WHAT LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN IN PAKISTAN?

WHAT LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN IN PAKISTAN?

Language                                          (%)

Punjabi                                             48.17

Pashto                                              13.14

Sindhi                                               11.77

Seraiki                                              9.83

Urdu                                                 7.6

Baluchi                                             3.04

Hindko                                              2.43

Brahui                                               1.21

Others                                               2.81

HOW DID URDU BECOME AN IMPORTANT LANGUAGE?

By the end of the Mughal emperors .  Urdu was the most used language in the Muslim dominated noth-western provinces. Urdu language emerged thousands of years ago. Urdu is a Tartar word for military camp. It was a result of Turkish, Persian and Hindu soldiers, and local people mixing  together in their camps. Words from all three languages,  though mostly  Hindi together with some Arabic and local Prakit all went into Urdu. At first it was only used by the soldiers and local people, but educated Hindus and Muslims still used Persian. Shah Wali Ullah wrote in Persian but his sons translated the Quran into Urdu. Later poets and writers also started using Urdu.  After  the Era of Aurangzeb all official documents were written in Urdu.

WHAT WAS THE TWO NATION THEORY?

Sir Syed Ahmed wanted the Muslims to have good relationship with Hindus. But different events made him think that many Hindus didn't wanted friendly relations. One of the events was the move towards democracy taking place in Britain and America. In India some local governments were elected. He knew that the extension of democracy towards India would be a seriously disadvantage the Muslims. He knew that if British ever give up on India the Hindus who were in majority would take over the government and this could be a dangerous situation for the Muslims.

He said that the British should treat the Muslims and Hindus separately. Later after his death, this idea became known as the two nation theory. Even though the Muslims and Hindus lived together they lived as two different nations. The two group had different culture, traditions, language and religion e.g on Eid-Ul-Azha the Muslims could not slaughter a cow as it was precious for Hindus.

WHY DID SYED AHMED KHAN NOT SUPPORT THE INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS?

When seventy-two delegates met in Bombay in 1885, it consisted if only two Muslims. This was due to strong opposition of Sir Syed Ahmed khan towards the Congress. He believed that it was not in interest of Muslims but was very much in interest of Hindus.

WHAT WAS THE SITUATION OF MUSLIMS AFTER 1857?

The situation of Muslims was worsened after the violent events of 1857. The Hindus also turned against the Muslims and blamed them for everything. The British hardened towards Muslims and started dealing with them brutally. They were killed and looted for no reason, they were kicked out of jobs. Many Muslim workers left offices and didn't send their children to schools as they hated all British traditions. Many Muslim families suffered great hardship.

WHAT WAS SIR SYED AHMED KHAN'S MESSAGE TO THE MUSLIMS?

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan has been called the greatest Muslim reformer and statesman of nineteenth century. The events of 1857 shocked him. He started thinking about improving the relationship between the Muslims and British.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had served as the judge and helped save many European lives in Bijnore during the mayhem of 1857. Perhaps because of his consideration and balanced objective approach  - to the situation the British were ready to listen to him. He wrote a short pamphlet in Urdu, titled Asbab-i-Baghawat-i-Hind (Causes of Indian revolt), in which he pointed out the reasons for the uprising and the mistakes on both sides. It turned out to be very influential and was studied carefully by officials in the India.

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan knew that the Muslims disliked British, but in the current situation it was very important to cooperate with them and have a good relationship with them in order to come out of darkness. He told the Muslims that further rebellion and protest will go in vain.He also knew that if the British would leave the Hindus which were in majority would take over the Muslims.

Many of the Muslims disliked his ideas, they were afraid that his support for westernization would gradually weaken Muslim beliefs.

WHAT WAS SIR SYED AHMED KHANS MESSAGE TO THE BRITISH?

To bridge the gap between British and Muslims he wrote an important pamphlet, The Loyal Mohammedans of India. He told the British that in-spite of rebellion many Muslims were not opposed to them and he included a list of Muslims who had remained loyal to the British. He also advised the British to understand and respect the traditions of Muslims. He called on the government to consult Indians before taking important decisions.

