I am student of history with diverse interest such as ancient period, history of archaeology, history/archaeology and identity, heritage management, historical development of societies, historiography etc.
This article discusses and analyses the Barger archaeological expedition of 1938 to the princely ... more This article discusses and analyses the Barger archaeological expedition of 1938 to the princely state of Swat. It argues that archaeology in princely, as well as in British, India did not originate and develop in a unilinear manner. This understanding is in line with the recent realization of variations in the historiography of native India. Given this, an attempt has been made to situate the Swat state in relation to British paramountcy. Miangul Abdul Wadud, the first British-recognized ruler of the state, was aware of colonial power relations and had a friendly attitude towards the British. He dealt with Swat’s archaeology with political and dynastic expediencies in mind. Since there was no proper legal and institutional dispensation in place in the area, the Frontier government officials and the political administration at Malakand treated the Barger expedition as a local matter, beyond the legal jurisdiction and disciplinary apparatuses of the colonial state. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the related laws were, thus, kept out of the entire enterprise. All this ensured a smooth transfer of antiquities to England at a time when strong legal-institutional and ethical dimensions to archaeology were in place within British India and in some princely states.
This article seeks to understand two opposite responses to the pre-Islamic tangible heritage, esp... more This article seeks to understand two opposite responses to the pre-Islamic tangible heritage, especially iconic, in the predominantly Muslim populated Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, formerly the NorthWest Frontier Province, Pakistan. The heritage site on which this study centres is called Shakhuṛai or Jahanabad. It consists of stupa remains, caves and, above all, Buddhist rock carvings and inscriptions. The Taliban attacked the famous Shakhuṛai Buddha three times between September and October 2007 and decapitated it. A nearby rock relief was also blasted in the early 2009. What this paper demonstrates is that both religious motivations and situations of current politics were responsible for these acts of destruction. However, these iconoclastic tendencies may not be seen as essential to any particular ethnic group. Historically informed alternative indigenous perspectives challenge the ideology of otherization and obliteration of heritage. What is finally argued is that this counter iconoclastic literary and cultural sphere, embodying a sense of identity and belonging to history, can be used in the process of peacebuilding and for the betterment of society.
This article discusses some aspects of archaeology in Pakistan. It gives a background history i.e... more This article discusses some aspects of archaeology in Pakistan. It gives a background history i.e. colonial settings of the subject. The next part covers how archaeology has been administered in the country, its teaching programmes in higher education institutions, the state of research and finally the journals which are dedicated to publishing archaeological researches or others which accommodate such works.
Proceedings of the International Workshop on Gandharan Cultural Heritage, 2011
The article deals with the heritage of Swat in the wake of the more than two years long control o... more The article deals with the heritage of Swat in the wake of the more than two years long control of Taliban.
This paper adds to the history of Indian archaeology a new chapter. It discusses and analyzes Sim... more This paper adds to the history of Indian archaeology a new chapter. It discusses and analyzes Simone Corbiau’s archaeological expedition to North-West Frontier Province and the Malakand Political Agency in 1938. Corbiau was a Belgian archaeologist having interest in pre-/protohistoric terracottas. In the first place, we give a scholarly background to her research so as to understand the importance of the work. In the early 1930s, D.H. Gordon published some terracotta objects from the then NWFP and Corbiau’s disagreement with him about dating the materials brought her into India in 1936. She did fieldwork and its results were immediately published. Corbiau visited India for the second time in 1938 but her expedition this time could not meet success. She made an unsuccessful attempt to work at Malakand and Swat, in addition to Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi, and it is this obscured story in the history of the area’s archaeology that this paper entirely deals with. We argue that despite the desperate support provided by the Archaeological Survey of India to the party, colonial geostrategic politics coupled with some inherent operational shortcomings in the project doomed it to failure.
