Where heaven and hell overlap

'No one can compete with the overwhelming religious harmony and social tranquility we observed in Sindh'

Since the passing away of Rasul Bux Palijo — an unmatched intellectual, prolific writer, great literary critique, humanist and revolutionary leader — I could not visit Sindh despite many invitations to various events organised by his ardent followers. The more I delayed, the more urge did I have to visit the province. In the meantime, some work compulsions surfaced too. So, with an enthusiastic team of PATTAN, I planned a visit to Sindh. Besides sightseeing and observing people on the streets, in the bazars and in the fields, the trip included meetings with civil society organisations, writers and social and political activists. We also visited some of our partner communities. On the way, we also met some Seraiki nationalists in south Punjab.

In the seven days we drove through and stayed at Rahim Yar Khan, Moro, Hyderabad, Mithi, Naukot, Keti Bundar, Gharro, Thatta and Sukkur. This could not have been possible without good quality inter-city roads and motorways.

Here are some of our observations and experiences which must be shared with wider public. First, the good ones. No one can match hospitality of the people of Sindh. And no one can compete with the overwhelming religious harmony and social tranquility we observed in the province and enjoyed thoroughly, particularly in Mithi; and it deserves our generous praise. In fact, the whole motivation of writing this piece has come from our visit to Thar. Mithi, a city of about 250,000 noble souls, is a tehsil of Tharparkar district and its capital. Mithi is one of the very few regions where Muslims are in minority — just 23% of the total population. In other words, Hindus constitute the majority with a 77% share in population. Our local hosts, most of whom were Hindus, proudly mentioned that they had never faced anything bad because of their religion so much so that Muslims don’t even slaughter cows at the time of Eidul Azha.

Though poverty and inequality are the products of class and gender-based exploitation and subordination and it exists in some form everywhere in the world, in Thar it is nakedly practised and having a colossal impact on the well-being of humans and environment. Yet, the people of Thar have not lost their ethics.

Many credible studies establish a strong correlation between poverty/inequality and high crime rate. Mithi proved it wrong. According to the local people, the crime rate in Mithi is the lowest in the whole country. So much so that there is no power theft in the area which otherwise runs rampant in much of the country. Different indices, including Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurements (2019-20), have ranked Tharparkar at the bottom on almost all indicators including the poverty headcount ratio in Sindh. According to the UNDP’s Multidimensional Poverty Index, 87% of the Thar population live under poverty and it has a high infant mortality, while literacy rate is less than 20%. Tharparkar ranked 109^th out of 114 surveyed districts on Human Development Index (HDI), a drop from its rank as 103^rd in 2013, the lowest ranking of any district in Sindh. Tharparkar also ranks among the ten worst districts for HDI growth since 2005. Malnutrition is the biggest issue and each year about 1,500 children die in the district.

Isn’t it troubling? Over the last 10 years, the Government of Sindh, according to a local legislator, had spent Rs15 billion on development projects in the district. Moreover, according to the Chief Minister of Sindh, Rs70 billion have been spent on the development of infrastructure and Rs387 billion on BISP since 2008. The real impact seems to be none of these investments. Sadly, on the living standard index, Thar has fallen by 50% since 2005.

Water is life. For the survival of every organism water is essential. And without it we can’t survive more than a few days. The FAO, in collaboration with the Government of Sindh, installed more than 500 RO systems for water supply in Thar. Our team visited a few of them, and all were closed. According to local people, more than 90% of them had become non-functional within two years of their installation. A visible sign of a colossal neglect.

Isn’t it ironic that more than two-thirds of the villages in Thar — which has the 7^th largest coal reserves in the world and which contributes 600MW electricity to the national grid — are deprived of electricity; and the ones having power connections suffer from intermittent blackouts. Rather coal-fired power plants have been causing massive damage to environment and the local populace.

According to civil society activists, around 40 NGOs have been actively working in Thar for the last many decades. Despite unnecessary restrictions of the government and shortage of funds, most of them have continued working at the grassroots level which has built their credibility with the local population. No doubt, without their interventions, the situation of poverty and deprivations in the region would have been even worse. But there appears serious need to find out why their interventions have made little impact at the macro level.

But despite all the pain and agony, Tharis remain the most peaceful and law-abiding citizens who continue nurturing their noble ethics. Anyone visiting Thar cannot help notice the social and religious harmony that prevails in the region.

In his report in The Express Tribune on 21^st December 2014, Hafeez Tunio reported: “Poverty breeds crime, but not in Thar. Crime rate was 2% in the district which has been plagued by drought. They keep their doors unlocked. Their only wealth, their cattle are seen grazing in the fields without herdsmen. There are hardly any police pickets and no concept of police patrolling.”

Another leading English daily in the country described Thar as the future of Pakistan in a report published in 2018. “Generally, it’s believed that poverty and unemployment breed crimes — but Tharis have seemingly debunked this theory.” According to Mr Siddique, a local schoolteacher, “Crime cannot be linked to unemployment or poverty, but social disintegration. When the traditional social support system lapses, it creates problems.” Explaining his views, he says: “Hindus and Muslims are socially and culturally connected with each other in Thar, which is why peace and tolerance exist among the Tharis and this discourages the crime.”

But we must not forget that social systems undergo continuous change and the change could take any direction. Therefore, it is imperative for both the civil society and the state to steer the change to a just, fulfilling and dignified living for all. Teachings of Latif Sain, Bullah Shah, Khawja Fareed, Rasul Bux Palijo and Sheikh Ayaz provide vision, direction and energy to keep Thar, and for that matter the whole of Pakistan, peaceful and crime-free. Intellectuals, civil society organisations and socio-political movements like Sindhiani and Awami Tehreek, could join hands to find ways to end the hellish living in Thar, and promote Mithi’s model of tranquility to be followed in other parts of the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2022.

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