Culture and Pakistan...

Culture is many things like linguistics, which relates us to the West compared to the Eastern borders.

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Today, in the United States as in other countries populated largely by immigrants, the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country.

One thing which I have been noting down since long on Pakistani Television and News Network is that we are on an identity crisis, for me it has been imposed on us, just to make fun of us and to pretend that we are a failure state with no identity. I know many wouldn’t agree with me nor I want them to agree with me because I am not a sycophancy natured person who always likes to gain attention of others, what I am talking is that on the basis of the history.

No doubt We Pakistanis and Indians lived together for centuries (not decades) but it is also a reality that Muslims to the Sub-Continent come from Central Asia, Iran and the Arab Peninsula, similarly Muslims bought the “wearing clothes phenomenon” in this region, like Shalwar Kameez initially originated from the Central Asian Countries and Afghanistan, similarly we’re related more to Iran (though they do possess a fair attitude towards us, and they feel they are superior than us, though that’s is another thing when my mother scold them in Arabic during her Umrah in 2007, because an Iranian women tried to kick my mother’s traveling bag to make way for her bag, so these things do possess in between), but the reality is, that yeah we are facing an Identity Crisis for sure, because those who’re related with the Central Asian, the Afghani and the Iranian culture are trying to make a relation with the So CALLED Indian Culture which was literally GIFTED to them by (if I convey an Indian’s point of view) “the Muslim Invaders”, we gave them clothes (don’t want to go deep into history but dhoti was the only thing which I read existed before arrival of Muslims, and females only used to wear a shawl or something in order to cover their chests, no concept of blouse to them), gave them tastes (Nihari, Kebabs, Biryani, etc are all our innovations into the Indian Sub-Continent), built a blue-map of how to develop their cities in future (Darwaza’s especially at Lahore and Delhi are prime examples of demarcation of cities at the times of Muslim era).

And if we read the history books without any intakes of Hard Drink, it would clearly state that a civilization emerged from this (current Pakistani region) area and went to east, Muslims entered the Sub-Continent via Sindh, Moen-jo-Daro, Taxilla, Harappa, are some of the examples of how significant this Pakistan area was for many civilizations, therefore our influence is and should be towards the Central Asian Countries and the Iranian Peninsula, though we have emotional attachment with the Arabs but this is also a reality that we differ from them in many aspects, like in case of linguistic Urdu is our identity which only relates to the Arabs because of their writing or like we say in Urdu “Rasm-ul-Khat”, not the Indian, (sorry to say, my Indian counterparts are going to say some very nice things to me) but reality should be admitted that our culture was transferred to India, Sharara, Gharara, Shalwar Kameez, Linguistics (else Sanskrit was then the language used in that part of the world, whereas we used to be speak Ordo, Persian and Arabic).

After all this I don’t know why we try to relate ourselves to India, when there is so much difference prevailing, Indians adopted our culture and marketing it as theirs, else we don’t wear “dhoti’s” etc on regular, nor we wear Sari’s as our national dress, nor we have problems with our linguistics which easily differentiates us with the Indians who still hesitate in narrating certain words which we easily do, so open your eyes guys, and instead of being copy cats, try to be innovative and be yourself, instead of portraying yourself as someone else.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS AND WILL BE THAT INDIAN CULTURE IS WHAT THEY GOT FROM MUSLIMS and not that we relate to them, THEY RELATE WITH US. The same thing with Pakistani media as well, whenever try to incorporate Indian content into Pakistani screens, do get a permission of the same in India as well. You guys have the power to change the taste of people, so use it instead of playing the demand syndrome all the time.

Peace!