The village was called Thatti Gurmani, empopulated by the the Gurmani caste of the Baloch people. I learned that the term caste in Pakistan is a historical term which is not related to the Hindu stratification system.
Having said that, all people are not equal in this agricultural village. Landlords own large tracts of land. My host had 400-500 acres of land that he leases for 25,000 PKR/acre/year or he hires his fellow Gurmani tribesmen to work the land for around 2,000 PKR/mo. cash and 1,000 PKR/mo. product (i.e. sugar cane or wheat). This leaves the landlord free from work (but not concerns) and his people content in the landlord's mind - which translates into not having to skip any meals due to poverty. He lives in a four-acre garden compound in a stylized concrete house. They live in close proximity to each other in mud houses. Nonetheless, there is a harmony to the structure.
My host says that there is a natural relations between farmers and politicians. He studied history but came back to his father's lands upon his death. As a landlord, the people come to him with their concerns for development, jobs (in and outside agriculture), and both civil and criminal disputes. This directly translates into what my host thinks his role is as a politician. He says, on the surface, serving on the Parliament is about making bills and debating policy - but he sees those other roles as crucial to his people. Read the proposed bills? Holding a shouting match over policy? He follows the party line (which is fortunately in the majority) and maintains a facade of indifference in Parliament because his work begins outside that room. He needs money budgeted to him by the Chief Minister of Punjab for projects and favors for jobs/transfers/disputes. This is his real role as a politician in service to his people.
What about the larger issues of the nation and the world, as a politician? That's a matter for the intelligentsia according to my host. He says his people don't care about Iraq, Israel, Palestine, terrorism, or other issues that have no place in their lives. What would the farmer care of those things? They want their roads to get crops to the market, more schools for girls, better infrastructure, solutions to their issues - and only a local leader and a budget will have meaning to them. For that matter, this blog you are reading is a matter for the intelligentsia and not the common people of Pakistan.
As for the elections I traveled to see in this region, they were pushed to another date. December 27, 2008 was my first full day in this region and my host took me on a whirlwind campaign of one of his twelve union council areas. We drove dusty, half-paved roads to 18 meetings in 9 hours. Those meetings involve the host at the front of a semi-circle or rows of manjaa (more popularly called charpoys [pics]), short talks, and refreshments. I joked later that his petrol bill goes up but his food bill must come down during campaigning. We continued visiting houses after the skies turned black and bright cell phones had to be pulled out to find the pathways to homes and the car. The last house was concluded at 6:30pm and shortly after my host received the message that a key candidate for the office of Prime Minister had been killed. We headed home and the campaign stopped for the rest of my stay in Thatta Gurmani.
These images have formed my vision of the government and politicians of Pakistan. It's not a real democracy because the people are not ready for democracy. My host seems intelligent on global, national, and local issues but his representing a constituency that's not educated to care about most of those larger issues. He sits outside his compound to receive people every day; yes, it's largely meeting them as a landlord but the concern still seems there. Life is peaceful in this set-up with many people that seem happy in this traditional set-up of a caste comprising a community and earning enough to eat.
When the world cries out about the danger of Pakistan, I think of my experiences with real people and I laugh at the absurdity to common folk that live in the villages. They are untouched by the riots, rallies, bombings, and other real tragedies of Pakistan that consume the mentality of those living in the cities and in the intellegentsia (which I do claim membership of both).
Newsweek [article] and Economist [article] claim Pakistan is the most dangerous nation in the world. If so, it is to a selected class of people of Pakistan. This "danger" is largely science-fiction to the numerous citizens residing in the villages who simply want their roads, schools, and a reasonable life.Image from Fatima Shakeel
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