Sindh is in need of a paradigm shift in mindset and it cannot happen unless its middle class changes its way of thinking, according to intellectuals, writers and leaders of nationalist parties.
At a reception hosted here on Wednesday by the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) for the leaders of Sindhi Association of North America (Sana), speakers said there were several misperceptions among people which needed to be cleared first to bring about a structural change in Sindhi society.
The speakers included Dr Waleed Sheikh, the chief of Sana, STPP chairman Dr Qadir Magsi, Dr Rajab Memon, writer Agha Saleem, Dr Manzoor Ejaz, Ghulam Nabi Mughal, Jami Chandio, Zulfikar Halepoto and Abdul Hameed Sindhi.
Dr Sheikh expressed sadness over the state of affairs in Sindh. “Nothing has changed in LMC [Liaquat Medical College] over the years. Only a huge complex [Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences] has been built in its place.
“But why such a huge structure….are they making a nuclear bomb? Universities are for research, but we are told that universities will give jobs to Sindhis,” he said.
He asked the audience to tell him who was responsible for this depressing picture, wondering where was the conspiracy. “A teacher is killed merely because he wants discipline,” he said.
He bemoaned that neither students wanted to study nor did teachers want to impart education. “Nations are not built in this manner. People will again vote for feudals and will blame them again. I remember how people cried when Benazir Bhutto returned after Z.A. Bhutto’s hanging,” he said.
“People’s approach to questions of their survival has not changed,” he observed, likening it to insanity, which he defined as repeating of a mistake but hoping for a miracle every time. “Our middle class has to grow. Otherwise we will be sliding into a morass.”
Agha Saleem disagreed with the view that Sindh was ready for change and termed it a wishful thinking. “Don’t get excited because nothing has changed. Nothing can be changed unless feudal mindset is changed.
“There was a feudal even inside the late Pir Pagara and Nawab Akbar Bugti, although they had studied abroad,” he said. He recalled an observation by Karl Marx that the French revolution was not brought about by Rousseau or Voltaire but by the middle class.
Dr Manzoor Ejaz, a Sana leader, said Sindhis needed to look for their enemy within.
Dr Ejaz, who spoke in Punjabi, dispelled an impression that Sindhis were biased and advised people not to blame external factors for their failure. “Middle class intellectuals often get carried away by overblown nationalism instead of doing their bit for raising awareness.”
Ejaz Turk, another Sana leader, emphasised the need for keeping Sindhi alive, saying it was pathetic that children were unable to read Bhittai because of poor skills in the language.
“Parents and teachers are responsible for it because no Jewish or Punjabi conspiracy can be blamed for this inadequacy.”
Abdul Hameed Sindhi said love of literature and language were vital to reformation of a society. “The present struggle is an economic war. The plight of Sindh and its people are pitiable.”
Zulfikar Halepoto said Sindh was ripe for change. The crisis had its roots in differences between middle class intellectuals and those writers who were “ideologically confused and hostage to vested interests”, he said. “Participation of all groups is a must before any struggle for change can succeed.”
Jami Chandio, a writer, disagreed with Zulfikar Halepoto’s views about middle class intellectuals, contending that Sindhis were awake. “We need to convert this crisis into a one-time opportunity because people are losing their emotional attachment with PPP this time,” he observed.
Dr Qadir Magsi, the chief of Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, disagreed with most of the speakers in their indictment of nationalists, asserting that nationalists had played an important role in bringing about an awakening among Sindhis.
“We have seen 60 years of despair, but hope is in the air now,” he said.
Dr Magsi said people living in posh areas did not represent Sindh’s thinking. “If you want to meet a real Sindhi you will have to meet those hit by floods and rains in Kharocchan and Badin who were left in the lurch by the government. We stepped in to take care of them.”
The STPP chief was dismissive about the perception that democracy was in danger. “It’s a fake democracy in the first place. It is in danger because of one man. There has never been democracy in the country.”
