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My Website

2010-06-05T04:55:00.001+08:00

Please see my website.

http://al-noor.net/index.php

Dreams and Clouds!

2010-06-03T23:23:00.000+08:00

How different are dreams and clouds? Are they same extension of imagination or they are the messages from deep mysteries of universe?

Like dreams clouds are always transforming and moving and changing its colors and shapes.

My New Website

2010-03-26T01:30:00.001+08:00

I have made my new website www.al-noor.net. Please visit and comment.

Wow

2010-03-26T01:29:00.000+08:00

Oh my Allah, I am able to see my blog again!Happy!

Relationships!

2009-07-25T21:38:00.001+08:00

Thorns of misunderstanding test our courage in relationship..............a bloody way ,just like human nature!

Birds

2009-07-23T12:17:00.002+08:00

How free are birds, thye fly, fly and fly and they spend life flying, flying and flying ........to destinations unknown and known.

Birds have wings to fly from pain, from loneliness and boredom and to the horizons of courage and mystery!

When I will be a bird?

Rains and Sadness!

2009-07-22T14:23:00.002+08:00

whenever their are rains, a film of sadness transcends over my heart and around me is only veneer of sadness overtaking all the facts of life.

Rains and sadness are like clouds, sometimes they mere hover around and then they unleash their fury like a storm in hte ocean.

Rains will always be htere and silence of sadness will also be there!

Ideas

2009-07-22T01:44:00.001+08:00

Ideas are product of their times or times spring up from ideas.

Sin!

2009-07-20T13:51:00.002+08:00

Sin from a plateu turns on a flat pitch........then drags downwards......a never ending abyss. This is the hell........result of our actions. May Allah give us courage to face allures of sin..Ameen.

Love!

2009-07-08T17:09:00.000+08:00

Conflict of desires and sacrifice is love!

Happiness!

2009-07-08T13:20:00.001+08:00

Freedom is greatest happiness!

Sleepless Nights! (Corrected)

2009-05-13T15:18:00.001+08:00

Sleepless Nights!
I dream of sleep and when I sleep I dream of being awoken! I chase the shadows which have not risen yet and I construct the shadows in my heart and they pierce deep in my soul to lacerate myself .

The pangs of searching the destination and yearning for a journey of a free destination allude me like the mirage alludes the passengers in desert.

I can not look beyond my self but can think of stars beyond the comprehension and reach of human gadgets... so is my expanse less than a grain of sand and vaster than the entire universe. I am in journey , a joureny which has begun since times immemorial and will end at indefinite limits of time.

The imagination dwarfs myself in eyes of action and ideas rage like a jungle fire to consume myself and environs to transform the nothingness into being ... absurdity at the same time. The duality of action is in my spirit and I am grappling with this giant since I was born in physical essence and in spiritual realm thousands of years ago and in future with its own limits of extrapolation and inertia at the same time. I am steeped in between flight and stagnation , my steps are moving backward and forward at the same time..........oh I am not moving! But this immobility soon will pass and from behind the dark clouds sun will rise and there will be light. The ligth will enlighten me and my surroundings and wait will be over as finding oneself in light is the essence of search ... and search continues. It neevr stops , even inertia is a stage of search..

Grief and Pain

2009-05-12T22:50:00.000+08:00

Love,grief, and pain are my fellows like night is fellow of day.

Love

2009-05-07T15:15:00.003+08:00

We are in grip of love and always yearn for love. The limits are not for love and we stop our journey to love by our reluctance, and not to embark upon journey of love.

Love is around this universe and awaits us ...we are waiting for its open arms.

Thoughts on Religious frenzy in Pakistan...

2009-04-14T19:58:00.002+08:00

Tragedies are part of humanity, and this is all result of LEGAL FECUNDITY in our cultural milieu. It has deep roots. MQM' s stance shows that how polarized our society ahs become. We need to brideg this gulf, otherwise it is sundering us aprt. Middle path is the best path, extremes are not solution.

acts always need to be seen as they are , life is not as simple as it seems to be. Debate always should be open and if you show such rigidity then what is difference between those and who profess progressive streaks? There is always room for improvement.

I remember Nizamud Din Auleya , if some one places thorns in your path and you also do same .. then there will be thorns every where in the world.Hazrat Ali RA said patience is the horse which never gets stumbled.Passions are not always the right solution.
It did not happen in one day and if THIS is the chance for peace then why not give it a chance?

HAs USA been successful in Iraq? Afghanistan? Was she successful in Vietnam? Let peace have a chance. People of Swat have right to peace as much as people in Washington, Bonn , London have right to peace. If USA can talk to Iran, and if it comes from USA in Afghanistan to talk peace with Taliban.... then it is ok. But if the same formulae is applied in pakistan. then how it can becomes darkest day?

Democracy is right of majority, although it is not always right. Let democracy carve its own path.
Guns are the enemy of humanity whether they are of talibans, Army, USA or any other else. Rome was not built in a day, and this polarization of decades can not be done away with power or brute power. How many wars have brought peace?

Imprisonment is also a way of dealing with disorders, if they fail to deliver ( although it is done under coercion) then it will die in the mountains .

Why a gun is sacred and other devil's? Guns can never be roses. Drawing lines is easy, seeing behind lines is not that easy.

We can take a horse to pond of water but can not force him to drink!
ANP has demanded this. After reading the text in depth and I am remembering that in year 1999-2000 in Peshawer Provincial Services Academy (PSA). I raised objections to this Regulation system to the person who drafted this Mr. Saleeem Khan Secretary Law in NWFP Government and I still oppose it at intellectual and conceptual level ...it can not solve the issues of people as it lacks the spirit of Islam.

But the sad reality is that people with guns have made this an issue and till this fang of slogan of religion is not taken out of their hands there can not be any peace.

This is peculiar to the area as FCR failed to adjust with the social set up of modern times in Swat and adjoining areas. It will be another law ... but if it brings peace then its faults are welcome.

Legalization in the area is a way to peace. As to hype that such things can happen in other areas...yes it is a threat in certain areas. But it is overly exaggerated to say that this narrow minded interpretation can triumph over whole of pakistan. Not at all, Pakistan is a diverse country, and its ethos are of peace and peaceful existence at dominant level. Unfortunately religion has overtaken normal debate in our country as we never thought with mind and now it has become monster. This monster of jihalalt can not be done away with killings. Simply can not be . Technology fights technology, this fight can not be fought with tools which people can not understand and correlate with.They exploit terms of Islam and interpret it as per their own ideas, but how far we have employed its real interpretation to negate their ideas? We have not done it simply , this is a real test of intellectual leadership of society. Power can never hold for longer. Nights can be long and long, but there is always DAWN.We need to take away their weapons of steel and fire and of hatred in the form of ideas. Till we deal with them holistically, they can not be defeated , this is truth sooner we learn better.
cheley chalu key manzil abhi nhin ai!

TRUTH can be overshadowed but can not be done away.

Thoughts on Religious frenzy in Pakistan

2009-04-06T19:21:00.003+08:00

Talbanization was an issue, is an issue and till it is rooted out will remain an issue.These punishments, mode and method as understood or portrayed is entirely not in line with practices of Islamic culture and history.This present extremism is not new to Muslim culture , such extremists have been there and they have been crushed with reason and power. But this time American presence and an advanced media presence and legacy of dictatorship is making it more difficult to develop consensus. This is also exaggerated by foreign score settling in this hour of crisis. To equate this with true teachings of Islam is wrong morally, historically and factually. Extremism is enemy o humanity and especially religious extremism is most dangerous. We should fight it with all means.

If we do,nt understand history of a process then we fail to control its present and ultimately its future. And Mian brethren, they are most important characters in the past and present of this issue. Do you remember when Anti-Terrorism courts were made and by whom and for what purpose? By NS in 1997 ,to curb and control menace of religious and sectarian violence. It was first practical and conscious attempt to curb this menace.

Why they get bad press I fail to understand. NS had a deal with Clinton to train Pakistani Commandoes and they will catch OBL form Afghanistan and hand over him*( Se Bob Woodward). SS got killed many terrorists in police muqabelas. The same solution now adopted was adopted for implementation in late 1990.s ... but coup stopped this process.

Stereotyping always results in narrow targets, in times of crisis, emergency, and open rebellion demand more justice and deeper understanding of the facts to chart a healthy future.In Islam even war has principles, these butchers of human beings have no relation and reason of Islam. If the terms and symbols of Islam are not used they turn the debate as Western propaganda and confuse masses and all related. We need to single out them from within islamic debate , otherwise their influence will increase. There is local old saying iron cuts iron! Mere opposing is not solution.

Diverting the debate and taking superficial view of things happening in pakistan related to violence can not help us understand the reality of rise in extremism in Pakistan. Karachi is different story and in mid 1990's I was offered to join terrorist organization SSP and was asked to join and get money and weapons on hatred of Shias and all other non sense.

Religion's political and vested interest use is the issue , it is not as simple fighting between USA and Taleban. religion when ever in human history has been used to protect power or improve morals of society is bad bad and will remain worst crime.

But this giant has been unleashed in Pakistan and ethnic strife should be separated from religious one. My point is that in hands and minds of Taleban the fang is use of religion and it s poisonous use for personal agenda. Not all people choose them due to poverty, money or other issues. The silent majority of our writers in Urdu press , mosques and many many anchorpersons supports them or helps to support them through garb of religion.

Till this garb of religion is taken away from them, they can not be defeated. Me and you can know them in our safe havens , the people and forces who face them have strong strong adherence to popular religion. It is issue of leadership of minds and it is unfortunate due to state and out of state elite's apathy they have created their base in society.

As k those who do,nt want to kill their Muslim brethren , although they are ready to kill no-Muslims. It is an issue of Asbiyah, solidarity . they are using false interpretation of Islam as their bases of cohesion. Are their opponents coherent? They are not ... and this confusion and half hearted debate has shown them more powerful and enduring. Mere killing people is not solution.

Peaceful solutions are longer and one defeat can lead to another war. Treaty of Versailles sowed seeds of Second Greta european war of 1940's. The solutions should be enduring, not fragile and breakable.

No one is angel here and we all have our personal issues and yes length of hair should not be determined by a decree!

If they did it was nom sense and it is not a good idea to repeat even .

But if some one has done something to curb this menace we should have perspective at least. Although politicians never do things of public concern till they have pressure from public.

Cultural ideas keep on changing and nothing is permanent in this regard. even if they have qualms that they will also determine fashion hair and design, then they certainly live in fool's paradise!

Self cantered interests are not always suitable for society. Every one has freedom , but it stops when one's nose starts!

Issue is terrorism on the religious ideas... this is a menace and we should fight it at all forums. If this flood is not stopped it will have implications of our choices even to wear what one likes or dislikes.

They (Taliban)have narrowest possible approach to life... and unfortunately they have bullets and bombs and use them to kill innocent people. This is inhuman and it grows from false and narrow interpretation of religion, this is fundamental issue. USA, Afghan War , poverty, all other issues come later.

Thoughts on Religious frenzy in Pakistan

2009-04-02T01:52:00.000+08:00

They were here we never noticed it. and let them grow and they have become monsters. I still remember 1995 in Lahore we were buying corn from a rehri and there was my female class fellow with me and it was summer she was wearing dupatta in her neck a mullah passed near her and made some stupid remarks which I did,nt listen I asked her what happened she said kuch nhin huwa . I insisted and then she tried to avoid it and said it happens. I asked her correct words then it was why you are not wearing dupatta on your head . I wanted to rush and ask that guy who the hell you are to tell her this? BUt my class fellow stopped me but I was really angry although it was my first year in lahore . This non sense was there.

And we let it grow by our own complacency, we never spoke against this abuse on name of religion and this has become fashion now to do all non sense things on name of religion and stifle debate and healthy way of life. We are afraid now to speak truth, mullah has taken over terms and definitions of Islam as per his narrow interpretation.

These bigots pasted wrong translations of Qur'an in public transport and distributed pamphlets on all non sense issues. they have hijacked the space of thinking and by propaganda taken all the authority of dictating norms of society in their own hands. and we merely say it is reaction to USA, no these are inner complexes and are inhuman and against spirit of humanity and Islam.

Random Thoughts on Human rights

2009-04-01T12:05:00.003+08:00

The human rights are universal and they are not exclusive to any specific religion, difference in intyerpretation and implementation is always there.Does Shari'ah and Muslim law acknowledge the human right to exist regardless of religion, race, etc...?This question has an answer, that in Islam there is no distinction of human beings on the bases of religion or idea to be reason for denying fundamental human rights.All human life is sacred irespective of race,co.,or, ideas and any thing else....

Human life can not be taken away except as prescribed by Law... in Islamic culture equivalent of this term is Shariah ( used in Cairo Declaration)Dear Paula , as to Jewish legal tradition , it has many many points which are not compatible with modern realities of life as interpretation of many Islamic laws is not in line with present realities of social and culturla level.

The point being referred usually in debate on the issue of killing infidels is about the situation when it is WAR, active war and in the battlefield not outside that specific context. Because Islam 's legal ideas even are applicable in war, Wars were humanized by Islamic ideas of humanity.IN no circumstances , a life can be taken only due to reason that he or she differs from one's... Read more rel;igious or other ideas. Human life is sacrosanct in all the circumstances except when one;s life in dnager then eevry one has rigth for self defence but it does not approve pre-emptive strikes. A blatrant cruelity of our modern state craft.As to legal comparison of different traditions of Law, it is amazing field where new ideas are explored. If you have any questions please let em know.thx.

Thoughts on Terrorism!

2009-03-31T20:40:00.002+08:00

It is same as in West teens spray bullets on school students. All violence is conceived by seniors and perpetuated through innocent teen agers.Youth is always choice for frantic ideas.It is also another world view which has neevr been accepted by our elite whther in power or from civil soceity. They have,nt taken up arms in a day.t has long past history behind it. Mere economy and brainwashing are not its bases. It has deep roots within in structure and make up of society and not all madresas are indulging in violence. We need to see the people and human beings from a perspective which is free from any biases. The use of stereotypes is good for popular media but not a truth.
If we keep the same thought process going , then how can we think that those guys in their 20,s from slums of NY , who fight in Afghanistan are not brainwashed?It is not war Mullah vs State, it is basic exploitation of human beings on the name of religion, democracy, peace , war against terrorism by vested interest.Killing innocent human beings is bad whether by suicide bombings or drone attacks.Maulvi is a facade, facts and reality is different, we have never tried to look into truth.I worked as a Magistrate, I also thought economy is the prime reason but when I asked one activist of these outfits he replied no I left my job of per month 10000 Rs. in Sui Gas and joined Kashmir Jihad and they paid me 10000 Rs. after three months.Yes it has one factor of economy, but also a factor , perhaps more stronger than economy of betterment in life after death.

The mind of those persons who come for suicide bombings is inspired by ideas and , it is a fact , they are desperate . for justice, and these semi-literate Mullahs allure them that Islamic system will establish justice. And due to lack of knowledge they think that these power hunger Mullahs will establish peace, they have a choice and they do it in majority cases by their own consent.It is a fact that these brainwashed youth are ready to sacrifice even their lives for a cause. How many are so committed? Their commitment is wrong and is result of ignorance and injustice of society, but it is the only option available to them so they get it and perform it.In this process the state of our sleuths is most horrible and permanent and we are not still able to bring those hidden powers under ambit of law to work as people want not as some dark , narrow minded sleuths think. The real struggle is spanned over generations, mere searching causes in poverty, and free education is not its crux.

poverty makes them vulnerable, it is one factor and is OBL poor? Is Baitullah Mehsud poor? Are the foreign guys living in FATA poor... they take Betasoles in their breakfast... and have three to four wives local and may be foreigners also.Remember Yvone Ridley? The UK journalist who embraced Islam, was captured by Taliban and is placed 25th on the list of influential women in UK now.In Pakistan we repeat the mantra that terrorism is result of Afghan War and in recent times poverty factor has been brought in. But West understands this far better than us , that it is an ideological war and they need to win this at every cost, as it is developing into alternative mode of thinking ( despite all its limitations and drawbacks) .Pause for a moment and take violence out of this debate and think if they resort human beings or their fellow religious brethren to resist peacefull onslaught of West and modernity ... I am sure many more followers will be there.

Although not all people will follow them. But they have point for left outs and desperate people and they sell it and every suicide bomber is an advertisement for them and nothing sells more than sense of injustice and victimhood and it is a selling point in South Asia.As to point of view that we can not talk to them and can not relate to them...........it is half truth, we have never tried to reach them , to know their working of mind and how they are able to inflict so much pain on humanity and especially Pakistan.I come again to poverty point , from whom they get their finances? It is major chunk is drugs now... but how did they begin?Foreign funds... right, for certain time but who were the real financiers. The common people not poor but rich people among commoners, I know the anxiety of many well to do fathers who supported Jehad in Kashmir and Afghanistan and regularly paid donations but were worried when their own sons went for Jihad in Afghanistan and kashmir.

In Gujranwala and Sialkot region Lashker had big rallies, processions and they collected literally hundreds of kilograms of gold in donations by extolling virtues of Jehad and this money had no record and it multiplied every year and how can poor finance them? They never gave them money, they gave their sons and rich gave them money.

This money was to save kashmir, Liberate kashmir and serve in afghan Jehad . This is a mass phenomenon and broad based not restricted to a select strata of society and we failed to see it coming as we usually fail to see things and simplify and then enjoy our own lives. This has been going since decades and 9/11, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Palestine has brought it in forefront , it is old simmering struggle and alas this has been taken over by ignorant, and obscurantist Mullahs and power drunk liberal state actors.The reasons are deeper and we need to look for truth. We have to own truth and then face it. Truth is not so simple.

My Younger sister has died...

2009-03-24T07:18:00.003+08:00

Obituary of my beloved sister Naseem Akhtar……..who has died so early in spring of her age and in spring season! ( May Allah rest her in peace)

My Younger sister has died...

Death is reality of life, but sometimes it has devastating affects not for the near and dear ones of departed; but even for the ideas which prop and sustain our lives. May be this is one of the moments in my life, I am thousands of miles away from my homeland and my younger sister has departed from this world leaving two kids in this mortal world.

Naseem was my sister, and till yesterday she was alive I talked to her days ago on phone she was admitted in hospital may be a month ago , but she was suffering silently and was victim of neglect of whom? I know, but I also don’t know. The life has painful realities and at the moment my reality is fluid and I am finding it very hard to accept my life’s decision as living away from my family. It is painful and I cannot hold my tears and I want to be stoic and there is no issue in denying that process of death is the transformation which liberates us from evils and sins of this world. Naseem is no more, now she cannot face more neglect and she died in silence as she was in her real life ………. Silent and I remember years ago , when she was sent away from our home to one of my Nanni (grand mother) as she was born very weak. For years we did not know of her and after many years she returned to our house ……. Her mother’s home or she was always homeless. She was homeless not in practical sense but in a spiritual and psychological sense and was married and she was still homeless. She has reached to her eternal abode; perhaps she was lost after death of Nanni…her mother… and searched her in the years she spent alone. My mother told me often she was silent and did not mix with others in our family, with other 10 siblings. Yes she lived in her own world and I will never be able to know secrets of that world………….we die in ignorance and live in ignorance.

