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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The name is said to have two meanings: Pak, meaning pure, and istan, meaning land, as well as being an acronym representing areas of land used in the creation of Pakistan: P = A = Afghanistan K = S = Sind TAN = Baluchistan As a political entity, Pakistan only dates from 1947. Yet, Pakistan shares significant portions of history with many other cultures and people of the Indian sub continent.

The north-west comer of the Indian subcontinent, which is now Pakistan, lies betwixt the historical invasion routes through the Khyber, Gumal and Bolan passes from central Asia to the heartland of India. For thousands of years, invaders and adventurers swept down upon the settlements there.

Modern-day Pakistan once formed an integral part of the Indus Valley civilization that flourished more than 5,000 years ago.

The original inhabitants of Pakistan were Stone Age people in the Potwar Plateau (north-). They were followed by the sophisticated Indus Valley (or Harappan) civilization which flourished between the 23rd to 18th centuries BCE. Semi-nomadic peoples then arrived, and by the ninth century BCE, they had spread across northern Pakistan and India. Their Vedic religion was the precursor of Hinduism, and their rigid division of labour a precursor to the Hindu caste system.

The next group, the Aryans, were followed by the Persians of the , who, by 500 BCE, reached the Indus River.

In 327 BeE, Alexander the Great traversed the Hindu Kush to put an end to the defeated Persian empire, and invaded the Punjab in 326 BCE. Some tribes still tell legends of being descended from Alexander and his soldiers.

The Silk Route, a lucrative trade route from , passing through India to the Roman empire, was then established.

The was then held at bay by the Mauryas, who, by 305 BCE, occupied the Indus plain and much of Afghanistan.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 1 Bangladesh After the fall of the Mauryas (second century BCE), the Indo-Greek Bactrian kingdom rose to power, but it, too, was overrun (97 BCE) by Scythian nomads, Saka, and then by Parthians (seven CE). The Parthians, of Persian stock, were replaced by the Kushans, who ruled (second century CE) all of what is now Pakistan from the capital at Peshawar.

The Kushans, who were at the centre of the silk trade, established the capital of their kingdom at Peshawar. By the mid-second century CE, they had reached the height of their power, with an empire that stretched from eastem to the Chinese frontier and south to the Ganges River. The Kushans, who were Buddhist, under King Kanishka, built thousands of monasteries and stupas. Soon, Gandhara became both a place of trade and religious study and a pilgrimage, a Buddhist "holy" land.

The had begun to unravel by the fourth century and was subsequently absorbed by the Persian Sassanians, the Gupta dynasty, from Central Asia, and Turkic and dynasties.

Islam, the dominant religion, was introduced in 711 CEo In 712, the Muslim Arabs appeared and conquered Sind. By 900, they controlled most of north-west India.

The Ghaznavid and Ghorid Turks reached Bengal in 1200, and an important Muslim centre was established, although the north-east Indian subcontinent (now Bangladesh) remained, with interruptions, part of a united in India from the early 16th century to 1857.

The next strong central power to be introduced was the Moghuls who reigned during the 16th and 17th centuries. A succession of rulers introduced reforms, ending Islam's supremacy as a state religion, encouraging the arts, building houses and, finally, retuming Islam as the state religion.

In 1526, the land became part of the Mogul Empire,

It was overrun by Persians in the late 1730s; by the Afghans, who held Sind and the Punjab during the latter half of the 18th century, and then, by the Sikhs, who rose to power in the Punjab under (1780-1839).

By 1857, the British became the dominant force. With Hindus holding most of the economic, social and political advantages, the Muslim minority's dissatisfaction grew, leading to the formation of the nationalist in 1906, by Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1949). Twenty-four years later, a totally separate Muslim homeland was proposed. A group of England-based Muslim exiles coined the name Pakistan, meaning "Land of the Pure". The league supported Britain in the Second World War while the Hindu nationalist leaders, Nehru and Gandhi, refused. In return for the league's support of Britain, Jinnah expected BritiSh backing for Muslim autonomy.

As Hindu and Muslim tensions escalated in the mid-1940s, the British were forced to concede that a separate Muslim state was unavoidable. The new viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, announced that independence would come by June, 1948.

Britain agreed to the formation of Pakistan as a separate dominion within the Commonwealth in August, 1947, a bitter disappointment to India's dream of a unified subcontinent. Mohammed Ali Jinnah became govemor-general. British India was thus divided up into a central, largely Hindu region, retaining the name India, and a Muslim East (Bangladesh) and . Kashmir rrhe State of and Kashmir), though, wanted no part of India or Pakistan.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 2 Bangladesh The partition of Pakistan and India along religious lines resulted in the largest migration in human history, with 17 million people fleeing across the borders in both directions to escape the sectarian violence that accompanied the partition.

