Eggs Laid by Tigers
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.
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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.
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Drones can scare the life out of you, buzzing and buzzing . . .
until ***BOOM***
and your homes are no more.
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"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.
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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.
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For those with specialized taste, High Times reports on one of Chitral's finest cash crops:
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For those of you with other specialized taste, here's Marines at Queen's Beach
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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
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