Eggs Laid by Tigers
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
". . . save this damn profession of writing . . . .
In response to my last post on Chitral, one correspondent wrote:
I think that you are infatuated with Chitralian polo players for a reason which I cannot comprehend nor resolve.
That said, if I were Bin Ladin I would not be in a cave but rather steath my way into SArabia and live like a queen, err king.
Hem ust realize at some point that caves have nothing on Dubai... and live is imminently short.
Another wrote:
Hi You, I'm more obsessed with those gorgeous African American young men who are playing NCAA basketball than Cintrali polo players. And the best thing is that they don't know where Osama Bin Laden is and they're also not quite sure where Afghanistan is or what it is.I am covered with rue. Obviously I have ignored our friends the Uighurs and Bolivians and focased too much on the most dangerous place on earth at this moment: Chitral and similar communities in Pushtunistan. To be clear, I don't give a fig about ben Laden. It interests me to see how the good folds in Chitral respond to s New York newspaper report on him. See today's Washington Post about dangerous folks.
But perhaps I haven't given you a good enough sense of what life is like in Pushtunistan. Here, from the reliable Citral News, is a report of a development conference, held in Ssaeeret, for Chitral. A number of Chitral citizens attended.
The goo hews is that I cannot imagine that anything at all could come from such a conference. As an intellectual exercise, try in your mind to substitute Christian words for Muslim ones. We used to go to Harlingen to hear Christian revival meetings that made just as much sense.
Even more interesting is this: I tried to substitute words that were uses at a legal aid conference in San Francisco some years back deigned to teach us (we who were civil rights lawyers without the slightest interest in anything so mundane as business) how to start laundromat businesses in ghettos. I went to sleep, as I assume most of the good people from Chitral did.
So, the Talibs are a bunch of idiots, nut
They'll stone ya when you're at the breakfast table.See eye surgeon this week. In a month or three I'll be able to branch out to more subjects. In the meantime,may you be as contented in your work as this technician, repairing old typewriters in Chitral, seems to be. How like my grandfather's law office in Yokum, Texas, this shop seems to me!
They'll stone ya when you are young and able.
They'll stone ya when you're tryin' to make a buck.
They'll stone ya and then they'll say, "good luck."
[For nostalgic former Texans only: I asked hoogle to show me pictures of Yoakum. It showed me this:
O to be in Yoakum,Now that Spring is here . . . .]
Friday, March 20, 2009
Taught to the tune on a hickory stick
"School days, school days.
Dear old golden rule days.
Reading and writing and 'rithmetic.
Taught to the tune of a hickory stick."
This was before my day (1907) but not my daddy's. Woke up this morning, this song was on my mind.
I wasn't ever paddled in school ,but my brother was, and he was in high school, too. Practically a grown man.
They was strange in them days, and in all the days and centuries and ages before them, back to before the beginning of recorded rime.
Thas the way we are. Still, today, unto the seventh generation. We's only on the third. We've a ways to go.
The melody lingers on.
Labels: corporal punishment, school days, taluban
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Russians are coming! AIG is here!
You may remember -- you should remember -- that the US ambassador to Bolivia was expelled and diplomatic relations between our countries were interrupted when our ambassador walked out of speech given by Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, when Morales explained his dissatisfaction with our support for the secessionist, and white and rich, provinces, his sworn enemies.
We thereupon pulled our DEA drug interdiction helicopters from Bolivia (Eh! Brilliant Move! How the coke distributors in Bolivia and and around the world must have mourned Bushco's support for them. Those helicopters had been used to interdict the cocaine traffic, particularly to Brazil.
Brazil lent helicopters to Bolivia, temporarily, because the increased flow of cocaine into Brazilian cities was disruptive (I don't know what was disrupted -- perhaps it was a well-established, mutually-beneficial relationship between drug enforcement officials in Brazil and dealers); but the helicopter deal with Brazil was only temporary.
Now Russia has supplied the helicopters that we improvidently withdrew. Russia haas another beachhead in the Americas! Not President Hussein's fault, though the Baddies will try to make it so. It is President Hussein's problem, however, and I hop he come through with generous support for Morales.
Russia into the breach! Do w like Russian helicopters in Bolivia? Do we expect better of President Hussein? The uS has not reestablished relations with Bolivia but both countries have expressed a willingness to do so.
There is soon to be a Summit of the Americas at which President Hussein will make a major address. Much is expected of him at that time. Much is usually expected of President Hussein, poor man. Stay tuned.
______________________________
A confession: I got unnecessarily excited about the small (in comparison) bonuses that AIG paid executives. These payments (some number of millions of dollars to each manager) are usual, have been going on for years, are paid to managers of other companies, and in part explain why AIG didn't have enough money to pay defaults on the loans they knew would go belly-up in time. Do I have that right? Poor planning, you might say. Comes the Revolution, you might hope for. . . . .Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’.
But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it’s for real,
The hour when the ship comes in.
The ball I threw while playing in the park
Has not yet reechoed the ground.
AND
Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest
I'll tell you something about Revolution: lots of folks are killed; lots more hurt badly. It is not to be wished for except in extreme need. Our need is not extreme. It might get so. We'll see.
