Biggest hurdle to Pakistan flood recovery: Wealthy landowners
| Islamabad, Pakistan
Like millions of other farmers across , Abdur Razzaq of district Kot Addu lost the majority of his crops and livestock to the floodwaters that swept through the country in August. He estimates his financial loss this year around $3,000 鈥� a huge blow given the poverty in rural Pakistan.
But his problems are compounded by the $2,000 in rent he owes to his feudal landlord, who, he says, is not inclined to forgive.
鈥淚f I ask him to defer payment, I would only have to pay back with greater interest,鈥� he says. Instead, Mr. Razzaq says he will sell his animals at a discount and attempt to start fresh.
Those who refuse to pay 鈥� or can't 鈥� are forced out of their homes by armed gangs sent by the landlord鈥檚 family, and sometimes set upon by dogs.
Razzaq鈥檚 dilemma strikes at the heart of a phenomenon that is not only creating a hurdle in the post-flood rehabilitation phase, but has stunted Pakistan鈥檚 political and economic development since the country gained independence from Britain in 1947: a deep division between classes, leading to abuse of power.
According to leading Pakistani historian Mubarak Ali, author of 鈥淔eudalism,鈥� the problem lies with Pakistan鈥檚 two largest political parties, the ruling Pakistan People鈥檚 Party and the Nawaz Sharif鈥檚 Pakistan Muslim League (N), whose representatives in southern Punjab and Sindh province consist almost exclusively of wealthy landowners.
Since the floods hit, Pakistan鈥檚 rural landowning class, who use their money and influence to gain seats in parliament, have made headlines for being conspicuously absent from their constituencies in their hour of need, diverting floodwaters to save their own lands, and for failing to disburse aid money entrusted to them to pass on to their communities.
While India managed to largely abolish feudalism, powerful landlords in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh who chose to side with the All Muslim League, the party led by Pakistan鈥檚 founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were rewarded by being allowed to keep their land and titles. The situation has remained mostly unchanged, despite nominal attempts at land reform by populist leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the 1970s.
The practice extends up the chain of command in Pakistan's government. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi both hail from large feudal families in southern Punjab and have the added bonus of belonging to families with ancestors who are considered saints in the Sufi Islamic tradition.
Who owns the land?
Pakistan鈥檚 Army, the country鈥檚 most powerful institution, meanwhile, is unlikely to be the agent of change, says Dr. Ali, because of its own vested interests. 鈥淥ver the years, the Army has granted large amounts of land to retired generals and brigadiers. So it鈥檚 not in anyone鈥檚 interest to have any land reform.鈥�
Feudalism, in turn, perpetuates inequality and prevents a genuine representative democracy from taking root, says Ali.
鈥淚 always call it feudal democracy because it鈥檚 not the people鈥檚 democracy, and they are not interested in solving the problems of common people,鈥� he says, highlighting the mismanagement evident during and after the floods.
Despite the fact that agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of Pakistan鈥檚 economy, Pakistan's lawmakers have seemingly safeguarded their own interests by ensuring that there is no agricultural income tax.
Still bonded labor
In rural Sindh, where, through a combination of wealth and religious standing, landlord power is most pronounced, thousands of laborers remain in bonded labor for debts accrued by their forefathers, and are confined to their villages to carry out hard labor till their death, according to IA Rehman, secretary-general of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which regularly undertakes missions to have such laborers freed.
鈥淢any peasants [in Sindh] are still standing in water or living in camps, and don鈥檛 want to go back to their lands because of the loans they took. They鈥檙e not in a position to pay a penny,鈥� says Younis Rahu, secretary general of the leftist Sindh Labour Relief Committee.
If the workers do not return to their fields to cultivate the lands, this might undercut the position of the landlords there, says Ali. But he鈥檚 not hopeful.
鈥淭he whole local administration is under their control 鈥� the police and the bureaucrats. So it鈥檚 impossible to have any peasant movement," he says.
鈥淭hey [the landlords] are brutal towards their peasants, to make them realize that they don鈥檛 have any power, and if you disobey they are in the power to punish you and put you in prison. Fear is their tool to dominate their people.鈥�
