Issues of feudalism in Sindh will require comprehensive and sustained efforts to challenge the power dynamics and promote social justice and equality
Maria Khushk
Feudalism in Pakistan in general and Sindh province in particular, has been a long-standing and deeply entrenched social and economic system that has had a significant impact on the region. Here I will focus on the feudal system in Sindh which be traced back to the pre-colonial and colonial era when large landholdings were granted to powerful landlords by the ruling authorities. These landlords, known as “waderas,” have since held immense power and influence over the local population, shaping the social, economic, and political landscape of the region.
One of the key features of feudalism in Sindh is the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few powerful families. These landholdings, often passed down through generations, have allowed the waderas to amass vast wealth and control over the agricultural resources of the region. As a result, the majority of the rural population in Sindh is dependent on these landlords for their livelihood, working as sharecroppers or laborers on the feudal estates.
The feudal system has also had a significant impact on the political dynamics of Sindh. The waderas, with their vast resources and networks, have been able to exert considerable influence over local politics, often using their power to secure political positions for themselves and their allies. This has led to a system of patronage and clientelism, where political loyalty is tied to the support and protection provided by the feudal landlords.
Furthermore, the feudal system has contributed to the perpetuation of social and economic inequality in Sindh. The concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few powerful families has meant that the majority of the rural population has limited access to land and resources, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and dependency. This has also led to widespread social injustices, with the feudal landlords often exercising unchecked power over their tenants and workers.
In recent years, there have been efforts to challenge the feudal system in Sindh and address the issues of land reform and social justice. However, the entrenched nature of the feudal system and the political power of the waderas have made these efforts challenging and slow-moving. Additionally, the feudal landlords continue to resist any attempts at reform, using their influence to maintain the status quo.
Conclusion
Overall, feudalism in Sindh, Pakistan has had a profound impact on the social, economic, and political dynamics of the region. The concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few powerful families has perpetuated social and economic inequality, while the political influence of the waderas has shaped the local political landscape. Addressing the issues of feudalism in Sindh will require comprehensive and sustained efforts to challenge the power dynamics and promote social justice and equality in the region.
The poor people cannot dare to speak for their rights in the presence of waderas because they are afraid of losing their life or the lives of their loved ones. The waderas want their voters to be illiterate, backward, and economically dependent.
It’s prime responsibility of the educated people to raise voice for complete abolition of the feudal system and for the right of the poor. They should stand up and speak for those who don’t know their rights or who cannot speak for themselves intentionally or unintentionally.
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Maria Khushk is based in Hyderabad, Sindh. She is a freelance writer
Additional 250,000 deaths per year will occur in the next decades because of climate change
Health has made it onto the agenda of a UN climate conference, and health advocates at COP28 in Dubai said the topic was long overdue for discussion as climate inaction is costing lives and impacting health every single day.
Our planet has logged higher mean temperatures each year, with 2023 set to be the hottest on record. Ice sheets are melting at an unprecedented rate. Wildfires have made the air hazardous in some regions, while in others, floods regularly threaten to contaminate drinking water.
Against this backdrop, more and more people are being affected by disasters, climate-sensitive diseases and other health conditions.
Climate change exacerbates some existing health threats and creates new public health challenges. Worldwide, only considering a few health indicators, an additional 250,000 deaths per year will occur in the next decades because of climate change, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told delegates at COP28 that it was long overdue for talks around environmental health, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers to include the direct impacts of such climate shocks on human health.
This first-ever dedicated ‘Health Day’ at a COP is highlighting several key events, including on public-private partnerships for healthcare climate action and on unlocking relevant financial and political commitments.
Ministers of health, environment and finance made delivered addresses alongside notable figures like Bill Gates and US climate envoy John Kerry, all gathered at the Al Waha auditorium in Dubai’s iconic Expo City to consider actions to address the impact of climate change on human health.
“Although the climate crisis is a health crisis, it’s well overdue that 27 COPs have gone without a serious discussion of health. No more,” Dr. Tedros said.
He reiterated WHO’s welcome of the new declaration on acceleration actions to protect people from growing climate impacts that was endorsed on Saturday during the World Climate Action Summit.
Worsening impacts
Climate change is directly contributing to humanitarian emergencies spared by heatwaves, wildfires, floods, tropical storms and hurricanes. Those and similar climate shocks are only increasing in scale, frequency and intensity.
