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Arab News
6 days ago
- Arab News
Gor Khatri archaeological site in Peshawar tells a 2,000-year story of empire and faith
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: In the heart of the ancient walled city of Peshawar, perched on one of its highest elevations, stands a site layered with millennia of history. Gor Khatri, literally, 'Warrior's Grave,' is a sprawling archaeological complex where 13 successive civilizations have left their mark, from the Indo-Greeks of the second century BC to the British Raj. Located at a strategic point in what is now northwestern Pakistan, the complex was once a major caravanserai on the trade routes linking Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Today, it remains one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements in South Asia — a rare living museum. Peshawar's strategic geography has long made it a magnet for conquest, trade and religion. Nestled at the mouth of the Khyber Pass — the historic invasion route into the subcontinent — the city has served as a crossroads between Central and South Asia for over two millennia. Greek settlers, Buddhist monks, Persian merchants, Mughal princesses and British generals have all passed through this terrain, leaving behind a mosaic of cultural and architectural legacies. 'Peshawar is one of the oldest living cities of South Asia,' said Dr. Numan Anwar, field supervisor at Gor Khatri for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums. 'The site has the footprints of 13 civilizations.' The current 160-by-160-foot square structure dates to 1641, when it was commissioned by Mughal princess Jahan Ara, daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan, and named Sarai Jahanabad. Built as a caravan rest stop, the complex included cells, chambers and grand gateways, many of which still survive. 'When Jahan Ara Begum came to that [caravan resting] spot and saw people from many regions gathering here, she had the present building constructed,' said Dr. Zakirullah Jan, associate professor at the University of Peshawar's Department of Archaeology. 'The cells, rooms, gateways, all were constructed during the Mughal period.' 'BUDDHA'S BOWL' The site's significance reaches far deeper than the Mughal era. Gor Khatri has yielded the earliest archaeological material ever found in Peshawar, dating back to the Indo-Greek period, roughly the second or third century BC. 'The earliest level that has been discovered related to the history and archaeology of Peshawar came from the site of Gor Khatri,' Dr. Jan said. 'When Alexander came, and when the Indo-Greeks came, the Mauryans came, it touches that time.' Excavations began in earnest in 1992 through a joint initiative by the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums and the University of Peshawar. Archaeologists have since unearthed layers revealing Roman coins, Kushan pottery, Scythian jewelry and even traces from the White Huns and the Ghaznavid Empire. Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, the 7th-century Buddhist monk who translated sacred texts from Sanskrit to Chinese, is believed to have visited the site. In his writings, he is known to have described a location where 'Buddha's giant bowl was kept,' which many historians believe refers to Gor Khatri. The bowl, some researchers say, was historically kept in Peshawar and Kandahar before being moved to the Kabul Museum. Today, a small museum inside Gor Khatri showcases pottery shards, coins, beads, seals and kitchen tools from the many civilizations that passed through. The complex also houses a mosque and the Goraknath Temple, a Hindu shrine built between 1834 and 1849, which now coexists in the same space — a testament to religious diversity. 'There is not a single break in the cultural history of this region,' said Dr. Jan. 'Since the second century BC till now, there is a continuity of culture. That's why the site is important.' The British-era governor's residence still stands at one corner of the site. Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile, an Italian general in the army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, once ruled Peshawar from this post between 1838 and 1842. Locally remembered as Abu Tabela, his tenure is part of the site's colonial legacy. On a typical day, students and families explore the site's pathways and peek into excavated trenches, standing on layers of millennia-old soil. 'Whenever my friends come from cities like Mardan, Swat, or Lahore, I take them here to show them the positive side of Peshawar,' said Hamza Khan, 21, a student of Peace and Conflict Studies. 'This place represents religious and cultural diversity.' The excavation work at Gor Khatri concluded in most parts in 2012, but archaeologists say there is still much to study. What remains today is not just an ancient structure, but a microcosm of Peshawar's civilizational depth — where Buddhist monks, Mughal princesses, British soldiers and local pilgrims have all, at some point, passed through.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Britain makes a profit on the ‘aid' it gives to India for first time
Representative image. LONDON: Britain has made a profit on the aid it gives to India for the first time since the end of the British Raj, the annual report and accounts for the Foreign, Commonwealth and & Development Office for 2024 to 2025 have shown. Hidden away in the report's annex, under regional programmes, where it shows how £3 billion was spent across the world, just one country stands out as having made a profit, and not as an expense, and that is India. The report shows a profit of £12,925,000 (Rs 151 crore) for the period 2024 to 2025. A total of £24,526,000 (Rs 287 crore) will now be spent on overseas aid to India 2025 to 2026, the report states. In 2012, India's then finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had famously described Britain's annual £280 million (Rs 3,277 crore) aid to India as 'peanuts' and British critics repeatedly question why Britain is giving aid to India if India is funding its own space programme and has its own foreign aid budget. In 2017, the Indian govt stated it gave more foreign aid to countries than it received. A phasing out of financial aid by 2015 was duly adopted as UK govt policy in 2012. Britain maintains that since 2015 the UK has given no financial aid to India and instead focuses on business investments which help create new markets and jobs for the UK and India and tackle shared challenges such as climate change. The UK spends millions on climate-related projects in India. This is the first time since 1947 that the UK has made a financial return on development funding sent to the country.
