Thursday, April 7, 2022

Research- CAK

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Culture Area Karakorum Research Project in the Northern Areas, Pakistan: proceedings of the Pak-German Joint Workshop on .... held on 1-3 Dec 1991 at Lahore, Pakistan

Dissemination of Research in GB - My Proposal
Students and Scholars engaged in research on multitude of topics can be more helpful to the society if they get disseminated through a single platform. I propose that such a platform be sponsored either by KIU or BHT. In my view it is feasible to launch the platform without any additional resources - budget or structures.
Till such time, I offer use of existing platform "KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY INITIATIVE" - available on FACEBOOK as well as blogs initiated by me since a couple of years.
EXAMPLES
1. I have already shared the abstract and links to an exhaustive and exemplary research done by CAK over a period of almost 50-years and covered through 12-volumes.
2.  Nazmeen from hussainabad hunza, is doing Ms from Quaid-e-Azam university, and has undertaken the research on " the relationship between the Mir's and the public in the princely state of Hunza (1947-1974)". Once it is completed and approved by the university, she should be able to share it through the proposed platform.
Based on the first cycle a master plan for an inventory project, led by Ms. Yasmin Cheema, was prepared in 2000. The intention of this project was to document the cultural heritage of the Northern Areas and give it appropriate recognition. The work involved inventorying and cataloguing this heritage, setting criteria, determining priorities, and recommending measures for conservation and protection.
Hermann Kreutzman (ed.). Karakoram in Transition: Culture, Development and Ecology in the Hunza Valley. Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan. 2006. 500 pp. INR 895 (Hardcover). ISBN 0-19-547210-1.
Since the late nineteenth century, the Hunza valley has been the subject of much academic and popular writing. British administrators were intrigued by this region due to its strategic location at the northern frontier of their empire, which had to be guarded against the advancing Russians in the 'great game' of imperial rivalry. Traversing the majestic peaks and glaciers at this frontier, discovering and describing its uncharted terrains, and investigating the racial and cultural connotations of why the main language of its inhabitants (burushaski) was a linguistic isolate, all added to the mystique of Hunza for Western explorers. Today, the Hunza valley forms a major tourist hub in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and continues to pique the interest of travelers with images of the ancient silk route, rare wildlife species, the famed longevity of its dwellers, and of course, its breathtaking landscapes.

In the last three decades, the political and socio-economic landscape of Hunza valley has been significantly transformed by a variety of factors including the opening of the Karakoram highway, the abolition of princely kingdoms leading to more direct control by the Pakistani state, increase in donor-funded development projects and the marketisation of the economy. Such processes of change have been extensively studied by a collective of mostly German researchers under the 'Culture Area Karakoram' (CAK) project [1]. The edited volume under review continues this focus on 'transition', and includes articles by several authors who were associated with the CAK project. Hence, it reads like a continuation of this project even though it is not presented as such.
  1.  'environment and resources' : In his article on Hunza glaciers, Kenneth Hewitt attends to a timely concern by exploring the links between glacial processes, natural hazards and climate change. Hewitt argues that since the 1920s, there has been a general reduction in the ice cover in the Hunza basin as well as in the incidence of large ice dams and outburst floods. At the same time, there have also been periods in which several large ice masses have thickened. 
  2. Apart from chapters on glaciers, the first section also includes one article each on Hunza's vegetation, wildlife and forests. The article on Hunza forests by Udo Schickhoff is particularly insightful, as it draws upon the science, history and politics of forest use in the Hunza valley to provide a rich, interdisciplinary analysis of forest degradation in the region. 
  3. The next section on 'history and memory' is exciting in its variety of subject as well as method. Everyday tales, local songs, colonial photographs and rock inscriptions are some of the objects that are employed for historical inquiry, to answer a range of questions: for example how do the historical and the mythical fuse together in oral accounts of the past, or, how can changes in the physical and cultural landscape of a place be captured through the act of reading old photographs alongside contemporary ones.
  4. Similarly, Irmtraud Stellrecht challenges Sidky's [2] famous thesis that political centralisation in the Hunza state was primarily achieved through the construction of irrigation channels and subsequent control over newly cultivated lands by the ruling Mirs. Instead, he compellingly argues that a decisive external factor which enabled state formation in Hunza was the rising political significance of the passage to Central Asia, as it created conditions in which the Mirs could take advantage of 'route politics' for consolidating their power. Moreover, as Stellrecht emphasises, the history of princely statehood in Hunza also needs to take into account less emphasised internal factors such as the 'marital politics' of the Hunza Mirs through which political alliances were forged and loyalties secured.
  5. Another interesting contribution in this section is a chapter by Beate Reinhold, which provides a discussion of linguistic transition in the upper Hunza region of Gojal. The Gojali language of Wakhi has attracted significant academic attention in recent years, with the result that Wakhi vocabulary, grammar and oral traditions are fairly well documented. However, as Reinhold points out, less attention has been paid to how Wakhi is spoken in everyday life, particularly by women. She goes on to analyse how linguistic habits and preferences are changing in the contemporary context of migration and modern education in Gojal.
  6. Hermann Kreutzmann-who is also the editor of the volume-provides a comprehensive analysis of how the agricultural and pastoral economy of Hunza has changed over the last seventy years. His article is rich in archival research as well as ethnographic detail, and like Schickhoff's article on forest degradation discussed earlier, illuminates an understanding of agricultural science, history, political economy and social relations in unique and compelling ways. We learn that animal husbandry in the Hunza region was of tremendous importance historically, as grazing taxes in the form of livestock and their products constituted a chief source of revenue for the Hunza state, and were thus critical for its sustenance. This gave a measure of power to affluent nomadic communities in upper Hunza, and also resulted in frequent conflicts between communities and the Hunza Mir over the control of pastures. 
  7. The final section on 'culture and development' is different from the other sections in at least two ways. First, it includes articles not just by academics, but also by practitioners who have been actively involved in key development projects in the Hunza valley. Second, it also includes perspectives from local researchers, not just foreign ones. Both these factors bring a refreshing diversity to the volume.
  8. Thematically, there is a prominent focus on the built heritage of Hunza in this section, and particularly on the work of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). Stefano Bianca's article, for example, elaborates how the AKTC has sought to unite concerns of culture as well as development, by undertaking the conservation of monuments, village settlements and public spaces in Hunza with the participation and ownership of local communities. The work of AKTC has enhanced local awareness about managing urban sprawl, and also led to a revitalisation of traditional building techniques.
As a member on AKCSP Board 1996-1999, upgraded the house as a model residence for present age living essentials - for emulation as a living example.
The preface of Karakoram in Transition mentions that it is particularly aimed at the 'young generation of students and scientists in Pakistan and in the Northern Areas in particular as a basis for further research efforts' (p. vii). In this, it surely succeeds as it provides an excellent index of current research on the Hunza valley.
Stellrecht, I. (ed.). 1997. Perspectives on History and Change in the Karakoram, Hindukush, and Himalaya. Culture Area Karakorum Scientific Studies Köln, Köppe, Germany; and Stellrecht, I. (ed.). 1998. Karakorum-Hindukush-Himalaya: Dynamics of Change. Culture Area Karakorum Scientific Studies Köln, Köppe, Germany. 
Publications - numbering twelve volumes - are available in the BHT library for reading by all interested.
Posted by Hisamullah Beg SI(M) at 11:53 AM 0 comments
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