A GHAZNAVID EVIL EYE IN LAHORE
PROTECTING COINS OF SULTAN IBRAHEEM GHAZNAVI

Turkish talisman in Lahore

There are channels on TV and you see some of them carrying archaeological news all the time. A couple of bricks are discovered and it makes national news. A host of people sifting through the dirt, working at theories, old maps, old books and coming up with vague conclusions. It is like a lust for old times. Here in Lahore, something is discovered, it is covered up quickly, lest someone finds out and puts the owner to host of pains. It reminds me of accidents in Lahore, before Pervaiz Elahi started the 1122 emergency service. An accident in Lahore meant sure death, because no one was willing to take the risk of police badgering them. Somebody helps and that somebody got it for questioning him as the original suspect. Really Pervaiz Elahi deserves heaven for just this venture. I hope someone comes up with clauses in the business chat room called a National Assembly in Pakistan, to devise ways to protect heritage here. A totally disregarded field in Pakistan. The whole system of provision of water for the Shalimar Gardens was destroyed for some needless road. Our bureaucracy is like this that it is very possible that one day someone gets the idea that the Badshahi Mosque is of too old a design and get a new one built made by some Japanese architect, of course with a Japanese garden and cactus trees. Nobody better in India too, where they do the same things. The Bagh of Roshan Ara was being planned to be replaced by a Japanese Garden. The Mughal Gardens of Pakistan Memorial were removed for a Japanese Garden. Yes, people here are ruthless towards heritage. The Hindus plan to demolish 5000 mosques in India, regardless of historical content. And yes, the Taj Mahal is a Mandir of old times, and should be made a Mandir again. Just Google and check what we are saying and you will find it a correct assessment of the futility of heritage here in the region.

That is when we discovered an ancient EVIL EYE of Turkish origin sitting over some coins of Sultan Ibraheem Ghaznavi (obviously 30 feet down the earth level of Lahore), we were really amazed at the protection afforded by the Talisman. A thousand years it had kept the small trove of coins safe and sound. Amazing! I do not believe in any Talisman but it is proving interesting. A lot of Good luck is being generated, so what the hell! Relax and enjoy the irrationality of it all. And pray for an EVIL EYE to safeguard Pakistan too!

WHY RUSSIA FELL?
HOW RUSSIA SPRUNG AGAIN?

Secrets we do not know

A comment has been posted on the bigotry of Aurangzeb Alamgeer that the decline of the Mughal Empire was due to him. Now let us step aside from this cliche and talk about other civilizations. Thousands of civilizations sprang up in the world, power without end, and then they tumbled into oblivion. Why? In Turkey you have a recorded civilization that is 12000 years old. Gone into dust. The Pharaohs, where are they? The Romans might is still remembered and yet Rome today is like a small drop in the ocean. The British Empire, where the SUN never sank, is no more. Like a puppy dog, they try to cling to power, by being the Yes men of the American empire. The empire of Pakistan is like a smoke, ready to be blown by a dust storm. A Desert storm swept Iraq away. We are not custodians of information to know, what happened. For us the Quran is the test of life. The Quran asks us to study the rise and fall of civilizations and understand the dynamism of success and failure.

Allah promises us that Allah will never let tyranny last for a long time. Allah tells us the dynamics of destruction starts at the very first step of violation of human rights. It may take some time, but the end is surely there, and those who doubt Allah, are outside the domain of faith and Islam itself. A worthy book written by the late G.A. Pervaiz talks of the reasons for the ‘Decline of the Muslim civilization’. It is worthy to be read at any time.

Commodore Tariq Majeed wrote some years back a book entitled ‘The Global game for a new world order’. It is again worthy to be read, and for us simple minded people, boggles the imagination as to what is happening behind the scenes of the world. Tariq Majeed takes the view that Russia fell from within as the people in charge like Raisa and Mikhail Gorbachev were Jews themselves, and trained to dismantle the Empire. Even our Vice Chancellor of Punjab University has recently written a worthy book on such a kind of subject, and the poor fellow is on the radar screen of the enemies. The best part is that WE DO NOT CARRY PREJUDICE AGAINST ANYBODY IN THE WORLD. LIVE AND LET LIVE IS OUR FORMULA OF LIFE. BUT PEOPLE SHOULD LET US LIVE TOO. OR WE HAVE RIGHT TO RETALIATE. OUR DEFENSE IS OUR WAY OF LIFE. We know a lot of Jews personally and we find them, highly educated, highly cultured, full of art and music and there values are so much like ours. But the extremists are those, who do not in any way follow their own prophet Moses. In fact Moses is at times doubted by the very Jewish circles as having not even existed in reality. Researches from Harvard University tells us that all the time. But we are defenders of al the Prophets ourselves. For us Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ are as sacred to us as their own followers. I really find the Jewish people so sweet, and yet their extremists priests are making mockery of their way of life.