My heart weeps, I weep as I try to write these lines, I cannot fathom this fact that she died so early, perhaps she endured enough. She was barely in her twenties. Daughter have to suffer, women have to suffer and this suffering wrenches my heart and it will keep on wrenching our hearts, the death is a fact and we can never run from it and no one can run from death…………but searching for love and belonging and then dying in process is a death which has pain painted over again and again with all the landscape colors of heart and soul.

Pain, pain and grief has overtaken me and also anger at human indifference and blaming cannot remove the signs of blood. Blood at invisible hands and blood spewed out of lungs, she died from lung disease and still I don’t know the real cause. Tuberculosis or what else? Perhaps there is no need to know as passed away souls cannot come back and let her rest in peace! May be her search has entered into another phase.

Life, death and pain… the eternal symphony sung in the march of human beings from cradle to grave. But these rhythms of life take a heavy toll willingly or unwillingly we have to suffer their brunt. She has left a daughter in cradle barely some months old and herself gone to sleep in the lap of earth…the ultimate cradle of human souls!

I remember her son Junaid, may Allah bestow Junaid with wisdom and courage of Junaid Baghdadi (RA), her mother is no more to look after him, to take care of him. The pictures ;when Naseem lost her path while going away from home to meet her Mausi (aunt) is in front of my eyes and I can relive the anxiety which I faced , that my sister is lost and how frantically was my mind racing to determine where she has gone. Now she is lost till the final day! Her silence had an ocean of ideas in herself. Memories have remained and they have become eternal by her untimely departure.

Spring of her age has been taken by autumn so early so suddenly and there is winter… a long long winter……when will spring come again? We mortals don't know……… we can never know depths of human heart and human limits.

She longed for company and her pleasures of company with her children have been cut short by delicate balance of life and death. She yearned and thought of her kids on her death bed, her body was frail and she could no more cope with loneliness and mountain of pain surrounding her.

Vivid memories are casting shadows of reminiscence over my heart; perhaps they were so few and so personal. Many memories; will never lose their factual contours and anguish ingrained in them. May Allah rest her soul in peace, eternal peace!

24^th March 2009

LIfe

2009-03-06T01:08:00.000+08:00

Colours of life are ever changing!

Revenge and madness!

2009-02-26T00:07:00.001+08:00

Revenge and madness flow in my soul!

My land is drenched with blood!

Power rules supreme and

Ravan's spirit ahs not vanished

Seasons

2009-01-25T13:37:00.000+08:00

Seasons vary and life changes and so does moods!

Blood Thirsty Two feet Animals!

2009-01-20T16:46:00.000+08:00

Blood suckers have closed minds
and they operate under fear that once again there can be a holocaust
and even if we write they will ignore the discussion and divert it
they have become expert in shamlessely lying and distorting history
it is like a mad dog syndrome , its short term cure is kill it and long term is not posssible as madness can occur any time
I rememebr Iqbal , the power does not accept logic!
whther it is in hands of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Christians, worshipping power is satanic trait.
and alas satanic traits are in abundance and well worshipped under capitalistic and consumersit society.

Light!

2009-01-20T16:05:00.000+08:00

Knowledge is a light but to talk in terms of power is deception as power is a mirage and a tool to benefit some.

Knowledge is emancipation from greed, lust, ignorance, hatred, violence, destruction of environment. The knowledge looses its sense when its use is for power accumulation.

Then in words of Gandhi... science is a sharp razor in hands of a baby.

The present violence and destruction of humanity in Twin Towers and in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Palestine is testimony to that fact.

Religion.

2009-01-20T06:33:00.001+08:00

Religious ideas can be a whole identity for Zionists, extremists, fundamentalists and rabid mullahs, Hindu sevaks........... but the process of civilization is beyond parts. It is a complete whole and for Muslims , the phases of historical prominence and submission are varied.
Mere number of scientists can not show the level of civilization or can show the depths of malaise.
Every civilization has its own metamorphosis and for Muslims the comparison with any other but except itself is a meaningless and absurd reality.
We simply do not know depths of agony....half baked truths are malicious and so is this information.
It distorts and negates the real issue. It is tip of ice berg

Blood!

2009-01-17T09:38:00.000+08:00

Blood flows and some times its impact is so deep as that it marks the places and then just flows............and flows unstoppable.

Peace

2009-01-07T11:19:00.001+08:00

Peace is the most elusive of goals in present times as war mongers are in power!

Pakistan

2009-01-07T09:59:00.003+08:00

I will quote some examples to show that not all things are on decline.

Pakistan's tele- density has been most intensive throughout last 2 decades, well before this mobile frenzy... it was spearheaded by PTCL... a Civil Institution.
Pakistan's women engineering ratio 16 % is higher than even USA 10 % ( see rozee.com's survey of employment.)
The doctors, Chartered Accountants, engineers produced by our institutions work in whole of the wolrd and their quality is not lower than any one. Despite all our efforts to politicize our institutions.
In last year's CERN's landmark experiments to ncreate Big Bang particle collission there were four Pakistani scientists who participated in the experiments... they were from Government Departments.
Late Zafar Ullah Khan worked in International Court of Justice for about one decade showing great admiration from all and sundry.He was Pakistani!
An agriculturist in Agriculture department developed 7.5 mm Basmati rice , the largest kernel size in wolrd , later on it was sold to Guard rice and Guard rice is earning lot of money by selling this rice through exports.
In Pakistan the ratio of lawyers is the highest in the world about 400 per 100000 persons even higher than USA about 350 per 100000 persons. It was one of the reasons for recent active Lawyers Movement in Pakistan.
Since many years Pakistani students are performing excellently in World Debating Competitions .... although more students are from Public schools!
Pakistan is one of the countries whose expenditure is highest on higher education , that is the reason that in high professions wolrd wide a lot of Pakistanis are seen.
Jamshed Marker, Agha Shahi, Munir Akram,and many other people worked in United Nations system and earned a great name for country and Pakistan.
Dr, Nafis Sadiq rose to be Head of UNFPA ... she is Pakistani.
in NASA and other institutions of research there are many Pakistanis who studied in Pakistani Universities .
Many new varieties of wheat, maize, rice and citrus have been developed in Pakistan.
IBA in Karachi was one of the first Business Schools in Asia in Public Sector.
Family Planning at Public level was initiated in Pakistan.

These are some examples, my point is not that all things are green, there are problems and they need to be sorted out but it does not mean that every thing is doomed and we have done any thing. Life is amde of controversies and healthy debate is a way to get clearer. In next e-mail I will write statistics . We need confidence... not over confidence. We are experts in knowing our weaknesses and short comings but at least we should try to learn our strengths also. I have intentionally mentioned a few things , the point is too see the both sides of the picture.Glass in not always half empty , it is also half full!

Palestine!

2009-01-04T03:58:00.002+08:00

O Palestine ! O Palestine!

I bleed and weep for you........... tears roll from my eyes and I cry and cry!

Palestine, how far can pain be endurable?

Palestine how far can human beings be blind?

Who will sweep these thorns from cheeks of children?

Who will choke the hands of death?

How far blood will spill?

O Palestine! O Palestine!

Let the pain turn into panacea!

Hope neevr dies and darkest of the nights have to give way to dawn!

We have to bleed , we have to sacrifice we have to keep on walking!

Blood will not be wasted!

We will create gardens of hope and love not of revenge!

Although we are under fire , but fires have their limits also!

Thoughts on Understanding Pakistan's Cultural Landscape

2009-01-04T02:54:00.002+08:00

Nice, remember attacks of an ethnic party in Karachi?Remember threats to reporters of Jang recently?Remember when hawks of so-called mullah parties threaten media?Remember attacks on Geo office? We are not always right, we commit errors and mistakes and we should learn to be rational and not try to defend acts of our supporters . We should get out of dhera bazi! All animals are equal but some are more equal!

t is not raising questions against any one's honesty or dishonesty. Going back to history this same Mumtaz Bhutto under Bhutto in 1970's sowed seeds of linguistic hatred and fighting in Sindh and Bhutto supported him despite the riots in city and objections by many cabinet members of that time , (see Dr. Mubasher Hussian's Mirage of Power).I remember Nizam Ud Din Auleya 's saying if you also place thorns in the path of a person who places thorns in your way then in whole world will be thorns.In Sindh no doubt Mumtaz Bhutto is known for sowing seeds of regional biases, but this can prove counter productive in long run.

Media represents the society's views .. albeit in a selective way... The cultural realities of Pakistan can be done away in a flash of eye.
Nice, these conspiracies are our own follies and our own ideas of grandeur and a cliche statement, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.As a student of Pakistan polity, I am amazed at the slogans of democracy , when the power accumulation is only purpose of all the subsequent rulers military or dictators alike!reasons are also politicians but the real culprit the framework of our state based upon colonial ethos and constitutional legacy of Indian Act of 1935. It is based upon contradictions and we always mutilate its face and then claim democracy, security and many many other issues.Conspiracies are easy way to divert attention from our own failures and when we do,nt want to resort to introspection then "conspiracy theory" is the easiest task! and alas Muslims have become the most avid lovers of such theories... liberals and conservatives alike!

eudal society, mullah controlled minds, authoritarian structures of society. Retrogressive attitudes of social expression. Increasing religious extremism. Intolerance, hypocrisy, desire for power accumulation, gender discrimination, caste ridden social fabric,Power hungry elite, militarized society.have you ever researched how organized is the influence of hidden powers but with clear agenda to control the opinion making of our society?

they consider themselves hidden but broader research shows that how the minds in Pakistan are poisoned on the name of ethnicity, religion , politics, language, sectarianism and lot more.Heard of Pavlov's experiments?

Yea, politicians are here targeted especially and singled out. It is wrong and we fail to take overall critical stock of social downfall.

these biases are intrinsic to our fractured and polarized society and lack of common space is being overtaken by jahil mullahs and already media... led by electronic media in pAksiatni society.

Nights

2009-01-04T02:21:00.000+08:00

The nights have there own rythym untouched by our own flow!

Freedom

2009-01-04T01:52:00.001+08:00

Why people are poor?

2009-01-01T20:14:00.002+08:00

As to how rich are responsible?

Its answer is in rampant consumerism and fundamental capitalistic mode of speculation and accumulation of wealth and concentration of wealth in a few elites,politicians,bureaucrats, corporate entities, powerful feudal and wealthy corrupt mullahs and all those who exploit the resources of society to enrich themselves at the cost of others.A poor man can not take loan of mere thousands but a mill owner can take billions and run away without paying it even. ( The present bailouts of West are also sophisticated tools of the same mentality).

Knowledge control , power control, elitist social hierarchy deny talented the right to education, health, and a decent code of life.Is the world's resources for few or for whole of humanity?Should a weak person be deprived of whatsoever he has or help him to earn more?Why WTO asks fro Free Trade and rich dole out subsidies of thousands and put pressure on poor to deny this right?Who eats, consumes , wastes resources and then says , it is my skill and then says poor are poor because they do,nt work!
Who controls sources of wealth and who develops public ideas? Who exploits African mines and gold and keeps those poor? Who buys products and raw materials at lower prices and then sells at exorbitant profits ?Who makes laws to legalize the in-just divides of wealth and power structure in society?( I do,nt believe on communist ideology of state control... it is another name of exploitation. )

Who wants to sell GM food to poor people?Who forced farmers to grow coffee in Africa and destroyed local economies and made them dependent upon greed of corporate entities?

Why suddenly prices of oil and food items are going down?Who gambles and speculates in stock exchange?Poor people?Who works hours and hours to produce and who remains poor even after 10-15 years of service but the owners build many more factories?Who wants to sell Lux and Fair n Lovely to poor who have no clean water to drink?

there is old Urdu saying leray fauj nam serkar ka( Military fights but kudos to Government.)!so is our present age, where exploitation is justified on the bases of innovation, free market economy, capitalism and free world.Power is logic here and we should accept this dark fact, if we accept the rot then may be we can try to change it.

2008

2008-12-31T21:31:00.000+08:00

2008 will pass within hours from now and the memories, frustrations, achievements, and absudrdities of an ever changing life will remain glued to memory and foster newer ideas.

Time!

2008-12-28T06:29:00.001+08:00

Looking for essence of tiem and learning to cope with realities of life is the beauty!

Time flies!

2008-12-28T05:48:00.001+08:00

Another year has passed and many many more years will pass till the time comes when only love will remain and time will merge with love and will express itself in its glory.

The process and journey continues and the time will keep on changing and perspectives will be happening and unfolding itself in a mosaic of ever changing landscape of our imagination and limitations of our own understanding!

Sleepless Nights!

2008-12-05T01:32:00.002+08:00

I dream of sleep and when I sleep I dream of being awoken! I chase the shadows which have not risen yet and I construct the shadows in my heart and they pierce deep in my soul to lacerate myself .

The pangs of searching the destination and yearning for a journey of a free destination allude me like the mirage alludes the passengers in desert.

I can not look beyond my ownself and can think of stars beyond the comprehension and reach of human gadgets... so is my expanse less than a grain of sand and vaster than the entire universe. I am in journey , a joureny which has begun since times immemorial and will end at indefinite limits of time.

The imagination dwarfs myself in eyes of action and ideas rage like a jungle fire to overcoem myself and my environs to transform the nothingness into being and absurdity at the same time. The duality of action and action is in my spirit and I am grappling with this giant since I was born in physical essence and in spiritual realm thousands of years ago and in future with its own limits of extrapolation and inertia at the same time. I am steeped in between flight and stagnation , my steps are moving backward and forward at the same time..........oh I am not moving! But this immobility soon will pass and from behind the dark clouds sun will rise and htere will be light. The ligth will enlighten me and my surroundings and wait will be over as finding oneself in light is the essence of search ... and search continues. It neevr stops , even inertia is a stage of search..

Hatred

2008-12-02T18:06:00.003+08:00

Why we hate and how does it transform into a mania to kill human beings?

Nights

2008-11-24T12:47:00.002+08:00

Nights flow and flow in the oceans of time and my pain also mingles with the beauty of night.
I dream to be part of nigth in a cretive way, but my agony just remains clueless and moving... moving and mere moving!

Buddha!

2008-10-29T02:20:00.002+08:00

Buddha as a person will remain as an inspiration in its pure form. I agree that the political realities have taken over the spiritual messages of the Buddha.Budhha was an inspring person who in evoked the sense of balance for his followers. His Nirvana was discovery of a tormented spirit to search bliss.The relaity of present adherence is more of its followers than the teachings of Great Sage.

After 18th century the development of Buddhism has been in the monastries, and in Japan , China, and other countires of South east Asia it had been dormant.If you look at the present ideas on Buddhism in Japan they are being directly related to the issues of sutainable development, environment and other related soft issues . these are covertly political issues may be not at present but in future.in China hte 2006 's buddhist Forum heralds new changes in the behaviour of Buddhist thought to the modern political cum social relaities of Globalization.the political role of Buddhism in tibet is the msot political and it has direct bearing with the political ambitions and Lamaism of Tibet.This has its own unique contours, so after 18th century the Buddhist thought has;nt been single dimensional. it has multi dimensional facets.But as a political force it was not the purpose of Buddha's thought and his followers from Ashoka to present have modified it in line with for their own circumstances.

Women as Person!

2008-10-22T20:11:00.002+08:00

Liberty? most complext idea beaten to its limits on altar of freedom of expression.

Conflict is not the only mode of evolution in human history.

Roles change and in Pakistani society, religion and modern ideas are the real issues which prohibit the practical just society.

First we should clarify what is the basic point from which we want to get liberated?

We are not men or women by choice!

accepting gender reality is certainly a step forward!

Islam is complete code of life, Islam has solution of all the issues. These are cliches, we need to dissect the issues in a specific way and why we always treat women as objects... why we fail to understand the Prophet peace be upon him ' s sayings and action of treating her as a PERSON. Why we equate decadent Hinduistic status of women in our so-called Eastern society to keep her subjugated?

Have we noted that most common abuses hurled while fighting are aimed at women of house? Why this is so?

Why all jahil mullahs are worried about issues of women , when she talks for her right. They all forget the communal differences when questions of women's rights as a person come.

They vindicate forced marriages, denial of property to women , her inferiority and subjugation under name of Islam.

They distort meaning of Holy Quran to hold women under burden of traditions

our ideals flow from our own history, not to be imitated but to be learned in spirit and action. Why we are not able to follow free spirit of Hazrat Ayesha RA, why we fail to take inspiration from her knowledge of legal and deep understanding of Islamic law? Why we look towards West always to get our Liberation Movements.

How far we can impose our own image of a submissive, docile, confused and afraid image of women in our imaginary and practical world?

Religious interpretation and name of Islam is used as excuse to keep justice denied to women of our society. They are first an Insan, afterwards mother,sister, wife , beloved etc. First we have to accept her as PERSON... co discrimination on bases of gender, and no competition also. accept her as a free and independent person having her own ideas and self. In Quran there is no superiority or inferiority of men or women, but we have changed the meaning to suit our own whims and wishes.

Sleep

2008-10-22T10:20:00.001+08:00

Sleep and dreams ? Why are they interwoven? Is sleep a name of temporary death? then why we love to die?

On Liberty's Shades

2008-10-22T10:09:00.000+08:00

Liberty? most complext idea beaten to its limits on altar of freedom of expression.Conflict is not the only mode of evolution in human history. Roles change and in Pakistani society, religion and modern ideas are the real issues which prohibit the practical just society.First we should clarify what is the basic point from which we want to get liberated?We are not men or women by choice!accepting gender reality is certainly a step forward

Hope II

2008-10-20T22:13:00.000+08:00

Then get new lease of imagination and if possible life also!

Hopes

2008-10-20T21:36:00.000+08:00

What to hope when we are subjected to tyranny of routine survival?

Global Recession and China

2008-10-20T11:18:00.003+08:00

Global Recession and China

Decoupling , the theory that Chinese economy is independent and is not dependant upon USA and EU market has been tested severely under the after math of the recent financial crisis in Global markets, especially financial and stock exchange markets. This shows that the world economy is truly global in scope practical implications. The impact of global crisis is explored in the context of financial, manufacturing and stock exchange of China.