Tensions between East and West Pakistan existed from the outset. The two regions shared few cultural and social traditions other than religion. The West monopolized the country's political and economic power. President Yahya Khan postponed the opening of the National Assembly to skirt East Pakistan's demand for greater autonomy, provoking civil war. The independent state of Bangladesh, or Bengali nation, was proclaimed on 26, 1971. Indian troops entered the war in its last weeks, fighting on the side of the new state. Pakistan was defeated on December 16, 1971, and President Yahya Khan stepped down. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over Pakistan and accepted Bangladesh as an independent entity. In 1976, formal relations between India and Pakistan resumed.

Both India and Pakistan have laid claim to the Kashmir region, and this territorial dispute led to war in 1949 (a UN-brokered cease-fire gave each country a piece of Kashmir to administer), and again in 1965, 1971 and 1999, yet ultimate control still remains unclear.

Pakistan became a republic on , 1956, with Maj. Gen. becoming her first president. Pakistan 'finally produced a constitution, and became an . West Pakistan's provinces were amalgamated into a single entity similar to that in East Pakistan.

The next two decades saw Pakistan wracked by further war with India over Kashmir, civil war between east and west, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, another war with India, and the execution of one of her most charismatic prime ministers, Z. A. Bhutto.

Bhutto's daughter, Benazir, claimed victory in the next election, and became the first elected woman to head a Muslim country. She was toppled soon after, but was voted back into power in 1993.

India then conducted five nuclear tests in May, 1998, near Pakistan's borders, which further deteriorated relations between Pakistan and India. Pakistan conducted her own nuclear tests in late May. Fighting with India again broke out in the disputed territory of Kashmir in May, 1999.

International condemnation was widespread, and sanctions placed intense strain on the country's economy.

Added to this, the TaJiban was a creation of Pakistan's military intelligence, but after September, 2001, Musharraf then made the controversial decision to support the United States, becoming her chief ally in the region, placing Pakistan in a drfficult position, breaking with her neighbour, Afghanistan.

In October, 2001, violence again broke out in the Kashmir region with a suicide bombing by a Pakistani militant-based organization, killing 38 in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

On December 13, 2001, suicide bombers attacked the Indian parliament; both sides assembled hundreds of thousands of troops along the Indian-Pakistani border, bringing the two nuclear powers once again to the brink of war.

Pakistan and India took small steps in June, 2002, to avert nuclear confrontation.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 3 Bangladesh WRITING - alphabet, Latin script - alphabet, Perso-Arabic nastaliq script SYSTEM - non-phonetic - phonetic - written from left to right - written from right to left - letters disconnected - letters connected • printedfwritten script - only one script

# OF LETTERS 26 48 (35 consonants + 10 vowels + 3 diacritics) VOWELS 6 written, 15-16 spoken - 10 written, 4 blended vowel/consonants - every vowel can be nasalized

The diacritics indicate the vowel tone (3 types) and are written aboveJbelow or to the rightJIeft of the consonant symbol. DIFFERENT til (this, the), w, ng (sing) - voiced and voiceless aspirated pairs CONSONANTS - pronounced as one sound with strong h aspirated - gh, kh, ph, th, bh, ,.h, dh, gh, kh, chh, nh - retroflex consonants in mid-mouth with tongue curled up and lower side touching tooth ridge(t, th, d, h) CAPITALIZATION -begins new sentences - no capitals with capitals - all letters have one size, one shape COMBINATION - each syllable has vowell - each syllable contains vowel diacritic and OF LETTERS consonant sound consonant sound • many consonant clusters NUMBERS - written from left to right - written from left to right ORDER, • sentetree - subject + verb + object - subject + object + main verb + auxiliary - time words at end or verb beginning of sentence - be =noun + adj + verbal participle + be EX: I fine am.

