Why won’t NADRA recognise the Kalasha?

Why won’t NADRA recognise the Kalasha?

May 10, 2012

The Kalasha women wear a traditional outfit and neck beads as a hallmark of their Kalasha religion and they don’t cover their faces. PHOTO: SIKANDAR

Did you know that there is a pre-historic animist religion called Kalasha –  a religion still practised and cherished by the Kalasha people of the Hindu Kush valley?

Are you also aware that the Kalasha people don’t even have an option to choose their religion in the ‘religion box’ endorsed by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)?

Nadra came under scrutiny when it refused to rectify typographical errors it had made of a Christian MPA Rana Mahmood that identified him as a Muslim on his national identity card.

The issue drew a considerable amount of attention from both the media and human rights activists, who criticised Nadra for various violations of fundamental rights. Following the criticism, Nadra issued an official statement apologising for the error made. The statement reads:

[A] High level inquiry was ordered by the authority to investigate the matter as to why such inconvenience was caused to our honourable MPA… [I]t was revealed that a Nadra data entry operator had mistakenly put his religion down as Islam because of his Muslim-sounding name.

The Kalasha community has been a victim of this human rights contravention by Nadra since the day the ‘religion box’ was introduced by General Ziaul Haq in the 1980s and the ‘Kalasha religion’ was not included in the list of religions.

An old Kalasha elder confides that,

We didn’t have any option to have our religion on our identity cards like everyone else, even though our religion is the oldest of all, so we brought the matter to the attention of MP Bhandara (MNA elect for minorities), when he visited the Kalasha Valleys. He made an effort to convince the authorities to include the Kalasha religion in the list of religions but they didn’t register Kalasha instead they included ‘others’ in the list of religion as an option.

When the computerised national identity cards (CNIC) were introduced, the Kalasha religion appeared in the list of religions for a short while before Nadra removed it again. (One is led to ask who exactly instigated this removal and why?)

The Kalasha tribe has repeatedly protested, demanding recognition for their religion – an acknowledgement which is their constitutional right to have but the authorities have shown no interest, constantly ignoring their plea to the point of even sidelining a recommendation from the Ministry of Minorities Affairs to include the Kalasha religion in the list of religions.

The outcome of this ignorance and negligence, due omission, is that it paves a way for systematic discrimination.

For example, in Chitral, Nadra officials have repeatedly insisted that the Kalasha women cover their dresses with a scarf while taking photos for their national ID cards. The Kalasha women wear a traditional outfit and neck beads as a hallmark of their Kalasha religion and they don’t cover their faces.

On the one hand, the Kalasha people are deprived of their rights to maintain their identity, culture, religion and language as per the constitution, while on the other hand the tourism ministry exploits them, making every effort to feature the Kalasha women in posters and commercial marketing, using them as advertising assets as the ‘Mystery of the Kalash’ on their brochures and billboards.

And yet they have no right to be acknowledged or accepted as a separate religion.

With all this flamboyant advertising, where is the sense in asking them to cover their traditional neck beads with a scarf in the ID card profile photo?

Can Nadra’s motives be questioned in this case?

Does it mean that Nadra is on a mission to assimilate every diverse cultural aspect of the people of Pakistan?

Nadra seems to have claimed the right to decide people’s faith, depriving Pakistani citizens from acknowledging their respective faiths; tarnishing their rich cultural and religious heritage. In fact, the whole idea of declaring religion in official documents is absurd, since religion is regarded as a personal matter.

Having to declare religion for official use should be treated as a violation of our basic primary rights.  It may lead to discrimination in official as well as daily affairs.

If, however, declaration of your religious belief is still a prerequisite, then it is high time Nadra revises its discriminatory policy towards other religions and either amends the list it has at the moment to does away with it altogether.

They have to accept the fact that Kalasha is a separate religion, and they have to concede to the religious diversity in Pakistan so that every Pakistani, whether Muslim or non-Muslim can be confident that they are equal before the law regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs.

The mistreatment of the Kalasha people in Pakistan has been very well observed, noticed and pointed out by Ms Nosheen Abbas, a BBC journalist, who calls to attention a very important fact about the complex situation they face. She says,

Pakistanis would view Kalash culture with disapproval but nevertheless many, mostly men, still flock to the valleys from around the country to experience the liberation the festival offers.
The Kalash use the blanket term “Punjabi” for the Pakistani men who suddenly show up in the village staring at women, trying to “chat them up”, and making many feel uncomfortable. They do not consider themselves Pakistani. In fact, they call anybody from elsewhere in the country “Pakistani” – as if that term would not cover themselves as well.

