Indian subcontinent

Area	4.4 million km2 (1.7 million mi²)
Population	~1.7 billion
Demonym	Subcontinental

The Indian subcontinent is a region of Asia situated mostly on the Indian tectonic plate.

Definition[link]

According to political science professor Tatu Vanhanen, "The seven countries of South Asia constitute geographically a compact region around the Indian Subcontinent";^[1] while according to anthropologist John R. Lukacs, "The Indian Subcontinent occupies the major landmass of South Asia."^[2] According to Chris Brewster, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan constitute the Indian Subcontinent; with Afghanistan and Maldives included it is more commonly referred to as South Asia.^[3]

Nomenclature[link]

The terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are used interchangeably.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} In Religions of South Asia, Sushil Mittal and Gene R. Thursby state that Indian Subcontinent and South Asia is referred to as the same area.^[9] Due to political sensitivities, some prefer to use the terms "South Asian Subcontinent",^[10][10][11] the "Indo-Pak Subcontinent",^[12] "the Subcontinent", or simply "South Asia"^[13] over the term "Indian subcontinent". According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Indian Subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance."^[13] Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term "South Asia" is getting more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.^[14] Some academics hold that the term "South Asia" is in more common use in Europe and North America, rather than the terms "Subcontinent" or the "Indian Subcontinent".^[15][16] While using both terms to mean the same region in Religion and Conflict in Modern South Asia Dr. William Gould of University of Leeds explains that "South Asia" is a geopolitical as well as a geographical term.^[17]

Scope[link]

The definition of the geographical extent of Indian subcontinent varies. Historically forming the whole territory of Greater India, now it generally comprises the countries of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh;^[18] prior to 1947, the three nations were historically combined and constituted British India. It almost always also includes Nepal, Bhutan, and the island country of Sri Lanka^[19] and may also include Afghanistan and the island country of Maldives.^[4][20][21] The region may also include the disputed territory of Aksai Chin, which was part of the British Indian princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, but is now administered as part of the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang.^[22] A booklet published by the United States Department of State in 1959 includes Afghanistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Nepal, and Pakistan (including East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) as part of the "Subcontinent of South Asia".^[23] When the term Indian subcontinent is used to mean South Asia, the islands countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives may sometimes not be included,^[4] while Tibet and Nepal may be included^[24] or excluded^[25] intermittently, depending on the context.

Geography[link]

Geographically, the Indian subcontinent is a peninsular region in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east,^[26] and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast.^[4][18] Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers.^[27][28] The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming a land mass which extends from the Himalayas into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia, as well as Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, ^[29][30][31] and extending up to but not including Ladakh, Kohistan, the Hindu Kush range and Balochistan.^[32][33][34] Counting India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives as the constituent countries of Indian Subcontinent, it covers about 4.4 million km² (1.7 million mi²), which is 10% of the Asian continent or 2.4% of the world's land surface area.^[35][36] Overall, it accounts for about 34% of Asia's population (or over 16.5% of the world's population) and is home to a vast array of peoples.^[35][37][36]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Flora of the Indian Subcontinent

• SAARC

References[link]

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Part of a series on
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Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Hanbal Abu `Abd Allah al-Shaybani (Arabic: احمد بن محمد بن حنبل ابو عبد الله الشيباني‎) was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. He is considered the founder of the Hanbali school of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Imam Ahmad is one of the most celebrated Sunni theologians, often referred to as "Sheikh ul-Islam"<sup>[8]</sup> or the "Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah," honorifics given to the most esteemed doctrinal authorities in the Sunni tradition. Imam Ahmad personified the theological views of the early orthodox scholars, including the founders of the other extant schools of Sunni fiqh, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik ibn Anas, and Imam ash-Shafi`i.

Biography[link]

Early life and family[link]

Legal writings, produced October 879.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal's family was originally from Basra, Iraq, and belonged to the Arab Banu Shayban tribe.^[9] His father was an officer in the Abbasid army in Khorasan and later settled with his family in Baghdad, where Ahmad was born in 780 CE.^[2]

Ibn Hanbal had two wives and several children, including an older son, who later became a judge in Isfahan.^[8]

Education and Work[link]

Ibn Hanbal studied extensively in Baghdad, and later traveled to further his education. He started learning jurisprudence (Fiqh) under the celebrated Hanafi judge, Abu Yusuf, the renowned student and companion of Imam Abu Hanifah. After finishing his studies with Abu Yusuf, ibn Hanbal began traveling through Iraq, Syria, and Arabia to collect hadiths, or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad. Ibn al-Jawzi states that Imam Ahmad had 414 Hadith masters whom he narrated from. With this knowledge, he became a leading authority on the hadith, leaving an immense encyclopedia of hadith, the al-Musnad. After several years of travel, he returned to Baghdad to study Islamic law under al-Shafi. He became a mufti in his old age, but is remembered most famously, as the founder of the Hanbali madhab or school of Islamic law, which is now most dominant in Saudi Arabia, Qatar as well as the United Arab Emirates. ^{[10][11] [12]}

In addition to his scholastic enterprises, ibn Hanbal was a soldier on the Islamic frontiers (Ribat) and made Hajj five times in his life, twice on foot.^[13]

Death[link]

Ibn Hanbal died in 855 CE in Baghdad, Iraq.

