By Jan Khaskheli, "Seraiki community not politically inclined" - The International News - Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A large number of working class Seraikis disassociate themselves from politics reasoning that they have to feed their families back home and do not like to waste their time in such useless activity.
Most of the community is associated with the construction industry, along with being labourers at various warehouses for loading and unloading cargo trucks. Their version is different than that of the politically motivated cadre active in their native southern Punjab. There might be a small number of political activists in Karachi belonging to Seraiki nationalist parties, but are unable to influence their own community regarding their cause for which they have been struggling for so long.
Seraiki Qaumi Ittehad is the only Karachi-based organisation working for the well-being of the community and claims to mobilise them in future elections. Many politically conscious activists, writers and poets have organised cultural events in the city on different occasions to promote their traditional customs here. However, the people working as labourers, residing in the slum areas in groups still seem reluctant to join these gatherings.
Disassociating from the politics may be a common phenomenon for other ethnic groups living in Karachi due to frequent betrayal by the leadership and the pressures of poverty. However, despite having a rich cultural background including their part in the Sufi movement, the acute poverty has hit the Seraiki people very hard. They travel in groups without their womenfolk to work for their families’ survival.
Seraiki is among the most spoken languages in Pakistan. Some people term it the representative language of the ancient Indus valley civilisation. Like other ethnic groups residing in Karachi, Seraikis have lost their culture, identity and traditions due to the pressure of a fast growing urban society. “We are unable to follow our traditions here, which our relatives and family members celebrate in our native villages,” said an activist.
There are many factors involved in forcing the people to live in simplicity and learn from the other communities settled in their neighbourhood in the urban society. However, this is the only ethnic group, which has roots in all the provinces of Pakistan. Although they have their own area, Seraiki politicians are demanding for a separate identity.
Having a rich culture, the Seraiki activists claim that there are more than three million Seraikis living in the city. However, the fact remains that since they are scattered in the city they are unable to win any seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi.The majority of people hailing from southern Punjab, have been associated with the construction industry, earn their living and move back to their home districts. Hardly a small number of Seraikis may have been settled in the city. However, being disunited, scattered and having no political links they have yet to join the mainstream development process.
They have different backgrounds but the language and similarity of customs bring them together and they respect each other. In Sindh there is also a large number of Seraiki speaking tribes. However, there is no conflict between the Sindhi and Seraiki language speakers.
There might be an influence of the Seraiki Sufi poets and musicians in Sindh.
Not only have the Sindhi classical musicians performed Seraiki songs, but many poets, including Sachal Sarmast, Faqir Khush Khair Mohammed Heesbani, Hamal Faqir Leghari and others belonging to Sindh contribute more to Seraiki poetry, which have different themes including love for the beloved and love for the land. There are still many, who write poetry in their mother tongue Seraiki, despite living in Sindh. It has many sweet dialects and is considered as the language of love.
In Karachi, the Seraiki families represent their own dialect. Some intellectuals claim that Seraiki is the first language of more than 80 million people in the subcontinent. Among those 50 million are in Pakistan and 30 million are in India.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Language of Love
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A large number of working class Seraikis disassociate themselves from politics reasoning that they have to feed their families back home and do not like to waste their time in such useless activity.
Most of the community is associated with the construction industry, along with being labourers at various warehouses for loading and unloading cargo trucks. Their version is different than that of the politically motivated cadre active in their native southern Punjab. There might be a small number of political activists in Karachi belonging to Seraiki nationalist parties, but are unable to influence their own community regarding their cause for which they have been struggling for so long.
Seraiki Qaumi Ittehad is the only Karachi-based organisation working for the well-being of the community and claims to mobilise them in future elections. Many politically conscious activists, writers and poets have organised cultural events in the city on different occasions to promote their traditional customs here. However, the people working as labourers, residing in the slum areas in groups still seem reluctant to join these gatherings.
Disassociating from the politics may be a common phenomenon for other ethnic groups living in Karachi due to frequent betrayal by the leadership and the pressures of poverty. However, despite having a rich cultural background including their part in the Sufi movement, the acute poverty has hit the Seraiki people very hard. They travel in groups without their womenfolk to work for their families’ survival.
Seraiki is among the most spoken languages in Pakistan. Some people term it the representative language of the ancient Indus valley civilisation. Like other ethnic groups residing in Karachi, Seraikis have lost their culture, identity and traditions due to the pressure of a fast growing urban society. “We are unable to follow our traditions here, which our relatives and family members celebrate in our native villages,” said an activist.
