Sharing a screen grab from the last page of my book From the Ashes of 1947. Balraj Sahni captured the human tragedy of Partition in this poem, the spectre of which still continues to haunt us everyday. We seem to be unable to be human first.
Location Faqeer mahola Texali Gate Lahore
photography : Kamran Ata
#kamikakamhai
While the present nation-states of Pakistan and Afghanistan are Islamic Republics, there was a time when the religion of Buddha registered a strong presence in areas, now part of these states. Back in 2001, when the ‘Buddhas of Bamiyan’ were blasted by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the visuals were received with astonishment and horror across the world. These ancient, iconic carvings were UNESCO protected monuments and represented the classic syncretic style of Gandhara art. The Taxila Museum in Punjab province of Pakistan is home to the largest collection of ancient Gandharan artefacts in the country dating back to the time from the 1st to the 7th c. AD. Most of these were excavated at the nearby ruins of the ancient city of Taxila. The museum itself dates back to 1918.
John Marshall (1876-1958), was one of the most famous directors of the Archaeological Survey of India and excavator of the city of Taxila. Marshall began the excavations at Taxila in 1913, which carried on for another twenty years, apart from laying the foundation stone of the museum in Taxila. Later, he produced An Illustrated Account of Archaeological Excavation of Taxila in 1951. This 3-volume work details the Taxila excavations of 1913-1934 and opens with an apt description of the importance of topography in situating ancient Taxila:
‘The remains of Taxila are situated immediately to the east and north-east of Sarai-kala, a junction on the railways, 20 miles north-west of Rawalpindi. The valley in which they lie is a singularly pleasant one, well-watered by the Haro river and its tributaries, and protected by a girdle of hills – on the north and east by the snow mountains of Hazara and the Murree ridge, on the south and west by the well-known Margalla spur and other lower eminences. This position on the great trade route, which used to connect Hindustan with Central and Western Asia, coupled with strength of its natural defences, the fertility of its soil, and a constant supply of good water, readily account for the importance of the city in early times’.
While Buddha (5th-4th c. BC) did not venture to Gandhara, growth of Buddhism in this region happened under the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BC). Gandhara was a province of the Persian Empire under Darius I. In 327 BC, Alexander advanced as far as Taxila in his conquests, but shortly thereafter, the region was consolidated with the territorial reach the Mauryan dynasty. It was Chandragupta’s grandson, Emperor Ashoka, who converted to Buddhism in c. 263 BC, following the especially bloody Kalinga War.
It was under the Kushans’ (people of Scythian origin) rule that the Gandhara region assumed its important place in the history of Buddhism and especially its art. Under ruler Kanishka in the 1st c. AD, ‘Buddhist sages made Gandhara a sacred region by the compilation of texts associating local sites with previous incarnations of the Buddha’ (1956). The Kushans’ ‘greatest contribution of Gandhara to the art of Asia was the invention of the Buddha image. The first anthropomorphic representation of the Great Teacher was probably related to the emergence of the devotional sects of Buddhism and demand for the portrayal of the object of worship in an accessible human form in place of the entirely symbolic portrayals of the master in the art of early Hinayana Buddhism’ (1960).
Great Stupas were subsequently built in the region, of which some still survive and are preserved in the Taxila Museum. In Takht-i-Bahi (Mardan, KP province), there is a large Buddhist monastic complex, which forms an important site of this period in the region, representing the Gandhara school of art and architecture. Dating from 1st – 2nd c. AD, Buddhism flourished here, leading to a new, syncretic Greco-Buddhist art/architecture & culture. Mediterranean and Persian influences gave Gandhara sculpture characteristics, which distinguishes it from other Buddhist art notably the Mathura school (1956).
While the archaeological evidence of the extent and importance of Gandhara only came to light in early-20th c., textual evidence and knowledge about it was available through accounts by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims. They recorded and left behind incredibly detailed descriptions of their travels, for example, the stories of Fa Hsien’s journey in c. 400 AD, the journey of Sung Yun in the 6th c., and the most detailed of all, Hiuen Tsang’s Hsi Yii Chi, Records of the Western Countries, composed in early-7th c. (1960).
Sources:
Marshall, John. Taxila: An Illustrated Account of Archaeological Excavations Carried out at Taxila under the Orders of the Government of India between the years 1917 and 1934. 3 Volumes. Cambridge University Press, 1951.