Abstract
The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power ... more Abstract The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power during the late historic Swat period (7th-10th centuries CE). Archaeological, oral and analogical data has been produced and synchronized so as to re/construct the socio-political landscape of the period. The study focuses on the archaeological site of Nangrial (ننګریال) in the Malam-jaba valley along with its wider environs. The area is sumptuous enough in ancient remains and has been studied since the first ever visit of Sir Aurel Stein in 1926. Protohistoric graves, rock art and structures of late antiquity are found in the area. As a result, enough ancient history of Nangrial is now known. However, this understanding is augmented by adding oral data – dealing with political centrality of the site – in the framework of memory studies. It is argued that Swat in the last centuries of the first millennium of Common Era saw the presence of more than one centre of political power.
This paper deals with the formative years of archaeological research in Malakand-Swat, Khyber-Puk... more This paper deals with the formative years of archaeological research in Malakand-Swat, Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa. Recent archival material sheds light not only on the central role Major Harold A. Deane, the first Political Agent of the newly constituted Malakand Agency (1895), played in these pursuits but also brings to the fore an institutional context, such as museums and other learned societies. The Bengal Government’s delegations, led by Laurence A. Waddell and Alexander Caddy in 1895 and 1896, in order to procure Gandharan objects for the Imperial Museum of India, have been subjected to historical and critical analysis. Moreover, Aurel Stein’s antiquarian sojourns in the area also make a subject of investigation. This study also evaluates this preliminary antiquarian work from the point of view of archaeological legislation, as it was in place at the time, in British India, historical considerations presented by scholars in the field and the relationship of knowledge creation with power.
This MPhil thesis discusses the relationship between religion and politics during the reign of Wa... more This MPhil thesis discusses the relationship between religion and politics during the reign of Walis of Swat (1917 - 1969).
In the imperial aura of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeologists were not ... more In the imperial aura of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeologists were not indifferent to socio-political developments in India. It is obvious, amongst others, from Sir Aurel Stein’s works. This study particularly focuses on his Detailed Report of an Archaeological Tour with the Buner Field Force (1898). Stein, on the invitation of Major H. A. Deane, the first Political Agent of Malakand Agency, constituted in 1895, joined the punitive expedition of the Buner Field Force for an archaeological reconnaissance of the valley. The expedition aimed at punishing the tribes for participating in the 1897 uprisings at Malakand. Primarily concerned with archaeological survey, Stein also made observations on war and resistance. This study extracts these non-archaeological data from Stein’s report with a special focus on routes and movements of the force and responses of the locals. All this has, finally, been assessed in the light of recent scholarly debates.
This paper examines Sir John Marshall’s observations about the occurrence of a ‘great earthquake’... more This paper examines Sir John Marshall’s observations about the occurrence of a ‘great earthquake’ at Taxila, Pakistan, in the early first century CE. A careful reading of his works shows that Marshall remained silent about seismic activities until his magnum opus, the 3 vols. Taxila, appeared in 1951. The chronological marker used for this binary here is 1935. Around this time, excavations at Taxila ceased and Marshall left for England. The year is also significant due to the occurance of the Quetta earthquake which probably influenced Marshall to invoke seismic considerations in the synthetic treatment he rendered to his data. As it is argued that the ‘great earthquake’ theory of Marshall suffers from scholarly shortcomings, new researches should be informed by a strong sense of criticality.
This piece seeks to introduce a local antiquity lover as 'the other archaeologist'. Fainda Mand H... more This piece seeks to introduce a local antiquity lover as 'the other archaeologist'. Fainda Mand Haji of Ser village, Malam Jabba valley, Swat, knows a lot about the archaeological remains of his area. He also give amusing, and sometimes vital, explanations.
Pukhto (Journal of the Pukhto Academy, University of Peshawar), 2003
This article discusses an architectural section of houses in Swat in olden times (in Pashto langu... more This article discusses an architectural section of houses in Swat in olden times (in Pashto language). It is deodai which may be loosely called porch (of English).