Although it is truly said that "the sleep of reason produced monsters",
what do you suppose reason, awakened, produces?? AIG?
Labels: AIG, Bolivia, Brazil, Bush errors, cocaine, drug traffic, Goya, Obama, revollution, Russia
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
What our President is made of
There re still 1.6B financial transactions unresolved, and their default(?) would cause further, and perhaps irreparable, damage to the world's economy (except China? See this Post news article).
Those AIG managers , those particular individuals who drafted financial documents so obscurely written that only hey can read them, created an insurance scheme so convoluted as to collapse the World's financial markets, bringing misery to millions.
And as only they can read the documents, only they are able to unravel the messes they created and so save the world from more disaster. (Is China laughing the while?)
They say, "O Well. Sure. But it'll cost ya," and with a shrug and an insouciant nod, they look you in the eye and dare you to blink.
What power those guys have! What euphoria! What dreams of glory! To have the world at your feet, even temporarily! Not even kings and presidents (save for The Bomb) have such power.
Now I ask you,
••• Shouldn't Struck and White be required for all writers of financial documents?
••• Wouldn't the world be better off if Peter Drucker's little book on the rules of legal drafting were followed by our financial wizards?
Unless, of course, obfuscation is the point. In which case, the point may port to treason.
Do these guys have bad dreams? Do you hope they have? Do they build up terrible Karma, so as to be reincarnated as a dung beetles? If you wish doom upon them, how's your Karma? Will an n outraged public, now bound and helpless, eventually wreck terrible vengeance upon these goys? Will they skate as usual?
We'll see now what President Hussein is made of now.
••• Shouldn't Struck and White be required for all writers of financial documents?
••• Wouldn't the world be better off if Peter Drucker's little book on the rules of legal drafting were followed by our financial wizards?
Unless, of course, obfuscation is the point. In which case, the point may port to treason.
O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a
king of infinite space—were it not that I have bad dreams.
Do these guys have bad dreams? Do you hope they have? Do they build up terrible Karma, so as to be reincarnated as a dung beetles? If you wish doom upon them, how's your Karma? Will an n outraged public, now bound and helpless, eventually wreck terrible vengeance upon these goys? Will they skate as usual?
We'll see now what President Hussein is made of now.
Labels: AIG, Druker revenge, dung beetles, Karma, Obama, Shakespeare, Sstrunk and White
Saturday, March 14, 2009
"Everything not prohibited is required," is alive and well in the world
My eyes are not good enough to study this Daily Times editorial, but it looks as if Pakistan has made a bad bargain in Swat, and that will certainly affect the women and men of Chiral in time. Read it with care, please, and let me know if you agree.
The application of Shari'a's "munkir” (forbidden) and “maruf” (approved) rules governing life sound chillingly like E. B. White,s "Everything not prohibited is required," words that have frightened me since I first read The one and Future King. Can we allow ourselves, our brothers and sisters not more than six degrees of separation away, to be forced live like ants?
President Hussein must be very wise and careful in making alliances with "elements of the Taliban".
"Is life so dear ore peace so sweet" that we purchase it at the price of imposing the Afgan Talib's version Shari'a on peaceful places like Chitral? Will such a bargain even bring us peace? Can it ever bring peace? Can our souls rest at east with such a bargain?
EDITORIAL: Sharia “justice” comes to Swat again?
Shara’i Nizam-e-Adl Regulation is about to be applied to Swat once again. This time, one hopes, it will stick and not become a ruse for the Taliban behind which to gain reprieve from military attacks and regroup. The last time the ANP government wrote up an accord on the subject with the followers of Sufi Muhammad of the Tehreek Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi, (TNSM) the son-in-law of the great sufi warrior, Fazlullah, did not abide by it and the people of Swat, who are propagated to be relentlessly “demanding sharia”, suffered untold misery at the hands of his gunmen. The earlier agreement had the authority of the Sufi’s word not to destroy girls’ schools, but the schools had gone on being blown up.
This time, too, the NWFP government and the TNSM leader have agreed to the implementation of sharia justice in Malakand division. Under the agreement, Sufi Muhammad, through his public congregations in Matta, will be expected to “build consensus among his people”; His son-in-law, Fazlullah, will have to soon announce ceasefire in Swat; all the girls’ schools in the area would have to be reopened; and the great Sufi Muhammad would “help establish a strong administration in the area”, although that job is normally expected to be performed by the elected representatives of the people sitting in Peshawar.
The sharia bill will be finalised by the ANP government and subjected to a political consensus in the NWFP Assembly on Monday and the emerging document will be grandiosely called Shara’i Nizam-e-Adl Regulations. Many who will sign on the dotted line will be those who would sign anything if it remotely promised to bring a break in the cycle of Taliban violence in the region. Some will be sceptical about a blueprint of religious law that will stand only if it is not different from the law being enforced in the Tribal Areas. For instance, the blowing up of girls’ schools was a part of the jurisprudence of the Taliban government in Kabul, which was accepted as precedent in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled Areas. The last time Sufi Muhammad promised not to destroy the schools he couldn’t enforce or abide by his pledge.
