Sunday, 28 August, 2011

Illustrated & D

esigned by Javeria Mirza

2 The anti-corruption enigma: Taking stock of Anna Hazare 8 The Lost Valley

By Hashim bin Rashid

Floods have inundated Badin. 1.2 million displaced.The media is almost silent. The few reports that come out focus on a ‘natural calamity’ and blame the government for lacks in relief goods.The question: why did Badin flood is

not being asked.A news report in this newspaper reveals that the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBUD), the source of the flood waters, was ignored in the Sindh Flood Contingency Plan 2011. The 40 breaches from last years’ floods had not been plugged.However, the story of Badin’s LBUD and local suffering goes back earlier.

The LBOD and the Badin flooding:When the LBOD project was initiated in 1987, the people of Southern Sindh had resisted.The building of barrages on the river Indus since the 1930s, meant waterlogging and salinity became realities for lower Sindh.During the 1960s plans for a “spinal drain” from the Rann of Kutch northward through the irrigation command area were drawn up. The spinal drain was meant to carry salts out of Sindh into the Arabian sea.The LBOD was built under this approach. It was built to combat water-logging and salinity.However, the LBOD Project which included the Tidal Link canal was built in a south-west direction against the natural south-east gradient of the region.This was where the origins of the campaign against the project began where locals felt they would be threatened by floods from the drain and that it would cause geographical changes that would threaten their livelihoods.The problems that lay within this ‘unnatural’ choice of gradient had been anticipated by locals, but were ignored by WB technicians. The LOBD also flows through Badin’s dhands, fishing resources, where a weir should have been built to isolate the dhands from the drain. The first weir built was destroyed by the 1999 cyclone.In 2003, the skewed direction of the LOBD came into play. When excessive rains fell for five days, the water that should have flowed into the Arabian sea found no path and flowed backwards, causing a massive flood that displaced 50,000 people.The resultant World Bank inspection blamed ‘the lack of flood protection infrastructure,’ ‘breakdowns in the flood management system’ and the ‘management of the irrigation and drainage system.’ However, it also blamed ‘overlooking and downplaying environmental and social aspects,’ and, ‘technical faults in going against the slope of the land.’ However, no compensation claims were granted.

This year, with last years’ breaches unmended, and the technical problems with the LOBD unresolved, four days of rain resulted in floods that have displaced 1.2 million people.But the troubles with the LOBD extend beyond flooding. The decreased flow of the River Indus into the Arabian Sea has meant a decline in fresh water availability to Badin. This decrease was a product of the 19 barrages and three storage reservoirs built across the Indus river system. As a result, saline water from the Arabian sea seaped into Badin, making it one of the most saline districts of Pakistan.Sindh govt data shows a heavily changed geography with over a 35% reduction in livestock over 1991-2000 in Badin.The fact of the matter is projects such as the LOBD play havoc upon fragile livelihoods and geographies. The LOBD, completed in 1996, has flooded in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2010 and 2011.But the story of the LOBD is not an isolated story.

The link between IFI-funded projects and floods:The story of the LBOD is paralleled by the story of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC), built in 2002. The aims of the project were different. The CRBC, flowing from the Chashma Barrage, aimed at irrigating a command area and creating modern agriculture in an area dominated by subsistence agriculture.A similar mistake was made: the project ignored the existing geography of the region.The area was already irrigated by rowd kois. The rowd kois would flood from torrential rains and flow into the river Indus from West to East. The CRBC was created on the right bank of the Indus and cut through the rowd kois. The engineers assigned at the time decided to create bridges to provide a path to therowd koi waters to flow into the Indus.The plan, however, never worked. When the rowd kois flowed the right bank of the CRBC flooded because the bridges did not work. Entire villages were left flooded. Locals came together and filed an inspection claim with the ADB – the project’s financiers and designers.Following intense local resistance, the ADB agreed to the inspection claim. However, no reprimand was taken on the level of the Pakistan government. The same story recurs in the story of the Mirani Dam. Built in 2006, it created a unique event in the history of floods: in 2007 areas upstream were flooded from backflows from the dam.The water-level had reached 271 feet above sea level, 3 feet from toppling the dam. When the dam was built, locals had opposed the project citing a threat from backflows as the dam would change the existing flood flows.The lack of planning was shown by the fact that WAPDA decided to compensate villages at 244 feet above sea

level. Locals, however, had asked for compensation to be extended to 264 feet above sea level The flood itself caused severe damage to areas above the 264 feet local demand.At the moment, affectees of the flood are still running from office to office for compensation for this man-made catastrophe.

Modern hydrology and perpetual flooding:The trouble is Pakistan’s irrigation system is marred by these instances as a pattern – and not as isolated incidents. The problem lies in the presumptions of modern hydrology, the thought underlying these projects.The idea that manipulating water flows and changing the geography of regions makes for sustainable development is now redundant.The notion that dams, barrages and canals control floods has been conferred to the annals of history. The human manipulation of waterways is as much a cause of floods and droughts as are any ‘natural factors.’There is an instructive quote in the World Bank’s 2005 report on Pakistan’s water, where it states that Pakistan faces the threat of severer floods and perpetual flooding if the Indus river is not de-silted or dykes build across its entire.When the floods of 2010 came, they were the coming true of the World Bank’s own prophecy. However, what the WB chose to forget was that it had funded the barrage and dam constructions re-initiated in the 1960s.This logic of barrages and canals is already being questioned by flood affected populations.After the 2010 floods, the local population met at a People’s Tribunal at the Taunsa Barrage head after the Punjab Flood Inquiry Commission had left,Locals paid tribute to a ‘caged river that shown its fury’ after a hundred years of human manipulation. They blamed the barrage and they blamed neglect during the Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project 2005 undertaken under World Bank finance, again.A technical mind shall come in and argue that this statement by local populations is a myth, it is a folktale from people who know nothing of modern hydrology and the might of the barrage to control water.But the statement of the population has a rather solid technical equation at its’ back. According to the same World Bank report, “the river Indus has been silted.”One of the first lessons in geography is that a river meanders. In lay man terms, a river changes its course when it is silted. ‘Caged,’ as local language described it, by barrages built after every 200 kilometer stretch the ability of the river to slither when a particular portion becomes over-silted is lost.The barraged river’s main course silts up and the

Continued on page 6

With 1.2 million people displaced in Badin, questions on the LOBD breach must be asked from both the Pakistan government and the World Bank

The Badin

The trouble is Pakistan’s irrigation

system is marred by these instances as a pattern – and

not as isolated incidents. The

problem lies in the presumptions of

modern hydrology, the thought

underlying these projects

How the debate around the ‘anti-corruption’ struggle in India, can open up questions on how the Pakistani middle class understands corruption

The writer examines the “Anna Hazare’ phenomenon and disputes the efficacy of the solution presented by it

02 -

03Su

nday

, 28 A

ugus

t, 20

11

By Ali Rizvi

By Hashim bin Rashid

India is inhabited by more than 1.2 billion people and is the most populous democratic state of the world. It boasts multiculturalism, with people from different

ethnicities and religions forming a core part of the state. The Indian state has the world’s third largest Muslim population and the largest Muslim population for a Non Muslim country. Given these demographics it is no doubt that unlike many other states, India is faced with the difficult task of drafting policies taking into account the multitudinous cultural and religious differences.

Yet of late popular discourse has zoned in on one issue in particular, which is that of widespread corruption. Corruption is rampant across Asia, and India, according to Transparency International, ranked 87th out of 178 countries in Transparency International’s

‘Corruption Perceptions Index’ of 2010. According to reports, India tops the list for black money across the world, with almost $1.45 trillion in Swiss banks in the form of black money. According to another survey of the leading economies of Asia, out of 12 countries, India was ranked as the least efficient, citing that working with India’s civil servants was a “slow and painful” process. Out of the 11 basic services provided by the Indian government including healthcare, education, judiciary, police and others, the estimated average corruption in all these departments is $4.7 billion.

