Dancing With the Stars’ is one of the most famous reality dance shows of its time. Now in its 12th season, it doesn’t look like the interest of the folks watching the show has abated in the least. This time around, quite a few famous celebrities are a part of the show. Wendy Williams and Chris Jericho are a part of the star cast. Having battled liposuction rumors for a long time, Kristie Alley is also on the show.

Grandma to Dance

Alley of the Cheers fame, one of the best shows of all time and the funniest show in the 1980s, has always had issues with her weight. Many a times critics online and offline have suggested that she ought to think about getting some plastic surgery done to change the way she looks and make her a more viable option for cinema. Alley has always refuted such advice. She says that she has never considered having any liposuction done, contrary to what the tabloids have to say. Apparently she still has enough money in her checking account to not do what it takes.

Dancing is Wonderful Exercise

She is ready to show off her body and dancing skills this time on Dancing with the Stars. In the past she has also been a part of a program on the Travel & Living channel by Discovery where she spoke about how she danced her weight woes away. She managed to lose most of her post pregnancy weight by donning high heels for the salsa dancing on the show.

An Age Related Nickname

Whether she has done liposuction or not is her personal issue. On the show, all that matters is how she dances and since she is one of the oldest contestants there, she has already been nicknamed grandma.

Losing weight is one of the hardest things for most people to do. Dieting and exercising sounds a lot more simple than it actually is. The article you’re reading is going to talk about different weight loss methods that you can use to quickly and easily begin losing weight. Most people struggle with their weight every once in awhile, some more than most. Hopefully, this article will shed some light on weight loss and it’s methods.

Kirstie Alley Nicknamed Grandma on Dancing with the Stars 2011 is a post from: thalassa magazine

In 1939, Prithviraj, a cricketer from Punjab said “Gone are the days of the Bombay Presidency’s domination in cricket. From now on the robust Punjabis will take over.” Prithviraj spoke ahead of his time but it’s a cue to youngsters around Punjab that their natural abilities can keep them ahead of the pack.

The Stuff of Ballads

Arguably the greatest cricketer India produced, Kapil Dev, hailed from the region, that is, Haryana, a vital part of the Kings XI Punjab crest of KJHPH, represented by the final ‘H.’ Punjab has showcased Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh in the Indian team in the last decade, its Chandigarh-based franchise Kings XI Punjab is regarded by captains as a dangerous side and today, Punjabi flamboyance and Balle Balle culture are an integral part of the Indian team.  Even the patriotic hockey-based Hindi film by Shah Rukh Khan, Chak De India, is titled Punjabi -style.

Patrons and Revolutionaries

In the days before India was granted Test cricket status, the first ‘Indian’ team to tour England in 1911 was led by Bhupinder Singh of Punjab, the erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala who later played an important role in setting up the Board of Control for Cricket in India. When the province-based Ranji Trophy first-class cricket tournament was started in 1934 to eventually replace the Pentagular, Lala Amarnath turning out for Southern Punjab ensured they finished at least as runners-up, in 1938, thereby making ‘Punjab’s’ presence felt in the nascent years of Indian cricket.

Becoming India’s first Test centurion, the Lala felt aggrieved with the social and selection injustices meted out at the time to players from non-elite backgrounds. He was the first to voice himself against the Indian princes’ hand-in-glove practices with the English to dominate cricket, a stirring condemnation which has changed Indian cricket for the better. Interestingly, the trophy for the Ranji championship had been donated by Punjab’s Maharaja Bhupinder Singh in the year of its inception.

Domestic Cricket in India

After the Pentangular was disbanded in the 1940s, the province-based system was gradually reorganised into the present day format consisting of five zones, each zone comprising five or six states that represent first class teams. The Zones are North, Central, East, West and South. North Zone, for example, has the prominent teams Punjab and Delhi, West has Mumbai and Baroda and South has Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, among others.

Mumbai dominated the domestic game from the late ‘50s to the early ‘70s and fielded numerous players in the national side. Perhaps any other domineering representation would be Karnataka’s in the second half of the ‘90s; even against the trend of those times, the silicon state had six or seven players in the India squad. However, a change gradually crept in – a cultural invasion, led by Punjab. This hardy team had secured a Ranji Trophy title in 1993 and two years later, again distinguished itself as runners-up. Today, after excelling in hockey and Kabaddi, Punjabis are furthering their hold on cricket.

The Middle Generation

Peeking into history again, among the other players from Punjab, Vijay Mehra played for India in the ‘50s, while the legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi represented Northern Punjab shortly afterwards. Lala Amarnath’s son Mohinder, and Yashpal Sharma, both prominent contributors to India’s World Cup win of 1983 also turned out for Punjab, while fast bowler Yograj Singh, the father of Yuvraj Singh, also figured in a Test and limited-over internationals.

Then, Navjot Singh Sidhu exploded onto the scene, forming the bulwark of India’s top order and even today, is a colourful TV personality. One of his contemporaries from Punjab was pace bowler Rajinder Singh Ghai.

Post 1990s

Punjab opening batsman Vikram Rathore represented India in the early ‘90s while pacers Bhupinder Singh (Sr) and Harvinder Singh made their mark in the middle of the decade. Although not bred in Punjab, off-spinner Ashish Kapoor switched to playing for its first-class side, having already represented India.
India-capped players bred from Punjab in recent years have been all-rounders Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Sodhi, fast bowler Vikram Rajvir Singh, and off-spinner Sarandeep Singh.

Punjabi Style Cricket

It’s now the noughties (2000s) and there have been noticeable changes in the mindset of the Indian team —  While Punjab hasn’t boasted of a clutch of players in the national squad, Yuvraj and Harbhajan’s herculean reputations and their ability to win matches speaks for domination. Meet the average man eating vada-pav in the hallowed cricket gallis of Mumbai and ask him what’s going to be special at the Test or limited-overs match, “Yuvraj’s batting and Harbajan’s all-round cameos.”

No more the fixation to watch local batsmen grind long centuries and achieve records. In the background, the radio plays a Punjabi song, unlike the classic Mohammad Rafi crooners through Vividbharati. Even when the famous “Ganpati Bappa Morya” cry emanates from the processions in Mumbai during Ganesh Chaturti, the band belts out a Punjabi tune. Punjab’s cultural invasion is a work-in-progress making swift strides.

Deep Impact

Take for instance that Daler Mendi’s music albums made mega sales in a state as far removed from northern culture as Kerala. Again, whereas southern culture does not accept dancing as a wedding ritual, the Bangalore Times reported that “the scholarly groom came on horseback and friends and relatives were dancing to Bhangra beats.”

Brothers in Arms

Kings XI Punjab is a ‘people’s team’ in keeping with the warm and gregarious nature of the people of Punjab and its proximal areas. Its strong associations with Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are aptly borne out in its banner. Jammu and Kashmir is a first-class side rapidly gaining in confidence. Himachal Pradesh has achieved the distinction of winning the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy in 2007, while Haryana has won the title in 1991, apart from producing stalwarts like Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma and Ajay Jadeja.

Lift the Banner

As the tentacles of cricket spread globally, Punjabis’ natural leanings towards valour and victory will see them at the forefront. Be it filmdom or cricket, India’s two great passions, Punjabis have carved a unique place for themselves. Its franchise Kings XI Punjab may be their flagship for higher honours as the second decade of the 2000s rolls on and a premier cricket league gives it wings.

Shaan-e-Punjab – The Ascendancy of a Virile People is a post from: thalassa magazine

Arundhati Roy: Mumbai was not India’s 9/11

http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2008/dec/ 12/mumbai- arundhati- roy
 


The Mumbai attacks have been dubbed ‘India’s 9/11′, and there are calls for a 9/11-style response, including an attack on Pakistan. Instead, the country must fight terrorism with justice, or face civil war.
 


We’ve forfeited the rights to our own tragedies. As the carnage in Mumbai raged on, day after horrible day, our 24-hour news channels informed us that we were watching “India’s 9/11″. Like actors in a Bollywood rip-off of an old Hollywood film, we’re expected to play our parts and say our lines, even though we know it’s all been said and done before.
 


As tension in the region builds, US Senator John McCain has warned Pakistan that if it didn’t act fast to arrest the “Bad Guys” he had personal information that India would launch air strikes on “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and that Washington could do nothing because Mumbai was India’s 9/11.
 


But November isn’t September, 2008 isn’t 2001, Pakistan isn’t Afghanistan and India isn’t America. So perhaps we should reclaim our tragedy and pick through the debris with our own brains and our own broken hearts so that we can arrive at our own conclusions.
 


It’s odd how in the last week of November thousands of people in Kashmir supervised by thousands of Indian troops lined up to cast their vote, while the richest quarters of India’s richest city ended up looking like war-torn Kupwara – one of Kashmir’s most ravaged districts.
 


