VILLAGE OF MAD MAN

VOICE OF INTELLECTUAL MANAn International Journal

CONTENTS

VOL - 3 NO. - 1 JAN.-JUNE 2013

Sl. Article PageNo. No.

RESEARCH ARTICLES

1 Contemporary Integration of Spirituality and 1-32Healthcare Delivery: An Indo- Caribbean CasePerspective Referencing an Islamic InfluencedHealing TherapyAbrahim H. Khan

2 Attitude towards Health Care among 33-40Scheduled Caste Women: A Study among thePasi of Rural Lucknow (India)Sameera Maiti

3 A Village of Mad Man 41-62Anwaar Mohyuddin,Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry& Mamonah Ambreen

4 The Growing Relationship between Science 63-88and Religion: A Joint Search for Wholeness andHolistic Christian SpiritualityVictoria D. Corral

RESEARCH REPORT

1 Multiculturalism and Indian National Culturalism 89-96Rajendra Kumar Verma

2 A Review Of Indian Socio-Communist Pearl 97-110of ThoughtChhavi Nigam

3 Migration and Growth of Slums: An Evidence 111-136of Lucknow CitySupriya Srivastava

4 Impact of Drought on rice based agriculture 137-148economy- A Study of Livelihood security inrural areas of Sultanpur District of Uttar Pradesh.Harshita Tripathi

5 Abnormal Haemoglobins among Punjabi 149-152populations of DelhiShashidhar Mehta

6 Denial to Children’s Right to Good Health: 153-160Case of Child Immunization in Rural AreaNamita Srivastava

Voice of Intellectual Man Vol.3, No.1, Jan. - June, 2013, 41-62

A Village of Mad Man(An Ethnographic Account of Village Zandra in Balochistan)

*Anwaar Mohyuddin,**Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry, ***Mamonah Ambreen

AbstractThis paper focuses upon the ethnographic findings of the VillageZandra, District Ziarat in the province of Balochistan. This paperbegins with historical and geographical details of the area at macrolevel and then moves to the micro level means from the province tothe village. At village level geographical and climatic conditions,demographic information which includes population, ethnicity inhistorical perspective, land and economic resources of the village,settlement patterns, religion, languages, dress patterns and foodhabits have been taken into the account. The intensity ofdevelopmental works has increased many folds during the last 3decades.These developmental activities and the changes in the villageover the time have also been discussed in light of world systemtheory.The data presented in this paper has been collected by usingqualitative anthropological research techniques.

Keywords: core, periphery, industrialization, capitalist economies,development.

Introduction

In Zandra, the practice of cultivating apple was started bylate Haji Payo Khan about 90 years ago. At that time nobody wasaware of or even had an idea of what Payo Khan conceived. Heinspired the idea of growing apple orchards when he visited Punjaband got impressed by the lush green fields. He tried to convincethe people but all in vain. People started calling him mad, but thismad man was very determined in his ideas. He wished to turn thebarren land of his area into such green fields. He worked day andnight, cleared stones from the land, spread new soil over it andsuccessfully planted apple trees. In this way, he made a modelorchard, which eventually proved to be fruitful. Hence, the lives of*Dr. Anwaar Mohyuddin, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-AzamUniversity, Islamabad, Pakistan, Email: [email protected] Mail: PO Box 3060,GPO, Islamabad, Pakistan**Prof. Dr. Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry, Chairman, Department of Anthropology,Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, Email: [email protected], Mail:Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan***Dr. Mamonah Ambreen, Lecturer, Department of Education, AllamaIqbalOpen Univetsity, Islamabad, Pakistan, Email: [email protected],,Mail: PO Box 3060, GPO, Islamabad, Pakistan

the villagers changed by following his practices in the field in theyears to come.

Payo Khan is considered as the founder of apple economy.Henot only turned the barren land into lush green orchards but alsochanged the fortune of the people of the village, who were initiallysemi-nomads. After this unprecedented work by Haji Payo Khan,they settled down permanently. In the past, the Pashtoon of thisarea were pastoral and used to grow few crops for their subsistence.Haji Payo Khan was the first educated person of Zandra. He wasawarded with Sitara-e-Khidmat (award from Government ofPakistan) in horticulture for his revolutionary work. He was 45when he made the first model orchard. He died in 1970 at an ageof 100 years. His descendants are still living there and benefitingfrom his work. In the last days of his life he actually became madand is still known as “the mad-man of Zandra” and the village isknown as “Village of Mad Man”.

Material and Method

The present research was conducted in Village Zandra,District Ziarat, in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Zandra Village is situated108 km southeast of Quetta just 12 km short of Ziarat town. Thevillage is 8,000 ft. above sea level and is surrounded by grey hills,apple orchards and Juniper forest, which is considered to be the2nd largest in the world. Thus, the area is greener than other areasof the province.

Qualitative anthropological research methods which includesocio-economic survey, participant observation, key informantinterviews and in-depth interviews were used to collect empiricaldata. Stratified random sampling based upon different kin groupswas used for selecting 100 households. This research was alongitudinal study. First of all a 4 months visit was conducted in1987, then a couple of month long visits in 1990s and finally in2007.