The people of Swat want quick justice, the kind enforced by the Wali of Swat, as if in a city-state utopia, but they are bound to get more than they have bargained for by rejecting the dilatory system obtaining in the rest of Pakistan. They will get the “munkir” (forbidden) part of the sharia dealing with forbidden acts plus the “maruf” (approved) part dealing with acts of piety. The “praiseworthy” acts of piety such as the saying of the nimaz five times a day in the mosque will be greatly approved, but those who don’t observe the ritual will suffer physical and financial pain. And the list of the “maruf” stretches endlessly, which means that you can be thrashed for a number of things you thought were not “penal”. It is probable that the scared people of Swat simply don’t know what they are in for.
The Sufi himself says he will help in setting up a judicial system. What if he doesn’t like the way the ANP lays down the law of the sharia? Will the ANP leaders get the Sufi to become a de facto arbiter on how the sharia has to be enforced? A chilling feeling is that the Sufi and his warlord son-in-law will preside over the establishment of the sharia law and will also interfere in the day to day implementation of it. The power of the Sufi will derive from the gun of the Taliban and he will not for long allow a sharia which is different from the one enforced by the Taliban elsewhere. This is very important because sharia is the order that will ensure longevity to the governance of the Taliban in the various territories they hold. Finally, if the Taliban win the war in Afghanistan and the Americans leave the region, it is the sharia that will ensure that the territories conquered in Pakistan stay with them.
Clearly, the problem sits at the cross-section of the internal dynamics and the politics of Sharia. While both are problematic in and of themselves, their meshing makes the issue even more troublesome. The state thinks it needs to ensure some semblance of peace in the area and this is perhaps the best way to go about it in the interim. But there are too many areas of friction here, not just because there is no exegetical consensus on sharia and its implementation but also because its politics, at this point, excludes all but the literalist ultra-orthodoxy of Taliban. There is also bad blood between Sufi Muhammad and his son-in-law and the former, so far, has proved ineffective in the face of the rising power of the latter. We fear that the terms of this agreement like the one before it may be flouted even before the ink on it dries. *
____________________________________________
Meanwhile, here on Queen's Beach in Waikiki, we loaf and enjoy such ease as our upbringing permits us to enjoy; oar as we chose to enjoy; or perhaps I've said the same thing twice. No one threatens us with Shari'a; no drones fly overhead; no one is snowbound; no girls' schools are destroyed; the legislature is poised to pass a Civil Union Bill; all our demons, if demons we have, live in our skulls.
Labels: Chitral, E. B.White shirtless, freedom, Obama, peace, Taliban
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Curious letter to the editor
Here is a letter to the Editor of the Chital News published Mach 9. I don't know what to make of it. Ideas, anyone? The letter reminds me vaguely of Budapest when we were there shortly after Communist rule ended and folks everywhere were talking about the meaning of democracy. I suppose that Taliban authority has not reached Chitral (for one thing it was snow-bound all winter) and I suppose the police reflect the views of Islamabad.
I'll keep you posted, interested or no. The letter sounds like a people under threat, struggling to remain free to their interests.
Durell
CHITRAL NEWS Home page
Imperatives of Peace and Crime Free Society -letter
In the desert of turmoil and uncertainty, Chitral happens to be an oasis of peace and personal safety but underneath there are cross-currents of hatred and intolerance which can disturb the fragile peace, if sincere efforts are not made to neutralize the negatives and re-enforce the positives. So far we are either taking it for granted or at the most trying to maintain it through negative re-enforcements.. A recent example of this mindset will bear me out. A grade two student was trying to hide a picture of a religious figure hanging around his neck, which was distracting him from his studies, He was told to leave the picture alone and concentrate on his studies. In response the student said that his playmates did not tolerate the picture and would pull it out when they see it. This increased my curiosity and I decided to understand the factors which poisoned innocent minds and made them hate other religious figures, who did them no harm. I was shocked to find that these innocent minds had been poisoned by their parents and religious leaders. Given this background, I find it difficult to believe that extremism is foreign sponsored. At the most it can be said that the hay is locally made and only match box is provided by elements hostile to Pakistan, who can be local or foreign.
Another important aspect of my reflection over this situation was even more revealing of the culprit mindset. Despite having lived in independence for more than 60 years we yet have to come out of the fear syndrome, which is a historical hangover. It is a measure of the failure of the state that it has yet to give genuine sense of security and religious freedom to its people. State functionaries still try to maintain peace at the cost of the vulnerable, through re-enforcing the fear syndrome and in the process justice becomes the biggest casualty and psychological hold of the arrogant communalists gets re-enforced on people's minds.
It is time that saner elements in the society asserted themselves and challenged the hold of communalists and retrogressive elements to rediscover the real Chitral -a Chitral where people are respected for what they are and not for what they believe in.. In the final analysis religion is a private matter-a bond between man and God and is context bound. A study of comparative religions makes it clear that all religions have come to promote virtue and goodness. Religious methods to achieve these objectives may vary but the essence remains the same. If the taste of pudding is in the eating, then we Muslims have to learn a lot from others through dialogue and harmony. For this dialogue, to be meaningful, factionalism has to be eliminated by reviving the institution of caliphate to unite the Muslims and provide leadership to the dominant sect of Islam.
