Aug
14
by Imran H. Khan
Water was not what I had in mind this early in my read of Quran, but with so much going on related to it, I decided to discuss it earlier than later. Water as we know it is the source of life. When NASA sends its probes to different heavenly bodies, one of the key pieces of information is the presence of water. Indeed one of the key recent discoveries recently have been the presence of water on the poles of the Moon and the possibility of it on Mars. So it is not surprising to find multiple references to water in different contexts in Quran.
“We have made every living thing out of water.” (Sura 21 The Prophets, ayat 30).
Views: 103Share
Aug
13
War or Peace on the Indus
Filed Under India, Pakistan, Peace | 5 Comments
by John Briscoe
Anyone foolish enough to write on war or peace in the Indus needs to first banish a set of immediate suspicions. I am neither Indian nor Pakistani. I am a South African who has worked on water issues in the subcontinent for 35 years and who has lived in Bangladesh (in the 1970s) and Delhi (in the 2000s). In 2006 I published, with fine Indian colleagues, an Oxford University Press book titled India’s Water Economy: Facing a Turbulent Future and, with fine Pakistani colleagues, one titled Pakistan’s Water Economy: Running Dry.
Aug
9
Salman Ahmad’s Jihad
Filed Under India, Pakistan, Peace, US Policy, United States, World, education, religion | 1 Comment
by Imran H. Khan
Salman Ahmed is a well known musician out of Pakistan and South Asia. He is the founder of one of the most famous rock bands out of that region by the name of Junoon. He has recently written a book by the name of “Rock and Roll Jihad“. When I first heard about the book and the title it struck me as something odd. Rock and Roll and Jihad had until now not been said in the same sentence. Jihad in Arabic language means to strive. In the Islamic religious sense it means “striving in the cause of God”. Jihad has been classified either as al-jihād al-akbar (the greater jihad), the struggle against one’s soul (nafs), or al-jihād al-asghar (the lesser jihad), the external, physical effort, often implying fighting. Having had seen Salman grow from a cute little child to what he is now, it does not take much to understand how he has used his musical skills to achieve social activism in fighting injustices, bigotry, national animosities, disease, religious misunderstandings, religious radicalism and the list goes on.
Aug
7
Short Family History of Bassi Pathanan
Filed Under Afghanistan, Family, India | 1 Comment
by Sardar Mohammad Fazley Haque Khan
My family came to India with Malik Hayder Ghazi, who laid the foundation of Bassi, on the outskirts of Sirhind City during the reign of Sher Shah Suri. 12 Tumans (Zais) came here, but many have become extinct and a few are left now. Their chief source was and is either agriculture or service. Some of them used to serve in Hyderabad Deccan even in pre mutiny days.The Afghans used to enjoy semi-independence till the cessation of Bassi to Patiala State and chose their own rulers. When the Moghul rule was nearing its end, the Afghans of Bassi were unable to defend themselves and they began to search for a Ruler who could defend them from the Sikh Invasion. Nawab Shamshair Khan Killewalla (Bassi), backed with the majority of Bassi Afghans, brought an Ahluwalia Family related to the Maharaja of Kapurthala, to rule in Bassi, while two families of Omarzai Afghans sided with Patiala. They on their own accord brought a Patiala Tahsildar to Bassi, against the wishes of the rest of Afghan community. The result was that the then reigning power began to torture them, their houses were looted and burnt, and men imprisoned (our Omar Zai ancestors). More than once Patiala Forces were sent to help against Kapurthala Forces. These two families were of Nijabat Khan (Muqueem Bhai’s ancestors in Katehra Mohalla across town from ours in Mohalla Nai Sarai and Ghous Khan (our ancestors)of Nai Sarai. Read more
Aug
1
Journey to Ashraf Manzil: A trip to our ancestral home of Patiala and Bassi Pathanan
Filed Under Family, India | 3 Comments
by Shehryar Ahmad
In 2004, my brother Salman and I visited the birthplace of my mother Shahine Habibullah Khan Ahmad in Bassi-Pathanan, near Sirhind in the erstwhile state of Patiala, now Punjab, India. The decrepit ruins of Ashraf Manzil, named after my great-great-grandfather (“per-nana”) Ashraf Khan, had such a powerful effect on me that I will never forget the moment of coming across this place.