The Mumbai attacks are only the most recent of a spate of terrorist attacks on Indian towns and cities this year. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur and Malegaon have all seen serial bomb blasts in which hundreds of ordinary people have been killed and wounded. If the police are right about the people they have arrested as suspects, both Hindu and Muslim, all Indian nationals, it obviously indicates that something’s going very badly wrong in this country.
 


If you were watching television you may not have heard that ordinary people too died in Mumbai. They were mowed down in a busy railway station and a public hospital. The terrorists did not distinguish between poor and rich. They killed both with equal cold-bloodedness. The Indian media, however, was transfixed by the rising tide of horror that breached the glittering barricades of India Shining and spread its stench in the marbled lobbies and crystal ballrooms of two incredibly luxurious hotels and a small Jewish centre.
 


We’re told one of these hotels is an icon of the city of Mumbai. That’s absolutely true. It’s an icon of the easy, obscene injustice that ordinary Indians endure every day. On a day when the newspapers were full of moving obituaries by beautiful people about the hotel rooms they had stayed in, the gourmet restaurants they loved (ironically one was called Kandahar), and the staff who served them, a small box on the top left-hand corner in the inner pages of a national newspaper (sponsored by a pizza company I think) said “Hungry, kya?” (Hungry eh?). It then, with the best of intentions I’m sure, informed its readers that on the international hunger index, India ranked below Sudan and Somalia. But of course this isn’t that war. That one’s still being fought in the Dalit bastis of our villages, on the banks of the Narmada and the Koel Karo rivers; in the rubber estate in Chengara; in the villages of Nandigram, Singur, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Lalgarh in West Bengal and the slums and shantytowns of our gigantic cities.
 


That war isn’t on TV. Yet. So maybe, like everyone else, we should deal with the one that is.
 


There is a fierce, unforgiving fault-line that runs through the contemporary discourse on terrorism. On one side (let’s call it Side A) are those who see terrorism, especially “Islamist” terrorism, as a hateful, insane scourge that spins on its own axis, in its own orbit and has nothing to do with the world around it, nothing to do with history, geography or economics. Therefore, Side A says, to try and place it in a political context, or even try to understand it, amounts to justifying it and is a crime in itself.
 


Side B believes that though nothing can ever excuse or justify terrorism, it exists in a particular time, place and political context, and to refuse to see that will only aggravate the problem and put more and more people in harm’s way. Which is a crime in itself.
 


The sayings of Hafiz Saeed, who founded the Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) in 1990 and who belongs to the hardline Salafi tradition of Islam, certainly bolsters the case of Side A. Hafiz Saeed approves of suicide bombing, hates Jews, Shias and Democracy and believes that jihad should be waged until Islam, his Islam, rules the world. Among the things he said are: “There cannot be any peace while India remains intact. Cut them, cut them so much that they kneel before you and ask for mercy.”
 


And: “India has shown us this path. We would like to give India a tit-for-tat response and reciprocate in the same way by killing the Hindus, just like it is killing the Muslims in Kashmir.”
 


But where would Side A accommodate the sayings of Babu Bajrangi of Ahmedabad, India, who sees himself as a democrat, not a terrorist? He was one of the major lynchpins of the 2002 Gujarat genocide and has said (on camera): “We didn’t spare a single Muslim shop, we set everything on fire … we hacked, burned, set on fire … we believe in setting them on fire because these bastards don’t want to be cremated, they’re afraid of it … I have just one last wish … let me be sentenced to death … I don’t care if I’m hanged … just give me two days before my hanging and I will go and have a field day in Juhapura where seven or eight lakhs [seven or eight hundred thousand] of these people stay … I will finish them off … let a few more of them die … at least 25,000 to 50,000 should die.”
 


And where, in Side A’s scheme of things, would we place the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh bible, We, or, Our Nationhood Defined by MS Golwalkar, who became head of the RSS in 1944. It says: “Ever since that evil day, when Moslems first landed in Hindustan, right up to the present moment, the Hindu Nation has been gallantly fighting on to take on these despoilers. The Race Spirit has been awakening.”
 


Or: “To keep up the purity of its race and culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races – the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here … a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.”
 


(Of course Muslims are not the only people in the gun sights of the Hindu right. Dalits have been consistently targeted. Recently in Kandhamal in Orissa, Christians were the target of two and a half months of violence which left more than 40 dead. Forty thousand people have been driven from their homes, half of who now live in refugee camps.)
 


All these years Hafiz Saeed has lived the life of a respectable man in Lahore as the head of the Jamaat-ud Daawa, which many believe is a front organization for the Lashkar-e-Taiba. He continues to recruit young boys for his own bigoted jehad with his twisted, fiery sermons. On December 11 the UN imposed sanctions on the Jammat-ud-Daawa. The Pakistani government succumbed to international pressure and put Hafiz Saeed under house arrest. Babu Bajrangi, however, is out on bail and lives the life of a respectable man in Gujarat. A couple of years after the genocide he left the VHP to join the Shiv Sena. Narendra Modi, Bajrangi’s former mentor, is still the chief minister of Gujarat. So the man who presided over the Gujarat genocide was re-elected twice, and is deeply respected by India’s biggest corporate houses, Reliance and Tata.
 


Suhel Seth, a TV impresario and corporate spokesperson, recently said: “Modi is God.” The policemen who supervised and sometimes even assisted the rampaging Hindu mobs in Gujarat have been rewarded and promoted. The RSS has 45,000 branches, its own range of charities and 7 million volunteers preaching its doctrine of hate across India. They include Narendra Modi, but also former prime minister AB Vajpayee, current leader of the opposition LK Advani, and a host of other senior politicians, bureaucrats and police and intelligence officers.
 


If that’s not enough to complicate our picture of secular democracy, we should place on record that there are plenty of Muslim organisations within India preaching their own narrow bigotry.
 


So, on balance, if I had to choose between Side A and Side B, I’d pick Side B. We need context. Always.
 


In this nuclear subcontinent that context is partition. The Radcliffe Line, which separated India and Pakistan and tore through states, districts, villages, fields, communities, water systems, homes and families, was drawn virtually overnight. It was Britain’s final, parting kick to us. Partition triggered the massacre of more than a million people and the largest migration of a human population in contemporary history. Eight million people, Hindus fleeing the new Pakistan, Muslims fleeing the new kind of India left their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
 


Each of those people carries and passes down a story of unimaginable pain, hate, horror but yearning too. That wound, those torn but still unsevered muscles, that blood and those splintered bones still lock us together in a close embrace of hatred, terrifying familiarity but also love. It has left Kashmir trapped in a nightmare from which it can’t seem to emerge, a nightmare that has claimed more than 60,000 lives. Pakistan, the Land of the Pure, became an Islamic Republic, and then, very quickly a corrupt, violent military state, openly intolerant of other faiths. India on the other hand declared herself an inclusive, secular democracy. It was a magnificent undertaking, but Babu Bajrangi’s predecessors had been hard at work since the 1920s, dripping poison into India’s bloodstream, undermining that idea of India even before it was born.
 


By 1990 they were ready to make a bid for power. In 1992 Hindu mobs exhorted by LK Advani stormed the Babri Masjid and demolished it. By 1998 the BJP was in power at the centre. The US war on terror put the wind in their sails. It allowed them to do exactly as they pleased, even to commit genocide and then present their fascism as a legitimate form of chaotic democracy. This happened at a time when India had opened its huge market to international finance and it was in the interests of international corporations and the media houses they owned to project it as a country that could do no wrong. That gave Hindu nationalists all the impetus and the impunity they needed.
 


This, then, is the larger historical context of terrorism in the subcontinent and of the Mumbai attacks. It shouldn’t surprise us that Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar-e-Taiba is from Shimla (India) and LK Advani of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh is from Sindh (Pakistan).
 


In much the same way as it did after the 2001 parliament attack, the 2002 burning of the Sabarmati Express and the 2007 bombing of the Samjhauta Express, the government of India announced that it has “incontrovertible” evidence that the Lashkar-e-Taiba backed by Pakistan’s ISI was behind the Mumbai strikes. The Lashkar has denied involvement, but remains the prime accused. According to the police and intelligence agencies the Lashkar operates in India through an organisation called the Indian Mujahideen. Two Indian nationals, Sheikh Mukhtar Ahmed, a Special Police Officer working for the Jammu and Kashmir police, and Tausif Rehman, a resident of Kolkata in West Bengal, have been arrested in connection with the Mumbai attacks.
 


