Sunday, October 23, 2011
Tracing the lost world
It studies Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of the country and its neighbourhood, writes BB Kumar
Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics
Author: Nirmala Sharma (ed)
Publisher: Aditya Prakashan
Price:Rs 1800
The book, Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics, edited by Prof Nirmala Sharma, is an important addition to the study of the Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of India and its neighbourhood. The book contains 26 papers, including five on Bamiyan. It also includes a long paper on Hariti, “the mother of demons”, by N Peri.
Hsuan Tsang, who reached Bamiyan in 632 AD after an epic 10,000 mile trek along the Silk Road, gave the first historical account of the tallest Buddha: “To the north-east of the royal city there is a mountain, on the declivity of which is placed a stone figure of the Buddha, erect in length 140 or 150 feet. Its golden hues sparkle in every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes by their brightness.”
Needless to say, the dazzle of colossal Buddhas was never dim throughout the centuries, and it will continue to be so even after their destruction. The Buddhas of Bamiyan influenced Buddhist sculpture elsewhere. J Hackin outlines the same in his paper — ‘The colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan and their influence on Buddhist sculpture’. Prof Ronald M Bernier’s paper — ‘Bamiyan and the international Gandhara tradition’ — deals with the importance of Bamiyan due to its trade route linkages. Bamiyan — like Ajanta in India and Dunhuang in China — “was a major pilgrimage site on a caravan route that attracted a constant stream of visitors”. Also, a famous monastery-cum-Buddhist centre of learning was located at Fondukistan, about 128 km west of Bamiyan.
From Bamiyan, the book goes on to study the Hariti phenomenon. Hariti, due to Lord Buddha’s grace, was transformed from demoness eating children’s flesh to a benevolent matron Goddess. Tracking the vast Indian and Chinese literature, Peri traces her evolution from an ogress to Yaksheshwari (queen of yakshas). But the work of Peri, as the editor rightly points out, “has not taken into account her role as giver of life, destroyer of pain throughout the universe, devoted to the happiness of the humankind”.
This study is important in a way that it hints towards superimposing legends and super-adding beliefs crossing the barriers of language, time-depth and geography. The linkages of the legends — from ritual offerings to the living beings and the spirits/protective divinities to the tantric cults — point towards the need of deeper studies. Peri writes: “It seems that to Buddhism and its personages were simply superadded the beliefs, the practices of other origin and they could not be uprooted. In fact, a number of technical terms and observances betray the persistent influence of ancient Hindu ideas. And, the Mahamayuri Sutra eulogises the maharshis who composed the Vedas and made use of mantras and magic formulae.”
The book then moves on to iconics, dealing with the Buddhist iconography of Indonesia. The study of the iconics confined to the geographical region of India includes iconography of the Hindu deities — Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna, etc. The book also talks about dance and music in Jaina paintings, along with the works of Nicholas Roerich and his son, Svetoslav.
The reviewer is the author of the book, India and Central Asia
The Pioneer
Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics
Author: Nirmala Sharma (ed)
Publisher: Aditya Prakashan
Price:Rs 1800
The book, Bamiyan, Hariti and Kindred Iconics, edited by Prof Nirmala Sharma, is an important addition to the study of the Hindu-Buddhist sculptural and other art traditions of India and its neighbourhood. The book contains 26 papers, including five on Bamiyan. It also includes a long paper on Hariti, “the mother of demons”, by N Peri.
Hsuan Tsang, who reached Bamiyan in 632 AD after an epic 10,000 mile trek along the Silk Road, gave the first historical account of the tallest Buddha: “To the north-east of the royal city there is a mountain, on the declivity of which is placed a stone figure of the Buddha, erect in length 140 or 150 feet. Its golden hues sparkle in every side and its precious ornaments dazzle the eyes by their brightness.”
Needless to say, the dazzle of colossal Buddhas was never dim throughout the centuries, and it will continue to be so even after their destruction. The Buddhas of Bamiyan influenced Buddhist sculpture elsewhere. J Hackin outlines the same in his paper — ‘The colossal Buddhas at Bamiyan and their influence on Buddhist sculpture’. Prof Ronald M Bernier’s paper — ‘Bamiyan and the international Gandhara tradition’ — deals with the importance of Bamiyan due to its trade route linkages. Bamiyan — like Ajanta in India and Dunhuang in China — “was a major pilgrimage site on a caravan route that attracted a constant stream of visitors”. Also, a famous monastery-cum-Buddhist centre of learning was located at Fondukistan, about 128 km west of Bamiyan.