It is time that we wake up to the challenges of the emerging world order and sincerely worked for genuine peace. This will be possible when our children are socialized in the dynamics of peace. Religiosity comes in a package. By demonizing one religion, we can not save the other. No one can claim to monopolize the truth, which is said to be relative. By interfering in the Divine domain to reward and punish we are doing no service to Islam. To remain correct in the Divine scheme of things we should not allow ourselves to be used by political adventurers and power seekers. Our children are innocent and deserve to be groomed to respect diversity and pluralism and that is the only way to integrate with and benefit from, the ongoing process of globalization.
Coming to achieving the objective of crime free society, there is no denying the fact that without public cooperation police can not succeed in bringing about crime free society. The success of Citizen- Police Liaison Committee in Karachi prompted policy makers to incorporate it in the Local Govt.. Ordinance. In pursuance thereof Citizen-Police Liaison Committees (CPLC) were established in Chitral also but due to lack of monitoring these have become non functional.
Apart from the above, the police need to change some of its procedures to truly become our heroes because of their valour during the war against terrorism.. Under the flawed procedure performance of police officers is linked with the number of cases registered by them. This means that greater the numbers of registered cases, the brighter are the chances of promotion for the police officers. In civilized societies police are rewarded for bringing down crime rates and for establishing crime free societies. In our present context it is the other way round, which needs to be corrected.
Chitral is a peaceful area where very few crimes take place. But under pressure from above and to show ‘performance police is forced to register cases, some of them laughably petty. This tendency pits police against the people making public cooperation with the police in more serious cases next to impossible. This tendency needs to be curbed and for this, besides, activating CPLC, police performance must be judged on the basis of decreasing crimes and not the other way round. If this is not done police will be compelled to manufacture cases and harass people resulting in still widening gap between the citizens and the police. It is time that police procedures are changed to make it proactive rather than reactive as at present. Only a proactive police force can create people friendly image for itself.
Chitralis and Chitral police are groomed in the tradition of peace and harmony and as such they are naturally programmed to be people friendly. If conductive and enabling environment is created, they have the potential to be role model for the entire country.
Islamuddin,
Garam Chashma, Chitral.
08 March 09.
_____________________________________
durell douthit
ddouthit@mac.com
I'll keep you posted, interested or no. The letter sounds like a people under threat, struggling to remain free to their interests.
Durell
CHITRAL NEWS Home page
Imperatives of Peace and Crime Free Society -letter
In the desert of turmoil and uncertainty, Chitral happens to be an oasis of peace and personal safety but underneath there are cross-currents of hatred and intolerance which can disturb the fragile peace, if sincere efforts are not made to neutralize the negatives and re-enforce the positives. So far we are either taking it for granted or at the most trying to maintain it through negative re-enforcements.. A recent example of this mindset will bear me out. A grade two student was trying to hide a picture of a religious figure hanging around his neck, which was distracting him from his studies, He was told to leave the picture alone and concentrate on his studies. In response the student said that his playmates did not tolerate the picture and would pull it out when they see it. This increased my curiosity and I decided to understand the factors which poisoned innocent minds and made them hate other religious figures, who did them no harm. I was shocked to find that these innocent minds had been poisoned by their parents and religious leaders. Given this background, I find it difficult to believe that extremism is foreign sponsored. At the most it can be said that the hay is locally made and only match box is provided by elements hostile to Pakistan, who can be local or foreign.
Another important aspect of my reflection over this situation was even more revealing of the culprit mindset. Despite having lived in independence for more than 60 years we yet have to come out of the fear syndrome, which is a historical hangover. It is a measure of the failure of the state that it has yet to give genuine sense of security and religious freedom to its people. State functionaries still try to maintain peace at the cost of the vulnerable, through re-enforcing the fear syndrome and in the process justice becomes the biggest casualty and psychological hold of the arrogant communalists gets re-enforced on people's minds.
It is time that saner elements in the society asserted themselves and challenged the hold of communalists and retrogressive elements to rediscover the real Chitral -a Chitral where people are respected for what they are and not for what they believe in.. In the final analysis religion is a private matter-a bond between man and God and is context bound. A study of comparative religions makes it clear that all religions have come to promote virtue and goodness. Religious methods to achieve these objectives may vary but the essence remains the same. If the taste of pudding is in the eating, then we Muslims have to learn a lot from others through dialogue and harmony. For this dialogue, to be meaningful, factionalism has to be eliminated by reviving the institution of caliphate to unite the Muslims and provide leadership to the dominant sect of Islam.
It is time that we wake up to the challenges of the emerging world order and sincerely worked for genuine peace. This will be possible when our children are socialized in the dynamics of peace. Religiosity comes in a package. By demonizing one religion, we can not save the other. No one can claim to monopolize the truth, which is said to be relative. By interfering in the Divine domain to reward and punish we are doing no service to Islam. To remain correct in the Divine scheme of things we should not allow ourselves to be used by political adventurers and power seekers. Our children are innocent and deserve to be groomed to respect diversity and pluralism and that is the only way to integrate with and benefit from, the ongoing process of globalization.
