What are the 'Must Read' books about Pakistan?

[Armstrong]

haha mayan pyramid will do it
yea, who knows... maybe I am one of those online creeps

then I'll share my thesis translated by google !

Good...good !

So I gather you're half Mayan & half Aztec ?

Or was it half Inca & half Spanish Conquistador ?

You haven't asked me about my ethnicity yet ?

 

[Karla M]

Good...good !

So I gather you're half Mayan & half Aztec ?

Or was it half Inca & half Spanish Conquistador ?

You haven't asked me about my ethnicity yet ?

haha its because in Mexico is rude to ask about ancestry
are u kashmiri? or what is your ethnicity??

honestly speaking i have no idea what ethnicity i descend from... Its not mayan nor aztec because that's another region... If i had to guess i would say Spanish with Wixarika

 

[Armstrong]

haha its because in Mexico is rude to ask about ancestry
are u kashmiri? or what is your ethnicity??

honestly speaking i have no idea what ethnicity i descend from... Its not mayan nor aztec because that's another region... If i had to guess i would say Spanish with Waxirika

I am a Kashmiri - How did you guess ?

But I'm also half a Punjabi !

 

[Karla M]

I am a Kashmiri - How did you guess ?
But I'm also half a Punjabi !

I didnt just guess.... I have been reading, studying Pakistan and watching photos for years now...

hey now one question ...
in spanish Kashmir is translated as Cachemira... and saying kashmiri is Cachemirí but that sounds odd to me... and I think I'm forced to use the spanish translation

isnt it that kind of offensive? if i speak of Cachemira instead Kashmir ?

 

[Armstrong]

I didnt just guess.... I have been reading, studying Pakistan and watching photos for years now...

So are you telling me that you looked at me & thought 'Hey he must be a Kashmiri' ?

hey now one question ...
in spanish Kashmir is translated as Cachemira... and saying kashmiri is Cachemirí but that sounds odd to me... and I think I'm forced to use the spanish translation

isnt it that kind of offensive? if i speak of Cachemira instead Kashmir ?

Nahhh I think its alright !

I have a confession to make - I'm not a Kashmiri in a linguistic & cultural sense because I neither speak my ancestral tongue (Koshur the language of the Kashmir Valley) nor do I prescribe to the culture of Kashmir; in fact culturally & linguistically I'm a Punjabi from Lahore.

The thing is that my Great-Grandpa moved with his family from Khrew (a town in Indian Occupied Kashmir) to the areas the became Pakistani Punjab in the 1800s when severe famine & drought struck Kashmir (or so I've heard). After that the next generation of his family grew up amongst Punjabis & assimilated accordingly because Punjabis by their very nature were never into 'Ethno-Linguistic Nationalism' of any kind & welcomed them & thousands like them (from Kashmir) with open arms. Thats one of the reasons why now you find hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kashmiris living in Pakistani Punjab & baring our blood or our names there really isn't anything that separates us from the average Punjabi.

My extended family (on my Father's side) came to Pakistan from Kashmir between 47-49 when the country of Pakistan was created & when the atrocities against Muslim Kashmiris began in Kashmir - Most of them were massacred along the way while the remainder made it to Pakistan & haven't looked back ever since !

So whereas my cousins in Azad Jammu & Kashmir prescribe to our ancestral culture & language - I don't....I'm a Kashmiri of Punjab !

Its a little like that pochoo thing that you called Eva Longoria !

 

[Karla M]

So are you telling me that you looked at me & thought 'Hey he must be a Kashmiri' ?

yep... pretty much

also one of my threads was derailed by an indian and a pakistani for some anthropological debate haha posting hundreds of photos of all ethnicities in Pakistan and India... that also helped haha

Nahhh I think its alright !

I have a confession to make - I'm not a Kashmiri in a linguistic & cultural sense because I neither speak my ancestral tongue (Koshur the language of the Kashmir Valley) nor do I prescribe to the culture of Kashmir; in fact culturally & linguistically I'm a Punjabi from Lahore.

The thing is that my Great-Grandpa moved with his family from Khrew (a town in Indian Occupied Kashmir) to the areas the became Pakistani Punjab in the 1800s when severe famine & drought struck Kashmir (or so I've heard). After that the next generation of his family grew up amongst Punjabis & assimilated accordingly because Punjabis by their very nature were never into 'Ethno-Linguistic Nationalism' of any kind & welcomed them & thousands like them (from Kashmir) with open arms. Thats one of the reasons why now you find hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kashmiris living in Pakistani Punjab & baring our blood or our names there really isn't anything that separates us from the average Punjabi.

My extended family (on my Father's side) came to Pakistan from Kashmir between 47-49 when the country of Pakistan was created & when the atrocities against Muslim Kashmiris began in Kashmir - Most of them were massacred along the way while the remainder made it to Pakistan & haven't looked back ever since !

So whereas my cousins in Azad Jammu & Kashmir prescribe to our ancestral culture & language - I don't....I'm a Kashmiri of Punjab !

Its a little like that pochoo thing that you called Eva Longoria !

ooooohhh.... your great grandpa was Kashmiri... but next generations were born in Punjab... it means your sons will also be Kashmiris? and this goes for till the end of time? or only if you exclusively marry Kashmiris?

I had the same questions about Pashtuns... till how many generations are still counted as Pashtuns? or in just case, Kashmiri?

and yea..you're the pocho version of Kashmiri .........

