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Seraiki nationalism in focus
By Riaz Missen
Abdul Qayyum Jatoi, a PPP MNA from Muzaffargarh and also federal
minister for defence production, has asked the government to create
a Saraiki province by August 14 and has threatened to launch a
movement if the demand was not met. “The Punjab Assembly should pass
a resolution for the establishment of the Seraiki province because
the division of the largest province would not only strengthen the
federation but also end complaints of small provinces,” he said in
Multan recently.
Mr Jatoi’s statement reflects the frustration of the PPP workers of
the Seraiki-speaking region who fear that the more the PPP remains
out of power in Punjab the more it will lose support in the region.
Only a week ago, civil society and literary groups from the southern
Punjab had gathered in Islamabad to put pressure on the government
for a separate province for the Saraikis. Dr Sher Afgan gave a
pledge on the occasion to start a protest movement from Mianwali.
Meanwhile, Begum Abida Hussain has floated the idea of separating
the military-industrial districts from the agrarian regions of
Punjab. Earlier some circles had been advocating converting the
administrative divisions in Punjab into provinces. Whatever the
case, the PPP is just riding over the popular passions and the
craving of the nationalists to have a separate province.
The PPP had never opposed the idea of dividing Punjab into more
provinces in the past. It stopped supporting the idea only after it
became clear that the PPP’s chances of forming a government there in
case the Seraiki province comes into being are not very bright. Had
this party not swept Punjab in 1970 elections, it would have
certainly opposed the merger of Bahawalpur province into Punjab.
When the leaders of the Movement for the Restoration of Bahawalpur
Province met Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the chairman of Pakistan People’s
Party, in connection with their demands, he kept silent for a while
and then said, “Think big”. At a conference held in 1976 at Multan
and attended by a large number of delegates, there was a consensus
on the name of language spoken in the central parts of Pakistan. So
the Bhutto era gave boost to nationalism in southern Punjab. But the
imposition of martial law frustrated people’s hopes for a separate
province. The struggle, however, continued due to the efforts of
Ustad Fida Hussain Gadi who had formed Saraiki Lok Sanjh in
mid-1980s to promote literary and cultural activities.
Thus, the movement for the restoration of Bahawalpur province turned
into the demand for Saraiki province and was now led by Pakistan
Saraiki Party backed b y a dozen of parties. In fact, Saraiki
nationalism was born on the very day when the One Unit was created
and Bahawalpur was made part of Punjab. The history of the state
shows it had resisted the consistent attempts of Takht-e-Lahore to
occupy it as it (Lahore) had done in the case of Multan and Derajat
in 1818. The move to merge the province into West Pakistan was
resisted but was suppressed with iron hand.
The rulers of princely states had signed the documents of accession
to the newly-independent Pakistan on the condition that there would
be no interference in their internal affairs. Bahawalpur was one of
a dozen of such states. Then, it had the distinction of being a
prosperous state in terms of agricultural produce. A large number of
tribes, guided by a clan of the Abbasids, moved outside Sindh and
carved out a state from Rajasthan alongside the banks of Sutlej and
Indus rivers.
The One Unit scheme was no doubt an effort to bring West Pakistan at
par with East Pakistan in terms of representation in the legislature
and distribution of resources. However, the objective of the move
was lost when Ayub Khan imposed martial law and abrogated the 1956
constitution.
Certainly there was resentment among Balochs, Pukhtoons and Sindhis
about the loss of their provinces. The Bengalis also were not happy
and supported the concerns of the people of non-Punjabi regions in
West Pakistan. However, when Yahya Khan revived the defunct
provinces by ending One Unit, the princely states ceased to exist.
The four provinces divided them among them. Sindh took over Khairpur
state while the Balochistan States Union went to Balochistan.
Bahawalpur was handed over to Punjab.
The One Unit Scheme was seen by the leaders of the NWFP, Balochistan
and Sindh as an attempt to ensure Punjab’s dominance in the
decision-making process of the state, and became suspicious about
Punjab’s intensions when it insisted on the Islamic identity of the
state and making Lahore the capital of the West Pakistan. The One
Unit was violation of the instrument of accession signed by the
princely states. It also gave birth to ethnic politics in the
country and the Saraiki nationalism.
It is worth mentioning that the nationalists stand for a state with
pluralist identity and want it to cast off its ideological burden.
The movements to this end have been seen by the Centre with high
degree of suspicion; their leaders have been termed traitors in the
past.
Going by the agenda of the Pakistan People’s Party and the
ethno-nationalistic orientations of its allies, one can hope that
Pakistan may become a pluralist state, though there are remote
chances of the state dropping its religious identity. The redrawing
of provincial boundaries will certainly be a step forward as it will
end ethnic hatreds that have once caused the dismemberment of
Pakistan.
Endorsing pluralism as a philosophy of governance automatically will
change the relationship between the state and the people and has
implications for the country’s foreign policy. The state will not
have to rely on religion to forge unity among the people but on the
cultural diversity in the society. It is like returning to the roots
and a history of 5,000 years.
DAWN:Saturday, 02 May, 2009 |