It is in this perspective that we give full credit to Vladimar Putin for putting Russia back on the world map. Well done. Putin! You love your country, and even people like us, can appreciate a patriotic guy any time. And for that the charade of so called democracy has to be removed, for this democracy does not in any way represent the emotions, feelings, desires and needs of the people. Military has brought more stability to the country, than these so called democratic people.

WICKED GAMES ‘BASTARDS’ PLAY

CANNOT UNDO THE SPIRIT OF PAKISTAN

Progressive Islam is in our blood

When Angel Gabriel (positive force not understood by present state of knowledge) delivered the Quran to our Prophet Muhammed (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), it was for all humankind. Allah had given the first essential of life that is FREEDOM OF CHOICE to humans, that Allah has not given to any other being. Allah even gave Man the right to rebel against Allah himself. What beauty of Allah’s personality, that we find expressed in the 99 names Allah has revealed to us. The ultimate and infinite POWER, willing to accept dissent, so that all those who follow will follow (Salat) with their free will. Al-hamd-o-llilah!

The people of Pakistan believed in Allah, and when Dr Allama Iqbal brought the renaissance, they knew what it meant. A return to the pristine qualities of Islam, by negating a thousand years of the nonsense preached by Mullahs in the name of Islam. Pakistanis rallied to the call of the Quaid-e-Azam to bring the rule of Allah down to Earth and to enlighten their lives, by erasing exploitation of man by man.

By hiring a few thousand people in Pakistan, luring them with the traditional ‘wine and women’ as well as haughtiness of power (rats wanting to feel like lions), the wicked game of foreign lobbies is to undo our dream, by instilling in us, to erase the spirit of Pakistan. People who do not know the name of their father, how can they know what loyalty and heritage is! Such cheapness, such vulgarity is as repulsive as what we feel when a lizard enters our room. Natural aversion.

These eunuchs we see strutting with big guns in bid to be men are shameless creatures, swinging like barbarians, in trying to undo civilizations. Love of our Prophet is in our veins, and who can take it out from the people of Pakistan. NO ONE AT ALL!

The resilience of Pakistan and of Pakistanis, you may have imagined, but you have not seen under stress. Each opposition makes us stronger. The Rulers are trying to starve us, but that is why we have the month of Ramazan, to test our endurance of lack of food by fasting itself. We have become the most rowdy in the traffic jungle of Pakistan, but when we bow down in front of Allah in a mosque, our line is exemplary straight. And when war is thrusted upon us as in 1965, our unity is beyond its definition itself.

Unity, Faith and Discipline may be testing us, but at the back of our minds, they are still there.

ASSASSINATION OF NAWAB BHIKARI KHAN
FLOGGED TO DEATH BY SLIPPERS OF HAREM’S LADIES

THE MOST BIZARRE REVENGE IN HISTORY

Nawab Muin ul Mulk (Mir Mannu) represented the last vestiges of the Mughal Empire. Then he came face to face with Ahmad Shah Abdalli and acquited himself so well, that even Ahmad Shah Abdalli acknowledging his valour, restored him as the Governor of Lahore. Under these circumtances, he became a threat to the rule of many. Nawab Bhikari Khan, who lived in Lahore and was responsible for the building of the Golden Mosque in it, was also affected by his rule. Mir Mannu was killed in Lahore. The presumed accidental death of Mir Mannu was taken as an assassination, and revenge was planned on Bhikari Khan, who was held responsible for same.

Mughlaini Begum, wife of Mir Mannu, put the infant son of Mir Mannu on the throne, and to take the revenge on Bhikari Khan, invited him to her havelli. Nawab Bhikari Khan thought of possibility of seduction and was excited by the prospects, but luring the Nawab in her havelli, Mughlaini Begum ordered the ladies (including some eunuchs) to kill the Nawab by beating him red and blue with their slippers. The most bizarre death took place, when the ladies killed the Nawab, by beating him to death. The revenge of Mughlaini Begum was completed by her strategy.

Three powers vied for the rule of Lahore. The Abdallis, the Sikhs and the Mughals. The city fell to the tyranny of the three Sikh Sirdars, and leading further to the rule of the dacoit from Gujranawalla, Ranjit Singh. Adina Beg Khan could have saved the day, but busy in his intrigues, he lost a chance to change history of the Punjab. But that is really another story.

