I am averse to the ratings and rankings that characterize the junk-journalism of our times. Much like the embedded style of reporting such a view remains partial and often ignorant of the nuances and layers of subtext that are almost unachievable in the pop-view of the world.
Readers might question this apparent paradox as on the one hand I am making my top-five list and on the other I am also being critical. Well, well, this is kosher from a South Asian perspective as we remain a mythical-modern bundle of contradictions.
The real reason for me to ‘submit’ my top 5 is the inquiring spirit of Mayank Austen Soofi whom I don’t know and have never met but who originally asked me to do so for his blog. But I am quite empathetic to his efforts at understanding Pakistan. At least he ventures into the ‘other’ territory and unlike the mainstream media and writers, does not view Pakistan as a threatening collage of burqa clad women, terrorism and gun toting radicals. Even if my young friend employs a cliched format in this series, it is better than ‘high writing’ churning more cliches!
So, here are my top five reasons for loving Pakistan. Maybe ATP readers will add their own reasons to this list.
The Civilization
Pakistan is not a recent figment but a continuation of 5000 years of history: quite sheepishly, I admit, that I am an adherent of the view held by many historians that the Indus valley and the Indus man were always somewhat distinct from their brethren across the Indus. I do not wish to venture into this debate but I am proud as an inheritor of Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and Mehrgarh (not strictly in this order) and this makes me feel rooted and connected to my soil as well as ancient human civilizations and cultures.
It also makes me happy that no matter how much the present-day media hysteria about Pakistan (and “natives” in general) diminishes my country and region, nothing can take away this heritage and high points of my ancestral culture. Pakistan is not just Indus civilization – it is a hybrid cultural ethos: the Greek, Gandhara, the central Asian, Persian, Aryan and the Islamic influences merge into this river and define my soul – how can I not be proud of this?
The People
I simply love the Pakistani people – they are resilient, diverse and most entrepreneurial. They have survived calamities, famines, upheavals, injustices and exploitation and yet, by and large, retain a sense of humour. I am not naieve to say that they are totally free of the various bondages of history but they display remarkable entrepreneurial and creative potential. Most of them are “real” and rooted and yet not averse to modernity.
There is an urban revolution taking place in parts of Punjab and Sindh and the drivers are neither the state nor external donors but the people themselves. The private sector has even contributed to build an airport. There is an ugly side as well: the absence or predatory activities of the state (e.g. Karachi) has also provided a breeding ground for mafias but this is not a unique Pakistani phenomenon. From Los Angeles to Jakarata, such groups operate within the folds of urbanization.
I am proud of my people who have proved themselves in all spheres and countries – whether it is Professor Abdus Salam, the Nobel Laureate or Shazia Sikander, the miniaturist of international fame or Mukhtaran Mai who has proved her mettle in giving a tough time to forces of oppression.
The Spirituality
There is inordinate focus on Pakistani madrassahs, the pro-Taliban groups and the violent jihadis. How representative are these groups? Only Pakistanis know that such groups are marginal to the mainstream attachment to and practice of religion. The rural folk are still steeped in Sufi worldview and many versions of Islam exist within the same neighborhood. Of course there is manipulated curse of sectarian violence but that mercifully is not embedded despite the attempts of big external players and the octopus-like state agencies.
Ordinary Pakistanis, such as me, value their Islamic beliefs, are God fearing and follow what is essentially a continuation of the centuries old traditions of spirituality that survives in the folk idiom, in the kaafis of Bulleh Shah, and in the verses of Bhitai and Rahman Baba. Our proverbs, day-to-day beliefs are all mixed and laced with history, oral tradition, Sufi lore and of course Islamic simplicity. It is another matter that there are individuals who want to hijack this thread and impose their nonsense on us – but we as a people have resisted that and shall continue to do so. After all we inherited the confluence of ancient religions and practices.
Pakistan is where Buddha taught and Taxila shined, and where Nanak preached and the great saints – Usman Hajweri, Fariduddin Ganj Shakar, Bhitai and Sarmast – brought people into the fold of Islam. Despite the revisionist, constructed history by extremists in India, the sword had little to do with Islam’s rise in this region.
The Natural Beauty
Well the spirituality of my homeland is not just restricted to the intangible belief systems. It also reflects in the splendors of Mother Nature. From the pristine peaks in the north to the mangroves of the Indus delta, Pakistan blends climates, geographies, terrains in its melting pot. Within hours of leaving an arid zone, one enters into a fertile delta. And again a few more hours put you right in front of otherworldly mountains. The deserts of Cholistan radiate the moonlight and the surreal wildernesses of Balochistan are nothing but metaphors of spiritual beauty.
Where else can I experience the aroma of wet earth when the baked earth cracks up to embrace every droplet and where else can one find a Jamun tree with a Koel calling the gods? An everlasting impression on my being shall remain the majestic sunrise at the Fairy Meadows amid the Karakorams and the melting gold of Nanga Parbat peak. I love this country’s rivers, streams and the fields where farmers testify their existence with each stroke, each touch of earth. I cherish trees that are not just trees but signify Buddha’s seat or the ones in graveyards nourishing the seasonal blossoms.
The Cuisine
Yes, I love the aromas and myriad scents of Thai cooking, the subtlety of the French and Lebanese or the Turkish dishes but nothing compares to the Pakistani cuisine. Forget the high sounding stuff; ghar ka khana (homemade food) no matter which strata are you from is difficult to find elsewhere.
