The super flood swept away the hold of the feudal

This flood has jolted the poor hari and he is now preparing to stand up against waderas, who have lost their hold.

At one of the camps, I come across a man with a long, flowing beard and entangled locks. Even though I am exhausted in the sweltering 45-degree Celsius heat, I cannot resist his aura. The fact that he is smoking publicly in the month of Ramazan makes him even more interesting.

Folks in this part of Sindh are pretty relaxed about the “Ramazan rituals”. We saw roadside restaurants open and people eating and drinking - which is quite different from the conservative approach of other parts of the country.

I walk up to the man. We shake hands. I introduce myself and he leads me to a shabby little hut in the trees, not far from main Shikarpur Road.

We sit on a bench made of concrete blocks.

“Looking for big stories about the floods?”

I nod.

“There are journalists, who inform people about the cusecs of water passing under the three barrages. And there are others, who tell the world about how the poor people of Sindh are coping with the floods.”

“May I know your name?” I interrupt.

“Jokhio. Lecturer of Political Science.”

“Jokhio sain, there is so much devastation, what caused it? Global warming is being blamed for it, but some say it’s some sort of punishment from God for our sins.”

Jokhio sain goes silent for a while as if his mind has wandered off. Then he stretches out and yawns.

“Well, this is a blessing. It has devastated millions, but in my opinion, it is a blessing. They were living broken lives anyway. When someone living a good life is suddenly deprived of it... now that’s devastation. These people were already devastated. This flood is an opportunity.

“Listen carefully! In their homes back in the goths, they were perpetually devastated by society. Generations were swallowed up by a flood, the water of which never recedes. The poor had no way of getting out of it. They got used to it and accepted it as a normal way of life.”

Jokhio sain’s philosophy starts to make sense. He is obviously talking about the archaic feudal system.

“This flood has shaken up Sindhudesh and its water will recede one day, ushering in a free society. It has jolted the poor hari and he is now preparing to stand up against waderas, who have lost their hold. That’s why Qaim Ali Shah, Zulfiqar Mirza and their local agents are offering haris permanent settlement in Karachi and Hyderabad.” The wadera, who the poor haris thought were their saviours, stands exposed. And when these waderas went to the extent of breaching bunds to save their lands, a hatred  was born, especially among the youth.

“When the bund politics turned into a serious row among landlord politicians, [President] Zardari came to Sukkur for a day. He calmed the squabbling landlords and on his way back, left an offer of permanent settlement for two million flood survivors in Karachi and Hyderabad. The word was spread through party units. Come to Karachi or Hyderabad, and Zardari will look after your needs, give you a house, jobs and even cash.”

I ask Jokhio sain about the future of Sindh. “Things will get worse before they get better. The rulers are luring the survivors to big cities, but I know they will not leave. The large swinging bloc of voters will turn the tables on the rulers in the next elections.”

To be continued

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2010.