More than three billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change, according to the UN health agency.
Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause tens of thousands of additional deaths per year from – from undernutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress alone.
These impacts on health and daily lives are being felt across the world, and indigenous communities often bear the brunt.
‘Hear and respect us’
UN News spoke to a delegate of the Brazilian youth organization ‘Engajamundo’, a youth-led group focusing on tackling social and environmental challenges.
Reudji Kaiabi, belongs to the Kaiabi yudja people who live in the Aldeia Pequizal, Xingu, Mato Grosso region of Brazil, which contains three main ecosystems: the Cerrado, the Pantanal and the Amazon rainforest.
“Even though our community is surrounded by forests, the changes have been affecting us a lot. We’re seeing a lot of heatwaves, our plantation is dying, the community is suffering. The river has started to dry up, fishes are dying, and animals can’t live here anymore,” he said painting a powerful picture of the ways in which climate change is impacting his homeland.
“This is my first time at COP, and my intention as an indigenous youth is to not just see change in my territory but the entire world. What we ask is to be heard, to be respected, and to be taken into account in the decision making,” he stated.
Building resilience to climate impacts
At a ministerial-level meeting earlier on Saturday, Dr. Tedros spotlighted several elements that are crucial to building effective responses to tackling the health and climate challenge.
He pointed out that leaders must understand that it is critical to focus on the nexus of health and climate impacts, so that health can be mainstreamed into climate policies.
Engagement with communities is equally important, including with marginalized and vulnerable communities, who are often at the forefront of the climate challenge.
“Their perspectives in mitigation and adaptation efforts must be incorporated.”
Massive investment in health services will be key to achieving these goals, he stressed.
Dr. Tedros also underscored the vitality of cooperation among countries, learning from successful examples of other countries, and then implementing them in local contexts.
The way forward is clear: “We do not need to reinvent the wheel,” he underscored.
The more we try to keep cool, the more we heat the planet – UN Report
With rising temperatures leading to demand for more air conditioners and other cooling equipment, a new UN report launched at COP28 climate talks in Dubai lays out a pathway to cut emissions across the cooling sector worldwide.
Over 60 countries signed up to a so called ‘cooling pledge’ with commitments to reduce the climate impact of the cooling sector, that could also provide “universal access to life-saving cooling, take the pressure off energy grids and save trillions of dollars by 2050.”
The cost of keeping cool
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that more than 1 billion people are at high risk from extreme heat due to a lack of cooling access – the vast majority living in in Africa and Asia.
Moreover, nearly one-third of the world’s population is exposed to deadly heat waves more than 20 days a year.
The cooling brings relief to people and is also essential for several other critical areas and services such as global food security and vaccine delivery through refrigeration.
But at the same time, conventional cooling, such as air conditioning, is a major driver of climate change, responsible for over seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If not managed properly, energy needs for space cooling will triple by 2050, together with associated emissions.
In short, the more we try to keep cool, the more we heat the planet. If current growth trends continue, cooling equipment represents 20 per cent of total electricity consumption today – and is expected to more than double by 2050.
Energy guzzlers
Today’s cooling systems, such as air-conditioners (ACs) and refrigerators, consume massive amount of energy and often use refrigerants that warm the planet.
The latest UNEP report shows that by taking measures to reduce the power consumption of cooling equipment could lead to a reduction of at least 60 per cent off predicted 2050 sectoral emissions by 2050.
“The cooling sector must grow to protect everyone from rising temperatures, maintain food quality and safety, keep vaccines stable and economies productive,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, who launched the report during a press conference at Expo City, where COP28 has been underway since last Thursday.
“But this growth must not come at the cost of the energy transition and more intense climate impacts,” she urged.
Global Cooling pledge
The report was released in support of the ‘Global Cooling Pledge’, a joint initiative between the United Arab Emirates as host of COP28 and the UNEP-led ‘Cool Coalition’.
It outlines actions to take in passive cooling strategies — such as insulation, natural shading, ventilation and reflective surfaces, higher energy efficiency standards and a rapid phase down of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants.
Following the report’s recommendations could reduce the projected 2050 emissions from business-as-usual cooling by around 3.8 billion tons of CO2equivalent.