Given the fact that corruption is prolific across the country, civil rights activists, media and the intelligentsia have been pressurizing the government into drafting policies that ensure transparency and accountability across the board. However, rooting out corruption is not a simple process that merely revolves around giving complete autonomy to a committee that takes action against

corrupt individuals but rather entails that both short term and long term steps are taken to fight against it. Most importantly increased centralization is hardly the answer to the problem, but rather, is part of the problem itself.

Despite the failings of democracy, it is a system that needs to evolve over time and the writ of the state must be upheld. Democratic principles dictate that all the stakeholders are taken into account during policy making therefore, when six thousand people turn up at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi to support a certain Anne Hazare, with perhaps several thousand people supporting his cause in other cities and on social media, this can hardly be termed as a representation of the majority.

While Anna Hazare is being celebrated across India as the champion of a civil rights campaign against corruption and is being likened to the great Gandhi himself for his role in garnering support of the Jan Lokpal Bill, it needs to be

understood that there is more to ending corruption than a mere bill itself. Hazare, a social rights activist of India decided to fast till death in a move against a weak anti-corruption bill to be passed by the Indian government. He is of the view that the committee chosen to formulate the bill comprises of corrupt officials. In a matter of a few days Hazare has become India’s iconic face for the fight against corruption, with civil activists, intelligentsia, journalists and even Bollywood, joining the bandwagon.

While the cause in itself is worth fighting for, the naive demands and claims of Hazare and his supporters ignore the greater repercussions of the centralisation of power. The hype built up around this event, is garnering support to this cause at an ever increasing pace, with the social media playing a pivotal role in gathering more followers. The success of this stunt is not rooted in the pragmatism of the policy Hazare proposes but is rooted in the appeal of the concept of a fight

There is a euphoria that surrounds the rise to prominence of Anna Hazare.

In as uncritical, self-speak, as the world has ever seen:

‘Corruption is the greatest evil in the world,’ Anna declares. And ‘we’ all are supposed to agree.

Well, for starters, I do not agree.I believe impoverishment,

discrimination and oppression are the greatest evils. The role of ‘corruption’ within such is complex.

It is a position shared by other more

accomplished writers, including Arundati Roy, for whom the narrow, one-dimensional focus of the anti-corruption drive in India is problematic.

The yearnings for a similar re-enactment elsewhere, including those willing such in Pakistan, come as stranger still.

A simple response is, ‘a politics is a product of a context.’ The context of India: urban India, the rise of the middle class, corporate media, Gandhian nostalgia and bourgeoisie Indian nationalism combine to produce the Anna Hazare phenomenon.

I n t e r w o v e n into the a n t i -

corruption drive is, also, the fact that India has broadly been a democracy (sans the

Indira Gandhi emergency) for a good 65 years.

The anti-c o r r u p t i o n s t r u g g l e , framed as the ‘second freedom struggle,’ makes sense to the Indian urban middle class, as the logical follow-up to the democratic struggle, the ‘first freedom struggle.’

The wishing for the emergence of the Indian urban middle classes ‘second freedom struggle’ to be replicated in Pakistan, without the democratic struggle being won, is…well…premature (let me not say

anything else here).But, for the same

reasons that the anti-corruption struggle can gain popularity within India’s affluenter classes, Anna Hazare has the backing of Bollywood filmstars, industrialists and

multinationals, it cannot become a people’s struggle.

Arundati Roy is right when she asks how will the Jan Lokpat Bill (Hazare’s proposed anti-corruption bill) help improve the lives of the 830 million living on less than Indian

Rupees .20 per day.

And Arundati is right when she asks about the ‘legally-sanctioned’ oppression of people’s under corporate farming, mining, building power plants, or, conducting military operations.

And so shall be true of any anti-corruption drive initiated in Pakistan. It shall f i n d support in the

u r b a n a n d a f f l u e n t . It shall find itself limited to urban regions. It shall find verbal support from the urban youth that look for a ‘one solution’ approach to the hundreds of problems that face society.

It is in the backdrop of this ‘dislocated’ context, that I locate the

How the debate around the ‘anti-corruption’ struggle in India, can open up questions on how the Pakistani middle class understands corruption

The writer examines the “Anna Hazare’ phenomenon and disputes the efficacy of the solution presented by it

02 -

03Su

nday

, 28 A

ugus

t, 20

11

By Ali Rizvi

By Hashim bin Rashid

India is inhabited by more than 1.2 billion people and is the most populous democratic state of the world. It boasts multiculturalism, with people from different

ethnicities and religions forming a core part of the state. The Indian state has the world’s third largest Muslim population and the largest Muslim population for a Non Muslim country. Given these demographics it is no doubt that unlike many other states, India is faced with the difficult task of drafting policies taking into account the multitudinous cultural and religious differences.

Yet of late popular discourse has zoned in on one issue in particular, which is that of widespread corruption. Corruption is rampant across Asia, and India, according to Transparency International, ranked 87th out of 178 countries in Transparency International’s

‘Corruption Perceptions Index’ of 2010. According to reports, India tops the list for black money across the world, with almost $1.45 trillion in Swiss banks in the form of black money. According to another survey of the leading economies of Asia, out of 12 countries, India was ranked as the least efficient, citing that working with India’s civil servants was a “slow and painful” process. Out of the 11 basic services provided by the Indian government including healthcare, education, judiciary, police and others, the estimated average corruption in all these departments is $4.7 billion.

Given the fact that corruption is prolific across the country, civil rights activists, media and the intelligentsia have been pressurizing the government into drafting policies that ensure transparency and accountability across the board. However, rooting out corruption is not a simple process that merely revolves around giving complete autonomy to a committee that takes action against

corrupt individuals but rather entails that both short term and long term steps are taken to fight against it. Most importantly increased centralization is hardly the answer to the problem, but rather, is part of the problem itself.

Despite the failings of democracy, it is a system that needs to evolve over time and the writ of the state must be upheld. Democratic principles dictate that all the stakeholders are taken into account during policy making therefore, when six thousand people turn up at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi to support a certain Anne Hazare, with perhaps several thousand people supporting his cause in other cities and on social media, this can hardly be termed as a representation of the majority.

While Anna Hazare is being celebrated across India as the champion of a civil rights campaign against corruption and is being likened to the great Gandhi himself for his role in garnering support of the Jan Lokpal Bill, it needs to be

understood that there is more to ending corruption than a mere bill itself. Hazare, a social rights activist of India decided to fast till death in a move against a weak anti-corruption bill to be passed by the Indian government. He is of the view that the committee chosen to formulate the bill comprises of corrupt officials. In a matter of a few days Hazare has become India’s iconic face for the fight against corruption, with civil activists, intelligentsia, journalists and even Bollywood, joining the bandwagon.

While the cause in itself is worth fighting for, the naive demands and claims of Hazare and his supporters ignore the greater repercussions of the centralisation of power. The hype built up around this event, is garnering support to this cause at an ever increasing pace, with the social media playing a pivotal role in gathering more followers. The success of this stunt is not rooted in the pragmatism of the policy Hazare proposes but is rooted in the appeal of the concept of a fight

There is a euphoria that surrounds the rise to prominence of Anna Hazare.

In as uncritical, self-speak, as the world has ever seen:

‘Corruption is the greatest evil in the world,’ Anna declares. And ‘we’ all are supposed to agree.

Well, for starters, I do not agree.I believe impoverishment,

discrimination and oppression are the greatest evils. The role of ‘corruption’ within such is complex.

It is a position shared by other more

accomplished writers, including Arundati Roy, for whom the narrow, one-dimensional focus of the anti-corruption drive in India is problematic.

The yearnings for a similar re-enactment elsewhere, including those willing such in Pakistan, come as stranger still.

