Pakistan, which means "Land of (the) Pure" in Urdu and Persian, is a young state. It has indeed been created in 1947 for Muslim populations of British India to have their own country, that is to say an independent state of British Raj. Creation of the state of Pakistan was made under the auspices of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, known as Qaid-i-Azam (the Great Guide).
Indus civilization
The most populated region of Pakistan is around the river Indus and its tributaries that form the "land of five rivers", Punjab. The climate is quite humid in winter; it is very hot and dry in summer like in the Arabian Desert. Form a scientific perspective, Lower Indus is a desert. However the Indus and its tributaries provide abundant water from the Himalayas. In fact, populated areas of Pakistan are the largest oasis in the world!
Lahore is the former capital of Pakistan. The origin of its name is Urdu and it peaked during the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth (16th) century. Today Lahore is considered as a culturally significant city of Pakistan, where one can admire the most prestigious monuments. However its proximity to the Indian border has prevented the city from becoming the capital of Pakistan. That is why new town Islamabad was chosen to fill this position since 1967.
Karachi, established on the Arabian Sea, is the port of Pakistan is the first industrial heartland.
National identity
Pakistan was created at the initiative of leaders of a separatist political party, the All Muslim League. Despite the religious unity of the country, there are strong rivalries between ethnic groups of Pakistan. Thus, Punjabi Urdu speaking and Bengalis who speak Bengali have often contended for power. Although since 1954 Urdu and Bengali are equally recognized as official languages of Pakistan, tensions between West and East regions persist. So much so that even the national cinema suffers: Urdu-language movies are often unpopular among people who speak Bengali ... and vice versa. For this reason, it is impossible to make a list of Pakistani best movies!
Pakistan made its identity in opposition to its neighbours and rivals, namely India and Bangladesh. In particular, traditions, customs and Indian culture are taboo, while the cultures of Pakistan and India are really similar. We have an example of this with the sari: Formerly, both of Indian and Pakistani women worn sari. Nowadays, sari is only worn as a dress wedding in Pakistan! Under the pretext that it unveils some parts of female body (like the stomach), President Zia (1978-1988) had decreed that the sari was unsuitable for Muslim women. In fact, sari is an emblematic clothing of Indian culture. The Pakistani national dress, worn by men as by women, is called "salwar kameez". Those traditional clothes consist of baggy pants (salwar) and a shirt (kameez).
Pakistani food
Pakistani food, like all communities, was forged by the climate and agriculture of Pakistan. In this country, one grows several types of cereals. Rice, millet and wheat are the staple. Pakistani cuisine is spicy and refined similarity to Indian cuisine, with the difference that the Indians who are mostly Hindus do not eat meat in contrast to the Pakistanis. As in India, staple food consist of curry recipes (mixed spices), rice, dairy products like ghee (clarified butter), dals (lentils or mashed peas), chutney (pureed vegetables) and desserts like the famous halwa, ice saffron and many other delights ...
Politics, economics and sociology of Pakistan
Since independence in 1947 until the time of the grantor's President Ayub Khan, the country was unstable and its development slow. In the late '50s however, industry thrived in Pakistan, especially in Karachi. Some merchants from Bombay (India) helped to develop the industry of cotton textiles and sugar refineries.
Despite the deficiencies in health, education and family planning, poverty in Pakistan does not reach the same level as in border areas (Afghanistan, Bangladesh and parts of India). According to Gilbert Etienne, University of Geneva, who knows the topic well, Pakistan does not lack assets, but it has not yet found effective ways to exploit them.
Of course, torrential rains that lashed the country in summer 2010 further complicated the situation. The disaster that claimed thousands of casualties and millions of homeless is due to soil erosion. Farmland became permeable to rain because of deforestation. This tragedy probably demonstrates the need to address the problem of the forests destruction. Indeed, forests play a protective role for people and the environment.
Thorny issues of Pakistan
Kashmir, a mountainous region claimed by Pakistan and India is still a subject of contention between the two countries.
Since its inception in 1947, Pakistan failed to ease community tensions.