• adjective - adjective + noun - adjective + noun Adjectives agree with gender and number. NOUNS - 2 genders: masculine and feminine - 3 noun forms: subject, indirect object and vocative ARTICLES - no articles • indefinite - a, an + noun - inflected for number, gender, person • definite - the + noun

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (I - E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 5 Bangladesh VERBS - subject separate - inflected for number, gender, person some verbs (to be) - regular forms and in some tenses There are 2 types of verbs: transitive (-va) and intransitive (-a). Verb tenses are then inflected by suffixes + gender suffixes: auxiliary stem + -viii-a + gender suffix + na PRONOUNS • subject - always written - inflected for number and case • object - differs from subject - of, to, from, by... agrees with gender/ - appears after verb number of noun (adj) - appears before noun - appears before noun - differs from above - of inflected for gender, number, case and agrees with noun PREPOSITIONS POST POSITIONS - appears before noun - appears after noun, the room into PLURALS - adds suffix s, es, ies - agrees with gender - has few irregular forms - e, I, iya no change TENSES - 3 forms of verb, - 4 main tenses: habitual, continuous, present, past, past part. perfect, future - tenses changed with ed - tenses changed by suffixes or auxiliary suffix, whole word or with verbs to be, to have, will - auxiliary verb also changes tense - verb root + suffixes change tense - (to be) + past participle The continuous verb form is the most frequently used verb form. COMMANDS - infinitive form of verb - infinitive form of verb - no subject for non-honorific - plural subject added for honorific - 5 forms used from very rude to very polite

?FORM - question word/auxiliary verb - question words begin with ksound + subject - intonation - verb + subject - ? word mid-sentence - yes/no?, kya If a person asks a question for which the listener is required to list items, the question word is repeated. To what places do you go? Ahp kaha kaha jate heh =you where where go? NEGATIVE - uses auxiliary verbs - uses nah (formal), nahi ( informal) FORM - to be + not before verb

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, a~haoooc ~. 6 Bangladesh FORMALITY - 3 levels - 3 forms: singular, plural, honorific - levels changed by use - ji =honorific particle added to address of modals and longer elders and strangers sentence structures - ap (plural) honorific pronoun - no equivalent for please

VOCABULARYI - higher level of writing, - Persian, Arabic and English FOREIGN GreeklLatin INFLUENCE

WORD FROM URDU: • purdah (curtain)

LEARNING OF - word recognition, phonics, - recognition of letters and vowel diacritics WRrrlNG! syllables READING

Literacy rate: 42.7%: 55.3% males, 29% females CULTURAL BACKGROUND Greeting In Pakistan, the namaste is performed. People are greeted in a formal and respectful manner with the honorifics being used with strangers and elders. Hands folded in front of the chest are accompanied by a bow of the head.

The word janab means sir, and is used to address a man. Sahab is used to mean Mr. or sir, and also shows class level; it follows the name. • Khan Sahab = Mr. Khan • Begam Sahab = Madam (upper class Indian or Pakistani woman) • Mem Sahab = Mrs. (Western woman)

As-salaam-alekum (Peace be upon you) is answered with Va alekum as-salaam (and peace be upon you). EDUCA1"ION

Primary education is for five years, followed by secondary education divided into three cycles: • 3 years middle school • 2 years secondary • 2 years higher secondary

On completion of two years secondary, students take the Secondary School Certificate. Students can then study for a further two years, specializing in Science or Arts. At the end of this period, pupils take the examinations for the Intermediate Certificate or Higher Secondary School Certificate. Vocational secondary schools offer courses leading to the Secondary School Certificate in technical subjects.

Education is compulsory from the age of five to 15. School system: 1. Primary School, (5 years), ages 5 to 10

2. Middle School (3 years), ages 10 to 13

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 7 Bangladesh 3. Secondary School (2 years), ages 13 to 15 • Certificate awarded: Secondary School Certificate

4. Technical Secondary School (2 years), ages 15 to 17 • Certificate awarded: Secondary School Certificate (in Technical SUbjects)

5. Higher Secondary, Intermediate Colleges (2 years), ages 15 to 17 • Certi'ficate awarded: Intermediate Certificate or Higher Secondary School Certificate Academic year: September to June Languages of instruction: English, Urdu Admission to university: Secondary school credential required: Intermediate Certificate Grading system in secondary school: Description: A to F Highest on scale: A Passlfail level: E Lowest on scale: F FAMILY

Pakistani social life is anchored by the family and kinship. Even among members of the most Westernized elite, family retains its dominance over its members. The family provides identity and protection.

Descent is determined patrilineally, so only those related through male ancestors are considered relatives. The biradarl, or group of male kin, plays a significant role in social relations. Although the members do not hold transportable property nor share earnings in common, they do share the honour or shame of individual members of the biradari community. "One does not share the bread, butone shares the shame. "

Traditionally, members of a biradari are members of a single village. However, due to land fragmentation and migration, many have dispersed, yet, they continue to maintain ties with their birth village, and still enjoy the legal right of first refusal in any biradari land sale.

The biradarl also serves as its members' social and welfare net. On the occasions of births, marriages and holidays, all members are expected to contribute food and to be responsible for the care and comfort of all guests.