From Bamiyan, the book goes on to study the Hariti phenomenon. Hariti, due to Lord Buddha’s grace, was transformed from demoness eating children’s flesh to a benevolent matron Goddess. Tracking the vast Indian and Chinese literature, Peri traces her evolution from an ogress to Yaksheshwari (queen of yakshas). But the work of Peri, as the editor rightly points out, “has not taken into account her role as giver of life, destroyer of pain throughout the universe, devoted to the happiness of the humankind”.
This study is important in a way that it hints towards superimposing legends and super-adding beliefs crossing the barriers of language, time-depth and geography. The linkages of the legends — from ritual offerings to the living beings and the spirits/protective divinities to the tantric cults — point towards the need of deeper studies. Peri writes: “It seems that to Buddhism and its personages were simply superadded the beliefs, the practices of other origin and they could not be uprooted. In fact, a number of technical terms and observances betray the persistent influence of ancient Hindu ideas. And, the Mahamayuri Sutra eulogises the maharshis who composed the Vedas and made use of mantras and magic formulae.”
The book then moves on to iconics, dealing with the Buddhist iconography of Indonesia. The study of the iconics confined to the geographical region of India includes iconography of the Hindu deities — Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya, Krishna, etc. The book also talks about dance and music in Jaina paintings, along with the works of Nicholas Roerich and his son, Svetoslav.
The reviewer is the author of the book, India and Central Asia
The Pioneer
Murder, by any other name
By Saroop Ijaz
Published: October 22, 2011
The writer is a lawyer and partner at Ijaz and Ijaz Co in Lahore saroop.ijaz@tribune.com.pk
It seems to be a season of protests and vigils in Pakistan. In recent days, we have seen people take to streets for assorted reasons ranging from electricity, loadshedding, Mumtaz Qadri, presumably Steve Jobs and now potentially Muammar Qaddafi. Amidst the news of the active population exerting their democratic right, there was one particular news item in this newspaper that perhaps was the most harrowing. It was a brief report of a vigil held last week in Lahore, in memory of the members of the Hazara community brutally being murdered in Quetta and the rest of Balochistan. Twenty-five people showed up, out of which seven were of Hazara origin. The display of utter lack of moral seriousness and even of the basic human emotion of empathy is shameful.
When Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred, Lahore remained unmoved. In the case of the Hazaras, I doubt that a few outside the circle of the educated intellectuals (both real and pseudo) have any meaningful realisation of the extent of the barbarism being perpetrated upon the Hazaras. Even within those who at least acknowledge the existence of the violence, there is ambivalence in unequivocally condemning the violence. The principal debate it seems is on semantics and nomenclature, e.g. if the killing spree should be termed as ‘sectarian conflict’, ‘ethnic strife’ or the more graphic ‘genocide’, as if language and not murder is the primary issue here. The careful and meticulous usage of language is admittedly very significant in situations like this. Sectarian conflict is a hopelessly inexact term in the particular context. ‘Conflict’ summons to mind the existence of at least two opposing factions fighting it out, which is simply not true here. It is similar to using hollow terms currently en vogue such as extremists and fascists, both liberal and religious. The impetuous to using such gibberish is provided by the desire to remain ‘objective’ and not come out as an ideologue. I am afraid the luxury of maintaining a pretence of neutrality is no longer available to us. When one side is bullying, intimidating and murdering the other, it is not a conflict. It is an assault, and in cases of ethnic groups, the only appropriate terminology is either ‘cleansing’ or ‘genocide’. In the case of the Hazaras, there is clearly and unambiguously one side that is doing all the killing and the state establishment is either unbelievably incompetent or more likely complicit.
Christopher Hitchens, writing about the Armenia genocide, quotes the US ambassador in Constantinople in 1915, Henry Morgenthau. The term ‘genocide’ had not been coined yet in 1915, but Ambassador Morgenthau wrote to his government, describing the systematic slaughter of the Armenians as a ‘race murder’. At some level, ‘race murder’ is a more vivid and intense term than the now legally neutralised and objectified ‘genocide’. The precise connotation of what constitutes ‘genocide’ is important at a policy level, but that still does not explain why 25 people would show up at a vigil held at the Liberty Roundabout in Lahore. The rest are certainly not waiting for it to become genocide in the strictly legal sense before they decide to protest, at least I dearly hope not.
