Empires of the Indus

Book Title: Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River
Publisher: Hachette India
Author: Alice Albinia
Edition: Hardcover
Language: English
ISBN: 9780393338607
No. of Page: 366

It is not daily that a foreign writer or a journalist gets to see the restive FATA and Northern Areas in Pakistan. It is also not common for them to roam in Tibet in accordance with their whims. But it has not stopped scores of them calling themselves “experts”. Reading them and listening their blabbering is often nauseating. But can you help? They have invaded your living room and the most you can do is to sulk. Or alternatively, get hold of a copy of Alice Albinia's 'Empire of The Indus' and know the place through the eyes of one of the very few honest, and genuinely intriguing writers who have written about the area.

For anyone who does not know what it means to report in these area, let me tell you by my own experience that it is not at all easy. In fact, even a basic permission will take months to come if it gets entangled in the cobwebs of notorious British era bureaucracy. And even if you manage to land a permission, you just achieved the smallest milestone. Because the problem will multiply manifolds from there. Add the experience of reporting in China and what you have got is a word called 'Impossible'. It is therefore an achievement in itself for Albinia to see and experience the region and its people up, close and personal.

'Empire..." is one of most definite accounts of Indus river and the peoples who reside in its basin and en-catchment areas. The sheer mixture of research and personal anecdotes that Albinia brings here will keep you hooked from the very first page.

Albinia, a journalist/writer, who spent several years in Delhi has a functional knowledge of Hindi and Urdu and has taken pains to discover the history and culture of South Asia by keeping a close track of it. And while polemics in the sub-continent kept on changing, Albinia never lost track of what moves this region. She overcame propaganda (a tough job if you stay in India) and decided to see the region by herself after she got fed-up of typical India drawing-room Pakistan bashing. She decided to follow a pattern and what could have been better than to trace the path of a river that lent its name to India itself. The river and its valley nurtured Indus Valley Civilization and after Aryan conquest, lent succor to the Early and most of later Vedic Civilization. It was through its passes that Alexander and many more conquerors came to India and it was here that the might of Huns and Mongols was broken. It is indeed sad that such a region has been deliberately deleted from the psyche of an average Indian.

In reality, the book is about the lands and people whom the river has lent succor to. And mind you, the region has been a melting pot for years. Albinia finds solace amidst people who are in minorities in some ways or other and are trying hard to preserve their unique culture and way of life. In her journey she takes us to the fascinating world of the Dards of Kashgar, Baltistan and Ladakh. Essentially a matriline race with prevalent polyandry, Dards have a pantheon of female gods and are supposed to have settled as a society long before Prince Siddhartha's teachings found its way to China and North from Sarnath. No less interesting are the Kalash tribes of Northern areas in Pakistan, mainly in Neelam valley. A pagan race in essentials, Kalash have the distinction of being claimed by scores of nationalities as their own. People all over the world, from Poles to Iranians to who have not claimed them as their own. Till now, however, the accepted version is that they accompanied Alexander The Great during his conquest and settled here. And then, there is the tragic saga of Sheedis of Sindh who are descendants of African slaves who were brought to do the menial jobs. Long outcast and treated as animals, Sheedis became so afraid of their identity that they started hiding their interesting past. It is tragic that followers of a religion that saw first African as the Muazzin of a mosque where Prophet himself used to pray, are willing to put African origin Sheedis in the dustbin of history. And then in same Sindh, Albinia finds the synergy between Hinduism and Islam that is growing apart every passing day.

It has been a difficult and emotional journey for Albinia and thus her personal anecdotes lifts this book to a different level. It will attract both average reader as well as the avid ones. Her triumph, however, remains her success in showing what real Pakistan is like, outside bad press.