“Hindu” is not a race! The issue of race is a whole different topic, and even then Pakistanis “by large” are racially distinct from Indian Hindus. Any way, just because a Caucasoid Turk might have racial commonality with a Caucasoid Irishman, it does not mean they are the same people… far from it. On the issue of religion of Pakistani ancestors:
• Before the advent of Islam, the majority of people in the region of Pakistan practised Buddhism, Zoroastrianism (and its derivatives like Mithraism, Saurism, Manichaeism, etc.), Animism (nature worship), Paganism (Hellenic and other deities), and Shamanism. Harappans ate beef, buried their dead, had no Hindu temples/idols/deities, etc. RigVedic Aryans forbade idolatry, ate beef, sacrificed cows, had no caste system, were culturally closer to ancient Iranians, etc. Under Persian rule, Zoroastrianism started to spread. Similarly, Greek Paganism (Hellenism) spread under the Greeks. Ashoka brought Buddhism, which was later also propagated along with Zoroastrianism, Animism, Shamanism, Hellenism, etc.under the Bactrians, Sakas/Scythians, Parthians, and Kushans for many centuries. Hephthalites/White Huns were not very fond of Buddhism, but it still remained popular among the masses. Brahmanists and Shaivites were a minority in Pakistan. Kafirs of Kalasha, the only people in Pakistan who have retained their ancient religion are an example of the non-Hindu religions practised by the ancestors of Pakistanis. Gangetic holy Hindu texts call Pakistan region as outlandish, sinful, outcaste, mlechas, etc.The pre-Muslim ancestors of most Pakistanis never called themselves Hindu nor practised any religion similar to present-day Hinduism.Thus, the pre-Muslim ancestors of most Pakistanis had nothing to do with Hinduism.
• The word/term “Hindu/Hinduism” is a recent construct. It were the Muslim invaders who for the first time in history imposed the foreign term “Hindu” in South Asia to the countless distinct local religions. The term “Hinduism” was given by the British colonialists. Not a single pre-Muslim/British era Brahman, Buddhist, Jain, or any other South Asian scripture/inscription mentions the word “Hindu/Hinduism”. Similarly, “Sanata Dharma” was a term invented in the 19th century AD by Brahmanist scholars in their desperate attempt to replace the Muslim/British term “Hindu/Hinduism”. Such terms are artificial in nature because of its origins and meanings. Just because we call all Europeans or their descendents as “Goras” it does not make them one people as they have many racial, religious, linguistic, cultural, and historical differences. By the same token, if the Ghorid Muslim invaders imposed the foreign word/term “Hindu” on the non-Muslim peoples of south Asia it does not mean that they were one people since there were/are countless different religions, cultures, histories, languages, and races in south Asia. Besides, by the time of Ghorid invasions (12th century AD), Pakistan region was already mostly Muslim. Most of Pakistan region was a part of Arab empires previously and Arabs called them as Sindhis. So the Ghorid imposition of the artificial term Hindu was mostly for present day north India for their ruled non-Muslim subjects. The bottomline is Pakistanis were not Hindus because they never called themselves Hindu nor practised Hinduism.
• A significant minority of Pakistanis are descendents of Arab, Iranian, Turkic, Mughal and Afghan invaders/migrants, who just like the rest of the ancestors of Pakistanis were Zoroastrians, Animists, Pagans, Shamanists, and Buddhists before Islam. It was mostly due to Islamic Sufism that the ancestors of Pakistanis converted en masse to Islam.
Pakistan from 3000 BC to the present:
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Indus Valley Civilization: 3000-1500 B.C. i.e. about 1500 yrs. Independent, separate from India.
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Aryan period: 1500-522 B.C. i.e. about 978 yrs. Independent, separate from India.
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Small semi-independent states: 522-326 B.C. i.e. about 196 yrs. Under the suzerainty of Iran’s Kayani (Achaemenian) Empire.
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Conquered by Alexander and remained under his successor: 326-300 B.C. i.e. about 26 yrs. Under Greek rulers, not part of India.
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Province of Mauryan Empire which included Afghanistan: 300-200 B.C. i.e. about 100 yrs. Part of India, mostly Buddhist rule.
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Graeco-Bactrian period: 200-100 B.C. i.e. about 100 yrs. Independent, not part of India.
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Saka-Parthian period: 100 B.C.- 70 A.D. i.e. about 170 yrs. Independent, separate from India.
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Kushan rule (1st phase): 70-250 A.D. i.e. about 180 yrs. Pakistan-based kingdom ruled over major portion of north India.
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Kushan rule (2nd phase): 250-450 A.D. i.e. about 200 yrs. Independent, separate from India.
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White Huns and allied tribes (1st phase): 450-650 A.D. i.e. about 200 yrs. Pakistan-based kingdoms ruled over parts of north India.
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White Huns (2nd phase— mixed with other races): 650-1010 A.D. i.e. about 360 yrs. Independent Rajput-Brahmin Kingdoms, not part of India.
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Ghaznavids: 1010-1187 A.D. i.e. 177 yrs. Part of Ghaznavid empire, separate from India.
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Ghorid and Qubacha periods: 1187-1227 A.D. i.e. about 40 yrs. Independent, not part of India.
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Muslim period (Slave dynasty, Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Syeds, Lodhis, Suris and Mughals): 1227-1739 A.D. i.e. about 512 yrs. Under north India based MUSLIM govts.
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Nadir Shah and Abdali periods: 1739-1800 A.D. i.e. about 61 yrs. Iranian and Afghan suzerainty, not part of India.
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Sikh rule (in Punjab, NWFP and Kashmir), Talpur rule in Sind, Khanate of Kalat in Baluchistan: 1800-1848 A.D. i.e. about 48 yrs. Independent states, not part of India.
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British rule: 1848-1947 A.D. i.e. about 99 yrs (1843-1947 in Sind). Part of India under FOREIGN rule.
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Muslim rule under the nomenclature of Pakistan: 1947-present. Independent, not part of India.
The above table reveals that during the 5000 years of Pakistan’s known history, this country was part of India for a total period of 711 yrs of which 512 yrs were covered by the MUSLIM period and about 100 years each by the Mauryan (mostly BUDDHIST) and British (CHRISTIAN) periods. Can anybody agree with the Indian ‘claim’ that Pakistan was part of India and that partition was unnatural? It hardly needs much intelligence to understand that Pakistan always had her back towards India and face towards the countries on her west. This is true both commercially and culturally.
More on the land/people of Pakistan’s distinct past: http://www.geocities.com/pak_history
