MELBOURNE: Creating new provinces within Punjab is a hot topic nowadays. We must understand that among all the federating units of Pakistan, Punjab was and still is the only unit, which is a geographical entity rather than a cultural one. Punjab is so diverse in culture that sometimes within a single district, there are more than one dialects of the local language being spoken. This fact has been admitted by many Punjabi intellectuals, including former Punjab governor Hanif Ramay in his widely acclaimed Punjab Ka Muqaddama.
Deprivation of southern Punjab or the Seraiki belt is no fiction. According to the BBC, there are more than 1,000 CSP officers hailing from northeastern Punjab, while only 257 come from the southern part. The contrast is very sharp and speaks for itself. The other side of the picture is that the feudal aristocrats hailing from southern Punjab have always been at the helm of the affairs, from Mushtaq Gurmani to Yousaf Raza Gilani. Why have the feudals of southern Punjab not done anything for their own people? The fact is that the creation of a new province in Punjab, on the eve of elections is nothing but a political gimmick. The PPP has lost its support in north and central Punjab, leaving it with no choice but to strengthen its political future, along with other left-leaning forces, by dividing the province.
The consequences of this division would favour the feudals of southern Punjab, with the common man suffering even more at the hands of traditional, absolutist power structures that have always been present there. Therefore, any division of Punjab without land reforms would be like leaving lambs to the wolves. Any partitioning without breaking the strength of the traditional power structures would only benefit the forces of status quo. It may give short-term political advantage to the ruling party but eventually, the PPP, too, would become a hostage to the whims of the powerful in the new province. Everyone would lose except the pro-establishment feudals.
Malik Atif Mahmood Majoka
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2013.
