Sindhi icon of honour: Shah Mardan Shah

In my view, Sindhi cult of honour, mixed with pragmatism, is superior, & was embodied by Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagaro.

Punjabis often wondered about the strange charisma of Pir Pagaro. Why did politicians of all stripes throng him at Kingri House in Karachi seeking his blessings while all he produced were strange one-liners making fun of them? In Sindh, he was the only elder statesman commanding respect of all the parties often at one another’s throat: the PPP, the MQM and the ANP. The Pakistan Muslim League, splintering helplessly on the rock of personal rivalries, approached him for reconciliation, his own PML-F hardly visible in parliament and Sindh Assembly.

He could have promoted the Sindhi cause but he stayed away from the nationalists. He was pragmatic, maintaining his GHQ connection by allowing his well-armed Hur tribesmen to take the slack for Pakistan Army in wars with India. He had no enemies because he was pragmatic, mixing Sindhi honour with a suppleness of style that honour normally doesn’t allow. Sindhi noblesse oblige requires deep regard for equals who could be potential rivals, exaggerated humility and endless hospitality on occasions otherwise requiring determined defence of entrenched positions.

When Zulfikar Ali Bhutto returned from the UK and was not yet a successful lawyer, Sindhi wadero Pir Ali Muhammad Rashidi patronised him and got him to meet Pir Pagaro who gave him his first clients. Pagaro directed him to President Iskander Mirza who gave him his first opening, as member of a delegation attending a UN session. After that, Bhutto took little time getting through to General Ayub. But Bhutto forgot Sindhi noblesse oblige and began to threaten Pagaro after 1971 as president and martial law administrator. It was an un-Sindhi act. Sindhi courtesy changed to steel resolve and Pagaro took him on as an enemy.

Sherbaz Khan Mazari in his book A Journey of Disillusionment (OUP, 1999) thought that the Baloch feudal lords were at the top of the roster of honour, followed by Sindhis and then, quite unworthily, by Punjabis. He writes: “Much of the Baloch tribal culture and history are strongly permeated with notions of ghairat. Among the sardars this scene of pride is heightened when dealing with sayals or social peers” (p.238). The ritual of sayal requires the use of insult. When the other side is clearly of lesser status and acknowledges it as such, there is no conflict, but if the other side is sayal or vaguely sayal, then the use of insult is called for.

In my view, the Sindhi cult of honour — mixed with pragmatism — is superior. And it was embodied in Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagaro. The Baloch will die for honour; the Sindhi will survive with honour. Pagaro took Bhutto on in 1977, leading the United Democratic Front (UDF) against him, then the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) that parleyed with Bhutto during his last days in power. Finally in 1979 when General Zia wanted to kill Bhutto he consulted Pagaro. Pagaro gave no quarter, and Bhutto was hanged. Pagaro died a natural death at the age of 83.

With Zardari, the PPP returned to Sindhi noblesse oblige. Pagaro recognised it even though he was in the opposite camp. Zardari restored the conduct of inter-wadero courtesy and yielded Pagaro the status he demanded.

The Punjabi cannot understand this mode of surviving enmity. He often marvels how Zardari — surrounded by a hostile media and hounded by negative polls — can repeatedly checkmate Nawaz Sharif in political manoeuvre. The PML-N could not reconcile with the PML-Q, even though everyone recommended it in Punjab. But Zardari strung together old PPP enemies, the MQM and the ANP — both mutually hostile too — to form a stubborn majority in parliament for survival against all challengers, including the army and the judiciary.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2012.