"Decoupling holds that European and Asian economies, especially emerging ones, have broadened and deepened to the point that they no longer depend on the United States for growth, leaving them insulated from a severe slowdown there, even a fully fledged recession. Faith in the concept has generated strong outperformance for stocks outside the United States - until now." Reference International Herald Tribune

Financial investments abroad and Chinese losses

In China the impact of international financial crisis has been varied and it has not been open and clear due to lack of transparency and information gathering in China. In financial field China Investment Corp., the sovereign wealth fund that bought stakes in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group LP before their stocks plunged, may have as much as $5.4 billion frozen in a U.S. money-market account. Stable Investment Corp., an affiliate of Beijing-based CIC, was the largest shareholder in Reserve Primary Fund on Sept. 1, according to regulatory filings. Reserve Primary suspended withdrawals after becoming the first U.S. money- market fund in 14 years to leave investors with losses. Stable Investment had about $6 billion in additional U.S. money-market funds earlier this year. China, which has primarily held its $1.8 trillion in currency reserves in low-yielding U.S. government debt, set up CIC last year to put about $200 billion into assets with higher rates of return, such as stocks and corporate bonds. It invested $5 billion in Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest U.S. investment bank, and $3 billion in buyout firm Blackstone, manager of the largest leveraged buyout fund. Both New York-based companies have lost more than 70 percent of their market value since the purchases.
CIC devoted most of its money to domestic banks, and has about $35 billion remaining for global investments, according to McCormack at Z-Ben, which consults on China's money- management industry. The fund had placed $11 billion in U.S. money-market funds, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It may be using the money funds to park cash until selecting outside money managers to help it invest, said Brad Setser, a fellow for geo-economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank.``. It has taken them awhile to figure out what they want to invest in,'' Setser said. This shows the cautious policy adopted in aftermath of the financial crisis by Chinese authorities
Depending on its performance, CIC may be allocated as much as $1 trillion of China's foreign exchange reserves, according to Michael Martin, an Asian trade and finance analyst at the U.S. Congressional Research Service in Washington.
A Sept. 29 2008, SEC filing shows that Stable Investment held 11.1 percent of Reserve Primary's institutional shares at the beginning of the month. Based on the 48.9 billion institutional shares outstanding as of May 31, the most recent information available, Stable Investment's stake would have totaled about $5.4 billion.
Stable Investment has also invested roughly $5.9 billion in three other U.S. money market funds, according to documents filed earlier this year with the SEC. That includes $2.1 billion in the Invesco Aim Liquid Assets Portfolio; $2.3 billion in the JPMorgan Prime Money Market Fund; and $1.5 billion in Deutsche Asset Management's DWS Money Market Trust.
By Sept. 16 2008, the day after Lehman had filed for bankruptcy protection, investors had sought to withdraw $40 billion from the $62.5 billion Reserve Primary fund. Reserve Primary ended up releasing $10 billion at a rate of $1 a share. The last value published for the fund was 97 cents a share. Reserve Primary's loss triggered a widespread run in which investors withdrew $133 billion from U.S. money-market funds the following two days.
Reserve Primary is liquidating its assets and expects to make an initial distribution of $20 billion to remaining investors .The situation became clearer when China Investment Corp. (CIC), operator of the country's sovereign wealth fund, on 15 October 2008 said it had given notice to the Reserve Primary Fund, a U.S. money market fund, to withdraw all its investment before the latter's suspension announcement.
Bloomberg reported on 13 October 2008 ,that CIC may have as much as US$5.4 billion frozen as the Reserve Primary Fund suspended withdrawals last month. The Reserve Primary Fund suspended redemption last month because of losses on debt issued by bankrupted Lehman Brothers.A U.S. regulatory filing showed Stable Investment Corp. was the biggest institutional shareholder in the U.S. monetary market fund with a stake of potentially more than US$5 billion.
CIC confirmed its investment in the Primary Fund, but said it would not be subject to the possible 3 percent losses incurred by the Reserve Primary Fund. The fund announced investors who hadn't made a withdrawal before the redemption suspension may be subject to the 3 percent principal losses.
The Sovereign wealth fund, with capital of US$200 billion from the country's huge foreign exchange reserve, has attracted great attention at home as its two major investments in Blackstone and Morgan Stanley suffered losses during the ongoing financial crisis.
China Investment Corp., the government's sovereign wealth fund, may raise its stake in U.S. investment group Blackstone LP after the two agreed to boost the Chinese company's ownership limit.CIC had paid $3 billion for a stake in Blackstone's June 2007 initial public offering, but has seen the value of that investment sink in the bear market, to the consternation of many in China.
According to a regulatory filing, a revised agreement reached on 16 October 2008, between Blackstone and CIC unit Beijing Wonderful Investments Ltd. has raised the limit on the Chinese company's stake to 12.5 percent from 9.99 percent. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, posted on Blackstone's Web site, did not require regulatory approval.
There was no official comment from CIC on its plans for additional share purchases. At the time of Blackstone's IPO, its shares were valued at $31 apiece. On Thursday, they rose 1.7 percent to $9.36.The $200 billion investment arm of the Chinese government was set up to make profitable use of Beijing's foreign reserves, which totaled $1.9 trillion by the end of September 2008.
CIC's biggest investment to date was a $5 billion investment in Morgan Stanley, one of nine major banks now seeking relief from the deepening credit crisis through the U.S. government's $700 billion banking bailout. That purchase will give it a 9.9 percent stake in the investment bank.
The Chinese sovereign wealth fund also invested more than $100 million in Visa Inc.'s $19.1 billion IPO and has invested in a fund managed by J.C. Flowers, a U.S. private equity firm.
Stock , Commodities Market and Economic Crisis :
Shanghai Stock Exchange is the bench mark fro Main Land China and it has also been victim of the crisis in a drastic way. SSE has lost over 60 % of its value than its peak value a year ago and the slide has been steady and it has not been able to correct its balance after the global crisis. The SSE closed on 1833.26 points on 17 October 2008. This is at its historical lowest points.
China’s securities watchdog has warned listed state-owned enterprises against trading speculatively in the futures market as it acts to contain risks amid volatility in the global commodity markets. The SOEs can only use futures contracts as a hedging tool and must strictly control risks, China Securities Regulatory Commission, said in a Website statement . "China is highly reliant on imports of raw materials, but their prices are determined by overseas futures prices." However, the United States subprime crisis triggered volatility in futures prices and companies faced higher risks. So hedging in overseas futures market plays an important role in helping companies keep risks at bay and also helps them control costs while they aim to be profitable."The risks are manageable as long as we adhere to the principle of hedging," CSRC noted. Crude oil, copper, palm oil and rubber fell yesterday on concerns that sales will plummet.
The Chinese banking regulator on 16 October 2008 urged financial institutions to step up their supervision in face of world economic turmoil. The China Banking Regulatory Commission is requiring institutions in the banking industry to tighten up its credit management and avoid embezzlement of funds to the stock market. Control over property-related credit should be strengthened to encourage normal consumption, strike down on speculative activities and support the rational development of the real estate industry, said the commission. It also urged commercial banks to make better preparations for possible losses, asking them to increase provisions.

Manufacturing Sector … Economic Crisis and Relocation

The majority of China’s exports are destined to USA and EU market so the present crisis has played a dominant role in affecting the manufacturing base of the Chinese export dependant industries.

The toy market especially and new export orders have been affected at a broad spectrum of companies in China. Many big companies dealing in Christmas toys like Santa Claus' outsourcing operation is being affected by deepening US economic woes--US orders for Christmas products made by Chinese manufacturers have dropped off a cliff.

Roosevelt Gift Manufacturing Company in Xiamen, Fujian province is one of the three largest craft manufacturers in Xiamen, who mainly produces Christmas products for the America market."Nowadays, the business environment at home and abroad is poor. On the one hand, we have to face pressures from rising costs and Yuan appreciation; on the other hand, many orders have evaporated due to weaker US market demand," company’s representative Yuki said. She also said her company was searching for counter-measures. For instance, since later last year, the company had switched its target market to Europe out of concerns over its US partners' likeliness to breach contracts. But even the European market is unpredictable.
The firm even tried to squeeze costs by simplifying their products. "The US clients were more interested in lower prices, because expensive Christmas gifts may not be popular," Yuki said. She added the company had considered marketing domestically but was frustrated by thinner profit margins and complicated marketing channels.
Roosevelt is not an isolated company in this squeezing environment. Zhejiang province's Yiwu County, one of China's major Christmas product exporting bases, is also facing a colder market.
He Songping, president of Yiwu Zhong Sheng Crafts Company, which makes Christmas trees, told the EO that orders from the US have shrunk over 50%. Furthermore, since steel prices have jumped 30%, despite simplifications to product design his firm's products are still 15% more expensive.
The trend reaches beyond Christmas paraphernalia. Yiwu's export volume with the US registered negative growth for three consecutive months earlier this year. In April, local enterprises began to diversify their markets, and from May, Europe replaced the US to become Yiwu's largest exporting market.
A professional market consultant institute forecast a further decline in the trade against US and the US financial crisis would be bound to jeopardize its real economy. Under such condition, China had better diversify its exporting market like opening up new market in Middle-East, South Asia and Latin America areas.In America, consumers would often queue for shopping during the month-long golden shopping season that ran from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day. The season has traditionally contributed nearly half of total revenues and profits to US retailers. In the US, Christmas is not only a festival but also a huge economic cake.
However, Santa seemed likely to be less generous in year 2008. Owing to the bad economic situation last year, Christmas spending on the average child stood at around 200 dollar in the US. However, many families planned to halve that spending in year 2008 , because nobody wants to face a heap of credit card bills after the holidays. In addition, the unemployment rate in America is climbing and many people are living off of social welfare services."On September 23 2008, the US National Retail Federation forecasted weakness in the US retail business. The federation contributed the reason to the downturn in the real estate market, climbing unemployment and rising food prices.
When interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Laurence Meyer, vice-chairman of the board at Macroeconomic Advisers, a US-based economic forecasting firm, said that "The worst-case scenario is that the Fed loses its ability to stimulate the economy further as the funds rate moves to zero."
His firm sees the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 7% next year; though he says it could go to 8% or even higher if credit markets don't improve.
Recent example of lost orders and impact of global crisis is showing itself in bankruptcies and on 16 October 2008 a town government in Guangdong Province has paid 24 million Yuan (US$3.51 million) in emergency living allowances to about 6,500 workers after the world's largest toy maker announced two factories of the town were bankrupt. The companies relied heavily on exports to the United States with 70 percent of all toys being sold to that market, the report said. Analysts said the bankruptcies were the result of the ongoing US credit crisis and that it was the first bankruptcy case on the Chinese mainland due to the global financial turmoil.
There was already a spreading of the crisis in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang about 50 % toy manufacturers of Small and Medium Size entrepreneur , textile manufacturers and other consumer goods have already gone bankrupt and the ratio is increasing day by day as the crisis deepens more and more . Chinese government is asserting that they collapsed due to lower efficiency in management and higher cost of production. But the appreciating Yuan has also affected the fortunes of these SMEs. The Chinese government has raised rebate of textile exports to 13 % to counter the affects of global crisis, appreciating Yuan and increased costs.
The trend of these closures and bankruptcies is going to be longer and protracted in days to come and government is also planning to develop new policies to tackle this crisis.
Real Estate Crisis.

The development boom in China in real estate developed huge projects and resulted in increase of prices of housing units across the major cities of China. As the economic slow down and increased inflationary pressure has set in. This has prompted the wave of housing price cuts appearing to have swept across major cities in China after the Olympics. Property developers in Shenzhen, Southern Guangdong province, were among the first to slash prices to boost the sluggish local real estate market. The move, however, triggered a domino effect across the country, with developers in Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and other large cities following suit.
Shenzhen
In the first week of October, the daily-average price for houses traded in Shenzhen had tumbled below 10,000 Yuan per square meter, an important psychological barrier used to measure the decline of the market.
Traditionally, the period from September to late-October has been the high season for property markets. However, the annual Shenzhen autumn fair for real estate that opened on September 29 had dismaying results, according to participating developers.
Based on data released by the Shenzhen bureau of land resources and housing management on October 2, that day alone 64 units of new houses, measuring 5,222 square meters in total, were sold for 50.13 million Yuan.The above trading volume averaged out to 9,599 Yuan per square meter--the lowest daily-average price recorded in the City in 18 months.
According to the Bureau's latest market analysis report for the months from January to August, the real estate market had remained sluggish since June.The report said in August, the city recorded an average property price for housing units at 14,448 yuan per sq m, a drop of 16.7% compared to the average price ten months ago.
Hangzhou
Real Estate Developers in Hangzhou were also plagued by lower prices and trading volume. Since early-September 2008 , developer Vanke had taken the lead in offering discounts and others followed suit, with some offering cuts up to some 30%.
For example, by mid-September 2008 , prices for new properties in a township named Qianjiang New City lingered between 12,000 and 13,000 per square meter after discount--some 5,000 Yuan per square meter lower than properties in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Upon learning of the price slash, some eager buyers queued overnight to compete for limited units. Some crashed the developer's sales office to protest "old" home purchases, who had paid higher prices for similar units when the township was first launched. Protesters were holding banners and threatening to withdraw their purchases.
Some developers who had practiced double standards in offering same units for different prices had come under pressure, and some agreed to put forward a one-off cash compensation scheme. The wave of real estate discounts has also spread to nearby cities like Ningbo and Wenzhou.

Beijing
Beijing has also been hurt by gloomy market. Between September 29 and Oct 4, trading volume for housing units dropped 72% compared with the same period last year, according to data posted on the Beijing municipal real estate management website. During that week, 412 units were sold, or an average of 69 units per day.
Discounts were also being offered to boost sales. For instance, on September 25, a housing township named Flower City had offered a model of a two-bedroom apartment measuring some 100 square meters for 6,981 Yuan per square meter. The published price was more than double that, initially 15,000 Yuan per square meter.
According to a report posted on Beijing Statistical Information Bureau website, real estate market indications had showed signs of declining this year due to a combination of macro controls, especially in the third quarter of the year.The report stated that sales of housing units continued to be slow, but prices remained high.
Industry players believed the current slump in trading volume was temporary, as property prices had in past months rose too much beyond homebuyers' expectation. Moreover, uncertainties in the domestic and global economy had also put off investors

Shanghai

In Shanghai the real estate prices have gone down over 20-25 % and people are reluctant to buy newer properties and the Shanghai Municipality has already embarked on the reform and regulation of the sector by establishing a special Commission for the real estate sector.
In City Centre the prices have gone down and people are buying properties in outskirts and suburbs of Shanghai at rate of about 12000-15000 Yuan per square meter instead of buying over 20000 Yuan per square meter in the city centre.

Over all the lowering of prices in major cities of China shows the vulnerability and speculation involved in the real estate sector. Recent land reforms can further boost the real estate sector but its centre will not be big urban areas rather new emerging areas…this is the policy of Chinese authorities at the time. This will be more complex and more arduous development after the reforms of last 3 decades.

Conclusion:
The diversity and range of the crisis shows that it has affected broad areas of Chinese economy. This has not been more severe due to insularity of Chinese banking and Stock exchanges to foreign influences thus the panic situation has not been observed. But the symptoms and tentacles of crisis are visible every where from financial sector to SMESs. This global integration of Chinese market has posed challenge to Chinese market to restructure and readjust to present age of crisis.
China's tax revenue growth had slowed for two consecutive months in July and August, adding pressure to the drafting of 2009 budget, which would likely see expanded spending for stabilizing prices and rebuilding natural disaster-hit areas while state income slowing. Sources from the Finance Ministry told the Economic Observer weekly that all central government agencies had been asked to cut spending on civil servants' working trips, meetings and overseas study trips, among others, to attain zero growth in staff expenditure in next year's budget. This shows the practical results of impact of crisis on production of the country.
In the fallout of the US financial crisis, majority of market observers have projected Chinese exports would decline further as American consumers tightened their belts for leaner days; however, some also held that consumers under spending pressure would opt for cheap made-in-China products, thus limiting risk of a big drop in demand. In addition, China's huge foreign reserve in US dollar would depreciate in value. Chinese think tanks were against China in rushing in to buy ailing US financial institutions, instead, they suggested targeted acquisition on those with mining resources portfolio or extensive financial services network, adding such investment should be gearing for a seat in the board of director or some form of management control.
Recent shut down of the industries and manufacturing smaller units is seen as opportunity in the Government circles and they are hoping that this relocation will shift the low productive and less technological sophisticated concerns to hinterland of China thus paving way for the more technological developed manufacturing units to be developed in Pearl and Yangtze River Delta regions. If this policy is successfully implemented then the region can come stronger and developed as compared to before. But this will depend upon the trends and strengths of world economy, health of financial systems, domestic market and pace and direction of reforms. As the Chinese are themselves saying a long winter has set in the Chinese economy …and every one is eagerly waiting for spring but without any clue to its real colors!

Imaigination and Time

2008-10-17T10:35:00.002+08:00

We imagine about time or we imagine within time? How the imagination is affected by our immediate context and environment and our futuristic goals and plans.

Is imagination free to roam like clouds in an open sky or it has its limits ?

these facts we can not deny or accept in their totality and also in its different impressions. they keep on changing the shades of our lives.

The flow of past!

