and they are destroying the ancient remnants of the civilization.

TTP got kicked out of Swat and Taxila in Punjab Province of Pakistan is the the most important Gandharan site.

The city dates back to the Gandhara period and contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā which was an important Buddhist centre, and is still considered a place of religious and historical sanctity in those traditions. In 1980, Taxila was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site with multiple locations. In 2006 it was ranked as the top tourist destination in Pakistan by The Guardian newspaper.

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Panorama at Jaulian – Ancient Buddhist Monastery, Taxila


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The Dharmarajika stupa, Taxila.


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Stupa base at Sirkap, decorated with Buddhist and Greek temple fronts.



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Jaulian, a World Heritage Site at Taxila.



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Jaulian silver Buddhist reliquary, with content. British Museum.
 
These are images of Takht E Bahi a Buddhist monastery near Mardan.

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For more information go here:
Takht-i-Bahi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I feel sorry for the Indians. :lol:
They haven't accepted Muslim culture as a part of their land. We have accepted Hindu and Buddhist heritage as a part of our country. This is why they are so confused. I mean you need to have a lot of time on your hands to take part in almost constant trolling.

we have hundreds of perfectly preserved, immaculately restored muslim sites, and you have only ruins.

why even buddhists sites in india are managed fully by buddhists and funds given by government. you have some dusty excavations.

i laugh out loud every time you try so hard...
 
No offence to all Indians, but I hate it when some specific Indians (as well as some specific Afghans) claim that Pakistan has no history, and all our history belongs to India and Afghanistan.

In that case; does American history belong to Native Americans since they were there before the occupying Americans?

Pakistanis have always been in Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit Baltisan, Kashmir, Khyber Pakthunkwa, and Balochistan. You can't claim our history as yours. Get over yourselves.
 
No offence to all Indians, but I hate it when some specific Indians (as well as some specific Afghans) claim that Pakistan has no history, and all our history belongs to India and Afghanistan.

In that case; does American history belong to Native Americans since they were there before the occupying Americans?

Pakistanis have always been in Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit Baltisan, Kashmir, Khyber Pakthunkwa, and Balochistan. You can't claim our history as yours. Get over yourselves.

There's no Pakistani History.

There's Indian History and Partition. You inherited a strip of Indian land( chunk of Punjab, most of sindh) and Mountainous Regions(Baluchistan, KP) which were natural boundaries of the Continental India. So, Naturally You inherited a part of History as well esp North-Western events which BTW has been rejected by Jinnah's TNT.
Don't cry about it now.
 
i dont think so......indus valley is in Pakistan....indus river is in Pakistan.......Gandhara Civilization was in Pakistan...Silk road is in Pakistan....3 mountain ranges of hindukush,karakoram,himalayas are in Pakistan......hell i say we indians inherited a stip of Pakistani land....since india we dont have anything worthy of being proud of other than kamasutra sex temples and khajuraho civilization of animal sex.

Seriously hurt., huh? Have at look at the map of sub continent.

Besides you find relics there more because the Indian emperors tried to maintain their civilizational values and order in places like Gandhara. That's why you find more symbols there.

Don't even think about IVC. The left the city states and founded them in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab for reasons ranging from famine, Political pressures etc.,
 
There's no Pakistani History.

There's Indian History and Partition. You inherited a strip of Indian land( chunk of Punjab, most of sindh) and Mountainous Regions(Baluchistan, KP) which were natural boundaries of the Continental India. So, Naturally You inherited a part of History as well esp North-Western events which BTW has been rejected by Jinnah's TNT.
Don't cry about it now.

Pakistan has most of Punjab and all of Sindh.
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And most of India is as alien to Pakistan to as Sri Lanka.
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And there is no indian history. The British combined all independent sovereign countries of South Asia and called it British India Empire when they conquered South Asia. Pakistan is a day older than India.
Pakistan = August 14, 1947. India = August 15, 1947.
 
Pakistani heritage, indian heritage, we have had nearly 50 threads on this matter... Indian members claim everything is indian , and there is no pakistani history... pakistani members claim their heritage is completely seperate from india's and there is no link between the two.... Indians argue budhist and hindu origins of heritage claimed by pakistan , one thing we have consistently failed to understand is, that we are trying to claim the history of nearly 3000 years based on the lines drawn merely 70 years ago... Future generations will look back at us and laugh for our stupidity.....


IMHO, the history of the subcontinent belongs to the subcontinent. History of millennial grandeur cannot be subjugated by puny lines drawn 70 years ago. it's not fair to the people or to the history of the land.
 
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