PRINCE KAMRAN LAHORI
THE FIRST SEEDS OF REBELLION

Kingship over-ruled brotherly love

All Lahore is familiar with the baradari of Kamran. Few may know about Kamran, but the baradari, right in the flow of river Ravi itself, attracts attention all the time. It has seen many vicissitudes within its lifetime. It is perhaps the earliest Mughal monument extant in Lahore, even in the region itself. It was once part of the palace garden of Prince Kamran, son of Emperor Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire. Considered as a sore on the eyes of some previous governments, many times ideas were made to remove it completely, and perhaps replace with a Japanese Garden for Lahore. I myself wrote to UNESCO, when its destruction was planned, and they stepped in to save it. The correspondence is on record here. Even the British cared little for it. It was a toll booth for a long time, as shown in old maps. The Sikhs had destroyed countless monuments near it, including the Garden of Mah-Afroze, wife of Prince Kamran. Its name still lingers near the Badami Bagh Lahore.

Prince Kamran was Governor of Lahore, and coins are found issued in his name, as the self-proclaimed Emperor too. Countless time Emperor Humayoun forgave him (for he loved his brother), but somehow or the other, the seed of rebellion was too much in him, and he stabbed Humayoun in the back, to many times. The Courtiers were adamant, be a brother, or be a King, the choice is simple. On Royal orders, to Sayyid Muhammed (given near Fort of Rohtas), Prince Kamran was BLINDED. Kamran bore the torture in a manly manner, but could not bear the weight of the man, who was pressing him down by the knees. Ultimately the blind Prince Kamran became a pilgrim, and went on a Haj to Mecca. He died in Mecca four years later, begging forgiveness from Allah for his actions in life.

Not much of Prince Kamran survives. A baradari, a few coins, hardly anything else. The most unique survival of the Prince is his personal DIWAN of poems. The only extant copy is in the Khuda Baksh Library Patna, and strangely it is a Royal copy, calligraphed by Mahmud son of Ishaq Shihabi of Herat. It was read by a row of Emperors, and endorsed by them. It was in the possession of Nur Jahan Lahori too. From the poems, we see inside the sensitivities of a Prince long gone, and realize, that given the chance, he too, could have been the ancestor of many other Mughal Kings. But that never happened. Prince Kamran is not alive due to his politics, but his literary skills as a poet.

CHRISTIANITY COMES TO LAHORE
MISSIONARY ZEALS TURN ZERO

The story of George Maxwell Gordon

Sir John Login was entrusted with the conversion of so called Maharajah Dallip Singh, a lost small boy, trying to recover his identity. Obviously a relation was crafted with the Queen of England, and the young Sikh boy embraced Christianity in Lahore. We have already talked about this in a previous blog. Now the missionary zeal was to convert all Lahore to Christianity. The Reverend T.V. French came here with a mission as other priests were there. The most famous is the missionary zeal of George Maxwell Gordon (1839-1880). Nothing wrong with that, but the saying stands, ‘You can take a horse to a trough of water, but you cannot force him to drink’.

Missionary Gordon’s own letters tell us a lot of things. For instance:

“Just think of a journey of 350 miles, from one end of England to the other, and only two Christians”.

He expressed difficulty in coping with ‘a race so naturally suspicious and alien, as the Hindus and the Mussulmans’, and was not content with sitting in the Church. He proposed bazaar propagation, so they hired a place as a chapel in Lahore, put chairs in front of it and invited people to listen to their sermons The experience, again, is told by him:

“One of the most curious features of the bazar preaching in Lahore is, that it has aroused opposition preaching on the part of the Hindus, Brahmans and the Mussulmans alike. It was commenced by the latter, and for weeks Mr French was annoyed by a Wahabi who took his stand at a particular place in the bazar, close to the little chapel, which we have built conjointly with the Americans. In front of this little chapel it is the custom of the missionaries to arrange benches for those who like to listen, and generally there has been a good attendance. Of course the preaching is not confined to this place, but as it was one much frequented, the Wahabi chose it as his point of attack, and often succeeded in drawing away all Mr French’s audience. By and by, a Hindu, ambitious of having his own voice heard, started a preaching on the opposite side, and attracted a large congregation. Then a Brahman followed , and the missionary of the Gospel was between these fires. Now (strangest of all) the Mussulman, Hindu and Brahman have made a joint-stock company, and they all preach from the same platform to the same audience.”

The real fact is that these missionaries were dedicated and believed in their mission, but the conversion of the local families became impossible for them, and in the end, all they could convert was the poorest rung of the ladder, and that all with promises of rewards of materialistic kind, as well as opportunities to develop.

