Pakistani Emperor's Grave In Myanmar
PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy
PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy
Pakistani government and media focused on one aspect of President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Myanmar this week: the meeting with opposition leader Suu Kyi. It was a chance for the president to put his son and daughter in the limelight and offer himself as a democratic leader at par with Suu Kyi.
This meeting was largely a public relations stunt by the government. Pakistan has no reason to meddle in the internal affairs of Myanmar. There is a suspicion that Mr. Zardari's move to meet Suu Kyi was an attempt at reasserting the pro-American credentials of his government.
While President Zardari's effort to strengthen our ties to Myanmar is commendable, the Suu Kyi part of his visit was largely of no concern to Pakistanis.
A far more important event during his stay in Myanmar was the President's visit to the mausoleum of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor of the Mughal Dynasty. The dynasty fell at the hands of British army in 1857, signaling the downfall of Muslim rulers of South Asia, the ancestors of Pakistan. The capital of this dynasty was old Muslim Delhi, expanded today into New Delhi, the capital of India.
The downfall of Muslim empire set off a chain of events that led to the Pakistan Independence Movement and culminated 90 years later with the emergence of Pakistan.
IMPERIAL HISTORY
President Zardari donated $50,000 for the upkeep of the mausoleum. The emperor died here, exiled by the British occupation.
This gesture by the Pakistani president signifies an important fact of Pakistani history. And this is a good opportunity to remind our readers of this fact because it explains the genesis of Pakistani nationalism and the history of Pakistani nation.
Understanding this history is key to understanding modern Pakistan.
Modern Pakistan was born out of Mughal Empire in the same way that modern Turkey resulted from Ottoman empire and today's Iran was a result of Safavid empire.
Thus, Pakistan was not a chance happening, a result of British occupation. Instead, Pakistan is a culmination of ten centuries of Muslim empire in Central and South Asia.
And Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of Pakistan Independence Movement, was the legendary leader who hastened the emergence of Pakistan, a country that was bound to emerge eventually.
JINNAH HASTENED PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a nation that formed and gelled through ten centuries of imperial rule, culture and religion. It was destined to emerge. The Quaid made it happen in 1947.
Pakistan was destined to emerge thanks to our history of a thousand years in this region. It was a matter of time. A destiny's hand made it happen in 1947. That hand is Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Pakistan Independence Movement and the man who helped create modern Pakistan.
Pakistan's ancestors, the Muslim dynasties of Central and South Asia, ruled the region for centuries. This rule came to an abrupt end in 1857 at the hands of British invaders. But it only took us 90 years to regain our power to rule our destiny again; 90 years from 1857 to 1947, gaining independence from imperial Britain.
Modern Pakistan could not claim all the former glory of its ancestors. Most of the dominion ruled by our ancestors, the last of them the Mughal Dynasty, went to Indians who were in the majority in those dominions. That is how India gained independence from Britain one day after Pakistan. India came into existence for the first time in ten centuries as a nation ruled by its indigenous majority, freeing itself from both Muslim and British rule.
In Pakistan, 14 August 1947 marks the day when Pakistanis successfully ended British occupation and formalized their centuries-long history of successive empires in Central-South Asia. This history is credited at its peak with producing brilliant art and culture in three languages: Persian, Turkish and Arabic, and producing wonders such as the Taj Mahal, located in today's India, and other countless magnificent historic buildings that stand today in Pakistan.
Pakistan is a long story that culminated in 1947 at the hands of a man chosen to do destiny's work.
Pakistani president's visit to the mausoleum of the exiled last Moghul emperor in Myanmar was a tribute to this long Pakistani history.
PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy
PakNationalists Blog | A Bold Take On Pakistani Policy
Pakistani government and media focused on one aspect of President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Myanmar this week: the meeting with opposition leader Suu Kyi. It was a chance for the president to put his son and daughter in the limelight and offer himself as a democratic leader at par with Suu Kyi.
This meeting was largely a public relations stunt by the government. Pakistan has no reason to meddle in the internal affairs of Myanmar. There is a suspicion that Mr. Zardari's move to meet Suu Kyi was an attempt at reasserting the pro-American credentials of his government.
While President Zardari's effort to strengthen our ties to Myanmar is commendable, the Suu Kyi part of his visit was largely of no concern to Pakistanis.
A far more important event during his stay in Myanmar was the President's visit to the mausoleum of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor of the Mughal Dynasty. The dynasty fell at the hands of British army in 1857, signaling the downfall of Muslim rulers of South Asia, the ancestors of Pakistan. The capital of this dynasty was old Muslim Delhi, expanded today into New Delhi, the capital of India.
The downfall of Muslim empire set off a chain of events that led to the Pakistan Independence Movement and culminated 90 years later with the emergence of Pakistan.
IMPERIAL HISTORY
President Zardari donated $50,000 for the upkeep of the mausoleum. The emperor died here, exiled by the British occupation.
This gesture by the Pakistani president signifies an important fact of Pakistani history. And this is a good opportunity to remind our readers of this fact because it explains the genesis of Pakistani nationalism and the history of Pakistani nation.
Understanding this history is key to understanding modern Pakistan.
Modern Pakistan was born out of Mughal Empire in the same way that modern Turkey resulted from Ottoman empire and today's Iran was a result of Safavid empire.
Thus, Pakistan was not a chance happening, a result of British occupation. Instead, Pakistan is a culmination of ten centuries of Muslim empire in Central and South Asia.
And Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of Pakistan Independence Movement, was the legendary leader who hastened the emergence of Pakistan, a country that was bound to emerge eventually.
JINNAH HASTENED PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a nation that formed and gelled through ten centuries of imperial rule, culture and religion. It was destined to emerge. The Quaid made it happen in 1947.
Pakistan was destined to emerge thanks to our history of a thousand years in this region. It was a matter of time. A destiny's hand made it happen in 1947. That hand is Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the Pakistan Independence Movement and the man who helped create modern Pakistan.
Pakistan's ancestors, the Muslim dynasties of Central and South Asia, ruled the region for centuries. This rule came to an abrupt end in 1857 at the hands of British invaders. But it only took us 90 years to regain our power to rule our destiny again; 90 years from 1857 to 1947, gaining independence from imperial Britain.
Modern Pakistan could not claim all the former glory of its ancestors. Most of the dominion ruled by our ancestors, the last of them the Mughal Dynasty, went to Indians who were in the majority in those dominions. That is how India gained independence from Britain one day after Pakistan. India came into existence for the first time in ten centuries as a nation ruled by its indigenous majority, freeing itself from both Muslim and British rule.
In Pakistan, 14 August 1947 marks the day when Pakistanis successfully ended British occupation and formalized their centuries-long history of successive empires in Central-South Asia. This history is credited at its peak with producing brilliant art and culture in three languages: Persian, Turkish and Arabic, and producing wonders such as the Taj Mahal, located in today's India, and other countless magnificent historic buildings that stand today in Pakistan.
Pakistan is a long story that culminated in 1947 at the hands of a man chosen to do destiny's work.
Pakistani president's visit to the mausoleum of the exiled last Moghul emperor in Myanmar was a tribute to this long Pakistani history.