Rowland, Benjamin. Gandhara Sculpture from Pakistan Museums. Asia Society, 1960.
Gandhara Sculpture in the National Museum of Pakistan, published for the Department of Archaeology by The Department of Advertising, Films and Publications. Printed by Ferozsons, October 1956.
Further Reading:
Asif H., Rico T. ‘The Buddha Remains: Heritage Transactions in Taxila, Pakistan’. In: Rico T. (eds) The Making of Islamic Heritage. Heritage Studies in the Muslim World. Palgrave Macmillan, (2017).
Van Aerde, M. E. J. J. ‘Revisiting Taxila: A new approach to the Greco-Buddhist archaeological record.’ Ancient West & East 2018 (2018).
Vikram Seth at home 28 years ago THE SUITABLE BOY COMES HOME reads the headline “Vikram Seth’s book has universal appeal with its many levels and versatile use of language” The Pioneer Book page of January 27, 1993 Nearly thirty years ago I was a columnist for the Pioneer newspaper in India. I wrote a…
Swaran Singh (Civil Lines, Jullundur City) to Sardar Baldev Singh, 6 March 1951 (Nehru Papers post-47 file 75)
“A very serious situation has arisen in Jullundur district over the language controversy. You must be already aware of the propaganda which was carried on by a certain class of Hindus for persuading the Harijan classes to state at the time of census that Hindi was their mother tongue. Partly as a result of this propaganda and partly on account of the predominance of Hindus amongst the enumerators, a very large section of Harijan population has been recorded as Hindi-speaking population…Illiterate Harijans in the villages who cannot speak or understand even one word of Hindi have been recorded as Hindi-speaking individuals. This has naturally caused resentment in the minds of the Sikhs and they have in a quiet and peaceful manner told the Harijans that the latter have nothing to do with them and a state of peaceful boycott prevails in a fairly large number of villages…The Hindu communalists nakedly in some cases and under the grab of Congress and nationalism in other cases, have fully exploited this situation. They have instigated the Harijans to pick up some quarrel or the other and thus to afford a pretext to the police to make arrests. During the last 3-4 days over 100 persons have already been arrested from villages situated in the different tehsils of the district. Of the arrested persons, about 30-40 so far are the Harijans and the remaining persons are Sikhs, mostly Jats. The action is taken for breach of peace and bails are purposely delayed in order to demoralize the rural people…I had a long talk with [Chief Minister] Dr. Gopi Chand who was on tour at Jullundur yesterday, but as usual he is extremely indecisive. [Some] MLAs are doing their worst to instigate the Harijans and are poisoning the ears of the local officers. Lala Jagat Narain [future founder/editor of Punjab Kesari] has been particularly poisonous in his writings. A very serious situation prevails, and I won’t be surprised if the province is hurled into chaos and if serious effort is not made to straighten out this matter…The self-styled leaders, the press and the local officers should be made to realize that they are playing with fire and the consequence can be extremely disastrous”.
PV Bhaskaran (Deputy Director – Intelligence Bureau) to HVR Iengar (Ministry of Home Affairs), VP Menon (Ministry of States) & Dharma Vira (Pr. PS to PM), 15 March 1951 (Nehru Papers post-47 file 75)
“The bitter animosity which has been witnessed in Punjab and the PEPSU between the Sikhs and the Hindus over the Punjabi-Hindi language controversy in the census has had unpleasant repercussions for the Harijans in many centres of these two states. There have been several complaints of the coercion [arson] and economic boycott [departure] of the Harijans of the PEPSU by the Sikhs, [across villages] in Kapurthala and Patiala district(s). Security proceedings have had to be commenced against Harijans and Sikh Jats…
A deputation of Hindus and Harijans of [some] villages of Kapurthala district, waited on the District Commissioner with complaints of oppression, but were reported to have been told that they had themselves invited this trouble by furnishing Hindi as their language, while living in a Punjabi-speaking area…of Sikh Zamindars. Some of them complained that Akali workers had forcibly obtained their thumb impressions on applications, which sought to have their language changed from Hindi to Punjabi. Some harassment of Harijan women has also been mentioned, [amidst] reported, [en]forced [departures]…Some Harijans, apparently acting under intimidation, actually applied to the DC to alter their language from Hindi to Punjabi in the census returns. In Sangrur district, the Harijans are reported to have been boycotted by the Sikh Zamindars, with the result that they had to march long distance to the town to fetch their food-grains and other daily necessities of life. The districts of Bhatinda and Fatehgarh Saheb were the [other] areas from which such trouble has been reported [with] Harijans of rural areas reported to have moved to town for safety.