Coming to achieving the objective of crime free society, there is no denying the fact that without public cooperation police can not succeed in bringing about crime free society. The success of Citizen- Police Liaison Committee in Karachi prompted policy makers to incorporate it in the Local Govt.. Ordinance. In pursuance thereof Citizen-Police Liaison Committees (CPLC) were established in Chitral also but due to lack of monitoring these have become non functional.
Apart from the above, the police need to change some of its procedures to truly become our heroes because of their valour during the war against terrorism.. Under the flawed procedure performance of police officers is linked with the number of cases registered by them. This means that greater the numbers of registered cases, the brighter are the chances of promotion for the police officers. In civilized societies police are rewarded for bringing down crime rates and for establishing crime free societies. In our present context it is the other way round, which needs to be corrected.
Chitral is a peaceful area where very few crimes take place. But under pressure from above and to show ‘performance police is forced to register cases, some of them laughably petty. This tendency pits police against the people making public cooperation with the police in more serious cases next to impossible. This tendency needs to be curbed and for this, besides, activating CPLC, police performance must be judged on the basis of decreasing crimes and not the other way round. If this is not done police will be compelled to manufacture cases and harass people resulting in still widening gap between the citizens and the police. It is time that police procedures are changed to make it proactive rather than reactive as at present. Only a proactive police force can create people friendly image for itself.
Chitralis and Chitral police are groomed in the tradition of peace and harmony and as such they are naturally programmed to be people friendly. If conductive and enabling environment is created, they have the potential to be role model for the entire country.
Islamuddin,
Garam Chashma, Chitral.
08 March 09.
_____________________________________
durell douthit
ddouthit@mac.com
Monday, March 09, 2009
Chocolate soft drinks in the Southwest
Do you remember the chocolate bottled drink we had as kids? Nehi, I think it was called. It may have been sold only in South Texas. When we were kids, our father investigated purchasing a Birley's soft drink company. It may still be in production.
Anyway, it turns out that chocolate drinks were popular in the Southwest much earlier than I would have thought. Maybe something in the hot dry air.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Swat, Chitral, some Talib preachers, and a new way forward
The New York Times this morning reports that President Hussein is pondering an alignment with some Taliban "elements" who may be persuaded to oppose Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The president may be following advice from Gen. Petraus, who armed and paid Sunni fundamentalists, making life a living hell for their Shiite neighbors. That seems to have worked ok, so far, for us at least, though it certainly has not worked well for Shiites who live in the Sun areas.
The Chitrali are horsemen, artisans, hosts to tourists, hard workers, and have successfully defended their mountain homes from invaders since the time of Alexander the Great.
A similar strategy in Afghanistan may be good news for the United States, but it is bad news for the Chitrali, the various Waziri tribes, and all the Pushtun folks whose nation was arbitrarily split when Britain drew the line between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Chitrali are horsemen, artisans, hosts to tourists, hard workers, and have successfully defended their mountain homes from invaders since the time of Alexander the Great.The Chitrali are inveterate polo players and horsemen. Texans would like them.
Short History of Chitral [FROM THE CHIRAL NEWS]
The Early history of Chitral is shrouded in mystery. This mountainous country which was first referred to as Kohistan or land of the mountains was said to be inhabited by a race called "Khows" speaking a separate language Khowar, or language of the Khows. Some people say that it was Khowistan - the abode of the Khows. Separate parts of the country came to be called Torkhow - Upper Khow, Mulkhow - Lower Khow, names which persist to the present day. An early Sanskrit inscription at a village called Barenis (27 miles away from Chitral) of about AD 900 records that the country was Buddhist, under King Jaipal of Kabul. It is believed that Upper Chitral was under Buddhist influence in the past and even today there are a few rocks in Torkhow area known as "Kalandar-i-Bohtni" (Mendicant of Stone). It is a figure of a stupa; the upper part of which has been cut into the figure of Buddha and may be of Chinese origin. No records of this period exist.
Marco Polo, who passed through the Pamirs, referred to the country as Bolor. History relates that first a Chinese army and then an Arab (Mongols?) army invaded Chitral from the north by the Broghal pass when the upper part of the country is said to have been converted to Islam. The southern district remained non-Muslim till very late and were then converted to Islam. A Mongol tribe called Yarkhuns invaded Chitral via the Broghal pass and may have given their name to the Yarkun valley. They were opposed by Somalek, leader of the Khows. Another incursion is attributed to Changez Khan and his Tartars.
Chitral nevertheless has remained an independent state for centuries with its own culture and language. In the late nineteenth century it became part of British India. It was a princely state in 1947, which acceded to Pakistan in that year. The rule of the Mehtar came to an end in 1954 and power was henceforth exercised by the political agent posted at Chitral. The state was merged into Pakistan in 1969. The recorded history of Chitral is divided into six epochs as follows:
Iranian rule
The Achemeanian Empire of Persia was extended to these regions during 400 BC. Its more than two thousand years since this empire receded but its supremacy was so strongly established that many Persian cultural traits are still in practice in Northern Areas as well as few parts of Chitral. In some valleys surrounding Chitral such as Wakhan, Shaghnan, and upper parts of Chitral people speak Persian language. Even Khowar, which is the native language of the local people (Khow), contains much borrowing from Persian.
