Chapter 3 continues…

This has led to the demand for reservation as in Indian educational institutions! There are no daily newspapers and no radio or TV stations. The local people drew their subsistence from tourism, which has also declined considerably, and by joining the Northern Light Infantry, recruitment in which has also been reduced considerably.

Of late, people in the region especially in Baltistan have started attempts to reestablish links with all things Tibetan or Ladakhi, in a last-ditch attempt to save their culture from total Iran-style Islamization. They feel culture is more than a question of being Islamic and non-Islamic. They feel threatened from Pakistan’s dominant Punjabi culture.

According to Syed Abbas Kazml, who is in the forefront of this revival movement, “We have lost our link with the past. To wear our traditional woollen clothes or even to speak Balti is considered a sign of backwardness. We dress like and eat like the Punjabis even though many of their customs are just as foreign to us as those from the West.” He has made attempts to protect the pre-Islamic Buddhist architecture of the region.

As part of this campaign to defend their culture, the people have started attempts to bring back Tibetan script as they feel that Arabic script is grossly inadequate to bring out the richness in their language. As part of this revival process Baltistan Students Federation has made the yung drung (swastika), the ancient Bon symbol of prosperity, as their logo. Local scholars have taught themselves how to read the Tibetan script and have initiated a dialogue with their counterparts in Ladakh through internet. They research and publish mostly in Urdu, on topics ranging from the ancient Bon tradition to the Gesar epic.

Though the Tibetan Buddhism and Bon were replaced over the course of centuries, the process of Islamization has accelerated after the region came under Pakistani control especially after the Iranian revolution but the information age and current soul searching may help Baltistan embrace its ancient diversity.

To be continued…