 

[Armstrong]

yep... pretty much

also one of my threads was derailed by an indian and a pakistani for some anthropological debate haha posting hundreds of photos of all ethnicities in Pakistan and India... that also helped haha

I'm impressed !

ooooohhh.... your great grandpa was Kashmiri... but next generations were born in Punjab... it means your sons will also be Kashmiris? and this goes for till the end of time? or only if you exclusively marry Kashmiris?

I had the same questions about Pashtuns... till how many generations are still counted as Pashtuns? or in just case, Kashmiri?

and yea..you're the pocho version of Kashmiri .........

In Pakistan the lineage is patriarchal so a child is what their father is !

So I'm a Kashmiri & my progeny will be Kashmiris as well - No exclusivity about marrying Kashmiris or anything like that !

Besides the people in Pakistan inter-marry with each other's ethnicities quite frequently - I've got Pashtuns, Sindhis, Urdu Speakers, Kashmiris, Kohistanis & many Punjabis in my family !

But I'm not into this ethnic thing - I'm a Pakistani first, second & last !

 

[Karla M]

I'm impressed !

it's cool, right?!... my friends say i should get a life

In Pakistan the lineage is patriarchal so a child is what their father is !

So I'm a Kashmiri & my progeny will be Kashmiris as well - No exclusivity about marrying Kashmiris or anything like that !

Besides the people in Pakistan inter-marry with each other's ethnicities quite frequently - I've got Pashtuns, Sindhis, Urdu Speakers, Kashmiris, Kohistanis & many Punjabis in my family !

But I'm not into this ethnic thing - I'm a Pakistani first, second & last !

oohh so inter ethnicities marriages are very common... that's nice!!

so if i marry a pakistani... he would be whatever his father is and no mexican?
in Pakistan, a person can have dual nationality?

 

[Armstrong]

so if i marry a pakistani... he would be whatever his father is and no mexican?

That won't be an issue !

Pakistanis in general are more in Religion than they are into Ethnicities - Whether someone is a Muslim or not matters....their Ethnicity doesn't !

in Pakistan, a person can have dual nationality?

Yup !

 

[Karla M]

That won't be an issue !
Pakistanis in general are more in Religion than they are into Ethnicities - Whether someone is a Muslim or not matters....their Ethnicity doesn't !
Yup !

uhmmmm... so the latinas who married pakistanis, the ones you told me about... are Muslim now?

 

[Armstrong]

uhmmmm... so the latinas who married pakistanis, the ones you told me about... are Muslim now?

I think most of them were though of course I didn't ask them about their religion !

But it'll be safe bet that they are !

Having a Non Muslim spouse isn't taboo in Pakistan but its not socially encouraged either so very rarely does one find Muslims marrying Non Muslims or vice versa in Pakistan !

 

[Karla M]

I think most of them were though of course I didn't ask them about their religion !

But it'll be safe bet that they are !

Having a Non Muslim spouse isn't taboo in Pakistan but its not socially encouraged either so very rarely does one find Muslims marrying Non Muslims or vice versa in Pakistan !

ooohh... too bad i dont have a social-cultural chapter in thesis
what about arranged marriages? are they common? or naa

 

[Armstrong]

ooohh... too bad i dont have a social-cultural chapter in thesis
what about arranged marriages? are they common? or naa

Yes very common...almost every other marriage is an arranged marriage !

But its not as if its like 'Your supposed to marry XYZ...end of story' - No its a bit more complicated than that !

Most people go through an engagement first lasting anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years before they commit to marriage so as to know the other person better !

I find the whole thing horrible !

But then I'm very Anti-Marriage as it is !

 

[Karla M]

Yes very common...almost every other marriage is an arranged marriage !

But its not as if its like 'Your supposed to marry XYZ...end of story' - No its a bit more complicated than that !

Most people go through an engagement first lasting anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years before they commit to marriage so as to know the other person better !

I find the whole thing horrible !

But then I'm very Anti-Marriage as it is !

hahaha a horrible thing?! i guess it's not the greatest thing but come on... I'm sure it's good that your family finds someone suitable for you instead of only bothering and asking you to get married without even helping! -.- take me as an example i just turned 25 and i bet whole family will start bugging with this

that's why divorce rate is so high... people end up marrying just anyone just to please their family

 

[Armstrong]

hahaha a horrible thing?! i guess it's not the greatest thing but come on... I'm sure it's good that your family finds someone suitable for you instead of only bothering and asking you to get married without even helping! -.- take me as an example i just turned 25 and i bet whole family will start bugging with this

that's why divorce rate is so high... people end up marrying just anyone just to please their family

I have no desire to get married at all - Seen far too many seemingly perfect marriages go horribly bad !

Plus I never really relished the idea of settling down & becoming a human ATM Machine who has to kill his dreams, work like a donkey & carve out a socially acceptable standing for himself in the society all because now hes a family man & the bills are piling up & so is the expectation from society & those around you. Till finally one day you wake up & realize that half your life has gone by & you haven't even done 1/10th the things you wanted to do with your life 'cause it was always one more family commitment or one more work commitment & you kept putting things off because someone had to pay the bills & someone had to be there for the family ! And what do you knoq half your life is over & you've become the very thing you didn't want to become - an uninterested middle aged man who's back is bent from the burdens of life & the twinkling in his eyes is out because he sacrificed his dreams & his aspirations in life for work & for home !