Om Puri

Om Rajesh Puri OBE (born 18 October 1950) is an Indian actor who has appeared in mainstream commercial Indian and British films, Independent films and art films. His credits also include appearances in American films. He has been awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India.

Early life

Om Puri was born in Ambala, Haryana, to a Punjabi Hindu family. His father worked in the railways and in the Indian Army. Puri graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. He is also an alumnus of the 1973 class of National School of Drama where Naseeruddin Shah was a co-student.

Career

Puri has worked in numerous Indian films and in many films produced in the United Kingdom and the United States.

He made his film debut in the 1976 Marathi film Ghashiram Kotwal, based on a Marathi play of the same name by Vijay Tendulkar. It was directed by K. Hariharan and Mani Kaul in cooperation with 16 graduates of the FTII. He has claimed that he was paid "peanuts" for his best work. Along with Amrish Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil, he was among the main actors who starred in what was then referred to as art films such as Bhavni Bhavai (1980), Sadgati (1981), Ardh Satya (1982), Mirch Masala (1986) and Dharavi (1992).

Wedding

A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), symbolic item, flowers, money), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony.

Common elements across cultures

A number of cultures have adopted the traditional Western custom of the white wedding, in which a bride wears a white wedding dress and veil. This tradition was popularized through the wedding of Queen Victoria. Some say Victoria's choice of a white gown may have simply been a sign of extravagance, but may have also been influenced by the values she held which emphasized sexual purity. Within the modern 'white wedding' tradition, a white dress and veil are unusual choices for a woman's second or subsequent wedding.

Pakistanis

Pakistanis (Urdu: پاكِستانى قوم‎; Pakistani Qaum) are the people who are citizens of the modern State of Pakistan and their descendants. Pakistan is a multi-ethnic and multilingual state: the majority of its people belong linguistically to the Indo-Aryan group, and there are significant minorities belonging to the Iranic and Dard subgroups among others. As of 2011, the estimated population of Pakistan was over 199 million making it the world's sixth most-populous country.

Ethnic sub-groups

Pakistan has one of the world's fastest growing populations. As the country is located in South Asia, Pakistani people are a mixture of various ethnic groups. Several ethnic groups, invading armies and the migrations to the region by people passing through on their way to and from Indus have left their imprint on the population.

Pakistani people belong predominantly to seven main ethno-linguistic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Seraikis, Pashtuns, Mohajirs, Balochs, and Kashmiris, with substantial numbers of Brahuis, Hindkowans, Shins, Burushos, Wakhis, Baltis, Chitralis and other small, minority ethnic groups in the remote north of the country.

Islam in Pakistan

Islam is the largest and the state religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is second only to Indonesia in the size of its Muslim population. Pakistan has been called a "global center for political Islam".

The overwhelming majority (95 to 97%) of Pakistan's 190 million people are Muslim while the remaining 3–5% are Christian, Hindu, and other minorities.Sunnis form the majority at 80-85%, while the Shias make up between 10-20%. Pakistan has the world's second largest Shia population after Iran, numbering between 16.5 million to as high as 30 million according to Vali Nasr.Ahmadi Muslims make up approximately 2% of the population of the country ( Government of Pakistan does not recognize Ahmadis as Muslim.).

History

Arrival of Islam in modern Pakistan

The arrival of the Muslims to the areas of modern-day Pakistan, along with subsequent Muslim dynasties, set the stage for the religious boundaries of South Asia that would lead to the development of the modern state of Pakistan as well as forming the foundation for Islamic rule which quickly spread across much of South Asia. Following the rule of various Islamic empires, including the Ghaznavid Empire, the Ghorid kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals controlled the region from 1526 until 1739. Many Sufi missionaries from Middle East and Central Asia migrated and settled in South Asia. Sufism in Pakistan plays an important role in the country.

Media of Pakistan

Media in Pakistan provides information on television, radio, cinema, newspapers, and magazines in Pakistan. Pakistan has a vibrant media landscape; among the most dynamic in South Asia. To a large extent the media enjoys freedom of expression in spite of political pressure and direct bans sometimes administered by political stake holders. Political pressure on media is mostly done indirectly. One tool widely used by the government is to cut off ‘unfriendly’ media from governmental advertising. Using draconian laws the government has also banned or officially silenced popular television channels. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has been used to silence the broadcast media by either suspending licenses or by simply threatening to do so. In addition, media is also exposed to propaganda from state agencies, pressured by powerful political elements and non-state actors involved in the current conflict.

Media freedom in Pakistan is complicated, journalists are free to report on most things. however any articles critical of the Government or the Military and related security agencies are automatically censored. Anything perceived as blasphemous by the countries Blasphemy laws are also automatically subject to censorship. The blasphemy laws are also used to block website based free media such as YouTube and others.