The Mihna[link]

Ibn Hanbal was famously called before the Inquisition or Mihna of the Abassid Caliph al-Ma'mun. Al-Ma'mun wanted to assert the religious authority of the Caliph by pressuring scholars to adopt the Mu'tazila view that the Qur'an was created rather than uncreated. According to Sunni tradition, ibn Hanbal was among the scholars to resist the Caliph's interference and the Mu'tazzila doctrine of a created Qur'an—although primary sources differ on whether or not he remained steadfast. ^[14]

However, according to Sunni tradition, due to his refusal to accept Mu'tazilite authority, ibn Hanbal was imprisoned in Baghdad throughout the reign of al-Ma'mun. In an incident during the rule of al-Ma'mun's successor, al-Mu'tasim, ibn Hanbal was flogged to unconsciousness. However, this caused upheaval in Baghdad and al-Ma'mun was forced to release ibn Hanbal. ^[13] After al-Mu’tasim’s death, al-Wathiq became caliph and continued his predecessors policies of Mu'tazilite enforcement and in this pursuit, he banished ibn Hanbal from Baghdad. It was only after al-Wathiqu's death and the ascent of his brother al-Mutawakkil, who was much friendlier to the more traditional Sunni dogma, that ibn Hanbal was welcomed back to Baghdad.

Works[link]

The following books are found in Ibn al-Nadim's Fihrist:

• Kitab al-`Ilal wa Ma‘rifat al-Rijal: "The Book of Narrations Containing Hidden Flaws and of Knowledge of the Men (of Hadeeth)" Riyad: Al-Maktabah al-Islamiyyah
• Kitab al-Manasik: "The Book of the Rites of Hajj"
• Kitab al-Zuhd: "The Book of Abstinence" ed. Muhammad Zaghlul, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabi, 1994
• Kitab al-Iman: "The Book of Faith"
• Kitab al-Masa'il "Issues in Fiqh"
• Kitab al-Ashribah: "The Book of Drinks"
• Kitab al-Fada'il Sahaba: "Virtues of the Companions"
• Kitab Tha'ah al-Rasul : "The Book of Obedience to the Messenger"
• Kitab Mansukh: "The Book of Abrogation"
• Kitab al-Fara'id: "The Book of Obligatory Duties"
• Kitab al-Radd `ala al-Zanadiqa wa'l-Jahmiyya "Refutations of the Heretics and the Jahmites" (Cairo: 1973)
• Tafsir : "Exegesis"
• the Musnad

Quotes[link]

• It is said that, when told that it was religiously permissible to say what pleases his persecuters without believing in it at the time of mihna, Ahmad said "If I remained silent and you remained silent, then who will teach the ignorant?".
• With regard to innovation within religion, Ahmad said “The graves of sinners from People of Sunnah is a garden, while the graves of the pious ascetics from the People of Innovation is a barren pit. The pious among Ahlus Sunnah are the Friends of Allah, while the sinners among Ahlul-Bidah are the Enemies of Allah.”^[15]

Historical views[link]

• Imam Abu Dawood, who was a collector of prophetic hadith stated:

  "The lectures of Ahmad were sittings of the Hereafter. He would not mention in them anything of the worldly affairs; and I never saw him mention this world."

• The Hanafi scholar Yahya ibn Ma'in stated:

  “I have not seen the like of Ahmad, we have accompanied him for fifty years, and he never boasted about anything from the good which he was characterized with.”^[8]

• When Abdul-Qadir Gilani was asked whether there existed a person who was a wali of Allah who was upon a creed other than the creed of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Gilani answered:

  "That has not occurred and will never occur.”^[8]

See also[link]

• Athari
• Hanbali

References[link]

Arabic Wikisource has original text related to this article: Ibn Hanbal

Further reading[link]

• Ibn al-Jawzi, Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad
• Nadwi, S. A. H. A., Saviors of Islamic Spirit (Vol. 1), translated by Mohiuddin Ahmad, Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, Lucknow, 1971.
• Melchert, Christopher, Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Makers of the Muslim World), Oneworld, 2006.

External links[link]

• Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Life & Madhab
• Diagram of teachers and students of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal

Ahmed Raza (October 10, 1988) is a Pakistani-born United Arab Emirates cricketer who currently plays for the United Arab Emirates. Raza is a left-handed batsman who bowls slow left-arm orthodox.

Raza made his List-A debut against India A in 2006. In 2007 Raza made his first-class debut against Scotland in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup and has since gone on to represent the UAE in six first class matches. In the 2009 ACC Twenty20 Cup Raza was the UAE's joint leading wicket taker with twelve wickets along with Moiz Shahid.

External links[link]

• Ahmed Raza on CricketArchive

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Barbara Daly Metcalf is the Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History at the University of Michigan and Professor Emeritus History at the University of California, Davis. She is a specialist in the history of South Asia, especially the colonial period, and the history of the Muslim population of India and Pakistan. Before coming to Michigan, she served as the Dean, Division of Social Sciences, College of Letters and Science, and Professor of History at the University of California, Davis.

Metcalf received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1974.

Metcalf was called on to write to the Administrative Review Boards held at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.^[1] The Boards were authorized to recommend whether Guantanamo captives should continue to be held in extrajudicial detention. One of the justifications offered for the continued detention of over three dozen of the Guantanamo captives was that they had participated in the activities of a Pakistani chapter of Islamic missionary group named Tablighi Jamaat.

Metcalf addressed the benevolent nature of Tablighi pilgrimages. She wrote:

“I will also attempt to explain why it is implausible to believe that the Tablighis support terrorism or are in any way affiliated with other terrorist or ‘jihadi’ movements such as the Taliban or Al Qaeda.”

Selected bibliography[link]

• A Concise History of India ISBN 0-521-63974-3
• Islamic Contestations: Essays On Muslims In India And Pakistan ISBN 0-19-566666-6
• Making Muslim Space in North America and Europe ISBN 0-520-20404-2
• Perfecting Women ISBN 0-520-08093-9

External links[link]

• Webpage of the faculty of History hosted by the University of California,Davis

References[link]

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This biographical article about a person notable in connection with Islam is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan
Aitzaz Ahsan
19th Minister of Law and Justice
In office October 21, 1993 – November 5, 1996
President	Farooq Leghari
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	Rana Sanaullah Khan
Succeeded by	Ashtar Ausaf Ali
25th Minister of Interior
In office December 4, 1988 – August 6, 1990
President	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Prime Minister	Benazir Bhutto
Preceded by	VAdm Malik Nasim Ahmad
Succeeded by	Ch. Schuja'at Hussain
President of Supreme Court Bar Association
In office 25 November 2007 – 28 October 2008
Lieutenant	Asma Jahangir
Preceded by	Munir A. Malik
Succeeded by	Ali Ahmad Kurd
Personal details
Born	(1945-09-27) 27 September 1945 (age 66) Murree, British Indian Empire
Nationality	Pakistani
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
Spouse(s)	Bushra Ahsan
Relations	Ahsan hails from Punjab's Waraich clan of jats.
Residence	Lahore, Pakistan
Alma mater	Government College University (LLB) Downing College, Cambridge (LLM and JD)
Profession	Barrister-at-Law / Politician
Cabinet	Bainazir Bhuttoo Government
Religion	Islam

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan (Urdu: چودھری اعتزاز احسن) (born 27 September 1945) is a Pakistani lawmaker, barrister, and politician from Pakistan's People's Party (PPP) who served as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.

Early life and education[link]

Aitzaz Ahsan was born in Murree, Rawalpindi District, Punjab on 27 September 1945 during British rule in a Jat family. After being educated at Aitchison College and the Government College, Lahore, Ahsan matriculated to Downing College, Cambridge to study law, and was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in 1967.^[1]

Professional life[link]

Political career[link]

In 1975, Ahsan was elected to the Punjab Assembly after Chaudhry Anwar Samma, a member representing the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was murdered. After his election, Ahsan was invited to join the cabinet and given the portfolio of information, planning and development. After the police opened fire on a rally of lawyers during the PNA demonstrations against the alleged rigging of elections by the PPP government in 1977, Ahsan resigned as a cabinet minister in protest, and was later expelled from the PPP.^[1]

Following the 1977 coup d'état of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, Ahsan became involved in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy, and rejoined the PPP following the declaration of martial law. For his participation in the MRD he was repeatedly imprisoned.^[1] Ahsan was elected to the National Assembly as a PPP candidate in 1988, serving as Minister for Law and Justice, the Interior and Narcotics Control before winning re-election in 1990 and losing in 1993. In 1994 he was elected to the Senate of Pakistan, where he sat as Leader of the Opposition until 1999. He was re-elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan as a Peoples Party candidate in the 2002 General Elections.^[2]

As a lawyer[link]

A Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and senior partner of the firm Aitzaz Ahsan & Associates Ahsan is a well-respected Pakistani lawyer, consistently given the highest rank by Chambers and Partners ranking of legal professionals.^[3] He also made legal history by having defended two Prime Ministers in the court of law. Having previously fought cases in defence of Benazir Bhutto in 2001 he took up a case in defence of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

During his most recent tenure as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan he was a member of the Standing Committee on Interior and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Chief Justice case[link]

Recently Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and his team consisting of Shahid Saeed, Gohar Khan and Nadeem Ahmed successfully represented Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry's case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan [PLD 2007 SC 578]. They were pitted against a team consisting of 16 senior lawyers representing the Federation in this misadventure. The hearing was being conducted by a full court headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, and the 13-member panel reinstated the Chief Justice declaring his suspension by Pervez Musharraf regime "illegal."