2008-10-14T00:34:00.000+08:00

The memories of past are flowing and flashing on the river of my heart’s landscape, an eternal field of blossoming tulips, unfinished dreams and yet to be disclosed secrets of yore!My self is in the grip of some mystical energy which energizes and galvanizes the aroma of past under the halo of hope, nostalgia and loss----- a loss of association, a loss of attachment and a loss of unison! The pendulum of ideas vacillates from one extreme to another extreme and pangs of separation just squeeze me deeper into realm of past, which has lost relationship with my present. The detachment of physical distances is pinching my heart to ask where have those moments of personal assimilation in my heart have gone!The memory flash is unstoppable like the crazy rain in the thundering nights and dark days. The flow of dreams and realities seems blurred and the flowers of memory seem to be withered down for ever!I can not dare to pick the threads of past to go deep back into my self where trees, birds, water and open and clear sky sings songs of ecstasy, where the desert nights display the showering moon light bathing the scorched sandy dunes , the dunes like raised and majestic breasts of a woman , waiting to be suckled by thirst and scorched lips of destiny!The inner spring of sadness mingle sin the present uncertainties and produces another world devoid of trees, birds, and clear sky and dark clouds , but telling me the darkness of soul and this itching and desirous body!The bliss of roaming in the shade of clouds under the guard of sky has been taken over by shade of concrete buildings, pollution of air and wealth choking my dreams to fly higher and higher, beyond the limited scenes of this earthly world, oh what destiny bestows on us! Now I have no cycle, although I have money, when ever I want to talk about cycle my wife says we have car why you need car, it is waste of money! The old bicycle also was not mine my father’s but I had freedom to use it whenever. I had also to face scolding of my father using it too much! But now I am scolded even before I can ride over the bicycle…. How the times change!The memories of colors, water, sun, rain, trees, birds, fields, flowers, rivers, deserts, and mountains draw me to themselves with an understanding and friendliness which seems to be lost in the chores of life… the running life, the new life! Now there are no fears of devils, the fears are of what will happen? When will happen? How it will happen? And I never know what is; that happening for which I yearn too much …The glimpses of past associated with my ramblings and tête-à-tête with beauty are like insurmountable mountains which is completely covered under the centuries old snow ,which is not ready to melt, but to spread like wildfire, with a fire of coldness which numbs the senses and overpowers the heat of life!These are moments of grief… I don’t think so. Are these moments of joy….certainly they are, but why heart aches and pains with an intensity unknown to it other than of love and desire for the beloved! The pangs of desire ravage like boulders speeding down from mountains which destroy all the things come in its way trees, flowers, houses and hustling bustling cities some times when they develop into avalanches , the destiny of living under the feet of mighty mountains. I flow, I stop I, stagnate, I die, I live, I dream, I hate, I stumble, I sin, I deceive, I cry, I laugh, I am life and I flow like a river on flood destroying, plundering the banks, overflowing the bonds of discipline, of commune and of unknown passions of greed, lust, depression disguised under the chains of naked hunger flowing from mind to fiery body!The streams have overtaken the plains they are not bound by any bonding they mere want to flow and flow like undeterred power of flowing lava in the volcanoes of heart waiting to burst on any opportunity and idea!The lava overtakes me, the distant pleasures consume me, and the ashes of volcanoes taunt me for the destiny of my inability to command the raptures of desire. I am in a jungle of wild animals where the hopes are shattered and dreams are fulfilled in a moment or never ever to come true! Perpetual wait is the destiny, waiting for the illusory Messiahs to come and liberate the already liberated soul from elf imposed limitations of imagination and inaction and sloth imposed by too much of want!The streams of ideas connect, synchronize; disconnect, destroy the overflow of hopes and dreams and charge the horse of need to march again and pounce upon the fruits of eternal beauty and charm devoid of any certainty like he promise of beloved!I could never decipher the hidden meanings of symbols which have surrounded me since times immemorial in a constant permutations and combinations; emerging, vanishing, re-emerging and pouncing upon me in another vein of snare of self affliction. I am with me always wanting more and more, fighting with all of the desires and quenching the insatiable thirst of inner self lost in the illusions of present, loosing sense and direction of past and future! Which future? Which past? , time is eternally flowing continuously from nothing to unknown; the creator directs the time to unleash and unfold the memories of a continuity marred by our limitations and narrow visions. Visions of others, visions of power, fears of destruction, dreams of annihilation, desires of eternity, desires of indifference, ever increasing quench of soul to tread on the path of Eternity through means of inadequate understanding and vision, disembarking at the time when has to gallop, to run when one has to stop ……… a myriad of decisions, devoid of essence, pregnant with possibilities, but never came into existence …. The freedom of action bound with chains of hidden options beyond our hopes and leaps of imagination. We look to create a new world but end in another world of past, alas we the prisoners of past , not looking towards future and the broad horizons awaiting for our steps to embark upon a journey of certainty and eternity !We sell our times at the cost of few crumbs of bread and few moments of induced and agonizing frenzy…… called happiness. We the chained ones, we the steps on ocean shore for a moment and then juxtapose ourselves on the hazy screen of world in the vain hope of attaining eternity. We hope to reap rains in the deserts of solitude and strive to create gardens in the barren coasts of unending oceans of meaninglessness and absurdity imposed on our minds by flowery words of art, liberty and enlightenment. We die for those who never hoped for our lives and deaths……the souls of ghettoes by self choice. The darkness of nights fails to lighten our days and the heaps of work fail to deliver the eternity and bliss in our periodically shining eyes. We burn and burn on the altar of desires heaving heavily to get Nirvana, we never know our every sacrifice takes us away from the promised eternity, reason the pride of sacrifice blurs our vision to be friend.My prayers are starved of essence they are mere words repeated from centuries by barren lands in the deserts of rituals. My prayers are for the enhancement of afflictions of affluence and strengthening the shadows of disbelief and unbridled passions of hatred on the name of religion… the sciences of present don’t heal they create tirelessly to distribute life in the garb of liberation to hopes of future … our children. My leaders are wishes of devil , my needs are death of contentment, my fears are fruits of disbelief, my hopes are limitations of my imagination, my efforts are results of my inaction , my decisions are inherently indecisive my visions are visions of visionless stones , my life is life of silence . Oh Allah grant me vision and hope to be your friend not another salve in the long line of zombies!

Thoughts of Pain and Hope

2008-10-14T00:30:00.001+08:00

They kill me in bazaars
They kill me on gallows
They target me with fireThey again and again hunt me
They bleed my soul
They bleed me
They just kill me
I am Pakistan
I am soul of Indus
I am voice of Thar!
Marvi is no more
Let her rest in peace!
May her departure can awaken love
Can breed peace and prosperity!
Dreams have no limits!
Like oceans and infinite horizons!

Ocean of Knowledge

2008-10-14T00:25:00.000+08:00

The human beings are the most evolved and highly developed organism in this universe as per our present knowledge. There are over 20 Million living organisms in this universe and human beings are the organisms who can speak and the most important ... can think! This thinking ability is the difference which makes human beings unique and able to create knowledge ... the difference of utmost importance between animals and human beings!Knowledge is the source of Hazrat Adam (Peace Be Upon HIm ) the first human being was given preference over angels and Satan as he was bestowed by Allah ability to name the things , the bases of knowledge . But knowledge has many dimensions and its essence is knowing things in depth and with understanding. If the things are understood only superficially then our understanding is at fault and incomplete. Take an example if a person is having difficult in breathing if a person of less medical knowledge says he may guess and say it is asthma, it is allergy and may be it is only tiredness. And we can well imagine the consequences if the improper diagnosis is made and wrong medicine is given to the patient, it can result in death of the person or some dangerous side effect on the health of a person.Take an example of rockets and their flight operation, if at their launching time their trajectory is disturbed by one degree only, then it will be not on destined star about thousands of miles away from its target. This will result from less knowledge and destroy lot of efforts and money. Knowledge means to know things in their true shapes and true realities , and there is a saying of Holy Prophet Peace Be upon HIm that Oh Allah grant me true knowledge of things and show their essence not as they are seen in appearance! This shows that knowledge is in its totality and not in its parts and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing which amkes things blurred.I will tell you a story mentioned by Rumi; he says that there were three persons who went to see an elephant being shown to people by a King. the elephant was placed in a ark and big room chained with iron bars. One person went he felt his trunk , he thought it was like a python, other went he touched his feet and he thought it was like a tall and strong tree , the third went and he brushed his ear and thought it was like a big fan! After three came out and discussed about elephant 's shape all disagreed and began to fight and due to their limited and little knowledge stuck to their point of view. Rumi says if they had taken a lamp and seen in its clear light that elephant was made up of all the parts and then true and whole knowledge of elephant's shape would have given them clarity as to elephant's shape! But they fought due to their little knowledge, our today's many issues arise from this little knowledge about science, religion, and our society and ourselves . This chaos is motivated by masters of little knowledge and of narrow ideas. To live in peace we need to move from little knowledge to whole knowledge and truth ,nothing else but whole truth. As knowledge liberates us from ignorance, hatred, violence and poverty. Let us promise that we will strive in our lives to move from little knowledge to whole truth and save ourselves and others from its dangers!Knowledge makes us human beings, but it has no limit, it is always learning and discovering new frontiers and horizons , and let us strive for a future not based upon dangers of little knowledge but upon confidence and stability of whole truth and deep knowledge.

Why the stars are born?

2008-10-14T00:23:00.000+08:00

The life’s surprises never finish, we think that the life has stabilized and we have all the stable ingredients of life making us move forward in a consistent and stable way.But some events come from no where and change the ideas in a drastic and concrete way, after their occurrence shows us that there is no stability mere an interval waiting to be turned around for good.Such has happened with me in recent past after knowing an unseen, never heard fiend on the virtual world. This is one of the most potent intellectual, spiritual and physically shaking experience till now for me. The words are inadequate, less forceful, less imaginative and perhaps poor to express the situation in which I am placed after this transformation of complexities and simplicities. The depth of this experience seems unfathomable and infinite in its scope and diversity. This has created new worlds, new imaginations and new limitations in my intellectual and spiritual world and the most potent one in my physical sense, whose direction and depth is increasing day by day and which torments my soul and body at every moment of existence.For me it is impossible to think and imagine the worldly reality without physicality, because it is the reference point which helps us to understand the perils and boundaries of material world and establishes an active contact and relationship with the material world and blesses us with the supreme sentiments and emotions of love… the ultimate combination of spirituality and physicality imbibed and synchronized in the intimate feelings and moments of annihilation.The stardust from which we are made is the essence of universe and we are the only known creation which can feel the pangs and blessings o f love and rational synergy at the spiritual and physical level. But how can we divorce the spiritual and physical realities of our lives and the love which creates, kills and creates and this process keeps on renewing and discovering the deeply hidden treasures of ourselves and the universe around us. It seems mere death is my destiny till now… I desire to be created and reinvigorated, but how can the single soul embark upon this journey of unknown? I have no answer…..May be my friend has! Dear ,I can say the candle burns and burns and the perwanas keeps on burning , he burns, annihilates and ……………. Have all questions and answers been waiting for me only?

Woman!

2008-10-14T00:19:00.001+08:00

O woman
On the beautiful roads of sky
You are a galaxy
Where the lights show the beauty overflowing
O womanWhere the coldness and hotness are fudged
O woman let me eat the fudge!

China in future Global Order

2008-10-14T00:10:00.003+08:00

Recent surge and development of China has developed a debate centered around rise of East and Pacific Ocean . Leading the world world in 21st century and already 21st Century is being called century of China. In history rise of a new power in world affair is usually associated with conflict and violence. This fear adopts increased proportions when we see it that this time the world powers are riding over power of globalization and information technology instead of mere human resources!China asserts that its rise is peaceful rise and its development is for peace and stability 0of world. As the economic and military power of China rises, USA considers it her major future rival and a country which can challenge and take over USA; there are studies that at 5 times less productivity as to USA in 2020 China can take over USA due to her population.Henry Kissinger visited China in 2007 and first time raised point of rivalry due to change in balance of power. But many experts also assert that due to nuclear weapons old traditional methods of military superiority and its active use are not means to affect change. This reality has been changed by the complex, multilateral and liberal free market economy international order of world. This is expressed by United Nations, Breton Woods Financial Institutions, world Trade Organization and relentless pace and currency of Globalization and information technology revolution.These institutions and free market economy are spearheaded by USA and European values and its historical experiences. Thus in recent Foreign Affairs Magazine there is special portion dedicated to China and in this question of future of Chinese superiority over USA in long term is asserted but it is considered that China will not be able to replace the present international order in its favor drastically and radically. As China is itself beneficiary of this International Order, examples being its economic turnaround si all due to Globalization and joining the international, multilateral systems and also China itself accepts the fact of increase in its prestige after joining WTO.USA should keep on China engaged, integrated and curtailed within the present multilateral international liberal market economy order, and this will favor and support USA. G.John Ikenberry in his article “The Rise of China and the future of the West… Can the Liberal System Survive?” in latest issue of Foreign Affairs Magazine January/February 2008 concludes that “The task now is to make so expensive and so institutionalized that China has no choice but to become a full-fledged member of it. The United States cannot thwart China’s rise, but it can help ensure that China’s power si exercised within the rules and institutions that the United States and its partners have crafted over the last century, rules and institutions that can protect the interests of all states in the more crowded world of the future. The United States’ global position may be weakening, but the international system the United States leads can remain the dominant order of the twenty –first century.”This is the crux of realist school of thought based upon idealistic visions of world order.If behavior of China is seen in last decade then it becomes clear that China is rapidly becoming part of this global international liberal system. Its examples are china’s active support to resolve North Korea Crisis under the ambit of six -party talks, active role in UN peace keeping operations. Increased participation in Security Council related matters in UN( Iraq Issue, Iran Nuclear Issue, Darfur Issue , environmental Issue are case in point)and recently her active and increased participation in war against Global Terrorism. These all are indicators of active involvement and participation of China in liberal system but its limitations are also visible where China’s national interests clash for example Taiwan issue ( recent Taiwanese interest in independence through UN) Tibet and her relationships with states not practicing democracy and also Human Right issues. This process of engagement and integration of China in world order is gradually moving and as per assertions of Chinese they have no plan and desire to counter the international system as this will prove counterproductive to their interests.China’s entry into global arena is under the framework of existing legal .multilateral, consensual and liberal systems of institutions developed by Western powers in 20th century and as main factors of Chinese development are exports and FDI, this anchors China to present system and binds her future with stability of the present system based on International Law which seems to be contrary to present policy of USA’s unilateral pursuance in world affairs since last 8 years. In future global stability and peace hinges upon peaceful integration of China in world liberal systems, and USA’s resolve to strengthen the present institutions. But this will depend upon the changes in US Presidency this year as it will change course of policies of USA administration towards international liberal system and will also affect the USA –China relations ranging from trade friction to military issues.If China’s position is seen in this backdrop of international liberal system then except China’s internal touchy issues China has managed to adjust and adopt its policies to ethos of liberal system in its own way based upon active diplomacy and flexibility and resolve to search middle path… this has been shown in Six Party talks, Darfur Issue, Iran Nuclear Issue and terrorism issues. China has been very active in environmental regime to develop national policy in year 2006 to counter the bad press and environmental impact at home at least at policy level. Although ground realities are not as promising as they should be, but China’s resolve to adjust its legal structure and framework has been impressive. So at policy level in short and middle term China will not challenge its course of integration into world liberal system , but its response to USA security threat after war against Terrorism is finished will not be of accommodation and restraint due to increased economic power and its domestic nationalism and insistence on Chinese characteristics. These tenors of Chinese thinking are visible in development of regional alliances and active diplomacy in Africa , Latin America and Asia. China’s role and increasing sophisticated development of SCO and ASEAN mechanism is an indication in this regard. Recent cyber attacks in year 2007 originating from mainland China on computer systems of Europe and USA are indication of increasing muscle of China.China’s place in international liberal system will be determined by various multiple factors of USA behavior and its attitude and stress on War Against Terrorism and policy of new administration on economic issues with China. China will also be affected by rise of India at global scene and China is poised already to contain the role of India in region. .This is shown by China’s active role in regional trade, economic, military and defense relations with its neighbors like Pakistan. Myanmar, Vietnam, Koreas, Russia, other South East countries and her increased role in Central Asia. This historical rivalry with India can also color China’s perceptions of USA as Chinese already think that USA is not happy with their rise. This can play a major underlying role in future options for China in global affairs.China’s place in liberal system will not be governed by response of USA alone it will also be shaped up by its own choices in response to its increasing power and clout gathered by her not due to any historical legacy or cultural extension but mainly due to her rising economic power coupled with military power which at least in next 50 years will not be more advance than USA and European technology at least at theoretical and research level.Success of liberal system will depend on USA‘s resolve to protect 20th century institutions and shun its unilateral behavior and successful integration of China in this reinvigorated and revitalized systems. China has not come up with any alternative right now , rather she is pursuing to be active part of global institutions like WTO, UN, G-8, IMF, World Bank and other rising regional organizations like SCO, ADB etc. China will certainly change the practical expression of liberal system, but she will not be re writing the bases of those institutions, it will go for first claiming her rightful place in the system and then gradually it will integrate in the international system as an active player due to her size but it will not embark on a drastic effort to re- draw the maps or structures of institutions… it will aim for reform not for revolution. If it opts for revolution, then it will be a disaster of Chinese history of early 20th century repeated at global scale as now China will not shake itself… the dragon will shake the world! The sheer size of this Chinese revolution will be of utmost importance for its neighbors and they will be its immediate recipients as west will feel its indirect shocks especially in economic field. This course will be tumultuous due to internal cultural uniqueness and its inherent inability to excel in newer and innovative ideas at daily life and spiritual and philosophical level also. As the previous revolutions were initiated by Chinese but with foreign ideas of Democracy and Marxism and later adjusted to Chinese characteristics as present market system in china is called Socialist market with Chinese characteristics. This adherence restricts the scope of adoption of idea and it has inherent germs of imperialistic tendencies if taken to its extreme as it happened in case of Japan. In middle term behavior of China towards its place in world system will concern its neighbors in far reaching ways its land neighbors and sea neighbors will be affected in different ways. Regional and global affairs of China will be affected with China’s energy needs as this raw material has become of strategic importance for China and she has already understood its gravity as it is planning to open a new Ministry solely dealing with strategic and practical aspects of energy in its economic and strategic development. This will strategically place China at odds with rising environmental concerns at global level despite China’s readiness to adopt more efficient and sustainable models of energy resources.Liberal system of world will also affect China’s internal political system as increased integration of Chinese system with global liberal institutions running on rule of law and democratic aspiration will impact China also. This impact will be crucial factor in determining the gradual integration of China in world society as till now China has kept its own rules and regulations especially in fields of human rights and political affairs. This is a contradiction as in economic and trade matters China has adjusted rather rapidly and surprisingly without any major demur at domestic front. This inherent contradiction will place pressures on role of China if she adapts to the increased active role in liberal system of world affairs

Food!

2008-10-12T05:22:00.001+08:00

Allah has a lot of blessings for us and food is one of them, and our ability to enjoy good food is the best blessings of Allah.May Allah bless us to keep on enjoying his bounties! Ameen

Desires

2008-10-10T00:01:00.002+08:00

In jungle of desires I am lost . or perhaps myself stationing to the ever changing landscape of desires. But reality is I am under grip of desires overshadowing and overtaking me in a frenzy sustained by routine of life.

Routine makes the realities of life seem different and perhaps distorted and awkward, a life of so-called pragmatism but devoid of any essence of dreams or ideals... so is present stage of life.

But when seen from the perspective of evolution of thoughts then I realize that this is not a stale moment of life but it is gradually moving towards its inherent goals, what are those goals? Power accumulation? Wealth ? Altruism? Knowledge of Creator and freedom to dream and resolve to change the realities of personal and other's lives. Yes the last is the hops and may be destination, albeit seeming far away right now!

Loneliness

2008-10-03T03:53:00.001+08:00

Some times the crouching tiger like moments of strangeness and loneliness mere pounce upon our senses and they just take on the realities of life and the life seems lonely,alone and in search of intimacy!

Ideas

2008-09-27T03:41:00.002+08:00

Ideas are sharpened on the edges of stones and gravels of time and then soem of them prove to be healers of our confusion and ambiguity and many increase the existing ambiguity and persistent absurdity of life.

The dreams of our life are shattered and taken away from us never to recover again by the sharpness of ideas which were never ours and perhaps can never be ours... but they affect us and make us vulnerable to meaninglessness of our times. This is the most painful reality of present existance humanity, seeking thrills and searching to know itself throug means of confusion!

Drops of Loneliness

2008-09-22T01:33:00.002+08:00

The night is falling like a sunny day!

Relentless,unstoppable and unleashing its secrets......... of loneliness and pain etched on my soul!

Oh night, how far I can embark on journey of desire unfulfilled and unbridled, oh my heart it aches to be happy and alos not to be happy!

Pain is the reality of days and nights, overshadowing me and turning me into grief and dumbness of pain!

Human Rights & Pakistan’s Legal Frame work

2008-09-18T04:44:00.001+08:00

Human Rights & Pakistan’s Legal Frame work

The emergence of the post colonial states in thee third world countries was result of long, bitter and lengthy struggles based upon the phenomenon of violence in the shape of Independence struggles and the ensuing Civil Wars in the Colonies.

The phenomenon of the independence in the sub-continent is unique in the respect that there was no wide spread violence between the rulers and the ruled. But the infighting and internecine fighting between their Indians was rampant in the Provinces of Bengal and Punjab.
The struggle of Hindus and Muslims was not violent to that extent as it was observed in the Colonies of Africa and other Asian countries. The process was done through the legal transfer of power from the British Raj to the independent states of India and Pakisatn respectively on 15th and 14th August 1947. The bases of the Pakisatn are deeply immersed in the legal process and the founder of Pakisatn is also a lawyer par excellence! the ethos of Pakistani legal system are the direct progeny of the British Raj in India as the adoption of 1935 Act of India shows as the law of the land as the constitution of the Pakisatn.

The legal environment of the Pakisatn is the most complex and diversified in the post Colonial states. The reason for this is the multiple traditions vying for supremacy and incomplete synchronization. The case study of Pakistan in this response is the pioneer study which aims at understanding and evaluating the legal framework and search for the possible solutions to the wade through the quagmire of the legal jungle in the light of the International Bill of Human Rights.