There are many factors involved in forcing the people to live in simplicity and learn from the other communities settled in their neighbourhood in the urban society. However, this is the only ethnic group, which has roots in all the provinces of Pakistan. Although they have their own area, Seraiki politicians are demanding for a separate identity.
Having a rich culture, the Seraiki activists claim that there are more than three million Seraikis living in the city. However, the fact remains that since they are scattered in the city they are unable to win any seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi.The majority of people hailing from southern Punjab, have been associated with the construction industry, earn their living and move back to their home districts. Hardly a small number of Seraikis may have been settled in the city. However, being disunited, scattered and having no political links they have yet to join the mainstream development process.
They have different backgrounds but the language and similarity of customs bring them together and they respect each other. In Sindh there is also a large number of Seraiki speaking tribes. However, there is no conflict between the Sindhi and Seraiki language speakers.
There might be an influence of the Seraiki Sufi poets and musicians in Sindh.
Not only have the Sindhi classical musicians performed Seraiki songs, but many poets, including Sachal Sarmast, Faqir Khush Khair Mohammed Heesbani, Hamal Faqir Leghari and others belonging to Sindh contribute more to Seraiki poetry, which have different themes including love for the beloved and love for the land. There are still many, who write poetry in their mother tongue Seraiki, despite living in Sindh. It has many sweet dialects and is considered as the language of love.
In Karachi, the Seraiki families represent their own dialect. Some intellectuals claim that Seraiki is the first language of more than 80 million people in the subcontinent. Among those 50 million are in Pakistan and 30 million are in India.
Labels:
society
By Jan Khaskheli, "Seraiki community not politically inclined" - The International News - Karachi, PakistanSaturday, October 11, 2008
A large number of working class Seraikis disassociate themselves from politics reasoning that they have to feed their families back home and do not like to waste their time in such useless activity.
Most of the community is associated with the construction industry, along with being labourers at various warehouses for loading and unloading cargo trucks. Their version is different than that of the politically motivated cadre active in their native southern Punjab. There might be a small number of political activists in Karachi belonging to Seraiki nationalist parties, but are unable to influence their own community regarding their cause for which they have been struggling for so long.
Seraiki Qaumi Ittehad is the only Karachi-based organisation working for the well-being of the community and claims to mobilise them in future elections. Many politically conscious activists, writers and poets have organised cultural events in the city on different occasions to promote their traditional customs here. However, the people working as labourers, residing in the slum areas in groups still seem reluctant to join these gatherings.
Disassociating from the politics may be a common phenomenon for other ethnic groups living in Karachi due to frequent betrayal by the leadership and the pressures of poverty. However, despite having a rich cultural background including their part in the Sufi movement, the acute poverty has hit the Seraiki people very hard. They travel in groups without their womenfolk to work for their families’ survival.
Seraiki is among the most spoken languages in Pakistan. Some people term it the representative language of the ancient Indus valley civilisation. Like other ethnic groups residing in Karachi, Seraikis have lost their culture, identity and traditions due to the pressure of a fast growing urban society. “We are unable to follow our traditions here, which our relatives and family members celebrate in our native villages,” said an activist.
There are many factors involved in forcing the people to live in simplicity and learn from the other communities settled in their neighbourhood in the urban society. However, this is the only ethnic group, which has roots in all the provinces of Pakistan. Although they have their own area, Seraiki politicians are demanding for a separate identity.
Having a rich culture, the Seraiki activists claim that there are more than three million Seraikis living in the city. However, the fact remains that since they are scattered in the city they are unable to win any seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi.The majority of people hailing from southern Punjab, have been associated with the construction industry, earn their living and move back to their home districts. Hardly a small number of Seraikis may have been settled in the city. However, being disunited, scattered and having no political links they have yet to join the mainstream development process.
They have different backgrounds but the language and similarity of customs bring them together and they respect each other. In Sindh there is also a large number of Seraiki speaking tribes. However, there is no conflict between the Sindhi and Seraiki language speakers.
There might be an influence of the Seraiki Sufi poets and musicians in Sindh.
Not only have the Sindhi classical musicians performed Seraiki songs, but many poets, including Sachal Sarmast, Faqir Khush Khair Mohammed Heesbani, Hamal Faqir Leghari and others belonging to Sindh contribute more to Seraiki poetry, which have different themes including love for the beloved and love for the land. There are still many, who write poetry in their mother tongue Seraiki, despite living in Sindh. It has many sweet dialects and is considered as the language of love.
In Karachi, the Seraiki families represent their own dialect. Some intellectuals claim that Seraiki is the first language of more than 80 million people in the subcontinent. Among those 50 million are in Pakistan and 30 million are in India.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment