A PROFESSOR FROM CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, I.J. PITT’S, IN 1942-44,
AMAZING REVELATIONS ABOUT THE HINDU MIND AND THINKING

CERTAINLY SUCH FREEDOM OF SPEECH NOT POSSIBLE THESE DAYS

It is worth reading. It is worthy of analysis. A Professor from Cambridge published his analysis of the difference between Hindu and Muslim mind. With pinpoint accuracy he has defined both nations and the very essence of the TWO NATION THEORY is upon us in his small pamphlet from a University, which can never do same today.

A small glimpse is here in our two selections, but the whole should be read in full. Perhaps we can put it in full on our blog. Happy reading to those who think the two nations are the same. Shame on such pseudo intellectuals is always evident.

AN UNKNOWN EUNUCH OF MASJID WAZEER KHAN LAHORE
THE ENIGMA OF FAMILY OF MULLAH YUSUF KASHMEERI

NAZAK YUSUF KASHMEERI IN TRADITION OF YAQUT MUSTASIMI

A walk inside the Wazeer Khan Mosque Lahore reveals many names. A number of calligraphers are there. One is Mullah Yusuf Kashmeeri, who was also probably the first muezzin of the mosque and the same is mentioned in the letters of Imam Rabbani. Yusuf Kashmeeri was son of Ustad Haider Mimar, who had constructed a famous garden in Kashmeer for Empress Nur Jahan. The name is in an inscription on the garden itself. The family seem to have moved to Lahore. Yusuf had three sons, all famous calligraphers of their time. One was Muhammed Zaman, another Abdul Kareem and the third was Muhamed Saleh. Their names are on many manuscripts as well as inscriptions on Mughal Monuments. The name of Muhammed Saleh is inside the dome of the Gulabi Bagh mausoleum, attributed to Dai Anga. No problem there.

A hand written Quran dated 1071 AH , precarious condition due to water soiling, but the name of the calligrapher is intact. It cannot be read clearly in the way that the calligrapher has tried to hide his gender in same. It looks like it says that it is Faqeer Haqeer Nazak bin Yusuf Kashmeeri. But careful reading tells us something else. It can read as:

Al Faqeera Haqeer Nakzal bin Yusuf Kashmeeri
Al Faqeer Al Haqeer Nazak bin Yusuf Kashmeeri
Al Faqeera Haqeer Nazli bin Yusuf Kashmeeri.

But the simplest reading is that of NAZAK KASHMEERI. Nazak is not a proper name for a man, it can be a proper name for a woman, like Nazakat. But then it should say BINT YUSUF KASHMEERI. The solution lies in only one thing. This fifth child of Yusuf Kashmeeri was an eunuch and in the tradition of Yaqut Mustasimi, one of the greatest calligraphers in our Islamic history, doing his best within his gender. It is said that Yaqut used to write his Qurans siting on top of the minaret of a mosque in Baghdad. Perhaps our Nazak used to write Qurans on top of the minaret of the Wazeer Khan mosque Lahore. Allah bless his/her soul!

A UNIQUE EVENT IN HISTORY OF PAKISTAN OF A HOME VISIT IN 1959
PRESIDENT AYUB KHAN VISITS THE STUDIO OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI

NEVER BEFORE AND NEVER AGAIN SO MUCH IMPORTANCE TO AN ARTIST

Martial law was declared in Pakistan in 1958 and it all happened, for politicians even at that time, had become corrupt to the core. The advent of President Ayub Khan brought a sense of relief to the people. With wonder struck eyes, they cheered Ayub Khan into victory. President Ayub Khan immediately started a review of all policies and emphasis as placed on all professions in Pakistan. Islamabad was built by President Ayub Khan, as well as most of the Industry we talk of even today. Dams and barrages came up in the country. Sports flourished and Pakistan brought in Gold Medals from international victories. President Kennedy received President Ayub Khan at the airport. Jacqueline Kennedy thought it well to travel on her own. Pakistan was touching the sky.

