Book Review: God A Human History by Reza Aslan

Reza Aslan’s book gives a detailed chronological account of the concept of God perceived by human beings during the different phases of their existence on the planet. The book is divided into three parts. The Embodied Soul, The Humanized God and What is God. The writer takes a start from the Paleolithic time period. The concept of Shamans and their transcendental role is briefly discussed. Shamans were supposed to have one foot in this world and one in the next. In early unorganized religions, sacrifice played an important role as can be inferred from painted caves in Indonesia and in parts of Europe. During the Paleolithic period ancestors survived on scavenging and foraging. The author is of the view that belief in the soul is humanity’s first belief.

Furthermore in the book, the birth of organized society is elaborated in detail with agricultural revolution leading to the consumption of fewer vitamins and minerals and considerably less protein. The birth of organizational religion encouraged the transition from hunting to farming. Sumer civilization developed the first written language. They also invented the wheel and sailboat. The power of writing is so much that one can imagine the power of the word ilu in the Sumerian language became transliterated as Elohim in Hebrew and Allah in Arabic.

In the Neolithic period manism (ancestor worship) gained strength. At a later stage in the book Mesopotamian (Mesopotamia means between two rivers in Greek) civilization is also discussed. The architecture including the rectangular pyramidal towers of Mesopotamia temples are explained in detail.

In history many figures tried to dehumanize God including the Greek thinkers. Besides them a young pharaoh from the 18^th dynasty of the New Kingdom in ancient Egypt became the first monotheist in all of recorded history. The Iranian prophet Zarathustra Spitama rose in approving monotheism in 1100 BCE.  Zoroaster called God as Ahura Mazda. Priests were known as Magi, and the other castes included warriors and farmers. After ten years of preaching he could only convert his cousin to this new religion. After his death Zoroastrianism decayed until the time of Cyrus the great, who was ruler of the Achaemenid Empire.

History’s first successful experiment with monotheism was led by a small Semitic tribe from the land of Canaan that called itself Israel. Conflict and war also affected religions in many ways. When the Babylonians destroyed the Israelites, the theological conclusion was that Marduk, the god of Babylon, was more powerful than Yahweh (The Israelite God). Other than that the complexity of the concept of Trinity in Christianity has also been elaborated. This includes Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The war between King Khosrow (Zoroastrian) and Heraclius (Byzantine) has been briefly mentioned.

The Sufi interpretation of Tawheed is highlighted which says that God is everything that exists. God should be considered as a light that passes through prism. Aslan in his conclusion explains his own religious orientation and quotes Ibn al-Aabi’s: “He who knows his soul knows his lord.”

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Book Review: Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh by John Biddulph

Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh written by British colonial officer John Biddulph, spans over fourteen chapters which include themes related to topography, habits, customs, festivals, history, ruling families of the region and local languages. It can be considered as an account of Biddulph’s travel to the regions which we now know as Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Kohistan and Xinjiang. The writer makes frequent mention of the Chinese traveller named Fah Hian, who is also known to have travelled through these mountainous territories. Mentioning about Kohistan, the writer is of the view that Kohistan is also called Shinkari, ‘the country of the Shins’, by the Kohistani people themselves. Moreover the valleys of Tangir and Darel are discussed in great detail. The prevalent languages, ethnic composition and traditions of small states are also explained. Conflicts, political relations and issues of grazing rights between Tangir and Yasin are highlighted. Moving north towards Gilgit town, Biddulph estimates the population of Gilgit to be of 4500 inhabitants.

About Hunza state, the writer mentions the raids in Yarkand by the Hunza people and also says that animal slaughter in Hunza is not according to the Mohammedan law. Ghazan Khan the ruler of Hunza is known for organizing orgies. Pointing towards the various ethnicities of that time Biddulph believes that Shins could be considered Hindus from the South and Kashmiris residing in Gilgit are basically weavers and carpenters. Various official positions of administration are debated. Some of these include Yerfah (Steward), Charboo (Assistant to the Trangfa), Trangfa (Village Head), Ataliks in Chitral (Military commander and Revenue officer) and Charwelo (In charge of a group of villages). The Chitrali ruler receives an annual tribute of children of both sexes from the Siah Posh community. The punishments for elopement, adultery and extra marital affairs in these tribal regions are also mentioned. The importance of foster relations, especially with the ruling families has been brought to notice.