This would:
Allow an additional 3.5 billion people to benefit from refrigerators, air conditioners or passive cooling by 2050:
Reduce electricity bills for end users by US$1 trillion in 2050, and by US$17 trillion cumulatively between 2022 and 2050;
Reduce peak power requirements by between 1.5 and 2 terawatts (TW) – almost double the EU’s total generation capacity today: and
Avoid power generation investments in the order of $4 to $5 trillion.
Sujag Sindhi Samiti holds Sindhi Cultural Program after Diwali every year since 2014
Vadodara, Gujarat
Sujag Sindhi Samiti, a social and cultural organization of Sindhi community of Vadodara (Baroda) city of Gujarat state of India organized its annual cultural program on Monday December 04, 2023 at Dindayal Auditorium.
Main singers were Lata Lalwani from Delhi and Lavi Kamal Bhagat from Ajmer. Amar Tilokani and Nisha Jadwani were anchors.
Saint Mukeshlal, Sain Kamlesh lal, Hiro Kanjwani Councilor, Dr. Chandni Wadhwani and Advocate Anita Amrani were Chief Guest and guests of honor. Vadodara Sindhi Samaj enjoyed a lot at the program.
Haresh Agnani, president of the organization said that Sujag Sindhi Samiti holds Sindhi Cultural Program after Diwali every year since 2014.
Study of funerary architecture and written artefacts of the Lawatiya Shiʿi merchant community sheds light on their mobility and settlement in Oman from Sindh and Gujarat
Mobility and Material Heritage of the Lawatiya
Zahir Bhalloo
The complex mobility and settlement of communities from South Asia in the Arabian Peninsula before the discovery of oil in the twentieth century is often studied from the perspective of the administrative paperwork produced by former colonial powers preserved today in state archives. While the insight provided by such archival sources is significant, recent research has sought to decenter the state perspective by studying the material (architecture, written artefacts) and non-material (linguistic, ritual) heritage of the mobile actors themselves, or, more accurately, their descendants. In an ideal situation, such research should be multi-sited considering both the point of departure of the mobile actors in South Asia and their place of arrival and settlement in the Arabian Peninsula. In most cases, however, including in this article, the focus is on studying the mobile communities either at their point of departure or arrival. Paul Bonnenfant, for example, focusing on the point of arrival, suggests that the Indic elements in the vernacular architecture of the town of Zabid on Yemen’s western coastal plain can be explained by the historic settlement in Zabid of Indians from Sindh, today a province of southeastern Pakistan, and the neighboring western state of Gujarat in India. Olly Akkerman’s recent study, focusing on the point of departure, has shown that the Arabic manuscript culture of the ʿAlawi Bohra Ismaʿili Shiʿi community in Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat, was shaped by the mobility of Bohra traders, scholars and students between Gujarat and Yemen and their settlement in these places.
In the present article, focusing on the point of arrival, I examine how the funerary architecture (graves) and written artefacts (gravestones, commercial registers, and documents) of the Lawatiya Shiʿi merchant community sheds light on their mobility and settlement in Oman from Sindh and Gujarat. Before examining the material heritage of the Lawatiya, however, in what follows, I provide an overview of how the Lawatiya presence in Oman is understood today from three different perspectives. The first perspective is from nineteenth and twentieth century British colonial sources, the second has emerged from within the Lawatiya community itself, and the third is from two closely related groups from Sindh and Gujarat which formed diaspora mercantile communities across the Western Indian Ocean during the nineteenth century, the Nizari Ismaʿili or Aga Khani Khojas and the Twelver or Ithna ʿAshari Khojas.
Sur: Lawatiya Mansions
Lawatiya, Khoja, Hyderabadi
The Lawatiya community is today one of the most powerful socioeconomic groups in Oman and in the wider Gulf region. The exact numbers of individuals belonging to the community is unknown but is estimated at fifteen to twenty thousand. Unlike most of the Omani population, which is either Ibadhi or Sunni, the Lawatiya are Twelver or Imami Shiʿis. The precise origins and settlement of the Lawatiya community in Oman is difficult to reconstruct today. The fact that the community is known by three different names, Lawatiya, Khoja and Hyderabadi, is an indication of its entangled past.