An interesting story is there about the first Church built in Lahore in Akbar’s time. There is even a separate book on same. A report of Agra is there of a dozen people embracing Christianity. And then we hear the complaint of the Chaplain, that by the summer vacations, all had left, and there was not a single person left as a result of conversion. The same story seems to be repeated in Lahore. Muhammed Salih seems to be the exception. Chaplain Abdul Masih made history as a chaplain.

Everyone has a right to propagate their views and the missionaries were welcome to them. God bless them for their dedication! But how many Lahorites they converted, we do not know, but we can surely guess! The result is the composition of Lahore today in itself.

PATHAN GANGS IN LAHORE IN 1907
STEALING GUNS IN BROAD DAY LIGHT

Strange criminal behaviour of thieves

Sir Henry Craik , who later became Governor General of Punjab, wrote impressions of Lahore in 1908. I find some of these impressions most bizarre. Here we note Craik’s observation of gun thefts in Lahore. He says:

“One official will tell you of the strange devices of the Pathans in search of firearms, which it is his business to detect. They have to be tracked across the jungle; and in little groups of five or six, meeting at some distant point during the night, and by day wandering singly about the towns disguised as pedlars, they pass far south of Lahore after this on quest– the impounding of guns, which fetch about pounds 100 apiece in their own country. Their boldness is marvelous. They have been known to enter an English barracks in the quiet of the early afternoon, when Tommy Atkins is resting after dinner, and to carry out stand of arms without detection.”

And how they do it:

Feigning the carrying of dead relative back to their country, they loaded a coffin on a railway train. The respected officer suspected their motives and got the coffin opened at the Railway Station and found out that there was a dead dog in it, long with goodly store of rifles. Great care is being taken by the authorities to curb the crime of various criminal gangs operating in the city.

The obsession of arms and ammunition with our brethren the Pathans is recognized from ages. A Pathan is not complete without a gun. Men of war, they have to get their hands on such a source, as to enrich themselves with fighting power. The British, the Russians and even the Americans came face to face wit the dilemma of modern age. But the Pathan is not living in this age at all, it seems. Centuries have not made as difference in their love and use of guns. That is why when the British outlawed gun manufacture of Lahore, the Lahori bandook sazs migrated to the border areas and resumed their business there. Lahore served their brethren Pathans in more ways than one.

OUT OF JOBS READY TO SELL SOULS
THE NEW MISCREANTS OF PAKISTAN

Following guidelines of Masters

The very title of articles appearing in newspapers are perplexing in all ways. The titles and the issues are not ours at all. The rose tinted glasses from which the issues are generated, have the strongest suspicion attached to them of what is locally known as ‘chamaq’. This unnatural shine is obviously the financial rewards given to the writer for propagating anti-Pakistani ideas in the society. There is so much shame here, but shame is relative now. You soon overcome the shame by doing the things you longed to do, when you were out of job. Now the whole world seems to be in union with you, in the mirage of shamelessness.

I am indebted to my parents. Their dreams were not for themselves alone. They dreamt of serving the nation. Honesty prevailed in their life. Contentment and happiness they had, even when they had no meal for that day. Higher values were taught to them, not that of philistines. And the same values they taught to us. Progress was related to all not for the few. But those who lived ion the streets were the street smart people. They evaded inspiration from their parents and loved ones. They behaved invariably like rascals of the society.

Only bad gets coverage now. Watch headlines all over the world. A wrong is commit’ed. In minutes the wrong-doer is splashed all over the world as some sort of hero of the new world. The worst the action, the more hype given to the incident as well as the persons involved in the same. Is there ever any BREAKING NEWS of something good happening in the world? You can check for yourself. Make a list of all the news in the newspapers, television, anywhere. The same principle reigns. Bad is projected, good is covered up as meaningless. The glamour of rascals is everywhere. We see television seasons, films, novels, everywhere, making important meaningless people of the world. In Pakistan the heroes of the 1950’s and 1960’s are not IN at all. The heroes of the 2000’s are those with anti-Pakistan mission. People who think Islam is an out-dated mode of living. The national shame is phenomenal.

The remedy to fight rascals is not to become a rascal yourself. You have to continue believing in law and order, morals and ethics, things that govern the spirituality of life. The mode which makes the green grass looks greener, and even the dried up grass, the possibility of becoming green again. That is why holding onto to your values is the key to survival of humankind. And when you realize that is exactly what Allah expects you to do. Fight Evil with Virtue. That is the test of Allah, the hammer which makes mere gold into aesthetically pleasing jewelry (modern spelling not traditional ones).