This research is based upon the paradigm which takes the

a) Formal legal acts, ordinances and the constitutional ideas as embedded in the Pakistani Legal frame work
B) The Informal legal traditions and networks in the shape of Jirgas, Panchayats, and the Sardari-cum-feudal network
C) The religious popular expressions as in the Formal Legal Framework
D) The religion in the informal but expressly prevailing environment
These are explored in the ensuing pages in a separate discussion s based upon the structure and foundation of the legal environment from adoption to its implementation.
They are tackled in a systematic and coherent manner with reference to the International Bill of Human Rights and the attached and fundamental documents and treaties attached to the Human Rights Bill.

The major trends of the legal thought and practical application are dealt separately hereby and discussed;

1. The Colonial Legacy
2. The Authoritarian Law Making
3. The Democratic Law Making / the Parliament
4. The religious orthodoxy
5. The Cultural customs and traditions

1. The Colonial Legacy

As mentioned earlier the carving out of the state of Pakisatn is the result of legal process by the conferment of the right of self Government by the Queen of UK in 1947 through the 3 June Plan.
The adoption of 1935 Indian Act as the law of land in the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was the turning point of the Pakistan’s legal history. This adoption was to be the temporary arrangement till the new Constitution for the Republic was to be adopted, but the ensuing legal complexities were to linger on till the present day. the adoption was not only at the constitutional level but it was at the lower most level in the form of adoption all the British legal instruments with the change of the Name India with Pakisatn usually.

This resulted in the aberration of the legal system which plagues the legal scenario till now. The purpose of the legal system of the British Empire was to protect and sustain the “Steel Frame “ of the British Raj over the Indians. But this steel frame was to be as it is for the post-colonial society in the form of legal environment. The efforts were never aimed at the liberalization, rationalization and the humanization of the legal system of the Pakisatn in the last 6 decades of post-colonial period of existence. The polity of Pakisatn was to be ambivalent, complex, and mercurial and anti-people as the successive changes in the legal framework showed.
The structural construction of the governing framework in the Colonial era was based on the following assertions;

1. The natives were unable to govern themselves; they needed benign rule of the British to make them capable to run self governments.
2. The pre-colonial legal system and structure was inadequate to adjust to the needs and exigencies of the British system so drastically changed the legal framework and environment of the India.
3. The Mughal System of legal administration was enshrined in the local traditions and the cultural mores of the natives and local p[populace. The new legal system was aimed t introduction of the Anglo-Saxon traditions of legal system in the alien land where the natives were the subject of this undue experimentation. The result was the introduction of an elaborate and bureaucratic structure which was ruthless in detail and prompt in its application.
4. The crime regulation system was completely new to the local environment. The introduction of prisons and the police system was entirely alien to the Indian soil. The introduction of this Police system was a severe blow to the human freedom. The Criminal Procedure Code of 1898 was the Steel Frame of this gigantic experiment to control the native “mischievous behavior”!
5. The local revenue system was changed by the introduction of individualized payment system in the form of currency or the individual payment of land revenue instead of the collective payment system for the villages and the specified area.
6. The introduction of the property of the land to the illegal and new occupants after the Permanent Settlement of 1979 in Bengal by Lord Cornelius.
7. The priority of law and order in the crimes control system instead of dealing them in their real perspective.
8. The complete disregard and participation of the local people in the process of legislation for the natives.
9. The discrimination vis-a-vis the natives and Europeans in the application, implementation of the legal system.
10. The sustained policy of exacerbating the urban rural divide in the country due to political exigencies .The treaties made by the local rulers with the British show this anomaly in its overall brutality and harshness towards local people.

2.The Authoritarian Law Making

The legacy of the authoritarian ism bequeathed by the British was carried on the avid followers of the Colonial Masters. They adopted the legal process of the British in the same spirit to keep their hold intact over the local people. This tradition was strengthened by the Military Dictatorships to prolong its rule. The decade of 1960,s, 1980,s are the most prominent in this regard. The specific characteristics of these are as following;
1. the aim of the regimes is to broaden their hold over the segments of the society through the legal means
2. the overall purpose of the law making is the sanctioning the individualistic and dictatorial tendencies of the Dictator
3. The bureaucratic structure of the state is more active and the colonial legacy of the law making is maintained and nurtured further.
4. The support of the regime is limited to certain sections of the society which makes it prone to creating legal immunities sot the supporters of the regime.
5. The resources of the regime are diverted to the areas and strata of the society which help the regime. For this the inherent contradictions are developed in the legal framework of the country which is biased, manipulated by executive and undermine he liberty of the Judiciary. This is corroborated by the earlier legal history of Pakisatn.
6. A pseudo ideological garb of ideology is woven around the legal framework of the country which creates secretiveness and mystery around the legal environment. The challenges to the legal discussions are dealt under the threat to the ideology of the country which changes with the change in the ruler. (The Ayub Era and Zia Era are the true examples).
7. The structural bias of colonial legal framework is skewed further to control dissent, free idea and difference of opinion under the State security ideology. The introduction of the Article 63 in the Constitution by Zia regime is case in point.
8. The absence of the parliament sans the debate and healthy exchange of the ideas on the proposed laws in the dictatorial regimes which stifles the growth of the respect for the human rights and the freedom of the ideas.
9. The increased legislation further extends, enhances the power of colonial inherited institutions of brutality. this phenomenon results in more abuse and repressive towards masses, instead of relief to the people. ( The fine examples of this are the Huddood and Prohibition Ordinances of Zia regime)
10. The implementing arm of the Government i.e. police and attached institutions are protected and given extra powers which curtail the freedom of the people in a complex and sustained way. ( This becomes more horrible and expressive in the semi-urban and rural areas of the country as there is little awareness and literacy to demand its rights)
11. The economic resources are used as a ploy to patronize the sections of the government which adhere to the policies of the Government . The Export Bonus Voucher Scheme of Ayub era is an example of such state patronage.

The dictatorial regimes stress on the obedience and absolute authority which enhances the powers of the powers of the colonially inherited institutions. the dictatorial regime s face a great dilemma as they take over on the promises of changing the destiny of people against the plundering of resources by the inept and corrupt politicians as asserted by them; but the state apparatus which is structurally flawed contributes to its undoing at the end.
The efforts to create unity and discipline through legal means fail to deliver; rather they encourage the separatist and secessionist tendencies. Its examples are the separation of East Pakisatn, the unrest in 1970,s in Baluchistan, in Sindh in 1980,s. This situation deteriorates further when the alien elements are involved; the case of Wazirastan is prime example of this fact.

3. The Democratic /Parliamentary Law Making

Along with the authoritarian regimes the legal developments in the country are result of the democratic law making through the parliament. The traits of this legislation are as following

1. The structure of the Parliament is the determining factor in adoption of the laws. As the structural constitution of the parliament determines the course of the legislation.
2. The leanings of the ruling party or the group of parties are the leading forces which shape up the law making in the Pakistani system.
3. The real legislation of the democratic governments is also dependent upon the same institutions and the legal structure as inherited at the time of independence from the British elite. Their stress is not on changing or transforming the fundamental structure of the legal dispensation at all. Because they are more concerned ot turn the balance of power in the favor of the elected governments as the legislative history of 1990,s shows. This is the settlement of political question through means of legislation within the available parameters and transforming the question of the power between President and the Prime Minister usually. ( The 13 the amendment ) This limitation of the or the locking in of the political governments reduce the scope of action and range of their power to mere structural control instead of creating true legal change in the lives of the people.
4. The inherent political instability and ambiguity of the legal system inherited from the British is increased by every attempt at the change or modification of the existing laws. This is shown by the legislative establishment of newer courts for settling with the increased violence in the society. The establishment of the Anti-terrorist courts shows the inadequacy of the traditional capacity of the courts and the desire of the politicians to improve the law and order system of the country.
5. The biases of the ruling governments as to its electoral base also affect the legislation which helps to perpetuate the rule of few. This further alienates the masses from the social process of development and progress.
6. The institutional capacity of the units of the systems is inadequate to cope with the demands of the modern Human Rights Perspective. The resulting legislation is ambivalent to the rights of people in the practicality.
7. The political uncertainty attached

Bibliography
1. Holy Quran
2. The Constitution Of Islamic Republic Of Pakisatn
3. The Major Acts
4. The Minor Acts
5. The Making Of Pakistan By Richard Symonds
6. Emergence Of Pakisatn By Chaudhery Muhammad Ali
7. The Manual of Prisons Law
8. The Manual of Land Revenue Laws
9. Human Rights--- A Compilation of International Instruments Volume I & II Published by United Nations 2004
10. Human Development in South Asia Published by Mahbub-ul-Haq Development Center Islamabad. ( Various Reports)
11. World Development Report Published By World Bank ( Various Reports)
12. Constitutional Development in Pakistan By G.W Chaudhery
13. Liberty or Death? By Patrick French

Magazines, Newspapers

1. The Monthly Herald Karachi.
2. The Monthly News line Karachi.
3. Daily Dawn Islamabad. Lahore. Karachi Editions
4. Daily Nation Lahore.
5. Daily News Lahore. Rawalpindi Karachi
6. Daily Times Lahore.
7. Daily Nawa-i- Waqt Lahore / Rawalpindi .
8. Daily Jang Lahore /Islamabad
9. Pakisatn Law Digest P.L.D ( Various Issues)
10. Daily Khabrain Lahore.

Note . This article was written in year 2005 and was submitted to UN Human Rights Council via the course I attended in FSA Islamabad. Basic premises of the article are same and as to changes during the time passed I will write later...Insha Allah!

Future!

2008-08-23T18:29:00.001+08:00

To know about future has been a curious aspect of human history

Space!

2008-08-22T07:53:00.004+08:00

We call it space while there are billions of stars already present and htousands of new stars and nebulae forming as we are thinking for a moment ! Then why we call it space? Or it is already human centred idealogy that as in Arabic it is makan and la-makan... showing that here on earth human beings live and in space no human beings live and survive. Then stars and nebulae can be parts of space but wihtout any human trace, this will be khala in Arabic meaning space.

This shows the context and limitations of our terms which we use to name and describe our knowledge of understanding our environment and indication of prospective construction of edifice of terms and ideologies based upon this initial understanding. In this process terms of different meaning,texture and range show its attachment to the uindelying ideas and context of the situation.

Absurdity!

2008-08-20T14:45:00.003+08:00

Life's shades of varied depth and enormous categories make this life more and more intriguing and perhaps cumbersome.

The movement is not every thing for continuity of framework of civilizational experimentation and enrichment at individual and collective level. The peace and solace of one's own inner self is the beauty of humanity enduring and eternal!

Beauty and absurdity walk hand in hand with each other and strive to excel at the same time and for the same goals , to keep the passions entangled.

Work!

2008-07-21T12:48:00.004+08:00

In Punjabi there is a wonderful saying which menas that men live till they can work and women till they can weep!

Women may consider it to be sexist , but for men at elast it si true as work is exhilirating experience but to certain limit, otherwise it becomes burden and stress and eevn it can damage manhood... success of Viagra proves this!

Work is a multidimensional idea which has economic,emotional and practicla reasons behind it but it is the factor which keeps the wolrd moving.

Work is freedom if it is by a person's choice but it is slavery if it is aginst one's own will and ideas. This modern work environemnt is not a win-win situation then , as structural unemployment, and layoffs neevr giev us freedom and free market is not always there to liberate us ratehr too much of free market becoems a slavery agent as the slowdowns in the economies show.

Work should have flexibility and integration withone's skills and his or ehr capabilities but its marekt driven choice rips work of its beauty. Work is not always bliss and not by choice! To achieve the goal of one's personal idea and goal of work brings us to nyriad combinations of feasibility and impracticality in its action and results. The globalization forces have opened newer and newer avenues for work but they also have restricted our chocies of work by destroying local cultural repositories of work and replacing them with uniform modes and means of production and restricting our chocies albeit on the name of freedom!

Modernity and globalization have been an oppurtunity and also a challenge fro selected few but as a reslut of relentless freedom and march of free market millions perhaps billions have beeen deprived of their personal and most cherished freedom... choice of work and in the end only work... not dictaed by masters or forces of invisible markets but arising from oneself's own inner self. Obviously this never means and will never be to adopt a work which damages freedom of others, cripples environment and devours cultural and personal identities at the altar of freedom and invisible hands... whther of economy or of religion. Humanity needs its freedom and sacrifices are always to eb made for that fundamental choice of work ! A wolrd of all peopel satisfied and able to work as per oneself's potential and ability is a world of freedom and of humanity... it is tiem to rethink our ideas of work,freedom and relentless march of "invisible hands" to take away pleasure and chocie of our work! Understanding the strcuture, contour and evolution of work is understanding ourselves as we are what we work not which we never worked! To work is to be oneself and work is never scarce as human beings are always ready to work, but the cruelity of invisible hands deprives us of pleasure to work and keeps us unemployed and without work or forces us to embark on destruction and terrorism... on the name of preserving the facade of invisible hands and free marekts and also for working on inhuman, and cruel interpretations and works of religious bigotry and fanaticism! Time is here to work for ourselves and for the future of our generations , if we do,nt stand up for our choices then the invisible hands of greed,resource destruction, and power accumulation will destroy freedom and humanity. At present the most danger is not from the enemies of freedom but from protectors of freedom... freedom of invisible hands, freedom to kill, freedom to oppress humanity, freedom to subjugate human beings to forced work and all teh violent behaviours on the name of religion,security,peace,freedom and humanity. The tiem is ot rethink our predicament and be free to work ... the frist step in that direction is to embark on the journey sadi beautifully by Sartre that " Greatest of the work is contempelation"... so let us contempelate to change and change for better and freedom to work not to be at receiving end but be a player in active creation of another new world... where w work by our choices not by dictates of religion, market , security or fear... but by freedom of hope and happiness... and most of all-----of love! As Love is eternal and love is the greatest work of creation and sustenance! May Allah bless us to love... humanity and all the creations around us... love to creaet and preserve not love of destruction and power!

Tears

2008-07-16T20:42:00.001+08:00

Tears are pearls flowing out of heart and protruding out of oceans of beauty... eyes!

Trees

2008-07-16T20:31:00.001+08:00

Trees are ornaments of earth and they are like flickering of stars in darkness with persistence and longevity. Trees are colors of dreams and future of our generations!

Hope

2008-07-16T20:27:00.001+08:00

Hope is when all around you is darkness and it has been since long but you believe that dawn will be there!

Sky

2008-07-14T17:29:00.002+08:00

Sky is the epitome of looking towards creator and it has different connotations and meaning in varying contexts. From fancy of imagination to desire to make her less cruel... as in Chinese, Persian, and Urdu languge heavens are considered to take away lives and all powerful in its range and impact.

Sky is abode of gods and a flight of imagination in its depth and range. Its scope is as vast as oceans and perhaps more broad in its implications .

Stars in the sky are the path finders of people living in deserts or moving on the troubled and peaceful ocean waves.

Sky is always present, and its place is within and outside our space.

It never remains same and it is under dynmaic changes. It is life in action!

Dreams

2008-07-08T09:50:00.002+08:00

We dream and then forget some of the dreams. But there are some dreams we neevr forget , rather we live them in awakening and also while asleep! Such are dreams which make the life real and forward moving, let us keep on dreaming such dreams!

Dreams are mirror image of our hopes soem times, the hopes we accomplished and we dream to accomplish!

Love

2008-07-08T09:37:00.000+08:00

We search love when love is overflowing around us!

Tired!

2008-07-03T21:58:00.001+08:00

the routine is so tiring that you are satisfied what you are doing, but too tired to feel rejuvenated.

It is not always easier to do what we like!

Nights

2008-06-30T01:02:00.000+08:00

The life flows and flows and never stops like the passage of days and nights never stops.
But like night , there is nothing so special. As it make some one away and near to oneselves.

Flowers

2008-04-02T22:45:00.000+08:00

Nature is the gift of our existence which is blessed with a diverse blend of species and a mosaic of organisms . The colors of nature and diversity of phenomenon in the flowing stream of creative process is imbued with varieties of natural expressions. Flowers are the most unique aspect of natural expression and their colors and shades and its functions of utilitarian continuity in sustaining the life of many species , especially plants and other organisms is a symbiotic relationship of beauty and colors and carried to the heights of newer and newer experimentation and diverse directions of natural expanse. Flowers are companions of human beings from cradle to grave in the form of similes and in the shape of petals lying over the graves of our last abodes on this earth! They embellish the places of beauty and unison of creativity and continuity of species and also adorn our imagination and existence. Flowers are like air whose presence we can never appreciate until we loose it!Flowers are a door to our souls and appetizer for our mental faculties!

Time

2008-04-02T22:33:00.001+08:00

The moments of time are eternal or they mere pas away and flow in the ocean of time which is moving and flowing with its powerful wave sand imagination with its own rhythm and structure aimed at its self realization and actualization.

Where we stand when we compare ourselves with time? What’s basically the time? Has it beginning or end? Then at which point it began and why did it began and when it will finish and close its doors of ever changing varieties of issues emerging the bosom of this everlasting secret.

Is time creation or it is self perpetuating and then why there is only one expression of time ? Where are other universes where the time flows or exercises the expressions of its creative movement and synergy in multidimensional ways? To know time is to know ourselves and knowing ourselves is knowing reality.
How and when the real knowledge of time is in front f our eyes cascading like transparent and crystal clear flowing water of rivers and streams. Search for time continues and it will remain afterwards also!

Muhammad ( Peace Be Upon Him)

2008-03-03T03:55:00.000+08:00

Belief in Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)

The guidance of Allah is the basic ingredient which helped human beings to grow from nascent and immature mental faculties and the Prophets peace be upon them were always there in each and every corner of world.

The greatest contribution to humanity of Prophet hood of Hazrat Mohammad peace be upon him, is that after that the door of divine revelation has been closed for ever. Now no one can claim that he is from Allah and people should abide by his orders or ideas; if some one claims to be a Prophet then his utterances will be checked by the standard Holy Quran and Sunnah of Prophet peace be upon him (preserved by Ahle Bait AS and Companions RA of Holy Prophet peace be upon him as per their intellectual and spiritual understanding of the person who is the Perfect Person peace be upon him, Insan e Kamil peace be upon him.

He peace be upon him is liberator , he gives us idea of a Creative Allah who becomes the supporter of human beings and all his actions are from Allah , but he never becomes Allah. Allah is unique , one, only one, despite all the spiritual and physical developments , Creation can never become Creator!

Allah's love is not exclusive, he loves all of His creations, he is not shy of swearing of tiny bees, days and nights, all His creations.

Ibn e al Haitham says that our all knowledge and understanding aims at understanding more and more about Allah.

The most perfect person to understand Allah is Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him, and who so ever has been in his company is blessed by the Divine blessings.

The Prophet peace be upon him has come to liberate, remove all sort of discriminations based upon race, blood , and superiority of creed. His aim was not to gain worldly power , His peace be upon him 's prime purpose was to remind people of their oneness and equality before Allah and personalized responsibility devoid of gender, color, race, region and origin. How can followers of Muhammad peace be upon him claim exclusive right of truth for them ? Quran is for humanity not for any group, class and gender.