The biradari also arranges loans for its members, assists in finding employment and contributes to the dowry of poorer families.

A biradarl settles its own disputes and differences and shows a united front. To be divisive hurts the biradarfs members as it will hinder marriage prospects for its members.

Women maintain ties to their birth biradari. A very strong and close tie exists between brother and sister, by which the sister can count on her brother's assistance in times of divorce or widowhood.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (I - E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 8 Bangladesh CELEBRATIONS • , March 23rd - anniversary of establishment of Pakistan in 1956 • Easter, April/May • Anniversary of the Death of Allama , April 21 st • May Day, May 1st • Independence Day, August 14th - anniversary of free nation status in 1947 • Defence of Pakistan Day, September 6th • Jinnah Day, Anniversary of the Death of Quaid-I-Azam, September 11th, 1948 - anniversary of death of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah • Allama Muhammad (b.1877), November 9th Allama Iqbal was a philosopher and poet of Pakistan. • Christmas, Quaid-e-Azam's Birthday, December 25th • Boxing Day, December 26th • Bank Holiday, December 31st Friday is a day of rest, and schools, government offices and businesses close for the afternoon. The business week usually runs from Saturday to Wednesday with Thursday and Friday being the "weekend". During Ramadan, work stops in the afternoons. • Muharram starts the Islamic New Year and celebrates the Hijra, pilgrimage. • Eid-ul-Azha, Feast of Sacrifice It concludes with the act of pilgrimage and commemorates Abraham's offering of his son to God. It is this act of submission that makes Abraham the first Muslim (one who submits) for Muslims. The meat of sacrificed animals is distributed among the poor and needy. • Eid-Milad-un-Nabi - marks birth of Muhammad. • Lailat-al-Isra - marks ascension of Muhammad. • Lailat-ul-Qadr, Night of Power - commemorates first revelation of Qu'ran to Muhammad in 610 CEo • Nisfu-Shabaan, middle of the month of Shabaan, Night of Repentance - celebrated in preparation of beginning of Ramadan Two weeks later, on the sighting of the new moon, Ramadan begins.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (I - E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 9 Bangladesh • Ramadan - fasting month • Eid-ul-Fitr, Festival of Breaking of the Fast - next most important holy day, and marks end of Ramadan

Note: Christian holidays are celebrated by the Christian community only. TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

Marriage is seen as a social contract and an opportunity to extend the biradariand its influence and prestige.

The marriage contract is negotiated between the two male heads of the biradari.

To be an active member of society, a person must be married with children, preferably sons. The biradari's social ties are defined by daughters given in marriage, and daughters-in-Iaws received.

An ideal marriage contract is between a son and daughter of the father's brother. This maintains and protects land and property within the biradari, and helps the new bride make an easy transition, as her mother-in-law is also her aunt.

A young bride. in a new household faces many difficulties. The ceremony, gifts and dowry are used to elevate her status, yet, until she has a family of which there are sons, she has very little status, except in cases where she has married her cousin. • Mienu, upton After the engagement, the mienu, or upton, is the first ceremony of the wedding. Until the wedding day, the bride is secluded from the groom. Both families celebrate this event separately. The men and women dance and sing in separate tents.

Yellow symbolizes this day. Family and invited guests wear yellow garments. The day begins with a recitation from the Qu'ran. Family and friends then bring the bride or groom to the ceremony. Here, the bride and groom enter. The bride has a symbolic gift placed in the middle of the room called mehndi. They all sit in a circle with their percussion equipments (dholak and duff), and sing throughout the evening.

o Mehndi (henna) The bride dyes her hands with mehndi. The groom's family brings the bride's wedding clothes to her house, and the bride's family takes the groom's clothes to his house. Depending on the family, this event could last more than a day. Then, the first day is spent at the bride's place putting henna on her hands, and the second day on the groom's hands.

• Shadi Shadi is the wedding day. The wedding ceremony is prepared by the bride's family and the barat (groom's friends and family) form a procession to the bride's home. There, the groom and his family are welcomed by the bride's family. For the Wedding to proceed, they ask for the bride's consent to the marriage.

Red symbolizes this day. The nikah ceremony is performed by an Imam (cleric) in the presence of baraties. Now, the groom is asked three times if he accepts the terms of marriage.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 10 Bangladesh After he consents, the bride and groom are pronounced husband and wife and are congratulated. Dinner is served by the bride's family. Then, the bride leaves her parent's home to start her new life. • Valima Valima is the final day of the wedding. The groom's family invites all the guests to celebrate this event. The newlyweds welcome the guests and family. LITERATURE/CULTURE

Both the language and literature have faced many obstacles. Both have absorbed native and non-native elements of writing in Arabic and Persian. As Urdu was used by the British to divide the Hindus and the Muslims, it became estranged from its land of birth following the and its interaction with Hindi. Generations of Sikhs in the Punjab, Muslims in Bengal, and Hindus elsewhere once nurtured the language and literature of which was the mark of a cultivated person.