So already the neat accusation against Pakistan is getting a little messy. Almost always, when these stories unspool, they reveal a complicated global network of foot soldiers, trainers, recruiters, middlemen and undercover intelligence and counter-intelligenc e operatives working not just on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, but in several countries simultaneously. In today’s world, trying to pin down the provenance of a terrorist strike and isolate it within the borders of a single nation state is very much like trying to pin down the provenance of corporate money. It’s almost impossible.
 


In circumstances like these, air strikes to “take out” terrorist camps may take out the camps, but certainly will not “take out” the terrorists. Neither will war. (Also, in our bid for the moral high ground, let’s try not to forget that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the LTTE of neighbouring Sri Lanka, one of the world’s most deadly terrorist groups, were trained by the Indian army.)
 


Thanks largely to the part it was forced to play as America’s ally first in its war in support of the Afghan Islamists and then in its war against them, Pakistan, whose territory is reeling under these contradictions, is careening towards civil war. As recruiting agents for America’s jihad against the Soviet Union, it was the job of the Pakistan army and the ISI to nurture and channel funds to Islamic fundamentalist organizations. Having wired up these Frankensteins and released them into the world, the US expected it could rein them in like pet mastiffs whenever it wanted to.
 


Certainly it did not expect them to come calling in heart of the Homeland on September 11. So once again, Afghanistan had to be violently remade. Now the debris of a re-ravaged Afghanistan has washed up on Pakistan’s borders. Nobody, least of all the Pakistan government, denies that it is presiding over a country that is threatening to implode. The terrorist training camps, the fire-breathing mullahs and the maniacs who believe that Islam will, or should, rule the world is mostly the detritus of two Afghan wars. Their ire rains down on the Pakistan government and Pakistani civilians as much, if not more than it does on India.
 


If at this point India decides to go to war perhaps the descent of the whole region into chaos will be complete. The debris of a bankrupt, destroyed Pakistan will wash up on India’s shores, endangering us as never before. If Pakistan collapses, we can look forward to having millions of “non-state actors” with an arsenal of nuclear weapons at their disposal as neighbours. It’s hard to understand why those who steer India’s ship are so keen to replicate Pakistan’s mistakes and call damnation upon this country by inviting the United States to further meddle clumsily and dangerously in our extremely complicated affairs. A superpower never has allies. It only has agents.
 


On the plus side, the advantage of going to war is that it’s the best way for India to avoid facing up to the serious trouble building on our home front. The Mumbai attacks were broadcast live (and exclusive!) on all or most of our 67 24-hour news channels and god knows how many international ones. TV anchors in their studios and journalists at “ground zero” kept up an endless stream of excited commentary. Over three days and three nights we watched in disbelief as a small group of very young men armed with guns and gadgets exposed the powerlessness of the police, the elite National Security Guard and the marine commandos of this supposedly mighty, nuclear-powered nation.
 


While they did this they indiscriminately massacred unarmed people, in railway stations, hospitals and luxury hotels, unmindful of their class, caste, religion or nationality. (Part of the helplessness of the security forces had to do with having to worry about hostages. In other situations, in Kashmir for example, their tactics are not so sensitive. Whole buildings are blown up. Human shields are used. The U.S and Israeli armies don’t hesitate to send cruise missiles into buildings and drop daisy cutters on wedding parties in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. ) But this was different. And it was on TV.
 


The boy-terrorists’ nonchalant willingness to kill – and be killed – mesmerised their international audience. They delivered something different from the usual diet of suicide bombings and missile attacks that people have grown inured to on the news. Here was something new. Die Hard 25. The gruesome performance went on and on. TV ratings soared. Ask any television magnate or corporate advertiser who measures broadcast time in seconds, not minutes, what that’s worth.
 


Eventually the killers died and died hard, all but one. (Perhaps, in the chaos, some escaped. We may never know.) Throughout the standoff the terrorists made no demands and expressed no desire to negotiate. Their purpose was to kill people and inflict as much damage as they could before they were killed themselves. They left us completely bewildered. When we say “nothing can justify terrorism”, what most of us mean is that nothing can justify the taking of human life. We say this because we respect life, because we think it’s precious. So what are we to make of those who care nothing for life, not even their own? The truth is that we have no idea what to make of them, because we can sense that even before they’ve died, they’ve journeyed to another world where we cannot reach them.
 


One TV channel (India TV) broadcast a phone conversation with one of the attackers, who called himself Imran Babar. I cannot vouch for the veracity of the conversation, but the things he talked about were the things contained in the “terror emails” that were sent out before several other bomb attacks in India. Things we don’t want to talk about any more: the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, the genocidal slaughter of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, the brutal repression in Kashmir. “You’re surrounded,” the anchor told him. “You are definitely going to die. Why don’t you surrender?”
 


“We die every day,” he replied in a strange, mechanical way. “It’s better to live one day as a lion and then die this way.” He didn’t seem to want to change the world. He just seemed to want to take it down with him.
 


If the men were indeed members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, why didn’t it matter to them that a large number of their victims were Muslim, or that their action was likely to result in a severe backlash against the Muslim community in India whose rights they claim to be fighting for? Terrorism is a heartless ideology, and like most ideologies that have their eye on the Big Picture, individuals don’t figure in their calculations except as collateral damage. It has always been a part of and often even the aim of terrorist strategy to exacerbate a bad situation in order to expose hidden faultlines. The blood of “martyrs” irrigates terrorism. Hindu terrorists need dead Hindus, Communist terrorists need dead proletarians, Islamist terrorists need dead Muslims. The dead become the demonstration, the proof of victimhood, which is central to the project. A single act of terrorism is not in itself meant to achieve military victory; at best it is meant to be a catalyst that triggers something else, something much larger than itself, a tectonic shift, a realignment. The act itself is theatre, spectacle and symbolism, and today, the stage on which it pirouettes and performs its acts of bestiality is Live TV. Even as the attack was being condemned by TV anchors, the effectiveness of the terror strikes were being magnified a thousandfold by TV broadcasts.
 


Through the endless hours of analysis and the endless op-ed essays, in India at least there has been very little mention of the elephants in the room: Kashmir, Gujarat and the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Instead we had retired diplomats and strategic experts debate the pros and cons of a war against Pakistan. We had the rich threatening not to pay their taxes unless their security was guaranteed (is it alright for the poor to remain unprotected? ). We had people suggest that the government step down and each state in India be handed over to a separate corporation. We had the death of former prime minster VP Singh, the hero of Dalits and lower castes and villain of Upper caste Hindus pass without a mention.
 


We had Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City and co-writer of the Bollywood film Mission Kashmir, give us his version of George Bush’s famous “Why they hate us” speech. His analysis of why religious bigots, both Hindu and Muslim hate Mumbai: “Perhaps because Mumbai stands for lucre, profane dreams and an indiscriminate openness.” His prescription: “The best answer to the terrorists is to dream bigger, make even more money, and visit Mumbai more than ever.” Didn’t George Bush ask Americans to go out and shop after 9/11? Ah yes. 9/11, the day we can’t seem to get away from.
 


Though one chapter of horror in Mumbai has ended, another might have just begun. Day after day, a powerful, vociferous section of the Indian elite, goaded by marauding TV anchors who make Fox News look almost radical and leftwing, have taken to mindlessly attacking politicians, all politicians, glorifying the police and the army and virtually asking for a police state. It isn’t surprising that those who have grown plump on the pickings of democracy (such as it is) should now be calling for a police state. The era of “pickings” is long gone. We’re now in the era of Grabbing by Force, and democracy has a terrible habit of getting in the way.
 


Dangerous, stupid television flashcards like the Police are Good Politicians are Bad/Chief Executives are Good Chief Ministers are Bad/Army is Good Government is Bad/ India is Good Pakistan is Bad are being bandied about by TV channels that have already whipped their viewers into a state of almost uncontrollable hysteria.
 


Tragically, this regression into intellectual infancy comes at a time when people in India were beginning to see that in the business of terrorism, victims and perpetrators sometimes exchange roles. It’s an understanding that the people of Kashmir, given their dreadful experiences of the last 20 years, have honed to an exquisite art. On the mainland we’re still learning. (If Kashmir won’t willingly integrate into India, it’s beginning to look as though India will integrate/disintegr ate into Kashmir.)
 


It was after the 2001 parliament attack that the first serious questions began to be raised. A campaign by a group of lawyers and activists exposed how innocent people had been framed by the police and the press, how evidence was fabricated, how witnesses lied, how due process had been criminally violated at every stage of the investigation. Eventually the courts acquitted two out of the four accused, including SAR Geelani, the man whom the police claimed was the mastermind of the operation. A third, Showkat Guru, was acquitted of all the charges brought against him but was then convicted for a fresh, comparatively minor offence. The supreme court upheld the death sentence of another of the accused, Mohammad Afzal. In its judgment the court acknowledged there was no proof that Mohammed Afzal belonged to any terrorist group, but went on to say, quite shockingly, “The collective conscience of the society will only be satisfied if capital punishment is awarded to the offender.” Even today we don’t really know who the terrorists that attacked the Indian parliament were and who they worked for.
 