This take aims to revitalize archaeology as an academic discipline and as heritage in Pakistan by... more This take aims to revitalize archaeology as an academic discipline and as heritage in Pakistan by presenting some potential ideas.
To promote mother languages means to use them as venues for mutual understanding and human emanci... more To promote mother languages means to use them as venues for mutual understanding and human emancipation, and not for hegemonic designs, exploitation and otherisation. An interesting case of Pashto understood through the binary of Pakistaniat and Afghaniat.
Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society (Historicus), 2018
Archaeology always owes much to successful publicity. As in other parts of the world at various t... more Archaeology always owes much to successful publicity. As in other parts of the world at various times, the same is true in the case of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent from the very start. Notwithstanding John Marshall’s services in this respect, Mortimer Wheeler may be credited for systematically and consciously entrenching archaeology into educated section of Indian society. His popularization programme was based on solid academic and philosophical grounds. This paper presents Wheeler’s popularization pursuits, having long-lasting effects, vis-à-vis Indo-Pakistani archaeology. First, it conceptualizes his concept of popular archaeology. Next, the various praxes along which he worked for circulation of archaeology have been delineated. Lastly, a critical discussion of the idea and practice of archaeology-public trajectory has been presented.
Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, 2018
Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological explorations are numerous enough and are characterized by the gr... more Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological explorations are numerous enough and are characterized by the great socio-political considerations of the time. The present paper deals with one of his thoroughly explored areas namely Balochistan province, Pakistan. It establishes the chronological framework and general historical outline of Stein's various expeditions to the area. Furthermore, some attention has been paid to some of his theories resulting from his investigations. But a more focused analysis has been made of that aspect of Stein's work which reflects his socio-political ideology and interests.
This work deals with the Buddhist heritage of Jahanabad, Swat. The area houses a number of remain... more This work deals with the Buddhist heritage of Jahanabad, Swat. The area houses a number of remains and the most famous one is the Buddha image in a huge rock. The site became notorious for enactment of Taliban's destructive power between 2007 and 2009, the period when Swat had been lost to them. The whole story of destruction has been presented here.
This article focusses on Ahmad Hasan Dani’s association with his studies on the Indus Valley Civi... more This article focusses on Ahmad Hasan Dani’s association with his studies on the Indus Valley Civilization. Two significant events have been explored and investigated with the help of primary documents available at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. The first event relates to organizing a symposium on the Indus Civilization in 1979 within the framework of UNESCO’s study programme for the civilizations of Central Asia. The second point of examination is the now popular book, titled Indus Civilization: New Perspectives, edited by Dani in 1981. Both academic and professional as well as political considerations involved therein with a special concentration of Dani’s role have been explored.
This article discusses and analyses the Barger archaeological expedition of 1938 to the princely ... more This article discusses and analyses the Barger archaeological expedition of 1938 to the princely state of Swat. It argues that archaeology in princely, as well as in British, India did not originate and develop in a unilinear manner. This understanding is in line with the recent realization of variations in the historiography of native India. Given this, an attempt has been made to situate the Swat state in relation to British paramountcy. Miangul Abdul Wadud, the first British-recognized ruler of the state, was aware of colonial power relations and had a friendly attitude towards the British. He dealt with Swat’s archaeology with political and dynastic expediencies in mind. Since there was no proper legal and institutional dispensation in place in the area, the Frontier government officials and the political administration at Malakand treated the Barger expedition as a local matter, beyond the legal jurisdiction and disciplinary apparatuses of the colonial state. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the related laws were, thus, kept out of the entire enterprise. All this ensured a smooth transfer of antiquities to England at a time when strong legal-institutional and ethical dimensions to archaeology were in place within British India and in some princely states.
