Culture of Pakistan Essay Example for Free

farming of Pakistan EssayThe 17th century Badshahi Mosque built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Lahore The society and culture of Pakistan (Urdu ) comprises many diverse cultures and ethnic groups the Punjabis, Kashmiris, Sindhis in east, Muhajirs, Makrani in the south Baloch and Pashtun in the west and the ancient Dardic, Wakhi, and Burusho communities in the north. These Pakistani cultures switch been greatly twistd by many of the surrounding countries cultures, such as the Turkic peoples, Iranian, Arab, and other atomic number 16 Asian ethnic groups of the Subcontinent, Central Asia and the Middle East. In ancient times, Pakistan was a major heathenish hub. many an(prenominal) cultural practices and great monuments have been inherited from the time of the ancient rulers of the region. One of the greatest cultural influences was that of the Iranian Empire, of which Pakistan was a part. In fact, the Pakistani satraps were at one time the richest and most productive of th e massive Persian Empire. otherwise key influences include the Afghan Empire, Mughal Empire and later, the short-lived but influential, the British Empire. Pakistan has a cultural and ethnic background going back to the Indus Valley Civilization, which existed from 28001800 B.C., and was remarkable for its ordered cities, advanced sanitation, excellent roads, and unequivocally structured society. Pakistan has been invaded many times in the past, and has been occupied and settled by many discordent peoples, from each one of whom have left their imprint on the current inhabitants of the country. Some of the largest groups were the Proto-Indo-Aryans, of which Sindhis and Punjabis descend from and later Iranic peoples which the Baloch and Pashtuns descend from. Other less signifi merchantmant ones include the Greeks, Scythians, Persians, White Huns, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Buddhists, and other Eurasian groups, up to and including the British, who left in the late 1940s.The region has formed a evident cultural unit within the main cultural confused of South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia from the earliest times, and is analogous to Turkeys position in Eurasia.1 There be differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Muslim customs differ from Islamic practices. Their cultural origins also reveal influences from far afield, including Tibet, Nepal, India, and eastern Afghanistan. All groups show varying degrees of influence from Persia, Turkestan and Hellenistic Greece. Pakistan was the first region of South Asia to receive the full impact of Islam and has developed a distinct Islamic identity, historically different from areas further west.1Ancient sites in Pakistan include Zoroastrian Fire temples, Islamic centres, shia shrines/Sufi shrines, Buddhist temples, Sikh, Hindu, and pagan temples and shrines, gardens, tombs, palaces, monuments, and Mughal and Indo-Saracenic buildings . Sculpture is dominated by Greco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods and engraved woodwork and metalwork. Pakistani society is largely multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural. Though cultures within the country differ to some extent, more similarities than differences can be found, as most Pakistanis are mainly of Aryan heritage or have coexisted military position by side along the Indus River for several thousand eld, or both. However, over 60 years of integration, a distinctive Pakistani culture has sprung up, especially in the urban areas where many of the diverse ethnic groups have coexisted and ithe country now having a literacy rate of 55%, up from 3% at the time of independence. handed-down family values are highly respected and retrieveed sacred, although urban families increasingly form nuclear families, owing to socio-economic constraints obligate by the traditional culture of the extended family. The past few decades have seen emerge nce of a gist class in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Sialkot, Abbottabad, and Multan. Rural areas of Pakistan are regarded as more conservative, and are dominated by regional tribal customs dating back hundreds if not thousands of years.Pakistans culture is again odd like the rest of the country. Pakistans geography is the meeting point of South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia/Gulf. Its culture could be termed as a combination of sub continental, Islamic, Regional, English, and more recently global influences. Let us consider them piecemeal. The newly born Pakistan had to have a sub continental leaning, having been a part of for last 5000 years of its civilization. However, the Indus Valley, present day Pakistan, culture was different from the rest of North India or South India. (Quoted Pakistans Identity, History and Culture, from the famed book Gwadar on the Global Chessboard by Nadir Mir)