In the second half of the book the writer compares Shin and Yeshkun names. He considers Shin names as having a suffix of ‘sing’ in them. While explaining the presence of old religious influence in the region, Biddulph opines that the old towers in Wakhan represent Zoroaster religion’s cradle.  Adding on to that, he further narrates that the practice of suttee (common among the Hindus) was practiced in Gilgit, Gor, Hunza and Nager. The author even claims the presence of Hindus in Darel valley till 1877. In addition to that the appendices portion of the book includes languages such as Brooshiski, Shina, Chiliss, Torwalak, Bushkarik, Gowro, Narisati, Khowar , Bushgali and Yidghah. Here the author makes a very valuable anthropological contribution by listing vocabulary, numerals, verbs, nouns and pronouns in the local languages of the region.

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Book Review: Mr and Mrs Jinnah The Marriage that shook India by Sheela Reddy

Muhammad Ali Jinnah is a Khoja Ismaili, born to Jinnah Poonja and Mithi Bai. In school Jinnah faces difficulty in his studies.  He leaves school to join his father’s business. After some time he realizes that his job is a monotonous one. With his father’s sanction Jinnah travels to England, to work in a company owned by his father’s acquaintance. There after some time Jinnah leaves the job, instead he chooses to study law. Before leaving for Britain, Jinnah marries as per his mother’s wish. In Britain Jinnah qualifies the ‘Little Go’ test to study law and later opts for Lincoln’s Inn. While Jinnah is abroad, both his wife and mother die.  After returning to India Jinnah falls in love with Ruttie, a sixteen year old girl, daughter of a Parsi baronet called Sir Dinshaw Petit. Later when Ruttie marries Jinnah against her father’s wish, Dinshaw files a law suit in which he claims Jinnah to have abducted his daughter. After marrying her, Jinnah allows his wife all sorts of freedom. Jinnah even allows her to take part in politics. Her maiden speech has been highlighted in the first half of this book.

When Jinnah takes part in politics, Gandhi asserts Jinnah to speak Gujrati, but Jinnah is obdurate. Furthermore the author writes about the instances of embarrassment, times of loneliness and stages of struggle in Jinnah’s life. Jinnah’s political sagacity and demeanor as a speaker are also praised. Jinnah loved to say ‘In politics you cannot be emotional’. Jinnah considered Edmund Burke to be his role model. Various political events kept Jinnah busy and on the contrary relations with Ruttie kept deteriorating. Ruttie felt alienated as Jinnah could not spare time for her. Ruttie joined dancing classes as she was very fond of dancing, but later Jinnah forbade her from dancing with any man.  Ruttie’s interest in her only child remained minimal. For many years the child remained nameless. Ruttie had sleeping disorders and took sleeping pills. Later she got addicted to morphine.

On 4 Jan 1928 Jinnah and his wife parted. Ruttie and Jinnah even met after they separated as she was severely ill and suffered from depression. One day Ruttie took her own life by taking an over doze of sleeping pills. Jinnah was devastated. His only child was called Dina. Jinnah was against Dina’s marriage with Neville Wadia, a Parsi who had converted to Christianity. This book explains in detail the various political events which affected the relations between Jinnah and his wife. Personal letters of Ruttie show her level of disappointment and disenfranchisement in life. Her death at the age of twenty nine left Jinnah heartbroken as he did not marry again.

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Book Review: The Bride by Bapsi Sidhwa

Qasim, a tribesman from the mountains, decides to live in Pakistan when the sub-continent takes new contours in 1947’s partition. On his journey to Lahore he takes an orphan girl, named Zaitoon, for his daughter. Qasim and Zaitoon start living with Nikka pehlwan’s family in Lahore. Nikka initiates his business by borrowing cash from Qasim whereas Qasim starts earning with a small job on daily wage. Nikka’s wife Miriam helps in the upbringing of Zaitoon. Qasim wants Zaitoon to marry one of his clansmen called Sakhi. When Qasim deems it appropriate for Zaitoon to get married she is taken by Qasim to his village. On their way Zaitoon is attracted towards an army man. She remains silent and does not disclose it to Qasim. Furthermore she is perplexed by her position in the new society in which she is about to move. 