A simple response is, ‘a politics is a product of a context.’ The context of India: urban India, the rise of the middle class, corporate media, Gandhian nostalgia and bourgeoisie Indian nationalism combine to produce the Anna Hazare phenomenon.

I n t e r w o v e n into the a n t i -

corruption drive is, also, the fact that India has broadly been a democracy (sans the

Indira Gandhi emergency) for a good 65 years.

The anti-c o r r u p t i o n s t r u g g l e , framed as the ‘second freedom struggle,’ makes sense to the Indian urban middle class, as the logical follow-up to the democratic struggle, the ‘first freedom struggle.’

The wishing for the emergence of the Indian urban middle classes ‘second freedom struggle’ to be replicated in Pakistan, without the democratic struggle being won, is…well…premature (let me not say

anything else here).But, for the same

reasons that the anti-corruption struggle can gain popularity within India’s affluenter classes, Anna Hazare has the backing of Bollywood filmstars, industrialists and

multinationals, it cannot become a people’s struggle.

Arundati Roy is right when she asks how will the Jan Lokpat Bill (Hazare’s proposed anti-corruption bill) help improve the lives of the 830 million living on less than Indian

Rupees .20 per day.

And Arundati is right when she asks about the ‘legally-sanctioned’ oppression of people’s under corporate farming, mining, building power plants, or, conducting military operations.

And so shall be true of any anti-corruption drive initiated in Pakistan. It shall f i n d support in the

u r b a n a n d a f f l u e n t . It shall find itself limited to urban regions. It shall find verbal support from the urban youth that look for a ‘one solution’ approach to the hundreds of problems that face society.

It is in the backdrop of this ‘dislocated’ context, that I locate the

Excerpts from ‘I’d rather not be Anna’

Arundhati Roy on the ‘The Jan Lokpal Bill’

against corruption of the ruling classes. The self proclaimed Gandhian has cleverly made use of Argumentum ad populum, i.e. “a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or most people believe it; it alleges: If many believe so, it is so,” reinforcing the concept of the ‘Bandwagon Effect’.

The Bandwagon effect is “that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion of those that have already done so. As more people come to believe in something, others also ‘hop on the bandwagon’ regardless of the underlying evidence. The tendency to follow the actions or beliefs of others can occur because individuals directly prefer to conform, or because individuals derive information from others.”

As Gandhian as Hazare might sound, what separates the two is that Gandhi mobilised people for issues of scale and substance. Gandhi in effect attracted millions of people to come on the street, which was instrumental in driving the British out of India, however the number of people coming out on the streets in support of Hazare are but miniscule. Most importantly these numbers barely cut across social classes and regions. His following is mainly comprised of the urban and middle class.

The fundamental rhetoric of the movement is based on superficial assumptions. One such assumption is that the bureaucracy and the politicians are solely responsible for the rampant corruption prevailing in India. Therefore, their argument is based on the premise that an independent authoritarian ombudsman operating outside the realms of politics can help eradicate the cancer of

corruption.This bill if passed, instead of containing

corruption will spur it. It will spur it because the corrupt will be given a free hand to circumvent the stipulations of the bill by using the interpretation of it as it suits them. And assuming that an ombudsman is to take charge, how will we absolve him of his human instincts? Will he not be human like the corrupt politicians Hazare is so vocal about? The Indian government is being forced to swallow the ‘Hazare’ bill but is it truly the solution for the problem of corruption in India? While Hazare is leading the fight against corruption, has he in his Gandhian state of mind forgotten about poverty in India?

How will the passage of this bill, alleviate the misery of the poor in India?

The campaign in question has also been opposed by several castes of India who feel that “if the government accepts this bill against parliamentary processes it would set a dangerous trend that would make certain classes vulnerable.” According to these groups, the eventuality of mass mobilisations taking place to force a set of solutions on the centre against constitutional processes could result in affirmative action being a victim of similar movements.

What therefore needs to be understood is the fact that democracy is a very sensitive balance of power between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Despite roles and responsibilities of individuals in democracy, clearly defined, there are instances where ‘one encroaches the space of the other’. In this scenario, is it really wise to believe that another power house with investigative and prosecuting powers will be the solution to all of India’s woes?

Its ideology:

“While his means may be Gandhian, Anna Hazare’s demands are certainly not. Contrary to Gandhiji’s ideas about the decentralisation of power, the Jan

Lokpal Bill is a draconian, anti-corruption law, in which a panel of carefully chosen people will administer a giant bureaucracy, with thousands of employees, with the power to police everybody from the Prime Minister, the judiciary, members of Parliament, and all of the bureaucracy, down to the lowest government official. The Lokpal will have the powers of investigation, surveillance, and prosecution. Except for the fact that it won’t have its own prisons, it will function as an independent administration, meant to counter the bloated, unaccountable, corrupt one that we already have. Two oligarchies, instead of just one.

Its scope :

“At a time when the State is withdrawing from its traditional duties and Corporations and NGOs are taking over government

functions (water supply, electricity, transport, telecommunication, mining, health, education); at a time when the terrifying power and reach of the corporate owned media is trying to control the public imagination, one would think that these

ins t i t u t io ns — the corporations, the media, and NGOs — would be i n c l u d e d in the jurisdiction of a Lokpal bill. Instead, the proposed bill leaves them out completely.

Its supporters:

“ The campaign is being handled by people who run a clutch of generously funded NGOs whose donors include Coca-Cola and the Lehman Brothers.

Kabir, run by Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, key figures in Team Anna, has received $400,000 from the Ford Foundation in the last three years. Among contributors to the India Against Corruption campaign there are Indian companies and foundations that own aluminum plants, build ports and SEZs, and run Real Estate businesses and are closely connected to politicians who run financial empires that run into thousands of crores of rupees. Some of them are currently being investigated for corruption and other crimes.

youth-drive (in Pakistan) to align themselves

with the increasingly more problematic rhetoric of Imran Khan.

The ‘100 days to end corruption’ promises offer hope – but the question to ask is: to what?

Does the end of corruption offer an end to poverty? The end of discrimination?

The end to oppression? The end to violence? The end to State terrorism?

These are the real ailments that Pakistan suffers.

Sure, corruption is there in the day-to-day, but we must go a layer deeper to understand it.Questioning how ‘we’ understand ‘corruption’:

When the middle and privileged classes raise the question of corruption, they raise the question in the name of the silenced poor.

“Solve corruption,” they say, “and poverty will be solved.” This is a false hope sold to the Indian subcontinents’ poor.

Corruption, as the manifestation of the logos of gift-taking for service-provision in the State, is a multi-faceted phenomenon. It is a multi-faceted phenomenon that changes its’ nature

dependent upon which subject position one takes (in simpler words: whose eye one’s looks at it with).

From the perspective of the thara-wala, the Rs 1,000 a month he gives to a city district government official every month, to set up his stall and gets his finances rolling, is a blessing to him. Were the official not corrupt, another individual would be without employment and another family would be without sustenance.

From the perspective of the katchi-abadi resident, the Rs 500 a month he

o f f e r s to the electricity l i n e s m e n

to ensure he does not

pay a bill of over Rs 2,000,

translates into an increase in

his purchasing power by Rs 1,500

a month. Were the official not corrupt,

the already impoverished family would have deeper trouble

making ends meet.To the contrary, from the perspective of

the debt-ridden mazara, that goes to the Police

Station to register an FIR against his zamindar, for beating him up, the Rs 2,000 he pays to the officer-in-charge comes as both a financial burden and holds the potential to skew the process of delivering justice, if he is over-bid by the zamindar (something that often happens). Were the official not corrupt, the chances of the mazara getting justice would increase.

Similarly, from the perspective of a pensioner, who goes to collect his pension, the 5% he must pay to the cashier comes to his financial detriment. Were the official not corrupt, the pensioner would have more money to live off in his final days.

These are the manifestations of the corruption encountered by individuals in the everyday sense.