In those days at the height of his unquestioned power, President Ayub Khan gave the first Pride of Performance for Arts to M.A. Rahman Chughtai in 1958. In 1959 it became Hilal Imtiaz. President Ayub Khan did not stop at that. In 1959, he paid a state visit to the HOUSE OF THE ARTIST. It was unheard off and never heard again. A President visiting the house of an artist. The Press seized the opportunity and carried the news at times as headlines.

M.A. Rahman Chughtai not only presented the President an original painting of his, he dedicated his magnum opus AMAL E CHUGHTAI to President Ayub Khan, but that is another story. Enjoy images of that occasion in 1959!

A GREAT ART EVENT IN PAKISTAN’S HISTORY 14TH AUGUST 1959
INAUGURATION OF KARACHI ARTS COUNCIL WITH ART WORKS

OF ABDUR RAHMAN CHUGHTAI NATIONAL ARTIST OF PAKISTAN

Media is nowadays suffering an amnesia about the past of Pakistan. All they can see is the worst of Pakistan and that they show at the behest of foreign lobbies, for those lobbies pay them enough to do things allergic to the Identity of Pakistan. Pakistan made great strides in the world even in its worst circumstances. Like the past Heads of State, President Ayub Khan also promoted the Arts in his way. Finances were released for the new ARTS COUNCIL building in Karachi and it was inaugurated with an Art show of the works of M.A. Rahman Chughtai. One of the biggest shows in the history of Pakistan with hundreds of works by the artist. The speech Ayub Khsan read is with us and we will give it another time. Till then just enjoy a vision of the show.

Art activities in Karachi started with M.A. Rahman Chughtai’s show. Previously in 1952 Governor General Ghulam Muhammed Khan had also inaugurated a show,. And in 1949 Governor General Khawaja Nazimuddin at Arts Council Lahore. All Arts Councils in Pakistan were inaugurated with shows of M.A. Rahman Chughtai, including the one in Peshawer and in Dacca. More on that later. Enjoy!

THE ENIGMA OF MOHALLA CHAHAL BIBIAN LAHORE
SYED AHMAD TOKHTA AND HIS MAZAR IN LAHORE

Misplaced priorities in the historical context

A lady walked in the museum some years back. Very plain, very simple, wearing a traditional black burqa. Normally one would wonder as to why her need for a museum arose in the first place. And then she started speaking. Fluent English and expression. She had come from Washington DC , where she was a working psychiatrist, for the US government. Her vision grander than anybody else. The interesting part was that she would be normally considered to be from Mochi Darwaza Lahore, and strangely, she was from Mochi Darwaza Lahore. A lady from a prestigious family of Lahore, still in the garb of her old city. A Chahal Bibi of Lahore.

The Mimar family of Lahore was very attached to the residents of Mohalla Chahal Bibian. My grandfather Mian Kareem Baksh, and his father Mian Raheem Baksh, and his father Mian Salah frequented the place. The presence of this family itself can be proved from the inscription on the Mausoleum of Pir Nizamuddin Shah in Miani Qabarastan. All names are on it. But I was surprised to discover a manuscript of my ancestor, Mirza Khairullah of the 18th century, in which he says Sheikh Khairullah khadim Bibi Haj Taj. I think it is one of the earliest documents of the Bibian of Lahore.

Ghulam Dastageer Nami wrote a history of Lahore and named it TARIKH JALEELA. The house belonged to his grandfather, so when he rebuilt the place, he left the old grave intact. It was the grave of Syed Ahmad Tokhta Tirmizi who died in Lahore around 1208 AD or 605 AH (needs to be verified). When they were digging, they came across many bones, and even sign of two domes, which were now on the level of the ground. Under the grave of Syed Tokhta was a basement, where the actual grave was. They sealed the place out of respect. Miracles were associated with the place and we know the imagination of Lahore walas run riot all the time. Ghulam Dastageer dismissed the notion that the place known as Bibi Pak Daman was the mausoleum of a daughter of Hazrat Ali. The ladies were the daughters of Amad Tokhta and died probably in 1241 AD, as said by him. The full story is narrated in his book.

