How much of Pakistani culture is Indian?

[Ticker]

<sigh>

Some days I feel like bursting into tears.

For three years now, I've been saying, to whoever will listen, that on the sub-continent, there are eight river systems around which cultural systems have evolved, and several others isolated around these, which all go into an Indian cultural aggregation. Typically each of these has affiliations to its neighbours, and not any one of them is totally isolated. Just think it over.

The eight rivers around which these cultures have developed are:

The Ganges,
The Brahmaputra,
The Mahanadi,
The Godavari,
The Krishna,
The Kaveri (or Cauvery),
The Narmada,
The Indus.

The others include hill cultures, along the fringes of one or the other of these river systems, the desert culture around the Thar desert, and the forest cultures of central India and north east India.

These cultural building blocks go into more than one independent nation, but do not belong to those nations; in a manner of speaking, the nations belong to them. Pakistan, for instance, almost entirely is defined by what developed around the Indus Valley after the IVC, and the surroundings hills and plains. It is influenced by the desert culture, the Gangetic culture and the Narmada culture, but is distinct from them. They, in turn, are influenced by it, but are distinct from it.

Understanding this makes it clear that ethnicities, languages, cultures, religions are all elements that go into a nation, and it is a grotesque mistake to imagine that the nation goes into the building blocks.

There are thirteen such rivers flowing through Pakistan alone and not five as many believe. The development of river cultures therefore is also distinctly different in many ways. I agree to a large extent of what you have highlighted.

The political India. Of course. In a sense, although strictly speaking, it came into existence in 1857.

 

[Joe Shearer]

Abhi to chai pakoray ka time hai sone ka nahi.......

WHERE do you get these horrible little monsters from?

 

[Ticker]

Just confused, how Pakistanis defined their identity from 1947-71 when half of Pakistan was Bengali. How does Muhajirs fit in their current definition of Pakistani identity.

Please remain confused. It is in everybody's interest.

 

[Hyperion]

Who cares. I just wish that we had imported 'Idli Dossa' and few other South Indian dishes as well!

Me a dedicated foodie!

 

[INDIC]

Who cares. I just wish that we had imported 'Idli Dossa' and few other South Indian dishes as well!

Me a dedicated foodie!

Dude, have you tried Pav Bhaji nimbu maar ke.

 

[Hyperion]

Dude, have you tried Pav Bhaji nimbu maar ke.

Nahiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnn....... Tell me how how how how is it?


Me love all "thali" South Indian vegetable dishes... can't seem to get that taste anywhere else. I have an aunty in Stockholm, whom I visit just for eating her AWESOME veggie dishes.... (drooling......)

 

[ajtr]

WHERE do you get these horrible little monsters from?

baby pics on google.but sir they are not horrible they are adorable little angels.

 

[Ticker]

An excellent example and a good point. Although I personally hold the man to be a man of blood. What he did in cold blood, not in the heat of battle, is sickening.

He was one of the best thinking military generals I have ever read about. I don't find a comparable individual.

 

[Ticker]

Sir, Islam which is not a religion but a deen does not recognize maps and boundaries.

Seriously though, maps keep changing. For example, Sikkim joined India only in 1975

India invaded and captured Sikkim in 1975, for heaven's sake don't attempt to re-write history here.

 

[dollarman]

India invaded and captured Sikkim in 1975, for heaven's sake don't attempt to re-write history here.

Funny coming from a Pakistani, you guys have a PHD on that. What next, you are going to lecture us about women's rights and terrorism?

 

[INDIC]

Hyperion, Pav Bhaji is from Maharashtra, contains different vegetables but tastes really good. The bun's one side is roasted over melting butter sometime with spices.

 

[Ticker]

An individual makes his/her own identity with their actions baki sab dada-pardada ki identity etc.bakwas hai.

Many a human like to live on her dada/parrdad's identity and feel proud. What's wrong with that. It is his or her identity, whatever way he or she may like to identify with.

 

[Hyperion]

You bushtard, you made me so hungry now!!!!

The hell with it, you can continue with more pictures ...... (droooooooooling)

Hyperion, Pav Bhaji is from Maharashtra, contains different vegetables but tastes really good. The bun's one side is roasted over melting butter sometime with spices.

 

[notsuperstitious]

India invaded and captured Sikkim in 1975, for heaven's sake don't attempt to re-write history here.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

The vacuum created when shame left has been flled with some quality humor.

 

[Joe Shearer]

There are thirteen such rivers flowing through Pakistan alone and not five as many believe. The development of river cultures therefore is also distinctly different in many ways. I agree to a large extent of what you have highlighted.

I was generalizing, and I was counting the major river around which culture grew as one. When I say the Indus culture, I don't literally mean only those settlements on the banks of the Indus, any more than I want to exclude Madurai and Coimbatore, or Chettinad, because they are not literally on the banks of the Kaveri.

And if you take me literally, what happens to my people? Do we belong to the Ganges or to the Brahmaputra? The correct answer is 'both'. If you look at our features, you cannot fail to notice the Tibeto-Burman influence.

So read the description as a means of getting away from that very silly way of looking at history and culture that some people have, which lands up irritating not only Pakistanis, but also eastern Indians, southern Indians, western Indians - everyone but dwellers of the Gangetic plain.

Please remain confused. It is in everybody's interest.

Naughty, naughty!