This article seeks to understand two opposite responses to the pre-Islamic tangible heritage, esp... more This article seeks to understand two opposite responses to the pre-Islamic tangible heritage, especially iconic, in the predominantly Muslim populated Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, formerly the NorthWest Frontier Province, Pakistan. The heritage site on which this study centres is called Shakhuṛai or Jahanabad. It consists of stupa remains, caves and, above all, Buddhist rock carvings and inscriptions. The Taliban attacked the famous Shakhuṛai Buddha three times between September and October 2007 and decapitated it. A nearby rock relief was also blasted in the early 2009. What this paper demonstrates is that both religious motivations and situations of current politics were responsible for these acts of destruction. However, these iconoclastic tendencies may not be seen as essential to any particular ethnic group. Historically informed alternative indigenous perspectives challenge the ideology of otherization and obliteration of heritage. What is finally argued is that this counter iconoclastic literary and cultural sphere, embodying a sense of identity and belonging to history, can be used in the process of peacebuilding and for the betterment of society.
This article discusses some aspects of archaeology in Pakistan. It gives a background history i.e... more This article discusses some aspects of archaeology in Pakistan. It gives a background history i.e. colonial settings of the subject. The next part covers how archaeology has been administered in the country, its teaching programmes in higher education institutions, the state of research and finally the journals which are dedicated to publishing archaeological researches or others which accommodate such works.
Proceedings of the International Workshop on Gandharan Cultural Heritage, 2011
The article deals with the heritage of Swat in the wake of the more than two years long control o... more The article deals with the heritage of Swat in the wake of the more than two years long control of Taliban.
This paper adds to the history of Indian archaeology a new chapter. It discusses and analyzes Sim... more This paper adds to the history of Indian archaeology a new chapter. It discusses and analyzes Simone Corbiau’s archaeological expedition to North-West Frontier Province and the Malakand Political Agency in 1938. Corbiau was a Belgian archaeologist having interest in pre-/protohistoric terracottas. In the first place, we give a scholarly background to her research so as to understand the importance of the work. In the early 1930s, D.H. Gordon published some terracotta objects from the then NWFP and Corbiau’s disagreement with him about dating the materials brought her into India in 1936. She did fieldwork and its results were immediately published. Corbiau visited India for the second time in 1938 but her expedition this time could not meet success. She made an unsuccessful attempt to work at Malakand and Swat, in addition to Peshawar, Mardan and Swabi, and it is this obscured story in the history of the area’s archaeology that this paper entirely deals with. We argue that despite the desperate support provided by the Archaeological Survey of India to the party, colonial geostrategic politics coupled with some inherent operational shortcomings in the project doomed it to failure.
Abstract
The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power ... more Abstract The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power during the late historic Swat period (7th-10th centuries CE). Archaeological, oral and analogical data has been produced and synchronized so as to re/construct the socio-political landscape of the period. The study focuses on the archaeological site of Nangrial (ننګریال) in the Malam-jaba valley along with its wider environs. The area is sumptuous enough in ancient remains and has been studied since the first ever visit of Sir Aurel Stein in 1926. Protohistoric graves, rock art and structures of late antiquity are found in the area. As a result, enough ancient history of Nangrial is now known. However, this understanding is augmented by adding oral data – dealing with political centrality of the site – in the framework of memory studies. It is argued that Swat in the last centuries of the first millennium of Common Era saw the presence of more than one centre of political power.
This paper deals with the formative years of archaeological research in Malakand-Swat, Khyber-Puk... more This paper deals with the formative years of archaeological research in Malakand-Swat, Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa. Recent archival material sheds light not only on the central role Major Harold A. Deane, the first Political Agent of the newly constituted Malakand Agency (1895), played in these pursuits but also brings to the fore an institutional context, such as museums and other learned societies. The Bengal Government’s delegations, led by Laurence A. Waddell and Alexander Caddy in 1895 and 1896, in order to procure Gandharan objects for the Imperial Museum of India, have been subjected to historical and critical analysis. Moreover, Aurel Stein’s antiquarian sojourns in the area also make a subject of investigation. This study also evaluates this preliminary antiquarian work from the point of view of archaeological legislation, as it was in place at the time, in British India, historical considerations presented by scholars in the field and the relationship of knowledge creation with power.