THE VIOLENT EVENTS OF 1857

HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE UPRISING FOR THE FUTURE OF PAKISTAN?

By 1850's the British were confident that their control over Indian Subcontinent was secure. But in 1857 the British authority was challenged by a violent uprising. Although this attempt of revolution failed but it inspired the later generation to seek independence for their own countries.

WHAT WERE THE CAUSES OF THE UPRISING?

Taxes

People hated paying land tax, made compulsory by the British for all Indians.

Poverty

Many Indians were poor because the British filled Indian market with cheap over produced goods.

Local Rulers

Local rulers had their land seized by the British.

Religion

Christian missionaries insulted deeply held beliefs of all Indians.

Westernization

England education, the steam-engine, and the electric telegraph threatened Indian culture.

HOW DID THE UPRISING START?

Greased Cartridges 

The newly Enfield Rifle that had to be ripped open with teeth before loading a rumor was spread that the grease for these cartridges was made up of cow and pig fat. There was an outrage among both Muslims and  Hindus after this.

Harsh Attitude of British

The British commander-in-cheif, General Anson was determined to maintain peace he took strong action to maintain it. About Eighty-five sepoys who refused to use the cartridges were given long prison sentences of ten years hard labor on roads. By doing this the British reminded everyone that they were firmly in charge.

HOW DID THE VIOLENCE SPREAD?

At Kanpur, the troops joined the revolt and killed their officers and any Europeans that they could found. They were led by Nana Sahib, who had a personnel grievance against the British for stopping his huge pension. A British force managed to hold on to a defensive position for three weeks.Eventually being promised of safe passage out surrendered. But tragically Nana Sahib ordered open fire on them killing almost all the soldiers including 300 women and children. Four soldiers and 100 woman and children were taken as prisoners. Before the British army could arrive, they were dead. The British army captured the sepoys and punished the brutally and hanged their dead bodies in public, but they were not able to capture Nana Sahib.

WHY DID THE UPRISING FAILED?

Aims

The aims of the rebels were vague and confused. They wanted to restore their old rulers and customs. Very few thought of a united India ruling itself.

Leadership

No single leader cam forward who could command respect and people to motivate people to join rebellion. There was lack of coordination between different areas of unrest.

Disunity

Different groups of people of various faiths and different regions didn't set aside their differences and join together to resist the British.

British Determination

The British act carefully and got rid of all the rebels. Many local people remained loyal to the British and fought for the British. 

HOW DID THE BRITISH CHANGE THE INDIAN PEOPLE?

The following steps where taken by the British in order to change the Indian people:-

Female infanticide:

The killing of baby daughters was made illegal and considered as murder.

Sutee:

The Hindu religions seemed to permit the ritual burning of widows on the funeral pyres of their
husbands. It was later banned.

Thugee:

In central and upper India groups of armed robbers (thugs) claimed they were serving a goddess.
They used painful methods of killing, people we quite terrified of them. British took a strong action
towards them. It was welcomed by all.

English:

In 1835 English was declared as the official language. Until then Persian had been the official
language for  rulers, diplomats, and officials.

Schools:

Following the language the British set up schools across the country to teach western ideas.

Communications:

The British invented railway. The first steam powered railway system for public opened in England.
It was the beginning of the Railway age, the British constructed railways all over the world, and their were keen to transform India.  
  

WHY WERE THE BRITISH ABLE TO TAKE OVER SUCH A VAST LAND?

It is a huge question that how Britain in 1800  with a population of only about 10 million people, should have been able to take control over a huge are with population of about 350 million people. Most of the Indians saw benefits in cooperating with the Britain.To assist trade and control over land they constructed a network of roads and later, thousands of miles of railways. They irrigated 20 million acres of land, and slowly established schools, universities and hospitals. The religious and cultural differences in the sub-continent also provided them an easy path.


HOW DID BRITAIN USE ITS CONTROL OF THE COTTON TRADE?