The Lawatiya, also referred to as Hyderabadi, are seen as identical to the Khoja merchant caste found in Sindh, Gujarat, Bombay
In British colonial sources from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Lawatiya, also referred to as Hyderabadi, are seen as identical to the Khoja merchant caste found in Sindh, Gujarat, Bombay, and elsewhere across the Western Indian Ocean littoral. The Lawatiya are conceived of in these sources as a South Asian Khoja diaspora that settled in Oman from Sindh, Kutch, and Kathiawar. The walled quarter that the Lawatiya occupied in Matrah, today a suburb of Muscat, known locally as Sur al-Lawatiya, is referred to in British sources as the “Khoja Fort”. This emphasis on a Khoja identification in the colonial sources for the Lawatiya was not accidental. The British consular authorities were keen to establish their protection over all Lawatiya traders who had migrated to Oman after the British conquest of Sindh in 1843 as British Khoja subjects. This protection, as in the case of Sindhi and Gujarati Hindu merchants, gave the British strategic influence not only across the Omani coastal zone, but also in the Trucial states, in Baluchistan and southern Iran where Lawatiya merchants had also settled. Not surprisingly, after mentioning how the Khojas of the region were known locally as Lawatiya and Hyderabadi, Lorimer’s Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman, and Central Arabia (1908), meticulously records their geographic distribution, including their ownership of land and property. Most British protected Lawatiya subjects in turn, chose to explicitly identify themselves as Khojas in their communication with the British colonial authorities.
The British colonial understanding of the Lawatiya as a South Asian Khoja trading diaspora in Oman and the Gulf has been challenged more recently by some of the Lawatiya. In the 1970s, a member of the Lawatiya community, Jawad al-Khaburi (1912-1984), also known as Jawad Muscati, traced the origins of the Lawatiya to the Arab Ismaili emirate of Multan (tenth-eleventh centuries). This emirate was founded by descendants of a certain Sama b. Luʾayy who had settled from the Hijaz in Oman. His descendants were known in Multan as the Banu Munabbih and the Banu Sama. According to this construction, the Lawatiya were descended from the Banu Sama in Multan who later settled in Sindh where they adopted Sindhi names, language, and customs before ultimately returning to their homeland, Oman, in separate waves of migration, the most recent being via the city of Hyderabad, Sindh. The Lawatiya or Hyderabadis as they came to be known are thus conceived of by al-Khaburi as an Omani Arab diaspora in South Asia which later returned to Oman. This construction of the trajectory of the mobility of the Lawatiya provides a remarkably similar South Asian equivalent to the return to Oman of an Omani Arab diaspora from Zanzibar and East Africa. This was perhaps not accidental and can be seen as part of the nation building efforts following the arrival of Sultan Qaboos to power in 1970.
Merchant houses in Sur Lawatiya of Muttrah 1967-1971. Pinterest Image
Al-Khaburi, however, also added a new layer of complexity by suggesting that the Arab origin Lawatiya lineages that returned to Oman initially lived in the Sur al-Lawatiya alongside a few Khoja lineages of Indian origin that had also migrated to Oman from Sindh and Gujarat. The latter, however, were expelled from Sur al-Lawatiya after they recognized the religious authority of Hasan ʿAli Shah Mahallati (1804-1881), Aga Khan I, as a Nizari Ismaili Imam in the mid-nineteenth century. In brief, therefore, the Lawatiya or Khojas of Arab origin, were not the same as the Khojas of Indian origin as reflected in the way the term Khoja was used in British colonial sources. According to al-Khaburi, the Arab origin Lawatiya lineages from Sindh rejected the authority of Aga Khan I and identified themselves as Twelver or Imami Shiʿis. While the quest for a patrilineal Arab descent within the Lawatiya community can be traced at least as far back as the 1940s, al-Khaburi’s Banu Sama construction of Arab origins for the Lawatiya is the first to have received, at least outwardly, wider acceptance within some sections of the Lawatiya community today. This process has gained pace following the publication of a recension of al-Khaburi’s text and its dissemination within the community. More recently a doctoral thesis written by an Egyptian author based on al-Khaburi’s construction and several popular works all of which reaffirm al-Khaburi’s Banu Sama hypothesis have also been published.