He peace be upon him is prophet for human beings, messenger of one Allah for all of the humanity, there is no exclusivity in Islam. The position of any one can be determined by Allah not by us!

May Allah bless us to seek and follow Truth!

Al-Andalusia (Spain) … Decline of a Plural Culture

2008-03-01T00:31:00.000+08:00

Al-Andalusia (Spain) … Decline of a Plural Culture

Sociological Analysis of decline of Muslims in Al-Andalusia and its implication for World

(1st January 2008 is the 516th Anniversary of fall of Al-Andalusia’s last plural place Granada)

1st January 1492 is the day which has far reaching implications for the landscape of the world including discovery of Americas to destruction of a plural civilization in Al-Andalusia. This civilization was based upon the mutual respect and co existence of three major religions of those times Jews, Christian and Muslims and a brilliant synthesis of urban, tribal cultures in its times of excellence.

The events of 1st January 1492 culminated in the final down fall of Muslims in Grenada (Gharnata) and it opened up new phase of a modern historical element of destruction and creative disorder which plagues our world till now. The seeds of present disorder and confusion were perhaps grown by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the plains of Al-Andalusia. The Reconquesta was accomplished on this date, this date is not mere dislodging of a dynasty of Arabs or mere elimination of a certain people from the Iberian Peninsula, it was the defeat of ideas of human dreams, human endurance and fertility of ideas to overtake the distances and cultural differences to develop new citadels and laboratories for creative synthesis and synergy at practical and cultural level.

Fig.1

Al-Andalusia is the forgotten place of our ideals and visions and it is the place where the Muslim ideas and ideology created the newest ideals of culture and civilization. Our modern present civilization of present times owes its Creative tradition to Al-Andalusia’s intellectual and liberal heritage. Let us briefly look what was Al-Andalusia at its peak and how it contributed to the renaissance of Europe.
European Renaissance ‘s roots are in Italy , not in France, Germany or England or Scandinavian countries , and even Americas which had already been discussed and colonized by the adventurous Columbus and his partners.
Spain’s architectural experimentation is an excellent combination of synthesizing Gothic architectural techniques with Islamic architectural legacy as a uniquely Muslim imprint on human history.

Fig.2

In age of Abdur Rehman III , Madinat-Al Zehra ( City of Purity) was built as landmark of Muslim presence in Andalusia and it was architectural wonder of amazing proportions and scale and grandeur. (See Fig.3)
The golden age of Al-Andalusia was 10th century when the Umayyads of Al-Andalusia had developed Cordova as Jewel of the World, when the best swords, pearls, cultural artifacts and other items ranging from clocks to intellectual items were the distinguishing aspect of Al-Andalusia. This age was age of stability and cultural culmination and it was done under the peaceful rule of Abdur Rehman III. In mid 10th century all the European looked towards Al-Andalusia for the cultural ideals and all the luxuries and even defense material to be imported from Al-Andalusia.

Salon Rico in Medina Al Zahra Fig.3

Cordoba was city of scholars, libraries, public baths, street lights and cultural innovation.
The most enduring legacy of Al-Andalusia is in the field of History where great names like Ibn-e Hazam , Ibn-e-Khaldun and many others were born to reshape and permanently change our outlook to look at historical events. Ibn-e-Khaldun’s Muqaddamah (Prolegomena) is the first book which laid the foundations of Philosophy of History and gave shape of ideas to the already tradition of history writing in the Muslim culture . Muqaddamah was the part of his Kitab-Al Aber which has influenced the human thought to such an extent that all modern historians, like Spengler, Toynbee and many other use Ibn-e –Khaldun’s ideas to study history and interpret it in a scientific and objective way. It was Ibn-e-Khaldun who systematically laid the foundations of objective analyses of history writing, although the bases had already been laid after the revolutionary attitude and outlook of Holy Quran adopted towards history and sciences after advent of Islam.

Nadim’s Kitab-al Fehrist (The Index) is the book which shows the glimpses of the glorious, fertile, and creative and breath taking civilization and culture developed and nurtured in Al-Andalusia in the Dark Ages of Europe! This book shows that how versatile, diverse, balanced, cultural rich were the persons who enriched human heritage and laid foundations of newer and newer horizons of intellectual excellence.

Al-Andalusia through Sicily gave knowledge, literature, art, science, philosophy, modernity and chivalry for the times to come, the seeds of modernity were sown in Al-Andalusia which were taken to Italy and later unleashed one of the most creative phase and experimentation in human history which was precursor of present age of modernity!

The classic literary book Robinson Crusoe was inspired by Hai Ibne- Yazqan an original and creative book written by Ibn-e-Tufail , who was a genius in fields of literature, philosophy and physical sciences.

In Italy De Vinci, the famous genius of renaissance published many books translated from Arabic in Latin word by word, along with greatest “intellectual plagiarism” in human history without acknowledging any reference to its source.

Works of Ibn-e-Rushd named Averroes in European languages were banned in France to save the common masses and people from his Heretic views! Ibn-e-Rushd was the person who raised the issue of women liberty and her position in society in 12th century … he was indeed fart far ahead of his times!

For Jews Al-Andalusia was golden period and after persecution and destruction by roman empire in early centuries , it was Al-Andalusia which gave them high place in society . The Royal Physicians of Umayyads( Ibn-e Ishaq family), for more than 125 years was the Jews. There was a Jew Samuel who became Vice-President in Spain and it was an indication of the rising influence of Jews and further details can be seen in Naffah-al- Tayyab a classic book on Muslim Spanish culture.
In Sicily the royal Ministers and administrators were Muslims who played very constructive role in synthesizing a cultural wonder in Sicily for times to come and produced a rich architecture and cultural bonanza!
In Sufism ideas of Ibn-e Al Arabi were the c4reative pinnacle of philosophical abstract thought with deep attachment and relationship with the social and cultural times of Al-Andalusia.
In Al-Andalusia of those over 6 centuries the civil amenities were of highest standard there were street lights, public baths, public libraries, universities, hospitals and a plural environment with equal opportunities for male and female in all the fields of cultural realm.
Al-Andalusia was flowering of idea of chivalry and peaceful co-existence in the age of darkness in Europe and it was a plural experience which had blue print for future generations to come. Understanding decline of such a culture and civilization is understanding humanity and in present age of hatred, international violence4 and religious extremism and brutal use of state power Al-Andalusia has lessons for us both positive –at the time of its peak.. and negative – in its decline—so Al-Andalusia is a human heritage and human experience worth emulating in its plural, tolerant and chivalrous development and an idea to be shunned and avoided in its times of decay and decline.

Muslims in Al-Andalusia and World Fig.4

Eventually in January 1492 the Nasrids are forced to surrender to the recently united forces of Ferdinand and Isabella, "Los Reyes Cathólicos" (the "Catholic Monarchs" - blessed as such by the Spanish Borgia Pope Alessandro VI (1431 - 1492 - 1503 ). The 781 year Muslim presence in Al-Andalusia is over. Later in the year Columbus sets sail from Huelva and Lorenzo de' Medici dies in Florence -

In nutshell Al-Andalusia was an experimentation of a plural society which took the human imagination to new heights by introducing concepts of dynamic and powerful culture, genetic engineering in agriculture, unique architecture, scientific ideology, philosophical enrichment and was the real foundation of renaissance which was spiritual and plural in its spirit and action in its heydays. thMiddle Ages".
There is a verse in Urdu translated as;

Time shapes up things for many years
Events don’t crop up suddenly!

The Decline of Al-Andalusia was also not a day’s work and it was not only Reconquista which was the reason of decline of Muslims and ultimately elimination of Muslims from Al-Andalusia, the malaise was deeper and it had deep roots. Let us explore the reasons;

1. Vanishing Asabiyah
The concept of Asabiyah is the original contribution of Spanish Historian Ibn-e -Khaldun and its roots are deeply ingrained in the history of Al-Andalusia as Ibn-e Khaldun’s major portion of life was spent actively in Al-Andalusia. This idea describes the bases and reasons of cohesion in the society which keeps the society stable and in order. Asabiyah is basically an equivalent of ideology which binds people together to work and keep united for a certain agreed goal. In modern times Nationalism is the best example which tries to keep intact the regional and national ideology on the bases of shared history, language, vision of life, develop the Asabiyah of a people to work for collective cause and survival in diverse field of ideas and issues.

Establishment of independent Umayyads Caliphate in Al-Andalusia was spearheaded by Abdurrahman Al Dakhil was the person who established the Umayyad state which endured for centuries.
He laid the foundations of a polity based upon the cohesion and Asabiyah of Arabs with ingredients and attributes of Islam led by Umayyads under the active support of Berbers moving intermittently from across the Mediterranean. This was one factor which solely depended upon the Asabiyah of religion and presence of Christians and Jews also sharpened the religious preponderance in developing the concept of religious Asabiyah.

The presence of these contrasting elements was a very important factor in evolution of society as a plural society in the long run and it had also the attributes of downfall when the mutual fundamental hostility of Christian and other religion’s Asabiyah was gradually and ultimately taken over by Christian Reconquesta in January 1492.

The elite are the bastions and torch bearers of Asabiyah in any society which keeps the society going and stable. It sees the challenges to the society and then responds to threats emanating from around its geographical and ideological boundaries. These elite are the reference point which helps to guide the society, this is the way as the societies are able to keep their balance and sustain the pressures of ever changing social and cultural scenarios. This leadership of elite is not restricted to mere political power and attached institutions its basic ingredients are state institutions coupled with a strong and vibrant civil society which are not at loggerheads to each other but supporting and reinforcing each other’s ideas. This process may not always be hostile and smooth as it seems from surface, and internal tensions and differences are natural and they sustain and if these differences are out of control then they take on shape of chaos and disintegration of the society. But we can merely know the threshold level at which the things become disintegrative instead of playing a role in integrating the society, despite the same tendencies and intentions of the different sections of the society and culture of the society.

Asabiyah is the force which makes to harmonize and balance these divergent forces and creeds working in the society. The Asabiyah of Al-Andalusia was inspired basically by Islamic and Umayyad Arabian leadership coupled with active partnership of Berbers (of same religion) , Jews and some Christians ( disgruntled form past Christian powers due to myriad of reasons). These fundamental factors kept the situation in always a danger of being explosive especially between Muslims and Christians due to inherent conflict as to holding power and as to difference of religious ideas , which ultimately led to success of Christian Asabiyah in 1492.This conflict was continuous and its presence was controlled merely by the benevolent and patient understanding of Christian factor in society by the elite of Muslim Al-Andalusia , but it was always under stress from papacy and extremist elements within the ruling elite inspired by religious zeal .

The Asabiyah between Muslims’ major factions was affected by Berber and Arab relationships and in that the superiority of Arabs was challenged many times by Berbers due to cultural differences and the result was chaos, the major factor in disintegrating the social fabric and gluing Asabiyah of Islam. The number of people or total population structure also played a role in developing the mind of in developing their relationships with each other and themselves. In Muslims there were further sub-divisions of Arabs, Berbers, and Muladies .

Jews had smaller presence but it was very effective, for Jews it was the most fertile period for their religious and cultural survival and evolution. Maimonides is the person who laid the foundations of legal thought within Jews and is considered to be the one o the greatest intellectuals of Jewish history. Their rooting out from Al-Andalusia gave them another place in Ottoman Turks and a future foothold in England where they were able to lay the foundations of modern interest based banking in London.

The interplay of these forces and other factors was always exasperating or sustaining the tumults of hold of Muslims in Al-Andalusia as the social, cultural and political position of society adjusted with the ensuing changes of social and cultural pace.

Introduction of religious exclusion by many groups of Muslims sustained and ultimately this religious diversity weakened the Asabiyah to such an extent that the result was end of Nasirid in Grenada on 1st January 1492.

2. Religious Extremism

Religious ideas and their relationship with the elite and governing authorities has played very important role in the evolution and development of the polity and culture of Muslim societies. This became more important in Al-Andalusia as here the intellectual sense of the religious differences was acute and it has to face the Christian insistence at that time of retaining supremacy of Papacy and it was proved by later events when Christians took over the political and cultural hold of society in Al-Andalusia. Here the religious extremism played its negative influences and here Maliki Fiqh was implemented and other Fiqhas were not accepted of importance, although here was another scholar of great eminence namely Ibn-e – Hazm ( God bless him) but it could not get currency as others had.

Here the control of Maliki Fiqh was supreme and it is to be noted that here the Muslim civilization was dominantly urban and based in major cities of Al-Andalusia but the Maliki Fiqh had a town streak in it and it was a bit rigid and static as compared to other Fiqhs. This had vey negative and retrogressive impact on the cultural and civilization evolution in Al-Andalusia.
Another issue of Maliki rigidity and its structural limitation was its too much reliance on literal interpretation and adherence on Quran and Hadith, which hindered the legal and cultural evolutionary process of Ijtehad and forward looking development of legal process with social development.

These differences many times prompted the Ulema to take the control of power at centre and to impose the interpretation of religion as understood and liked by the Ulema. This was a serious cause of disturbance in Muslim Al-Andalusia and once scholars and Ulema gathered in royal area and demanded the control of power and implementation of religious ideas as expounded by them. This was dealt severely and tactfully by the Caliph at that time stormed them and treated this as rebellion crushing them with full power and putting to rest the issue. But this temporary control could not root out the deep rooted issue of religious control over the power under the garb of religious authority. This had also affect of nearness to Papacy on the ideas of Ulema as they could see the status and hold exercised by them at that time.

After the fall of Umayyad power in 1031 the Muslim power was restored by Al- Muawhedeen and they were extremists in their outlook and least tolerant to difference of opinion on religious issues and beliefs. They treated their opponents with contempt and implemented narrow and strict interpretation and application of religious decrees over the populace. This was a very negative aspect fro social and cultural cohesion in society and weakened the plural bases of the society. This also resulted in many small kingdoms established fro their personal benefits and ignored the central authority which made the Christian rise possible and religious differences led to decline of power and civilization in Al-Andalusia. Under the extremist and rigid hold of Muawhedeen the books of great scholar of Islam Al-Ghazali were burnt in Al-Andalusia , and another great philosopher of his times Ibn—e-Rushd has to bear discrimination and bias under the hands of those in power.

3. Legal Compromises

The legal structure of a society plays very important role in sustaining the cultural and economic development and evolution of the society over a long period of time and its durability and strength determines the sustenance and survival of the society, under emergency and trying circumstances being its hall mark.
The religion was driving force of Asabiyah no doubt in strengthening and persevering the Islamic culture and civilization in Al-Andalusia, but in back ground and in reality it was its legal structure based upon Shariah which had to face the burden of ever changing and complicated social and economic changes ingrained within the complex plural society of Al-Andalusia. This complexity and diversity determined that the role of law will become very important while deciding about the controversies and issues of mutual interest to all segments of society as mere personal laws were not adequate for answering the newly arising questions of cultural development and evolutionary life in Al-Andalusia.
This exciting and challenging environment was not used as a creative experience in a constructive way to develop new horizons in Al-Andalusia to lay the foundations of durable, liberal and forward looking legal system in Al-Andalusia. It was Maliki Fiqh which ruled supreme and its inherent limitation and bias of its practicing Ulema closed the doors of creative experiments although they had also scholars of high stature like Ibn-e- Hazm ( God Bless Him ) who could have been an alternative or side by side legal structure to develop on further. But it was not to be so and legal structure and environment of Al-Andalusia adopted idea of Masaleh which sapped the energies of Ulema and legal minds on power mongering and search fro internecine tussle and personal glory as it was easier to adjust or implement many things as per traditions instead of relying on creative synthesis and analysis of the situation and issues in a free, rational and open way.
It seems to be a paradox that for Judaism their greatest legal scholar Maimonides was in Al-Andalusia, as the plural attitude of Muslims had a fertile ground for Jews at that time.
Legal compromise was the tactical adjustment between the Al Maghreb’s diverse and varied cultural traditions of Berbers, Arabs, and Christians embracing Islam. This compromise limited the scope and evolutionary development of the new traditions and cultural traditions of plurality developed in Al-Andalusia.

4. Internecine Fighting
The internal cohesion and strength of a society is the greatest asset of a society in times of test. This sustains and enhances the life of a certain society. This internecine fighting has many complicated and internally connected reasons and dynamics which weakened the Asabiyah over the longer period of time and also encouraged the Christian powers of South to embark on Reconquista under the fiery zeal and enthusiasm of Papacy and their resolve to take back the power lost.
The control of Umayyad Power in late 10th century was overtak3n by Ibn-e -Abi Amer and he held the de-facto control of the centr4al government and it was the time when the Berber rebellions were ravaging with its extreme intensity in border areas of Mediterranean and also in other parts of Al-Maghreb . This internecine fighting was exacerbated by the religious differences and the rising tide of extremism and strict adherence and observance of ritualistic aspect of the religious ideas and practices. This strictness opened up schism and loathing for rival groups to such an extent that books of rival ideas and intellectuals were banned and in many cases these books which differed with the ideology were burnt in public to show hatred for the difference of opinion , it was the worst danger and paramount enemy of the plural culture and Muslim society and civilization in Al-Andalusia , This culture of hatred dealt severe blows to the polity and unity of Muslims and resulted in annihilation of Umayyad power in 1031 and later on it were small principalities and small kingdoms which were the torch bearers of the cultural pluralism of Al-Andalusia after the decline of central government and power in Cordoba.
These states had localize4d and restricted control over certain areas under their suzerainty and their bases was not any broad based consensus, but usually the sway of power under the control of swords. These Party Kings as they are called in context of Spanish history can be seen in Fig.2 and their respective borders.
This internecine infighting was brutal to such an extent that Muslims forged alliances with Christians and power struggle was the supreme goal to attain the reigns of power at the cost of Asabiyah and longevity and consistency of power and hold of Muslim power of Al-Andalusia. This selfish attitude of elite and Party Kings destroyed the seeds of plural culture and to garner new ideas and support initiated the rooting of Berber conservatism and extremism on Spanish soil, this was also reactionary influence of raging crusades initiated by Christians and associated with Reconquista in Al-Andalusia. This volatile environment of Spanish history was followed soon after decline of Umayyad power in 1031 A.D and here came the paradox of Al-Andalusia’s history that it was politically fragmented and distorted times of Al-Andalusia but intellectually and culturally the greatest names of Al-Andalusia lived in those times. Ibn-e-Al Arabi, Ibn-e- Rushd , Ibn-e-Khaldun, Ibn-e Khalqan and many other names. This is most amazing testimony to the cultural standards of those times set by Muslims in Al-Andalusia which were kept on rolling despite the fall and decay of central authority, and despite the power centered creed of Party Kings the cultural freedom was still a cherished ideal.
Despite the Al.Murabitins and Al Mauwheeden’s extremist hold, there were many cultural enlightened Party Kings who supported and nurtured intellectual freedom and followers of ideas with great care and love… Ibn-e –Rushd is the case in example.

