Bahá'í Faith in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Pakistan begins previous to its independence when it was part of India. The roots of the Bahá'í Faith
in the region go back to the first days of the Bábí
religion in 1844, with Shaykh Sa'id Hindi who was from Multan
. During Bahá'u'lláh
's lifetime, as founder of the religion, he encouraged some of his followers to move to the area that is current-day Pakistan
.
In 1921 the Bahá'ís of Karachi elected their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1923, still as part of India, a regional National Spiritual Assembly was formed for all India and Burma which then included the area now part of Pakistan. By 1956 Bahá'í local assemblies spread across many cities, and in 1957, East and West Pakistan elected a separate National Bahá'í Assembly from India and later East Pakistan became Bangladesh with its own national assembly. Waves of refugees arrived in 1979 due to the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian Revolution
in Iran.
The Bahá'ís in Pakistan have the right to hold public meetings, establish academic centers, teach their faith, and elect their administrative councils. However, the government prohibits Bahá'ís from travelling to Israel for Bahá'í pilgrimage
. The World Christian Encyclopedia
estimated over 78,000 Bahá'ís lived in Pakistan in 2000 and over 79,000 in 2005 though Bahá'ís claimed less than half that number.
religion in 1844. Four Babis are known from India in this earliest period — it is not known from what sub-region most of them came from but at least some of them were known as Sufis and some termed Sayyid
. The first was Shaykh Sa'id Hindi — one of the Letters of the Living
who was from Multan
then in India. Basir-i-Hindi was a member of the Jalalia sect who also converted in this early period from the region which later became Pakistan. After embracing the Babí religion, Hindi set out to Iran but learned that the Báb had been confined to the hills of Azerbaijan
and made his way to Fort Tabarsi where he was one of four other Indians listed among the 318 Bábís who fought at the Battle of Fort Tabarsi. After that he went to Nur and met Bahá'u'lláh and later moved to Luristan where he worked in the court of the governor of Luristan, Yaldram Mirza. When the governor learned he was a Babí he was killed.
's lifetime, as founder of the Bahá'í Faith, he encouraged some of his followers to move to India. After first visiting Mumbai India, Jamal Effendi visited Karachi
in 1875 on one of his trips to parts of Southern Asia. His trips included Lahore
, Sialkot
, Jammu
, Kashmir
, Laddakh. Following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, the leadership of the religion fell to `Abdu'l-Bahá
and he in turn sent further representatives to the region — followers who travelled to the region included both Persians and Americans and included Sydney Sprague and Mirza Mahmood Zarghaní.
On instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá, Zarghaní stayed in Lahore for most of 1904 and subsequently travelled to nearby regions. During his stay Zarghaní became acquainted with Muhammad Iqbal
. There is information that an American Bahá'í was in Lahore about 1905; little is known except that he became sick with cholera but recovered under care from a Bahá'í, Mr. Kaikhosru, who came from (then named) Bombay to nurse him but himself died of the disease.
The first Bahá'í to settle in current-day Pakistan may have been Muhammad Raza Shirazi who became a Bahá'í in Mumbai in 1908 and settled in Karachi. As early as 1910 the national community in India/Burma was being urged to visibly distinguish itself from Islam by the Bahá'í institutions of America. Jamshed Jamshedi moved from Iran to Karachi in 1917 and Mirza Qalich Beg translated the Hidden Words
into Sindhi
. National coordinated activities across India began and reached a peak with the first All-India Bahá'í Convention which occurred in Mumbai for three days in December 1920. Representatives from India's major religious communities were present as well as Bahá'í delegates from throughout the country. In 1921 the Bahá'ís of Karachi elected their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly.
, an American Bahá'í, visited Karachi and Lahore in 1930 and again in 1938 when she stayed for three months and supervised the publication of her book titled Tahirih — the Pure. She died about a year later. The Bahá'ís of Karachi obtained land for a cemetery in 1931. Mirza Tarazullah Samandari, later appointed as a Hand of the Cause — a distinguished rank in the religion —, visited the area several times; he first visited the region in 1930, and then again in 1963, 1964, 1966, and in 1993 travelling to many cities. From 1931 to 1933, Professor Pritam Singh, the first Bahá'í from a Sikh
background, settled in Lahore and published an English language weekly called The Baha’i Weekly and other initiatives. A Bahá'í publishing committee was established in Karachi in 1935. This body evolved and is registered as the Baha’i Publishing Trust of Pakistan. In 1937, John Esslemont
's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was translated into Urdu
and Gujarati
in Karachi. The Committee also published scores of Bahá'í books and leaflets in Urdu, English, Arabic
, Persian
, Sindhi, Pushtu
, Balochi
, Gojri
, Balti
and Punjabi
and including memorials including those marking the centenaries of the declaration of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.