Corruption sometimes facilitates impoverished classes against State biases and injustices, and, at other times, it oppresses them further.

And it does so without providing answers to the socio-economic basis of that individual, or, classes oppression.

The important thing to realize is that there is no such ‘we,’ and no such unitary understanding of ‘corruption as evil.’Conjuring a more ‘holistic’ social movement:

So, to begin with, the Anna Hazare movement asks the wrong political questions and speaks to the wrong audience. But, to end with too, it places political agency in the locus.

To Gandhi, the satyagarha was an individual or communal resistance to oppression. It would remain decentered, in the sense that it would not take institutional form.

The Hazare argument is to represent the will of the people, the will to end corruption, within an institution: the Lokpal.

The will to end corruption, Team Anna wishes to institutionalize.

That will itself may have credence if Anna Hazare did represent the will of India.

However, the fact is that Anna Hazare and Team Anna do not cut across caste, class, ethnic and religious categories. Dalit and Muslim representatives have spoken out against Anna’s links to the Hindu right.

This is an aside for Anna Hazare’s own divisive personality, with him being on record to state “killing or cutting the hands of corruption officials was correct.” The logic presented by Hazare to justify it came from within a story in Hindu mythology.

This is a reminder for those who do not know

Anna, that his history includes flogging people personally for drinking alcohol.

It is in that context that a comment, “India is not Anna,” on Arundati Roy’s article is a good point to begin a conclusion.

‘India is not Anna’ because, one, simplistically speaking, no political movement can claim to be all representative. It is totalitarian if it claims to speak for a universal. But, two, more specifically, it is so because it does not address the real political questions: how do we overcome impoverishment? how do we overcome discrimination? how do we overcome inequality?

And how do we respect difference within all these processes?

While such a struggle in India shall have to include the many marginalised movements and silenced classes that Arundati and the rest of Hazare’s critics speak for, such a struggle in Pakistan shall have to address the questions of Balochistan, the FCR regulations, ethnic discrimination and so forth.

These are political questions, within which the question of corruption must be situated. The question of corruption cannot be asked outside this for a real pro-poor, anti-discrimination politics to emerge.

The fact is that Anna Hazare is not the only hunger-striker in India at the moment. Irom Sharmila (who, you would be asking?) has been on hunger strike for 10 years against the draconian AFSPA law in Manipur which allows soldiers to kill on suspicion. It is only that Hazare is the most media savvy, the one that ruffles the least feathers amongst its’ viewership, the one that asks the least serious political questions of them.

And, therefore, while the Indian middle class may win its’ ‘second freedom struggle,’ and the Pakistani middle class nostalgically wait for it, the toiling masses (and I use this word for the first time, with intent) of both countries shall continue their lumbered existence within socio-economic systems tailored to keep them impoverished and discriminated against.

Perhaps, then, will it be realised, that the anti-corruption struggle was not the panacea it was made out to be.

And, maybe, then there will be some that will point out in words that Faiz spoke a long time ago:

Ye woh sahar to nahi jis ki aarzoo le kar...(This is not the dawn that we yearned for…)

First things first:

Tanvir Ahmad Tahir’s

book is not for the

fainthearted. This

eight-hundred-page

work is not some

fascinating travelogue you can toss

into your holiday luggage for a bit

of light reading on the plane – and

this not least because of its bulky

dimensions – nor does it make for

suitable flaunting material given

its less-than-hefty price tag (for

contemporary standards) so you may

safely save that last bit of space on

the coffee table for the next heavily

illustrated and – hence – ridiculously

priced cookbook that you see. That is

because Dr Tahir in his writing – and,

most importantly, in hisresearch –

means business. Now to this review’s

business end.

Books like Political Dynamics are

slow in the coming nowadays as fields

of research narrow down with the

passage of time and the exhaustion

of researchable areas. Books sure are

coming thick and fast, but very few

of them are thoroughly researched

and fewer still are written on topics

that genuinely demand immediate

attention. Uniquely enough, this

particular book achieves both

these high preliminary targets as

proficiently as any this reviewer has

read lately.

To begin with, the period that the

writer has chosen to scrutinize has

never been touched before. When

it comes to Sindh, writers prefer to

begin with the 1970s – the years of

Bhutto and the PPP’s rise, whence

were bestowed upon urban Sindh

the phenomenon of the quota riots

– because by then the issues of

the province had matured and had

become obvious enough to be picked

out and written about. Instead

of doing that, Tanvir, in his PhD

dissertation, took the road not taken

– he dug up the years leading up to

the final manifestation of the Sindhi

issue to discover the real causes of all

the trouble that Sindh has had to see.

Instead of working on the branches,

Dr Tahir attacks the roots of the

matter.

From the first to the last, this ten-

chaptered book moves in a neat

chronological order. The first two

chapters are rather general – yet

immensely important in their

own right – with the first being a

comprehensive debate on Sind’s

inevitable issue of

“Politics of Ethnicity”

and the second being

a brief overview of

the province’s history

before the creation

of Pakistan in 1947,

wherefrom starts

the real scope of this

book.

The following

eight chapters are

as heavy a read

as any thoroughly

researched book

these eyes have laid

themselves upon.

From Pakistan’s

birth in 1947, to the

fall of the Bhutto

government in 1977,

Tanvir Ahmad Tahir

has left no stone

unturned in digging

up old graves and

bringing us tales

from the dead that we

had never been told

before. The politics

of the matter are of

course the same –

the early years of

chaos, the martial

laws, and finally the

In thoroughness, Dr Tahir’s work is second to none. At first it seems to be a challenger of M. Rafique Afzal’s great work on Pakistani political parties, but soon enough it overtakes even that

It’s a finely tuned ‘synthesis between scholarly erudition and a fundamental orientation towards the spiritual import of Sufi teachings’ engaging, nay enlightening, all shades of readers on a subject with which they are traditionally not unacquainted

the

revie

w04

- 05

Sund

ay, 2

8 Aug

ust,

2011

A RevelationBy Natasha Shahid Kunwar

A valued exposition of Diwan-i-Farid

By Syed Afsar Sajid

Dr Shahzad Qaiser, currently vice-president of Iqbal Academy Pakistan, is a well known scholar

and researcher with a pronounced philosophical outlook. His work on the renowned Sufi saint and poet Khawaja Ghulam Farid comprises The Metaphysics of Khawaja Ghulam Farid, The Message of Diwan-i-Farid and Understanding Diwan-i-Farid besides Iqbal and Khawaja Farid on Experiencing God.

The present book seems to have an exegetical proximity to its prototype The Message of Diwan-i-Farid whose original text and translation,

as the writer avers, have been kept in tact here except for a few changes where necessary. The book carries facsimiles, illustrations, annotations, and comments in regard to as many as 272 kafis that the Diwan incorporates. Kafi is a classical form of Sufi poetry mostly in Punjabi, Sindhi and Seraiki languages. As a popular poetic form, it has been shaped and developed by spiritual eminences-cum-poets like Baba Farid (1173-1266), Shah Hussain (1538-1599), Bulleh Shah (1680-1757), Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689-1752), Sachal Sarmast (1739-1829) and Khawaja Ghulam Farid (1845-1901). Derived from the Arabic word Kafa, it is often used as ‘a metaphor for mystical truths and spiritual longing’.

The author has dedicated this book also to his revered spiritual master Hazrat Baba Sufi Muhammad Tufayl whom he deems ‘the embodiment of primordial wisdom’. Prof. Seyyed Hossein Nasr of the George Washington University, USA has contributed a brief preface to the book in which he has commended the author for providing ‘a complete and masterly commentary in English upon the gnostic and Sufi poems’ of Khawaja Ghulam Farid. According to him the traditionalist vocabulary of the commentary serves ‘to bring out

succinctly in English the remarkable metaphysical depth’ of the kafis under reference.