As the trade rate grew rapidly the Britain needed more and more raw materials. Control of cotton trade was very profitable for Britain. In 1800 the Britain stopped trade of cotton cloths to England, it only traded raw cotton. Which was taken to England turned into cloths and sent back to India for sale, this had a very drastic effect on the workers who relied on making and selling cloth. But the East India Company only considered its profit. This led to growth of poverty in India and the farmers were forced to grow jute and cotton for sale to Britain.

HOW DID BRITAIN REINFORCE ITS CONTROL OF INDIA?

In 1798, Lord Wellesley arrived to India as Governor General. He forced the local princess to sign subsidiary alliance. The local rulers were given protection by Britain troops. Britain in return took money for it. At the same time the local rulers were not allowed to make any other alliance. The first state to accept it was Hyderabad and later followed by the other states.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EAST INDIA COMPANY?

In 1773 the British Government had accepted some responsibilities for the tragic events in India. Under the Regulating Act, the East India Company was made accountable to Parliament.Every six month the Company directors had to provide a report of their activities. In 1813 other British companies wanted to share in profits of India, it was a serious blow to the East India Company. Later the violent incident of 1857 raped up their rule from India. A strong rule of Britain finally came  to an end.

HOW DID BRITISH TAKE OVER THE AREA OF PRESENT-DAY PAKISTAN?

The British conquest of India alarmed the people of Afghanistan and the Sikh rulers of Punjab. Afghanistan stood between Russia and British India. The British took the situation carefully, they knew that Russia can threaten there rule over India. The British made an agreement with the powerful Sikh ruler of Punjab.In 1839 the they invaded Afghanistan and installed their own puppet leader. But after two years the Afghani forces rebelled against the king and killed him.

In order to control the important route through Bolan Pass into India ,Sir Charles Napier sized Sindh.
Although it was against the treaty with local rulers. In this way Kabul and Sindh fell in hands of Britain.

After this they turned to Punjab as it included two important routes  the Khyber Pass in the Indus River. The Britain knew that the goods moving on camels from Khyber Pass can easily be shipped down the river Indus and then to Karachi.

The Sikhs in Punjab tried to stop the Britain in the first Sikh War the Britain were defeated but in the 2nd Sikh War Britain stood victorious.

THE MISUNDERSTOOD CONCEPT OF BRITAIN?

The Britain thought that they could change the mind of Indians according to their will. They failed to grasp the significant cultural differences. The reality was that they only came to the Subcontinent for the sake of trade,profit and power.

HOW DID THE BRITISH TREAT THE LANDS THEY HAD TAKEN?

By the 1850's Britain controlled almost all of Indian Subcontinent.Few areas like Sindh and the Punjab were directly controlled by the British. Others such as Mysore and Kashmir were under control of local rulers who were entirely obedient to the British. The territories which were not governed well were seized. All this was done in order keep their trade smooth.

WHAT DID THE BRITISH DO ABOUT RELIGION?

Earlier the East India Company followed a neutral path over religion. Any threat to Hindus, Muslims
could lead to trouble. Later Christians demanded the right of missionaries to go to India and convert
them to Christians. The East India Company agreed on it in 1833, but very few Indians converted
to Christianity.

HOW DID ROBERT CLIVE LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FOR BRITISH RULE?

In 1750s the company began to fortify their important post an Culcutta. This went against the argument made with Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah. The angry Nawab tried to stop the British with force but they couldn't. The black hole incident happened at same time.

At the battle of Plassey, in June 1757, an English army led my Robert Clive succeeded in defeating a much larger army of Siraj, with the help of Siraj's key man Jaffer who was later appointed  the Nawab of Bengal. After this great victory the British had guaranteed control of the profitable tradein Bengal. Clive and others working for the company amassed immense fortunes.Clive also succeeded
over Mir Kasim at battle of Buxar.

The company rewarded Clive by appointing him the first Governor of Bengal. He demanded huge payments from Nawab and other princes for himself and the Company. Unfortunately the Company directors accused him of taking bribes and governing badly.