The Sikh struggle for identity on November 27, 2018The word Sikh is derived from the Sanskrit Shishya or the Poli Sikha meaning disciple. The Sikhs are the disciples of their ten gurus and worship a book, the Granth Sahib. Sikhism founded by Nanak Dev who drew inspiration from Sufis and Bhagats. In 1499, he proclaimed a new religion and it was an open […]
Tracing the roots of Buddhism in Gilgit Baltistan on November 7, 2018Buddhism took birth from Hinduism and India gave this religion to the world. A son born to Suddhodana, a Kshatriya in the year 563 BC. He was named Siddhartha and later he came to be referred as Gautama the Buddha. Asoka who ruled Sub-continent from C 268 to 232 BCE converted to Buddhism and became […]
Future of Gilgit Baltistan on October 20, 2018It was the night of 31 October, 1947, when Gilgit Scouts surrounded the house of the dogra governor of Gilgit Brigadier Ghansara Singh. On the morning of 1 November, 1947, governor Brigadier Ghansara Singh surrendered to Gilgit Scouts. It was an auspicious morning when the Dogra flag was pulled down and Pakistan’s flag was raised. […]
The loyal people of Gilgit Baltistan on September 13, 2018Gilgit-Baltistan is spread over an area of 27,184 square kilometres with a population of approximately 15 lakhs. Strategically, Gilgit-Baltistan has great importance as it share borders with China on the northwest. While Afghanistan and Tajikistan are connected through the Wakhan corridor and on the south lies Indian Occupied Kashmir. Gilgit-Baltistan is surrounded by the mountain […]
Terror threats to Gilgit Baltistan loom ahead on August 26, 2018The location of Gilgit Baltistan is strategically very important as it borders Indian occupied Kashmir, China and Afghanistan. Gilgit Baltistan is as important as it was in 1880s during the great game when Russia occupied cities like Bokhara, Samarkand and Khiva and were pressing Pamirs, Oxus and Afghanistan. Russians were just short of British India […]
The mystery of Gilgit manuscripts on July 29, 2018Buddhism, with roots in Hinduism, spread rapidly under Mauryas especially during the time of Asoka. Missionaries were sent to Kashmir under Madhyantika, who resided in Kashmir for 20 years and preached Buddhism. During the time of Asoka, those areas were selected where other religious beliefs had not yet secured a stronghold. Later Kashmir became a […]
The Durrani-Dulat saga — a post-mortem on July 10, 2018The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace has sparked a new debate across Pakistan, with many terming it part of the 5th generation and hybrid warfare against Pakistan. The book is co-authored by former ISI chief Lt general Asad Durrani (retired) and former RAW chief Amarjit Singh Dulat, and is moderated by […]
Despite attacks from all sides Pakistan cannot be defeated on June 28, 2018Chinese military strategist and philosopher San Tzu said that “to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence. Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting”. Warfare has developed as our generations have evolved. The first generation of warfare depended on manpower, horses and swords. It was later further developed […]
Durand Line, Pashtuns and Pashteen on May 22, 2018Pashtuns first appeared strong after the fall of Mughals. It was the time of Durranis when the Afghan empire was stretched from Mashad to Oxus River and to Indus in the southeast. By the 1820s, Afghan empire was reduced to Kandhar, Ghazni, Kabul and Peshawar. That was the time when Sikhs occupied rest of the […]
The dynamics of Balochistan on April 12, 2018The location of Balochistan is strategically important because of its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz. It has a coastline of 470 miles along the Arabian Sea. It borders with KP, FATA and Punjab in north and northeast, Sindh to the south-east, the Arabian Sea in the south, Iran in west and Afghanistan to the […]