Twenty eight kilometers from Larkana, are located the ruins of Mohenjodaro. The city was founded two millennia ago and is considered the greatest urban settlement of the Indus valley civilization. Spanning over 100 acres, the settlement was planned and laid out in linear blocks. Most houses were built with bricks, linked via paved streets, with their own wells and toilets draining into a central sanitation system. The city was surrounded by walls and channels, protecting it from occasional flooding. Good administration made Mohenjo-daro an opulent and prosperous society; a model for its time.
In sharp contrast after a sojourn to Mohenjodaro, when visitors pass through modern day Larkana, they will observe a shabby, crowded town, marked with poor infrastructure and the non-availability of public services. It’s streets are strewn with garbage and overflowing sewerage, and the whole town reeks of inequality and abject poverty. What the people of Mohenjodaro achieved two thousand years ago, are still luxuries for many living in present day Sindh.
Today, nearly fifty percent of the province’s population lives below the poverty line, and since 1999 per capita income has been declining by 0.5 percent. Good education, health facilities, clean drinking water and proper sanitation are a pipe dream for many. Nationally on average, 31 percent of the rural population has access to sanitation, whereas in Sindh rural, this facility is available to only 14 percent. A staggering 50 percent of primary schools lack running water and sanitation facilities.
The people of Sindh are the victims of economic disparity that in turn is a product of an extractive institution of feudalism, a system in which a small minority has monopolized economic resources, shaping the political, economic and social order to protect its gains. This skewed concentration of wealth has resulted in colossal inequality, creating extreme poverty and wealth, a feature that distinguishes Sindh from other parts of Pakistan.
This inequality has been highlighted by the World Bank in its report, “Securing Sindh’s future prospects and challenges”, stating: “given its feudal traditions, progressive ideas and reforms have always taken more time to take root in the interior of Sindh. It has the highest incidence of absolute landlessness, highest share of tenancy and lowest share of land ownership in the country. ”
The province contributes 33 percent to national GDP, sufficiently contributing to the country’s food basket, and is generating 75 percent of the country’s oil and gas. Owing to an unfair distribution of income, instead of uplifting the conditions of the common man, these resources have enabled the feudal elite to buy a stake in power, where they safeguard their interests and ensure that the political and economic game is played to their advantage.
The roots of Sindhi feudalism can be traced back to in its history. Prior to the 16th century, Sindh’s political scene was dominated by powerful tribes paying homage to the Samma dynasty, which fell to the Arghun invasion of Sindh in 1520. The occupation of Sindh was resisted by the tribes, though the resistance was crushed brutally by the invaders. Arghun rule was followed by severe infighting between the tribes which competed to fill the power vacuum.
Tribal hostilities and internal weakness made Sindh an easy prey for Mughal Emperor Akbar, who made it a part of his dominion in 1591. To manage it, the Mughals divided the province into various Jagirs and distributed the land to Jagirdars and Mansabdars, who were responsible for administration and tax collection. The incessant warfare already impoverished the local population, and feudalism proved even more pernicious.
After the Mughals, the British found feudalism a convenient tool for resource extraction. By expanding the irrigation network, they brought additional hundreds of thousands of acres under cultivation, only to be distributed or sold to the existing feudal elites, strengthening the exploitative system.
This system persisted after the independence of Pakistan, and the social and economic influence allowed the feudal lords to monopolize the avenues of power.
Ranks of nearly all political parties are filled with feudal elements, and by paying lip service to democracy, the economic and political structure of society has been consistently extractive.
This mindset was nowhere more apparent then at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, where last week, thousands gathered to listen to the political rhetoric of a leadership that has made a fortune at the expense of the common man. Its commitment to the people can be seen from drought stricken Thar, where despite all promises, nothing substantial has been done to alleviate suffering.
Sindh was not always marked with underdevelopment and extreme poverty. It’s history and culture is rich and the ruins of Mohenjodaro are a testament to it. A society cannot progress and develop without the general involvement of people contributing on a level playing field. Feudalism will not disappear overnight, but will die a slow death. This can be expedited by investing seriously in the social infrastructure in Sindh. Until that is done, all political promises will remain empty and devoid of substance.
The writer is a freelance columnist and has worked as a broadcast journalist.
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