Prince Dara Shikoh in his writings speak of the graveyard of Bibi Haj and Taj. Little is mentioned anywhere else. One interesting fact that is missed is that in one of the histories, it is mentioned that of the many wives of Hazrat Hussain, one belonged to the area of Sindh. Who invented the Mausoleum of Haj and Taj and others, is that of persons fleeing the happenings at Karbala, one really does not know. But research can be done on that too. The earliest mention is probably Chisti, and Chisti has many tall tales to tell in his book. In any case Ghulam Dastageer thinks that the mohalla of Chahal Bibian was also a graveyard in olden times outside the fortified city itself. Grave worship has become our favourite past time, and it seems that the SARKARS are increasing every day in great count.

IN MEMORY OF MIAN SALAH MIMAR CHUGHATA
DIED ON 11TH MAY 1858 CHABUK SAWARAN LAHORE

LIVED FOR 120 YEARS, REMEMBERED EVEN TODAY

The history of the Mimar family of Lahore starts from Ustad Yusuf Burkurwdar, who was a student of Ustad Sinan in Turkey. Along with his friend Ustad Issa Mimar, the two architects travelled with Emperor Zahiruddin Babar and landed in Lahore. Ustad Yusuf got married here in Lahore and to him was born Ahmad, who later turned out to be Ustad Ahmad Mimar Lahori, the prodigal architect, who designed the Taj Mahal of Agra. But here we are talking of Salah Mimar.

It was an age where sons often followed the profession of their fathers, or ventured into related fields. A lot of monuments of Lahore as well as other places, in the 18th and 19th century, owe their aesthetics to the marvel of this very simple man. Salah Mimar was loved and respected by people for his grasp of Islamic history, knowledge and civilization. He was a born story teller and he enriched the brains of his children with past tales of grandeur and patronage.

Salah Mimar had two sons, namely Elahi Baksh (Natha) Mimar and Raheem Baksh Mimar. Both qualified as architects too, in the city of Lahore. Raheem Baksh had two children, Kareem Baksh and Karam un nisa. Karam un nisa was married to cousin Baba Miran Baksh Naqash of Wazeer Khan Mosque. Kareem Baksh Mimar was of course the father of Abdur Rahman Chughtai.

An architect who surevived the War of Independence of 1857, must have died with the dream of seeing an independent Muslim nation again. Today Pakistan is a reality which he would have understood well. We pray for his soul 158 years after his death. Well remembered and well loved!

THE PATHOS OF SHAH ALAM AND HIS TIMES
A PUNJ SURA WRITTEN BY HIM BEFORE BLINDNESS

SURROUNDED BY MIR JAFFERS AND MI6 007 SABOTEURS

If you read even a few pages of the history of Shah Alam, you shudder with the complexities and pathos of that time. The backbone of all nations are the Armies and the enemy knows that to gain inroads to the nation, the Army as to be dismantled. Warriors of the Timurids like Zaheer ud din Babar were not puppets under any hands. Each King in succession had the Army in control. Prince Dara Shikoh lost his battles for he was not battle hardened in any way and sought the recluse of so called Black Magic to try to end the war in Kandahar. Obviously it was lost. Emperor Aurangzeb rose to prominence for he was battle hardened till the very end. At the age of 92 years, he was ready for war with all enemies, When Kings were left to indulge in the charm of the palaces, relish the foods, wear the fancy dresses, entertained by ladies, or sexual gimmicks, the end result is always the same. The rise and fall of civilizations always take place.