The Kalasha tribe, like every other minority group, deserves what the constitution provides for them; the basic right of recognition and acknowledgement.

Source: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/11443/why-wont-nadra-recognise-the-kalasha/

Battle of survival: Watching the tongues slip into extinction

Battle of survival: Watching the tongues slip into extinction

By Manzoor Ali

A classic case of irony.

While lawmakers table ‘ethno-linguistic’ basis for the creation of new provinces; in hindsight, the debate renders itself preposterous given the fact that 28 of the languages across the country are dying out.

Preservation seems to be one item missing from the to-do lists of lawmakers.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and other northern areas of the country are host to about half of languages spoken in Pakistan — a significant majority of which have been listed as ‘endangered’.

The United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Atlas of the World Languages in Danger documents around 28 Pakistani languages as endangered in various categories. The UNESCO Atlas lists six of these languages as ‘severely endangered’, 15 as ‘definitely endangered’ and seven as ‘vulnerable’.

Dying out

According to the UNESCO report, among the languages Pakistan could potentially lose are: Khowar spoken in Chitral and parts of Gilgit with an estimated number of 220,000 speakers left; Burushaski spoken in Nagar Hunza which has 87,000 speakers left; Maiya in Indus Kohistan with 220,000 speakers left; Purik is mainly spoken in Kashmir; however, data regarding the exact number of speakers is not available.

Furthermore, Bashkarik is majorly spoken in Swat and Dir by around 40,000 people, Bateri on the east bank of Indus Kohistan with 29,000 speakers, Bhadarvi along the Line of Control in Kashmir with 66,198 speakers, Gawar Bati in Chitral with 9,500 speakers, Kati in Nuristan and Chitral by 18,700 people, Kundal Shahi in Neelum Valley with just 500 speakers, Orumuri in South Waziristan with a 1,000 speakers, Palula in Chitral with 8,600 speakers, Savi in Chitral and Afghanistan with 3,000 speakers and Torwali in Swat is spoken by around 60,000 people.

Similarly, Chilasso is spoken in Indus Kohistan with around 2,000 speakers left, Dameli in Chitral with 5,000, Domaki in Gilgit with 500, Gowro in Indus Kohistan with around 200, Kalasha in Chitral with 5,000, Kalkoti in Dir Kohistan with around 4,000, Ushuju in Swat with 2,000, Wakhi along Wakhan corridor with 75,000, Yidgah in Chitral with 5,500 and Zangskari whose exact number of speakers are not available.

No preservation

However, Forum for Language Initiative (FLI) Programme Manager Mohammad Zaman Sagar has questioned the authenticity of the figures. Zaman told The Express Tribune that there is a Badeshi dialect in Swat, which is on the verge of extinction, has only two speakers left.

He added that the number of speakers of the Gowro language are stated to be around 40,000, while the total population of Kalam stands at around 70,000.

“Some of these figures are as old as 1970s,” he said.

Zaman believes lack of documentation to be a major hurdle in the preservation of these languages. According to him, only Khowar, Palula and Kalasha have been documented for in Chitral out of more than a dozen languages spoken in the region; only Gowro and Torwali have been documented for in Indus Kohistan and Swat out of around six languages; and only Indus Kohistani and Sheena have been documented for in Indus Kohistan out of as many as six languages.

The FLI programme manger said that even on the national level, proper documentation has only been conducted of around 20 languages.

He said that Yidgha in Lotkuh was under threat of extinction with hardly 1000 speakers left, while Badeshi and Ushuju in Swat, Gowro and Bateri in Indus Kohistan, Domaki in Gilgit and Kundal Shahi in Kashmir were also endangered.

Zaman lamented government apathy towards these languages and said: “We will only be able to express our sorrow, after a language dies down.”

Restive frontiers

Lack of an official body monitoring preservation is not the only obstacle. Militancy in the tribal belt has also created significant stumbling blocks for the preservation of these languages — with Ormuri in South Waziristan as a classic victim.

Unofficial figures state that Ormuri is spoken by around 10,000 peoplein the the Kaniguram area of the South Waziristan — a remote village in Mehsud tribe’s heartland.

“The number of Orumuri speakers is about 10,000,” said Zaman, adding that a majority of locals who used this language have been displaced due to militancy — scattering them across the country.

“Within a community, a language is automatically preserved when you speak it, but when a group is displaced, the chances of that language being abandoned or dying out are much higher,” Zaman said.

Lack of govt support

Fakhruddin Akhundzada, a language activist belonging to Chitral and associated with the FLI, was of the view that the lack of government support was the basic hurdle in preservation of these languages.