The Local Spiritual Assembly of Quetta
was formed in 1943 by Bahá'ís from Mumbai and Iran while the Local Spiritual Assembly of Hyderabad
was also formed in 1943 by Bahá'ís from Karachi. A spiritual assembly was elected for the first time in Jammu
in 1946. Bahá'ís from Karachi were among those to help elect the local spiritual assemblies in Sukkur
and Rawalpindi
in 1948. Further local assemblies were formed in Sialkot
in 1949, Multan
, Chittagong
, and Dhaka
in 1950, Faisalabad
in 1952, Sargodha
in 1955, and Abbottabad
, Gujranwala
, Jahanabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah
, and Sahiwal
by 1956 thus raising the number of local spiritual assemblies to 20. Hand of the Cause Dorothy Beecher Baker spoke at a variety of events in India extending her stay twice to speak at schools - her last public talk was in Karachi
in early 1954. Meanwhile an Muslim émigré from near Lahore, Fazel (Frank) Khan, moved to Australia where he was asked to present the teachings of Islam at a Bahá'í school and was so affected by the class that he and his family converted to the Bahá'í Faith in 1947. On two later occasions Fazel visited his home village and endeavoured to teach them his new religion. On the first visit there was no response, but during the second visit a cousin converted in the town of Sialkote. On the other hand a fatwa
was issued in Sialkote against the Bahá'ís.
Plans for an independent national assembly for Pakistan began as early as spring 1954. A regional convention in Karachi in 1956 had 17 delegates. With independence from India proceeding, the Bahá'ís of East and West Pakistan elected a separate Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly from India in 1957, witnessed by Hand of the Cause Shu'á'u'llah 'Alá'í. The Bahá'ís elected to this first national assembly included Isfandiar Bakhtiari, Chaudhri Abdur Rehman, Faridoon Yazameidi, A.C. Joshi, M.H. IImi, Abdul Abbas Rizvi, M.A. Latif, Nawazish Ali Shah, and Mehboob Iiahi Qureshi. Joshi in particular was then the Chairman of the national assembly and had been elected to assemblies since 1947 and eventually in other institutions. The new national assembly saw to the publishing of a history of the Bahá'í Faith in Pakistan in 1957. In 1960 when Mason Remey
made his unsuccessful claims for leadership, a small group of Bahá'ís in Pakistan accepted his claims and published some materials from 1965 through 1972 but have not been active since them. This Hereditary group never formed a significant group around the world. In 1961 the national assembly held a reception to honor the dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship
in Australia by inviting Australian and other diplomats as well as judges of Pakistani courts, business leaders and college professors while the local assembly of Sukkur hosted a regional summer school. In 1962 one was hosted by the local assembly of Quetta. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice
, the international governing body of the Bahá'ís, was elected and all nine members of the Pakistani National Spiritual Assembly participated in the voting. In 1964 Hand of the Cause Tarázu'lláh Samandari visited Bahá'ís and social leaders in Dacca, East Pakistan at the time. From 1946 through the 1980s the Bahá'í publishing trust published a variety of works oriented to youth.