More recently, on September 19 this year, we had the controversial “encounter” at Batla House in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, where the Special Cell of the Delhi police gunned down two Muslim students in their rented flat under seriously questionable circumstances, claiming that they were responsible for serial bombings in Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad in 2008. An assistant commissioner of Police, Mohan Chand Sharma, who played a key role in the parliament attack investigation, lost his life as well. He was one of India’s many “encounter specialists” known and rewarded for having summarily executed several “terrorists” . There was an outcry against the Special Cell from a spectrum of people, ranging from eyewitnesses in the local community to senior Congress Party leaders, students, journalists, lawyers, academics and activists all of whom demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. In response, the BJP and LK Advani lauded Mohan Chand Sharma as a “Braveheart” and launched a concerted campaign in which they targeted those who had dared to question the integrity of the police, saying it was “suicidal” and calling them “anti-national” . Of course there has been no inquiry.
 


Only days after the Batla House event, another story about “terrorists” surfaced in the news. In a report submitted to a sessions court, the CBI said that a team from Delhi’s Special Cell (the same team that led the Batla House encounter, including Mohan Chand Sharma) had abducted two innocent men, Irshad Ali and Moarif Qamar, in December 2005, planted 2kg of RDX and two pistols on them and then arrested them as “terrorists” who belonged to Al Badr (which operates out of Kashmir). Ali and Qamar who have spent years in jail, are only two examples out of hundreds of Muslims who have been similarly jailed, tortured and even killed on false charges.
 


This pattern changed in October 2008 when Maharashtra’ s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that was investigating the September 2008 Malegaon blasts arrested a Hindu preacher Sadhvi Pragya, a self-styled God man Swami Dayanand Pande and Lt Col Purohit, a serving officer of the Indian Army. All the arrested belong to Hindu Nationalist organizations including a Hindu Supremacist group called Abhinav Bharat. The Shiv Sena, the BJP and the RSS condemned the Maharashtra ATS, and vilified its chief, Hemant Karkare, claiming he was part of a political conspiracy and declaring that “Hindus could not be terrorists”. LK Advani changed his mind about his policy on the police and made rabble rousing speeches to huge gatherings in which he denounced the ATS for daring to cast aspersions on holy men and women.
 


On the November 25 newspapers reported that the ATS was investigating the high profile VHP Chief Pravin Togadia’s possible role in the Malegaon blasts. The next day, in an extraordinary twist of fate, Hemant Karkare was killed in the Mumbai Attacks. The chances are that the new chief whoever he is, will find it hard to withstand the political pressure that is bound to be brought on him over the Malegaon investigation.
 


While the Sangh Parivar does not seem to have come to a final decision over whether or not it is anti-national and suicidal to question the police, Arnab Goswami, anchorperson of Times Now television, has stepped up to the plate. He has taken to naming, demonising and openly heckling people who have dared to question the integrity of the police and armed forces. My name and the name of the well-known lawyer Prashant Bhushan have come up several times. At one point, while interviewing a former police officer, Arnab Goswami turned to camera: “Arundhati Roy and Prashant Bhushan,” he said, “I hope you are watching this. We think you are disgusting.” For a TV anchor to do this in an atmosphere as charged and as frenzied as the one that prevails today, amounts to incitement as well as threat, and would probably in different circumstances have cost a journalist his or her job.
 


So according to a man aspiring to be the next prime minister of India, and another who is the public face of a mainstream TV channel, citizens have no right to raise questions about the police. This in a country with a shadowy history of suspicious terror attacks, murky investigations, and fake “encounters” . This in a country that boasts of the highest number of custodial deaths in the world and yet refuses to ratify the International Covenant on Torture. A country where the ones who make it to torture chambers are the lucky ones because at least they’ve escaped being “encountered” by our Encounter Specialists. A country where the line between the Underworld and the Encounter Specialists virtually does not exist.
 


How should those of us whose hearts have been sickened by the knowledge of all of this view the Mumbai attacks, and what are we to do about them? There are those who point out that US strategy has been successful inasmuch as the United States has not suffered a major attack on its home ground since 9/11. However, some would say that what America is suffering now is far worse. If the idea behind the 9/11 terror attacks was to goad America into showing its true colors, what greater success could the terrorists have asked for? The US army is bogged down in two unwinnable wars, which have made the United States the most hated country in the world. Those wars have contributed greatly to the unraveling of the American economy and who knows, perhaps eventually the American empire. (Could it be that battered, bombed Afghanistan, the graveyard of the Soviet Union, will be the undoing of this one too?) Hundreds of thousands people including thousands of American soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The frequency of terrorist strikes on U.S allies/agents (including India) and U.S interests in the rest of the world has increased dramatically since 9/11. George Bush, the man who led the US response to 9/11 is a despised figure not just internationally, but also by his own people. Who can possibly claim that the United States is winning the war on terror?
 


Homeland Security has cost the US government billions of dollars. Few countries, certainly not India, can afford that sort of price tag. But even if we could, the fact is that this vast homeland of ours cannot be secured or policed in the way the United States has been. It’s not that kind of homeland. We have a hostile nuclear weapons state that is slowly spinning out of control as a neighbour, we have a military occupation in Kashmir and a shamefully persecuted, impoverished minority of more than 150 million Muslims who are being targeted as a community and pushed to the wall, whose young see no justice on the horizon, and who, were they to totally lose hope and radicalise, end up as a threat not just to India, but to the whole world. If ten men can hold off the NSG commandos, and the police for three days, and if it takes half a million soldiers to hold down the Kashmir valley, do the math. What kind of Homeland Security can secure India?
 


Nor for that matter will any other quick fix. Anti-terrorism laws are not meant for terrorists; they’re for people that governments don’t like. That’s why they have a conviction rate of less than 2%. They’re just a means of putting inconvenient people away without bail for a long time and eventually letting them go. Terrorists like those who attacked Mumbai are hardly likely to be deterred by the prospect of being refused bail or being sentenced to death. It’s what they want.
 


What we’re experiencing now is blowback, the cumulative result of decades of quick fixes and dirty deeds. The carpet’s squelching under our feet.
 


The only way to contain (it would be naïve to say end) terrorism is to look at the monster in the mirror. We’re standing at a fork in the road. One sign says Justice, the other Civil War. There’s no third sign and there’s no going back. Choose.
 

Arundhati Roy: Mumbai Was not India’s 9/11 is a post from: thalassa magazine

Sachin Tendulkar born in Bombay, Maharashtra, India is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.

He is the captain as well as the Icon Player in the Mumbai Indian team which is to participate in the Indian Premier League.

Sachin Tendulkar holds several highly regarded batting records and is the leading scorer of centuries in both Test cricket and one-day internationals.

He is one of the three batsmen to surpass 11,000 runs in Test cricket, and the first Indian to do so.

He is the most prolific run scorer in ODIs by a margin of over 4000 runs and has scored the most runs in international cricket as a whole. He crossed 16,000 runs in ODIs on February 5, 2008 while playing against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, Australia.

Nick Name : ‘The Little Master’ or ‘The Master Blaster’ or Tendlya

Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour.

The only cricketer and one of the first sportsmen to receive the Padma Vibhushan (2008), the second highest civilian honour of India.

He is the most sponsored player in world cricket and has a huge fan following even amongst foreign audiences.

Tendulkar has made numerous commercial ventures including opening a chain of restaurants in India

He has not been very successful captain, with two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team. He is integral part of team’s strategic processes and discussions.

Sachin Still rocks and stands out of the cricketing croud, it has been rightly said, if cricket is a religion then sachin is god.

- find more only at

get more articles only at Cricget.com

Sachin Rocks is a post from: thalassa magazine

eS shoes are actually some of the most innovative skate shoes on the market right now. The company is known for committing in technologically innovative components for its shoes ranges. This endeavor has shown to be an exceptional move for the brand because it has made eS shoes the most highly recommended skate shoes in the world. Founded in ’95 by Pierre Andre Senizergues, this well-known skate brand is closely linked to Emerica Footwear and Etnies Footwear, two of the most well-liked skate boarding brand names in the United states. The company was initially only producing eS shoes for men but has then widened its product collections with full apparel collections and eS shoes for kids.