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Jul
28
by A.M. (Retd.) Inam H. Khan
“ it is not the inch of land, what is important is your history, religion, social and cultural traditions, etc.” –Allama Iqbal.
Omarzais of MNS were a middle class inward looking community having agriculture and services as the main source of income, only an odd person indulged in business or a profession. Jagirs/land were mostly awarded/allotted as Reya e Khas (special subjects) by ruler of Patiala after Omarzais helped Bassi to be a part of his State, M Ghous Khan, his son Bhikan Khan (father of Namdar Khan) and Nijabat Khan (ancestor of General Fazle Muqueem Khan) of Kathera across the town were the main supporters for Patiala against Rani Jindan of Kapurthala. Revenue tax was also exempted for Reya e Khas.
The picture above was taken in 1935 outside a palatial house built by Choudhry M Ashraf Khan (Minister, Patiala State) for his father Choudhry M Namdar Khan, (Chairman Regency Council Patiala State in late 19th Century). Soon thereafter M Ashraf Khan expired at age of 96 years.
Views: 256ShareJul
3
Core Competence: J-79, Kelly Johnson and PAF
Filed Under India, PAF, Peace, Technology, United States | 8 Comments
by Imran H. Khan
Core technologies and capabilities that drive the economies take a long time, large amounts of money and even bigger patience to bear fruit. But once they mature, the rewards are well worth the effort. Malcolm Gladwell in his book “Outliers” makes a similar case for outstanding achievers, that it is more of their earlier start than their brains that make them excel. It is sustained practice of ones art or profession that over the period of time blossoms into an unsurpassed ability. Developing countries typically try to shy away from making investments in longer gestation technologies and therefore commit themselves to the path of perpetually playing catchup with developed countries. This is a story of a jet engine that propelled Air Forces possessing it into an unrivaled position. Read more
Views: 1192ShareApr
17
JadooTV: Connecting Diasporas with Home Lands
Filed Under Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Technology, United States | 12 Comments
by Imran H. Khan
Seldom does something so small make such a major social splash as the JadooTV box. The reason is that the box is just the tip of an ice berg. The multimedia content aggregation, Jadoo Portal, globally distributed media servers and a high bandwidth global infrastructure constitute the whole iceberg. JadooTV is a palm size box that connects the internet to your TV set and allows you to browse and watch audio, video and multi-media content in your living room or wherever your TV is located. It could even be in a car. The concept of connecting TV is not new and there are other companies providing devices that do the same; like VuNow from VerismoNetworks and IPTV2000 from Netgear. Read more
Apr
6
Human Anatomy as Visual Art
Filed Under Art, India, Pakistan, United States | 3 Comments
by Taimur H. Khan
Three years ago from this week, I completed my art thesis at Bates College (Lewiston, ME, USA). I believe I have changed a lot as a person between then and now – with respect to my priorities, what I value in life, and in where my interests lie (medically, artistically,etc.) – but some of my fundamental interests in visual arts remain the same. Read more
Mar
7
Pakistanis are STILL Dying: For What? For Whom? Why?
Filed Under Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Peace, US Policy, United States | 8 Comments
by Imran H. Khan
Little did I know when I first posted this that there would be a number of drone strikes and suicide explosions immediately after wards. I know of no nation in the world that willfully allows another nation to attack and kill its citizens, specially when it has the resources to stop it. The current civil and military leadership of Pakistan needs to be held accountable for allowing Pakistani citizens to be killed, on a nearly daily basis, by its people. I had recorded a talk show on US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan in April 2009. It discussed the anticipated change in the US policy brought about by the new Obama administration. Read more