When Qasim returns back to Lahore Zaitoon realizes that her new life in the mountains is engulfed with misery and pain. Her husband physically tortures her, there is no reasonable diet and living conditions are not conducive. One day Zaitoon decides to run. When her husband discovers her absence, he along with his tribesmen starts the hunt for Zaitoon. She knows that once discovered in the forests they will surely murder her. After days of wandering and discomfort Zaitoon finally reaches an army camp. There she is rescued by a military official who sends her down country, away from the wrath of tribal people. Sakhi informs his brethren that her wife is already dead, despite knowing that she is still alive. Sakhi had been assured by the army official that he would make sure Sakhi’s honor remains intact by not leaking any news of her. On the other hand Sakhi would not direct any threat to the girls’s life. Sakhi had agreed as he had no other option, because he could not wage a war against the military might. Sakhi wailed and gave in. This book is about mores, matrimonial affairs, obligations and family loyalties which Sidhwa has nicely, weaved and presented before the reader.

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Book Review: Benazir Bhutto Daughter of the East

Benazir Bhutto’s autobiography starts with the chapter named ‘The assassination of my father’. In this chapter she narrates her father’s case, visits to his jail and the deplorable living conditions of the jail where he was kept. Moving forward Benazir reminisces her childhood and talks about her family life. She took her O level exams at Vatican embassy in Pakistan. Later on Benazir went to Harvard University to pursue higher education. Benazir is of the view that, by studying at Harvard she began to understand more about Pakistan than she had been while living in Pakistan. 

When her father visited US for attending the UN sessions he would direct Benazir to be part of those sessions as an observer. In addition to that Benazir remembers her father telling her: “One of the fundamentals of diplomacy is to create doubt”. Later when Benazir went to Oxford she also served as the President of Oxford Union, for three months. Tariq Ali, a leftist had also remained president of the Oxford Union. In the book Benazir Bhutto presents her father’s case before the reader and argues that Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had made adequate reforms in Pakistan which were in accordance with Islam.  After attending Harvard, Benazir went to Oxford. At Oxford University, Benazir also owned a personal car. On her return she intended to join Pakistan’s Foreign Service. When Benazir returned to Pakistan she had an Urdu tutor and her father would always tell her to improve her Urdu. In this book frequent mention of Zia-ul-Haq is made by Benazir. Benazir believes her father was judicially murdered by Zia and his cronies. Zia who had passed over six generals kept harassing Benazir and her family. She was kept in Sukkur jail, Karachi Central jail and was numerous times under house arrest. Benazir at one point in her book also mentions that both she and her mother were allowed to keep servants in jail. 

Adding on to that Benazir was later permitted by Zia to go abroad on medical grounds. There she travelled between London and Paris. She continued her political engagements for her party and also got involved in highlighting the perils of Zia’s rule in Pakistan by engaging with the western media. When she was in France, her younger brother Shah Nawaz died under mysterious circumstances. Shah Nawaz used to train guerilla fighters in Afghanistan and is said to have mentioned Zia’s threat to his life, prior to this incident. Moreover in the book Benazir unveils about her marriage with Asif Zardari, who was also from a feudal background. Benazir believes that under US pressure Zia held the elections of 1985. She further narrates events till the day of Zia’s plane crash in Bahawalpur. Benazir concludes by hoping to cast her vote in 1988 elections and believes that one day Pakistan would become a democratic and progressive country.

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Book Review: Boy by Roald Dahl

Boy is certainly not Roald Dahl’s autobiography but definitely a reflection of his early phase of life. Roald Dahl’s father hailed from a small town near Oslo. His father had married twice and died when Dahl was young. In his childhood, Dahl was a naughty kid. In this book he narrates an anecdote from his childhood where he along with his friends placed a dead mouse into a box containing sweets. The seller of those sweets was a lady who complained to Dahl’s school head. They all got caught and were punished badly. Furthermore Dahl mentions his admission into a boarding school. There he suffered from homesickness and also faced the wrath of his school teachers and seniors. In addition to that he had secretly kept a bicycle which he would often ride after sneaking out from his dormitory. Adding on to that, he mentions about his different teachers; their behavior towards students and the beating which they got from them. One day he was really missing home and wanted to go back. This only became possible when he pretended to be sick. He also explains the physical pain which he underwent after getting his adenoid removed without anesthesia. Dahl’s naughtiness once made him mix goat’s dropping into the pipe of his sister’s fiancé. After high school Dahl did not wish to study at a university and instead opted to work. He got inducted into Shell Oil Company. Later on he also became an RAF pilot fighting against the Germans in Second World War. Dahl was passionate about photography and got a Bronze medal from the Egyptian photography Society in Cairo. Throughout the book Dahl shares his childhood experiences, school life and his family trips. He believes that some events have made an ever lasting impact on his life. As Roald Dahl states ‘Throughout my young days at school and just afterwards a number of things happened to me… Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant…All are true’.