Zoroastrianism, an Old Persian religion, has also left behind some of its traces in this area. Traditions also tell about leaving of dead bodies unburied in caves in the wilderness or in the hollow of trees. Such practices were specific in this religion. A festival on 21st March (Nouroz) the first day in Persian calendar still prevails in Chitral. It is celebrated in few valleys every year. (Israr Chitral A historical sketch)
Kushan rule
The Kushan dynasty established its rule in this area in 200 AD. In the second century Kanishka the most powerful emperor of Kushan dynasty had extended his rule all over Northern India, probably as far as south Vindyas and all over the remote region up to Khotan beyond the Pamir pass.
Chinese rule
The Chinese extended their influence in the 4th century AD and remained in power until the 8th century. The rock inscription of Pakhtoridini near Maroi refers to Chinese rule. Another inscription in Barenis refers to the Kushans. According to Sir Aurel Stien, the inscription says that Jivarman ordered to make the pertinent drawing of a stupa. Such rock carvings have created confusion for writers like Buddulph and many others to believe that Chitral formed part of the last Hindu Shahi ruler of Kabul. It's also believed that the northern parts had embraced Islam by the end of 9th century when Arabs defeated Bahman, chief of the country. By the time of withdrawal of Arabs many people had accepted Islam. (Souvenir, 2nd Hindukush Cultural Conference, p.19-21)
Kalash rule
In the 11th century AD southern Chitral was invaded by the Kalash from Afghanistan, who occupied the country as far to the North as Barenis village, while the upper parts were under another chief Sumalik. some Kalash Chiefs Rojawai, such as Nagar Shah and Bala sing ruled Southern Chitral from 11th to 13th centuries A.D.
Rais rule
In the beginning of 11th century Shah Nadir Rais occupied southern Chitral and defeated the Kalash. Shah Nadir Rais extended his dominion from Gilgit to the present southern boundaries of Chitral. Rais family ruled over Chitral for about three hundred years when
Katura family succeeded them.
During the Rais rule in Chitral its boundaries extended from Narsut in the extreme south of the state to Gilgit in the east. The rulers had an effective council of chiefs of the local tribes to run the affairs of the country. The ruler of this family also worked for the dissemination of the teachings of Islam in the state.
There were no regular state forces to defend the state frontiers so the local headmen and chiefs called all the persons of their tribes to fight for the state under the collective defense system. The Mehtar (ruler) had friendly relations with the rulers of surrounding countries. (Baig, Hindu Kush study series vol. two)
Katur rule
The Katur succeeded the Rais dynasty in 1595. Muhtaram Shah I was the founder of Kature rule in Chitral, whose descendants ruled over Chitral until 1969 when the State was merged as a district of NWFP.
During the rule of Amirul Mulk in 1895, Umra Khan the chief of Jandool crossed the Lawari pass and invaded lower Chitral. As a result, there was fierce fighting in which the Mehtar of Chitral and British officers were besieged in Chitral fort for 42 days. Troops from Gilgit and Nowshera came to the rescue of the besieged fort and the British rule was extended over entire Chitral in April 1895. Shuja ul Mulk emerged as the ruler after the war who ruled for 42 years until 1936.
During the Pakistan movement there was a campaign in Chitral in favor of independence. The people backed all India Muslim League and Mehtar Muzafarul Mulk openly declared his backing to the Pakistan movement. In May 1947 H.H. Muzafarul Mulk informed the Viceroy about his intention to join the new state of Pakistan. The accession instrument was signed on November 7, 1947.
Chitral lies on the border of Afghanistan and East Turkmenistan [as the Uighurs would like their land in China to be called].
Chitral is a part of an area also known as the Swat Valley, which lies closer to Islamabad, the capitol of Pakistan ,than to Afghanistan. Swat Valley, before the Taliban incursion, was "the Switzerland of the East."
Pakistan is ruled by the English-speaking elite of Punjab (see map), who send their children to Oxford, and who live off the material wealth of Balochristian, which is bad for the Balochs, whose desert, spanning most of Pakistan and parts of Iran and Afghanistan, doesn't have enough water.
The Punjabi have nothing in common with the horsemen of Chitral, whose common language is Pashto along a number of local languages. Pashto is the common language of all the border tribes except the Balochs.
Recently thee Punjabi have agreed with certain Talibs [see below] in Swat that they may impose an extreme form of Islamic law, Sharia, in all of the valleys of Swat, including Chitral. This agreement is similar to the one our president is contemplating, I fear.
The Punjabi made this agreement in return for a "cease fire". The US (until today?) opposes the agreement, believing that the Talibs in Swat will undermine the Pakistan government and will provide yet another safe haven from which to attach US troops in Afghanistan and even here at home.
So far, the Chitral News has not reported any attempt to impose the burqa on the women of Chitral, to prohibit them from attending polo games, to require them to be sequestered in their homes, to stone adulterers, to behead men who shave, or any of the normal punishments that accompany the strict interpretation of Sharia; but one can assume that the time is coming. The Talibani are the neural enemy of the Horsemen of Chitral, and open warfare cannot be far away.