Designed with the intention of withstanding the most challenging movements and stunts of skateboarding, eS shoes and sneakers have quite a few more characteristics than other skate footwear. For example, many of the eS shoes and sneakers use the STI Foam and System G2 Gel technologies. The STI foam acts as an energy-absorption fabric for shock assimilation and added comfort. On the other hand, the System G2 Gel makes it possible for the shoes to absorb more impacts compared to standard plastic or gel. These a couple of important enhancements, added to other common features, give eS shoes an advantage over its numerous rivals.

eS shoes and sneakers are not simply durable and technically advanced but they’re also highly attractive to the eye. Anyone could put on eS shoes or sneakers, even the non-skaters because their design have a laid-back appeal. The colours aren’t too drab, nor bold. For a non-skater, eS shoes are ideal when wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a walk in the street or park. The eS shoes collection includes: Cessner Series, Accel Series, Duran, Edward, Erving Series, eS One, First Blood Series, La Brea, McCrank, Saga, Shelton, Swerve, Square One Series, Slant, Taido Series, and Theory Series.

eS skate shoes, like any other skate shoes brands, have collaborated with some of the professional skateboarding greats. This really made the brand name even more well-known. The group work with these skateboarding phenomena also brought eS an insight on exactly what skateboarders really want. In exchange, eS has immortalized this group work by calling several of their eS shoes: Mike Anderson, Rick McCrank, Rodrigo Teixeira, John Rattray, Justin Eldridge, Danny Garcia, Mike Anderson, Bobby Worrest, Kellen James, etc. Make sure you take a look at the eS Koston shoes as well!

eS skate shoes have been acknowledged world wide as technically sophisticated, great quality skate boarding shoes, because es has heavily invested in manufacturing advanced attributes for their footwear. Furthermore, eS shoes are not only technical but also have styles that are very attractive to the eye. To even further their involvement with the skate boarding world, the brand has worked with with many of the shakers and movers of this activity. As it currently is, eS shoes and sneakers have continuously broadened their product collections to cater to the requirements of the skate world.

eS Shoes: Glide With Style Today is a post from: thalassa magazine

After creation of Pakistan, first Russia invited Pakistani leaders but instead of giving response Pakistan used that invitation to get attention of USA and then Pakistan inclined towards western side. Still our foreign relations experts stress that it was a good decision. If that was a good decision than why US image in Pakistan is not positive and why Pakistan is still a suspect in US eyes. But Russia should also confess that it was also its fault that its close neighbor went the wrong way and now for six decades Pakistan is cut off from its neighbors.

            It is also a fact that USA became superpower after wars – world wars. It was a sudden change in world politics. World wars changed the psyche of USA. If we study the history of USA after world wars, she deliberately supported wars or situation like wars and still she is fighting two major wars in our region. And instead of making peace in Afghanistan she is making deals with warring Taliban – whose sole training is of fighting wars. USA attacked Afghanistan to eliminate all those hideouts of terrorists from where America could be again attacked but on the other side recently in India; Obama just uttered his fantasy wish to arbitrate on Kashmir issue – an issue that can trigger a nuclear war between two angry neighbors. Isn’t it again a deliberate attempt to leave a space for a war?

            Till the time our people will not see a serious attempt from US side to solve our problems with India, they will never trust even sincere efforts of US. US must recognize that even Pakistan army does not trust US. The clear example of my this claim is that for decades Pakistan army has strong relations with US but still it never attempted to portray a positive image of US in Pakistan. And it is this phenomenon that even after getting the news of Chinese army presence in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistanis did not react. Will they not react in the same way if US army intervenes in tribal areas?

            Last week when Obama went to India, his first sentence I heard was about Mumbai attacks. Is this the issue that can normalize our relations with India? Obama praised Islam, its good but it was a general statement which implies on all Muslims. It has nothing to do with our relations with India. What he said about stable Pakistan and its inevitability for India is not some thing new for India. Former Indian Prime Minister Gujral has said it almost a decade ago. Indians are well aware of it. We Pakistanis and Indians already knew about the gravity of Kashmir issue. Instead of expressing his views about Mumbai attacks he could talk about the removal of difficulties in Indo-Pak relations. The world media is propagating his neutral attitude in India but in reality by talking about Indian permanent seat in Security Council has again put seeds of resentment in India and Pakistan.

            Though Pakistan is considering this issue of security council just a dream of India that is difficult to come true but in reality it will lead to a competition between India and Pakistan in Afghanistan where all the time US is announcing its withdrawal without defeating Taliban and Al-Qaeda – the so-called threats to American security. This American promise will compel Pakistan to balance India in Afghanistan. We all knew that this balance will not be in the shape of investment in Afghanistan but in the shape of Pakistan’s support for reconciliation with Taliban – a new American technique to leave roots of extremism for future in the region.

            Pakistan must also recognize that India is an emerging power. Pakistan is of the opinion that UN is failed in solving the problems and one of its reasons is the concentration of power in five members. So Indian effort – basically an Asian effort – to get permanent seat in Security Council must be supported by Pakistan. Last days Indian foreign minister visited China and met with Chinese and Russian counter parts. It seems that China and Russia have no observations on Indian entry to Security Council. Though it will need new legislation but the question is that Why China and Russia must support India.

            It is a fact that western hegemonies are taking its last sighs. In future there will be role of political alliances for dealing with various regions. USA is doing the same by coming closer to India. Though India has history of neutralism and it is hoped that India will never become a shield for the interests of others however India should not become a western ally like Pakistan. The Indian attitude towards Iranian gas pipeline is not optimistic but still it is hoped that India will not compromise on the interests of the region.

On the other side Russia and China also need India on Shanghai Cooperation Organization platform. Once Russia lost Pakistan now SCO must not lose India. Pakistan is western ally but any Indian move towards western side will compel Pakistan to compete India in the region because basically Pakistan does not trust the west in this matter. But if India comes closer to Chinese platform it will result in stabilizing the region but China and Russia will have to play a role for bringing harmony in the region.

Obama visit to India and the regional makeover is a post from: thalassa magazine

eS shoes and sneakers are some of the most advanced skateboarding shoes on the market these days. The brand is acknowledged for investing in technologically innovative elements for its shoes ranges. This endeavor has truly proven to be an exceptional move for the brand because it has made eS shoes the most highly recommended skate boarding shoes in the entire world. Created in 1995 by Pierre Andre Senizergues, this well-liked skateboarding brand is directly connected to Emerica Footwear and Etnies Footwear, two of the most famous skateboarding brand names in the U.S. The manufacturer was initially only manufacturing eS shoes for men but has then widened its product lines with full apparel ranges and eS shoes for kids.

Designed with the intention of withstanding the most challenging moves and stunts of skateboarding, eS shoes and sneakers have a few more attributes than other skate boarding shoes. For instance, many of the eS shoes and sneakers use the System G2 Gel and STI Foam technologies. The STI foam operates as an energy-absorption fabric for shock absorption and added convenience. Then, the System G2 Gel allows the shoes or sneakers to absorb a lot more shocks in comparison to standard gel or plastic. These a pair of key improvements, added to some other common features, give eS shoes an edge over its rivals.

eS shoes aren’t merely long-lasting and technically superior but they’re also very appealing to the eye. Anybody could wear eS shoes, even the non-skaters mainly because their style and design have a laid-back appeal. The colors aren’t too drab, nor bold. For a non-skater, eS shoes are perfect when putting on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for a walk in the park or street. The eS shoes collection includes: Accel Series, Cessner Series, Erving Series, Edward, Duran, La Brea, First Blood Series, eS one, McCrank, Saga, Shelton, Swerve, Square One Series, Slant, Taido Series, and Theory Series.

eS shoes, like any other skate shoes brand names, have worked with some of the professional skateboarding greats. This really made the brand name even more popular. The collaboration with these skate boarding phenomena likewise provided eS an understanding on exactly what skate boarders really want. To return the favour, eS has immortalized this group work by naming a number of their eS shoes: Rick McCrank, Mike Anderson, Justin Eldridge, John Rattray, Rodrigo Teixeira, Mike Anderson, Danny Garcia, Kellen James, Bobby Worrest, etc. Ensure you take a look at the eS Koston shoes as well!

eS skate shoes have been recognized worldwide as technically superior, top quality skate boarding footwear, simply because the brand has heavily invested in manufacturing advanced features for their footwear. Furthermore, eS shoes are not only technical but also have styles that are very pleasing to the eye. To further their effort with the skateboarding arena, the manufacturer has collaborated with a lot of the shakers and movers of this activity. As it is, eS shoes have constantly widened their product ranges to accommodate the demands of the skateboarding arena.

eS Skate Shoes is a post from: thalassa magazine

A survey carried out by the UK regulator for postal services, Postcomm, has suggested that, while people in the UK are happy on the whole with the quality of their parcel and postal services and the prices they are paying for them, it will only take a relatively modest price rise to prompt them to seriously consider switching to alternative providers.

