History of Persian Language
By: Fariborz Rahnamoon ORIGIN: Parsi or Persian was the language of the Parsa people who ruled Iran between 550 – 330 BCE. It belongs to what scholars call the Indo-Iranian group of languages. It became the language of the Persian Empire and was widely spoken in the ancient days ranging from the borders of India [...]
Pakistani Society & Culture
Islam . Islam is practised by the majority of Pakistanis and governs their personal, political, economic and legal lives. . Among certain obligations for Muslims are to pray five times a day – at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. . Friday is the Muslim holy day. Everything is closed. . During the holy month of Ramadan all Muslims [...]
The Early History of Pashto
According to G.P.Tate, the author of “The kingdom of Afghanistan” – the first to use Pashto for literary purposes was the famous Pir Roshan in the 7th century. His arch rival Akhund Derweza (1533-1638) was also compelled to use Pashto to arouse his followers against the Roshania movement. Apparently, both the giants exploited religious and [...]
Religion in Pakistan
Religious population in Pakistan Muslims: 175,376,000 Sunni Muslims: 80% Shia Muslims: 20% Ahmadi : 2,000,000 Hindus: 3,200,000 Christians: 2,800,000 Bahá’í Faith: 30,000 – 78,000 Sikhs: 20,000 Zoroastrian/Parsis: 20,000 Buddhism: 70,000 Census data indicates that over 98% of the population are Muslims. The Muslims are divided into different sects which are called schools of jurisprudence i.e. [...]
Festivals in Pakistan
Pakistan’s calendar features a great many festivals, both purely cultural and also religious. Others are in memory of National Heroes or commemorate political events in the nation’s recent history. Muslim festivals are celebrated according to Muslim (Lunar) Calendar and may occur some 10 days earlier each successive Christian Year. There are several folk and festivals [...]
Pashtun Customs Related to Birth
The expected advent of the child is kept secret as far as possible. The expectant mother is kept secluded and only an old woman proficient in midwifery or one or two female relatives are allowed to attend to her. The birth of a female child generally passes un-noticed but the birth of a male child [...]
Karachi’s Heritage
The preservation of lists of buildings identified as significant is a prerequisite to the conservation of historic urban architecture. During the 1960s, Karachi Development Authority(KDA), under the guidance of its Chief Town Planner, Mr. Ahmed Ali, prepared a list of such buildings; however, the KDA list was limited (42 structures) and confined itself to prominent [...]
Origin of Languages
It is an intriguing question, to which we may never have a complete answer: How did we get from animal vocalization (barks, howls, calls…) to human language? Animals often make use of signs, which point to what they represent, but they don’t use symbols, which are arbitrary and conventional. Examples of signs include sniffles as [...]
Ethnic Groups in Pakistan
About 98% of languages spoken in Pakistan are Indo-Iranian (sub-branches: 75% Indo-Aryan and 20% pure Iranian), a branch of Indo-European family of languages. Most languages of Pakistan are written in the Perso-Arabic script, with significant vocabulary derived from Arabic and Persian. Punjabi (Shahmukhi), Seraiki, Sindhi, Pashto, Urdu, Balochi, Kashmiri (Koshur), etc. are the general languages [...]
Festivals in Pakistan
Pakistan’s calendar features a great many festivals, both purely cultrual and also religious. Others are in memory of National Heroes or commemorate political events in the nation’s recent history. Muslim festivals are celebrated according to Muslim (Lunar) Calendar and may occur some 10 days earlier each successive Christian Year. There are several folk and festivals [...]