In Punjab, Jullundur district has been the worst affected. 98 Jat Sikhs and 45 Harijans have been arrested in this district. A Harijan was murdered by Jat Sikhs…on February 28. Some of the houses of the Harijans who furnished Hindi as their language were reported to have been set on fire…It is reported that the Harijans of these areas have refused to remove the dead bodies of the animals belonging to the Sikhs, and that the latter have boycotted them…Similar complaints have also been made against the Sikhs by the Hindus and the Harijans of some centres of Gurdaspur district…Hoshiarpur and Ferozepur district have also been scenes of similar communal trouble.
The PEPSU Achhut Federation has protested strongly against the “unprovoked high-handedness and injustice” done to Harijans during the census and has demanded their immediate resettlement in their own villages. [There was] a well-attended conference of the depressed classes’ league at Patiala on March 4. A resolution was then accepted, urging the central government to order an independent enquiry on the high-handedness of the Sikhs and the maltreatment of the Harijans of Punjab and the PEPSU in the course of the census operations. [A] speaker warned that the Harijans could cause havoc by staging a week’s hartal of sweepers. [Another] warned the Sikhs not to poison the atmosphere with the language controversy.
The Harijan Sabha of Amritsar convened a meeting on March 6 and warned the Harijans to beware of the tactics of both the Hindus and the Sikhs, and to remain aloof as a separate group. The government was also requested to take the necessary action against the aggressors, failing which, it was warned that a movement of satyagraha would be commenced by refusing to do scavenging and other menial services. The Sweepers Federation of Simla also held a meeting, to deplore the communal tension created by the census operations due to the coercion of the Sikhs. One of the speakers…threatened a strike of sweepers. Resolutions were adopted protesting against the victimisation of the Harijans and demanding the appointment of an enquiry committee consisting of officials drafted from other states.
A refugee camp has been set up at Amritsar by the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSSS, with the assistance of the local Scheduled Castes Federation, to shelter the Harijans who have been migrating from rural areas…There are now only 25 inmates in this camp, but about 245 other Harijans are in shelter in the town with the help of local Hindu hide merchants…This situation was mentioned by NC Chatterjee of the Hindu Mahasabha, at a public meeting at Amritsar on March 11, when he said that the social boycott of the Harijans of Punjab would lead to civil war and anarchy. [A] Punjab Hindu Mahasabha [speaker] advised the Sikhs to stop their oppression of the Harijans in rural areas, warning them that the Sikhs might similarly be victimised in other states of India where they were n a minority.
As is well-known, Master Tara Singh and other leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal have been bitterly critical of the Hindus and their action in recording Hindi as their language in the census…[Their] visit in Patiala, in the last week of February, gave rise to rumours of impending communal disturbances…Several refugees are reported to have left…Unless firm measures are taken both at official and non-official levels, there may be the danger of the situation getting out of hand”.
Further reading: Singh, Atamjit. “The Language Divide in Punjab.” South Asian Graduate Research Journal 4, no. 1 (1997). Available via Apna.org
Habib Jalib was born in 1928 in Hoshiarpur, East Punjab. He migrated to Pakistan after partition and worked as a proof reader in Daily Imroze, Karachi. Read further about him: https://www.letsstartthinking.org/Pakistan/personalities/habib-jalib.php. All his poetry is available via Rekhta. Below is the poem Bagiya Lahoo Luhan-The Garden Is A Bloody Mess. The poem is about the oppression in East Pakistan in 1971 but unfortunately it continues to resonate, even today.