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. In Pakistan 1967 was a year of multiplying activities. The Bahá'í youth of Karachi sponsored a youth symposium on world peace, the community at large elected a woman to the national assembly, for the first time elected a local assembly in Rahim Yar Khan, and held a reception for a Bahá'í from the Sokoine University of Agriculture
in Morogoro
with guests of executive engineers, attorneys, businessmen and industrialists, doctors, press representatives, bankers and university students. In 1972 the assembly of Karachi held an observance of United Nations Day
to which over one hundred people attended. Talks presented dealt with the elimination of racial discrimination. Also in 1972 the government of Pakistan invited the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís to send a delegate to participate in a Conference of the Religious Minorities. By 1974 there are Bahá'ís that are members of the Bhil
tribe in Thatta
. In 1975 Bahá'ís held meetings for the International Women's Year
and a seminar on "Education in Pakistan." In 1976 Bahá'ís were invited to participate in a week long celebration of minorities. Later Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís gathered to commemorate Letter of the Living
Táhirih
and a Bahá'í was acknowledged as part of the delegation from Pakistan to an asian conference on religion and peace by the chief Muslim delegate late in the conference. In 1977 membership of the Bahá'ís reached the state of Kalat and Tharparkar
. The 1977 winter school gathered 250 Bahá'ís while 1978's gathered 350. In 1978 conditions in Afghanistan
, including the Soviet invasion, lead to many Afghan Bahá'ís being arrested in that country and many fled to Pakistan. Iranian Bahá'ís also fled to Pakistan from Iran in 1979 due to the Iranian Revolution
. In 1979 the New Day Montessori School was established with ten students but would grow in time to three hundred and most of the students were not Bahá'ís. At this time Bahá'ís report there were 83 assemblies amongst many hundreds of places Bahá'ís lived which included three district centers and there were 47 delegates to the national convention. In winter 1979-80 Zahida Hina
gave a speech on the life and works of Táhirih at a women's conference. In spring 1980 for the International Year of the Child
the local assembly of Hyderabad organized an event that showcased children's art, essays, singing and quiz competitions, and the topic of the elimination of racial prejudice was a theme in Bahá'í gatherings in several cities. In the summer an institute and a seminar were held for children and youth covering a variety of topics including "The Role of Baha'i Youth during Political Upheavals." That fall and winter further gatherings were held, this time commemorating the United Nations Day (which highlighted the Commission for Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) and a talk by a professor of Superior Science College (see Government Colleges affiliated with the University of Karachi) which encouraged discussion on the elimination of prejudices. Before spring 1981 the youth of Karachi organized a conference recapitulating many of the same themes of games, quizzes, a poster contest and round of prayers. Come April and May there was a broad attempt at engaging several interest groups from primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges, professional publishers and the general public through a radio broadcast. Still that spring, president of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
, wrote an executive order categorizing the Bahá'í Faith as a non-Muslim religion. That December the Bahá'ís again held an observance of United Nations Day in several cities that received press coverage from print and radio. Representatives the Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Zoroastrian and Bahá'í communities gathered for a symposium in the fall of 1982 with a theme of "The Increasing Social Unrest in the World Today and its Solution" while presentations were made to judges and lawyers about the Persecution of Bahá'ís
in Iran. Still in the fall a women's conference brought together sixty non-Baha'i women who were wives of judges, university professors, headmistresses and teachers to hear talks. And in January 1983 a multi-faith presentation covered "the need of religion" on World Religion Day held in Karachi. In February and April Bahá'ís gathered for regional school sessions in Karachi, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Sibi. In August assemblies were formed for the first time in Sialkot, near Lahore, and Multan, the birthplace of Letter of the Living
, Sa'id-i-Hindi. In September a symposium on Táhirih
was held with presentations including Sahar Ansari
, a professor of Urdu at the University of Karachi and Zahida Hina with the attendance of noted Pakistani poet, Jon Elia
. Also in September a Bahá'í women's group decided to provide treats to students at a government school for physically and mentally handicapped children which evolved into the first set of volunteers helping in the school ever had. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. From December 1984 through July 1985 more than ten vocational or tutorial schools had been setup in several cities and run by Bahá'ís or Bahá'í assemblies. Also in the early 1980s, Bahá'ís in Pakistan started social and economic development projects like small-scale medical camps. In the middle 1980s Iranian Bahá'í refugees who had come to Pakistan began to arrive in other countries. The office attending to the refugees attracted visitors from governments and institutions including members of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (LSHCR) in Islamabad and Lahore; an official from the Ministry of Justice of the Nelherlands; a delegation from Finland that included the Ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador of the Embassy of Finland in Tehran, and three senior officials of the Finnish government; and the Australian Immigration Officer from Canberra. In 1985 the Universal House of Justice
published the Promise of World Peace and in 1986 and the assembly of Hyderabad used the occasion of the International Year of Peace
to sponsor a symposium on world peace and present the document to attendees. In 1989 Bahá'ís from Karachi moved to and elected the first local assembly in Muzaffarabad
while Bahá'ís from Quetta sponsored a week long series of student competitions that were run in 11 schools in Baluchistan - each day different activities were run; The Elimination of Prejudice, national songs, a quiz game, and a drama contest were among the events held. In 1998, when the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan arrested many Bahá'ís, many fled to Pakistan but many were able to return by 2002.