Hussain Al Lawati and others
In addition to the representation of the Lawatiya in British colonial archival sources and Jawad al-Khaburi’s construction of their origins, the Nizari Ismaili or Aga Khani Khojas and the Ithna Ashari or Twelver Khojas of South Asia also preserve their own oral traditions regarding the Khojas that settled in Oman and the Gulf. The term Lawatiya and Hyderabadi is hardly known among the Aga Khani Khoja and Twelver Khoja communities. The Lawatiya are generally referred to within these communities as “Muscati” or “Muscat” Khojas. In both the Aga Khani Khoja and Twelver Khoja oral tradition, Muscat mainly appears as an important site of dissidence against Aga Khan I in the nineteenth century. As early as 1829, while Aga Khan I was still in Iran, his mother, Bibi Maryam Khatun (1157-1248/1744-1832), is said to have visited the Khoja community in Muscat to quell Khoja dissent related to the collection and transference of various religious dues to her son and attempts to centralize the ownership of all Khoja caste property under his name. Later when Aga Khan I arrives in Sindh from Iran in 1843, he is said to have appointed, in 1844, a certain Baledina Asani as his “estate agent” in Muscat. Baledina Asani was responsible for collecting religious dues from the Khojas residing in southern Iran, Iraq, and the Gulf and transferring them to Aga Khan I in Bombay via bills of exchange (hoondis). In the Twelver Shiʿi Khoja oral tradition, Muscat only appears briefly in connection to the formal excommunication in Bombay in 1877 by Aga Khan I of prominent Khojas of Zanzibar such as Dewji Jamal, and of Muscat, such as Suleiman Khalfan. Recently, both the Aga Khani Khoja and Twelver Khoja communities have become interested in emergence of the Muscat Khojas as a successful socioeconomic elite in Oman and the Gulf and there have been attempts to re-establish connections and document their shared Khoja heritage.
In the analysis that follows, I suggest that the formation of the present day Lawatiya community and its social equivalence to other Khoja groups cannot be reduced to the three perspectives outlined above. The present day Lawatiya group in Oman is descended from individuals that were part of multiple mobile transregional trajectories. The evidence of the material heritage of the Lawatiya as we shall see below, along with the community’s spoken Sindhi sociolect, and its Shiʿi devotional ritual practice and repertoire of religious texts, have all been shaped and transformed by these mobile transregional trajectories. It is these mobilities of the Lawatiya, I suggest, that sets them apart from other Khoja groups which have had a different set of mobile trajectories and, therefore, acculturation, both in the past and present. (Continues)
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Zahir Bhalloo – Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), Universität Hamburg
Research for this paper was generously funded by the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science (SQCCS) through an Oman Research Grant visiting fellowship at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin. An earlier version of the paper was presented online on 8 July 2021.
Shiladitya Bora’s feature debut ‘Ab Toh Sab Bhagwan Bharose’ explores how exposure to new ideas can rattle closely-held beliefs
By Rashmi Bora Das
Faith gets a wakeup call in Bhagwan Bharose
Faith keeps most of humankind alive and shapes our behavior and actions. So when any of these deep rooted beliefs – social or religious – is challenged by the power of science and reason, there is turmoil. Based on this premise, Shiladitya Bora’s Ab Toh Sab Bhagwan Bharose, also explores how the spread of misinformation and false knowledge sows the seeds of discord and hatred in innocent minds.
In the village, it’s all up to God
Set in 1989 against the backdrop of an unnamed village in North India, Bhagwan Bharose opens with a Gandhian quote that sets the tone for what is to follow: “If we are to create peace in our world, we must begin with our children.”
We are introduced to two little boys, Bhola and Shambhu, peeking at the village well and having a serious yet innocent chat about a mythological belief. Bhola’s life essentially revolves around his mother, grandfather Nanababu, and his constant companion Shambhu who never leaves his side. His father works in the city to support the family and visits intermittently.
In a village where progress happens at a snail’s pace, reason does not shed its light. Every incident that happens is attributed to divine intervention. Nanababu smilingly summarizes the situation: “Sheher mein har kaam sarkar bharose hota hai; gaon mein sab kaam bhagwan bharose hota hai!” (In the city, everything is up to the government; in the village everything is up to God!)
The local priest serves as a teacher and imparts lessons to kids in his courtyard, drawing everything from Hindu mythology; Bhola and Shambhu imbibe his teachings as though they are embedded in stone.
Carefree and happy, the boys revel in their passion for flying kites and indulge in all childhood activities with unalloyed delight.
When old beliefs are upended
All goes well until Bhola’s father enrolls him in a traditional school. The knowledge imparted in the new classroom is totally contradictory to what the boys have learned from the pundit, and Bhola finds himself irked and in complete disbelief.
