By Begum Mumtaz Rashdi
"Leela ay may Laheen
Ta pin leela eej
Asrow may la hees
Sajjan sabajeendar Ghanow"
I begin with Shah Abdul Latif. And for Thar, his significant verse is relevant even at present times. For the ruler and for the ruled - he says, "Try, Try, Try again, and you shall at last succeed. If at first you do not succeed, God will eventually come to your rescue and He will help you."
Long before I had come, seen and then been conquered by Sindh, I had read about the great Thar desert.
In the Eastern Himalayan domain that was my home, the exotic dimensions of a desert land in Sindh, conjured fantastic possibilities. The very names of Rann of Cutch, the Thar desert, the immense salt marsh; nearly 160 miles in length from east to west, and 80 miles in breadth from north to south - imagine an area, estimated at 7000 square miles - was stuff for dreams.
One often mused, and thought of such far away places, only to be read of in books: of Thar's unusual flora and fauna, of people, who sang and danced with pulsating rhythm and melody; brilliant colours in dress that stood out as bright specks on the basic, buff colours of undulating miles of desert sand. All, at that time, seemed out of reach; particularly from one's vision and vantage point.
Yet fate played a hand and I made several treks into Thar and Parkar, at last, reliving my imagination, and trying at the same time, to gauge and fathom the reality with the imagined land. It was a serendipititious discovery!
One had entered Thar with a subjective mind since fascination, presupposes a subjective approach. And everything in Thar and Parker seemed supra-natural; sweeping dimensions. The perspective in any case, is vast; uncompromising to a puny human mind.
In sojourns into rural areas of Sindh, one unabashedly resorts to a philosophical trend in interpretation of things seen and emotions emanating spontaneously. The subjective approach is important, though no longer fashionable.
Things seen or observed are either steeped in beauty; original nature at her best; or, the stark, heartrending scenes of poverty and backwardness in a society, rich in civilization and culture. Harsh thoughts naturally traps the sensitive soul at the unfortunate discrepancies. As it is, there is no uniform development in two thirds of rural areas in Pakistan. While urban areas have burgeoned without planning; monstrous and sick-making like small pox sores. From the sleazy, "developed" district town of Mirpurkhas, one is suddenly transported to Naukot, with its fine, Talpur period fort into the timelessness of the vast "Thar."
The first time, I traveled on a four-wheel drive vehicle, parched throat occasionally relieved by gulps of warm water from a thermos bottle, I found that the sands had miles of waves, harkening back 20,000 years, when all of Nagar Parkar was one, vast sea, right up to the coastal belt towards Tando Mohammad Khan and Laki hills in the North. The jolting of the Waggoneer jeep was so regular that if lulled my mind and the rhythm of travel, sang Shah Latif's telling verse on Thar: "Wakuf na wankar a jee, Pani Khaeam na pao, Jabbal jal dai you karay Lagi Look Latif chay ay, Muzuran Mathao, Uttay O do aao Jeeth - thay hotta, hayk lee ayaha. (The hot, burning winds beat upon the poor people of Thar. I do not know of trees nor do I even have a pao of water. Even the mountains are heated. On Allah, it is zulum on us, the people of Thar.)
The sea phenomenon in Thar, of ancient times, is obvious in other areas of Sindh. In my sojourns into the beautiful hinterlands of Dadu district, I have found evidence of marine life - fossilized shells and sea horses in the hills of Nain and Naee Gajj (above 5000 ft). Also, ranges of dark, craggy, under-water hills, so unusual above land. Which goes to prove the contention of geologists that all this area was once a vast sea. And then the sea receded and Thar was born, as an enormous desert.
At present, Pakistan blooms because of freedom except Thar, which still has no water; either from Nature's bounty like rain or from the able hand of our various governments and hydrological experts! And yet there is the quaintessential beauty in the miles of sand; artistically twisted, fossilized plants, long ranges of silken sand dunes. Hamlets with charming, rustic straw cottages of unusual round shape that speaks of the neatnes and diligence of a people accustomed to make a great deal out of nothing. By which I mean the ability to make something useful, even beutiful, out of meagre materials.
This used to be a different world. A people dotted sparingly like a few scrub trees, sparse in number yet so charming, so simple, as if life had just began. Time stood still. One felt as if God has sent man to earth at this very moment. One entered Thar, mentally prepared to see the world as it was eons ago. My mind reflected the immoratal poet of Sindh when he said: "Wadda Wana wankar ja Jeetay nang suffar neela. Uttay Abdul Latif Chay eay Kay ya hayk heela. Jeethay kurma n Qabila Uttay ras jay rahbar rah may." (When there is some heavy growth of plants or scrub, and where snakes are blue, there Abdul Latif pleads to God for these people of Thar who are alone. There are no tribes, nor friends except these poor, lonely folk. Shah pleads to God to save them. Who else will help them).
Thar : Kesariya Balama Padharo Maro Des
Obviously, life in Thar is incredibly difficult even in modern times. Romanticism, although conjured up by fascinated motivation can delude. Only when one lives with the local inhabitants and experiences the mechanics of day to day life, does truth dawn and one is face to face with reality.
This life is cruel. Years of drought, of neglect by a series of powers that be, is gradually exposed as one travels on towards various small villages and settlements, beginning from Mithi, Diplo, Chachro and Nagar, which are really villages although people here call them "Shahar" (towns) and they have some well constructed, "pucca" houses. Ofcourse, these villages, like Diplo, have evolved an highly educated society and bright civil servants for Pakistan. The Memon tribe of Diplo are famous for being highly educated. They make excellent bureaucrats and shrewd businessmen. Apart from that they have distinguished themselves as lawyers, doctors and engineers. And the Hindu community, is most diligent and hardworking. It pictures the basic characteristic of these hardy people who are optimistic, full of initiative, struggling to better their lives without the whining that citizens of big cities, inspite of comparatively better live, indulge in.
