Book Review: The Ismailis and Kirgiz of the Upper Amu Darya and Pamirs in Afghanistan: A Micro-history of Delineating International Borders by David Straub

 

This thesis explores the Afghan occupation of the Upper Amu Darya and the Pamirs. The creation of the international borders in 1895 and the effect it had on the Ismaili and Kirghiz communities is investigated. Special emphasis is placed on how the new borders impacted trade and migration. With that, the position of the local political elites is also discussed.

Many of the border agreements are also mentioned in this world. How British, Russia, China and Afghanistan affected people of the mountain societies is described. After Mir Ali Mardan was ousted, a Kirghiz was appointed as the new governor of Wakhan. People from the south started migrating to Wakhan.

The Kirghiz near the Chinese side were once looted by the Qing officilas at Rangkul. As per the author, there was a pashtunization of local administrative positions among the Ismailis. Eleven Hakims were appointed in Wakhan. This composed of various ethnicities. Rehman Qul, a headman among the Kirghiz moved due to Soviet incursion and decided to go to Taghdumbash Pamir in Xinjiang. All the political, social and economic disturbances caused by drawing of borders is thoroughly discussed in this work. Anyone who has interested in politics of mountain communities of Central Asia should read this work.

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Book Review: Letter from Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

This text calls for direct, non-violent resistance in the fight against racism. With that it brings forward the healing power of love. Luther believes that Birmingham is probably the most segregated city in the United States. He says that for years he has been hearing the word ‘Wait!’. This ‘Wait’ according to him, has always meant ‘Never’.

Luther talks about the nations of Asia and Africa gaining independence. Meanwhile in the United States the Negros still creep at horse and buggy pace towards gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Furthermore, he says that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. He further stresses that a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. The white moderate has gravely disappointed him. Lukewarm rejection is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

In the concluding paragraphs Luther advocates against utilitarian love and thinks that one should start thinking about humanity, instead of one’s own self.

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Book Review: Jail Diary and Other Writings by Bhagat Singh

 

This is a very important collection of Bhagat Singh’s works. Singh was an Indian Communist revolutionary executed by the British colonizers in 1931. His age at that time was 23. He wrote his diary in the last two years of his life. After his execution his jail diary was handed over to his father. The first chapter in this book is on the problem of Punjab’s language and script. His statements, letters, hunger strike demands, pamphlets and petitions are part of this collection.

Singh says that centuries of warfare and Muslim invasions had dried up the literature of Punjab. He says that Muslims totally lack Indianess that is why they want to propagate Arabic script and Persian language. Singh says that Punjabi people themselves refuse their own captivating language.

In one of his statements Singh is of the view that a radical change is necessary to reorganize society on socialist basis. Regarding the LCC Ordinance Singh says that misrepresentation is and has always been the best instrument in the hands of the government to meet their enemies. Further in the book he strongly advocates against imperialism. He believes it to be exploitative. Singh’s letter to his father is also published as a chapter in this book.

Singh’s message to young political workers is to adopt Marxism as ideology. He wants them to work among people, organize workers and peasants and for the Communist party. He praises Lenin’s political acumen. Moreover, in another chapter he accuses British Labor leaders of betraying their struggle. He says that they have been reduced to mere hypocrite imperialists. Singh says that for him compromise never means surrender. This book a must read for those who want to study South Asian history.

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Book Review: The Untouchables: Who Were They and Why They Became Untouchables by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

 

Ambedkar says that the Hindu civilization produced three social classes. These include the criminal tribes, the aboriginal tribes and the untouchables. The number of these classes is about 85 million. Among these the Untouchables are about 50 million. The author is of the view that Hindu civilization gauged in the light of these social products could hardly be called civilization. Furthermore, he says that the Hindu does not regard the existence of these classes as a matter of apology or shame and feels no responsibility to inquire into its origin and development. The existence of such classes should be more a cause of shame than pride.

The author says that today all the scholarship is confined to Brahmins. They could not rise against the doctrines in which they were brought up. In this book the author advances a thesis on the origin of Untouchability. He himself considers it a novel thesis. It comprises that there is no racial difference between the Hindus and the Untouchables. Untouchability has no racial basis and it also has no occupational basis. The distinction between the Hindus and the Untouchables in its original form, before the advent of untouchability, was the distinction between Tribesmen and Broken Men from alien Tribes. It is the broken men who subsequently came to be treated as Untouchables.

According to the author Untouchability sprung from two things. One was the hatred of the Broken Men as Buddhists by the Brahmins. Second was the continuation of beef-eating by the Broken Men after it had been given up by others. Ambedkar concludes that Untouchability was born some time about 400 A.D. It was born out of the struggle from supremacy between Buddhism and Brahmanism which has completely molded India’s history. The study of which has been sadly neglected by the students of Indian history.

