Geography helps understand the history of a particular contry and its population. People react to the environment to discover or in other words to gain more control on forces of nature. Their dependency upon nature and increase in his capacity to utilize it for well being, simultaneously, gives him a base for social development in general and human in particular. Here, in today's scenario, efficient use of technology to expliot natural resources in specific climate and their ideology which shapes their lives can provide a yardstick to measure the rate of development of that partiuclar population. This is the reason,consideration of geographical factors: physical features, climate and natural resources are an indespenble part of study of History of a specific region or country.
Geographical Landscap of Todays Pakistan
Pakistan comprised two main geographic zomes-the valley of the Indus at the Western end and delta of the Padma (Eastern Branch of the Ganga) and Maghna at the Eastern end of the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Pakistan came into exisance in 1947 following an organized struggled under the competant the then political leadership that will enable Muslims to live according to their idiology. The newly created country formed two parts: the Indus constituting West Pakistan and the Padma-Meghna deltaconstituting East Pakistan or todays Bengladesh. These two parts separated from each other by about a 1000 miles of Indian territory, specially the vast desert of Rajhistan. In ancient times geographic regions running from Western ranges of India sub continent to the easternmost forst hills were called Indo-Gangatic Plain; Himalyan ranges of north and leveled land of Decan in south formed a hatrogenious culture thus given an impetus to evolution of cultures. Indus has greater role to originate India that gave Hindus their religion. The resultant change in attitudes were beacuse of change in geographic and human factors that is Gegantic was subcontinental, Indus looked beyond to the movements in Eurasian belt and Pasma-Meghna delta is more resembles to monsoonic area of South East Asia.1slam brought a drastic change into homogenous history of India-subcontinent.
Charachteristics of Geography of Pakistan
Geographically, Pakistan comprises mainly three regions: Plains of Punjab and Sindh alongwith its tributaries; the gigantic sparsely populated plateau of Balochistan in southwest covering more than fourty two percent of country's total area; the great mountainous range of north where three great mountain ranges of the world namely Karakorum, Hindukush and Himalaya meet.Geological experts assert that Both Himalaya and Karakorum are the new mountain ranges; since the extinction of dinosaurs the northward-moving Indian geological plate collided with the Asian plate, and caused to push up mountains level by nosing its northern edge under the Asian plate about 50 million years ago. Besides that there are many large barren mountanous regions and arid plateux in the country. Experts claim that Indian plate still moving northwards at five centimeters or two inches peryear, causesthe Tibetan plateau to rise about seven millimeters per year. The country hosts about 82 highest peak over 7000 meters and posses longest ranges of glaciers out side polar regions.
But it is the Indus that gives country real life, along with its tibuteries,it provides water for world's largest irrigation system through a comprehensive network of cannels which were dug in 20th century and few after independance. Many new dams and barrages were built to fulfill both the requirement of water and electricity.Terbella Dam near capital built during early 70's was the biggest earth filled dam through out the world with respect to earth used to build it and the power generating capacity.
The Indus river provides an axis to Pakistan with the help of its tributaries and drains a large part of spararsely populated province of Balochistan.
Indus was one of the four riverine cradle of early civilization. Nile Tigris-Euphrates which flows acorss a vast area spans from Moroco of Africa to Mongolia. The Yellow river in China flows out of this zone to the east and the population along this zone has adopted Islam, providing a common culture to the desert inhibitants. Indus is about 3,200 long, making it 3rd largest in Asia and rises from Mountain Kalash in Tibetan plateau, crosses Ladakh near Kashmir and after crossing Karkorum and Himalayan ranges in northwestwards it enters Pakistan. It plungs throug some of the world's deepest gorges twisting among the mountains and finally finding an exit south to Punjab plains and later to Sindh. Here it become as wide as 30 Km as it distributes in many channels sparated by islands. 2
In many areas, flood caused the inhibitants to gaurd against its negativ impacts in past. Unlike the Gangetic region which was well protected the Indus's western hills were open to armies and people to move without any difficulty and served as a link between the people lived in Central Asia and in Sub-continent. Indus region kept constant touch with movements across Eurasian belt. While Padma-Meghna was more open to external influences from south besides its high rainfall has created the land more productive thus creating life easier to sustain than upper parts of plains.
Geographic Location:
Pakistan borders on the west with Iran, on north west with Afghanistan, on northeast with China and on east with India. While the southern cost is about 600 miles long.
The country stretches from the Arabian sea to central asian mountain regions, covering an area of more than 888,000 Sq. Km or 350, 000 Sq.miles making it nearly 1/3rd size of Indian territory. Politically, the country is divided into four provinces: Punjab, N.W.F.P, Sindh and Balochistan. Besides, other regions are federally tribal area, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. About nine percent(eighty four thousand square kilometers) of the total area of country is Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of disputed area claimed by India,but administered by Pakistan since the liberation by locals. Kashmir has given a particular set-up and the federal government has approved a Self Governance Reform Package 2009, empowering the Legislative Assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan to legislate on many subjects deprived before.
The status of Gilgit-Baltistan has had a complex one for it has kept in constitutional limbo. India claims the area on account of succession to India by Gansara Singh, then maharaja of Kashmir during partition(1947). Islamabad administer the area allowing local population enjoy a limited voting right.
End Notes
1. I.H.Qureshi, A short history of Pak, vol.1,U.o.K Pub,1992, P.03.
2. Isobel Shah, Pakistan,vol.2, China.P.24
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)