By Waqar Gillani
If you are a peace activist and want to raise voice for peace between India and Pakistan by exchanging delegates, it is hard to be on either part of the border. You might consider yourself an activist but the mighty establishments and security agencies think otherwise – for them you are either a "spy" or worst still a "terrorist".
These forces have a leading role in scanning each and every visa application before stamping it.
Pak-India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) is a registered forum of peace activists from both sides, established about 16 years ago. A joint meeting of the forum has not been possible in the past four years because of non-issuance of visas to activists on both sides.
This is not the first time that the peace activists have been denied visa. "Even Pakistani activists scheduled to go to India for a joint convention could not make it and the joint convention had to be cancelled," Kamran Islam, coordinator PIPFPD tells TNS.
"We are unable to hold a joint convention either in India or Pakistan. This time, the forum has scheduled its convention in Jammu. The date of the convention has twice been postponed because of visa rejection and it is feared that it may not be held even on the scheduled dates in March because delaying tactics are still being used by the Indian embassy," he says.
Islam points out that Pakistani embassy had not issued visa to the 11 members of the core committee of the forum to attend a meeting scheduled in Pakistan in February.
"This is the price for raising voice for peace which we are paying," he says.
These are the activists who have accepted that certain issues like Kashmir are controversial, a stance denied by the Indian establishment and the governments. "This is what we have achieved through peace activism in 60 years. We have declared Kashmir as a disputed area which the establishment and the government of India always deny," says IA Rehman, secretary general Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and an active member of the PIPFPD.
"Peace activists on both sides have done something positive which governments on both sides could not do in the past 60 years," he maintains.
South Asian free Media Association (SAFMA), another established forum working for regional peace and harmony, has also proposed a visa free regime for recognised journalists in South Asia. It has managed exchange of journalists on both sides of border frequently and proposed a protocol for starting liberal visa regime through SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) framework.
Such peace prompting organisations have always been rejecting the current restrictive visa regime and restrictions on the free movement of people, goods and information. They call upon the governments and the people to revise visa regime and allow a liberal visa on the border posts and other entry-exist points while exempting journalists, business people, academicians, artists, writers, students and elderly from the formalities of visa.
The interesting point is that both countries do not issue visa for tourism but mostly for religious rituals etc. "It is not a tourism visa regime," says Tapan Bose, the secretary general of Indian chapter of the PIPFPD, who recently visited Pakistan to raise the voice for making visa procedures easy.
"We want visa on arrival like its happening in many other countries of South Asia such as Nepal, Sri Lanka etc," he says. "This can serve as clear example that bigotry between the both countries is decreasing and there is an openness to allow the peoples on both sides to come and go."
This also can promote tourism, trade and business activities. But instead of focusing on such peace promoting steps like making a liberal visa regime, both nuclear states have fast increased their defence expenditures, says Bose. "Both nuclear states failed to decrease their conventional arms and forces despite promises after attaining the status of nuclear power. India is even ahead in defence expenditures."
Pakistan and India had many consulates on both sides before 1990s. Pakistan had its consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata while India had in Karachi. But these consulates were closed after serious blow to the Pak-India ties in 1990s.
The visas issued by Pakistan to Indians are mostly on religious grounds — to the Sikh community. The visa clearance on both sides involves security agencies. The visitors on both sides also require a "police report" after they cross either side of the border to keep proper eye on their activities.
This lengthy and cumbersome procedure of visa adds to the worries of peace activists.
"We want more consulates and reopening of the previously closed offices of both countries on the other side of the border," says Dr Mubashir Hasan, noted peace activist. He suggests that there should be one window operation for the issuance of visa to ease out the problems of the activists. "Visa is the first and primary but the most important permit to promote peace which should be made easy," he demands, adding, "That is why the governments on both sides have made it strict so that there should be least exchange and less talks of peace by people."
Peace activists on both sides firmly believe in continuing to raise voice for peace despite visa odds. "We hope that the start of composite dialogues between the both countries after more than one year gap because of Mumbai attacks will be helpful in prompting peace through exchanging more and more delegations," wishes Bose.
"All issues should be resolved issues while continuing talks and friendship."