. The government of Pakistan also voted against the United Nations resolution Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 19 December 2001 raised in response to the Persecution of Bahá'ís
in Iran. In 2003 a series of youth collaborations highlighted internal developments in the community using the Ruhi Institute
process. Indeed nearly 1000 individuals have participated in Ruhi training by 2004, and classes have continued through 2007. In 2004 the Bahá'ís of Lahore began seeking for a new Bahá'í cemetery.
estimated over 78,000 members of the religion in the country in 2000 and over 79,000 in 2005 though Operation World
estimated over 93,000 in 2001.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
in the region go back to the first days of the Bábí
Babi
Babi may refer to:* Babı, a municipality in Azerbaijan* Babi Dynasty, founded in 1735 by Muhammed Sher Khan Babi , Nawabs of this dynasty went on to rule over Junagadh in Gujarat, from the 18th to the 20th century....
religion in 1844, with Shaykh Sa'id Hindi who was from Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
. During Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
's lifetime, as founder of the religion, he encouraged some of his followers to move to the area that is current-day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
In 1921 the Bahá'ís of Karachi elected their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1923, still as part of India, a regional National Spiritual Assembly was formed for all India and Burma which then included the area now part of Pakistan. By 1956 Bahá'í local assemblies spread across many cities, and in 1957, East and West Pakistan elected a separate National Bahá'í Assembly from India and later East Pakistan became Bangladesh with its own national assembly. Waves of refugees arrived in 1979 due to the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
in Iran.
The Bahá'ís in Pakistan have the right to hold public meetings, establish academic centers, teach their faith, and elect their administrative councils. However, the government prohibits Bahá'ís from travelling to Israel for Bahá'í pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
. The World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
estimated over 78,000 Bahá'ís lived in Pakistan in 2000 and over 79,000 in 2005 though Bahá'ís claimed less than half that number.
Early period
The Bahá'í Faith in Pakistan begins previous to its independence when it was part of India. The roots of the Bahá'í Faith in the region go back to the first days of the BábíBabi
Babi may refer to:* Babı, a municipality in Azerbaijan* Babi Dynasty, founded in 1735 by Muhammed Sher Khan Babi , Nawabs of this dynasty went on to rule over Junagadh in Gujarat, from the 18th to the 20th century....
religion in 1844. Four Babis are known from India in this earliest period — it is not known from what sub-region most of them came from but at least some of them were known as Sufis and some termed Sayyid
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
. The first was Shaykh Sa'id Hindi — one of the Letters of the Living
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
who was from Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
then in India. Basir-i-Hindi was a member of the Jalalia sect who also converted in this early period from the region which later became Pakistan. After embracing the Babí religion, Hindi set out to Iran but learned that the Báb had been confined to the hills of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and made his way to Fort Tabarsi where he was one of four other Indians listed among the 318 Bábís who fought at the Battle of Fort Tabarsi. After that he went to Nur and met Bahá'u'lláh and later moved to Luristan where he worked in the court of the governor of Luristan, Yaldram Mirza. When the governor learned he was a Babí he was killed.
Early Bahá'í period
During Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
's lifetime, as founder of the Bahá'í Faith, he encouraged some of his followers to move to India. After first visiting Mumbai India, Jamal Effendi visited Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in 1875 on one of his trips to parts of Southern Asia. His trips included Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
, Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Laddakh. Following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, the leadership of the religion fell to `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
and he in turn sent further representatives to the region — followers who travelled to the region included both Persians and Americans and included Sydney Sprague and Mirza Mahmood Zarghaní.
On instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá, Zarghaní stayed in Lahore for most of 1904 and subsequently travelled to nearby regions. During his stay Zarghaní became acquainted with Muhammad Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...
. There is information that an American Bahá'í was in Lahore about 1905; little is known except that he became sick with cholera but recovered under care from a Bahá'í, Mr. Kaikhosru, who came from (then named) Bombay to nurse him but himself died of the disease.