In Andalusia the inherent fault line was difference of Berber and Arabs. This was kept under control when Asabiyah was strong and religious affiliations played a positive role, but due to increased role of Asabiyah based upon religious ideas this created tensions and conflicts between Ulema and elite at different stages and some times it developed into deep rooted and continuous conflicts. This active role of Ulema also gave ideas to Papacy to assert for its supremacy and restoration of old power on the masses and resources of Andalusia in collaboration with ruling elite.
Rebellions of Berbers were a constant sore point for elite and authorities in Cordoba and they were different and difficult people to placate due to their inherent tribal traits. Their love for freedom and independence also caused problems fro authorities many times and their inclination was more towards warrior activities instead of other cultural and less physical pursuits.
Peace and development of middle 10th century under Abdur Rehman III was a challenge to nomadic culture and attitude of Berbers which resulted in raising their arms against authorities under influence of local chiefs and tribal affiliations of Berbers. In peace they were able to develop a marvelous culture but at war also they were expert and this led to gradual drain of Asabiyah and economic crisis. Berbers were the front runners of many new party Kings who sprang up after end of Umayyad power in 1031A.D.

Party Kings Fig.5

5. Christian Reconquista

In Al-Andalusia the official and cultural language was Arabic and along with Baghdad 100 years ago it was the Lingua Franca of the world. The language Arabic has rage and the priests of Christians used to say , it is strange that now Christian youth speak Arabic and even write poetry in Arabic! This was the basic difference and although describing the roots of rift coming from the power bastion of past. --Papacy. This was Papacy which played the role in initiating the Crusades and later Reconquista in Al-Andalusia. Papacy developed the image of Muslims as idolaters and enemies to Christ and the propaganda was fed continuously to the Spanish Christians and it was used as source of hatred to speed up Reconquista.
For example papacy said about Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him as an idol named Mahomet in a cave near Mecca. It speaks volumes about their knowledge and inherent bias about Muslims. This ignorance and hatred created a zeal and enthusiasm which gave impetus to violence, war, and a struggle to restore Christian glory under the leadership of Kings and Papacy. This was clash of Asabiyah and after a long, protracted and bitter fight it culminated in events of 1st January 1492 and King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile were able to wipe out the last relic of a plural culture in Al-Andalusia… this began age of colonialism and greed also beginning of modern age of self aggrandizement and resource control. Although previously it also happened but it was not a cruel ruthless exploitation, it was not absentee power holding--- but age of Discovery was age of Slavery and age of destruction for cultures of past as witnessed in destruction of Latin American civilization, Red Indians in USA and the most shameful acts of slavery from Africa as after math of this human tragedy in Al-Andalusia. Death of Al-Andalusia was death of plurality and Chivalry! This Reconquista was not triumph of values it was of power, hatred and retrogression against values of openness and progress despite its restricted scope in 15th century Al-Andalusia.
This event was beginning of age of Slavery, Colonialism and permanent scar on the tolerance and plurality of humanity as now things were to be seen from distorted angles of Christian non-Christian, White, non, White Blacks and Whites Colonizers and Colonized and as a paradox of civilization and plunder! This zeal of religious exclusion and narrow cultural base destroyed the already fragile balance of world at cross roads, this Age of Discovery was not of discovery it was of plunder, hatred and retrogression, it was the development of hypocrisy and double standards on the name of great ideals couched for the personal glory and also a n attempt to burden the world with a religious narrow ideology not as by choice but under the force of swords and naked power! It was age of exclusion, replacing age of inclusion; it was another setback to forces of plurality, tolerance and chivalry! And this setback needs to be reversed now after more than 6 centuries! Not in capturing lands or proselytizing but in our ideas and imagination as all destruction and hatred flows from ideas and then is supported with brute power!
Ion European history Reconquista is considered a successful example of territorial gains and usually celebrated as a moment of pride but it has destroyed the soul of plurality in the Iberian Peninsula. Success of Reconquista was triumph of Inquisition aimed at Jews and Muslims. This was initiation of the darkest periods in European history in particular and fro humanity in general. Reconquista unleashed forces of hatred and violence sanctioned by religious decrees and state authorities. This Inquisition severely damaged the economic prosperity of Andalusia and of its masses. Muslims were murdered , driven out at a large scale and many Muslims were sent to Latin America as slaves and their generations still live in that continent .

6. Lack of Fresh Blood in Elite

Ruling elite in Al-Andalusia was Arab at its head and it was supported militarily by Berbers and official work was done by local Spanish people and this was a practical solution and a result of plural ethos and traditions of Spanish Umayyads .As Muslim Al-Andalusia was on the peripheries of Muslim lands at that time so it has the inherent limitations of people and ideas to reach here and develop in scope and range. But when we see that it was not less than to Baghdad in its heydays and rather in many fields it created many names which are still pride of their respective fields and then we come to know the role played by intellectual and cultural plurality of Al-Andalusia to enhance the diversity of human thought.
This diversity was possible mainly to the liberal and friendly behavior fo Kings and elite to actively support, nurture and encourage intellectual activities and it was love of knowledge and books which created the galore and highly developed Urban culture of Muslims in Al-Andalusia despite being less in resources in material and immaterial terms if compared to Abbasids of Baghdad . Welcoming Ziryab in Al-Andalusia shows this spirit of patronizing intellectuals and ideologues as the culminating spirit of plurality … was encouraging fresh and new talent without any restrictions. Hakam III was named Bibliophile as he was lover of the book and he has reputation of paying the highest price for the books which were written at first and some times it was like this that the book reached first in Library of Al-Andalusia despite the author being in Baghdad and this attitude was in 100th century when Cordoba attained the status of the Jewel of World

This trend was overturned when the internecine infighting, religious strife and Christian Reconquista created hostile and insecure environment, and the flow of intellectuals and ideas was blocked for times to come and it was time when local intellectuals took on the torch of ideas to move forward against all the odds of social and cultural restrictions placed due to rising intolerance on the name of religion and power.
This was intellectual field but balance was also disturbed in military field as previously Berbers were the military linchpin at functional and active force level occupying majority of Army due to low ratio of Arabs and locals in forces due to strategic and national priorities of Muslims of Al-Andalusia. But rebellions due to their inherent tribal nature and later religious extremism checked the flow of forces from Tunis, Morocco and other areas of North Africa to mainland Al-Andalusia. This created a severe bottle neck in evolution and development of strategic and practical cultural progress of Al-Andalusia and as it also was a strengthening factor previously, now it developed into a factor of stability which played havoc with the stable bonds and Asabiyah of cultural plurality. This proved a decisive factor in tearing apart the besieged Muslims in Al-Andalusia. Besieged as Reconquista had begun and Muslims instead of fighting with their rivals fought among themselves thus speeding up decline and downfall of a marvelous urban culture in medieval Europe. This reversal of intellectual flow and its resultant stagnation was a great blow to future prospects of peace and stability of Al-Andalusia and instead of nurturing and encouraging plurality it returned back to savages of religious extremism and power mongering of elite irrespective of their religious leanings and ideas.

7. Status of Women

Women are the barometer which tells the level of civilization and attitude of the culture towards its fundamental and basic attributes and outlook towards the over all changes being wrought in the polity and society at large. In Al-Andalusia in its heydays women were having their day and for many years personal secretary of Abd-al Hakam and enjoyed unprecedented freedom and high level of cultural superiority and social status and space in the civil society of that time. The freedom and liberality enjoyed by women was unprecedented in the Spanish history in those times and also for times to come.
The poetry describes their freedom to act, choose and openly show their hidden and open talents without any fear of rebuke and different issues attached with the personality of women in those times irrespective of any religious affiliation in those times.
Women enjoyed economic and cultural freedom and its reach was of diverse and innovative. Ziryab’s success in Al-Andalusia when he migrated from Baghdad and made Al-Andalusia his destination is the most remarkable cultural event of Al-Andalusia.. He was the person who introduced use of forks while eating, developed new hair designing, developed new perfumes. He was a celebrity in Al-Andalusia and his legacy is the epitome of Spanish Muslim culture and his contribution to human heritage in his individual capacity and refinement of taste is unparallel and it shows the vitality and freedom of that society which thrived on innovation and plurality… Ziryab was a black African but he was the most renowned person among elite and especially women due to his innovative and imaginative thinking.
Women’s poetry in Al-Andalusia shows the ups and downs of the society in Al-Andalusia. This poetry has very diverse and deep experiences to stir the soul of persona and show the depth and range of experience of women of Muslim Al-Andalusia in a plural and multi cultural environment. Ibn-e- Hazam’s Dove’s Necklace on topic of love is a classic of its type its intellectual canvass and impact on its age is a marvelous study of iconic cultural liberality and freedom of Al-Andalusia. This had great links and cultural synthesis of ideas of Chivalry reaching to its zenith in Al-Andalusia.
The luxury, art, culture, beauty, music, sophistication, reigns supreme in Al-Andalusia of heydays and women have a glorious place in that Al-Andalusia and it was their position in Al-Andalusia that in 13-14th century in present day Senegal Songhi dynasty was led by a woman and it was extension of culture of Al-Maghreb.
Women’s role in a society is of utmost importance and it is a very pertinent saying of an intellectual that if you want to determine the level and sophistication of development of a civilization, then observe and analyze the role of women in that society… it is the single most important idea which can lead us directly to weakness and strength of the society and civilization.
Women had a driving influence on the major cultural activities of Andalusia; Ibn-e-Arabi’s inspiration was a daughter of his teacher. The songs of Andalusia were extrapolation of Chivalry of Arabia ingrained in beauty and delicacy of women.
The legal compromise also affected the status of women directly as Berbers insisted upon following their traditional codes instead of Islamic legal code which hurt their status to great extent. This legal compromise was kept in abeyance when the society was peaceful and cultural vibrant and conscious of its rights but when it was threatened by security issue then its negative implications played in full swing. Marriage, inheritance, property and related issues of women were highly compromised by this in nomadic and rural society of Berbers at popular level. But it conferred great power and status if it was at tribal chief leader as magic queen of North Africa’s events show. Women were excluded from cultural and social circles and restricted to home when religious extremists took power in Andalusia and also times of trouble and insecurity. This was a threat and constant limitation for women despite presence of ideas of chivalry in the ethos and cultural moors of Andalusia.

Fig.6
In Al-Andalusia this factor was of utmost importance and declining status of women was due to continuous hold of conservative and extremist forces led by Berber resurgence and ritualized following of religion. After the decline of Umayyad power in 1031 A.D in Al-Andalusia the hold of Party kings also weakened the exalted and cultured space occupied by women of Al-Andalusia, Queen Isabella’s rise in Christian Reconquista shows the rising influence of women freedom and liberation in that society. Although it was also influenced by the 8th century tradition of exhorting men to embrace martyrdom by insulting Islam under influence of beautiful nuns of Christians.
This decline of women’s status was noted as a prime cause of declining fortunes of Muslim society by Ibn-e-Rushd .His ideas in 12th century were far ahead of his times in all regards but with respect to women it was a great and practical insight which shows his unique understanding of the issue from unbiase4d and gender free perspective. This is the true indication of plural society of Al-Andalusia

8. Economic Downfall
Economy is the engine which moves the society in new directions and a poor society is always on loggerheads with itself and its neighbors. Prosperity is bases of a developing and progressive society. A poor society can never be progressive as its structural issu4es and inherent limitation can not let it rise above the fundamental struggle of subsistence and survival instinct which is based upon constant struggle and fighting. This is borne by historical facts that poor, the periods of wealth are periods of peace and development.

Fig.7
Spain is a classic example of a Public Friendly Development Model which is basically driven by mega development projects aimed at public welfare with labor intensive stress. This model was raised to its apogee in 10th century Andalusia and it took Cordoba to its highest level of cultural development and progress which was never witnessed again in Spain and in its past also.
In this age the abandoned aqueducts were repaired, new roads were constructed, hospitals, universities, libraries, and public welfare systems were developed at rapid pace and economic activities were given impetus by signing peace agreements with all its hostile neighbors .This resulted in drastic changes in economic structuring of Andalusia. The late 9th century Andalusia was a war economy busy in diverting its major resources towards war efforts as it had many wars going on its borders but peace gave dividends and within a generation Andalusia was host to Cordoba a Jewel of World.

The expansion of roads and development of new market places was hall mark o f 10th century Andalusia, but it was over taken by continuous economic decline due to political and regional issues. As the age of Reconquista began the resources were diverted to fight the enemies and it was also an age when internal rebellion spearheaded by Berbers were also at its peak thus energies attained in the times of peace were destroyed and decayed in battle field. These battles diverted the resources to destruction instead of productive utilization of resources.
Lack of governmental interest in developing projects of public welfare and development was major source of declining economic activity. The aqueducts were not repaired and maintained to strengthen the agricultural output and it also affected condition of roads and markets to move further although it was Andalusia from which the concept of modern banking check was developed. Its root was word Seeq’un and it was used extensively from Andalusia to China’s port Canton. This economic prosperity was disturbed by Crusades, Reconquista and internecine fighting .

Fig.8

But this development and prosperity also created unease among the mercenaries of Berber origin who failed to reconcile to changing times of prosperity and peace and took to arms against the central government and there was same scale of war and insecurity as in late 9th century. This exhausted the country and resulted in diversion of resources from productive economic activities to war activities which drained country of investment and capital. The public welfare projects were abandoned and due to Berber threat many productive hands had to join to fight this rebellion.
Economic prosperity of Andalusia was basically overturned by the wars and Berber rebellions and its attached uncertainty, and it contributed to downfall of cultural and civilization progress. The glory of 10th century and its scope and level was never restored despite glimpses of Granada and other Party Kings.
This war economy took away the central place of Cordoba in the Mediterranean trade and exports and resulted in its gradual decline over a larger scale although it kept its spark of regional grandeur. Instead of exporting the swords, arrows and related defense gadgetry now Andalusia used it for itself , which deprived it of considerable source of capital and productive impetus resulting in lower efficiency and productivity during the troubled times of 11th century thus striking a severe blow to its prosperity and economic stability.
The decline in economy proved to be fatal over a long period of time and it resulted in gradual elimination of culture of plurality and tolerance.

9. Role of Ibn-e-Abi Amer (Al-Mansur… The Hajib )
Al. Mansur (978-1002) is the most enigmatic character of Al-Andalusia and his place at the historical juncture makes him of utmost importance in understanding plurality and also at the twilight of Umayyad Power in Andalusia. He appeared on the horizon of Andalusia in late 10th century and gradually attained all powers till his death in early years of 11th century and also the active beginning of Reconquista. As it was the time when the elite of Cordoba were weakened to such an extent that Al.-Mansur was able to exercise hold without any supportive Asabiyah and a big clan to his credit. It also showed the flexibility, plurality, inherent motile and dynamic nature of polity in Andalusia.

Al Mansur the Hajib’s hold on power was able to pose terror in the hearts of Christians but it also generated the threat element of reactionary elements from Christian forces. This was not due to role of wars that things collapsed after a successful reining of hostile powers but due to less capable successors of elite in Andalusia .In the absence of a healthy elite and active support of Berber forces to fight this policy of Al-Mansur after his death, the façade crumbled rapidly. If Al-Mansur would have generated support and created a new Asabiyah to continue his power then things would have been very different, but it never happened and after Hajib al –Mansur their was no one to carry forward the consolidation of the work as done by him.

Fig.9

Hajib’s seizure of powers was able to control rebellions and even defeat and humiliate hostile powers but it also re-directed the economic activity towards war activities with less productive results. His crushing of rebellions later also pushed the Berbers towards schism and rebellions towards Cordoba. But it is very complex issue whether he would have been successful or not to control the menace of rebellions and hostile forces on his frontiers if he would have resorted to peace instead of fighting? This can be answered if we see the early 10th century Andalusia when this policy of peace was capable to develop Cordoba in the Jewel of World but there was no person like Abdur Rehman III to strengthen the polity and Asabiyah to ensure the sustainability of social and political development. Mansur’s personal goals clashed with the broader goals of polity and it resulted in chaos, this policy would have not been fatal if there would have been capable elite to march on restructuring and reinvigorating the declining fortunes of State. This was exacerbated by resurgence of Reconquista and it was ultimately successful to drive out Muslims and Jews from Andalusia . This was birth of a new times and death of an era marked by plurality and chivalry of humanity!

Synthesis of the reasons of Decline

As a token of respect to unique and unparalleled Master and pioneer of Sociology and philosophy of history Ibn-e-Khaldun , the idea of Asabiyah as bases of understanding history in the place he lived his times is used. This idea of Asabiyah is the most original idea in human history as to its application and rational placement in the issue of human affairs. The declining Asabiyah of Andalusia elite increased centrifugal forces in society resulting in gradual decline of plural culture. Conflicting religious Asabiyah contributed to increased wars and reduced economic activity and tolerance in society which gave opportunity to rivals to take over reigns of power in Andalusia., Reconquista in the presence of internecine fighting proved to be successful in wresting power from Muslims and also last nail in the coffin of plurality in Spain and also from world for times to come! Declining Economic activity drastically altered the structure of economy and also increased structured unemployment which contributed to rising extremism and religious intolerance in the new ideologies of al-Maghreb, Decreasing role of women encouraged retrogressive forces to instill fear and marginalization in the hearts of society at large and among women in particular and this restricted women to mere houses thus depriving the society an active partner in developing an urbane and urban culture based upon tolerance , plurality and chivalry, Internecine fighting contributed to gradual decline in the regional hold of Muslims and also encouraged active interference of Christians in internal issues of remaining states , collaborating with rival groups to develop new balance of power. This initially was not able to disturb the cultural activities of society but this increased the uncertainty which gave impetus to survival instinct instead of accommodation, pluralism and chivalry.
Declining capacity of fresh ideas to cushion elite resulted in rise of Hajib Al Mansur’s temporary rise but it showed the bankruptcy of elite to sustain the tradition of their forefathers in a new and dynamic way.

In conclusion the decline of Muslims in general and in particular decline of plural society was a complex process which had internal and external causes as explained above. But the basic factors responsible for decline were diminishing Asabiyah, Religious Extremism, Legal inertia, internecine fighting coupled with declining status of women and economy weakened the society from inside which was dealt last and severe blow to its existence by Reconquista which sealed the fate of Muslims in Andalusia and rooting out of a great experience of plural and chivalrous society in Andalusia!