Nagging questions persist in his mind, and he gets confused and sad when his religious beliefs are at odds with scientific explanations. As the film progresses, many occurrences torment his mind, from otherwise mundane power outages to the unexpectedly wise words of a local atheist, to a tragic loss in the family. Eventually, his exposure to another religion’s way of life and the sociopolitical tensions of the era lead to a series of tumultuous events that change his life forever.
Spectacular cast makes the story come alive
Child actors Satendra Soni and Sparsh Soman play the pivotal characters in the film, and they truly hit the mark. Satendra as Bhola, who carries the bulk of the film’s weight on his young shoulders, does an outstanding job, emoting flawlessly and delivering his dialogues with unencumbered ease. Sparsh as Shambhu has lesser scope but makes his presence felt. Shiladitya Bora deserves due credit for bringing out such stellar performances from these young talents.
Veteran actor Vinay Pathak, as the endearing Nanababu, is great as always, and Masumeh Makhija, as Bhola’s mother Radha, stands out as an emblem of maternal warmth.
Shrikant Verma’s performance as the priest is convincing, wonderfully etched with streaks of buffoonery and fanaticism. Essaying the part of the much-reviled atheist in town, Manu Rishi Chaddha leaves a mark, doling out truly memorable pearls of wisdom.
Enjoy a laugh or two!
The humor is refreshing and uplifting. It is subtle and flows naturally, in no way denigrating the seriousness of the subject matter. For example, the naiveté of the villagers is portrayed through a comic scene. When a monkey sits on a TV antenna and interferes with its transmission, one of the village locals is in complete awe that Lord Hanuman has come to bless them.
Brilliant feature debut for Bora
Bhagwan Bharose is Shiladitya Bora’s debut feature film, and it has indeed gotten off to a glorious start with a Best Film Award win at the 25th UK Asian Film Festival.
The film is based on a story by Sudhakar Nilmani Eklavya, with screenplay and dialogues co-written by Mohit Chauhan. Seamlessly crafted, the narrative endorses a theme that has a universal appeal. The pace could have been better to get to the climax a little earlier; nevertheless, the story manages to keep you engaged.
The background score by Indian Ocean is soothing, and the photography by Surjodeep Ghosh brings to life the natural beauty of a village.
Simple and honest storytelling
Glitz and glamor are totally absent from Bhagwan Bharose. With utmost honesty, it portrays the sad realities that afflict today’s society. It is a parable of how blind faith can destroy the fabric of society. The film’s tagline raises the question: in a world blinded by faith, can innocence win over hate? Bhagwan Bharose compels us to ponder upon this reality that engulfs humanity in present times.
There is no moralizing here, but the message emerging from the story is that love, respect, compassion, and tolerance are the ideals that we need to foster in our children in order to build a world of peace and harmony.
Starring Shah Rukh Khan, comedy drama ‘Dunki’ will tackle the mass exodus of youth from the state of Punjab
Mumbai
Without any fanfare, Red Chillies Entertainment has released the trailer for Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film, Dunki. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, Dunki appears to be a comedy drama with a social message, much like his past hits such as Sanju, 3 Idiots and the Munna Bhai movies. Dunki will tackle the mass exodus of youth from the state of Punjab, and examine the idea of patriotism in a country whose people are desperate to leave it because they don’t have any options.
The story begins in 1995, when Shah Rukh’s character, Hardayal Singh Dillon, aka Hardy, arrives at a small town called Lalti. There, he meets the people who’d go on to become his best friends. One is a barber, another a clothes salesman, and the third – Vicky Kaushal’s character – lives to show off his English vocabulary. Each of them wants nothing more than to move abroad. But the most important person that he meets is Manno, played by Taapsee Pannu, who fights for him when nobody else would.
But at every turn, Hardy and his buddies are told that they cannot live abroad because they don’t even know the language. After a personal tragedy – it appears that someone close to them dies – the gang decides to take the illegal route abroad. We see them traverse vast deserts, ride on the roofs of trains, get shot at by soldiers, and even swim across rivers and hike across mountains. At one point, Hardy is arrested at an airport, and later, he holds someone at gunpoint. The trailer ends with him declaring that he wants to correct the mistakes that he made in his past, and an older, more patriotic Hardy is revealed to be participating in some kind of athletics.
In an interview with indianexpress.com, casting director Mukesh Chhabra declared that Dunki would be ‘remembered for the next 10 years’. Comparing it to the films of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, he said, “When I read the script of Dunki, I was blown away. If you loved 3 Idiots, it is going to be 100 times better than that. I have cried whenever I have read the script. Every time.”