The Chitral News has also reported that two of our drones have bombed in Chitral. We think we may have killed some of our enemies with those buzzing bombs. We know that we have killed women and children with them. See below.
Remember that Chitral is a community that has persisted for thousands of years. Everyone is related to everyone; everyone knows everyone; injury to one is injury to all, never mind the internecine feuds that care integral to the tough moral code in the lovely Valleys. Pashtunwali is alive and well.
A headline in a recent PIPA World Opinion Repot us "Muslim Publics Oppose Al Qaeda's Terrorism, But Agree With Its Goal of Driving US Forces OutS" The full report is here.
The PIPA report suggests that if we help the people against the Talib masters but don't bomb them, they re likely to isolate any enemies we may h have in Chitral; and ane if we continue to bomb them, that would be a tragic mistake.
I don't think Hussein's information is as good as mine, at least in Chitral. Let's see what happens.
YouTube has an interesting video on the main Sway Valley.
Here is a report of serious efforts to protect Chitral women from the effects of Sharia. The effort deserves our support. Muslim imam are some of the leaders of the effort. Not all Muslims are bad. Er.s. Remember, too, that Swat Valley, including Chitral, used to earn a lot of its income from tourists; that income is now lost.
__________________________
I won't say that Taliban punishment is worse than ours: locked in solitary confinement for life; wearing a taser belt that lets guards shock you senseless whenever the guards please, for sport, is unpleasant. Taliban punishment is out in the open and is quickly over, except, I suppose, stoning. It's just Old Testament stuff, not our colder, "Objective" punishment.
________________________________________________
Drones can scare the life out of you, buzzing and buzzing . . .
until ***BOOM***
and your homes are no more.
______________________________
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! Give me liberty, or give me death."- Patrick Henry, March 23, 177
From Wikipedia:
The Golden Rule was a common principle in ancient Greek philosophy. A few examples:
- "Do not to your neighbor what you would take ill from him." (Pittacus)[3]
- "Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing." (Thales)[4]
- "What you wish your neighbors to be to you, such be also to them." (Sextus the Pythagorean)[5]
- "Do not do to others what would anger you if done to you by others." (Isocrates)[6]
- "What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others." (Epictetus)[7]
- "It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly (agreeing 'neither to harm nor be harmed'[8]),
- and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life." (Epicurus)[9]
So I ask you, would you submit to wearing a burqa sand sequestration if doing so might save a life in your family? Neighborhood? New York or Chicago? Islamabad? How about the life of a dolphin? Would you permit that to happen to one you love? Would you under any circumstances?Should we s as the good nation we are becomming protect New York at the expense of the freedom of the women of Chitral?Fuck No! I say. No way! What are we, Dirt!? that we can't think of a better way.Keep your fingers crossed.
_____________________________________
If you have been fortunate to read Vali Nasr, The Shia Revival, you learned many interesting and surprising things. Among them, the Shia are thought, by the majority Sunni, to be Apostate, an aborionation -- much as gays are regarded by Roman Catholics, Mormons and Mike Gabbard in Hawaii, only worse. A Sunni may not eat with a Shiite except by necessity; and if a Sunni shakes a Shiite hand, the Sunni must ritually clean his hand. You can see from this small example why the Shiite government in Iraq is, well, difficult.
More to the point of this Blog is the effort that the Saudi princes have made over the decades to inculcate the Wahhabi Sunni version of Islam on other Muslims, and especially in Pakistan. The Saudi princes have poured millions of our gas dollars into establishing Madrases, religious schools that teach Wahhabi precepts, including its strong condemnation of the West and its determination to keep women enslaved.
A teacher at a Madrassa is called a Talib. Some of the Talibs n Afghanistan formed as repressive a government as any in the modern world.
We defeated the Talib in Afghanistan, or almost, then got distracted by Iraq. The religious movement grew again, and some Talib have joined with members of al Qaeda, though they are not natural allies.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of Nasr's limpid prose and informative narration about what is going on in the area of the world that poses the greatest threat to world peace [and I do not mean Iran], you have a treat in store.
For a terrific set of heart-rending pics of young Saudi men, dressed in finery, without women and nowhere to go, go to the Times' set of pics, which I can't steal for you or me.
__________________________________________________
For those with specialized taste, High Times reports on one of Chitral's finest cash crops:
________________________
For those of you with other specialized taste, here's Marines at Queen's Beach
__________________________________________
Short History of Chitral [FROM THE CHIRAL NEWS]
The Early history of Chitral is shrouded in mystery. This mountainous country which was first referred to as Kohistan or land of the mountains was said to be inhabited by a race called "Khows" speaking a separate language Khowar, or language of the Khows. Some people say that it was Khowistan - the abode of the Khows. Separate parts of the country came to be called Torkhow - Upper Khow, Mulkhow - Lower Khow, names which persist to the present day. An early Sanskrit inscription at a village called Barenis (27 miles away from Chitral) of about AD 900 records that the country was Buddhist, under King Jaipal of Kabul. It is believed that Upper Chitral was under Buddhist influence in the past and even today there are a few rocks in Torkhow area known as "Kalandar-i-Bohtni" (Mendicant of Stone). It is a figure of a stupa; the upper part of which has been cut into the figure of Buddha and may be of Chinese origin. No records of this period exist.