Even a brief look at the times of Shah Alam is beyond comprehension. Lack of rain, lack of food, earthquakes, meteor rain, revolt of Army for pay and salaries. Connivance of various Ministers to get to being the Regent of affairs. The end result in 1784 is that Shah Alam is thrown on the floor and his eyeballs removed to be blinded forever. Even a Court painter was called to record the historical scene . And then came the scourge of the Syed brothers, the Ghulam Qadir tyrant of all times. Ghulam Qadir was so cruel, that not only he got Shah Alam blinded, he starved to death member of the Royalty, placed the ladies on walls of the Fort to be observed by all, and to have even Royal Princesses stripped naked and fondled by his soldiers. He asked his soldiers to make them beget illegitimate warriors instead of the wimps they were producing as Mughal Royalty.

When Shah Alam’s eyeball;s were throw out, he was asked what he could see. And he said between him and the asking Minister he could only see the Quran. Strange words for an Emperor, and yet four years before in 1194 AH 1780 AD, the Emperor had finished writing an illuminated Punj Sura (Five surats of the Quran). Shah Alam is no more and yet the Punj Sura is still there. The result of his last years, a treasure of the future.

Ghulam Qadir was to die his consequential end. An historian writes of it like this:

“So Sindia ordered that Ghulam and the former superintendent of the imperial harem were to be tortured to death. Ghulam ears were cut off and hung around his neck. With his face blackened, he was paraded round the city in a bullock-cart. Next day, his nose and lips were cut off and again he was shown to the city. The following day his eyeballs were torn out and yet again he was placed in a cart and trundled slowly though the streets. He eyes were followed b his hands, and then by his feet. Finally his head was cut off and the corpse was hung upside down from a tree.”

His reward for what he had done to Shah Alam and can be recorded too:

“Screams of the tortured filled the harem. Servants were held over fires to make them disclose the whereabouts of hidden jewels. Others had boiling oil poured into the palms of their hands.. Eunuchs were beaten to death. Shah Alam was himself brought out of his prison and subjected to less extreme torture. He was made to sit in the burning sun without food or drink. He was continually threatened, and Ghulam would — without warning— fling his arm round the ex emperors neck and blow a cloud of acrid smoke into his face.
Finally the edge of madness when Shah Alam was thrown to the floor and his eyeballs taken out.”

What had been done to the Mughal ladies had never been done before. Many were starved to death in the eyesight of the people on the Fort walls. Also stripped naked and fondled by common soldiers in front of all. Humiliations were complete and Ghulam Qadir paid the price.

Who gained? First the French General De Boigne and then the British visitor Thomas Twining. Then Lord Wellesley stepped in for the advantages. General Perron took control of northern India. With a pension Shah Alam could stay in the palace, the rest was for the British alone. In fact substantial treasure fell into the hands of the French mercenary Lestenean, who left for British territory and later for Europe with his windfall. DIVIDE AND RULE AND 007 ASSASSINS all were there in full force. It was the Mughal Army which was fist brought down with discord. The House of Timur had finally fallen and Hindustan was left bare for centuries to come.

Did we learn any lessons! Today the situation is still the same. Foreign lobbies are working to throw our army in disarray and take our assets. Hatred destroys people. There is every reason to believe that there is unnatural hatred for Muslims primarily Pakistanis for our CODE OF LIFE. Anarchy is being generated for us but by the Grace of Allah, we will come out of this malaise and be Pakistan again. So be it!

ARAB MUSLIM SCIENTISTS OBSERVED A LIVE SUPERNOVA 1000 YEARS AGO,
THE RECORD OF THIS OBSERVATION EXISTS EVEN TODAY FOR THE WORLD

ARE OUR MADRASSAS DOING THE SAME THING TODAY WHAT THEY DID THEN?

Islam did not start from a scratch. Islamic Scientists realized that to go forward, they had to study the best of past achievements. Pure knowledge was in Greek language of the intellectual world. Immediately people were ordained to translate these texts so that there could be studies in perspective. Today many Greek masterpieces are known only by their Arabic translation. This process went on and on, over the centuries. Even in times of Emperor Aurangzeb astronomers were collecting the best sources of knowledge. Mutammed Khan was sent by Aurangzeb to Portugal to study astronomy there and translate their books from Portuguese into Arabic language. The same exits to this day. Other astronomers were sent to France by Aurangzeb. Amazing isn’t it, what love of knowledge can do to nations?