Bagiya Lahoo Luhan Haryali ko aankhen tarsen bagiya lahoo luhan Pyar ke geet sunaoon kis ko shehar hue weeran Bagiya lahoo luhan Dasti hain suraj ki kirnen chand jalaye jaan Pag pag maut ke gehre saye jeewan maut saman Charon ore hawa phirti hai le kar teer Kaman Bagiya lahoo luhan Chhalni hain kaliyon ke seeney khoon mein lat paat Aur nahjaney kab tak hogi ashkon ki barsaat Dunya walon kab beeteinge dukh ke yeh din raat Khoon se holi khel rahe hain dharti ke balwan Bagiya lahoo luhan
The Garden Is A Bloody Mess Our eyes yearn for greenery The garden is a bloody mess For whom should I sing my songs of love The cities are all a wilderness The garden is a bloody mess The rays of the sun, they sting Moonbeams are a killing field, no less Deep shadows of death hover at every step Life wears a skull and bone dress All around the air is on prowl With bows and arrows, in full harness The garden is a bloody mess The battered buds are like a sieve The leaves drenched in blood smears Who knows, for how long We’ll have this rain of tears People how long do we have to bear These days and nights of sorrow and distress This oppressor’s blood bath is a frolicsome play For the mighty of the world, a mark of their prowess The garden is a bloody mess Source: Revolutionary Democracy
“In 1949, while in Lahore, Sahir Ludhianvi wrote a revolutionary poem, ‘Avaaz-e-Adam’ (The Voice of Man), in which ‘hum bhi dekhenge’ remains a memorable phrase. It ended on the optimistic – and one could say provocative – assertion that the red flag of communism would fly high. Pakistan had already decided to become a frontline state in Western attempts to contain Soviet Communism. It was trying desperately to convince the US that it could be a strong ally in its anti-Communism policy. Pakistan also wanted to portray itself as a trusted ally for the West, not just in South Asia but also in the Middle East. But after the poem was published, Sahir was threatened by intelligence agencies and he migrated to India. In effect, ‘hum bhi dekhenge’ came to symbolise Sahir’s farewell to Pakistan, which he felt would be a puppet of the West, and his search for sanctuary in Nehru’s India.” Source: The Wire.
aavaaz-e-aadam Dabegi kab talak aavaaz-e-Aadam hum bhi dekhenge rukenge kab talak jazbaat-e-barham hum bhi dekhenge chalo yoonhi sahi ye jaur-e-paiham hum bhi dekhenge dar-e-zindaan se dekhen ya urooj-e-daar se dekhen tumhen rusva sar-e-bazaar-e-aalam hum bhi dekhenge zara dam lo maal-e-shaukat-e-jam hum bhi dekhenge ye zoam-e-quvvat-e-faulaad-o-aahan dekh lo tum bhi ba-faiz-e-jazba-e-imaan-e-mohkam hum bhi dekhenge jabeen-e-kaj-kulaahi ḳhaak par ḳham hum bhi dekhenge mukaafaat-e-amal tareeḳh-e-insaan ki rivaayat hai karoge kab talak naavak faraaham hum bhi dekhenge kahaan tak hai tumhaare zulm mein dam hum bhi dekhenge ye hangaam-e-vidaa-e-shab hai ai zulmat ke farzando sahar ke dosh par gulnaar parcham hum bhi dekhenge tumhen bhi dekhna hoga ye aalam hum bhi dekhenge
The Voice of Man We too shall see till when one can suppress the voice of Adam We too shall see till when can be stopped the angry emotion(s) We too shall see, sure, just like this, the constant oppression. Whether we view from the door of the dungeon or the elevation of the scaffold We too shall see you dishonoured in the marketplace of the world Just take a moment’s breath, we too shall see the consequences of the grandeur of Jamshed. You too behold this vanity of power We too shall see this by the kindness of the firm belief’s fervour We too shall see a bend upon the dusty face that wears the jaunty headgear. Retribution is a tradition of human history Till when will you amass the arrows, we too shall see We too shall see how far will you persist with your tyranny. O sons of darkness this is the time for departure We too shall see the morning shoulder the flag of red colour We too shall see, you too shall have to see this clamour. Source: ‘We Too Shall See, You Too Will Have to See This Clamour’: A Tribute To Sahir Ludhianvi by Raza Naeem, NayaDaur
Read/listen to Sahir on Rekhta
Sahir Ludhianvi – Making of Dreamer – Freudian Poet of the Indian Cinema by Anil Pundlik Gokhale. CounterCurrents.org
Originally published 5 Sept 2012 but relevant today.
If you want to read further also see this article in The Friday Times by Muhammad Asif Nawaz, The old world charms of Mian Salli, originally published 25 July 2014.
BAGICHA 