Mistri, Munshi, and Sipahi

Dosent matter u r a sipahi, munshi or a mistri. If u r bringing home money every one will be happy. We were their NAUKERS when there was British Raj and we still are their NAUKERS when there is Islami Jamhoria Pakistan. Times have changed but their and our status and nature hasen`t changed. They exploited us before and we sold ourselves very cheap and we still are charging them few cents for every phone call we recieve in our call canters. There`s no point of regretting and discussing this thing except it, it runsin our blood

excellent article !
I agree with Qazi ...she has done all justice with dividing the three countries accordingly ...
Chinesse : Mistris , Indians: Munshis , Pakistanis : Sipahis ...chinesse hv munshis , mistries & also sipahis , but they r known for their work labour , similarly the indians also hv all the three but they excell in office work i.e clerks , IT & bsn proffesionals & lastly the Pakis aslo hv all the three but they hv always been under the rule of Army , the sipahis in Pak make its history .

the writer tried to give the general outlook of these countries , which I agree with :)

#25 antibol,

We can sit here splitting the achievements/failures of the British Indian Army along communal lines. Doing so is rather distasteful to me and a disrespect to the memory of people who fought alongside each other.

Let me leave all such communal hair-splitting to you and your ilk.

What about a grand-uncle of mine who was an officer with the Baluch

was he mine or yours?

Stereotypes??? Not so fast guys!

Political correctness is good. However too much of good thing may not be good. This essay is all about ``branding`` and a lot less about ``stereotyping``.

Here is a statement for the PC crowd. Toyota and Honda make good cars! I call it branding their names. Another statement! Chinese and Indians make good grad students in US schools. Again an example of branding.

Chinese workers are branded as good factory workers. They have proven it over many many years.

Indians provide good office workers. Again they have proven it over many many years.

Pakistanis provide good defense contractors. Yes! They have proven it over the last 60 years. Much before 1947, the regions that now comprise Pakistan plus Easter Punjab has fought alongside Western forces since 1830`s. Afghan wars, may have started with Bangal Lancers. Care to explain how many Bangalis were in that force?

I agree that exceptions to all the assertions are always there.

Thanks again for kind replies. I`ll try to address individual comments as my time permits.

Regards

Qazi

Re: # 22

This is not branding.This is stereotyping of the basest kind.Currently the hottest off-beat careers in India are , get this, DJ-ing and a tie for dog-walking/tattoo artist!!!.I kid you not.I got this from `Headline News` channel earlier tonight.Contrary to perceptions of the fighting punjabbans, the `maratha `and `madras` regiments are some of the fiercest in the Indian army.And, anyone south of the vindhyas is thought of as pacifist and weak.Yet, the Mughals had Chathrapathi Shivaji and south indian kings to contend with.

Re: # 23 cayenne ``hottest .. careers in India are ..DJ-ing and a tie for dog-walking/tattoo artist!!!.I kid you not``

haha! you are funny. Are you trying to prove that India made $10 billion in exports last year from DJ-ing, dog-walking and tattoo parlors? I guess you want to say that all those graduates of IIT, and IIMs are walking dogs, shaking booties, and coloring skins?

$10 billion yearly income are from Munshis (IT, call centers) of India (total budget $110 b)
$100 billion yearly income for China, thanks to their Mistris. (total budget $280 b)
$3 billion income for Pakistan, all because of his Sipahis. (total budget $15 b)

All these numbers may be off slightly but the picture remains the same. Chinese Mistris, Indian Munshis, and Pakistani Sipahis are bringing home the dough.

#26 bongdongs, My essay simply talks about regional strengths (and may be weeknesses). It didn`t refer to religion, or race. Your great-uncle deserves all the praise. However he was among the tiny minority of British Indian troops.

Re: # 27
antiobl.........what part of ``off-beat`` don`t you understand?.And, ask ``headine news` channel how they came up with the list.This is for those who don`t go to IIT`s et alia.With the profusion of dance clubs/ bars and corporate/private parties in India, DJ`s are in demand and there are a growing number of youngsters daring to explore alternate and exciting careers.All power to them.Bollywood rakes in a lot too and if you combine earnings of all indian cinema the figure runs in the 4-5 bilion dollar range.Textiles/fashion industry in india exports 12 -13 billion a year.Automobiles/auto components earned 2 billion dollars in 2003-2004.The expected earnings in this industry is expected to grow ten-fold by 2010.This essay is stereotyping at the very best and there`s nothing more to it.

China was the largest manufacturing nation in the world until the 17th century. India was the second. You can have a look at their exports today and the picture painted in the article above will not be far of the mark. As regards Pakistan`s BOP I think they are dominated by remitances and aid, in short by neither manufatures nor services.

#16 by hindvi

[But there is some truth to this article, atleast from an economic perspective.]

I agree.

Harish

offcourse its a stereotype, thats why I quoted it. (Though because it came from Auchenlik, who fought in two world wars and was CnC British Indian Army it is given weight by some).

PS: I am not Punjabi, just wanted to burst Mr LokRaj`s bubble.

But there is some truth to this article, atleast from an economic perspective.

Re: # 16

The only economic connection of this article is that reason and logic have been used economically. Before the birth of Pakistan, the areas which make up today`s Islamic republic were backwaters inhabited by peasant serfs and unruly, uncouth buffons. Their lack of education and inability to stay in organized formations rendered them useless for military service. The munshi connection is also tenuous because Sindh has been a commerical centre since time immemorial. What is this factory nonsense, when Britons subdued Chinese they were farming rice.

#14 by hindvi

[Field Marshall Auchenlik used to say that the best soldier in India is the Punjabi Mussalman for he possess the three qualities of bravery, intelligence and loyalty one of which were missing in all the others (including sikhs).]

Isn`t that again a stereotype? And we all know that the Paki Army is predominantly Punjabi Mussalman, how come they haven`t been able to defeat India even once? Is it that they lacked one of the ``three qualities`` Field Marshal Auchenlik mentioned?

``Only worthwhile sepahis and jarnails in th area which is now Pakistan were sikhs who crossed the border in 1947``

I know this article perpetuates stereotypes but this is the funniest statement i have read.
Field Marshall Auchenlik used to say that the best soldier in India is the Punjabi Mussalman for he possess the three qualities of bravery, intelligence and loyalty one of which were missing in all the others (including sikhs).

Re: # 14 hindvi

The best soldier the British ever got from the indian subcontinent are the Gurkhas. Good fighters and steadfastly loyal. They still serve them. As a mark of respect and appreciation for their services the British have built a Gurkha statue some where near Parliament (?).

What a load of crap. This article shows just how stupid is the average ``educated`` Pakistani. Funnily enough, I`ve never heard ``uneducated`` Pakistanis say much of this kind of BS.

Since I don`t have time to point out all of the errors here, let me pick a couple to illustrate my point. As far as loyal and capable soldiers go, the ones that beat the Sikhs, the Mahrattas, the Pathans, the Gurkhas, and everyone else that dared to go against the Company Bahadur were recruited mainly from Oudh (i.e., mainly UP: poorbiyas) for the infantry and a lot of Ranghars for the cavalry. The Martial Races nonsense didn`t start until well after the Mutiny.

How desperate is Chowk that this kind of 8th grade ``analysis`` is making it on the front page?

This is a provocative article.I dont blame cayenne for showing his anger.

#7 and #8 had put the things in right perspective.

Majority of doctors of foreign origin in USA and UK are from the country of ``munshis``
and those working in IT sector in the silver valley are software engineers.

North East was guarded by Sikh regiment.

Only worthwhile sepahis and jarnails in th area which is now Pakistan were sikhs who crossed the border in 1947.