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Title: Pakistani Culture at a glance View count: 186 Rating: 5.0 (3 ratings) Description: Pakistan (Urdu: پاکِستان), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia.[5][6][7][8] It has a 1,046 kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and the People's Republic of China in the far northeast.[9] Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor.The Indus region, which covers a considerable amount of Pakistan, was the site of several ancient cultures including the Neolithic era Mehrgarh and the Bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation (2500 BCE 1500 BCE) at (Harappa in district Sahiwal) and Mohenjo-Daro.Modern day Pakistan was at the heart of the Indus Valley Civilisation ;that collapsed in the middle of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Vedic Civilisation, which also extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Achaemenid Persian empire[25] around 543 BCE, Greek empire founded by Alexander the Great[26] in 326 BCE and the Mauryan empire there after. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab from 184 BCE, and reached its greatest extent under Menander, establishing the Greco-Buddhist period with advances in trade and culture. The city of Taxila (Takshashila) became a major centre of learning in ancient times—the remains of the city, located to the west of Islamabad, are one of the country's major archaeological sites. The Rai Dynasty (c.489632) of Sindh, at its zenith, ruled this region and the surrounding territories.The majority of southern Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River. By population size, Karachi is the biggest city of Pakistan.[59] In the northern half, most of the population lives about an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sargodha and Sheikhupura. In the past, the country's population had a relatively high growth rate that has, however, been moderated by declining fertility and birth rates. Dramatic social changes have led to rapid urbanization and the emergence of megacities. During 19902003, Pakistan sustained its historical lead as the most urbanized nation in South Asia, with city dwellers making up 34% of its population. Tags: pakistani, culture, at, glance, Author: KohliCBIFBIDhody |