Mar 2, 2010
Vanishing Voices
Taking stock of the tripartite challenges to the survival of indigenous languages of Gilgit-Baltistan posed by
globalisation, communication and modernity
By Aziz Ali Dad
"There is no document of civilisation that is not at the same time a document of barbarism." Walter Benjamin
Because of the compression of time and space under the influence of technology the contemporary age is known as "Global Village". This is the first time in the history of mankind that local, national, regional and international events influence one another in various ways. Gilgit-Baltistan is also not immune to globalisation. My main focus here would be to take stock of the tripartite challenges posed by globalisation, communication and modernity for the survival of indigenous languages of Gilgit-Baltistan. Examining the current situation of indigenous languages in the region vis-à-vis exogenous forces, which include, market forces and their repercussions on local vernaculars.
Till now the region of Gilgit-Baltistan remained incommunicado with the outside world. There are many disadvantages of remaining in isolation. But the situation of isolation was not without benefits. Owing to the inaccessibility of Gilgit-Baltistan, the locals had to rely on their own resources to cope with the challenges emanating from nature and management of the society. The traditional system of governance in the region is one of the examples of indigenously developed governance mechanisms. But the finest illustration of creativity of the closed society is the development of various languages within the boundaries of Gilgit-Baltistan. Balti, Brushaski, Shina, Khowar, Wakhi, Domaki and other languages are pieces of creativity on the cultural tapestry of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The isolated status of Gilgit-Baltistan started to wane with the advent of the British Empire. The British arrived here with governance structure and rational institutions, which were a product of modernity. These developments played instrumental role in opening of hitherto isolated societies to the forces of modernity and communication.
After the British, the region got connected with the southern parts of Pakistan a through jeep able road in 1950s. During the 1970s the region witnessed opening of the Karakoram Highway. It connected Gilgit-Baltistan China and facilitated easy flow of exogenous goods, people, lifestyle and trends into the region. Although, the KKH and modern means of communication benefited it was not without cost. One of the costs of modernisation is increasing threat to the survival of vernaculars.
Since the society, economy, lifestyle and governance of Gilgit-Baltistan have undergone drastic changes in last four decades, it is natural to have repercussions of these changes on language. Previously, the local languages were organically interfused with local power structure, culture and society.
The autochthonous languages have become marginalised in different spheres of life. With urbanisation of various places in Gilgit-Baltistan and migration of native people have made the vocabulary associated with hunting, agriculture, shamanism, local arts and crafts irrelevant. Hence, various life worlds connected with these areas disappeared.
Introduction of mass literacy and service sector through rationalization of society and economy proved conducive in bringing about change in the socio-economic lot of the society. Nevertheless, local languages are disconnected with the power structure that determines the contours of society, economy, and education sector, administrative and political structure. As a result, people have opted for Urdu and English languages, which open new opportunities and bring power and prestige. Native languages are not part of the medium of instruction in educational institutions and government offices. The disconnection between power and language has far reaching consequences. This factor will determine, to great extent, the fate of local languages in the future.
Other than exogenous factors, local socio-cultural ethos and pressures have contributed to the extinction of local languages. The case of Domaki language is a case in point. This is a language spoken by artisan class of Hunza. In the traditional social and tribal set up Domaki speakers were marginalized group and fall in the lowest stratum in social hierarchy of Gilgit. Hence, power structure and social ethos also treated them as anathema. In reality they were repository and creators of arts, indigenous engineering, crafts and music. In this sense they were guardians of indigenous knowledge.
Mass education has opened new vistas of progress and social mobility to subaltern groups like Doms — people who speak Domaki language and musicians. Ashamed of their heritage and knowledge they were forced to relinquish their centuries old heritage and professions and opt for modern occupations.
True empowerment is that which enables one to progress without losing one’s right to being linguistically and professional dissimilar or having different identity. These are the people who did not find a modus vivendi in either tradition or modern structures. The former kept their role and identity fixed by denying opportunities available to other members of the society, whereas the latter, in a Faustian bargain, has offered them opportunities by depriving them of their very identity. It encapsulates the failure of the society that failed to strike a balance between tradition and modernity.
The story of the moribund Domaki language is a snippet of the bigger picture regarding the vanishing voices in Gilgit-Baltistan. To counter existential threats to local language it is indispensable to engage critically with modernity and chalk out policies and strategies that enable local languages to survive. In this context we have to take into consideration the devastating impact of the modernity on local languages and raise questions about some of the assumptions implicit in the discourse of modernization.