The intellectual elite presumably maintain their ‘objectivity’ because they do not have a dog in this hunt. Speaking for the Hazaras is not the cause currently deemed fashionable enough. The primary reason for that seems to be that they are too far away to make us really agitated as opposed to loadshedding, which is here and now. Let me assure you that if we are worried about descending into the prehistoric Dark Ages, it is not the electricity that we need to really fret about, it is the cowardly, criminal silence on the ‘race murder’ of the Hazaras. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the October 2005 earthquake passed. I know this seems outrageously callous and cruel, but the collapsing of the Margalla Tower in Islamabad probably helped millions in Kashmir and the north (not for long though). Margalla Tower and the infinitely tragic loss of innocent lives there immediately brought the stinging realisation that this not a calamity on other people, it is a disaster for us. Hazara and Balochistan unfortunately do not have that quality, yet. I quiver to think of a similar scenario happening in Islamabad and Lahore which would wake us up from our abysmal, apathetic slumber.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2011.
Published: October 22, 2011
It seems to be a season of protests and vigils in Pakistan. In recent days, we have seen people take to streets for assorted reasons ranging from electricity, loadshedding, Mumtaz Qadri, presumably Steve Jobs and now potentially Muammar Qaddafi. Amidst the news of the active population exerting their democratic right, there was one particular news item in this newspaper that perhaps was the most harrowing. It was a brief report of a vigil held last week in Lahore, in memory of the members of the Hazara community brutally being murdered in Quetta and the rest of Balochistan. Twenty-five people showed up, out of which seven were of Hazara origin. The display of utter lack of moral seriousness and even of the basic human emotion of empathy is shameful.
When Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was martyred, Lahore remained unmoved. In the case of the Hazaras, I doubt that a few outside the circle of the educated intellectuals (both real and pseudo) have any meaningful realisation of the extent of the barbarism being perpetrated upon the Hazaras. Even within those who at least acknowledge the existence of the violence, there is ambivalence in unequivocally condemning the violence. The principal debate it seems is on semantics and nomenclature, e.g. if the killing spree should be termed as ‘sectarian conflict’, ‘ethnic strife’ or the more graphic ‘genocide’, as if language and not murder is the primary issue here. The careful and meticulous usage of language is admittedly very significant in situations like this. Sectarian conflict is a hopelessly inexact term in the particular context. ‘Conflict’ summons to mind the existence of at least two opposing factions fighting it out, which is simply not true here. It is similar to using hollow terms currently en vogue such as extremists and fascists, both liberal and religious. The impetuous to using such gibberish is provided by the desire to remain ‘objective’ and not come out as an ideologue. I am afraid the luxury of maintaining a pretence of neutrality is no longer available to us. When one side is bullying, intimidating and murdering the other, it is not a conflict. It is an assault, and in cases of ethnic groups, the only appropriate terminology is either ‘cleansing’ or ‘genocide’. In the case of the Hazaras, there is clearly and unambiguously one side that is doing all the killing and the state establishment is either unbelievably incompetent or more likely complicit.
Christopher Hitchens, writing about the Armenia genocide, quotes the US ambassador in Constantinople in 1915, Henry Morgenthau. The term ‘genocide’ had not been coined yet in 1915, but Ambassador Morgenthau wrote to his government, describing the systematic slaughter of the Armenians as a ‘race murder’. At some level, ‘race murder’ is a more vivid and intense term than the now legally neutralised and objectified ‘genocide’. The precise connotation of what constitutes ‘genocide’ is important at a policy level, but that still does not explain why 25 people would show up at a vigil held at the Liberty Roundabout in Lahore. The rest are certainly not waiting for it to become genocide in the strictly legal sense before they decide to protest, at least I dearly hope not.