Noted Sindhi scholars Dr. G.A. Allana and (late) N.A. Baloch have also written separate introductory forewords to the book eulogizing the author’s creative attempt in translating these kafis. Prof. William C. Chittick of the Stony Brook University, USA, in his foreview remarks that “Dr. Shahzad Qaiser has not simply given us a translation. He has endeavoured to step backward from the text and delve into the point of view that

informs it. It is a work which tries to pry open for its readers the door to the universe of discourse of Islamic Spirituality and the metaphysical perspective in which it is squarely rooted and from which it draws its sap and life blood”.

The 24-plus page exhaustive introduction to the book by its author is in effect the pick of its contents inasmuch as it embodies a perspicacious analysis of the religio-metaphysical context of Khawaja Farid’s kafis besides

their dense psycho-philosophical implications. Thus it tends to facilitate understanding of the Diwan. The following excerpt from the author’s ‘introduction’ would further elucidate his intent and purport in compiling this work:

“Khawaja Ghulam Farid’s Diwan-i-Farid, a masterpiece of literature, is essentially gnostic in essence (sic). It principally mirrors the doctrine of Oneness of Being (wahdat al-wujud) in poetic form. It fosters the principle of ‘unity in diversity’ by ‘reflecting the

‘It is a work which tries to pry open for its readers the door to the universe of discourse of Islamic Spirituality and the metaphysical perspective in which it is squarely rooted and from which it draws its sap and life blood’

Political Dynamics of Sindh (1947-1977) Tanvir Ahmad TahirPublisher: Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, KarachiPages: 801; Price: Rs. 800

It’s nine years now since Hari Kunzru came to prominence via his formidable debut, The Impressionist. He arrived in the wake of Zadie Smith, and that first novel was characteristic

of its time, determined to impress the reader with its teeming parade of post-colonial fictive ideas.In 2000, two years before The Impressionist was published, James Wood coined the term “ h y s t e r i c a l r e a l i s m ” to describe the type of book that, he said, Smith had made fashionable. He meant a fiction that was manic, overpopulated, filled with news of the culture, driven forward, often, by strained plot c o i n c i d e n c e . Smith famously c o n c e d e d that this was an accurate diagnosis when it came to the imperfect nature of White Teeth. Few, surely, would argue with the idea that The Impressionist – though clearly the work of an important new writer – shared those imperfections.How gratifying, then, to watch Kunzru evolve over the past decade into a writer who retains the energy that carried The Impressionist along, but combines it with more subtle virtues: psychological acuity, a wonderful linguistic precision and the ability to make beautiful accordance between form and content via thoughtful narrative experiment. Gods Without Men is a step further along the road towards the full realisation of Kunzru’s early promise. It makes undeniable the claim that he is one of our most important novelists.The novel presents a series of linked narratives which all have a connection to a rock formation called the Pinnacles in the Mojave desert, California. There is Schmidt, a former Second World War aircraft engineer who escapes into the desert and sets up base at the Pinnacles, waiting for contact with extra-terrestrials. Fastforward to 2008, and we find Nicky, a British rock star stranded in air-conditioned California hotel rooms, failing to make a new record. Rewind back to 1778, and we are party to a letter sent to his superior by Spanish official Juan Arnulfo, to report on the missionary work of a Padre Franciso Garces.The central story, though, is set in 2008: that of Indian-American Jas and his Jewish-American wife, Lisa. When they take a holiday in the desert to repair a marriage that is fraying at the edges, their autistic son Raj goes missing, sparking a manhunt on

a national scale. Here, then, is the novel’s centre of gravity: deftly, Kunzru fixes Raj’s absence as the strange black hole around which his other narratives swirl haphazardly, temporarily coming into view only to recede again a few pages later.Kunzru is at his best in the parts of the novel depicting Jas’s isolating, achievement-obsessed Sikh childhood, his marriage to Lisa – made against the wishes of his parents – and the marital strain caused by Raj. Here he writes with such closeness and acuity that some passages are as large and cruel and real as life.As in so much of Kunzru’s work, personal

identity – how it is made and what it implies – is the disputed territory here. The difference between Jas and Lisa’s r e s p e c t i v e b a c k g r o u n d s is a fault line teased open by the difficulty of parenting Raj. “What do you want me to say?” rages Jas during one argument. “That my Mom and Dad are ignorant? That we’re just poor brown-skinned i m m i g r a n t s who don’t u n d e r s t a n d your big m o d e r n A m e r i c a n world?”

Other narrative strands don’t always manage the same compelling truthfulness. Some, such as the story of a young, female Iraqi refugee who earns a living by acting in US military simulations, better serve Kunzru’s desire to write about events (in this case the Iraq War) than they do the novel. But Gods Without Men is never less than entertaining, and the harmonies that Kunzru establishes between his narrative strands are effective and satisfying.Given its structure – multiple, intersecting strands – Gods Without Men is bound to be compared to another well-known contemporary example of that narrative technique: David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. But while intertextuality and the instability of meaning were the anxieties that underpinned Mitchell’s novel, Kunzru is more concerned with the instability of personal identity; the contingent, changeable essence that makes us who we are.Crucially, a spectral presence haunts this book: the anthropomorphised Coyote of Native American myth, who in the first pages – and in a bravura redressing of old myth in contemporary clothes – Kunzru depicts making crystal meth, which in a later chapter he starts to sell. As in the many Coyote legends, the desert in Kunzru’s novel is a place for self-creation, for renewal, for ends and beginnings; a place where the Coyote’s paradoxical, dual nature – foolish and wise, tricky and naive, good and evil – are a matter of survival. Such is life; such are we. And such is the message delivered obliquely, and beautifully, by this novel.

rise of democracy; the same

G. M Syed with his Jiye Sindh

and the Sindhi-Mohajir issues.

Facts are facts, and nobody can

meddle with them. It might

even be granted that some of

the conclusions that the writer

has arrived at are not entirely

new, for example, his opinion

that Pakistan has not done

itself any favour by denying its

multiethnic content had already

been stated by Dr Feroz Ahmed

of Ethnicity and Politics fame,

over two decades ago. So, the

facts cannot be changed and the

conclusions are barely new, so

what is the big deal about this

new book?

The big deal is the method of

the writer; his thoroughness.

What is most striking about this

book is the fact that much of the

information given in it has been

drawn from primary sources –

straight from the horse’s mouth,

as they say. The author has more

often than not cited newspapers

and primary source books

when it came to referring to the

source of events and points-

of-views of various prominent

political personalities like G.M

Syed and Z.A Bhutto. He has

also consulted a wide range

of official documents to back

various governmental stances,

and has cited many interviews.

A strong backbone of primary

sources is just the thing that

a research book needs to get

that stamp of authenticity and

reliability, it is just the thing that

genuine analysts are looking for

when they go consulting books,

it is just the thing that makes

average books great – and it

is just the thing that is lacking

in most books that heave the

shelves of bookstores down

nowadays.

Dr Tahir’s work, however,

is gladly different. In

thoroughness it is second to

none. At first it seems to be a

challenger of M

Rafique Afzal’s

great work

on Pakistani

p o l i t i c a l

parties, but

soon enough

it overtakes

even that – a

phenomenon

very rare in

its own right.

Couple that

with the rarity

of research

work done on

early post-

partition Sindh and we get

one of the brightest feathers in

Pakistani researchers’ cap.

Finally, unique research aside,

Political Dynamics of Sindh is

very relevant to today’s Pakistan

and its issues. As Karachi

becomes the bloodiest picture

of violence, we – analysts and

laymen alike – often ponder

upon the same question: why?

What is the cause of all the

trouble? Well let me tell you one

thing: anybody can give you the

obvious answer, but very few

– if any at all, which is highly

unlikely – other than Dr. Tanvir

Ahmad Tahir can delve as

deep into the causes of Sindh’s

problems and lay its roots bare.