“Unlike Urdu, which is language to only six percent of the population, no other language gets any attention from the government,” he said.

He pointed out that there was no law at the federal or provincial level to encourage and preserve these languages except a recent effort by the K-P government to set up a language authority.

However, Akhundzada believes that the advent of social media and the telecommunication revolution maybe be serving as a blessing in disguise for these dying languages.

“Most of these languages do not have any script; however, use of Romanised versions by many people in short messaging service (SMS), chatting and Facebook, have recently risen,” he said.

It seems though, without concerted efforts on the part of the country as a whole, we may very well not hear the sound of these languages again.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2012.

Source:http://tribune.com.pk/story/339414/battle-of-survival-watching-the-tongues-slip-into-extinction/

Kalash Culture to Figure as UNESCO Heritage

Kalash Culture to Figure as UNESCO Heritage

ISLAMABAD: In order to preserve endangered living culture of Kalash Valley, the government documented it for inscription in World Heritage List of Unesco.

A one-day workshop was organised on Wednesday at Lok Virsa on preparation of the nomination dossier for inscription.
In his opening remarks as chief guest, Federal Secretary for National Heritage and Integration Faridullah Khan informed the participants that his ministry had come up with a plan to safeguard the endangered heritage property.

In this connection, it has been decided to immediately launch preparation of the nomination dossier, he said.

“This necessitates full involvement of all stakeholders including local governments, NGOs/INGOs, provincial and federal governments,” he maintained.

The discussions revolved around certain measures to be taken to safeguard Kalash cultural heritage including devising an inventory of endangered elements of tangible and intangible culture; efforts for documentation and preservation of Kalash culture in model Kalash villages of Bamborate, Birir and Rambur; safeguarding Kalash language from outside elements; protecting Kalash religion; seeking ways and means to preserve the music of Kalash in its original form; and protecting Kalash nomenclature.

Talking to media, Lok Virsa’s Executive Director Khalid Javaid said Lok Virsa had established a creative diorama at the National Heritage Museum to depict living culture of the Kalash people.

Lok Virsa has also published a book on Kalash which can facilitate students and researchers to undertake further cultural studies on this neglected area, he added.

The present Kalash community is restricted to three parallel valleys of Chitral district i.e. Bomboret, Birir and Rambur.
In Birir and Rambur, Kalash people outnumber the non-Kalash while in the more picturesque Bamboret valley the non-Kalash people are in a slight majority.

These three narrow V-shaped valleys are situated in the South-West of Chitral town, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

In 2007, the local government department created a separate union council of Bamboret for the Kalash valleys.

The word Kalash bears three meanings: Kalash is a name of the tribe; name of pagan religion and name of endangered language.

According to historical references Kalash were majority population in Chitral who ruled the area in 12th century. The recent history shows that Kalash population is on the decline.

In 1951 Census, the Kalash population was 10,000. During the last 60 years, the population of the Muslims in Chitral is increasing at the rate of 2.5 per cent per annum and the population of Kalash has decreased from 10,000 to 3,700.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/01/kalash-culture-to-figure-as-unesco-heritage.html

The Nuristani Culture of Kalash Valley

The Nuristani Culture of Kalash Valley

By Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro crack

February 17, 2012

Nuristanis of Sheikhandeh in Kalash have a very distinctive culture. One finds people either sitting under the cool shade of trees or by the riverside, playing cards, gossiping or telling tales of olden times and narrating the heroics of their ancestors. The Nuristanis, who were formerly known as Red Kafirs, now live in many villages of Chitral district and two villages of Kalash valley. These villages are called Shikhanande in both valleys of Bumborate and Rambur known for their stunning scenic beauty. Amir Abdur Rehman (1880-1901) of Afghanistan gave them the name Nuristani when he converted the Kafirs to Islam. Formerly it was known as Kafiristan, the land of non-believers which later became known as Nuristan, the land of light. A chivalrous people, the Red Kafirs were posted at the mouths of Bumborate and Rumbur valleys to protect the Black Kafirs from the frequent attacks from Afghanistan. Today, the descendants of those who were posted by the Mehtar of Chital are nostalgic about their past and remember their heroes who protected the Black Kafirs (Siahposh) from the invaders. The older members of the community spend their time either playing cards or remembering the old stories of their ancestors. These memories have healing effect on the elderly Nuristanis. Apart from Shikhanande in Bumborate and Shikhanande in Rumbur, they also live in other villages of Chitral particularly at Garam Chashma, Drosh, Urtsun, Sweer, Kalkatah, Gobor and Shah Salim, a village that borders with Afghanistan. Old Nuristanis seldom take their livestock to the alpine forests for grazing. It is mostly the young who are responsible for the care of the livestock which is the main bread earner of the Nuristanis. Women do the farming. Their time too is spent in card games and gossip.