The intellectual elite presumably maintain their ‘objectivity’ because they do not have a dog in this hunt. Speaking for the Hazaras is not the cause currently deemed fashionable enough. The primary reason for that seems to be that they are too far away to make us really agitated as opposed to loadshedding, which is here and now. Let me assure you that if we are worried about descending into the prehistoric Dark Ages, it is not the electricity that we need to really fret about, it is the cowardly, criminal silence on the ‘race murder’ of the Hazaras. Earlier this month, the anniversary of the October 2005 earthquake passed. I know this seems outrageously callous and cruel, but the collapsing of the Margalla Tower in Islamabad probably helped millions in Kashmir and the north (not for long though). Margalla Tower and the infinitely tragic loss of innocent lives there immediately brought the stinging realisation that this not a calamity on other people, it is a disaster for us. Hazara and Balochistan unfortunately do not have that quality, yet. I quiver to think of a similar scenario happening in Islamabad and Lahore which would wake us up from our abysmal, apathetic slumber.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 23rd, 2011.
Taliban regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit province
Updated: 2011-10-22 18:11
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban and other militant outfits are regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit Southwestern Balochistan province, two intelligence agencies have said in their reports, local media said Saturday.
The reports said militant outfits regrouped after the replacement of regular police with the community-based force known as "Levis," who are recruited from the locals and are not well- trained and well-equipped to deal with organized groups.
The two agencies in their separate reports requested the prime minister and the concerned government departments to intervene and persuade the provincial government not to pursue political objectives, Dawn newspaper reported.
A Taliban-linked banned Sunni groups carried out several sectarian-motivated attacks on Shiite Muslims in Balochistan in recent weeks, killing dozens of them. Afghan officials also claim that senior members of Taliban are hiding in Balochistan and that the plot to kill peace envoy Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani was also prepared in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Pakistan army arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader and his two associates on the outskirts of Quetta last month.
The crux of the reports was that the rolling back of police force in most areas had encouraged the militant outfits, including the Taliban, to re-organize themselves, taking advantage of loose policing by the Levies which did not have the required training and the will to address such challenges, the report said.
The Prime Minister Secretariat was against interfering in provincial matters because it would be against the constitutional provisions which granted autonomy to provinces, the daily reported.
The sources said more than half of the allocated funds had already been used for the construction of police stations, many of them yet to be completed. The completed structures had since been handed over to the Levies and other provincial government departments.
The report said that ground realities had changed owing to higher population and increased activities of subversive elements supported by certain foreign hands, making it practically impossible for "Levies" who had been raised and managed in most of the cases by local tribal elders to investigate such situations without proper knowledge of relevant laws to register cases and prosecute criminals.
The newspaper reported that the provincial police chief had also reported to the federal government about a growing unease among police officers who were expecting promotions and fresh postings in newly-created police stations.
China Daily
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Taliban and other militant outfits are regrouping in Pakistan's violence-hit Southwestern Balochistan province, two intelligence agencies have said in their reports, local media said Saturday.
The reports said militant outfits regrouped after the replacement of regular police with the community-based force known as "Levis," who are recruited from the locals and are not well- trained and well-equipped to deal with organized groups.
The two agencies in their separate reports requested the prime minister and the concerned government departments to intervene and persuade the provincial government not to pursue political objectives, Dawn newspaper reported.
A Taliban-linked banned Sunni groups carried out several sectarian-motivated attacks on Shiite Muslims in Balochistan in recent weeks, killing dozens of them. Afghan officials also claim that senior members of Taliban are hiding in Balochistan and that the plot to kill peace envoy Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani was also prepared in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Pakistan army arrested a senior al-Qaeda leader and his two associates on the outskirts of Quetta last month.
The crux of the reports was that the rolling back of police force in most areas had encouraged the militant outfits, including the Taliban, to re-organize themselves, taking advantage of loose policing by the Levies which did not have the required training and the will to address such challenges, the report said.
The Prime Minister Secretariat was against interfering in provincial matters because it would be against the constitutional provisions which granted autonomy to provinces, the daily reported.
The sources said more than half of the allocated funds had already been used for the construction of police stations, many of them yet to be completed. The completed structures had since been handed over to the Levies and other provincial government departments.
The report said that ground realities had changed owing to higher population and increased activities of subversive elements supported by certain foreign hands, making it practically impossible for "Levies" who had been raised and managed in most of the cases by local tribal elders to investigate such situations without proper knowledge of relevant laws to register cases and prosecute criminals.
The newspaper reported that the provincial police chief had also reported to the federal government about a growing unease among police officers who were expecting promotions and fresh postings in newly-created police stations.
China Daily
Saturday, October 22, 2011
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