The journey of Civilization in Pakistan…Mehrgarh Era

2008-02-29T02:52:00.000+08:00

The journey of Civilization in Pakistan…Mehrgarh Era
The origins of human beings on the earth are one of the most mysterious and intriguing questions in the human consciousness. The search for the origins of the human endeavors and any traces of the activities is considered to be a step forward in the solution of the jig saw puzzle of the human endeavors.
The knowledge developed for the search of the origins of the humanity is called anthropology and it has a diverse mosaic of tools and branches developed to assist in the understanding of the basic question of the humanity.
The range of subjects and techniques applied in tracing and understanding the bases and origin of humanity in the universe and earth is exhaustive .But on the earth the archaeology is the most potent field in understanding the remnant and footsteps of the ancestors of the human beings.
The land of Pakistan is the epitome and zenith of diverse cultures and harmonized expressions of human creative influences ranging from initial agricultural relics at Mehrgarh and first human dentistry practiced at Mehrgarh in present day Pakistan.
The archaeological evidence revealed in the width and breadth of Pakistan gives the sense of immense cultural origins of civilization from the Cave art of Chilas to the well developed and oldest urban civilization in world excavated so far, with the developed urban infrastructure.
Archaeological artifacts are the undeniable source of the solid knowledge about the ancient history. The ancient history of world is more centered on Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Middle Eastern sites in present day Israel, China and many sites in Europe and Latin America, Australia and North American areas.
But when the comparative studies are conducted then we come to know that all these civilization developments except Mehrgarh are not older than 4000 B.C in Middle East , Europe, China, Asia and other parts of world. In town of Jericho there have been found large quantity of grains ranging back to 12000 years old, but there are no settled town found there before about 4000 B.C.
A chopping tool found in Pakistan dates to 2 million years ago, earlier than the earliest hominid remains, the Homo species "Narmada Man," (250,000 years ago). Early anatomically modern Homo sapiens are first seen in Sri Lanka about 34,000 years ago.
But the uniqueness of the area which lies in present day Pakistan is unique independent and locally developed. This is continuous, vast, developed, intellectually robust, indigenous and sustained thread of civilization in the present day areas of Pakistan in t he light of present available studies.
There is always danger of ethnocentric ideas in the assessment of the past. Due to overtones of nationalism it has become more passionate and controversial to talk in the light of experiences of past. Interestingly this danger can be done away with the study of past in the present day Pakistani context as the present day population is more than 98% is not practicing the traditional popular religions of the area and converted to the most recent religion Islam. This also can be a destabilizing affect in the form of over zealous and conservative interpretation of the religious affinities of the masses. But it is the utmost interesting and important aspect of this study to delve deep into the ages old soul of the people from Mehrgarh to present day Pakistan. In this brief paper an attempt is made to understand history in its true perspective and analyzing the legacy of our past in a dispassionate and objective way to make sense of our glorious past as the first known urban people of the world.
The Mehrgarh is the most fascinating phenomenon of human development as it is mentioned to be the oldest town as per the present available records but its pre-eminence is rarely mentioned in the text books or historical documents and is mentioned as pre-Indus Civilization without referring to its unique and innovative aspects.
The Mehrgarh is treated as a side show in the so-called bigger picture of Indus civilization. It is the most inaccurate and unscientific assertion in the present age of technological and scientific development.
In preceding pages an attempt has been made to understand Mehrgarh as an independent unit and study it as a pioneer in the development of civilization in the cradle of civilization. Now we look in depth what are unique attributes of Mehrgarh? Why it is unique? When it flourished? Why it is different from Indus civilization?
The archaeological site of Mehrgarh consists of a number of low archaeological mounds in the Kachi plain, close to the mouth of the Bolan Pass. Located next to the west bank of the Bolan River, they are some 30 kilometers from the town of Sibi. Covering an area of some 250 hectares, most of the archaeological deposits are buried deep beneath accumulations of alluvium although in other areas ‘in situ’ structures can be seen eroding on the surface. Currently exposed excavated remains at the site comprise a complex of large compartmental mud-brick structures. Built of hand-formed plano-convex mud bricks, the function of these sub-divided units is still uncertain but it is thought that many were for storage rather than residential. Mounds, MR3 & MR1 also contain formal cemeteries, parts of which have been excavated.

Coordinates: 29° 12’ 45” N 67° 40’ 15” E – Mehrgarh… BALOCHISTAN
The archaeological sequence at the site of Mehrgarh is over 11 meters deep, spanning the period between the seventh and third millennium BC. The site represents a classic archaeological tell site that is an artificial mound created by generations of superimposed mud brick structures.
Its excavators have proposed the following chronology:
IA Aceramic Neolithlic c.6500-6000 BC Mound MR3

IB Ceramic Neolithic c.6000-5500 BC Mound MR3

II - c.5500-4500 BC Mound MR4

III Early Chalcolithic c.4500-3500 BC Mound MR2

IV-VII Chalcolithic c.3500-2500 BC Mound MR1

The earliest Neolithic evidence for occupation at the site has been identified at mound MR3, but during the Neolithic-Chalcolithic period the focus shifted to mound MR4. The focus continued to shift between localities at the site but by 2600 BC it had relocated at the site of Nausharo, some six kilometers to the south. During this period the settlement was transformed from a cluster of small mud brick storage units with evidence of the on going domestication of cattle and barley to a substantial Bronze Age village at the centre of its own distinctive craft zone. The absence of early residential structures has been interpreted by some as further evidence of the site’s early occupation by mobile groups possible travelling through the nearby pass seasonally.
Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of the emergence of the literate urbanized phase of the Indus Civilization, its development illustrates the development of the civilization’s subsistence patterns as well as its craft and trade specialization. Following its abandonment it was covered by alluvial silts until it was exposed following a flash flood in the 1970s. The French Archaeological Mission to Pakistan excavated the site for thirteen years between 1974 and 1986, and they resumed their work in 1996. The most recent trenches have astonishingly well preserved remains of mud brick structures proving the urban streak of this civilization.
Mehrgarh is a Neolithic (7000-3200 BC) site on the Kachi plain of Baluchistan, Pakistan, and one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in south Asia. The site is located on the principal route between what is now Afghanistan and the Indus Valley.
The earliest settled portion of Mehrgarh was in an area called MR.3, in the northeast corner of the 495-acre occupation. It is a small farming and pastoralist village dated between 7000-5500 BC, with mud brick houses and granaries. The early Mehrgarh residents used local copper ore, basket containers lined with bitumen, and an array of bone tools. They grew six-row barley, einkorn and emmer wheat, jujubes and dates.
Sheep, goats and cattle were herded at Mehrgarh beginning during this early period.
Later periods included craft activities such as flint knapping, tanning, and bead production; also, a significant level of metal working. The site was occupied continuously until about 2600 BC, when it was abandoned.
Mehrgarh was discovered and excavations begun by a French team led by Jean-François Jarrige; the site was excavated continuously between 1974 and 1986.

Figurine period 6 3000 BC
Mehrgarh is the centre of the first known developed place of civilization in its advanced form in the world as compared to the contemporary and the predecessor human settlement areas of the world. The town of Jericho has, nt got the level of sophistication and developmental level attained at that in Mehrgarh. The symbolic artifacts retrieved from Mehrgarh are far more advance d and more developed as compared to the artifacts retrieved from Turkish sites and Middle Eastern sites especially Jericho.
The Mehrgarh has the unique tradition of burying the dead with the pitchers being used as the supporting material along with the dead person’s body. This is the most unique cultural legacy of the Mehrgarh civilization for the area of Pakistan as I myself saw in late 1980’s in a village Kalyan near Lahore in district Kasur, that, while the dead person was buried about 8-10 pitchers of average size were placed over the dead body while burial process was completed . This unique similarity to 8000 years old tradition is the direct proof of the deep rooted traditional affinity of the Pakistani area, as in later Hindu and Magian periods the dead were burnt and placed under the sun respectively. (These are still followed in the Hindu and Parsi community of the subcontinent).
It is interesting to note, however, that the male figurines have turbans — much like those worn by the inhabitants of Baluchistan today. These turbans are not only found in Baluchistan, they are still worn in the rural areas of Punjab.
One of the most unique discoveries of the Mehrgarh is the first known origin of the dental surgery and related medicinal activities in the Mehrgarh areas. This medicinal and different aspect of the Mehrgarh shows great innovation and developmental level of the people of the area about 9000 years ago.
According to a report in the April 6, 2006 issue of Nature, Italian researchers working at a cemetery site in the Neolithic town of Mehrgarh discovered drill holes on at least eleven molars from people buried in the MR3 cemetery. Light microscopy showed the holes were conical, cylindrical or trapezoidal in shape.
A few had concentric rings showing drill bit marks; and a few had some evidence for decay. No filling material was noted; but tooth wear on the drill marks indicate that each of these individuals continued to live on after the drilling was completed.
Dental caries (or cavities) are the result of sugars and starches in the food we eat. Hunter-gatherers, who rely on animal protein, do not generally have cavities; cavities associated with the use of roots and tubers, or starchy grains
Researchers point out that only four of the eleven teeth contained clear evidence of decay associated with drilling; however, the drilled teeth are restricted to molars in the back of both lower and upper jaws, and thus are not likely to have been done for decorative purposes. Flint drill bits are known from Mehrgarh, long associated with the bead industry there. The researchers conducted experiments and discovered that using a flint drill bit attached to a bow-drill, it required under a minute to produce similar holes in human enamel.

Drilled ,maxillary left second molar from an adult male (MR3 90) from Neolithic Mehrgarh.
L. Bondioli (Museum L. Pigorini, Rome) & R. Macchiarelli (Univ. of Poitiers).

The dental techniques have only been discovered on about .3% of the population (11 teeth out of a total of 3880 examined from 225 individuals studied to date), so it was a rare occurrence, and, appears to have been a short-lived experiment as well. Although the MR3 cemetery contains younger skeletal material (into the Chalcolithic), no evidence for tooth drilling has been found later than 6500 BP.
Mr. Jarrige has carried out extensive archaeological explorations and investigations under the French Archaeological Mission in Kachi area.
The mission has been doing exploratory work in Baluchistan for nearly three-and-a-half decades. He said that Mehrgarh and its associated sites provided irrevocable evidence of considerable cultural development in early antiquity as far back as 8,000 years.

The Bird shaped Figurines from Mehrgarh

Mr. Jarrige said that many beautiful ceramics had been found at the site in Baluchistan and were believed to be of the era as early as eighth millennium BC. The French archaeologist said that studies suggested that the findings at Mehrgarh linked this area to the Indus civilization.
There are indications that bones were used in making tools for farming, textile, and there are also evidences of the use of cotton even in that period. Mr. Jarrige pointed out that the skeletons found at the site indicated that the height of people of that era was larger than that of the later period. He said that the architecture at that time was well developed. Rice was the staple food for those people and there were also indications of trade activities.
Most of the ruins at Mehrgarh are buried under alluvium deposits, though some structures could be seen eroding on the surface. Currently, the excavated remains at the site comprise a complex of large compartmental mud-brick structures.
Function of these subdivided units, built of hand-formed plano-convex mud bricks, is still not clear but it is thought that many were used probably for storage, rather than residential, purposes. A couple of mounds also contain formal cemeteries, parts of which have been excavated.
Although Mehrgarh was abandoned by the time of the emergence of the literate urbanized phase of the Indus civilization around Moenjodaro, Harappa, etc., its development illustrates the development of the civilization's subsistence patterns, as well as its craft and trade. But this shows that the sequence of civilization was not broken and the flow of civilization was kept moving in the Indus Civilization.
The similarity of Indus Civilization to Mehrgarh in many respects shows the linkages and relationships among the Mehrgarh and later periods, but the important thing is that between the Mehrgarh and Indus civilization on Punjab and Sind side respectively Suleman Range and Kirthar Range separate the Baluchistan Plateau and the other geographical areas. The idea to consider them one geographically unit is not borne by the ground realities. The geographical and terrain of the area are the contributory factor in the development of the patterns of civilization. But in fact which needs serious consideration is that in Suleman and Kirthar Range there are some historical passes which are still used by the people to cross the range to move from one side to other sides. The most famous in the Suleman range is the route between Kandahar and India from times immemorial and it was the same route adopted by Babur the Founder of Mughal dynasty in India in 1520,s.There are still some minor passages between the Baluchistan and Punjab scattered over the long area of Suleman Range. In Rajanpur district near Atari there is a passage which locals still use to go towards the other side of the mountains.

Figurines from Mehrgarh

The habitation of Mehrgarh has been divided into seven periods, the first being the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period that dates to circa 7000 B.C. or even earlier. The site was abandoned between 2000 and 2500 B.C. during a period of contact with the Indus Civilization and then reused as a burial ground for some time after 2000 B.C.
Perhaps the most important feature of Mehrgarh is the fact that one can witness its gradual development from an early village society to a regional centre that covered an area of 200 hectares at its height. In the course of this development, a huge platform that may reflect some form of authority was constructed at the site. Mehrgarh was also a centre of manufacture for various figurines and pottery that were distributed to surrounding regions.
The Mehrgarh periods are technically divided for the ease and understanding of the cultural and civilization’s way of development with reference to the site under study. Usually they are not linked to the overall way of the development of the other areas; the terms are localized and technical one. This is one as the alluvial levels at Mehrgarh describe the different levels of the different phases of the Mehrgarh civilization showing a long period of habitation.
The religious ideas of Mehrgarh are known to be having reference to Indriya Goddess, which is considered to be the oldest reference to the Indian mythological gods. Her presence shows the matriarchal hierarchy in the society.
The presence of bison in Mehrgarh and resembling terracotta artifacts in the Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa bears great similarities. This indicates the possible transfer of technological and symbolic know how form Mehrgarh to later Indus civilization. This bison and its related cart are still used in the areas of Sindh and Punjab for transportation at local level. The bison carts terracotta toys were also found in other Indus civilization sites. The gypsies still make these Indus like bison carts and in childhood I used to buy them when the gypsies came in our area to sell these toys and bison of shapes just like found in Mehrgarh and other Indus valley sites.
Some specific details of the different periods of Mehrgarh are as following;
Mehrgarh Period I

Mehrgarh Period I 7000 - 5500 BCE, was Neolithic and a ceramic (i.e., without the use of pottery). The earliest farming in the area was developed by semi-nomadic people using plants such as wheat and barley and animals such as sheep, goat and cattle. The settlement was established with simple mud buildings with four internal subdivisions. Numerous burials have been found, many with elaborate goods such as baskets, stone and bone tools, beads, bangles, pendants and occasionally animal sacrifices, with more goods left with burials of males.
Ornaments of sea shell, limestone, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sandstone and polished copper have been found, along with simple figurines of women and animals. A single ground stone axe was discovered in a burial, and several more were obtained from the surface. These ground stone axes are the earliest to come from a stratified context in the South Asia.
Mehrgarh Period II and Period III
Mehrgarh Period II 5500 - 4800 BC and Mehrgarh Period III 4800 - 3500 BC were ceramic Neolithic (i.e., pottery was now in use) and later

The bison
chalcolithic. Much evidence of manufacturing activity has been found and more advanced techniques were used. Glazed faience beads were produced and terracotta figurines became more detailed. Figurines of females were decorated with paint and had diverse hairstyles and ornaments. Two flexed burials were found in period II with a covering of red ochre on the body. The amount of burial goods decreased over time, becoming limited to ornaments and with more goods left with burials of females. The first button seals were produced from terracotta and bone and had geometric designs. Technologies included stone and copper drills, updraft kilns, large pit kilns and copper melting crucibles. There is further evidence of long-distance trade in period II: important as an indication of this is the discovery of several beads of lapis lazuli
originally from Badakshan.
One amazing bit of info about this town is that in 7000 BCE it had a population of 25000 people, which was the number of people living in the entire Egypt at 7000BCE.
During the excavations, the archaeologists discovered clay female figurines associated with fertility rites, and believed to have been worshipped by the natives. Similar figurines have surfaced in other archaeological sites in the province. Several of these statues are carved with necklaces, and have their hands on their breast or waist. Some have children on their laps.
The people of that era used to wear woolen or cotton clothes. Some of the deities had their braid on their back and shoulders. Most of the male statues wore turbans, which is still in vogue in Baluchistan. While the opinion of several archaeologists that several of the statuettes discovered at the site might have been children, there are many who link these terracotta figures to be religious beliefs and the eon-old concept of the power of nature and female deities.

Female Figurine of fertility from Mehrgarh
Moreover, terracotta figures of bulls have also been discovered at Mehrgarh pointing to the possible worship of animals or their exalted status as life-givers for the food they yielded. The figurines reveal the attire women possibly wore; lace-like material round their waists and adorned their upper bodies with necklaces. Archaeologists are still clueless as to how they wove the material and whether they used cotton or wool to make their garments.
The first use of cotton in the history has been found to be at Mehrgarh, which shows the deep rooted affiliation of Pakistani areas to cotton since old ages. The local cotton which is the present day white Gold for Pakistan’s economy has roots in the ancient past. Still when ever is good rain on Suleman range excellent quality of cotton is grown in the areas adjoining the Baluchistan range over the Suleman range.
The Mehrgarh is supported further by the nearby discoveries of the Nausharo situated on the Kachi plain approximately 10 kilometers southwest of Mehrgarh, Nausharo… excavated by the French team from 1980 to 1998. The site was first occupied at around 2800 B.C. before the Harappan period under the influence of the early farming cultures of Baluchistan. The material culture of the site indicates that the site fell under Harappan influence or occupation by circa 2500 B.C. and reverted to the Baluchistan cultures by 2100 - 2000 B.C. This is the period when new summer crops such as rice were introduced into the Kachi plain in peripheral regions where the Indus Civilization had formerly flourished.
Additionally, farming in this region involves the domestication of native cattle rather than sheep and goat, and the early layers are a ceramic, at odds with the arrival of a "package" from Southwest Asia. This region's Neolithic probably developed locally.

Nausharo
The statements like this as above show the tendency of the scholars to create confusion as the majority of the scholars are Western trained and interestingly whenever there is mention of some historical evidence of the age old civilizations they add a lot of ifs and buts. This is the same idea which was floated by Mortimer and Wheeler in their book Indus Valley civilization written in 1950, s he attributed the rise of Indus Valley Civilization to the Middle Eastern influences. The research at Mehrgarh was done decades after that but the old passions die hard, the new evidence in Mehrgarh is not taken independently and the real place of Mehrgarh is denied due to lack of knowledge and wrong frames of reference.
Recent archaeological evidence especially from Mehrgarh has established that the Indus Civilization was essentially an indigenous development growing out of local cultures in an unbroken sequence from the Neolithic at the end of the eighth millennium BC, through the Chalcolithic (about 5000-3600 BC) and Early Harappan (about 3600-2600 BC) to the commencement of the Mature Harappan period in about 2550 BC.
Mehrgarh has all the ingredients of indigenous and local civilization and symbolic expression of its originality, uniqueness to be placed as foremost place of human heritage and human endurance and struggle to survive in a permanently changing universe and globe.
The domestication of animals began at Mehrgarh; the artifacts excavated from Mehrgarh substantiate this fact. The first pottery evidence is found in Mehrgarh.
The originality and local and indigenous nature of Mehrgarh is beyond any doubt and there is need to accept it as such not on the bases of nationalistic or ethnic point of view but upon the bases of rational and logical scientific evidence which is in abundance in Mehrgarh to support the thesis of its indigenous growth and sprouting up.
The continuous flow and development of Mehrgarh was entirely local in its scope, development, technological and symbolic expressions. No doubt around 6000 BC there was human activity in Middle East and some areas of Turkey but the developmental level of Mehrgarh in art, symbolism, nature control, and technology was far more developed and continuous as compared to the pastoral, grazing communities of the Middle East and Turkey.
From Mehrgarh the flow of civilization travelled to other areas of Pakistan in the fertile plains of Indus with more hospitable condition and more refined conditions of the civilization taking inspiration and innovation to new heights from the local and independent source of Mehrgarh to its unique contours and expressions.
Indus civilization was most scattered and had a different scope and point of climax, but the uniqueness, originality of Mehrgarh will always hold the crown of pioneer in the journey of civilization in present day Pakistan’s past and hidden heritage!

Pottery from Mehrgarh

Early farming village in Mehrgarh, c. 7000 BCE, with houses built with mud bricks. (Musée Guimet, Paris)

End Notes