The first Bahá'í to settle in current-day Pakistan may have been Muhammad Raza Shirazi who became a Bahá'í in Mumbai in 1908 and settled in Karachi. As early as 1910 the national community in India/Burma was being urged to visibly distinguish itself from Islam by the Bahá'í institutions of America. Jamshed Jamshedi moved from Iran to Karachi in 1917 and Mirza Qalich Beg translated the Hidden Words
Hidden Words
Kalimát-i-Maknúnih or The Hidden Words is a book written in Baghdad around 1857 by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith...
into Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
. National coordinated activities across India began and reached a peak with the first All-India Bahá'í Convention which occurred in Mumbai for three days in December 1920. Representatives from India's major religious communities were present as well as Bahá'í delegates from throughout the country. In 1921 the Bahá'ís of Karachi elected their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly.
Growth and challenges
In 1923, still as part of India, a regional National Spiritual Assembly was formed for India and Burma which then included the area now part of Pakistan. Martha RootMartha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
, an American Bahá'í, visited Karachi and Lahore in 1930 and again in 1938 when she stayed for three months and supervised the publication of her book titled Tahirih — the Pure. She died about a year later. The Bahá'ís of Karachi obtained land for a cemetery in 1931. Mirza Tarazullah Samandari, later appointed as a Hand of the Cause — a distinguished rank in the religion —, visited the area several times; he first visited the region in 1930, and then again in 1963, 1964, 1966, and in 1993 travelling to many cities. From 1931 to 1933, Professor Pritam Singh, the first Bahá'í from a Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
background, settled in Lahore and published an English language weekly called The Baha’i Weekly and other initiatives. A Bahá'í publishing committee was established in Karachi in 1935. This body evolved and is registered as the Baha’i Publishing Trust of Pakistan. In 1937, John Esslemont
John Esslemont
John Ebenezer Esslemont M.B., Ch.B. , was a prominent British Bahá'í from Scotland. He was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first Hand of the Cause he...
's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was translated into Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
in Karachi. The Committee also published scores of Bahá'í books and leaflets in Urdu, English, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Sindhi, Pushtu
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
, Balochi
Balochi language
Balochi is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken as a second language by some Brahui. It is designated as one of nine official languages of Pakistan.-Vowels:The Balochi vowel...
, Gojri
Gojri
Gojri, also known as Gujari is a variety of Rajasthani spoken by the Gujjars of Northern-Pakistan, India and Afghanistan.Rajasthani, Marwari and Gujarati are evolved from Gujari. The language was known as Gujjar bhakha or Gurjar Apabhramsha lately. It was used as literary language as early as 12th...
, Balti
Balti language
Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh. Baltistan, before 1948, was part of Ladakh province. The Balti language is a dialect of the Ladakhi language, a form of Tibetan. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi proper and Burig...
and Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and including memorials including those marking the centenaries of the declaration of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh.
The Local Spiritual Assembly of Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
was formed in 1943 by Bahá'ís from Mumbai and Iran while the Local Spiritual Assembly of Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...
was also formed in 1943 by Bahá'ís from Karachi. A spiritual assembly was elected for the first time in Jammu
Jammu
Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...
in 1946. Bahá'ís from Karachi were among those to help elect the local spiritual assemblies in Sukkur
Sukkur
Sukkur, or Sakharu , formerly Aror and Bakar, is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. However, the word Sakharu in Sindhi means "superior", which the spelling of the city's name in Sindhi suggests is the origin of the...
and Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
in 1948. Further local assemblies were formed in Sialkot
Sialkot
Sialkot is a city in Pakistan situated in the north-east of the Punjab province at the foothills of snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. It is the capital of Sialkot District. The city is about north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometers from Indian-controlled Jammu.The...
in 1949, Multan
Multan
Multan , is a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province on the east bank of the Chenab River, more or less in the geographic centre of the country and about from Islamabad, from Lahore and from Karachi...
, Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
, and Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
in 1950, Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
in 1952, Sargodha
Sargodha
Sargodha is a city in the Sargodha District of Punjab province, Pakistan.Sargodha is located in the northwest of Pakistan. It is the eleventh largest city of Pakistan and also known as Pakistan's best citrus-producing area. It is an agricultural trade centre with various industries...
in 1955, and Abbottabad
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, northeast of the capital Islamabad and east of Peshawar at an altitude of and is the capital of the Abbottabad District...
, Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
, Jahanabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah
Nawabshah
Nawabshah , or Shaheed Benazirabad, is a district in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is headquarter of Shaheed Benazir Abad District...
, and Sahiwal
Sahiwal
Sahiwal is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the administrative centre of Sahiwal District and Sahiwal Division. Sahiwal is approximately 180 km from the major city Lahore and is the city between Lahore and Multan...
by 1956 thus raising the number of local spiritual assemblies to 20. Hand of the Cause Dorothy Beecher Baker spoke at a variety of events in India extending her stay twice to speak at schools - her last public talk was in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in early 1954. Meanwhile an Muslim émigré from near Lahore, Fazel (Frank) Khan, moved to Australia where he was asked to present the teachings of Islam at a Bahá'í school and was so affected by the class that he and his family converted to the Bahá'í Faith in 1947. On two later occasions Fazel visited his home village and endeavoured to teach them his new religion. On the first visit there was no response, but during the second visit a cousin converted in the town of Sialkote. On the other hand a fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
was issued in Sialkote against the Bahá'ís.
Plans for an independent national assembly for Pakistan began as early as spring 1954. A regional convention in Karachi in 1956 had 17 delegates. With independence from India proceeding, the Bahá'ís of East and West Pakistan elected a separate Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly from India in 1957, witnessed by Hand of the Cause Shu'á'u'llah 'Alá'í. The Bahá'ís elected to this first national assembly included Isfandiar Bakhtiari, Chaudhri Abdur Rehman, Faridoon Yazameidi, A.C. Joshi, M.H. IImi, Abdul Abbas Rizvi, M.A. Latif, Nawazish Ali Shah, and Mehboob Iiahi Qureshi. Joshi in particular was then the Chairman of the national assembly and had been elected to assemblies since 1947 and eventually in other institutions. The new national assembly saw to the publishing of a history of the Bahá'í Faith in Pakistan in 1957. In 1960 when Mason Remey
Mason Remey
Charles Mason Remey was a prominent and controversial American Bahá'í who was appointed in 1951 a Hand of the Cause, and president of the International Bahá'í Council...
made his unsuccessful claims for leadership, a small group of Bahá'ís in Pakistan accepted his claims and published some materials from 1965 through 1972 but have not been active since them. This Hereditary group never formed a significant group around the world. In 1961 the national assembly held a reception to honor the dedication of the Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Australia by inviting Australian and other diplomats as well as judges of Pakistani courts, business leaders and college professors while the local assembly of Sukkur hosted a regional summer school. In 1962 one was hosted by the local assembly of Quetta. In 1963 the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
, the international governing body of the Bahá'ís, was elected and all nine members of the Pakistani National Spiritual Assembly participated in the voting. In 1964 Hand of the Cause Tarázu'lláh Samandari visited Bahá'ís and social leaders in Dacca, East Pakistan at the time. From 1946 through the 1980s the Bahá'í publishing trust published a variety of works oriented to youth.
Multiplying interests, growth, and refugees
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Sokoine University of Agriculture is a university in Tanzania, specializing in agriculture.-Introduction:INTRODUCTION TO SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE...
in Morogoro
Morogoro
Morogoro is a city with an urban population of 206,868 in the southern highlands of Tanzania, 190 km west of Dar es Salaam. It is the capital of the Morogoro Region...
with guests of executive engineers, attorneys, businessmen and industrialists, doctors, press representatives, bankers and university students. In 1972 the assembly of Karachi held an observance of United Nations Day
United Nations Day
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
to which over one hundred people attended. Talks presented dealt with the elimination of racial discrimination. Also in 1972 the government of Pakistan invited the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís to send a delegate to participate in a Conference of the Religious Minorities. By 1974 there are Bahá'ís that are members of the Bhil
Bhil
Bhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....
tribe in Thatta
Thatta
Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...