One such “renowned” problem

is known to the contemporary

historian simply as the “Mohajir

Question”:

“The most important

phenomenon of the period

under review is the gradual

exclusion of the Mohajir elite

from the power centre. The

dominance that they enjoyed

over the affairs of the state in

initial years diminished with

the passage of time. They had

dominated the big business,

trade and civil bureaucracy

during the fifties but during

the Ayub period these interests

significantly suffered. The

process was accelerated by the

Bhutto regime. This gave rise to

Mohajir ethnicity.”

The writer’s grasp on the issue

is remarkable, yet this is merely

one of many examples that can

be cited. But it hardly strikes the

head of the poor nail better than

the quote above when it comes

to the Sindhi problem – thus

here I rest my case.

From the Ufologist recluse to the autistic boy missing in the Mojave, these interwoven tales are as large, cruel and real as the desert itself

It’s a finely tuned ‘synthesis between scholarly erudition and a fundamental orientation towards the spiritual import of Sufi teachings’ engaging, nay enlightening, all shades of readers on a subject with which they are traditionally not unacquainted

As cruel and realas life

By David Mattin

A valued exposition of Diwan-i-Farid

Face of the Beloved’ in all forms. Love and gnosis are its ever recurring themes. Search of transcendence, in order to realize vision and union, remains its foremost concern. It enlightens us on the cultural expressions of the metaphysical values of truth, knowledge, freedom, goodness, beauty and love. He considers knowledge as veiled unless transformed into gnosis by virtue of love. Love is suffering but the alchemy of suffering transmutes the base metal into gold. It leads to the realisation of ‘the Supreme Identity’.”

The ‘translation’ inter alia incorporates the original text of the kafis followed by a literal transference of the sense of the lines into lucid prose. The ‘commentary’ comes next that explains the various dimensions of the transliterated passage. It is a painstaking exercise for it does not only address the initiated readers but also those, and they are in majority, who are not well versed with the delicacies of metaphysics or philosophy. Thus the work is a finely tuned ‘synthesis between scholarly erudition and a fundamental orientation towards the spiritual import of Sufi teachings’ engaging nay enlightening all shades of readers on a subject with which they are traditionally not unacquainted.

In Political Dynamics of Sindh (1947-1977) Tanvir Ahmad Tahir has done what no other writer has managed to do so far: touched an area that has been a research virgin remarkably long for its importance.

Title: Understanding Diwan-i-FaridAuthor: Shahzad QaiserPublished by: Suhail Academy, Chowk Urdu Bazar, LahorePages: 890; Price: Not indicated

the

revie

w06

- 07

Sund

ay, 2

8 Aug

ust,

2011

The despoiling ofAnsoo lakeThe despoiling ofAnsoo lake

By Kamil Hassaan

Pakistan is home to some of the most beautiful places in the world, often unknown to even residents of the country.

One such well-kept secret is a lake known as Ansoo Lake, which is nestled in the backyard of the famed Lake Saif-ul-Malook. Located near Malika Parbat in the Himalayan range, Kaghan Valley, it is situated at a height of 13000 feet above sea level.

The name “Ansoo” (which means teardrop in Urdu) comes from its tear-like shape. The lake is said to have been discovered in 1993 by Pakistan Air Force Pilots who chanced upon it while flying low in this area. Prior to

t h i s , the lake was not even known

to the locals. While there is no place to stay near Ansoo Lake, people may camp in near-by sites, though they brave the cold and windy mountains at their own risk. But hardship is well worth it, as the place is breathtakingly gorgeous and one can revel in nature’s beauty perched atop these peaks.

Making that extremely difficult trek with my younger sister was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. However, our trip was marred somewhat by an extremely disturbing state of affairs there. When I, along with my parents and sister, reached Saif-ul-Malook to start our hiking towards Ansoo Lake, it was immediately apparent that its stunning beauty is being systematically despoiled by the people who visit it. One can see egg-shells, bottles and polythene bags

f l o a t i n g aplenty in Lake

Saif-ul-Malook. Courtesy this callous attitude of tourists, the base of Lake Saif-ul-Malook is now carpeted by filth. Not only does it besmirch the clear waters of the lake, it is also a health hazard as it leads to the trout in the lake becoming toxic and unfit for consumption. The littering continues despite numerous signs admonishing people not to litter but these signs are treated with the same nonchalance that the beauty of the lake is treated with. Such a situation is still expected (although should be in no way tolerated) in the highly popular tourist destination such as Lake Saif-ul-Malook, but shockingly enough even the secretively ensconced and hard-to-access Ansoo Lake is not safe from this scourge. There are many bottles garlanding its periphery and the area around it is spattered with the debris of picnickers. The alarming realization that this lake might not

retain i t s

r e s p l e n d e n t glory for others to

enjoy is what galvanized me into writing this article.

A two pronged solution can be adopted to address this shameful matter: strict imposition of regulations and greater awareness. Regarding the former, the authorities must be strict in the regulation and monitoring of the area and have a zero-tolerance policy in the levying of fines. But laws can only be effective to an extent and will be futile if people do not understand the importance of civil responsibility and this is where the latter comes in. Awareness can only be created by educating people and instilling in them a sense of responsibility and the realization that collective property and should be taken care of much like one’s own home. Our country’s awareness regarding environmental responsibilities is woefully low and it should be addressed by targeted media campaigns and awareness drives in schools and educational institutes. A change in attitude is a slow but sure way to address this concern. These places are the crown jewels of our country and they must no longer suffer because of our indifference.

capacity of the river to hold water is reduced every year. This is the logic upon which the World Bank itself claims the possibility of perpetual flooding.And thus it was a strange irony that a local poet articulated, “the bound river freed itself, it became master of its old path.’ An old man got up and explained, “The river would flood every year. Its basin here was about 50 kilometers. The flood covered an area of 50 kilometers. The river had reclaimed its own basin.”

Re-thinking irrigation and making IFIs accountable:The trouble is that the World Bank-model of managing Pakistan’s water problems has failed. It is a failure

compounded by the 2011 Badin floods and a failure admitted in the subtext of the World Bank’s 2005 report.Floods are man-made. Let us not blame nature. When humans manipulate hydrology, unable to account for factors of geography, there is no one else to blame but them.At the moment, there are two questions.One: will the government have take the bold step and hold IFI’s accountable?Those affected by the Badin floods need to be supported by the government in leading a compensation claim against the World Bank. The compensation claim must include damages for earlier incidences of flooding. This also means that accountability extend

beyond Badin into other WB, ADB projects which have affected local populations adversely.Two: will the State re-think its understanding of manipulating water?The fact of the matter is that the WB cannot operate in Pakistan without the State agreeing with the project. The fault in each of the projects that have accentuated water stress and economic stress lies within the conception of the projects.Over the past decade, the much-cherished irrigation system of Pakistan has begun to show signs of being at the verge of collapse. A number of irrigation projects funded by IFIs have been brought to question. The Chasma Right Bank canal, the

Mirani Dam, the Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project and the Badin Lower Bank Outfall Canal are but to name a few.But the failures of these monuments of modern hydrology has not changed much in State-thinking.Policies to make new canal-systems and dams continue while local movements continue to resist.It is ironic part about the WB’s own assessment of the LOBD fracas is that concludes saying, “in such a complex geography there are no quick fixes.”True. But then the World Bank must be asked: what was it thinking when it funded the LOBD in the first place?And the government must be asked: why is no one being made accountable?

The Badin floodsfrom page 1

the

revie

w06

- 07

Sund

ay, 2

8 Aug

ust,

2011

The despoiling ofAnsoo lakeThe despoiling ofAnsoo lake

By Kamil Hassaan

Pakistan is home to some of the most beautiful places in the world, often unknown to even residents of the country.

One such well-kept secret is a lake known as Ansoo Lake, which is nestled in the backyard of the famed Lake Saif-ul-Malook. Located near Malika Parbat in the Himalayan range, Kaghan Valley, it is situated at a height of 13000 feet above sea level.

