niaz
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This is an all Pakistan forum and I thought an idea of what our smaller provinces want would be a good topic for discussion. It is of course clear that the opinion and research is of an idividual. Neverheless it gives some insight to a Sindhi way of thinking.
What do Sindhis want?
By Bina Shah
THE one common thread in all the correspondence I received in response to my article, Respecting Sindh (published on June 2), was that education should be made the foremost priority in the entire province.
This is a view shared by urban and rural Sindhis alike. Those who make decisions in and for Sindh would do well to heed the desires of both educated and uneducated Sindhis as the latters ignorance should not keep them from identifying the key to the doors of opportunity for their children.
There is a saying amongst the people of the interior: education can help a blind man see. It also has another version: education is the third eye. Surprisingly, in a study conducted by the Sindh Education Foundation, a villager demonstrated much wisdom. Education differentiates humans from animals, he said. Are these words from ignorant, unenlightened people or from the poorest in Sindh who may have never learnt to read or write, but continue to desire a different destiny for their children?
An equal number of readers showed their displeasure at what they took to be my so-called defence of piri-muridi and feudalism. I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or bang my head against a wall at the fact that my message was so badly misunderstood by my compatriots. Rather than defend a defunct, corrupt system, I had said that these systems must be thoroughly and honestly evaluated for their strengths and weaknesses in their historical context. It would be ridiculous to suggest that these systems remain unchanged for an eternity. Furthermore, what eventually happens to these systems is up to the people of Sindh, not me. Change will come if people truly desire it, but as long as they continue to criticise from afar and do nothing about the status quo, nothing will happen. If we Sindhis want to see progress in our province, we are going to have to work for it.
However, what is clear is the fact that Sindhis have indulged in such dialogues amongst themselves for decades, but few have listened. What I found in most letters I received was a sense of frustration that vital issues education, healthy, security, political equality have long plagued the province, and yet they are given negligible priority at the national level. Sindh is as lost as Atlantis, a modern-day Forgotten Land; an infinite source of revenue for the centre that never receives anything in equal measure.
I had posed a question: what do Sindhis want? And decided to address and answer it in this essay. I therefore emailed this question to all Sindhis who wished to respond. The answers were more telling than anything I could ever write. I will share some of the responses with you, so that this article does not merely expound upon my own ideas, but represents the voices of many.
The first response is a quote from an extremely eloquent letter sent to me by journalist Naween Mangi, who has spent many years reporting from all corners of Sindh. disenfranchised, desperately poor, and presently starving Sindhis want very few things. They want homes; the majority of villagers sleep on baking open grounds. They want water; even in villages where there is plentiful sweet water just seventy feet below the ground, there is no access to it. They want healthcare, where government BHUs stand crumbling and non-functional. They want toilets, where thousands of women are forced to use the fields and disease among children is widespread. And they want schools, not more money for poorly run government schools, but an education that will actually get them jobs.
Ms Mangi, who is running the Ali Hasan Mangi Memorial Trust, which hopes to work in a single village to establish a model that will address education, health, community empowerment, sanitation, water and housing, adds: While feudals may have done great things in the past, it is not untrue that many of them have kept their people suppressed beyond humanity. I have met and spent time with dozens of third generation bonded labourers in Thar .Even in more moderate districts like Larkana, efforts to set up schools and promote education and openness among people are not taken well by the landlords moreover, these waderas (feudals) who have both influence and financial means, have done little to provide basic infrastructure or even motivate communities for self-help.
Dr Shivkumar Israni from Mumbai, a Sindhi Hindu doctor whose parents migrated after Partition, said: It is sad to read the plight of Sindhis in todays Sindh in Pakistan. Although in India, Sindhis dont have a separate state, through their sheer hard work and dedication, they have done exceedingly well. Today, so many educational institutions including colleges, leading hospitals and businesses belong to Sindhi Hindus who came to India after Partition. In fact, many are also known for philanthropy.
These are just two opinions, but its clear that given the right circumstances, Sindhis can achieve tremendous success. So why have we in Sindh allowed our self-esteem to be destroyed, accepted the lowest position in society, allowed the powerful few to triumph at the expense of the weakened many? When are we going to stop blaming others for our plight when it is obvious that we find the status quo more comfortable than change and progress?
I end my columns with a question because I think it is time we Sindhis started looking to ourselves for answers.
