Customer Reviews

From Kashmir to Kabul: The Photographs of Burke and Baker, 1860-1900

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This is an exceptional book, with both beautiful photographs and rigorously well-researched text. Many of the stories and facts the author uncovers about the photographs serve as little mysteries solved and served on a silver platter. Most photography books have beautiful pictures and little text; this book has both great pictures and meaningful text that help fix the importance of the photos in our mind.
Together, these shed much needed light on the rich history of northwestern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan - a history that is hardly known or talked about. A real pleasure to read and look at, this is the best book in my historical photography collection.

I was so surprised to see such lovely pictures of Pakistan and Afghanistan, including places I grew up in like Lahore and Murree. The narrative is really interesting, and tells so much about the history that I did not know or realize. The photographs are truly amazing.

Such a literate, well-written photography book I have not seen before. Beautiful images that tell the story of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir during the 19th century. An excellent selection of pictures, told like a story.

It is hard to believe that these beautiful pictures exist, they are such a superb window on to a world we know so little about. I expecially liked the informative captions that locate the photographs contextually and historically. As far as I know, there is nothing like it available on old India photography.

Very lucid, educated and well-written book. The photographs are touchstones for truly interesting historical anecdotes that form a complete picture or a rich and complex history. There is no doubt that the two photographers, Baker and Burke, were remarkable witnesses too. The pictures are superb.

This is an exceptionally well-researched and engaging book on the history of 2 100 year old photographers of old India. Omar Khan takes you on a journey of discovery as you play detective and unravel the mysteries hidden in the photographs which illustrate the interesting lives of Burke and Baker.

I recently read the book... it has nice photographs, but not a well researched text from what I can deduct... I have interest in the history of the area and have done some basic reaearch on Dr G W Leitner's works... DR. Leitner was a pioneer orientalist and the first pricipal of Government College Lahore. He came up with the title "Dards" for people of northern areas of Pakistan, and all the local languages in the region (other than "Balti") are known as "Dardic languages" as a tribute to Dr G W Leitner.

One of the pictures on the page 78 titlled as "Ladakhians" which shows a man standing in sheep skin and another one sitting next to him have been called as hunters from ladakh region, but infact the man who is standing is "Jamsehd-the Siah Posh Kafir" from Kafristan and the man sitting is a Swati Musalman... this was explained in "The Illustrated London News, Sept 26, 1874 page # 206 with the same picture. Dr Leitner later took Jamsehd into his service and has given an extensive account of him in his book Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893.

The exact paragraph( from "The Illustrated London News, Sept 26, 1874") is read as " we have been permitted to copy half a dozen of his photographs of the natives of these highlands. " Siah Posh Kafirs" figure in two of the Engravings. The name denotes nothing more than " Black Dress Infidels", as they are called by their Mohammeden neighbours, referring to the shaggy tunnic of black hairy goatskin in which these men are usually clothed. The bare headed man in this attire, with a dagger in his raised hand, appears to be just as he did when brought down to Peshawar. The one with the Ax, standing by a small tree or bamboo, with a turband swati seated below, is identical person now with Dr Leitner in London. His name is Jamshed, from Katar, in the Hindu Koosh; he has blue eyes and reddish hair. He was captured in youth, with others of his family, by Cabul slave-traders; and his uncle Fermorz rose in the service of the Ameer of Cabul to high military rank, but was murdered in his camp near Harat in the civil war against ameer's rebellious son. Prince Yaqub Khan."

These kafirs are indeed from Katar, Gambir and Dari... an area encompassing some eastern tributaries of the upper Tregām Valley... where the language tregāmi was spoken.

there is mention of "slaves of kafristan" on page 126... but authour failed to mention the historical significance...

Another error is a picture of "Group of Baltees"... on page 76... they seem more like the Dard Highlanders... which have been repeatedly explained by historians like Dr Leitner, Younghusband and John Keay.

The book has nice photographs... which were taken by John Burke and William Baker... but the written material is not well researched... Any serious student of history should do independent research before giving a refernce from this book...

It is a pity that all the priceless photographic documentation of an obscure yet very crucial area of recent international history which this book contains - exists either in foreign institutions or in the private collections of Pakistan's corrupt elite-class families, who were then among the toadies and the main prop of the British Indian Empire, and who today similarly enable American imperialism to control Pakistan from its capital in Washington DC. The book's author Omar Khan comes from this same corrupt toady elite background; it is a pity we don't have better and more honest professional people to specialize in our history. Western and US readers may not be inclined or able to appreciate this fact. But then the backward societies of Pakistan and Afghanistan are also to blame for having no sense of institutions or history, and no interest in having national museums where their history can be housed and explained. Being illiterate and hungry, their couldn't care less, and are more concerned about procuring their next morsel of food. People here when they come across ancient ruins and artifacts that dot the rich archaeological landscape of our region - have no compunction in selling statues and coins to Western dealers for small fortunes. Who can blame them? They are poverty stricken and disorderly, and the government here encourages corruption instead of doing its job and providing a proper social order where the people can flourish and prosper materially and intellectually, and where they can gain an education that will help them appreciate history and humanity.