Even today Pakistani girls and boys excel all over the world in sciences and other disciplines. To have a free mind, you need not be bottled by Mullah doctrines, nor be secular anarchy. You need to be Muslims and for that knowledge comes first in the fulfillment of Allahs mission. Conquer the world with knowledge!

Ashes from a distant supernova are raining down on Earth: The planet is being pummelled by radioactive debris from an explosion 2,000 light years away

· The Earth is being bombarded with iron isotopes from nearby supernova

· They estimate iron-60 coming from a star cluster 2,000 light years away

· Iron-60 has been found in the ocean crust and was even used by bacteria

· Scientists also say an Arabic scholar spotted a supernova 1,000 years ago

By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE

They are titanic explosions that fling out radiation and debris across space.

Now it appears the ashes of a nearby supernova – giant exploding stars – are showering the Earth with material, allowing scientists to reconstruct when and where they happened.

At the same time researchers have also discovered evidence ancient Arabic astronomers living around 1,000 years ago observed a supernova as it happened.

KING KANISHKA’S LAHORE IS NOT OUR LAHORE IN THE PUNJAB
IT IS IN THE FRONTIER NEAR HAZARA AND ITS REMAINS ARE STILL THERE

Mir Syed Bokhari has written extensively about it

The art of story telling is in our veins and we spin stories all the time. Few people bother about documentation and can relate anything to

anything. Such story tellers will tell you that Indians had already conquered America much before Columbus and that is why he named the citizens of America as Red Indians. Obviously there would be no documentation. America was inhabited by a number of people and civilizations before Columbus and that is a fact and that we believe when archaeologists dig remains and come up to conclusions. The Turkish Piri Reis map is a good example of research. Kufi inscription stones in Red Indian caves and tepees. All facts!

The name of Lahore is attached to many cities in the world. There is even a Lahore in the United States of America. But the Lahore we call Lahore is the Lahore we live in. The capital of the Punjab. The Lahore of King Kanishka is the Lahore in Gandhara area, or in the Frontier province. The mention of that Lahore is at many places and Mir Syed Bokhari has proven that even Al-Beruni mentions the Gandhara Lahore as Lahore. A book stands written with episodes of Lahore going back to centuries before Jesus Christ himself. In no ways is the Gandhara Lahore is related to the Lahore we live in, the Mahmoodpur of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi. We have written about it elsewhere.

The issue is merely political. Just after partition, a British scholar wrote a book about 5000 years of Pakistan and removed its Islamic content as essential. Till today the line is same,. Try to make people proud of heritage which is not there’s at all. That is why we differenciate between Geographical and Ideological realities. For a stalwart like Faiz Ahmad Faiz, the Taj Mahal of Agra was not our heritage, but that of India. For us the Quran talks of ONE UMMA and according to that Umma we have one Ideological heritage and different areas interpret it in their own way. That is ijjtehad in all ways. But there is a similarity. A mosque looks like a mosque anywhere. No heritage of ours talk of dresses which are vulgar in nature. No statues to nurture and worship but to enjoy its aesthetics. This is a long discourse. We will take it up elsewhere. Pakistan is Ideology not geography at all. We write with the passions of our heart not because lobbies pay those to think in their terms, to question every achievement of Islam as false.