The Sheikhandeh village in Bumborate is noted for wooden houses that are stacked like steps against the hills. These wooden houses are two or three stories high tucked into the hills. The ornately carved house indicates the status of the owner; mostly the houses of the notables carry more intricate carvings, especially the knotted design that one can see on the temples and houses of the Kafirs in the Brun, Karakal, Batrit and Anish villages of Bumborate valley. The houses are made of wooden beams, mud and stone. The roofs of the houses are flat and serve as a step for the next storey. Apart from wooden houses, wooden mosques also mark the landscape of Nuristani villages. The most amazing mosque, which is noted for its four storey wooden minaret, is located in Sheikhandeh Bala in Bumborate valley in Kalash. The mosque is believed to have been built in 1930. The main features of the Shikhanande mosque are the wooden minaret and arcade verandah. Shikhanande Payeen in Bumborate valley also has a wooden minaret. These wooden minarets are only peculiar to the villages of Shikhanande Bala and Payeen. The wooden stairs lead to the verandah of the mosque, which is decorated with floral and geometric designs. The main hall of the mosque also carries intricate woodcarving. To the west of the mosque, there is a pond. It also has a separate hujra with a fireplace and facility for ablutions. The hujra with fireplace is peculiar to the mosque in Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Dir and Swat regions. The wooden mosques of Seo, Kandia, Sazin and Palaus in Indus Kohistan also have hujras with fire but their woodcarvings are very intricate compared to other regions. The wooden mosques in other areas of Chitral also have hujras with fire places namely Sahan, Ayun, Dahar, Moroi Payeen, Koghuzi which are used for the guests. Almost all of the wooden mosques of Chitral are noted for the woodcarvings. However, the mosques of Shikhanande Bala and Pain are not only famous for woodcarvings but also for the wooden minarets decorated with fretted panels.

Kalashas in Chitral Valley having the weirdest names in the world (Feature)

Kalashas in Chitral Valley having the weirdest names in the world

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012 4:09:05 by Naveed A Bari

If anyone in Pakistan thinks “Sharbat Khan” and “Mohabbat Khan” are weird names to say the least, they should take a detour of the scenic Chitral valley and ask for the names of the Kalasha people living there.

The Kalasha does probably have the weirdest names on earth.

Named after the items and utensils of daily use, some of them which are hard to find, the children in the valley are often named after “Telephone”, or “Computer” or even “Balti (bucket)”.

Predominantly polytheistic, the Kalasha’s proudly call themselves the direct descendants of the Alexander the Great and hold pagan views about life, faith and destiny.

Most scientists and anthropologists dispute the legend: No genetic ties between Kalasha and Greeks have been discovered, and scientists believe the Kalasha are Indo-Aryans whose religion has some commonalities with pre-Zorastrian Iranians.

But regardless, the legend once lured busloads of Greek tourists to the valleys, seeking a link to their ancestral past.

Women wear vibrant-colored embroidered dresses and beaded headdresses called “susutr" — are viewed with both admiration and suspicion by the Islamic majority. As militant Islam gains hold in regions surrounding the Kalasha — most recently with Pakistan’s
cease-fire agreement with the Taliban in the nearby Swat Valley — the fate of Pakistan’s indigenous tribes hangs in the balance.

If asking for a `telephone` or `cooker` in the remote Kalash valley of Rumbur or Bumburate the local people lead you to someone`s house; take it easy as Kalash people have been naming their children after household items since long.

Zahid Ali, a university student doing research on Kalash culture, said that in the Kalash dialect the local names of both men and women hardly carried any meaning. However, he said that the Kalash try to avoid repeating a name already used.

Mostly uneducated and backward, the people do not have access to basic education and health facilities and life in the rugged mountainous region is anything close to a comfortable one. Subsistence farming is the source of livelihood where mostly the women
tend to the fields and men follow the other essentials of life.

”No two Kalash can be found with the same name,” says Zahid, adding that the Muslim names like Saifullah Jan, Abdullah were now being used.

He said that a stranger could not differentiate between a man and woman through their names, but now the Kalash women had starting using Muslim names like Fatima, Khadija, Shahida and others. Enumerating some funny names of the Kalash, he mentioned Number-One,
Mobile, Radio, Cassette, Akhbar, Chaprasi. He said that `Pepsi` was the original name of a young boy living in his neighbourhood.

Source:

http://www.newspakistan.pk/2012/02/14/Kalashas-in-Chitral-Valley-having-the-weirdest-names-in-the-world