Dunki marks a creative departure for Shah Rukh, who rebounded this year with the back-to-back action blockbusters Pathaan and Jawan. The films made a combined total of Rs.2200 crore worldwide, and the industry has high hopes for Dunki as well. Hirani’s track record is unblemished, after all. But will the film’s story, which recalls two flops – Shah Rukh’s own Zero and the recent Aamir Khan-starrer Laal Singh Chaddha – work against it? Dunki will be released on December 21, two weeks after the blockbuster Animal, and a day before the Prabhas-starrer Salaar.
The ceremony was held in Karachi to commemorate 100 years of the proclamation of Republic of Turkiye
Karachi, Sindh
Models displayed dresses designed by the famous Turkish fashion designer Cemile Gül at a ceremony to commemorate 100 years of the proclamation of Republic of Turkiye. The ceremony was held at Liaquat National Library on Wednesday Dec 6, 2023.
The designer, Cemile Gül was born in 1964 in Kütahya, Türkiye and began working at the Kütahya Public Education Center after completing her education. She won numerous awards in the field of embroidery and collaborated with Malatya İnönü University, Türkiye. Her works received awards at the Aegean Region Embroidery Competitions and achieved success in many competitions throughout Türkiye. She guided women interested in the art of embroidery and her works were published in many magazines.
According to her artistic understanding, art is the process of concretely expressing the meaning within a material in various ways. Throughout her career spanning over 20 years, she taught the art of embroidery to more than 3000 women, enabling them to receive certificates. Cemile Gül aimed to preserve Turkish Embroidery Art and conducted many projects and activities by modernizing traditional motifs for contemporary use. Additionally, she introduced Turkish handicrafts by organizing exhibitions and fashion shows worldwide.
With an entrepreneurial approach, Cemile Gül established the ‘CEMİLE GÜL ART GALLERY’ in Kütahya, Türkiye producing magnificent works through an intense work pace to preserve, pass on, popularize, and contribute to the economy of handicrafts. She showcased her works in many domestic and international fairs and exhibitions, organized fashion shows, and received numerous awards. She modernized Ottoman-era traditional motifs adorned on clothes and home textile decorations, adapting them to contemporary evening and formal wear as well as home textile products. Her works were presented at fairs, exhibitions, and fashion shows worldwide, from Germany to Singapore, Libya to UK, Austria to Saudi Arabia, upon requests from the Republic of Türkiye’s Ambassadors and the Ministry of Culture. (PR)
Uzbekistan sold 11 tons of gold; the largest buyer of precious metals was China, followed by Turkey, Poland and India
Tashkent
In October 2023, Uzbekistan became the world’s largest seller of gold in the precious metals market, announced the industry organization World Gold Council in its report.
Net purchases of precious metals by central banks in October 2023 amounted to 42 tons, according to the announcement. This is 41% less compared to September but higher than the average for the first nine months of 2023.
The largest buyer of precious metals was China (23 tons), followed by Turkey, Poland, India, and some other countries. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan sold 11 tons of gold, which is five times more than Kazakhstan, ranking second in sales (2.2 tons).
Gold reserves are the gold stocks held on the balance sheet of the country’s central bank.
Uzbekistan first entered the top 10 countries in the world in gold production with a figure of 101 tons in 2020, ranking 8th in the list, as reported by Forbes, citing data from the World Gold Council.
Forbes noted that the country hosts the world’s largest open-pit gold mine, Muruntau, where there are also vast deposits of turquoise and arsenic.
Gold mining is carried out based on two enterprises: the Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combinat and the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgy Combinat.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan first disclosed the volumes of gold sales in 2020 after 10 years. Over the course of 10 years, Uzbekistan exported a total of 687 tons of non-monetary gold from 2010 to 2020, including 100 tons in 2020.
Armando Xavier Araujo Axat, a genius of the family, writes and sings
EVA Petropoulou Lianou, a renowned poetess and author of children’s literature, based in Greece, has shared a poem written by Armando Xavier Araujo Axat, a 5-year boy of Mexico. According to her, the boy’s family members are all poets and authors.
“I have the permission of boy’s parents to publish his beautiful poem. His mother Dra Jeannete Eureka Tiburcio, who is Professor of mathematics and President of Mil Mentes Por Mexico association International, gave permission to publish the poem and photo,” Eva said.