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Book Review: Buddha or Karl Marx by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar

 

The editorial committee of this book found three different typed copies of an essay on Buddha and Karl Marx in loose sheets. The essay is divided into sub topics. This includes basis of the ideas of Buddha and Karl Marx. With that, the author compares Buddha and Marx. Furthermore, in the book withering away of the state is also discussed.

Marx and Buddha were divided by 2381 years. Ambedkar believes that having read both Buddha and Marx, a comparison is what he should do. The author believes that Buddha was born a democrat and died a democrat. He stresses that Buddha was of the view that ‘each man should be morally so trained that he may himself become a sentinel for the kingdom of righteousness.’ Ambedkar says that the communists themselves admit that their theory of the state as a permanent dictatorship is a weakness in their political philosophy. He further says that Russians do not seem to be paying any attention to Buddhism as an ultimate aid to sustain Communism when force is withdrawn.

Buddha’s method was to change the mind so that whatever he does is without force of compulsion. Ambedkar believes that Russian dictatorship would be good for all backward countries, but this is no argument for permanent dictatorship. This form of dictatorship he believes, paid no attention to spiritual values. Ambedkar stresses that man must grow materially and spiritually. He opines that equality will be of no vale without fraternity or liberty. Ambedkar concludes that all three can coexist if one follows the way of Buddha.

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Book Review: That Untraveled World by Eric Shipton

 

The Untraveled World is the autobiography of a famous mountaineer and explorer named Eric Shipton. Shipton was born in 1907 in Ceylon, where his father was a tea planter. The author shares his experience from East Africa. In Kenya he arrives in 1928, where his first job was an apprenticeship on a large coffee farm at Nyeri. Further in the book he discusses his visit to Himalaya and Karakoram mountains. It was during the rule of Muhammad Nazim Khan that Shipton visited Hunza.

In 1940 Government of India offered the post of British consul-general in Kashgar to Shipton. Shipton says that Kashgar post was founded in 1888 by Younghusband. The first incumbent George MacCartney held the appointment for twenty-five years.  Personally for me, the chapter on Kashgar is very interesting as it gives insight to the political and social environment prevalent at that time. Shipton accepted another position of consul-general at Kunming in Yunna. Shipton also shares his experience of treks to Everest. In the concluding chapters the author discusses competition in the mountaineering field and wildlife. He believes that Karakoram, Kuen Lun, Alaska, Southern Andes are the field of fresh endeavor even for the traditional mountaineer.

Shipton says: “The springs of enchantment lie within ourselves: they arise from our sense of wonder, that most precious of gifts, the birthright of every child. Lose it and life becomes flat and colorless...”

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Book Review: The Birth of Tajikistan: National Identity and the Origins of the Republic by Paul Bergne

 

In October 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution broke out. During this period much of Central Asia was ruled by autonomous rulers such as the Emir of Bukhara and the Khan of Khiva. By the 1920s the khanates were converted into People’s republics. In 1924 Stalin the then people’s commissar for nationalities redrew the frontiers on ethno-linguistic lines. Among these was the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan- the land of the Uzbeks.

Turkic Uzbeks were not the only ones living in Uzbekistan. There was a considerable number of Persian speaking population. Bergne writes that, in opposition to Uzbeks the Tajiks first gained an autonomous oblast (administrative region) within Uzbekistan, then an autonomous republic and in 1929 got the status of a full Soviet Union Republic. The new government had to survive the civil war which followed the revolution, build a new country in a remote terrain, create a Tajik identity (which did not exist before).

The author has tried to document as to how the idea of Tajik state came into form and how the birth of the Tajik nation took place.

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Book Review: Terrorism: Theirs and Ours by Eqbal Ahmad

 

This publication is part of the special open media pamphlet series edition. The first section includes an edited transcript of a public talk Ahmad delivered at the University of Colorado in 1998. The second section is an edited excerpt from Ahmad’s interviews with David Barsamian published in the book Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire.

Ahmad points out the problem with the definition of terrorism. He says that he examined twenty official documents on terrorism, but none of them offered a definition. Moreover, he says that we approve the terrorism of those groups whom officials do approve. Eqbal Ahmad advises America to avoid double standards. He says that a superpower cannot promote terror in one place and expect to discourage terrorism in another place. Ahmad says that there is a fundamental principle of politics, which is that when power has no countervailing forces balancing and checking it, it is always abused. He discusses the issue to Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir and other conflicts in which international powers were involved. This brief publication is a glimpse of Ahmad’s near prophetic sense.

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Book Review: The Soul of a Butterfly by Muhammad Ali

 

One of the finest boxers of human history- Muhammad Ali, in conversation with his daughter Hana Yasmeen Ali reflects on his life journey. Muhammad Ali was a legend who had an unwavering conviction, and this book presents his personal recollections. His daughter’s memories, his own stories and poems that touched his heart are also recorded in this book.