To preserve local language in the times of rampant globalisation three important steps need to be taken. First is the study and preservation of language by the means of the science of linguistics. All the languages of Gilgit-Baltistan are oral. With the rise of printing press, written word has dominated spoken word and transformed oral cultures into written one. By learning and utilizing the modern science of languages we can equip native speakers with required knowledge and tools to survive in the age of language cannibalism. Oral culture is a product of memorization or learning by heart. Linguistic is a product of mind. To preserve local languages it is imperative to acquaint oneself with the science of language by engaging our minds.
Second, modern electronic media has provided us tremendous opportunities to save native languages. A salient feature of media is that it fuses word and image. Thus, it enables us to see things and hear words synchronically, which is not possible in print media. The cumulative result of this process is permeation of local languages into society and native speaker who ears are avoid their languages.
Third, there is a dire need to explore the society and literature by employing modern technique of humanities and social sciences through a proper research institution. Only by aligning efforts of language preservation on scientific lines and employing the tricks of the trade of modern cultural industry, we can be able to save local languages from falling them into the dustbin of history. The pronouncement of ‘The End of History’ by liberal ideologues is not just declaration of the demise of alternative ideologies or worlds, it is also a veiled pronouncement of the impending death of small cultures, local languages and life worlds under the pressures of monolithic globalization across the world.
globalisation, communication and modernity
By Aziz Ali Dad
"There is no document of civilisation that is not at the same time a document of barbarism." Walter Benjamin
Because of the compression of time and space under the influence of technology the contemporary age is known as "Global Village". This is the first time in the history of mankind that local, national, regional and international events influence one another in various ways. Gilgit-Baltistan is also not immune to globalisation. My main focus here would be to take stock of the tripartite challenges posed by globalisation, communication and modernity for the survival of indigenous languages of Gilgit-Baltistan. Examining the current situation of indigenous languages in the region vis-à-vis exogenous forces, which include, market forces and their repercussions on local vernaculars.
Till now the region of Gilgit-Baltistan remained incommunicado with the outside world. There are many disadvantages of remaining in isolation. But the situation of isolation was not without benefits. Owing to the inaccessibility of Gilgit-Baltistan, the locals had to rely on their own resources to cope with the challenges emanating from nature and management of the society. The traditional system of governance in the region is one of the examples of indigenously developed governance mechanisms. But the finest illustration of creativity of the closed society is the development of various languages within the boundaries of Gilgit-Baltistan. Balti, Brushaski, Shina, Khowar, Wakhi, Domaki and other languages are pieces of creativity on the cultural tapestry of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The isolated status of Gilgit-Baltistan started to wane with the advent of the British Empire. The British arrived here with governance structure and rational institutions, which were a product of modernity. These developments played instrumental role in opening of hitherto isolated societies to the forces of modernity and communication.
After the British, the region got connected with the southern parts of Pakistan a through jeep able road in 1950s. During the 1970s the region witnessed opening of the Karakoram Highway. It connected Gilgit-Baltistan China and facilitated easy flow of exogenous goods, people, lifestyle and trends into the region. Although, the KKH and modern means of communication benefited it was not without cost. One of the costs of modernisation is increasing threat to the survival of vernaculars.
Since the society, economy, lifestyle and governance of Gilgit-Baltistan have undergone drastic changes in last four decades, it is natural to have repercussions of these changes on language. Previously, the local languages were organically interfused with local power structure, culture and society.
The autochthonous languages have become marginalised in different spheres of life. With urbanisation of various places in Gilgit-Baltistan and migration of native people have made the vocabulary associated with hunting, agriculture, shamanism, local arts and crafts irrelevant. Hence, various life worlds connected with these areas disappeared.
Introduction of mass literacy and service sector through rationalization of society and economy proved conducive in bringing about change in the socio-economic lot of the society. Nevertheless, local languages are disconnected with the power structure that determines the contours of society, economy, and education sector, administrative and political structure. As a result, people have opted for Urdu and English languages, which open new opportunities and bring power and prestige. Native languages are not part of the medium of instruction in educational institutions and government offices. The disconnection between power and language has far reaching consequences. This factor will determine, to great extent, the fate of local languages in the future.