THE FIRST STUDENT AFTER THE DEATH OF M.A. RAHMAN CHUGHTAI,
MS MARCELLA BEDFORD NESOM SIRHINDI AND 1978 HAPPENINGS

THE BARRIERS OF CROSS CULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION

We take many issues very seriously, and the death of M.A. Rahman Chughtai reminded us of the immense responsibility thrusted on our shoulders. Just a few days after the death of M.A. Rahman Chughtai, we printed our first handout. In it we assured the world not only of preserving, promoting and researching the Art of M.A. Rahman Chughtai, but also providing access of the Art to students and scholars from all over the world. Ms Marcella Bedford had applied to the Pak American Association for funding for her proposed research on Textiles and was working on that. I do not know who or how, but it was suggested to her that she changes her topic for research on M.A. Rahman Chughtai and his Art. The papers came in and they are in our archives. The first letter from her was on 12th October, 1976. Then Marcella Bedford came by aeroplane to the Lahore Airport and I was there to receive her. I was not able to see her alight from the plane but she was in the lounge fine. I brought her in my car to the premises of the museum and it was nearing our 1978 show of 17th January, in which Ms Tamara Talbot Rice from the United Kingdom was our Chief Guest. We provided her accommodation for stay at the museum itself. Everything was exciting.

All details are there in the museum, for we are very exact about our records. We did everything possible to provide to her, all her desired requirements, like books, magazines, newspapers, catalogues, images and what not? And of course interviews in a free atmosphere. She carried a professional camera and we would allow her to photograph her requirements but with a small tab in plastic of CMT, that is CHUGHTAI MUSEUM TRUST. If we look at the bibliography etc attached to her thesis, we will find reoccurred the tab of CMT tab everywhere.

People change. People waver. A diligent Marcella diversified and we pointed it out to her in the best of spirits. Having had access to so many things about Chughtai, she felt that she could proclaim herself as the end of it all. We pointed out that her understanding of Chughtai was based on cross cultural barriers. Many of her assertions were outright wrong and there was nothing wrong about telling her that. But ideas were okay when a person takes credit for that, but facts could not be tinkered in any way. For example somebody had translated a paragraph absolutely wrong for her, and based on that, she was making claims, which had no reality in fact. We all learn more with time and she was jumping in some ways about her conclusions about the artist. Obviously we knew more about Chughtai than her, for not were we Chughtai’s family, we had lived with the artist all our lives and we knew the spirit and Ideology of M.A. Rahman Chughtai. She was unwilling to accept that, so without any malice, our ways drifted apart. We have great regards for her efforts but if the efforts are doing injustice to the artist himself, it was our right to point it out.

A banker from Asian Development Bank brought her as help one day to the museum and I told him she had no concept of her assertion. Gladly he was a reasonable man, went back and came alone the next day. No harm done. So when auction houses start quoting her to me as well as people, who never had access to me, I point it out. We wish Marcella well but it is our foremost right to present facts as well as the interpretations of them. Ms Marcella Bedford came here after a quest for a thesis on Textiles. In Rawalpindi she saw a copy of Amal e Chughtai and felt enamoured with Chughtai Art. Thanks to Marcella for that. She was our first serious student on the Art of M.A. Rahman Chughtai at PHD level. We were excited then, we are excited even today. But the white man’s burden is enormous. Knowledge teaches you humility to know more, not arrogance in an way. We taught Marcella things about Chughtai Art, in no way, she ever taught us! These are points to remember. We wish her best of luck in life! There is no malice within us. A scholarly role is to present all versions, at least two opposing ones, for fairness in judgement. At times the dear lady looked so bewildered that she even presented an artist in her thesis WHO CLAIMED THAT CHUGHTAI WAS NEVER THE ARTIST AND HE WAS THE ACTUAL PAINTER WHO DID WORKS FOR THE ARTIST WHO LATER USED TO SIGN THE WORKS IN HIS OWN NAME. We could have died laughing at the idea or we would have lynched that man to a tree for ridiculous statements, but she took even that man seriously, knowing even by statistics it was an impossible statement. Yes we have so much more of her in our records. We will tell more. But one thing is sure. We welcomed her then, we welcome her now. We have nothing against her. We request her to analyze her statements so that nothing is left on record which will prove to be a childish assessment for the future. God be with her all the time!