The reality of the desert without life-giving water, pushes hard into one's faculties, driving away the romance of the Thar desert. The reality hits urgently, with inistence on what is fundamentally lacking. The man and woman of Thar, are the most deprived of the people in Sindh, and ofcourse, Pakistan.
All the problems of Thar, arise basically from the lack of fresh water for drinking and irrigation. Obviously, highways and link roads should be there, as well as power and electricity. But all this emanates from water. Without the main ingredient for sustenance of life, nothing is meaningful.
In this immense area, where communications seem insurmountable, the agricultural front presents a bleak picture. The areas like Digri, Sultanabad, Jamesabad, Mirpurkhas, Tando Mohammad khan, Tando Adam, Tando Allahyar and Umerkot are developed. From here the actual desert begins. Ironically these towns all benefit from the deprivations of the Thar inhabitants; they get cheap labour!
People of Thar are forced to leave their homes and labour in these irrigated areas. Like nomads they migrate with all they own, which is meagre enough and some heads of cattle. And they come into civilizatins and labour diligently for the big zamindars of these areas. Cotton kings of these areas are flamboyantly evident, in Karachi as political and social leaders lording it over their pseudo Corinthian columned mansions! During most of the year there is no rain in Thar. Perchance, if there is rain, they go back home to harvest, also by chance. The seeds of "guar" they had planted when they left home and covered with soil, sprout. They had left home praying that God will send some rain for their sustenance!
The hydrography of Thar, presents therefore, an intimidating picture. The water system is confined solely to the part of Thar watered by the Nara. There are no torrents, no floods, canals or rivers in the Thar and Parkar proper. The dry, Eastern Nara exists. The Nara canal however, is unable to reach the Mithrau canal which the British commenced in 1858-69 and was intended to irrigate western, or the more elevated portions of Thar.
It is an accepted fact that in Thar, as in some other part of Sindh, the lack of fresh water has inhibited Sindh from developing as it should. If this is solved then Thar would become a wonderfully, livable area of Sindh. So much could happen. Consider the millionaires' playground of Palm Springs in the USA. The only differnce between these two areas is that Americans have managed to get fresh water into Palm Springs. Then they developed areas where there are meanas of income for the inhabitants. The results are such, that it is ridiculous to compare Palm Springs and Thar since the two are literally like heaven and hell in comparison. And yet, ironically, Palm Springs does not have the spectacular culture, fabulous handicrafts, pulsating folk music and dance, and endearing people of Thar! Once the water problem is solved, its richness could be developed by modern education and technology, which lies close enough in Tando Jam and Hyderabad and two hundred miles away, in Karachi.
The Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) will serve the already developed areas of Sanghar and Umerkot, more than Nagar, where the potential and success of agriculture is great because of the excellent, sandy loam soil. One could lay vast farms of sugarcane. Only, if there was enough water! Therefore there can be no greater emphasis than on the fact that reclamation can begin with immediate arrangements for water for Thar and the rest of the development will then naturally follow.
There are perhaps reams of papers drawn up after several hundred hours of meetings by experts in WAPDA, the Ministry of Irrigation and Works, not to speak of the all important, Planning & Development Department.
Yet, I beg the experts to consider a suggestion that I have presented in major national newspapers and in one book, for the last 22 years. That we should get Australian assistance and set up Artesian Wells in Thar and the ares of Kohistan, which will give immediate, trouble free irrigation and cover two thirds of lower and upper Sindh. We have enough ground water in these areas for artesian wells. Mr Mohammad Hussein Panwhar's (former S.E. Agricultural Engineering, Government of Sindh) book and expertise should be able to give a definite plan. The new Directorate, in charge of development of the Arid Zone of Sindh has willed and worked itself as a disaster! But corruption free and supported by qualified officials and personnel, it is in reality an ideal institutions to deal with this matter. Balochistan has proved it. One should be forgiven for being repetitious - ad nauseum -nevertheless one cannot help but visualize the exciting possibilities of a vast sugarcane belt in Thar and deciduous fruit orchard of apples, apricots, almonds and pistachios in the Khirthar ranges of Dadu district!
In Balochistan, the Extension Department of the Agriculture Ministry are experimenting with traditional form of ancient systems of rustic irrigation with modern methods. Their experiences should also be useful to us in Thar. Most important, the state should think of Thar in terms of overall development which need not put emphasis on agriculture alone. There is coal which presents the prospect of diamonds. And the minerals are countless. Again the reference to Palm Springs; to tourism, carpet weaving, embroidery and handicrafts and to industries, based on raw materials and minerals available in Thar and Parkar.
The compassionate poet of Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif had felt the beckoning urgency of reclamation of Thar even centuries ago. Being what he was, he expressed his sorrow in splendid verse. Like a helpless human being, and unable to do anything else, he finally appealed to God to succor the deprived people of Thar. He sang of the cruel, burning land lying thirsty, for centuries; "Moo wat ayo ko na ko Bha o ran Bharay pera. Kitab a too Kayr anay dindam oona jo." (There is none to solace me. There are no camels, who came bringing my brothers to ask after my welfare. Oh Allah, What hope Do I have?)
This verse is from Marvi. A fragment of Shah's analogy to authorities and Society in Sindh, expressing the despair of the people of Thar.