Whether it is a simple Tandoor ki Roti with Achaar or Palak (in the Punjab) or the intricate Biryani with ingredients and spices of all hues, the food is out of this world. In my house, we were used to at least ten different rice dishes (steamed white rice/ saada/ green peas/ vegetable/ channa/ choliya/ potato Pilau), three types of Biryanis (Sindhi, Hyderabadi, Dilli or just our cook’s hybridized Punjabi version), and my grandmother’s recipe of Lambi Khichdee. The list continues.
In the Northern areas, there are Chinese-Pakistani concoctions, in the North West Frontier there is meat in its most tender and purest form. In Balochistan there is Sajji, meat grilled in earthenware at low heat until all the juices have transformed the steaks into a magic delight. And, the fruits and the sweets -the mangoes that come in dozens of varieties and colors, melons of different sizes, the pomegranates and the wild berries that still grow despite the pollution everywhere!
How could I not love this eclectic cuisine?
And Finally . . .
The sum-total of all five: I love Pakistan as this is my identity – immutable and irreversible. Simple.
Raza Rumi blogs at Jahane Rumi.
Atif,
That whole Aryan business is a source of deep and abiding shame to Germans (I lived in Munich for five years and speak the language fluently). Most Germans today would not embrace the notion of a “German race”.
An interesting topic Raza even though i disagree with most of your top 5. But that makes it even more interesting as there is quite a lot of diversity in our reasons to love Pakistan. So many people have a lot of interest in Pakistan and that is a very strong sign for her.
Civilization:
As an NRP most of my life, I believe its good to remind oneself of our civilization even though it appears a bit racist to some. In Germany, people are overwhelmingly proud of thier Aryan decent just like the Sarhadis in Pakistan. In the Arab World, there is again a strong sense of identity associated with one’e lineage. From the Berbers of North Africa to the Wahabs of Saudia, everyone likes to associate oneself with a tribe, a culture, an ancestory.
I myself belong to the Kutch people, most of which are fishermen. We came to Sindh even before Alexander did, when Mai Kolachi decided to stay here. Although I feel sad there isnt much written about her or her earlier tribe. Even though I am proud of being a Kutch (an internally of having an identity), i dont think anyone will take that as a racist notion after considering the miserable condition Kutchis are in.
People
I’d like to add lethargic, kaam chor and jazbaati in my list.
Spirituality
I totally disagree with your notion of spirituality and your implicit deductions that Pakistani Madrassahs are unrepresentative of the people at large or Islam in general. Secondly, I find a tone in your text which indicates that there is no problem in the mixing of religions, sort of evolving and i certainly disagree with people terming something as Islam as ‘orthodox’. Since when we had the philosophy of worshipping shrines, and cutting off from material life in its totality a part of Islam? There is no such thing as ‘orthodox’ Islam, however, there is something as a new religion evolved from Islam whose Gods are at data darbar and abdullah shah ghazi mazhars and music its sole mode of worship.
And you didnt mention Imam Ghazhali, the most influential Islamic cleric in the region.
Natural Beauty
Agreed, wonderful place we’ve got.
The Cuisine
Agreed to some extent. Its delicious but sometimes I find it a bit on the wrong side of healthy eating. I just made achhar gosht out of our fav. brand, Shan, and am still burping from its ‘tez’ masaaala.
interesting article though, keep writing…
SS–the presence of a few Greek overlords, who would have had their own Greek wives, is not evidence of the kind of large scale resettling that would have changed the racial makeup of the area. This is an example of what I am talking about. To significantly change the native stock would have required not individuals but entire communities moving in. This didn’t happen in the case of the Greeks. There is nothing to prove your assertion that portions of the Greek armies stayed behind after history records that they left. This is an assumption. Again I would point out that Greeks are not blue eyed and Greeks and Italians were not considered by other Europeans to be “whites” until recently. Since race is a social construct rather than a biological one, this is understandable.
According to the social construct of race, Pakistanis are no longer “blacks” as they were in the days of the Raj, neither are they “Whites”; most people today would just shrug and say “well, I guess they are Asian but not Chinese”. The increasing vagueness of the racial definition is a good sign; it means that the importance of racial identity markers is declining. And nothing could be better than that.
Saying that “Indus man” is distinct from people from on the other side of the Indus, is a kind of “racism lite” that many Pakistanis subscribe to (even RR says he’s “sheepish”, a.k.a. “ashamed”, of it). It’s one of the many delightful legacies of Zia, who wanted to forge a notion of a national racial identity distinct from Indians. Hence, all Pakistanis were to be heirs to the Moghuls, whereas Indians and Bangladeshis were to be different, less warlike, darker skinned, i.e. inferior. Very typical fascistic myth-making in action.
Anybody who knows the history of the two countries since their inception knows how hollow this claim really is. It’s really sad. Many Pakistanis are not even “lite” racists; you ought to hear them talk about Africans or African Americans or even their own brethern who are dark skinned.
This post is just a friendly reminder of the good times that all us Pakistanis living abroad have had while growing up in Pakistan. It felt like RR peeped into my soul and put the recent “born again pakistaniat in me ” to writing. By that I am only referring to the fact that no matter where we end up living and how worse the political situation gets in pakistan it still is our identity. it might be breeding home for extremists, might be a place run by a dictator but that does not take away from us our fondest memories of life lived on that land, loyalty to her and all other great things which uniquely identify us as being of Pakistani descent.
Omar R Quraishi- I respect your right to criticism- however disagree with you- It depends on whether you live in pakistan or away from it- For us non resident Pakistanis it appeared to have a lot of depth as consciously and sub consciously the contenet and aim of this post is a constant debate within us and in the form of expression as well.
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Eidee Man–not nearly as ridiculous as you might wish to think–Caucasian Americans have been told endlessly how they stole the land from its “rightful ownersâ€