The name “Ansoo” (which means teardrop in Urdu) comes from its tear-like shape. The lake is said to have been discovered in 1993 by Pakistan Air Force Pilots who chanced upon it while flying low in this area. Prior to

t h i s , the lake was not even known

to the locals. While there is no place to stay near Ansoo Lake, people may camp in near-by sites, though they brave the cold and windy mountains at their own risk. But hardship is well worth it, as the place is breathtakingly gorgeous and one can revel in nature’s beauty perched atop these peaks.

Making that extremely difficult trek with my younger sister was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. However, our trip was marred somewhat by an extremely disturbing state of affairs there. When I, along with my parents and sister, reached Saif-ul-Malook to start our hiking towards Ansoo Lake, it was immediately apparent that its stunning beauty is being systematically despoiled by the people who visit it. One can see egg-shells, bottles and polythene bags

f l o a t i n g aplenty in Lake

Saif-ul-Malook. Courtesy this callous attitude of tourists, the base of Lake Saif-ul-Malook is now carpeted by filth. Not only does it besmirch the clear waters of the lake, it is also a health hazard as it leads to the trout in the lake becoming toxic and unfit for consumption. The littering continues despite numerous signs admonishing people not to litter but these signs are treated with the same nonchalance that the beauty of the lake is treated with. Such a situation is still expected (although should be in no way tolerated) in the highly popular tourist destination such as Lake Saif-ul-Malook, but shockingly enough even the secretively ensconced and hard-to-access Ansoo Lake is not safe from this scourge. There are many bottles garlanding its periphery and the area around it is spattered with the debris of picnickers. The alarming realization that this lake might not

retain i t s

r e s p l e n d e n t glory for others to

enjoy is what galvanized me into writing this article.

A two pronged solution can be adopted to address this shameful matter: strict imposition of regulations and greater awareness. Regarding the former, the authorities must be strict in the regulation and monitoring of the area and have a zero-tolerance policy in the levying of fines. But laws can only be effective to an extent and will be futile if people do not understand the importance of civil responsibility and this is where the latter comes in. Awareness can only be created by educating people and instilling in them a sense of responsibility and the realization that collective property and should be taken care of much like one’s own home. Our country’s awareness regarding environmental responsibilities is woefully low and it should be addressed by targeted media campaigns and awareness drives in schools and educational institutes. A change in attitude is a slow but sure way to address this concern. These places are the crown jewels of our country and they must no longer suffer because of our indifference.

capacity of the river to hold water is reduced every year. This is the logic upon which the World Bank itself claims the possibility of perpetual flooding.And thus it was a strange irony that a local poet articulated, “the bound river freed itself, it became master of its old path.’ An old man got up and explained, “The river would flood every year. Its basin here was about 50 kilometers. The flood covered an area of 50 kilometers. The river had reclaimed its own basin.”

Re-thinking irrigation and making IFIs accountable:The trouble is that the World Bank-model of managing Pakistan’s water problems has failed. It is a failure

compounded by the 2011 Badin floods and a failure admitted in the subtext of the World Bank’s 2005 report.Floods are man-made. Let us not blame nature. When humans manipulate hydrology, unable to account for factors of geography, there is no one else to blame but them.At the moment, there are two questions.One: will the government have take the bold step and hold IFI’s accountable?Those affected by the Badin floods need to be supported by the government in leading a compensation claim against the World Bank. The compensation claim must include damages for earlier incidences of flooding. This also means that accountability extend

beyond Badin into other WB, ADB projects which have affected local populations adversely.Two: will the State re-think its understanding of manipulating water?The fact of the matter is that the WB cannot operate in Pakistan without the State agreeing with the project. The fault in each of the projects that have accentuated water stress and economic stress lies within the conception of the projects.Over the past decade, the much-cherished irrigation system of Pakistan has begun to show signs of being at the verge of collapse. A number of irrigation projects funded by IFIs have been brought to question. The Chasma Right Bank canal, the

Mirani Dam, the Taunsa Barrage Rehabilitation and Modernisation Project and the Badin Lower Bank Outfall Canal are but to name a few.But the failures of these monuments of modern hydrology has not changed much in State-thinking.Policies to make new canal-systems and dams continue while local movements continue to resist.It is ironic part about the WB’s own assessment of the LOBD fracas is that concludes saying, “in such a complex geography there are no quick fixes.”True. But then the World Bank must be asked: what was it thinking when it funded the LOBD in the first place?And the government must be asked: why is no one being made accountable?

The Badin floodsfrom page 1

A B C D E F G H

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

White to play – play and mate in seven moves

cynIc In thE MAkInG

chESS

DILBERt

SUDokU

sudoku solution

crossword solution

chess solution

Today’s soluTions

1. Nc5+ Kd8 ( 1... Kc8 2.Qxa8# ) 2. Qxa8+ Bc8 3.Nf7+ ( 3. Nge6+ Ke7 4.Nxg7+ Kf7 ( 4... Qe5 5.Rxe5+ Nxe5 ) 5. Nxh5 ) 3...

Rxf7 4. Qxc8+ ( 4. Re8+Kxe8 5. Qxc8+ Ke7 6. Qd7+Kf6 ( 6... Kf8 7. Qd8# ) 7.Ne4# ) 4... Kxc8 5. Re8#

You need to work out today'sconflict before it turns into an all-out war. That could mean backing down on a key issue or enlistingsupport that turns the tide in an overwhelming way.

aRiesYour affectionatenature is out inforce today, andyou should find that your good energy is helping yourpeople to feel better aboutthemselves. Things keepgetting better on your watch!

tauRusTry to take care ofbills and otherpaperwork that you've leftlying around -- this is one ofthose make-or-break dayswhen they might get lost forgood. Once they're clearedaway, you feel better, too!

geMini

If you're facingwhat looks like abig problem, now is the time to break it down into bite-sized pieces. You may find it difficult at first, but it getseasier as the day progresses.

canceR

You need tocommunicate withpeople -- like your friends and family. It's easier thanever to track down folks you haven't seen or heardfrom in quite some time, sofind a way to reconnect.

You feel somewhat more withdrawn than usual, but don't fret -- it's only natural! You need time toreflect and figure out what'sreally going on, and then youcan get back in the game.

leo

Someone isn't tellingyou everything you need to know -- and thatcould mean that you'rerunning blind. You may justhave to accept that for now,but at least you can slow down so you don't hit a wall.

aQuaRius

Now is theperfect time toclear out your home or work space to ready it for whatever big plans you'recooking up. Your energy isoverwhelmingly positive andyou're ready for some closure.

viRgo

Your analyticalside is out inforce right now, helping you figure out patterns andmake the most of yourresources. It's one of thosedays when you need to breakeverything down to the details.

piscescapRicoRn

Your social life isstirring today --maybe in a big way! Yourenergy is great for makingdates and appointments,juggling multiple balls and justmaking sure that you're notstaring at any downtime soon.

liBRaNew informationis coming today -- get ready for a quick change! Your ability to adapt is well known, so as long as you cankeep yourself well informed,you should be just fine.

scoRpioYour social skills arestill intact -- but yourpatience may not be! At least one person (and morelikely more than that) isdriving you up the wall today,so try to take frequent time-outs to catch your breath.

sagittaRius

BRIDGE

cRoSSwoRD

Fill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and eachof the squares contains all the digits. the object is to insert thenumbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, columnand 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.

how to pLAy

woRD SEARch

ACROSS

1. not a hundred percent3. moreover4. dead beat7. apply8. firm11. hawaiian dish12. hack14. Most QuestionableMonsters17. law enforcement 18. sadly19. formerly 22. prohibit23. decompose25. cheat27. acronym. armyregulations28. president’s puppet31. compel32. acronym. open learninginitiative 33. metropolis 34. veer36. shove38. professional 40. acronym. generalservices administration41. grieve 43. exclamation44. date45. rodent

46. city under fire47. inferior

DOWN

1. board-up 2. sign3. something done5. minister who dyed hishair purple6. used to indicate directionor form8. drench9. big horn nosed animals10 acronym. not elsewhereclassified13. mesh15. (in prescriptions) asmuch as desired16. powerful undergroundgroup20. snarl21. beat24. observe 25. mongrel26. stomp29. bird of enormous size30. blemish31. descend 35. melodic37. stop39. stink40. circular course42. comes with a boat

GARFIELD

By Sana Dar By Sana Dar

closing bell

“Youundercooked

the books andnow half our

accounting staff is out

with salmonellapoisoning!”

