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How archaeology in Pakistan is forced to deny the nation's Hindu past.

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Wonder where Lahore got its name from? :azn:

Lahore, known in ancient times as Lavapuri (City of Lava in Sanskrit) was founded by Prince Lava the son of Sita and Rama; Kasur was founded by his twin brother Prince Kusha. To this day, Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated to Lava (also pronounced Loh, hence Loh-awar or "The Fort of Loh") it is also believed that the buddhist-nation of Laos is derived from this name.
 
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Lol fool you keep believing that.

You revealed it by mistake. Now, next time don't say, you are not even a human being. :sarcastic::sarcastic:

Wonder where Lahore got its name from? :azn:

Lahore, known in ancient times as Lavapuri (City of Lava in Sanskrit) was founded by Prince Lava the son of Sita and Rama; Kasur was founded by his twin brother Prince Kusha. To this day, Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated to Lava (also pronounced Loh, hence Loh-awar or "The Fort of Loh") it is also believed that the buddhist-nation of Laos is derived from this name.

Takshashila and Pushkalavati in Gandhara got the names from the names of Taksha and Pushkala, nephews of Lord Rama.;)
 
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The nation's archaeological investigations are motivated by a desire to grant Pakistan historical legitimacy.


A bewildered Sassi ran directionless in the desert. The sand burned through the skin of her feet, creating huge blisters that hurt with every step she took. But not even the heat of the desert could match the fire in her heart, which longed for her beloved. “Punnhun, Punnhun,” she yelled but only the roar of the desert wind answered her call.
***


I sat in the backseat of the car, embarrassed of where I was from. Flags and graffiti of Sindhi nationalist parties bedecked every other house and wall on the highway as soon as we exited Karachi. Altaf Hussain, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Peoples Party have a tight grip on politics of the city. I am from Lahore, so such politicisation of a city is alien to me. Every time I come to Karachi I am amazed at how contested the political space here is. There are flags of Sunni parties, Shiia parties, nationalist parties, federalist parties. There is also the violence. Lahore on the other hand is a monolithic place, almost entirely Punjabi, with one political party capturing the imagination of the people: Pakistan Muslim League-Noon.

When I finally saw a poster of our prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, on one of the walls I felt relieved. Not because I support the party or the man but because it was familiar. The one thing that unites all these separate political entities in Karachi and its surrounding areas, all of whom regularly battle each other for political rewards, is their hatred for the Punjabi establishment. That PML-N has hardly any seats outside Punjab and yet dominates the national government speaks volume about the region’s grip over national politics.

Now a new force is being sent south into Sindh. Much less frequently, but enough to capture my attention, I saw flags of Jamaat-u-Dawa – the front for the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group that Indians are all too familiar with – and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Both of them are hardline Sunni parties that don’t shy from using violence and religious rhetoric to achieve their political purposes. While Jamaat-u-Dawa has officially severed links with LeT, most observers believe some connections remain. Sipah-e-Sahaba has led the Shiia pogrom in Pakistan for decades. Both of them are slowly entering mainstream politics in Pakistan and both are Punjab-based movements. Their primary support comes from the Punjabi middle-class, which is easily swayed by the slogan of Islam.

For years Sindh has been the target of puritanical Islamic movements because they believe that a corrupt version of Islam is being practiced here, in the form of shrine worship. After redeeming the soul of Punjab, they are now on a mission to redeem the soul of Sindh.
***


Sassi did not know when in the darkness of night Punnhun’s brothers had tricked him and taken him back. Like Punnhun she also believed that they truly rejoiced in their happiness; that they wanted to take part in their wedding celebration. Had she known that they were only pretending she would have stood outside her Punnhun’s door throughout the night, and would have fought with anyone who would try to separate them. But that is the folly of love. It cannot be defeated by repression and suppression. It can only be deceived by kindness and love itself.
***


The First Mosque
I pointed out a board to the driver and asked him to head in that direction. It led us towards the museum of Bhambhore. The archaeological ruins of this ancient city were next to the museum. There was no one on duty. It wasn’t even eight in the morning. Then finally a government official decided to present himself and gave us tickets to see the mound.

Gharo Creek


There was a beautiful sturdy protective wall around this ancient city. The mound was about twenty meters higher than its surroundings. In front of us was the majestic water of the Arabian Sea, flowing inland. This is Gharo creek. Before Karachi emerged as the most important port in Sindh with the arrival of the British, Bhambhore had that honour. Archaeological records of this port city go back to the 1st century BCE. It was from here that traders travelled into Mesopotamia and Egypt. Bhambhore must have been a metropolitan city itself, entertaining traders from the rest of the world. Bhambhore was also the first city that the Muslim general Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered in India. This was in the year 711-712 CE.