Hans India
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi holds state-level meeting
Ongole: Arrestingthe democrats and agitators who are voicing for the oppressed people is a clear violation of fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India, observed Justice B Chandrakumar. The Kula Nirmulana Porata Samithi organised a state-level meeting with a demand for the release of its president Duddu Prabhakar, who has been in prison in Chhattisgarh for the last two years, at Ambedkar Bhavan in Ongole on Saturday. Attending as the chief guest to the meeting, Justice Chandrakumar said that no one has the right to suppress the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, including the right to speak, the right to question, and the right to live. He said that the public has the right to dissent from the government, and it is undemocratic to arrest the leaders and workers who are working for the rights and aspirations of the public. Another speaker, former Additional Advocate General of Andhra Pradesh, A Sathya Prasad, said that enforcing the laws made during the British Raj on the citizens of the country is nothing but cruel. The enforcement of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) like acts is strangling the voices of the public. He said that the government must protect the constitutional systems and not use force on the people questioning the systems. He stated that it is disheartening that the bail application of Duddu Prabhakar was rejected citing the sections of the UAPA. Veekshanam Editor N Venugopal said that the government is waging a war on its people and resorting to atrocities on them, the natives of Chhattisgarh, in the name of 'Operation Kagar', to hand over the forest, full of natural resources and assets, to corporate forces. The Communist Party of India AP Secretary K Ramakrishna said that after the Bharatiya Janata Party came into power, the opposition party leaders are branded as Urban Naxals, and are being silenced by force. He said that the BJP won't be in power for long in a democracy. The KNPS AP vice president, M Krishnaiah, and assistant secretary Duddu Venkatrao, presided over the meeting while ViRaSam leader G Kalyanarao, New Democracy leader Chittipati Venkateswarlu, Chenetha Karmika Samakhya leader Macharla Mohan Rao, Praja Kalamandali state secretary J Koti, and others participated in it.
Indian Express
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
India will be the third largest economy but what about collapsing bridges: Ajit Pawar
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday raised concerns over India becoming the third largest economy while its buildings and bridges were collapsing. 'We have said that we will be the third (largest) economy, and that is true. But what about our buildings and bridges collapsing while we become the third largest economy? Who is responsible for that,' said Pawar. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Professional Structural Engineers Association (PSEA) in Pune. Pawar's statement came after two bridge collapse incidents were reported in two months — in Pune and Vadodara. Four people were killed when an iron bridge over Indrayani river in Pune collapsed on June 15, while at least 12 lives were lost after multiple vehicles fell into the Mahisagar river in Gujarat's Vadodara on July 9, when a 43-year-old bridge collapsed. Pawar said that the government still receives letters and updates from British companies that carried out construction in India during the British Raj. 'Even after 100 years, PWD (Public Works Department) gets their (British company's) letters informing us that 'on this date 100 years will be completed and our guarantee is over. Please do not operate the bridge for vehicular use anymore'. We have to make efforts to demolish those bridges,' he said. Comparing the quality of construction of structures now with that of the British era, Pawar who leads the Nationalist Congress Party, which is part of the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, said, 'We do not see this quality of construction anymore. New construction techniques have come up and they should definitely be used… buildings should be made stronger. PWD officials tell us often, 'this building is 40 years old, let's demolish it and make a new one'. How do they make these statements so casually?' Pointing out that several buildings in Mumbai are old, Pawar said, 'We live in Mumbai. All the buildings that we see in Ballard Estate (South Mumbai) are very old. The High Court building or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus… these buildings are excellent even after so many years. The corporation building is also extremely aesthetic. All this was possible during the British era.' Pawar also officially inaugurated PSEA, a registered cooperative organisation established in January 2025, which aims to balance the responsibilities, rights, and social commitments of structural engineers.
Time of India
10-07-2025
- General
- Time of India
Thankful Britain
A former associate editor with the Times of India, Jug Suraiya writes two regular columns for the print edition, Jugular Vein, which appears every Friday, and Second Opinion, which appears on Wednesdays. His blog takes a contrarian view of topical and timeless issues, political, social, economic and speculative. LESS ... MORE A country that always expects expressions of gratitude, even for its past misdeeds On a recent visit to London, I noticed a sign near the exit door of the bus I was travelling on: When getting off please say Thank you to the driver. An Indian visitor to Britain will notice that the country is full of thanks. You go into a shop to buy something. The shopkeeper hands you your purchase and you say Thank you. You pay for what you bought and the shopkeeper says Thank you. A person preceding another through a doorway will hold the door open for the person following, an everyday courtesy – which in India would be as remarkable as the sighting of a UFO – eliciting a Thank you from the one for whom the door has been held open, which might prompt a reciprocal response of Ta, or Cheers, which are Thank yous in other avatars. However, the most widely circulated oral coin of the realm is the word Sorry. The British are a very apologetic lot, forever vocalising regret for some trivial transgression. You stop a passing stranger on the street and ask the way to a particular place. If the person cannot supply the information, admission of this lack of knowledge will be prefaced with a profession of sorrow for inability to be of assistance. In a crowded bus or train, if someone inadvertently jostles you, a minor mishap that you barely register, the occurrence will evoke a salvo of Sorries as though you've been the recipient of GBH, Grievous Bodily Harm. Coming from India, where such transactional tokens of politeness are notable by their absence, the visitor might find the British protestations of gratitude and remorse perplexing in their profusion. Such perplexity might be compounded by the contrasting lack of any official token of Britain's regret for Jallianwala Bagh or the man-made Great Bengal Famine, which claimed an estimated three million lives. Perhaps this reticence on Britain's part might be in reproof of India's negligence to say Thank you to the driver who took it for a ride on the bus called the British Raj. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
