Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal

Calendars Tell History: Social Rhythm and Social Change in Rural Pakistan

Time is an important element of social organization. The temporal models such as the calendar provide social rhythm by regulating various activities. The changing ways of managing time are indicative of social change. This paper presents the changing use of different calendars in Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District, Pakistan. Three calendars are used in most parts of the Punjab to varying degrees for various purposes. These are Bikrami, Islamic Hijri and Gregorian calendars. Each of these calendars has a specific history of use. This paper highlights that people choose between various alternatives in the course of history and the changing use of calendars tells the story of change and continuity in culture and peoples attitude towards modern technology and social change.

Domestic Space and Socio-spatial Relationships in Rural Pakistan

This article explores the changing use and management of domestic space and socio-spatial relationships constructed in a Pakistani rural setting. It offers a case study which highlights the central position of domestic space as a residential and social unit in rural Pakistan. It discusses how domestic space is appropriated in multiple ways into a social unit through social practice. Given that changes in the physical structure of any place lead to negotiation of social relationships, it is shown how recent modifications in design and structure of houses are indicative of, and to some extent facilitate, social change in rural Pakistan.

Nation province and region (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

This year’s Pakistan Workshop, organized by Stephen M. Lyon and assisted by Fiaz Ahmed and Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal, focused on the theme of ‘nation, province and region’. Scholars and postgraduate students at the workshop discussed the current political situation, contested ethnic and religious identities, and Pakistani diaspora.

Exchange Relations and Social Change in Rural Pakistan: Rituals and Ceremonies of Childbirth, Marriage and Death

In recent decades, the nature of exchange relations in rural Pakistan appears to have undergone significant transformations due to the gradual shift from seasonal agriculture to a market-based economy, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Change and continuity in exchange relations are particularly manifested in rituals and ceremonies associated with childbirth, marriage and death, with socioeconomic transformations in the rural economy triggering shifts in ways of conducting such rituals and ceremonies. This article seeks to highlight such change but argues that the continuing centrality of religion, kinship and economic inter-dependencies, marked by rural social organisation, remains evident in how these rituals and ceremonies are conducted. After discussing the social meanings of such rituals and ceremonies in rural Pakistan, the article demonstrates through detailed ethnographic study certain modifications in exchange relations as a consequence of recent socioeconomic change.

Rural urbanization, land, and agriculture in Pakistan

ABSTRACT Rural urbanization is taking place rapidly in most areas of Pakistani Punjab. Although agriculture remains the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, many rural people have abandoned agriculture to adopt different occupations as a consequence of rural urbanization. This paper discusses the changing use of, and attitude toward, land in the rural areas of Pakistani Punjab in the context of rural urbanization. It offers a case study from Southern Punjab as an evidence of the effects of rural urbanization on rural social organization with regard to land and agriculture.

Book review: Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A History of Muslim Power and Presence in the Indian Subcontinent, written by Burjor Avari

South Asia is undoubtedly home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. The region has such a complex historical, ethnic, geopolitical, and economic dynamics that the fact that religion has been an essential element of South Asian cultures remains overlooked. Muslims are overwhelmingly linked with violence and terrorism, particularly in the West, in the post-9/11 scenario. Various nationalistic and religious standpoints have installed many ambiguities and misapprehensions about Muslims within and outside South Asia. Some of them are taken for granted without factual accuracy and pave the way to misleading interpretations of the history of Muslims in South Asia, the character of historical Muslims rulers, and the Pakistan Movement. Islamic Civilization in South Asia by Burjor Avari of Manchester Metropolitan University is particularly welcome to prompt an exploration of Muslims’ history in South Asia and to find answers to some of the most intriguing and complicated questions.

RAI's first annual postgraduate conference (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

The Royal Anthropological Institute’s first annual one-day postgraduate conference was hosted by the Department of Anthropology at Durham University on 20 September 2011. In their opening remarks, Bob Simpson, and Stephen M Lyon referred to the RAI’s vision for this annual conference, where 30 postgraduate students from more than 17 universities and institutes presented their research. Stephen Lyon then introduced the use of the Anthropological Index Online in anthropological research. RAI’s Film Officer, Susanne Hammacher and Education and Communication Officer, Nafisa Fera introduced the range of RAI’s activities, inviting participants to take an active role. Both sessions showed how the RAI can help to increase the visibility of students’ research in the discipline. In an interactive session with journal editors (Stephen M. Lyon of History and Anthropology, Claudia Merli of Durham Anthropology Journal, and Simone Gritter and Ely Rosenblum of the online multimedia journal ART/E/FACT), students gained information about getting published in anthropological journals.