Much needs to be excavated in this archaeological mound. Of what has been excavated, the most important building is the grand mosque. This is believed to be the first mosque in the Indian peninsula, so it is a vitally important monument. Not far from here is another excavated section of the mound. This was the main market. I walked around this mound in vain, searching for a temple or any other place of worship besides a mosque. Everything else has been conveniently left uncovered.
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When Punnhun expressed the desire to marry Sassi, Sassi’s father, a dhobi, refused. He said that he would only marry Sassi into his own profession, their equal. In this way a dhobi refused the proposal of a prince, for Punnhun was the prince of Kech (present day Makran region of Baluchistan). What Sassi’s father did not know that Punnhun was an equal of Sassi, for Sassi herself was a princess and that too of Bhambhore. Her father had left her in a basket in the water when the priest had predicted that she would bring infamy to the family. The little girl was found by the dhobi. In this way a prediction of a priest turned both Sassi and Punnhun into dhobis. To win the love of his life Punnhun started washing clothes.
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Politics before History
Muhammad Bin Qasim, the seventeen-year old invader of Bhambhore and Sindhm captures the imagination of Pakistani historiographers like no other Muslim warrior. He is represented as the man who brought civilisation to a dark, anarchic land dominated by Hindu rulers. Some idiotic textbooks claim that in its essence the Pakistan movement began with the arrival of Muhammad Bin Qasim. Other heroes of Pakistan history are also those who left deep wounds on the subcontinent: Muhammad Ghaznvi, Muhammmad Ghori, Babur, Aurangzeb and Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Inside the museum of Bhambhore there is a depiction of the forces of Muhammad Bin Qasim arriving on their ships, reaching the gates of Bhambhore and burning down the city. This is the single most important event regarding this city as far as the archaeological department is concerned. The only excavated structure is the grand mosque. Eight hundred years of history are rendered irrelevant.

The politicisation of archaeology in Pakistan is hardly discussed. The Gandharan civilisation, of which the city of Takshashila was also part, is depicted on popular tourist posters and postcards. The priest-king of Mohenjo-daro is another favorite. I often wonder why the sensibilities of my countrymen are not hurt by looking at the glorious statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas in Takshashila and Lahore museum, while they immediately take offence at Hindus who worship before an idol. Why is the university of Julian at Takshashila, believed to be the oldest university in the world, and where Chanakya trained Chandragupta, depicted as an example of culture in Pakistan, while the ancient Hindu temple of Katas Raj at Kalar Kahar has only been recently renovated?

The answer is not in religion but in politics. Pakistani archaeology doesn’t ignore Hindu monuments because they are idol worshippers, but because of the two nation theory. We want to exert even through our scholarship that we are separate and were throughout history. The Gandharan civilisation was divorced from the Gangetic plain, the India of the future. It provides Pakistan historical legitimacy, indicating that this was a separate civilization from the Indians even before there was an India and Pakistan.

The entrance to Bhambhore


Aitzaz Ahsan’s Indus saga is a brilliant case in point. It is a desperate attempt to separate the Indus valley civilisation from the future civilisation that was to take roots in the Gangetic plains. In Pakistan, the Indus valley civilisation is presented as having no influence on the civilisations that followed it in India. While international scholarship now finds a marked degree of continuity, for Pakistani scholars it remains a separate phenomenon, one that was in fact destroyed by the Indians in the form of an Aryan invasion.

No archaeological board or tourist website of Pakistan states that the University of Julian was a Hindu university before it became Buddhist under the influence of King Ashok, the grandson of Chandragupta. I found a similar situation in Kashmir, where I visited the ancient university of Sharda in Neelum valley, not far from the Line of Control. That too was once a Hindu university and temple, before it became Buddhist under the dominant influence. Yet today the department of archaeology is only willing to accept its Buddhist past. If under the influence of Buddhist kings these monuments had not become Buddhist and remained Hindu, today they would have been allowed to fade away, as once the Katas Raj was.
***


Islam first established its roots in Sindh and then slowly spread into India. It is also here that Islam was given its unique South Asian flavor. The syncretistic culture of Sindh adopted Islam and gave it new meanings. It is here that poets like Abdul Latif Bhitai eternalised the love story of Sassi and Punnhun, by using their love as a metaphor for divine love. It is also here that Shahbaz Qalandar picked up religious practices from tantric and ascetic Hindu traditions and adapted them to mystical Islam. From Sindh rose a Hindu deity called Jhole Lal, to whom hymns are sung throughout Pakistan.

While Punjab today is the center of power and the trendsetter of the culture of Pakistan, something that Sindhi nationalists decry, it was Sindh that gave birth to a new Islamic culture that slowly took root in India. And now Islam comes back to Sindh, in almost full circle, in the form of ultra-Sunni extremist organisations. For decades Sindh has fought back, but it seems like it may be losing the battle now. Only a few months ago a Hindu temple was burned down in Larkana over allegations of blasphemy. Hundreds of Sindhi Hindus have migrated to India in the past few years. They have left a home they did not desert even during Partition.
***


Hundreds of miles away from Sassi, Punnhun too roamed like a Majnun on the desert sand screaming the name of his beloved. He did not know that Sassi was now taking her last breath. Tormented by her love, her body gave up.