This MPhil thesis discusses the relationship between religion and politics during the reign of Wa... more This MPhil thesis discusses the relationship between religion and politics during the reign of Walis of Swat (1917 - 1969).
In the imperial aura of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeologists were not ... more In the imperial aura of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, archaeologists were not indifferent to socio-political developments in India. It is obvious, amongst others, from Sir Aurel Stein’s works. This study particularly focuses on his Detailed Report of an Archaeological Tour with the Buner Field Force (1898). Stein, on the invitation of Major H. A. Deane, the first Political Agent of Malakand Agency, constituted in 1895, joined the punitive expedition of the Buner Field Force for an archaeological reconnaissance of the valley. The expedition aimed at punishing the tribes for participating in the 1897 uprisings at Malakand. Primarily concerned with archaeological survey, Stein also made observations on war and resistance. This study extracts these non-archaeological data from Stein’s report with a special focus on routes and movements of the force and responses of the locals. All this has, finally, been assessed in the light of recent scholarly debates.
This paper examines Sir John Marshall’s observations about the occurrence of a ‘great earthquake’... more This paper examines Sir John Marshall’s observations about the occurrence of a ‘great earthquake’ at Taxila, Pakistan, in the early first century CE. A careful reading of his works shows that Marshall remained silent about seismic activities until his magnum opus, the 3 vols. Taxila, appeared in 1951. The chronological marker used for this binary here is 1935. Around this time, excavations at Taxila ceased and Marshall left for England. The year is also significant due to the occurance of the Quetta earthquake which probably influenced Marshall to invoke seismic considerations in the synthetic treatment he rendered to his data. As it is argued that the ‘great earthquake’ theory of Marshall suffers from scholarly shortcomings, new researches should be informed by a strong sense of criticality.
This piece seeks to introduce a local antiquity lover as 'the other archaeologist'. Fainda Mand H... more This piece seeks to introduce a local antiquity lover as 'the other archaeologist'. Fainda Mand Haji of Ser village, Malam Jabba valley, Swat, knows a lot about the archaeological remains of his area. He also give amusing, and sometimes vital, explanations.
Pukhto (Journal of the Pukhto Academy, University of Peshawar), 2003
This article discusses an architectural section of houses in Swat in olden times (in Pashto langu... more This article discusses an architectural section of houses in Swat in olden times (in Pashto language). It is deodai which may be loosely called porch (of English).
This take aims to revitalize archaeology as an academic discipline and as heritage in Pakistan by... more This take aims to revitalize archaeology as an academic discipline and as heritage in Pakistan by presenting some potential ideas.
To promote mother languages means to use them as venues for mutual understanding and human emanci... more To promote mother languages means to use them as venues for mutual understanding and human emancipation, and not for hegemonic designs, exploitation and otherisation. An interesting case of Pashto understood through the binary of Pakistaniat and Afghaniat.
Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society (Historicus), 2018
Archaeology always owes much to successful publicity. As in other parts of the world at various t... more Archaeology always owes much to successful publicity. As in other parts of the world at various times, the same is true in the case of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent from the very start. Notwithstanding John Marshall’s services in this respect, Mortimer Wheeler may be credited for systematically and consciously entrenching archaeology into educated section of Indian society. His popularization programme was based on solid academic and philosophical grounds. This paper presents Wheeler’s popularization pursuits, having long-lasting effects, vis-à-vis Indo-Pakistani archaeology. First, it conceptualizes his concept of popular archaeology. Next, the various praxes along which he worked for circulation of archaeology have been delineated. Lastly, a critical discussion of the idea and practice of archaeology-public trajectory has been presented.
Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society, 2018
Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological explorations are numerous enough and are characterized by the gr... more Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological explorations are numerous enough and are characterized by the great socio-political considerations of the time. The present paper deals with one of his thoroughly explored areas namely Balochistan province, Pakistan. It establishes the chronological framework and general historical outline of Stein's various expeditions to the area. Furthermore, some attention has been paid to some of his theories resulting from his investigations. But a more focused analysis has been made of that aspect of Stein's work which reflects his socio-political ideology and interests.
This work deals with the Buddhist heritage of Jahanabad, Swat. The area houses a number of remain... more This work deals with the Buddhist heritage of Jahanabad, Swat. The area houses a number of remains and the most famous one is the Buddha image in a huge rock. The site became notorious for enactment of Taliban's destructive power between 2007 and 2009, the period when Swat had been lost to them. The whole story of destruction has been presented here.
This article focusses on Ahmad Hasan Dani’s association with his studies on the Indus Valley Civi... more This article focusses on Ahmad Hasan Dani’s association with his studies on the Indus Valley Civilization. Two significant events have been explored and investigated with the help of primary documents available at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. The first event relates to organizing a symposium on the Indus Civilization in 1979 within the framework of UNESCO’s study programme for the civilizations of Central Asia. The second point of examination is the now popular book, titled Indus Civilization: New Perspectives, edited by Dani in 1981. Both academic and professional as well as political considerations involved therein with a special concentration of Dani’s role have been explored.
It is a brief review of G. Tucci's collected articles (On Swat: Historical and Archaeological Not... more It is a brief review of G. Tucci's collected articles (On Swat: Historical and Archaeological Notes, 2013).
This is a review of the book titled as Sir Aurel Stein and 'Lords of the Marches': New Archival M... more This is a review of the book titled as Sir Aurel Stein and 'Lords of the Marches': New Archival Materials (published by Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, 2015) by Luca Maria Olivieir.
Growth of Modern Education in Swat State is a Master Thesis by Buner Khan. It deals with the into... more Growth of Modern Education in Swat State is a Master Thesis by Buner Khan. It deals with the intorduction and development of modern education in the Swat State under the Walis. It was submitted to the University of Punjab in 1963.
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Papers by Rafiullah Khan
The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power during the late historic Swat period (7th-10th centuries CE). Archaeological, oral and analogical data has been produced and synchronized so as to re/construct the socio-political landscape of the period. The study focuses on the archaeological site of Nangrial (ننګریال) in the Malam-jaba valley along with its wider environs. The area is sumptuous enough in ancient remains and has been studied since the first ever visit of Sir Aurel Stein in 1926. Protohistoric graves, rock art and structures of late antiquity are found in the area. As a result, enough ancient history of Nangrial is now known. However, this understanding is augmented by adding oral data – dealing with political centrality of the site – in the framework of memory studies. It is argued that Swat in the last centuries of the first millennium of Common Era saw the presence of more than one centre of political power.
antiquarian work from the point of view of archaeological legislation, as it was in place at the time, in British India, historical considerations presented by scholars in the field and the relationship of knowledge creation with power.
The present study argues concerning the possible existence of multiple centres of power during the late historic Swat period (7th-10th centuries CE). Archaeological, oral and analogical data has been produced and synchronized so as to re/construct the socio-political landscape of the period. The study focuses on the archaeological site of Nangrial (ننګریال) in the Malam-jaba valley along with its wider environs. The area is sumptuous enough in ancient remains and has been studied since the first ever visit of Sir Aurel Stein in 1926. Protohistoric graves, rock art and structures of late antiquity are found in the area. As a result, enough ancient history of Nangrial is now known. However, this understanding is augmented by adding oral data – dealing with political centrality of the site – in the framework of memory studies. It is argued that Swat in the last centuries of the first millennium of Common Era saw the presence of more than one centre of political power.
antiquarian work from the point of view of archaeological legislation, as it was in place at the time, in British India, historical considerations presented by scholars in the field and the relationship of knowledge creation with power.