The writer is a Pakistani novelist.
binashah@yahoo.com
DAWN - Opinion; June 17, 2008
What do Sindhis want?
By Bina Shah
THE one common thread in all the correspondence I received in response to my article, Respecting Sindh (published on June 2), was that education should be made the foremost priority in the entire province.
This is a view shared by urban and rural Sindhis alike. Those who make decisions in and for Sindh would do well to heed the desires of both educated and uneducated Sindhis as the latters ignorance should not keep them from identifying the key to the doors of opportunity for their children.
There is a saying amongst the people of the interior: education can help a blind man see. It also has another version: education is the third eye. Surprisingly, in a study conducted by the Sindh Education Foundation, a villager demonstrated much wisdom. Education differentiates humans from animals, he said. Are these words from ignorant, unenlightened people or from the poorest in Sindh who may have never learnt to read or write, but continue to desire a different destiny for their children?
An equal number of readers showed their displeasure at what they took to be my so-called defence of piri-muridi and feudalism. I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or bang my head against a wall at the fact that my message was so badly misunderstood by my compatriots. Rather than defend a defunct, corrupt system, I had said that these systems must be thoroughly and honestly evaluated for their strengths and weaknesses in their historical context. It would be ridiculous to suggest that these systems remain unchanged for an eternity. Furthermore, what eventually happens to these systems is up to the people of Sindh, not me. Change will come if people truly desire it, but as long as they continue to criticise from afar and do nothing about the status quo, nothing will happen. If we Sindhis want to see progress in our province, we are going to have to work for it.
However, what is clear is the fact that Sindhis have indulged in such dialogues amongst themselves for decades, but few have listened. What I found in most letters I received was a sense of frustration that vital issues education, healthy, security, political equality have long plagued the province, and yet they are given negligible priority at the national level. Sindh is as lost as Atlantis, a modern-day Forgotten Land; an infinite source of revenue for the centre that never receives anything in equal measure.
I had posed a question: what do Sindhis want? And decided to address and answer it in this essay. I therefore emailed this question to all Sindhis who wished to respond. The answers were more telling than anything I could ever write. I will share some of the responses with you, so that this article does not merely expound upon my own ideas, but represents the voices of many.
The first response is a quote from an extremely eloquent letter sent to me by journalist Naween Mangi, who has spent many years reporting from all corners of Sindh. disenfranchised, desperately poor, and presently starving Sindhis want very few things. They want homes; the majority of villagers sleep on baking open grounds. They want water; even in villages where there is plentiful sweet water just seventy feet below the ground, there is no access to it. They want healthcare, where government BHUs stand crumbling and non-functional. They want toilets, where thousands of women are forced to use the fields and disease among children is widespread. And they want schools, not more money for poorly run government schools, but an education that will actually get them jobs.
Ms Mangi, who is running the Ali Hasan Mangi Memorial Trust, which hopes to work in a single village to establish a model that will address education, health, community empowerment, sanitation, water and housing, adds: While feudals may have done great things in the past, it is not untrue that many of them have kept their people suppressed beyond humanity. I have met and spent time with dozens of third generation bonded labourers in Thar .Even in more moderate districts like Larkana, efforts to set up schools and promote education and openness among people are not taken well by the landlords moreover, these waderas (feudals) who have both influence and financial means, have done little to provide basic infrastructure or even motivate communities for self-help.
Dr Shivkumar Israni from Mumbai, a Sindhi Hindu doctor whose parents migrated after Partition, said: It is sad to read the plight of Sindhis in todays Sindh in Pakistan. Although in India, Sindhis dont have a separate state, through their sheer hard work and dedication, they have done exceedingly well. Today, so many educational institutions including colleges, leading hospitals and businesses belong to Sindhi Hindus who came to India after Partition. In fact, many are also known for philanthropy.
These are just two opinions, but its clear that given the right circumstances, Sindhis can achieve tremendous success. So why have we in Sindh allowed our self-esteem to be destroyed, accepted the lowest position in society, allowed the powerful few to triumph at the expense of the weakened many? When are we going to stop blaming others for our plight when it is obvious that we find the status quo more comfortable than change and progress?
I end my columns with a question because I think it is time we Sindhis started looking to ourselves for answers.
The writer is a Pakistani novelist.
binashah@yahoo.com
DAWN - Opinion; June 17, 2008