Marco Polo, who passed through the Pamirs, referred to the country as Bolor. History relates that first a Chinese army and then an Arab (Mongols?) army invaded Chitral from the north by the Broghal pass when the upper part of the country is said to have been converted to Islam. The southern district remained non-Muslim till very late and were then converted to Islam. A Mongol tribe called Yarkhuns invaded Chitral via the Broghal pass and may have given their name to the Yarkun valley. They were opposed by Somalek, leader of the Khows. Another incursion is attributed to Changez Khan and his Tartars.
Chitral nevertheless has remained an independent state for centuries with its own culture and language. In the late nineteenth century it became part of British India. It was a princely state in 1947, which acceded to Pakistan in that year. The rule of the Mehtar came to an end in 1954 and power was henceforth exercised by the political agent posted at Chitral. The state was merged into Pakistan in 1969. The recorded history of Chitral is divided into six epochs as follows:
Iranian rule
The Achemeanian Empire of Persia was extended to these regions during 400 BC. Its more than two thousand years since this empire receded but its supremacy was so strongly established that many Persian cultural traits are still in practice in Northern Areas as well as few parts of Chitral. In some valleys surrounding Chitral such as Wakhan, Shaghnan, and upper parts of Chitral people speak Persian language. Even Khowar, which is the native language of the local people (Khow), contains much borrowing from Persian.
Zoroastrianism, an Old Persian religion, has also left behind some of its traces in this area. Traditions also tell about leaving of dead bodies unburied in caves in the wilderness or in the hollow of trees. Such practices were specific in this religion. A festival on 21st March (Nouroz) the first day in Persian calendar still prevails in Chitral. It is celebrated in few valleys every year. (Israr Chitral A historical sketch)
Kushan rule
The Kushan dynasty established its rule in this area in 200 AD. In the second century Kanishka the most powerful emperor of Kushan dynasty had extended his rule all over Northern India, probably as far as south Vindyas and all over the remote region up to Khotan beyond the Pamir pass.
Chinese rule
The Chinese extended their influence in the 4th century AD and remained in power until the 8th century. The rock inscription of Pakhtoridini near Maroi refers to Chinese rule. Another inscription in Barenis refers to the Kushans. According to Sir Aurel Stien, the inscription says that Jivarman ordered to make the pertinent drawing of a stupa. Such rock carvings have created confusion for writers like Buddulph and many others to believe that Chitral formed part of the last Hindu Shahi ruler of Kabul. It's also believed that the northern parts had embraced Islam by the end of 9th century when Arabs defeated Bahman, chief of the country. By the time of withdrawal of Arabs many people had accepted Islam. (Souvenir, 2nd Hindukush Cultural Conference, p.19-21)
Kalash rule
In the 11th century AD southern Chitral was invaded by the Kalash from Afghanistan, who occupied the country as far to the North as Barenis village, while the upper parts were under another chief Sumalik. some Kalash Chiefs Rojawai, such as Nagar Shah and Bala sing ruled Southern Chitral from 11th to 13th centuries A.D.
Rais rule
In the beginning of 11th century Shah Nadir Rais occupied southern Chitral and defeated the Kalash. Shah Nadir Rais extended his dominion from Gilgit to the present southern boundaries of Chitral. Rais family ruled over Chitral for about three hundred years when
Katura family succeeded them.
During the Rais rule in Chitral its boundaries extended from Narsut in the extreme south of the state to Gilgit in the east. The rulers had an effective council of chiefs of the local tribes to run the affairs of the country. The ruler of this family also worked for the dissemination of the teachings of Islam in the state.
There were no regular state forces to defend the state frontiers so the local headmen and chiefs called all the persons of their tribes to fight for the state under the collective defense system. The Mehtar (ruler) had friendly relations with the rulers of surrounding countries. (Baig, Hindu Kush study series vol. two)
Katur rule
The Katur succeeded the Rais dynasty in 1595. Muhtaram Shah I was the founder of Kature rule in Chitral, whose descendants ruled over Chitral until 1969 when the State was merged as a district of NWFP.
During the rule of Amirul Mulk in 1895, Umra Khan the chief of Jandool crossed the Lawari pass and invaded lower Chitral. As a result, there was fierce fighting in which the Mehtar of Chitral and British officers were besieged in Chitral fort for 42 days. Troops from Gilgit and Nowshera came to the rescue of the besieged fort and the British rule was extended over entire Chitral in April 1895. Shuja ul Mulk emerged as the ruler after the war who ruled for 42 years until 1936.
During the Pakistan movement there was a campaign in Chitral in favor of independence. The people backed all India Muslim League and Mehtar Muzafarul Mulk openly declared his backing to the Pakistan movement. In May 1947 H.H. Muzafarul Mulk informed the Viceroy about his intention to join the new state of Pakistan. The accession instrument was signed on November 7, 1947.
Labels: Chitral, military, Obama, shirtless, Swat, Taliban
Archives
January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 December 2009 January 2010 April 2010 October 2012
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]