. In 1975 Bahá'ís held meetings for the International Women's Year
International Women's Year
International Women's Year was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976–1985, was also established.-International:...
and a seminar on "Education in Pakistan." In 1976 Bahá'ís were invited to participate in a week long celebration of minorities. Later Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís gathered to commemorate Letter of the Living
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
Táhirih
Táhirih
Táhirih or Qurratu'l-`Ayn are both titles of Fátimih Baraghání , an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith in Iran. Her life, influence and execution made her a key figure of the religion...
and a Bahá'í was acknowledged as part of the delegation from Pakistan to an asian conference on religion and peace by the chief Muslim delegate late in the conference. In 1977 membership of the Bahá'ís reached the state of Kalat and Tharparkar
Tharparkar District
Tharparkar District is one of twenty three districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. It is headquarters is at Mithi. It has the lowest Human Development Index of all districts in Sindh.-Demography:...
. The 1977 winter school gathered 250 Bahá'ís while 1978's gathered 350. In 1978 conditions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, including the Soviet invasion, lead to many Afghan Bahá'ís being arrested in that country and many fled to Pakistan. Iranian Bahá'ís also fled to Pakistan from Iran in 1979 due to the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
. In 1979 the New Day Montessori School was established with ten students but would grow in time to three hundred and most of the students were not Bahá'ís. At this time Bahá'ís report there were 83 assemblies amongst many hundreds of places Bahá'ís lived which included three district centers and there were 47 delegates to the national convention. In winter 1979-80 Zahida Hina
Zahida Hina
Zahida Hina is a noted Urdu columnist, essayist, short story writer, novelist and dramatist from Pakistan.- Life :...
gave a speech on the life and works of Táhirih at a women's conference. In spring 1980 for the International Year of the Child
International Year of the Child
* Maureen Millicent Bomford founded International Year of The Child and it was endorsed by the United Nations. Maureen was born in Canterbury Punchbowl in 1930 and had four brothers. Her father was a Mayor and she always learned to appreciate the value of leadership. As the wife of a prominent...
the local assembly of Hyderabad organized an event that showcased children's art, essays, singing and quiz competitions, and the topic of the elimination of racial prejudice was a theme in Bahá'í gatherings in several cities. In the summer an institute and a seminar were held for children and youth covering a variety of topics including "The Role of Baha'i Youth during Political Upheavals." That fall and winter further gatherings were held, this time commemorating the United Nations Day (which highlighted the Commission for Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) and a talk by a professor of Superior Science College (see Government Colleges affiliated with the University of Karachi) which encouraged discussion on the elimination of prejudices. Before spring 1981 the youth of Karachi organized a conference recapitulating many of the same themes of games, quizzes, a poster contest and round of prayers. Come April and May there was a broad attempt at engaging several interest groups from primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges, professional publishers and the general public through a radio broadcast. Still that spring, president of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
, wrote an executive order categorizing the Bahá'í Faith as a non-Muslim religion. That December the Bahá'ís again held an observance of United Nations Day in several cities that received press coverage from print and radio. Representatives the Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Zoroastrian and Bahá'í communities gathered for a symposium in the fall of 1982 with a theme of "The Increasing Social Unrest in the World Today and its Solution" while presentations were made to judges and lawyers about the Persecution of Bahá'ís
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
in Iran. Still in the fall a women's conference brought together sixty non-Baha'i women who were wives of judges, university professors, headmistresses and teachers to hear talks. And in January 1983 a multi-faith presentation covered "the need of religion" on World Religion Day held in Karachi. In February and April Bahá'ís gathered for regional school sessions in Karachi, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Sibi. In August assemblies were formed for the first time in Sialkot, near Lahore, and Multan, the birthplace of Letter of the Living
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
, Sa'id-i-Hindi. In September a symposium on Táhirih
Táhirih
Táhirih or Qurratu'l-`Ayn are both titles of Fátimih Baraghání , an influential poet and theologian of the Bábí Faith in Iran. Her life, influence and execution made her a key figure of the religion...
was held with presentations including Sahar Ansari
Sahar Ansari
Professor Sahar Ansari, TI is an Urdu poet, critic, and scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics from Pakistan. He remained associated with the University of Karachi as Professor and Chairman of Urdu department.Prof...
, a professor of Urdu at the University of Karachi and Zahida Hina with the attendance of noted Pakistani poet, Jon Elia
Jon Elia
Jaun Elia was a notable Pakistani Urdu poet, philosopher, biographer and scholar. He was widely praised for his unique style of writing. He was the brother of renowned journalist and psychoanalyst Rais Amrohvi and journalist and world-renowned philosopher Syed Muhammad Taqi, and husband of famous...