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Book Review: Danny The Champion of the World By Roald Dahl

A small boy named Danny lives with his father. His mother had died early and he has been brought up only by his father. Danny’s father is a mechanic and also owns a filling station. One night Danny discovers the absence of his father from bed. He gets curious and worried. This worrisome situation leads Danny to hunt for his father. In this search he drives his father’s car to the woods, after narrowly escaping the police. There he learns that his father is inside a deep pit and has a broken leg too. He rescues his father. Later Danny’s father tells him the reason behind the injury. This revelation is about a secret. Danny promises not to disclose it. His father has been secretly poaching pheasants. Danny gets very interested in knowing about this art. Moreover his father tells him various methods for poaching. When Danny rescues his father, Dr. Spencer is called for the treatment. One night Danny’s father tells him his plan of embarrassing Victor Hazell. Hazell is a well-known man who organizes pheasant shooting. Danny’s father holds a grudge against him for his disrespectful behavior. After knowing his father’s plan, one night Danny shares his own idea with him. Filling raisins with sleeping powder is Danny’s proposal. With great excitement his father accepts his plan. Danny takes a day off school and works with his father to fill the raisins with sleeping pill powder. One day as they had planned, they slip into the woods with their raisins and feed the pheasants covertly. When the keepers go away for supper Danny along with his father collect the dozed off pheasants. A taxi arrives to transport the pheasants to a safe location. The next morning Mrs Clipstone comes to deliver the pheasants in a pram with a baby on the top. Mrs Clipstone starts running towards Danny. Danny is accompanied by his father and Dr. Spencer. They all get worried. Unexpectedly the birds in the pram start flying in all directions. A sleeping pill doesn’t last forever is Doctor Spencer’s response.  In some moments Mr Hazell arrives and seems restless. Hazell is petrified to see pheasants swarming all over the filling station. Sergeant Samways is instructed by Hazell to help him remove the birds from the filling station. Danny and his father also join them. In a few minutes Hazell’s car is festooned with the birds. Hazell got very cross over this. Victor Hazell gets into his car and suddenly all the pheasants rise like a cloud from his car. It seems that all the pheasants had gone away until the doctor reveals that six pheasants were still there. These were those greedy ones that ate up more than one raisin. Then these pheasants are divided among the fellows. Danny tells his father that he was happy to be part of the pheasant poaching adventure. Adding on to that, he states that it would have been much better if all the pheasants had not run away. In reply his father believes that there is always room for improvement and they would learn from their experience. Now after the poaching adventure Danny and his father are making new plans for fishing rainbow trout. Danny is of the view that his father is the most exciting father anybody could ever have.

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Book Review: The Village by the Sea by Anita Desai

This story of Anita Desai revolves around a family which lives on the western coast of India where industrialization is yet to set in motion. The setting is of a village named Thul and the story is entirely based on fact. In the story Hari is a young boy whose father is a drunkard and his mother is extremely ill. The family has deplorable living conditions and they do not have a proper source of income. Hari catches fish with his small net unlike many of the villagers who own fishing boats. Other than that the family does not have sufficient cultivable land. Every year a family from Bombay visits Thul for vacations. Hari and his siblings do their menial work and get some cash in return.  With an ailing mother and a drunkard father life for Hari is worrisome. One day Hari hears about the construction of a factory in the near future at Thul which would provide jobs to the local population. Hari seems confused; he wants a job desperately but also craves for a typical village life. Hari wants no adulteration in the natural environment of his village. One day he leaves for Bombay with the people of his village. They want to present their petition to the Chief Minister showing their disapproval in written form regarding the construction of factories. There in Bombay at the rally confusion arises when Hari realizes that none of his friends from his were present there. This leaves Hari pondering. In fact Hari only joined the rally in order to get a job in Bombay. Hari located the address written on a piece of paper by the De Silvas. He was promised a job by them when they last visited Thul. But on reaching their house he was informed that the De Silvas were not home. Hari was distressed. In Bombay Hari had a tough time, as he worked at a small restaurant and after some days he joined a watch mending shop.  Heavy rainfall in Bombay exposed the strange living conditions to Hari. He now missed the natural environment of his village. Everything in Bombay was flooded with rain water. Now Hari wanted to return to Thul. His mentor at the watch mending shop advised Hari to return to Thul and with that also gave him business ideas. With the money earned at Bombay and his fears Hari returned to Thul. There he met his siblings. Lila told his brother Hari about their lives and how they depended on the De Silvas; and later on their friend Sayyid Ali for their survival, in Hari’s absence. A day before Diwali Hari went to the hospital to bring back home his mother who had been admitted to the hospital by the De Silvas. He was happy to see his father who quit drinking. All the family members celebrated Diwali jubilantly at Thul and it seemed to be the merriest day of their lives. Later Hari meets Sayyid Ali the person from the city who was studying birds. He told him about his apprehensions regarding the construction of factories in Thul. Sayyid Ali the bird watcher was the first customer of Hari as he gave him his watch for repair. Hari got confidence from conversing with this gentleman. Life goes on is what Hari learned. For survival human adaptability is important.  Hari could now see his mother joining the other womenfolk for the rituals on the beach. Now he felt contented with his life in Thul.