A rise of five per cent in the cost of sending a parcel or letter would be enough to prompt nearly a third of people to look at alternative delivery companies, while if post prices were to rise by 10 per cent or more, more than half of those questioned (54 per cent) said they would investigate services offered by other courier companies.

While everyone is aware of Royal Mail, privately-run rivals are also enjoying more widespread recognition, with the likes of TNT Post UK, DHL Global Mail (UK) and UK Mail all among the names which people who responded to the survey recognised. Ipsos MORI polled a wide range of people, from householders to people involved in managing enterprises from small businesses to large, multi-national corporations.

The data was collected at around the time the UK Post Office was publicising the effects of increased use of the internet on its letters business, and as the UK was still in recession.

It was gathered from two distinct sets of mail customers: residential customers and small and medium-sized companies – with a total of more than 1,600 respondents – and a sample of more than 800 larger companies whose mail budgets were more than £5,000 a year.

There was little to choose between the scores the Royal Mail gained from business users and those of its rivals in the mail delivery sector when it came to marking business users’ levels of satisfaction with the service they were being given.

When Royal Mail was getting things right, customers were happy to acknowledge this, but there was far less satisfaction with the way in which it dealt with complaints, or handled issues of mis-delivered, damaged, lost or delayed mail. Many aspects of the service given at these times was rated as below average.

And it was found that businesses in particular, despite their general satisfaction with Royal Mail services, were less loyal to the state-owned company than in the past. The proportion of such customers who said they would never consider using an alternative mail carrier had halved in 2009 when compared with just a year earlier.

While there is by no means a free market for mail delivery in the UK, the survey concluded that people are, by and large, aware that they have a choice of who delivers much of their business and personal post. whether you need home delivery or overnight delivery services.

Survey shows businesses keen to get best deal for their postal services is a post from: thalassa magazine

I INTRODUCTION

 Pakistan, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic in South Asia, marking the area where South Asia converges with Southwest Asia and Central Asia. The capital of Pakistan is Isl.

 The area of present-day Pakistan was the cradle of the earliest known civilization of South Asia, the Indus Valley civilization (2500?-1700 bc). The territory was part of the Mughal Empire from 1526 until the 1700s, when it came under British rule. Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. It initially comprised two parts, West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were separated by about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of territory within India. In December 1971 East Pakistan seceded and became the independent republic of Bangladesh.

II LAND AND RESOURCES

Pakistan is bordered on the west by Iran, on the north and northwest by Afghanistan, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by India, and on the south by the Arabian Sea. A panhandle of Afghanistan territory in the northwest, the Wakhan Corridor, separates Pakistan and Tajikistan. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq mi), not including the section of Jammu and Kashm?r under its control. Jammu and Kashm?r is a disputed territory located between Pakistan and India. Pakistan controls a portion of the territory as Azad (Free) Kashm?r and the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), while India controls a portion as the state of Jammu and Kashm?r.

A Natural Regions

Pakistan has great extremes of elevation, reaching the highest point at the Himalayan peak of K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen) in the north and the lowest point at the Arabian Sea coast in the south. The Indus River flows the length of Pakistan from north to south. The Indus and its tributaries form a wide river valley with fertile plains in Punjab and Sind (Sindh) provinces. Pakistan is mountainous in the north and west. Earthquakes are frequent, and occasionally severe, in the northern and western areas.

Much of Pakistan is a dry, sun-scorched region. To the west of the Indus are the rugged dry mountains of the Sulaim?n Range, which merge with the treeless K?rthar Range in the south. Farther west are the arid regions of the Baluchistan Plateau and the Kh?r?n Basin. A series of mostly barren low mountains and hills predominate in the western border areas. The Thar Desert straddles the border with India in the southeast.

The country also possesses a variety of wetlands, with the glacial lakes of the Himalayas, the mudflats of the Indus Valley plains, and the extensive coastal mangroves of the Indus River delta. The wetland areas cover an estimated area of 7.8 million hectares (19.3 million acres).

B Rivers

The Indus River is the lifeline of Pakistan. Without the Indus and its tributaries, the land would have turned into a barren desert long ago. The Indus originates in Tibet from the glacial streams of the Himalayas and enters Pakistan in the northeast. It runs generally southwestward the entire length of Pakistan, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi), and empties into the Arabian Sea. The Indus and its tributaries provide water to two-thirds of Pakistan. The principal tributaries of the Indus are the Sutlej, Be?s, Chen?b, R?vi, and Jhelum rivers. In southwestern Punjab Province these rivers merge to form the Panjnad (“Five Rivers”), which then merges with the Indus to form a mighty river. As the Indus approaches the Arabian Sea, it spreads out to form a delta. Much of the delta is marshy and swampy. It includes 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) of mangrove forests and swamps. To the west of the delta is the seaport of Kar?chi; to the east the delta fans into the salt marshes known as the Rann of Kutch.

C Coastline

The coastline of Pakistan extends 1,046 km (650 mi) along the Arabian Sea. The Makran Coast Range forms a narrow strip of mountains along about 75 percent of the total coast length, or about 800 km (500 mi). These steep mountains rise to an elevation of up to 1,500 m (5,000 ft). Most of the coast is underdeveloped, with deserted beaches and only a few fishing villages.

D Mountain Peaks and Passes

Hindu Kush Mountains, Pakistan The Hindu Kush mountain system in central Asia extends for 1,000 km (600 mi) in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. With about two dozen peaks surpassing 7,000 m (23,000 ft), the range reaches its highest point in Pakistan’s highlands, where the peak known as Tirich M?r rises 7,690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level.Photo Researchers, Inc./Emil Muench

Pakistan has within its borders some of the world’s highest and most spectacular mountains. In the northern part of the country, the Hindu Kush mountains converge with the Karakoram Range, a part of the Himalayan mountain system. Thirteen of the world’s 30 tallest peaks are in Pakistan. The tallest include K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world at 8,611 m (28,251 ft), in the Karakoram Range; Nanga Parbat (8,125 m/26,657 ft) in the Himalayas; and Tirich M?r (7,690 m/25,230 ft) in the Hindu Kush.

Many mountain passes cross Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and China. Passes crossing over the mountains bordering Afghanistan include the Khyber, Bol?n, Khojak, Kurram, Tochi, and Gomal passes. The most well-known and well-traveled is the Khyber Pass in the northwest. It links Pesh?war in Pakistan with Jal?l?b?d in Afghanistan, where it connects to a route leading to the Afghan capital of K?bul. It is the widest and lowest of all the mountain passes, reaching a maximum elevation of 1,072 m (3,517 ft). The route of the Bol?n Pass links Quetta in Baluchistan Province with Kandah?r in Afghanistan; it also serves as a vital link within Pakistan between Sind and Baluchistan provinces. Historically, the Khyber and Bol?n passes were used as the primary routes for invaders to enter India from Central Asia, including the armies of Alexander the Great. Also historically significant is Karakoram Pass, on the border with China. For centuries it was part of the trading routes known as the Silk Road, which linked China and other parts of Asia with Europe.

E Plants and Animals

The vegetation of Pakistan varies with elevation, soil type, and precipitation. Forests are largely confined to the mountain ranges in the north, where coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar grow. The southern ranges of the Himalayas, which are of lower elevation, receive heavy rainfall and have dense forests of deodar, pine, poplar, and willow trees. The more arid Sulaim?n and Salt mountain ranges are sparsely forested with a type of mulberry called shisham, a broad-leaved, deciduous tree. Dry-temperate vegetation, such as coarse grasses, scrub plants, and dwarf palm, predominates in the valleys of the North-West Frontier Province and the Baluchistan Plateau. The arid western hills are dotted with juniper, tamarisk (salt cedar), and pistachio trees. The area of Zi?rat, Baluchistan, has juniper forests that are believed to be 5,000 years old; however, they are dwindling due to deforestation. Dry-tropical scrub and thorn trees are the predominant vegetation in the Indus River plain. Known as rakh, this vegetation is native to the region and can survive temperatures higher than 45°C (113°F). Riverine forests, found in the Indus floodplain, require six weeks of monsoon flooding to sustain them during the dry months. Irrigated tree plantations are found in Punjab and Sind. Mangrove forests in the coastal wetlands are an integral part of the marine food chain.

Animal life in Pakistan includes deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. The wetlands provide an essential habitat for a number of important mammal species, including coated otter, Indus dolphin, fishing cat, hog deer, and wild boar. During the migration season, at least 1 million waterfowl representing more than 100 species visit the extensive deltas and wetlands of Pakistan. Pakistan’s rivers and coastal waters contain many types of freshwater and saltwater fish, including herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.