Other than exogenous factors, local socio-cultural ethos and pressures have contributed to the extinction of local languages. The case of Domaki language is a case in point. This is a language spoken by artisan class of Hunza. In the traditional social and tribal set up Domaki speakers were marginalized group and fall in the lowest stratum in social hierarchy of Gilgit. Hence, power structure and social ethos also treated them as anathema. In reality they were repository and creators of arts, indigenous engineering, crafts and music. In this sense they were guardians of indigenous knowledge.
Mass education has opened new vistas of progress and social mobility to subaltern groups like Doms — people who speak Domaki language and musicians. Ashamed of their heritage and knowledge they were forced to relinquish their centuries old heritage and professions and opt for modern occupations.
True empowerment is that which enables one to progress without losing one’s right to being linguistically and professional dissimilar or having different identity. These are the people who did not find a modus vivendi in either tradition or modern structures. The former kept their role and identity fixed by denying opportunities available to other members of the society, whereas the latter, in a Faustian bargain, has offered them opportunities by depriving them of their very identity. It encapsulates the failure of the society that failed to strike a balance between tradition and modernity.
The story of the moribund Domaki language is a snippet of the bigger picture regarding the vanishing voices in Gilgit-Baltistan. To counter existential threats to local language it is indispensable to engage critically with modernity and chalk out policies and strategies that enable local languages to survive. In this context we have to take into consideration the devastating impact of the modernity on local languages and raise questions about some of the assumptions implicit in the discourse of modernization.
To preserve local language in the times of rampant globalisation three important steps need to be taken. First is the study and preservation of language by the means of the science of linguistics. All the languages of Gilgit-Baltistan are oral. With the rise of printing press, written word has dominated spoken word and transformed oral cultures into written one. By learning and utilizing the modern science of languages we can equip native speakers with required knowledge and tools to survive in the age of language cannibalism. Oral culture is a product of memorization or learning by heart. Linguistic is a product of mind. To preserve local languages it is imperative to acquaint oneself with the science of language by engaging our minds.
Second, modern electronic media has provided us tremendous opportunities to save native languages. A salient feature of media is that it fuses word and image. Thus, it enables us to see things and hear words synchronically, which is not possible in print media. The cumulative result of this process is permeation of local languages into society and native speaker who ears are avoid their languages.
Third, there is a dire need to explore the society and literature by employing modern technique of humanities and social sciences through a proper research institution. Only by aligning efforts of language preservation on scientific lines and employing the tricks of the trade of modern cultural industry, we can be able to save local languages from falling them into the dustbin of history. The pronouncement of ‘The End of History’ by liberal ideologues is not just declaration of the demise of alternative ideologies or worlds, it is also a veiled pronouncement of the impending death of small cultures, local languages and life worlds under the pressures of monolithic globalization across the world.
Mar 1, 2010
Hunger pains
Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri
Despite the claims and efforts of our economic managers to bring macro-economic stability in Pakistan, the miseries of a common person don’t seem to end. Six "F" crises (Food, fiscal, fuel, frontiers, fragility of climate and functional democracy) are getting aggravated with every passing day.
The effectiveness of government’s response to 6F crises is dependent on how it prioritises among four levels of securities i.e., individual, national, regional, and global security. It goes without saying that huge influence of Khaki presidents and Khaki backed civilian governments has resulted in "national" security taking priority over all other security concerns. On top of this, the "establishment" has complete monopoly over what it defines as national security interests and also in deciding on who is posing threat to those security interests.
However, one needs to understand that neither the "six F crises," nor the four levels of security mentioned above are mutually exclusive; rather they are interconnected and cumulative. Their interconnectedness has made it extremely difficult to address the national security when other levels of security are being compromised.
Various groups find it extremely easy to create parallel states within the state, when the "national" state fails to take care of individual security and cannot provide basic services such as food, shelter, health, and education to everyone. Growing militrisation in Pakistan can be understood in this context. Generally "militants" are perceived to be Islamic hard-liners. However, many "militants" are those who are outraged by chronic hunger, endemic corruption, unfair courts, and the government’s inability to supply basic services.
Socio-political instability in Pakistan emerging from individual insecurity may affect regional as well as global security providing an excuse to external actors for interference — such as the drone attacks by US forces.
