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The Folk Historian as a Living Archive: What Oral Tradition Transmits to the Present Generation

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By  Syed Shamsuddin Oral Historians: The Living Archives of Gilgit-Baltistan History does not survive only in books, official records and archival documents. In societies where written records are limited, fragmented or absent, it also survives in the memories, narratives and lived experiences of people who inherit and transmit knowledge from one generation to another. Such individuals may aptly be described as oral historians, oral tradition-bearers or folk historians . They are, in effect, the living archives of their communities. This is particularly true of Gilgit-Baltistan , where a considerable part of the region’s social and cultural history has been preserved through oral traditions. Elderly men and women in its villages and valleys may possess extensive knowledge of ancestral migrations and settlements, customary laws, clan and kinship relations, irrigation systems, agricultural practices, grazing routes, traditional medicines...
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When a Political Leader Speaks the People’s Language: A Welcome Gesture Towards the Preservation of Shina

By  Syed Shamsuddin A Facebook post published by Bagrote Valley, Gilgit, on 25 August 2026 draws attention to a small but deeply meaningful linguistic gesture: the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan speaking in Shina while addressing people in Shina-speaking areas. The post observes, with a touch of irony, that while some elected representatives struggle even with English in their own constituencies, the Chief Minister’s decision to communicate in the local language is certainly welcome and commendable. It then makes a broader and more important assertion: the preservation of local languages is both a collective obligation and a national responsibility. That observation deserves to be taken considerably further. In a region as linguistically diverse as Gilgit-Baltistan, language is not merely a medium through which people exchange information. It is a repository of collective memory, a vehicle of cultural identity, and an archive of ...
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Gerald Fellner: Four Decades Later, Minapin Gives an Austrian Mountaineer a Final Resting Place

By  Syed Shamsuddin A poignant chapter in the mountaineering history of Rakaposhi has recently been brought to a dignified close with the recovery and burial of the remains of Gerald Fellner , the Austrian mountaineer who lost his life on the mountain more than four decades ago. According to the Diran TV report dated 24 August 2026 , Fellner was a member of an Austrian expedition to Rakaposhi in 1985. During the descent, after the team had undertaken a demanding climb, he suffered a fatal slip at an altitude of approximately 4,700 metres. Contemporary mountaineering accounts record that he sustained serious injuries after falling on an ice slope and subsequently succumbed to those injuries. For nearly forty years, the mountain preserved the remains of the brave mountaineer. It was only in recent years, when the melting of snow and ice exposed the long-lost remains, that the mystery surrounding his final resting place began to be resolv...
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The Transience of Power and the Enduring Weight of Conduct: Reflections on Authority and Moral Legacy

By  Syed Shamsuddin An insightful reflection attributed to Ubaid Khan (Facebook post, 5 December 2024) offers a profound meditation on the exercise of power, its impermanence, and the moral consequences that accompany public service. It draws attention to a reality often overlooked by those in positions of authority: that while power is transient, the imprint of one’s conduct endures long after official roles have come to an end. At the heart of this reflection lies the reminder that authority is inherently fleeting. No office, no matter how powerful, is permanent. Those who occupy positions of command ultimately return to ordinary social existence once their tenure concludes. This transition from authority to anonymity is not merely administrative; it is deeply social and moral, revealing how one’s earlier actions are remembered and judged. The legacy of those in power is shaped not by titles held, but by the manner in which those t...
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Sultan Feroze Sufi (1905–1996): Poet, Satirist and Chronicler of a Changing Society

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By  Syed Shamsuddin Sultan Feroze Sufi — The Wit, Voice and Memory of Old Gilgit Raja Sultan Feroze Sufi (1905–1996), a retired Subedar Major of the legendary Gilgit Scouts, was one of the most distinctive and memorable personalities to grace the historic Royal Polo Ground in Gilgit. From the pre-Partition era well into the 1990s, he remained a much-loved public figure, captivating generations with his wit, humour, poetry and remarkable command of the spoken word. Sufi was far more than a poet or an entertainer; he was a penetrating observer of society and a remarkably gifted satirist, endowed with the rare ability to transform the shifting realities of everyday life into vivid verse, sparkling wit, and memorable humour. With an unerring eye for social change, he captured the arrival of new fashions, the transformation of attitudes and values, and the slow but unmistakable erosion of age-old customs and cultural traditions. His poetry ...
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A Landmark Step Towards Citizen-Centred Governance in Gilgit-Baltistan

By  Syed Shamsuddin THE decision of the Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Amjad Hussain , to establish and personally inaugurate a Citizen Complaint Cell at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat is a commendable and potentially transformative step towards making governance more responsive, accessible and citizen-centred. What makes this initiative particularly noteworthy is that it appears to be the first such institutionalised initiative by a Chief Executive of Gilgit-Baltistan specifically designed to provide citizens with a direct and structured mechanism for bringing their legitimate grievances and unresolved problems to the attention of the government. The underlying message is both simple and significant: government exists to serve the people, and citizens should not have to run from office to office merely to have their genuine problems heard. The Complaint Cell is especially important for the people living in remote, mountainous...
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Dr. Ruth Pfau: A Beacon of Compassion and Healing in Pakistan

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By  Syed Shamsuddin A rare and deeply moving glimpse of Dr. Ruth Pfau—Pakistan’s Mother Teresa—at the Gilgit Amphary Leprosy Hospital , as shared by Ilyas Moqeem in his Facebook post of 11 August 2026, brings back the memory of a remarkable woman whose life was an extraordinary testament to compassion, service and human dignity. Dr. Ruth Pfau was far more than a physician. She was a missionary of mercy who devoted her life to reaching those whom society had pushed to its margins. At a time when leprosy was surrounded by fear, stigma and fatalism , she chose to stand beside its victims—not merely to treat their disease, but to restore their dignity, rekindle their hope and give them a voice. Her contribution to Gilgit-Baltistan occupies a special place in the region’s public-health history. Under her dedicated leadership and through the efforts of the institutions and teams she inspired, leprosy was brought under control in the region ...
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