LEGENDS OF PAKISTAN
A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z
BAPSI SIDHWA
Bapsi Sindwa can truly be called a born storyteller. All four novels Crow Eaters, The Bride, Ice-Candy Man which was released in US under the title Cracking India and AN American Brat are the hallmark of Sindhwa's superb writing skills. They have a freshness about them and see an element of humour even in tragedy. A graduate from Kinnaird College Lahore, she began writing in her twenties. She is the first Pakistani writer whose novel Ice-Candy Man, a novel about Partition set in Lahore, has been filmed by an internationally acclaimed Canadian director Deepa Mehta, under the title Earth.
In 1991 Ice-Candy Man (Cracking India) Sindhwa's third novel, was decleard a New York Notable Book, received the Literature Prize in Germany and was nominated by the American Library Association as a Notable Book the same year. She is the recipient of many national and international recognition. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Italian and Russian.
BENAZIR
Benazir Bhutto's biggest claim for a place here is the promise and courage she epitomised in the period between her father's fall from power in 1977 and her own installation in Islamabad at the prime minister in 1988. cast in a political role after the overthrow and hanging of her father, she was not lacking in determination in the face of persecution by the Zia regime. The popular support she received upon her return from exile in April 1996 was unprecedeted in Pakistan;s history. However, the period just before the 1988 elections marked the beginning of the second phase inthe political career. The 'ideological' workers of her party received a setback when she joined the power game in the runup to the polls. Even thought the chosen path culminated in Benazir becoming the first woman prime minister to head a Muslim country, her inability to deliver on the promise led to a further disillusionment of her supporters. Matters were not helped when a scandal-hungry media decided to play a role in the opposition
campaign to malign her. Mush more than her first stint in power, the media trial played a big part in porjecting her second government as absolutly corrupt. Contrary to the old saying, in Benazir Bhutto's case, the failure was often attributed to the man behind her. By the time the general elections of 1997 were announced, few of her (or her father's) erstwhile voters cared to go to the polls. the icing on the cake came when she failed to denounce the ouster of an elected prime minister by another army general. This signified the distance she has travelled since the coup of 1977.
BHOLU
Decorated as Rustami-i-Pakistan, (the great wrestler of Pakistan) in 1949, Bholu Pehelwaan of Lahore was the last big name in the tradition of subcontinental style of wrestling. Bholu's real name was Manzur Ahmad and he belonged to the family of celebrated wrestlers of Lahore. He was son of Rustam-i-Hind Imam Baksh and nephew of Rustam-i-Zaman Gama Pehelwaan. Bholu Pehelwaan won the title of Rustam-i-Pakistan by defeating Yunas Pehelwaan in a controversial fight and never again fought a abot but retained the title until his death. Other four brothers of Bholu Pehelwaan also made a name in traditional wrestling. Allegation of cheating and manipulating their victory in wrestling contests haunted the Bholu family, which finally faded from the scene after an ignominious defeat of Jhara, a young member of this family, at the hands of Anoki in the late 1970s.
BHUTTO, Z.A.
The most influential man in the history of Pakistan-- in life
as well as in death. A man who could not himself undo | the
process he had initiated and spearheaded in the mid-1960s --
that of giving the silent masses a voice. In the following
years, he became the reference point which divided Pakistani
politics in pro and anti Bhutto camps. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
came through the proper channel, a young and promising lawyer
who joined Iskandar Mirza's government in 1958. Remained close
to Ayub Khan and was a member of the Muslim League and the
Ayub Khan cabinet until the time came for a switch-over to
popular politics. The realisation coincided with a discovery
of all that was bad with the Ayub regime. At the time of its
launch, ZAB's Pakistan People's Party drew its strenght from |  |
socialist ideals, adapted to local environment. By the time
the party's complextion changed completely, much good had
already been done. Along with Sheikh Mujib and Yahya Khan,
Bhutto was the third main power plater held responsible for a
major role in dismembering Pakistan in 1971. He managed to give
the country its constitution-- so that the others after him
could hold it in abeyance. ZAB came to be regarded as one of
the most important leader of the Muslim world at a time when
pan-Islamism was yet to be reduced to a mere slogan.
Characteristic of the blunders in his later years, when he
went out of his way to please the feudal lobby and the
rightwingers, it was an error of judgement which cost him his
prime ministership, and hos life.
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