Muhammad Ali says: “I see that many people build big beautiful houses but live in broken homes.” Ali says that religion and spirituality are two different things. Discussing his personal life Ali says that his father was a painter who worked hard for his children’s upbringing. Ali himself did odd jobs early in life. Prejudice was common in America at that time as racialism was at its peak. The blacks were considered as second class citizens. Ali says: “But everything was considered bad, and undesirable.”

Writing on the purpose of life Ali views that one person with knowledge of his life’s purpose is more powerful than ten thousand working without that knowledge. In addition, he says: “The greatest victory in life is to rise above the material things that we once valued most.” The author says that self-discovery is the most liberating choice of all. When Muhammad Ali won the Olympic gold he thought that everything would open up to him, but that did not happen. He and his friend Ronnie were not served food in a restaurant as the waitress replied that they did not serve Negroes. Ali later threw his medal into Ohio river as he thought that material things really did not matter in life.

Ali was a great supporter of freedom and equality for the black population. He describes how he met Elijah Muhamad and adopted Islam as his new religion. He met Malcolm X for the first time in Detroit in 1962. At age 22 Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Ali says that Elijah Muhammad had forced Ali to break with Malcolm. He remembers turning his back on Malcolm as one of the mistakes that he regrets most. Ali considered Malcolm as a great thinker and a great friend.

Discussing the heart of a man Ali stresses that regardless of how wealthy a man may be, if his heart his not pure, he cannot be great. Ali returned to boxing in 1971 after three and a half years.  The Supreme court overturned Ali’s conviction for violation of the Selective Service Act. Ali says that of all the men that he fought Liston was the scariest, Foreman was the most powerful, Patterson was the most skillful, and Joe Frazier the most toughest.

On success Muhammad Ali says: “True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.” Ali further adds that honesty, integrity, kindness, and friendship are the true treasures we should be seeking. Ali married four times and had nine children. His love for his children in shown in this book. He feels lucky because of them. On unity Ali is of the view that when people lend a helping hand without having to receive something in return, we will see humanity. Ali also writes about his meeting with Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama. His visit to Afghanistan and his efforts for peace building are also included in this book.

The Soul of a Butterfly is a book that covers numerous themes ranging from belief in God to personal development. It is an insight to the life of Ali Muhammad who was a boxing genius and a great human being.

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Book Review: The Procession By Kahlil Gibran

 

This unique work of Gibran is unique in the sense that it is his first major work in verse. It was originally written in Arabic and translated into English by Dr. George Kheirallah. A biographical introduction has also been added by Kheirallah. This introduction puts light on the poet’s life and his perception in his native land. His mystical drawings have also been added in the book.

Gibran arrived in the United states with his mother and siblings. They went to Boston where other people of their town had settled. Gibran’s father was a shepherd. After some education in the U.S Gibran’s half-brother Peter now wanted Gibran to go back to Beyrut and learn his native language Arabic. He also wanted him to learn French. Gibran returned to America after four years of study. Upon his return to Boston he discovered that Sultana had died on April 4, 1902. Peter and Gibran’s mother passed away. Gibran and his sister Mariana left the plague-ridden house. Mariana sewed and Gibran wrote. By early 1904 Gibran had twenty drawings to offer. No gallery would receive his imaginative and mystical drawings. Mary Haskell became a close friend of Gibran who assisted him in writing English. She also prevailed upon him to accept her aid and to go abroad for study.

From 1908 to 1910 Gibran worked at his art in Paris under the guidance of older artists. After that he returned to Boston, but in 1912 he moved to New York where he lived for the rest of his life. A fatal ailment was gnawing in his body, but he kept his work going. On April 9, 1931, a friend came to see him and found him in pain and illness. He did not wish to be removed to a hospital. Next morning, he was taken to the hospital where he died on 10 April 1931, at the age of forty-eight. Mariana brought back her brother body to his native land. People flocked in large numbers to pay their respect to Gibran.

In this book Gibran addresses the themes of religion, justice, science, knowledge, freedom, happiness, hope, love youth, death, will and capitulation of the sage. I quote Gibran below:

• Life is but a sleep disturbed.
• As though religion were a phase of commerce in their daily trade; should they neglect it they would lose- or preserving would be paid.
• Yea, death and prison we mete out to small offenders of the laws, while honor, wealth, and full respect on greater pirates we bestow.
• To steal a flower, we call mean, to rob a field is chivalry; who kills the body he must die, who kills the spirit he goes free.
• For man is happy only in his aspiration to the heights; when he attains his goal, he calls and longs for other distant flights.
• For in nature we the children hold the sane as strange.
• Have you taken to the forest, shunned the palace for adobe?
• Have you ever bathed in fragrance, dried yourself in sheets of light? Ever quaff the wine of dawning, From ethereal goblets bright?
• Ever bedded in the herbage, quilted by a heavenly vast, unconcerned about the future, and forgetful of your past?

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