. Also in September a Bahá'í women's group decided to provide treats to students at a government school for physically and mentally handicapped children which evolved into the first set of volunteers helping in the school ever had. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. From December 1984 through July 1985 more than ten vocational or tutorial schools had been setup in several cities and run by Bahá'ís or Bahá'í assemblies. Also in the early 1980s, Bahá'ís in Pakistan started social and economic development projects like small-scale medical camps. In the middle 1980s Iranian Bahá'í refugees who had come to Pakistan began to arrive in other countries. The office attending to the refugees attracted visitors from governments and institutions including members of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (LSHCR) in Islamabad and Lahore; an official from the Ministry of Justice of the Nelherlands; a delegation from Finland that included the Ambassador from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ambassador of the Embassy of Finland in Tehran, and three senior officials of the Finnish government; and the Australian Immigration Officer from Canberra. In 1985 the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
published the Promise of World Peace and in 1986 and the assembly of Hyderabad used the occasion of the International Year of Peace
International Year of Peace
- Recognition :1986 is recognized as International Year of Peace in December 1986, in the UNESCO headquarter, Paris, France.- Actions Taken by the Red Cross:...
to sponsor a symposium on world peace and present the document to attendees. In 1989 Bahá'ís from Karachi moved to and elected the first local assembly in Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...
while Bahá'ís from Quetta sponsored a week long series of student competitions that were run in 11 schools in Baluchistan - each day different activities were run; The Elimination of Prejudice, national songs, a quiz game, and a drama contest were among the events held. In 1998, when the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan arrested many Bahá'ís, many fled to Pakistan but many were able to return by 2002.
Modern community
The religion has continued to grow - in 1990 several individuals converted from Ahmadiyyah to the Bahá'í Faith and formed an assembly. The Pakistani Bahá'í community currently had the right to hold their public meetings, establish academic centres, teach their religion, and elect their administrative councils. Indeed government officials have occasionally attended events at Bahá'í centres. However, the government prohibits Bahá'ís from travelling to Israel for Bahá'í pilgrimageBahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
. The government of Pakistan also voted against the United Nations resolution Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 19 December 2001 raised in response to the Persecution of Bahá'ís
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
in Iran. In 2003 a series of youth collaborations highlighted internal developments in the community using the Ruhi Institute
Ruhi Institute
The Ruhi Institute is an educational institution, operating under the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í Faith in Colombia. The general idea of an institute in Bahá'í terms originates with the beginning of the Nine Year Plan designated by the Universal House of Justice...
process. Indeed nearly 1000 individuals have participated in Ruhi training by 2004, and classes have continued through 2007. In 2004 the Bahá'ís of Lahore began seeking for a new Bahá'í cemetery.
Demographics
By 1999 the number of Bahá'ís in the country was around 19,000; circa 2001 that number rose to some 30,000 adherents. The World Christian EncyclopediaWorld Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
estimated over 78,000 members of the religion in the country in 2000 and over 79,000 in 2005 though Operation World
Operation World
Operation World is a reference book and prayer guide, begun by Patrick Johnstone and continued by Jason Mandryk, both from WEC International. Operation World is published by , and produced by...
estimated over 93,000 in 2001.
See also
- History of PakistanHistory of PakistanThe 1st known inhabitants of the modern-day Pakistan region are believed to have been the Soanian , who settled in the Soan Valley and Riwat almost 2 million years ago. Over the next several thousand years, the region would develop into various civilizations like Mehrgarh and the Indus Valley...
- Religion in PakistanReligion in PakistanThe state religion in Pakistan is Islam, which is practised by about 95-98% of the 187,343,000 people of the nation. The remaining 2-5% practice Christianity, Hinduism and other religions. Muslims are divided into two major sects: the majority of them practice Sunni Islam, while the Shias are a...
- Bahá'í Faith in BangladeshBahá'í Faith in BangladeshThe Bahá'í Faith in Bangladesh begins previous to its independence when it was part of India. The roots of the Bahá'í Faith in the region go back to the first days of the Bábí religion in 1844. During Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, as founder of the religion, he encouraged some of his followers to move to...
- Bahá'í Faith in India