The Last Wali of Swat


Book Description

"The Wali of Swat was born nine years before his father carved out a centralized state in the stateless, unruly tribal area of the Swat Pathans on the borders of British India. The Wali later ruled Swat for twenty years, till it was merged with Pakistan in 1969. His recollections thus span the whole history of Swat State, and give a unique insight into its formation and development."--Jacket.




Swat State (1915-1969) from Genesis to Merger


Book Description

The book discusses the nomenclature, geography, climate and natural vegetation, regional ethnicity and lineages and historical perspective of Swat, Pakistan. It evaluates and analyzes the genesis of the once Princely State of Swat in the historical, geo-political and strategic context. It deals with the consolidation and expansion of the former State holistically. Moreover, it evaluates the State's relations with the British Government and later Pakistan, and with the neighboring states of Dir and Amb. The book evaluates and analyzes the administrative system including the civil, military, financial and judicial spheres. It also deals with the socio-cultural milieu and changes brought about in Swat in respect of education, language, religion, health, permanent settlement, communication, trade and industry, agriculture, tourism, leadership, and women's rights. It looks at the merger of the former state into Pakistan, the constitutional status of the State, causes of the merger, the Wali's role in the merger, and both positive and negative effects and impacts of the merger.




Swat


Book Description

Extrait de la couverture : "The Pukhtun society of the Swat valley in the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan, is at the crossroads of social transformation and change. The Mghan Yusafzai tribe, which migrated from Kabul more than five hundred years ago and settled in the Swat valley, has retained its particular tribal culture and characteristics to this day. It was during the last century that the culture of Yusufzai Pukhtuns, residing on this side of the Durand Line, began to be influenced by the regional historical and geo-political forces. From a rural tribal society, governed by the centuries old tribal code - Pukhtunwali - the Pukhtuns have been gradually urbanising, responding to the emerging socio-economic and historical changes. The transformation is not without its ramifications - social conflicts, breakdown of old tribal social structures and values, unplanned economic growth and its adverse effects on the natural resource base of the lush green valley, often compared with Switzerland for its scenic beauty. This book chronicles the process of urbanisation and change in the broader context, embracing the history, geography, agriculture and economics, demography and migration, culture and politics of the Swat valley. It analyses the impact of abolition of the traditional Wesh system of land distribution, merger of the State of Swat within the nation-state of Pakistan, the increasing influence of religious groups subsequent to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the advent and decline of the Taliban, the remittance economy and tourism, and the donor-funded development projects that have a bearing on the process of urbanisation. What emerges is an insightful picture of the contemporary Swat valley, leading to a better understanding of the complex forces that are transforming its tribal Pukhtun society."




Generosity and Jealousy


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The Akond of Swat


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Beyond Swat


Book Description

Beyond Swat addresses Fredrik Barth's seminal work, Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans and its reception in relation to contemporary developments in Swat and the larger Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Swat is a Pakistani district located near the Afghan-Pakistan border. This volume explores the relevance of Barth's work and th.




Malala's Magic Pencil


Book Description

Nobel Peace Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author Malala Yousafzai's first picture book, inspired by her own childhood. Malala's first picture book will inspire young readers everywhere to find the magic all around them. As a child in Pakistan, Malala made a wish for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy, to erase the smell of garbage from her city, to sleep an extra hour in the morning. But as she grew older, Malala saw that there were more important things to wish for. She saw a world that needed fixing. And even if she never found a magic pencil, Malala realized that she could still work hard every day to make her wishes come true. This beautifully illustrated volume tells Malala's story for a younger audience and shows them the worldview that allowed Malala to hold on to hope even in the most difficult of times. "This is a wonderful read for younger students that will also provide insight and encourage discussion about the wider world. ... The simplicity of Yousafzai's writing and the powerful message she sends, make this book inspirational for all." -- School Library Journal




I Am Malala


Book Description

A MEMOIR BY THE YOUNGEST RECIPIENT OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE As seen on Netflix with David Letterman "I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday." When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education. On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive. Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she became a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize. I AM MALALA is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons. I AM MALALA will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.




The Geography of Gandhāran Art


Book Description

Gandhāran art is usually regarded as a single phenomenon – a unified regional artistic tradition or 'school'. Indeed it has distinctive visual characteristics, materials, and functions, and is characterized by its extensive borrowings from the Graeco-Roman world. Yet this tradition is also highly varied. Even the superficial homogeneity of Gandhāran sculpture, which constitutes the bulk of documented artistic material from this region in the early centuries AD, belies a considerable range of styles, technical approaches, iconographic choices, and levels of artistic skill. The geographical variations in Gandhāran art have received less attention than they deserve. Many surviving Gandhāran artefacts are unprovenanced and the difficulty of tracing substantial assemblages of sculpture to particular sites has obscured the fine-grained picture of its artistic geography. Well documented modern excavations at particular sites and areas, such as the projects of the Italian Archaeological Mission in the Swat Valley, have demonstrated the value of looking at sculptures in context and considering distinctive aspects of their production, use, and reuse within a specific locality. However, insights of this kind have been harder to gain for other areas, including the Gandhāran heartland of the Peshawar basin. Even where large collections of artworks can be related to individual sites, the exercise of comparing material within and between these places is still at an early stage. The relationship between the Gandhāran artists or 'workshops', particular stone sources, and specific sites is still unclear. Addressing these and other questions, this second volume of the Gandhara Connections project at Oxford University’s Classical Art Research Centre presents the proceedings of a workshop held in March 2018. Its aim is to pick apart the regional geography of Gandhāran art, presenting new discoveries at particular sites, textual evidence, and the challenges and opportunities of exploring Gandhāra’s artistic geography.




Pakistan


Book Description

In the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a large diaspora in Britain and North America, Pakistan is central to the hopes of jihadis and the fears of their enemies. Yet the greatest short-term threat to Pakistan is not Islamist insurgency as such, but the actions of the United States, and the greatest long-term threat is ecological change. Anatol Lieven's book is a magisterial investigation of this highly complex and often poorly understood country: its regions, ethnicities, competing religious traditions, varied social landscapes, deep political tensions, and historical patterns of violence; but also its surprising underlying stability, rooted in kinship, patronage, and the power of entrenched local elites. Engagingly written, combining history and profound analysis with reportage from Lieven's extensive travels as a journalist and academic, Pakistan: A Hard Country is both utterly compelling and deeply revealing.