Urdu literature developed in three centres: Deccan (mid-14th to the mid-18th century), Delhi (mid to late 18th century) and Lucknow (late 18th century to late 19th century).

The most important literary styles to develop were the ghazal (love lyric), the qasida (panegyric), the mathnawi (romance) and the marthiya (elegy).

• Crafts: ceramics, jewelry, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork

• Bedford buses and trucks are mirror-buffed and chrome-sequinned, becoming dazzling works of art.

Poets/writers: Amir Khusro, Quli Qutub Shah, Wali Deccani, Siraj Aurangabadi, Mirza Mohammad Rafi Sauda, Khwaja Mir Dard, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Nawab Mirza Khan Dagh, Ghulam Hamdani Mushafi, Inshallah Khan Insha, Khwaja Haidar Ali Atish, Iman Baksh Nasikh, Mir Babr Ali Anis, Mirza Salamat Ali Dabir, Hali, Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Husain Azad, , Sallad Zaheer, Mulk Raj Anand, Mohammad Deen Taseer, Akhter Husain Raipuri, N. M. Rashed, Miraji, Faiz Ahmad Faiz,Asrarul Haq Majaz, Makhdoom Mohiuddin , Ali Sardar Jafri, Jan Nisar Akhter, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianawi, Majeed Amjad, Akhtarul Iman, Mukhtar Siddiqi, Wazir Agha, Muneer Niyazi, Ameeq Hanfi, Balraj Komal, Qazi Saleem Kumar Pashi, Zubair Rizvi, Shahrayar, Nida Fazli, Adil Mansoori, Gilani Kamran, Abbas Ather, Zahid Dar, Saqi Farooqi, Iftekhar Jalib, Ahmed Hamesh, Kishwar Naheed, Fehmida Reyaz, Majeed Amjad, Muneer Niyazi, Sermad Sehbai, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Afzal Ahmad Syed, Zeeshan Sahil, Kishwar Nahed, Fehmida Reyaz, Nasreen Anjum Bhatti, Sara Shagufta, Shaista Habib, Azra Abbas OTHER • Alexander's Legacy After defeating the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great and his 70,000 men continued on their way into the Indian sub continent. Along the way, he left men behind as he took on new recruits. In the Valley, on the Pakistani-Chinese border, the people claim to be descendants of Alexander and his army. Ghanzanfar Ali Khan Hunza's mirspeaks of how, centuries ago, legend has it that four of Alexander's soldiers settled in that region. The Pakistanis of these highlands are rosy-cheeked and fair-skinned with blue, green and grey eyes, set off by blonde, red or jet-black hair.

12th century, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 11 Bangladesh Further in the mountains, another tribe, the Kalash, have an even more pronounced European look. Like the Hunza people, they are similar in skin tone, eye and hair colour, but with more aquiline noses. Their favoured instrument is the pan flute. The Kalash gods are quite similar to the Greek ones, with the main god being called Di-Zau. They also use sun symbols, just as Alexander did for his flag. Two goat horns are carved over doorways, a symbol often associated with Alexander. Their songs and dances are reminiscent of Macedonian and Greek ones. Stanford University is running DNA tests on the inhabitants of Kalash and Hunza to see which populations they genetically match. So far, Dr. Qaim Mehdi of the Pakistani team has found that the Hunza are genetically close to the Basques as well as other European populations. The Kalash DNA is shown to have similarities with Italian and German populations. Still, the legends may be true, even if there is no genetic match to Macedonians and Greeks, as Alexander's army was multiethnic. The samples are now being compared to Macedonians and Greeks to bear witness to the legends. SOURCES/SUGGESTED REFERENCES film: <> East is East books: Bhatia, Tej K., Colloquial Urdu Kaul, Ashok Routledge London, New York 2000 Reader's Digest In Search of Alexander's Lost Tribes August, 2000 WEBSITES • ciaworldbook.com • countrywatch.com • earthlink.net • ethnologue.com • factmonster.com • krysstal.com • lonely planet.com • omniglot.com • unesco.org • wedding.com

12th centUly, nastaliq script, Urdu (1- E, Indo-Iranian, Indic) Pakistan, N/C India, alphabetic Pg. 12 Bangladesh