Threatened or endangered species include the snow leopard, Marco Polo sheep, blue sheep, and ibex (a type of wild goat). These animals can still be found in remote and protected areas of the Himalayas. The houbara bustard has been overhunted as a game bird in Pakistan and is officially protected.

F Climate

The climate of Pakistan varies widely, with sharp differences between the high mountains and low plains. The country experiences four seasons. In the mountainous regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter and are mild during summer. In the Indus plains, temperatures range between about 32° and 49°C (about 90° and 120°F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13°C (about 55°F).

Mountainous areas receive most precipitation as heavy snowfall in winter. In other areas of Pakistan, most precipitation comes with the summer monsoons during July and August. The summer monsoons are seasonal winds that bring torrential rainfall, breaking the hot, dry spell and providing much-needed relief. The rainfall is so heavy that it causes rivers in Punjab and Sind provinces to flood the lowland areas. Rainfall is scarce the rest of the year. Punjab Province has the most precipitation in the country, receiving more than 500 mm (20 in) per year. In contrast, the arid regions of the southeast (the Thar Desert in Sind) and southwest (Baluchistan) receive less than 125 mm (5 in) annually.

G Natural Resources

More than 20 different types of minerals have been identified in Pakistan, but few are of sufficient quality or quantity to be commercially exploited. Most mineral deposits are found in the mountainous regions. Pakistan’s exploited natural resources include coal, natural gas, petroleum, gypsum, limestone, chromite, iron ore, rock salt, and silica sand. Pakistan has extensive natural gas reserves, notably in the vicinity of Sui, Baluchistan, from where it is piped to most of the large cities of Pakistan. Petroleum is limited, but exploration for additional reserves holds promise. Most of the country’s coal is of poor quality. The Salt Range in Punjab Province has large deposits of pure salt. Only about 3.3 percent of Pakistan’s total land area is forested, and timber is in short supply.

H Environmental Issues

The wetlands in Pakistan are a precious resource. In an arid to semiarid environment, these ecosystems have tremendous value. People, domestic livestock, and wildlife depend on them for livelihood and survival. The wetlands are also a major source of food staples, livestock grazing and fodder, fuel wood, and irrigation water. However, the fragile wetland ecologies are threatened by poor conservation, over-exploitation, and urban and industrial pollution.

Pakistan’s forests also are in urgent need of protection and conservation. The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. The primary causes of deforestation are population growth and settlement, lack of fuelwood alternatives, insect damage and diseases, forest fires, and lack of awareness about the importance of preservation.

In the 1970s the government of Pakistan began making efforts to protect the country’s forests. It has created 14 national parks, covering a total area of 2,753,375 hectares (6,803,738 acres). The protected forests of the parks help prevent soil erosion. The parks are also wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves. Khunjerab National Park, established in 1975, is an important habitat sanctuary for a number of threatened or endangered species, including the snow leopard. It is one of the country’s most important alpine biodiversity regions. Located in the Himalayas, it is also one of the highest-altitude parks in the world at 5,000 m (16,000 ft). Most of the parks generally have no ecological basis, however, existing primarily as tourist attractions or for the preservation of game animals.

Pakistan participates in the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and it has one designated biosphere preserve under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Program.

III THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN

The people of Pakistan are ethnically diverse. They trace their ethnic lineages to many different origins, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. Migrations of Muslims from India since 1947 and refugees from Afghanistan since the 1980s have significantly changed the demographics of certain areas of the country. The people of Pakistan come from ethnic stocks such as Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan. Although an overwhelming majority of the people are Muslim, religion does not supercede ethnic affiliations. The people follow many different cultural traditions and speak many different languages and dialects.

Pakistan has a population of 153,705,278 (2004 estimate), yielding an average population density of 197 persons per sq km (511 per sq mi). The country’s population was increasing in 2004 at a rate of 2 percent a year. Only 34 percent of the people live in urban areas.

A Cultural Groups

Pakistan is a multilingual and multiethnic nation. Most of the people belong to one of the country’s five major ethnolinguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns (Pakhtuns), Mohajirs (Muslims who migrated to the newly formed nation of Pakistan after 1947), and Baluchis. Ethnically distinct subgroups exist within each of these five categories. Overall, ethnic identity is multilayered and complex and may be based on a combination of religion, language, ethnicity, and tribe.

Not all of the ethnolinguistic groups are equally represented in the power structure of Pakistan. Mohajirs, Punjabis, and Pashtuns are the dominant groups, while Sindhis and Baluchis struggle to advance and protect their interests.

Punjabis constitute 58 percent of the population. They have diverse origins, but over the centuries they coalesced into a coherent ethnic group in the historic Punjab region and developed a common language, Punjabi. Today most Punjabis prefer to read and write in Pakistan’s official language, Urdu, and their language-based ethnic identity is relatively weak. Many Punjabis are farmers in the fertile valley of Punjab Province. Punjabis also predominate in the military and the federal government.

Sindhis constitute 13 percent of the population of Pakistan. Their traditional homeland is the province of Sind, where they maintain the country’s largest concentration of large landholdings. Sindhis are a predominantly rural people. They have a strong sense of linguistic and cultural pride and identity. They have a rich literary and folk tradition and prefer to read and write in their own language, Sindhi.

Pashtuns constitute 12.5 percent of the population. Pashtuns are divided into many tribes, and their tribal structure is egalitarian. Pashtuns follow a strict code of conduct known as Pashtunwali (“Pashtun Way”). Pashtun identity, including their interpretation of Islamic law, is formulated and guided by Pashtunwali. The code is based on the absolute obligations of providing hospitality and sanctuary, even to one’s enemies, and exacting revenge at all costs in the defense of one’s honor. The code also requires Pashtuns to abide by the decisions of the jirga (council of tribal leaders) in matters of dispute. Many Pashtuns have blue eyes and claim to be descendants of the European soldiers who fought for Alexander the Great in the region 2,000 years ago. They have a rich oral tradition in their ethnic language, Pashto, but many Pashtuns prefer to read and write in Urdu. Pashtuns are primarily farmers, livestock herders, traders, and soldiers in the Pakistan military.

Baluchis constitute 4 percent of the population. Most Baluchis are nomadic, migrating wherever the desert-like conditions of their homeland, the Baluchistan Plateau, provide enough vegetation to raise their animals. Raising livestock, mainly sheep and goats, and selling their hides and wool is a way of life for the Baluchis. They also have apple, almond, and apricot orchards, and some grow wheat. Baluchi tribal organization is strictly hierarchical, and each tribe is headed by a sardar (tribal chief). Most Baluchis speak Baluchi (Balochi), a language that is similar to Persian. About one-fifth of Baluchis also speak Brahui, a Dravidian-derived language. Baluchis are the least educated and poorest segment of the population and are inadequately represented in government.

Mohajirs constitute about 8 percent of the population. They are Muslims who settled in Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947. Unlike other cultural groups of Pakistan, they do not have a tribe-based cultural identity. They are the only people in the country for whom Urdu, the official language, is their native tongue. Mohajirs were the vanguard of the Pakistan Movement, which advocated the partition of British India in order to create the independent nation of Pakistan for Indian Muslims. After the partition, a large number of Muslims migrated from various urban centers of India to live in the new nation of Pakistan. These migrants later identified themselves as mohajirs, meaning “refugees” in both Urdu and Arabic. A large number of Mohajirs settled in the cities of Sind Province, particularly Kar?chi and Hyder?b?d. They were better educated than most indigenous Pakistanis and assumed positions of leadership in business, finance, and administration. Today they remain mostly urban.

Sindhis felt dispossessed by the preponderance of Mohajirs in the urban centers of Sind. With the emergence of a Sindhi middle class in the 1970s and adoption of Sindhi as a provincial language in 1972, tensions between Mohajirs and Sindhis began to mount. The 1973 constitution of Pakistan divided Sind into rural and urban districts, with the implication that the more numerous Sindhis would be better represented in government. Many Mohajirs felt that they were being denied opportunities and launched a movement to represent their interests. The movement, which evolved into the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the mid-1980s, called for official recognition of Mohajirs as a separate cultural group and advocated improved rights for Mohajirs. Although factional rivalries and violence within the MQM tarnished its image and shrunk its power base, the movement continues to be a potent force in urban centers of the province, particularly Kar?chi. The MQM has contributed to a more defined Mohajir identity within the country.

B Political Regions

The ethnic groups of Pakistan are distributed according to their historical settlement in the region. The current political regions of Pakistan roughly correspond to the settlement patterns established long before the partition of British India in 1947, when Pakistan was created as a homeland for Indian Muslims. The four provinces are Punjab, the Muslim portion of the historic Punjab region; Sind, the traditional homeland of the Sindhis; the North-West Frontier Province, a small portion of the Pashtun tribal lands; and Baluchistan, a portion of the Baluchi tribal lands. The traditional homelands of the Pashtuns and Baluchis extend beyond the modern political borders, both provincial and national.