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Book Review: Holiday in Hunza By Jewel Hatcher Henrickson

Holiday in Hunza is a travel piece by a group of Americans who live and work in Karachi. When Muhammad Jamal Khan, the last ruler of Hunza visits Karachi he meets Dr. Nelson. Dr. Nelson the medical director of Karachi hospital invites Jamal to visit his hospital. Jamal Khan gets impressed by the hospital management and invites Nelson and his staff to visit Hunza. The following year the Americans with help from Iskander Mirza’s son travel to Hunza. All of them arrive in a train at Rawalpindi. Later on they move to Gilgit in a Dakota plane with a fight which gets delayed. From Gilgit Jamal Khan arranges a jeep and himself excuses the guests, as he has to attend a meeting with the political agent at Gilgit. Jamal promises to join them later in Hunza. The jeep ride to Hunza has a chapter in the book. Rest at Nomal, Nagar and the arrangements made by the Mir of Hunza have also been mentioned. Furthermore a chapter regarding the Mir’s wife is separately given in the book. Her way of life, children, fashion sense and even minute details such as her smoking cigarette have also been stated. Rani gave birth to eleven children and four of them died. The author mentions that it is suspected that they were poisoned as the circumstances were the same in all the cases. In addition to that those tourists who were doctors setup temporary clinic to facilitate the population. The wife of Jamal requests them to open a temporary clinic especially for the Hunza women. These missionary tourists also perform their religious practices and also frequently setup their Sabbath school. Sightseeing in Hunza is facilitated by Master Sultan Ali especially the trek to Ultar glacier. Other than that the tourists also observe a funeral ceremony. Jamal Khan on his return from Gilgit to Hunza requests the tourists for the construction of a hospital in Hunza. Later on before departure from Hunza gifts are exchanged between the tourists and Jamal Khan’s family.

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Book Review: Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization By Jonathan Mark Kenoyer

Ancient Cities of the Indus Valley Civilization is a book presenting a different perspective on the earliest cities of West India and Pakistan. In the beginning chapters of the book the nature of the cities and its denizens is discussed.  The origins of urban society and the livelihood means of the population are also debated. For construction use of bricks was common. A well-built and well managed drainage system was operating during those times. Water tanks were used for storage which indicates the scarcity of water resources.  There is a general lack of evidence for militarism and control seems to have been through trade and religion. As far as the Indus script is concerned, to this date archeologists have been unable to decipher the Indus script and it still remains a hurdle in understanding various facets of the Indus life. Trade did flourish during that time and Indus valley served as a center point for commercial activity.  The presence of various types of jewelry and relics indicate that the existence of trade relation with other parts of the world. Copper metallurgy also existed in the Indus society and the potter’s wheel which we see today in various parts of Pakistan was also used in the Indus valley. Burial with different ornaments was also common. Some graves had valuable ornaments while others were placed with inferior ones. This indicates a certain kind of class structure which did exist at that time. Religious organization was in place but the exact rituals and practices could not be ascertained. A very basic reason for this is that scripts found can still not be interpreted. In addition to that archeologists believe that games such as ludo and pittu garam have been carried forward from the Indus valley civilization. The scientific evidence of the presence of animals has also been provided. Rhinoceros, elephant, bear and deer are included in the list. Furthermore in the latter part of the book a catalogue is also available for the reader which explains important objects excavated during the twentieth century.

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