Contempt of Court case of PM Gilani[link]

Unequivocally, this is the most controversial case for Barrister Ahsan so far. Contrary to the case of Chief Justice, he did not have the wind of his fraternity at his back. To his defense, history was on his side; John Adams represented British soldiers, yet he was considered patriotic enough to be elected 2nd President of the United States. During the trial in Court he has raised jurisdictional objection(Judges who initiate suo motto action are not qualified to hear that case) based upon 18th amendment- article 10A (ARY TV April 4,2012), and on merit contended President of Pakistan is immune from prosecution in Swiss Courts (Dunya TV March 24,2012). PM Gilani was convicted on the Contempt of Court (Dawn TV April 26,2012). Mr. Gilani was given punishment to remain in Court until the rising of Court. Mr. Ahsan (AAJ TV) disagreed with the ruling claiming the decision for scandalizing and ridicule of court were not in the ambit of charges put forth by Supreme court of Pakistan. The Speaker of Pakistan Parliament declared (PTV) the conviction and sentence of PM of Pakistan was not on matter of a 'moral turpitude'. The sentence, she maintained, did not rise to a level of disqualification for a sitting MNA; dismissing the verdict altogether. Mr. Ahsan, announced (Dunya TV May 24, 2012) that his client will not further appeal this matter. Though the dismissal by the Speaker blocks this case to go further to the Election Commission of Pakistan but can be challenged in the High Court.

During and after Emergency[link]

Aitzaz Ahsan was arrested soon after the declaration of emergency/martial law,.^[4][5] At the time he and his team [Shahid Saeed, Gohar Khan and Nadeem Ahmed] were arguing against the eligibility of General Musharraf to contest the 2007 Presidential Elections before a full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. There have also been rumours that he is being kept in solitary confinement and being tortured. Recently, 33 US Senators wrote to President Musharraf to release Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan immediately, as he is widely respected all around the world. He withdrew his papers of nomination to run for the National Parliament, this in deference to National Lawyers' Convention decision to boycott elections under Mr. Musharraf. It has lifted his stature by putting the lawyers cause above his own.

Barrister Ahsan was succinct in his resolute to restore democracy and pre-emergency judiciary in Pakistan with peaceful resistance. He was rearrested during his three days reprieve for celebrating religious holiday; when he decided to offer prayers with Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry and was heading to Islamabad. He has served detention in his house for 90 days and has declared his detention as illegal. It is reported (Nawaiwaqt 19 Jan 2008), with a dour determination he refused to abandon restoration of judiciary movement and was reluctant to negotiate when approached by Attorney General. His role in PPP after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto will be pivotal since he commands the respect of representatives of Punjab, the nations lawyers; elected President of Supreme Court Bar Association by an overwhelming majority, and public at large.

Aitzaz Ahsan, has been awarded the Asian Human Rights Defender Award by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) along with Munir A Malik (past President SCBA)(Dawn 23 Jan 2008). The annual Award for Distinction in International Law and Affairs will be presented to Aitzaz Ahsan in asbentia as more than 5,000 lawyers gather for the annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). Freed for two days, Mr. Ahsan was rearrested for 30 days on 2 February 2008 before he was to board a flight to Sindh to offer his condolences to Benazir Bhutto's husband (Dawn 2 February 2008).

Literary contribution[link]

He has also authored the book The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan and its Urdu translation, Sindh Sagar Aur Qyam-e-Pakistan which presents the cultural history of Pakistan.^[6]

He has also co-authored the book Divided by Democracy with Lord Meghnad Desai of the London School of Economics.^[7]

Honours[link]

Aitzaz Ahsan has been admitted to an Honorary Fellowship at Downing College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge.^[8] In an Internet poll of the US magazine Foreign Policy, Ahsan was voted one of the top 10 public intellectuals in the world in May 2008.^[9]

In 2008, in an open online poll, Ahsan was voted the 5th topmost intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by Prospect Magazine (UK) and Foreign Policy (United States).^[10]

See also[link]

• Pakistan Bar Council (PBC)
• Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBA)
• Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim

References[link]

External links[link]

• AitzazAhsan.com
• New York Times story, Nov 2007
• New York Times story, July 2007
• 2003 Interview
• PILDAT profile
• Read Columns for Aitzaz Ahsan at IBITIANS.com (Urdu)