Haroon Khalid is the author of A White Trail: A journey into the heart of Pakistan’s religious minorities (Westland, 2013)

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Interesting article.
 
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accidentally deleted it
Those originating from west/above of Indus form something like 35% of Pakistan + all areas around Indus have historical integration thats why you see Punjabi_Pashtuns and Sindhi Baloch but no Tamil Balochetc,even in most simple/crude words Pakistan is multi racial country of Indid and Iranid people with both having good proportions sitting at crossroads of Asia, enough to give it uniqueness of its own.Ind is derived from Indus anyway.

I know these things, all of you belong to common religion with a common Pakistani identity. I only said its really funny when many Pakistanis try to disassociate Punjabi-Sindhis from Indian culture with a bizarre sounding Indus and Ganga classification, when all of it is a continuous plains from Bengal to Sindh. and sometimes even bringing in Tamils to differentiate. In ancient Indian culture there is no difference between North and South India, this Aryan and Dravidian terminology was a British invention. Tamils and other South Indians do share a common culture with North Indians in dress, music, culture, religions, classical dances etc. and even in food.
 
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You revealed it by mistake. Now, next time don't say, you are not even a human being. :sarcastic::sarcastic:



Takshashila and Pushkalavati in Gandhara got the names from the names of Taksha and Pushkala, nephews of Lord Rama.;)

You don't understand that I'm laughing at your face right now lolol
 
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Our ancesstors were mainly Budhists not Hindus.

As an ancient people our cultural evolution demanded more enlightened way of life which supported our aspirations.

We chose Islam as our way of life because it offered superior values and human equity.

Egypt
Babylon
Persia
Indus

All 4 oldest human civilizations became Muslim because of what Islam offers to a human being.
 
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Our ancesstors were mainly Budhists not Hindus.

As an ancient people our cultural evolution demanded more enlightened way of life which supported our aspirations.

We chose Islam as our way of life because it offered superior values and human equity.

Egypt
Babylon
Persia
Indus

All 4 oldest human civilizations became Muslim because of what Islam offers to a human being.
Sorry pal got wrong facts there.
Only a part of Indus civilization converted to foreign religion. And a part of Indus civilization did not. ;)

One part chose to retain its faith as it offered superior values and equity compared to the foreign ones.
 
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@Aeronaut please take care of thread title. We don't have hindu past which is very offensive word for Pakistanis. But Rig Vedic past, Pakistanis are known as Sindhus and Pakistan as Al-Sindh 13 centuries ago! And Indians as Hindus and Bharat as Al-Hind. Hindus and Indians are bastardization of Sindh and Sindhus.

There is no such thing as gangia hindu Pakistani.

Sorry pal got wrong facts there.
Only a part of Indus civilization converted to foreign religion. And a part of Indus civilization did not. ;)

One part chose to retain its faith as it offered superior values and equity compared to the foreign ones.

Silly little men there is no such a thing as Bharat part of IVC. Even ancient Gujaratis were not aborginals of today but proper human beings.

The dilemma is that the Pakistan is going through an identity crisis.Anti India stance has become an Anti India Identity.

BS, its Indians who are going through idendity crisis because the land which gave them identity and religion is not part of their country. And the fact that Indians and Hindus are simply bastardization of superior ancient Pakistanis.
 
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Our ancesstors were mainly Budhists not Hindus.

As an ancient people our cultural evolution demanded more enlightened way of life which supported our aspirations.

We chose Islam as our way of life because it offered superior values and human equity.

Egypt
Babylon
Persia
Indus

All 4 oldest human civilizations became Muslim because of what Islam offers to a human being.
thats why forced conversion and killing of non -muslims happens.

before Buddhists , Hinduism was present , and many cities was centre of learning in hindu periods.

@Aeronaut please take care of thread title. We don't have hindu past which is very offensive word for Pakistanis. But Rig Vedic past, Pakistanis are known as Sindhus and Pakistan as Al-Sindh 13 centuries ago! And Indians as Hindus and Bharat as Al-Hind. Hindus and Indians are bastardization of Sindh and Sindhus.

There is no such thing as gangia hindu Pakistani.



Silly little men there is no such a thing as Bharat part of IVC. Even ancient Gujaratis were not aborginals of today but proper human beings.



BS, its Indians who are going through idendity crisis because the land which gave them identity and religion is not part of their country. And the fact that Indians and Hindus are simply bastardization of superior ancient Pakistanis.
Superior in what ways? .....You are not even manage your own country , always need to beg to eat . No knowledge of Sci and technology. Human races reached to mars and you still crying for Jihad in caves.... Nice human being.
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Our ancesstors were mainly Budhists not Hindus.

As an ancient people our cultural evolution demanded more enlightened way of life which supported our aspirations.

We chose Islam as our way of life because it offered superior values and human equity.

Egypt
Babylon
Persia
Indus

All 4 oldest human civilizations became Muslim because of what Islam offers to a human being.


There is always a fringe minority which decides to stay fundamentalist. Their choice, we made our own.
 
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