This essay, written by the head of Pakistan’s federal department of archeology and museums, is used to facilitate a discussion of Gandhara’s rediscovery by the British colonial administration in greater detail than mentioned within the introduction. Within the work, the author Fazal Dad Kakar appears to act as a representative of his nation, taking a firm stance against colonial practice and casting the colonization of India as a “conquest of the Indian subcontinent.”1While maintaining the position that the British were invaders and their interest in antiquity was merely an “aspect of national competitiveness” which emerged in nineteenth century Europe, Kakar paints a clear progression of those foreigners whose contributions have shaped our understanding of Gandharan art in the modern day.1His outline includes such figures as William Jones, who discovered the close relationship between Sanskrit and Germanic/Celtic languages, and Mortimer Wheeler, the last person to head the Archeological Survey of India prior to the bloody 1947 secession of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. From here, the essay flows into the present day, in which Kakar reports on the foreign projects at work on Gandharan excavation as well as those national organizations which have “carried out extensive exploratory work and excavations in the Gandharan region” such as the “Federal Department of Archeology and Museums” (of which Kakar is the head) “and other sister organizations – that is, the Department of Archeology, University of Peshawar; and the Provincial Department of Archeology, North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP, now known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province).”1By drawing attention to such accomplishments as the “380 new sites…recorded” and the further excavation of old sites to uncover discoveries, such as in Sangao Cave and the Taxila Valley, the essay drives home the important work being done in the modern day and lays further claim to the region and its history in apparent defiance of the old rhetoric of British imperil importance.1In a sense, the essay serves to emphasize that while British collecting began the process of discovery in Gandhara and must be treated with respect for that reason, it’s time has long since passed and the Pakistani people are more than ready to make their own mark on the region. This claim stands in stark contrast against the political commentary of the period, which defines Pakistan as terroristic and dangerous, unable to protect their own history. It should be noted that nowhere within the essay does Kakar make reference to the Taliban present in the country and neighboring Afghanistan.2
- Ed. Proser, Adriana. The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara.
- “2001-2014; A Timeline of Terror Attacks in Pakistan.” Haaretz.