Punjab is the most populated province of Pakistan, with 72.6 million people (1998). Most of the people are Punjabis. The province contains most of the country’s largest cities, but the rural agricultural areas are also densely settled. The province is the second largest in area.

Sind is the second most populated province in Pakistan, with about 30 million people (1998). Its population is the most urbanized in Pakistan. Sindhis make up about 60 percent of the population of Sind, living mostly in rural areas. Mohajirs constitute the remaining 40 percent and live mostly in the province’s large cities. Sind is the third largest province in area.

The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) has a population of 17.6 million (1998). The majority of the people are Pashtuns. The province is part of the historic Pashtun tribal lands, which extend throughout southern and southeastern Afghanistan and well into western Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and northern Baluchistan. The NWFP is Pakistan’s smallest province in area. In the 1980s refugees from war-torn Afghanistan began to settle in the province. Refugee camps and rudimentary villages were set up in the border areas. A large number of refugees also established communities in cities such as Pesh?war. Many became semipermanent residents of Pakistan because Afghanistan remained in a state of war through the mid-1990s. The majority of refugees were Pashtuns, facilitating their assimilation into the province’s population, in many cases through intermarriage.

Baluchistan is the most sparsely populated and least developed province of Pakistan. A majority of the 6.5 million (1998) people who live in Baluchistan are Baluchis. Pashtuns are the second largest ethnic group in the province. In recent years a large number of Afghan refugees have settled in Baluchistan. In area, Baluchistan is the largest province of Pakistan, covering nearly 40 percent of the country’s total territory. However, the province is an arid and inhospitable hinterland.

C Principal Cities

Pakistan’s largest city is Kar?chi, the capital of Sind Province. It is the country’s only seaport and a major financial, industrial, and commercial center. It is also known as the ethnic melting pot of Pakistan. Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, is Pakistan’s second largest city and a cultural and educational center. Faisal?b?d, in central Punjab, is the center of textile and fertilizer industries. Mult?n, the largest city in southern Punjab, has many ancient Muslim shrines, a huge fertilizer factory, and small cottage industries such as carpet weaving and pottery. Hyder?b?d, in Sind Province, is a manufacturing center with textile and glass factories, as well as a cultural center with museums, historic mosques, and a medical school. Pesh?war, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province, is a busy, overcrowded frontier outpost and a hub of trade with Afghanistan. For centuries it served as a gateway and trading post between Afghanistan and Southeast Asia.

Isl?m?b?d is the capital of Pakistan and the seat of the federal government; it forms its own administrative unit, the Isl?m?b?d Capital Territory. Just to the south, in bordering Punjab Province, is R?walpindi, the headquarters of the Pakistani army and an industrial center.

D Religion

Sunni Muslim A Sunni Muslim prays outside the entrance of his home in Quetta, in northwestern Pakistan. About 97 percent of the people in the country are Muslims, of which about 80 percent are Sunni Muslims.Arvind Garg

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Faisal Mosque, Isl?m?b?d A planned city, Isl?m?b?d replaced Kar?chi as Pakistan’s capital in 1967. The city contains many examples of modern architecture, including Faisal Mosque, designed by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay.Liaison Agency/Arvind Garg

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Islam is the faith of about 97 percent of the people of Pakistan. About three-quarters of the country’s Muslims are Sunni, and about one-quarter are Shia. Some small Muslim fringe sects, such as the Ahmedis and Zikris, also exist. Hindus and Christians form the largest religious minorities, accounting for about 3 percent of the population. Other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic state but guarantees freedom of religion.

E Languages

Urdu is the official language of Pakistan. It is the first language of only a small percentage of the population, but it cuts across linguistic and provincial boundaries as the national language. More than 75 percent of Pakistanis can speak and understand Urdu. In urban areas about 95 percent of the people communicate in Urdu. Urdu replaced English as the official language in 1978.

Most Pakistanis speak at least two languages. A large segment of the population is trilingual, speaking English, Urdu, and an ethnic-based regional language. Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Baluchi, and Brahui are the major regional languages. These languages have many regional dialects, including Saraiki, a widely spoken dialect of Punjabi. Regional languages are recognized as a potent force because language and ethnic identity are closely interrelated; even the national census categorizes groups according to their language, rather than their ethnicity. However, there is growing awareness among Pakistanis that for social mobility, national cohesion, and individual success, it is imperative to be fluent in Urdu and proficient in English.

Several factors contributed to the establishment of Urdu as the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was the language of the educated Muslims in northern India, who spearheaded the Pakistan Movement. Urdu helped foster a linguistic identity among Muslims in the region. Although similar to Hindi as a spoken language, Urdu uses a Persian-derived script and incorporates many Arabic words. Choosing Urdu as the national language provided a linguistic basis for the formation of a Muslim national identity. It also provided the country with a “neutral” language because Urdu does not have ethnic or tribal associations. Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, state-controlled electronic and print media have promoted Urdu. In the public schools of the country, Urdu is the principal language of instruction.

For all practical purposes, however, English is the de facto official language. Pakistan’s legal system is based on British common law, and judicial and government documents are mostly written in English. Pakistanis of all social strata strive to learn English, which has a certain elite status. Although the quality of instruction in English has declined, English continues to be the language of the educated and those who want to move ahead in life.

F Education

Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. From 1976 to 2001 the number of primary schools doubled, but so did the population. High levels of population growth continue to hamper educational development in the country. The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.

According to the constitution, it is the state’s responsibility to provide free primary education. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance, but attendance is not compulsory. While the enrollment rate in primary school is high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. In the 2000–2001 school year 75 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 25 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In 1996, 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s college-aged population attended institutions of higher education. The wealthiest and best students seek education in British and American universities.

At the time of independence Pakistan had only one university, the University of the Punjab, founded in 1882 in Lahore. Pakistan now has more than 20 public universities. Among Pakistan’s leading public institutions of higher education are Quaid-e-Azam University (1965), in Isl?m?b?d, the University of Kar?chi (1951), the University of Pesh?war (1950), and the University of Sindh (1947), near Hyder?b?d.

Since 1978 the government has encouraged the privatization of education at all levels. This led to the creation of three major private universities: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Agha Khan University Medical College (in Kar?chi), and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (in Topi, North-West Frontier Province). The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), in R?walpindi, conducts research in the fields of science and technology for both the public and private sectors.

PAKISTAN, a country of subcontinent is a post from: thalassa magazine

All parents want to document when a baby arrives, usually in pictures. A qualified professional baby photographer certainly cannot be compared to an amateur, as it all starts with better quality equipment (click to learn more). Additionally, there is skill and experience with regards to newborn photography that most amateurs simply would not possess. There is the issue of choosing to photograph sleeping babies or babies while awake whenever taking baby pictures. Below, see the pros and cons for both. 

Sleeping Baby Photo Advantages

• They show the child in an angelic light
• They are easy to take 
• Only requires placing the baby in the right props for incredible photos

The Disadvantages 

• The expression is always the same
• There’s a risk in waking the baby during the photo shoot

The Advantages of Awake Baby Photos

• There are many different expressions that can be captured
• There are different poses to make them more unique

The Disadvantages

• Could be challenging to capture good photos
• The baby may not be cooperative
• A photo shoot may end up taking too much time, tiring the baby and creating frustration

The days when a professional photographer would arrive and snap a few shots of a baby on a bed, or propped up with a pillow are long gone. Today, it has moved to a whole new level that uses incredible props to make for interesting pictures to be cherished for a lifetime.
Ideas for Interesting Props

• Enveloping the baby in a cocoon with a matching hat
• Dressing the child in a crocheted diaper and matching hat
• Resting the child on a cloud-like blanket wearing wings
• Resting a girl on a faux hydrangea petal blanket
• Stork pouch
• Elf hat

Such photos are sought by parents today who expect more in one of their own most memorable moments. When you have a new baby on the way, work with a baby photographer who brings props, either to the hospital or to your home, but think about whether you want sleeping or awake photos. Discuss your preferences with the professional so that everything is clear and then there will be no unpleasant surprises. 
Talk to several professionals face-to-face and on the phone, before the baby arrives simply because you will have limited time to do so afterward, which could result in making a hasty decision that might be regretted. This will give you the opportunity to book a photographer of your choice who is also within your budget. Before booking any one, make sure you see their portfolios, since this will give you confidence and helps with your decision. Also, ask for their input on the subject of sleeping or awake babies in pictures.

Baby Photography: Vital Pointers is a post from: thalassa magazine