Author: Satyabrata Rai
Chowdhuri
Publication: Newstime
Date: August 27, 2000
The Fierce ethnic hostilities
that broke out in Karachi and other parts of Sindh on August 8, although
a recurrent phenomenon in Pakistan, have once again brought into focus
the failure of the military junta to find a solution to the longstanding
problems and grievances of a large section of population - the Mohajirs.
These problems are linked with larger issues of economic justice and political
autonomy. Until and unless these problems are honestly addressed, peace
will never return to this province and amity among different ethnic groups
will remain a chimerical goal.
The Mohajirs were in
the forefront of the movement for Pakistan, but unfortunately for them,
the land of Islam, as envisioned by them, was formed else where - in the
north-east and northwest of erstwhile British India, riot in the Muslim
minority provinces where this movement was spearheaded. Imbued with immense
political aspirations, the Muslims of these provinces migrated from India
to live in the land of their dreams, which was nurtured and created by
them. Though they were termed as refugees, they were actually migrants
since there was no compulsion for them to leave their home other than the
objective of living in their "holy state" created by them. They had never
any objection to their reference as "Mohajirs" because this term was associated
with the 'hijrat' or migration of Prophet Mohammad from Mecca to Madina.
The Mohajirs took great pride in this term that had a religious connotation
and was, thus, legitimate and contextually appropriate in a country created
m the basis of religion.
Coopted
The Mohajirs who migrated
to Pakistan in search of greener pastures were mostly bureaucrats, businessmen,
and rich landlords who expected to retain their predominant position in
Pakistani society and politics. In the initial phase, they were coopted
by the dominant Punjabi feudal class in their struggle for power and a
place in the newly created political structure. Within a short time they
not only sidelined other ethnic groups in the bureaucracy of the newly
created political condominium but also were politically predominant due
to their role in the creation of Pakistan.
Almost all the Mohajirs
migrated to Karachi which being the capital of the newly created state
could provide all the benefits and opportunities that are associated with
a capital city. Karachi was riot only the power centre of the new state
but also a port city and the businessmen among the Mohajirs wanted to settle
there because of the transportation and business facilities. In 1948, Karachi
was separated from Sindh an the capital thus providing the Mohajirs with
a territorial identity to their hitherto political identity.
The Mohajirs, along with
the Punjabis, became well entrenched in the emerging power equation of
Pakistan and their position was further strengthened with the declaration
of Urdu as the national language.
Thus the new state had
a dominant power elite confined to a particular section of society firmly
rooted in ethnicity. The Mohajirs were well-educated civil servants and
were politically more articulate along with the Punjabis and thus were
at the helm of affairs in Pakistan's administrative structure. They were
urbanities in contrast to the predominantly rural population of the state.
The political articulation of the Mohajirs became evident in the movement
against Ayub's regime in 1968-69, the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA)
movement of Bhutto and the movement for restoration of Democracy (MRD)
against Zia. Soon the interests of the Mohajirs, comprising 24.2 per cent
of the population of Sindh, came into direct clash with those of the Sindhis
who comprised 55.7 per cent of the population. This Sindhi-Mohajir divide
was based on the competition for the ethnic control of economic benefits
through access to employment and education. Most of the Sindhis were landless
tenants dependent on big landlords for their sustenance and survival. Due
to halfhearted and inadequate land reforms, they had no escape from the
socio-economic reality of deprivation. The landless Sindhis, in their quest
for employment in the government faced stiff competition from the urbanite
Mohajirs who had strong linkage in the bureaucracy which was important
given the level of corruption. As ethnicity only strengthened such linkages,
the struggle for employment embittered the relations between the ethnic
communities.
To make things worse,
the imposition of Urdu as the national language alienated the Sindhis while
the sense of cultural pride and superiority of the Mohajirs who never failed
to overplay their role in the creation of Pakistan. This is the reason
why the Mohajirs' resistance to ethnic assimilation has been so strong
that there is hardly any common ground to meet the societal parameter of
different communities living in Sindh. As a result, the social gap between
the two predominant communities in Sindh began to widen with the linguistic
and cultural differences. According to 1981 census, 52 per cent of the
population of Sindh consisted of those whose first language was Sindhi
and only 22 per cent spoke Urdu. This reflects the fallacy of the linguistic
policy of the government which alienated the indigenous people in their
own province.
The Sindh politics after
1971 was characterised by inter-ethnic competition for power and the Mohajirs
found themselves marginalised, given the dynamics of the emerging power
equations. As foreign educated groups from the landowning class virtually
monopolised privileged positions in the bureaucracy, the Mohajirs' clout
with the government began to wane. They did not have the political constituency
to fight elections from and they lacked social roots for mass mobilisation.
For more than two decades
they were junior partners of the military masters who had substantially
alienated themselves from the masses with whom they had neither social
linkages nor political affiliations. In 1972, the declaration of Sindhi
as the official language of Sindh further constrained the socioeconomic
aspirations of Mohajirs. All this had resulted in the fact that the Mohajirs
were now a disgruntled section of the population of Sindh. With the erosion
of the Mohajirs' domination, their discontent and frustration gave rise
to mounting tension between the two communities leading to frequent outbreak
of violence between them. Sindh thus became a hotbed of fierce ethnic conflict.
The Mohajirs' disenchantment and grievances were reflected in the Charter
of Demands presented by the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) to the government.
The quota system in government is one of the major grievances of Mohajirs.
At present, 10 per cent of the quota is awarded on the basis of merit,
50 per cent for Punjab and 19 per cent for Sindh, of which 11.4 per cent
is for rural Sindh and 7.6 per cent for urban Sindh, 11.5 per cent for
Sarhad, 3.5 per cent for Baluchistan, and the rest for Pak occupied Kashmir
and federally administered tribal areas (FATA). The grievance of the Mohajirs
in Sindh is that these regional quotas need readjustment because the population
has increased over a period of time. They also demand to be recognised
as a separate nationality and allotted 20 per cent quota at the Centre,
and between 50 and 60 per cent in Sindh, to be shared only by Sindhis and
Mohajirs.
Complications
Among other grievances,
the Mohajirs have taken up the issue of repatriation of the Biharis (stranded
Pakistanis in Bangladesh). But their repatriation is beset with many complications.
The issue of where these people axe going to be settled is an explosive
question. The Sindhis will resist their settlement in Sindh because it
will strengthen the Mohajirs' clout in Sindh, since both Mohajirs and Biharis
have the same political origin - "migrants from India".
The MQM's charter of
demands includes: issue of domicile certificates to people who have lived
in Sindh for 20 years and the Biharis are to be exempted from such requirements;
only locals are to be recruited in the police force; issue of arms licences,
shifting of Afghan refugees to the camps near the border, provision of
employment by the government to tackle the influx of people; restriction
of voting rights only to the locale; lowering of voting age; job quota
to be shared by Sindhis and Mohajirs an the basis of population; recognition
of Mohajirs as a sub-nationality in the constitution and the immediate
repatriation of the Biharis.
While the Mohajirs are
agitating for, the fulfillment of their demands, violence in Karachi and
other parts of Sindh is going on unabated with new forces emerging. The
feud now involves criminal gangs, Sunni and Shia Muslims, native Sindhis
and Mohajirs, and rival factions of the Mohajir community. In this inter
and intra ethnic fights sophisticated arms are being freely used. Extortion
and illicit drug trafficking are part of nor, mal business and have flourished
under the cover of police-criminal nexus. This in turn has added to the
violence making it more and more bloody.