RecklessMindlessRashMoRonicRottenMeRcenaRyRancoRMisuseRepulsiveReManMalicMaliceRevoltingMeanRepellentMuRdeReRRuthlessMalignant

Sunday, 28 August, 2011

Pictu

res b

y the

Auth

or

By Salman Rashid

Ashraf Ali, my friend who was taking me from Saidu Sharif to Gut Bela said he called

it the lost valley. Even though it is less than seven kilometres from the Khwazakhela-Malam Jabba road, separated as it is from the latter by a high ridge, it is yet remote, said Ashraf. It’s a beautiful valley with friendly people but one where no tourists ever go.Having picked up Ehsanullah Khan, a most likeable friend I had never met until this day, a man who grows quality fruit and lives in a beautiful little cottage amid apple, peach and pear trees we went up the winding road to Malam Jabba. Ehsanullah Khan, sixty-three, clean-cut, good looking and suave is the archetypal Khan as they once made them. Well-bred, cultured and educated he, a right proper gentleman, yet prefers to live in his village and mind his orchard. In fact, even in the dark Night of the Terrorists, he stayed put. He says he was periodically stopped at the terrorists’ check post but always let off without

any trouble.Only six months earlier I had been on this same road in an attempt to reach Malam Jabba after a heavy fall of snow. At one point even the 4x4 we were in foundered. No amount of trying with all wheels driving in low ration would get the jeep going without slithering this way and that – and in a most frightful way. We gave up and returned. But now, some few kilometres short of the once-upon-a-time ski resort we turned right off the road.‘Road’ was a misnomer for the track we drove on. Pitted, studded with huge rocks it had deep ruts in the gooey surface. Later we were told in the village that for several days it had rained every afternoon and with the passage of a light truck or two, the so-called road had been completely ruined. But the Gut Bela community still considered themselves fortunate. Only until the army’s arrival to flush out the terrorists from the area, there had only been a foot track connecting Gut Bela with the main road. With bulldozers, the army created this road to transport troops to the outlaws’ hideouts. It was only understandable that after their work was done, the army did not maintain it any further. In the event it took us over an hour to travel 6.8 kilometres!Ours was no ordinary outing, however. Ehsanullah had young Shafiullah in tow with his cargo of several huge plastic bags stuffed with new clothing. This was to be distributed to the good people of Gut Bela. They were so poor, said Khan Sahib, that their plastic shoes

had patches. To add to their misery, the flood of 2010 had destroyed their little patches of cultivation.Whereas any other similar village would have had a thriving agricultural community, Gut Bela could only boast of subsistence farming. Remote and inaccessible as it had always been, it was wracked by poverty because of the difficulty of taking farm produce to the road head near Malam Jabba. Moreover, situated at the bottom of a narrow gorge, the agriculture was all done in tiny terraced fields, much of which were washed away by the floods sweeping down the slopes. But when the community applied to the district government for flood relief, they were told there was no way their little valley could have been affected.Why, whoever heard of a flood in a stream as little as the one that washes their valley? The mandarins of the administration could simply not understand that in this case, the flood had swept not only in the streams, but down every slope as well as the rain came down like no one had ever seen it coming down. Consequently, Gut Bela was bypassed for aid.With all their agriculture lost, the people were reduced to dire straits. While their village lay covered by winter snow, the men made do by working as labourers in the plains. And as the thaws set in again, they returned to try and reclaim as much of their terraced land as they could. But with holdings of as little as one or two kanals to each family, even this was hardly anything to get excited about. But this time round,

the farmers knew they would be able to get their potato harvest out to the market for meanwhile a little miracle had taken place.Ehsanullah Khan first came to Gut Bela in September 2009 shortly after it had been cleared of terrorists by the army. It was like coming to a human settlement the day after doomsday. He recounts that when he asked what it was that the community needed most of all, he was told they needed a bridge. A man led Khan sahib outside the village to a high point and pointed to a stream dashing over huge rocks. If they had a bridge across that stream, said the man, and if the foot track leading to the road head at Bishbund just five and a half kilometres from the village was improved for wheeled traffic, they would be able get their produce out in good time.As a member of the board of governors of Sarhad Rural Support Program, Ehsanullah Khan got the necessary funding and work on the bridge began in May 2010. With the men of the village working as labourers, the abutments for the bridge were in place waiting for the top slab to be laid when the deluge came. As the stream laced with large rocks raged against the brand new masonry, the men who had toiled long hours to raise it held their breath praying for it to hold.And it held. It held, says Khan sahib, because it was built by honest toil by men whose very lives depended on it and not by government contractors. If the Gut Bela farmers had hoped to have had their bridge and road in place to take their potato crop to the Khwazakhela market, their hopes were dashed for even as they prayed for their bridge to hold, they watched their terraced fields virtually lifted off the mountainside and washed into the river at the bottom of the valley.As we progressed along the dirt trail to the village, I thought of the dozens of similar valleys where I had trekked in days gone by. The hillsides were covered with pines alive with birdsong, the trail, deserted and lonely, was crossed by rills of crystal water. Below us, hidden from view by the vegetation, we could hear the hum of the river. This was a trekker’s paradise, but later in the village I learned

that never, even in the days of peace before the terrorist takeover, did any walkers come this way looking, looking (to borrow a phrase from the late mountaineer Galen Rowell).In the village, the entire male population turned up along with some girls below age nine. While Shafiullah dished out his bundles of clothing with Ehsanullah Khan by his side, I talked to some men. This was a community untouched by the flood of tourists that had brought prosperity to the rest of Swat before things went bad in 2007.Pointing to the three large houses nearby, I remarked these could well serve as hotels for passing travellers. The man said no one wanted to be in Swat because all ‘you journalists’ ever wrote was about the, mayhem, the shooting and killing. He asked me if I had heard a single shot being fired or explosives going off in my time in Swat. When I replied in the negative, he instructed me to go home and tell everyone that the district was no more violent than any other place in Pakistan.Done with the distribution of clothing, we drove on to the bridge. From the centre of the village where we were parked,

the shiny rocks bordering the trail were evidence that only recently dynamiting had taken place to widen the path. Only about a year ago, I was told, this was just a foot path. Across the bridge, we were soon on the old three-kilometre laid by the government from Bishbund.If Gut Bela were anywhere near, say, Islamabad, it would be a favourite walking trail. Folks could have left their cars at the turn off Malam Jabba, walked down to the village to refresh themselves with sweet milky tea and take in the scenery. Then by the brand new trail, across the bridge, to Bishbund all of twelve and a half kilometres from road head to road head. This is good walking, much of it through pristine forest. There is no dearth of birdlife and those who care may even be able to spot martens and other animals of the family.The good folks of Gut Bela may just be waiting for the first hill walkers to pass through their valley before they open their tea shops for business.

–Salman Rashid, rated as the best in the country, is a travel writer and photographer who has travelled all around Pakistan and written about his journeys.

The hillsides were covered with pines alive with birdsong, the trail, deserted and lonely, was crossed by rills of crystal water

The Lost Valley

08The good folks

of Gut Bela may just be waiting for

the first hill walkers to pass

through their valley before

they open their tea shops for

business