Food insecurity and militancy
Food security ranking of 131 districts in Pakistan, according to FIP 2009, indicates that 48.5 percent of the total population in 76 out of 131 districts of Pakistan is food insecure. The population in another 26 districts is on borderline and extremely vulnerable to any external shock.
The 10 most food insecure districts according to this report include Dera Bugti, Musa Khel, Upper Dir, North Waziristan, Muhmand, Dalbidin, South Waziristan, Orakzai, and Panjgur. Other worst food insecure districts, according to FIP2009 are Bajur, Laki Marwat, Lower Dir, Shangla and Malakand etc. The international community might not have heard of these districts in the context of food insecurity. However, many people would easily recall that these districts are perceived as the "axis of evil" within Pakistan. There is no empirical evidence to prove that food insecurity is the only cause of militancy in the above-mentioned districts. However it is an established fact that food insecurity leads to violence and conflict.
Recognising food insecurity as a major cause of militancy and violence, many analysts believe that in Pakistan, a mullah-marxist nexus is operating where religious forces are exploiting the (anti-elite) feelings of lower and lower middle class food insecure people, motivating their unemployed youth to commit suicide attacks against innocent people.
Compromised security at one level (individual security in our case) compromises security at each of the other levels (national, regional, and global). Food scarcity heightens the potential for conflict, which translates into a security threat. Individual cases of relative hunger, marginalisation, and poverty can turn into collective deprivation. This collective deprivation when gets an identity be creed, gender, class, or nationality, always leads to class conflict and ultimately to violence.
The Baloch national movement offers an example here. Dera Bugti is the worst food insecure district in Pakistan. Natural gas was discovered in Dera Bugti back in the 1950s, and since the 1960s has been supplied to the rest of Pakistan for domestic and industrial consumption. Only in 1984 was Questa, the Balochistan capital, supplied with natural gas. Chronic food insecurity in Balochistan and especially in its gas producing districts aggravated the sense of marginalisation and deprivation to an extent where many Baluchis started believing that Punjab and Sindh provinces were exploiting their resources. As a consequence, Balochistan has seen the rise of many anti-federation movements. A widely publicized reaction to the perceived hegemony of the federal government was the 2009 kidnapping in Quetta of John Solecki, the regional head of UNHCR, by a nationalist group the Balochistan Liberation Union Front.
Extraordinary behaviours
The point that one needs to understand is that a high prevalence of food insecurity leads to intensified "extraordinary behaviour" of individuals. These extraordinary behaviours may include anti-social activities, working as bonded labour, selling of kidneys, selling of children, and committing suicides. Half of the total population of Pakistan, where 22 percent of the elites own 85 percent of the farmland, while 78 percent of the population own only 15 percent of the land, is behaving extraordinarily. This situation results in large numbers of individuals who might do anything in sheer desperation and frustration.
For many desperate individuals, shrines and madrassas are the complete solution for the problems they face in their day-to-day lives. They go to shrines for spiritual healing when the public health system fails them and they can’t afford private healthcare. Most shrines, moreover, are assured places where one can get free meals that pilgrims and believers offer there. They send their children to cost-free boarding schools — madrassas — when the public education system cannot absorb them and again private education system is beyond their access. Madrassas also become handy where public schools simply do not exist. As a matter of fact, religious groups offer complete social safety nets that the government sector cannot, due either to fiscal constraints or to governance issues. Hence, people tend to have very strong belief in these institutions due not only to religious reasons but also to economic reasons.
While most of the madrassas in Pakistan are symbols of peace, tolerance, and harmony, there are quite a few which are being run by religious hardliners who believe in a particular version of Islam. On many occasions, they have challenged the writ of the state, declaring state institutions as un-Islamic. They can easily get support from the poor and marginalised sections of society who are often let down by Pakistan’s inadequate public service delivery system. Chronically food insecure people who are often illiterate and marred by poverty become an easy prey and can be brainwashed by their leaders who offer complete economic security to their dependents, assure them a confirmed place in heaven, and turn them into suicide attackers to eliminate the perceived nexus of imperialist forces led by United States.
According to the law enforcement agencies, a suicide bomber is paid up to US$12,000, an amount that would be sufficient for his dependents to live a decent life. These groups behaving extraordinarily create socio-political instability, jeopardise the country’s economic activities, and threaten all foreign direct investors, but also pose a challenge to regional and global security.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the United States provided around $11 billion to Pakistan in the shape of budgetary support, economic assistance from USAID, military assistance, and Coalition Support Funds from 2002 to 2008. This money, if spent judiciously and with a political will, could have alleviated millions from extreme poverty and chronic hunger, thereby saving Pakistan from growing militancy. Alas, it was not.
Paradigm change
So what needs to be done differently? First, the situation requires a change in paradigm where individual hunger is perceived as a national security threat. Such a paradigm shift would result in greater resources being channelled to improve food security. It would also result in reprioritization of public spending, so that social development would be given priority over national defence, and the benefits of such spending would accrue to individuals and not only to the state.
Second, perceiving hunger as a national, regional, and global security threat, UN agencies, bilateral donors, and international financial institutes should realign their strategy in Pakistan to turn the pain of hunger into opportunity for social transformation, better awareness about human rights, women’s empowerment, girls’ education, adult education, and exposure to a secular face of the world. The international community should start investing in developing the social and human capital of the chronically food insecure people of the FATA, NWFP, and Balochistan. This would not only directly aid those harmed because of ongoing military operation, but also go some way towards fostering a more stable environment.
It is about time that the government of Pakistan and its international partners step up activities that ensure distribution of food to those in need, increase food absorption capacities in conflict hit and conflict prone zones, and institutionalise an independent impact assessment system in place to assess what worked and what did not work vis-à-vis social sector development.
Despite the claims and efforts of our economic managers to bring macro-economic stability in Pakistan, the miseries of a common person don’t seem to end. Six "F" crises (Food, fiscal, fuel, frontiers, fragility of climate and functional democracy) are getting aggravated with every passing day.
The effectiveness of government’s response to 6F crises is dependent on how it prioritises among four levels of securities i.e., individual, national, regional, and global security. It goes without saying that huge influence of Khaki presidents and Khaki backed civilian governments has resulted in "national" security taking priority over all other security concerns. On top of this, the "establishment" has complete monopoly over what it defines as national security interests and also in deciding on who is posing threat to those security interests.
However, one needs to understand that neither the "six F crises," nor the four levels of security mentioned above are mutually exclusive; rather they are interconnected and cumulative. Their interconnectedness has made it extremely difficult to address the national security when other levels of security are being compromised.
Various groups find it extremely easy to create parallel states within the state, when the "national" state fails to take care of individual security and cannot provide basic services such as food, shelter, health, and education to everyone. Growing militrisation in Pakistan can be understood in this context. Generally "militants" are perceived to be Islamic hard-liners. However, many "militants" are those who are outraged by chronic hunger, endemic corruption, unfair courts, and the government’s inability to supply basic services.
Socio-political instability in Pakistan emerging from individual insecurity may affect regional as well as global security providing an excuse to external actors for interference — such as the drone attacks by US forces.
Food insecurity and militancy
Food security ranking of 131 districts in Pakistan, according to FIP 2009, indicates that 48.5 percent of the total population in 76 out of 131 districts of Pakistan is food insecure. The population in another 26 districts is on borderline and extremely vulnerable to any external shock.
The 10 most food insecure districts according to this report include Dera Bugti, Musa Khel, Upper Dir, North Waziristan, Muhmand, Dalbidin, South Waziristan, Orakzai, and Panjgur. Other worst food insecure districts, according to FIP2009 are Bajur, Laki Marwat, Lower Dir, Shangla and Malakand etc. The international community might not have heard of these districts in the context of food insecurity. However, many people would easily recall that these districts are perceived as the "axis of evil" within Pakistan. There is no empirical evidence to prove that food insecurity is the only cause of militancy in the above-mentioned districts. However it is an established fact that food insecurity leads to violence and conflict.
Recognising food insecurity as a major cause of militancy and violence, many analysts believe that in Pakistan, a mullah-marxist nexus is operating where religious forces are exploiting the (anti-elite) feelings of lower and lower middle class food insecure people, motivating their unemployed youth to commit suicide attacks against innocent people.
Compromised security at one level (individual security in our case) compromises security at each of the other levels (national, regional, and global). Food scarcity heightens the potential for conflict, which translates into a security threat. Individual cases of relative hunger, marginalisation, and poverty can turn into collective deprivation. This collective deprivation when gets an identity be creed, gender, class, or nationality, always leads to class conflict and ultimately to violence.
