Voices that matter: Scheduled caste Hindus emerge as new power brokers in Thar

For the first time, over 500 Hindus are contesting direct elections

KARACHI:

Oh how the tables have turned. The scheduled caste Hindus, who have for centuries been disregarded and ignored even by members of the Hindu community, are now the strongest contenders for local government posts in most parts of Tharparkar. These candidates, a large majority belonging to the scheduled castes, are being wooed by major political parties who seem to have realised the power of their vote bank.

According to the election commission's statistics, Tharparkar is the only district in Sindh and even in Pakistan for that matter, where scheduled-caste Hindus are contesting direct polls in the local government elections, making their own destiny. Over 500 Hindu candidates will contest the elections in union councils and district councils on November 19.



Wooing the forgotten

Political parties, who have until now sidelined these marginalised communities, are running after them and have even allotted most of the seats to them. Be it the Pakistan Peoples Party or former chief minister Ghulam Arbab Rahim's panel, the Hindu candidates dominate the entire election process, contesting for the slots of chairperson, vice-chairperson and general councilors. "Around 1,000 candidates are contesting the elections, over half of whom are Hindus," said a polling officer of the area.

There are 490,499 votes registered in six tehsils of the district, including Mithi, Diplo, Islamkot, Nangarparkar, Chachro and Dahli. The toughest competition is expected in Dahli and Chachro where the Arbab Ghulam Rahim panel, which belongs to the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, has formed an alliance with the Ghousia Jamaat of Shah Mehmood Qureshi. "Diplo is Arbab Ghulam Rahim's hometown, where interestingly, he has fielded many members of the Menghwar, Bheel and Kolhi communities," said Aakash Santorai, a senior journalist from the area.



The PPP, too, has given priority in allotting the tickets to lower-caste Hindus, who have now started considering themselves equal to upper-caste Thakur Rajputs. The latter have always contested the elections and been the undisputed rulers of the area. Chetan Mal, 50, will contest the elections for district council member in UC Malnahor Vena of Mithi tehsil. With no political background, Mal was surprised when the PPP gave him a ticket for the elections. "In our area, only Thakurs can contest the election. I will be first Menghwar in my family to enter politics," he told The Express Tribune.  His opponent, Saghir Menghwar, who belongs to the Arbab Rahim panel, shares a similar story. In this particular union council, two Muslims and five Hindus are contesting the direct elections.

Politically unique

Politically, Tharparkar is a unique area of Sindh. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the PPP swept the 2008 elections across Sindh, but faced a historic defeat in this district. During General Musharraf's tenure, there was only one PPP union council nazim in Mithi. Meanwhile, 43 UCs were won by the Arbab Ghulam Rahim panel and his coalition partners. "Arbab Ghulam Rahim had used state machinery and rigged the polls. In his tenure, there was no concept of security at polling stations. Now, the PPP will decide the fate of Thar," said PPP MPA Khatumal Jeewan, adding that since more than 50 per cent of the population of Thar was Hindu, the party's chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had decided to give them more seats.

For his part, Arbab Lutufullah of the Dr Rahim group said that the PPP had already rigged the polls by changing the constituency in their favour and shifting the polling stations to their dominated areas. "People still remember Dr Rahim who established a network of roads in Thar and provided drinking water to them. We demand the deployment of the army."

According to the election commission, there are a total 64 union councils in the district where 490,499 voters are registered.  The number of male and female voters stands at 267,977 and 222,522 respectively. The officials said that 614 polling stations have been set up in the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2015.