The Baloch national movement offers an example here. Dera Bugti is the worst food insecure district in Pakistan. Natural gas was discovered in Dera Bugti back in the 1950s, and since the 1960s has been supplied to the rest of Pakistan for domestic and industrial consumption. Only in 1984 was Questa, the Balochistan capital, supplied with natural gas. Chronic food insecurity in Balochistan and especially in its gas producing districts aggravated the sense of marginalisation and deprivation to an extent where many Baluchis started believing that Punjab and Sindh provinces were exploiting their resources. As a consequence, Balochistan has seen the rise of many anti-federation movements. A widely publicized reaction to the perceived hegemony of the federal government was the 2009 kidnapping in Quetta of John Solecki, the regional head of UNHCR, by a nationalist group the Balochistan Liberation Union Front.
Extraordinary behaviours
The point that one needs to understand is that a high prevalence of food insecurity leads to intensified "extraordinary behaviour" of individuals. These extraordinary behaviours may include anti-social activities, working as bonded labour, selling of kidneys, selling of children, and committing suicides. Half of the total population of Pakistan, where 22 percent of the elites own 85 percent of the farmland, while 78 percent of the population own only 15 percent of the land, is behaving extraordinarily. This situation results in large numbers of individuals who might do anything in sheer desperation and frustration.
For many desperate individuals, shrines and madrassas are the complete solution for the problems they face in their day-to-day lives. They go to shrines for spiritual healing when the public health system fails them and they can’t afford private healthcare. Most shrines, moreover, are assured places where one can get free meals that pilgrims and believers offer there. They send their children to cost-free boarding schools — madrassas — when the public education system cannot absorb them and again private education system is beyond their access. Madrassas also become handy where public schools simply do not exist. As a matter of fact, religious groups offer complete social safety nets that the government sector cannot, due either to fiscal constraints or to governance issues. Hence, people tend to have very strong belief in these institutions due not only to religious reasons but also to economic reasons.
While most of the madrassas in Pakistan are symbols of peace, tolerance, and harmony, there are quite a few which are being run by religious hardliners who believe in a particular version of Islam. On many occasions, they have challenged the writ of the state, declaring state institutions as un-Islamic. They can easily get support from the poor and marginalised sections of society who are often let down by Pakistan’s inadequate public service delivery system. Chronically food insecure people who are often illiterate and marred by poverty become an easy prey and can be brainwashed by their leaders who offer complete economic security to their dependents, assure them a confirmed place in heaven, and turn them into suicide attackers to eliminate the perceived nexus of imperialist forces led by United States.
According to the law enforcement agencies, a suicide bomber is paid up to US$12,000, an amount that would be sufficient for his dependents to live a decent life. These groups behaving extraordinarily create socio-political instability, jeopardise the country’s economic activities, and threaten all foreign direct investors, but also pose a challenge to regional and global security.
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the United States provided around $11 billion to Pakistan in the shape of budgetary support, economic assistance from USAID, military assistance, and Coalition Support Funds from 2002 to 2008. This money, if spent judiciously and with a political will, could have alleviated millions from extreme poverty and chronic hunger, thereby saving Pakistan from growing militancy. Alas, it was not.
Paradigm change
So what needs to be done differently? First, the situation requires a change in paradigm where individual hunger is perceived as a national security threat. Such a paradigm shift would result in greater resources being channelled to improve food security. It would also result in reprioritization of public spending, so that social development would be given priority over national defence, and the benefits of such spending would accrue to individuals and not only to the state.
Second, perceiving hunger as a national, regional, and global security threat, UN agencies, bilateral donors, and international financial institutes should realign their strategy in Pakistan to turn the pain of hunger into opportunity for social transformation, better awareness about human rights, women’s empowerment, girls’ education, adult education, and exposure to a secular face of the world. The international community should start investing in developing the social and human capital of the chronically food insecure people of the FATA, NWFP, and Balochistan. This would not only directly aid those harmed because of ongoing military operation, but also go some way towards fostering a more stable environment.
It is about time that the government of Pakistan and its international partners step up activities that ensure distribution of food to those in need, increase food absorption capacities in conflict hit and conflict prone zones, and institutionalise an independent impact assessment system in place to assess what worked and what did not work vis-à-vis social sector development.
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