For analysis theoretical discourse of world system theorywasused. This theory is based upon some significant works ofWallerstein which includes”The modern world system” (1974, 1980,1989), and number of essays (i.e. 1979, 1983, 1997, and 2004). Theother contributors of world system theory are Samir Amin (1970)and 1973), Cardoso and Falleto (1969), Santos (1970a and 1970b),

A Village of Mad Man

Vol.3,No.1, Jan.-June,2013 42

Rodney (1974), and Andre Gunder Frank(1969). Wallerstein hasdivided the capitalist system the world into different zones on thebasis of their wealth and size which keeps on competing with oneanother for wealth and power. He says that in process of developmentin peripheral countries the core countries are clearly the mostbenefited from this arrangement. They earn very high profits frominternational trade. They exchange manufactured products for rawmaterials and cheap labourmainly from peripheral countries andare becoming richer and richer at the cost of the peripheraleconomies.

Brief History of Baluchistan Province

Area wise Baluchistanis the largest province of Pakistan. Itshares its northern border with Afghanistan with major cities ofChagai, Quetta and Zhob. The western border is shared with Iranvia districts Makran and Kharan. The eastern end is bounded bythe Sind province, whereas the Arabian Sea lies on itssouth.Baluchistan is predominantly a mountainous region. It alsohas some plains and valleys. Amongst the notable mountain rangesof Blaochistan is the Brahuik range. The soil of Sarawan, Jhalawanand Las of Kalat valleys in this Brahuik range is light and rathersandy. However, the soil is still suitable for agriculture and canbecome highly productive if ample water resources are availablefor irrigation.

The mountains in Baluchistan are dry for major part of theyear. However, the north-eastern hills bear thorny plants, wildflowers and grass during the spring season. At altitudes of around5,000 feet, the Ephedrine herb is found in abundance. This herb isa valuable item for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries andis exported to the extent of about 1,000 tons annually.

The forests of Baluchistan have an area of 2,200 sq. mileswith Juniper being the most common tree type. Juniper woodprovides fuel for most parts of this province. Rain water is themain source for irrigation of cultivated land. However, with anannual rainfall of only 3 to 12 inches, the water becomes a valuableasset. The rain water is thus stored in manmade dams on all smalland big water channels throughout the province.

The agricultural land in Baluchistan is of three kinds aridzoon (Khushkaba), flood zoon (Sailaba) and normal. The arid landis one where water source is either rain or snowfall. In the flood

AnwaarMohyuddin, Hafeez-ur-RehmanChaudhry, MamonahAmbreen

Voice of Intellectual Man 43

zoon land gets water from flooding of rivers during monsoon season,whereas the regular land has a perennial supply of water throughpermanent irrigation system.

There are two harvests in a year, namely rabi (spring harvest)and kharif (autumn harvest). Wheat is the most important crop ofspring harvest, whereas corn, millet and maize are the major cropsof autumn harvest. The highlands of Baluchistan are well knownfor quality grapes, apples, pomegranates, pears, apricots andalmonds, whereas the plains which have a harvest area of 1,200acres produce limes, mangoes, and guava.

District Ziarat

Ziarat District was officially established in 1986. Ziaratconsists of 94 villages and it derives its name from the Ziarat (shrine)of Baba Kharwari; an 18th century highly esteemed saint of thisarea. This shrine is located about 9 km south of the Ziarat town.The Ziarat district is bordered by, city Pishin on the north, Loralaiand KillaSaifullah cities on the south, Sibi district on the east andQuetta on the west.

The area which now belongs to the Ziarat district became apart of British India in 1887. The land was actually purchased twoyears earlier in 1885 by the British Government from the Sarangzaitribe against a meagre payment ofold Indian Rupees 1.4 Million.Ziarat maintained its stature as the summer headquarters of DistrictChutiali (Duki and Sajavi Sub Division) till 1903. With the creationof Sibi District in 1903, the area of Ziaratbecame a part of thisdistrict and continued functioning as the summer headquarters forSibi District till 1974. Most of the important government offices ofBaluchistan such as Political Agent to the Governor Generals office,Revenue Commissioners office, and the Colonization office used tofunction from Ziarat during summers. In 1947 Sibi was awardedthe status of division with Ziarat as its Sub-Tehsil. Most of thedivisional offices also shifted to Ziarat during the summers. (Source:record of Tehsil office)

District Ziarat comprises mostly of mountains with a fewnotable valleys such as Kach, Kawas, Ziarat, Zandra, Mangi, Mana,&GogiAhmadoon; the altitude of these valleys range from 1,800-3,488 meters. (Source: record of Tehsil office)

The soil of the District Ziarat has a varying proportion ofclay and shingle; changing from rich loamy soil near riverbanks to



stony near highlands. In most parts of the valleys, the fields are interraces with their periphery carefully riveted with stones. Spurs oftimber and rush wood are used to keep hill torrents within boundsduring regular seasons and to divert water rush to the fields duringrainy seasons. The fertile mud brought by the hill torrents is highlybeneficial for the cultivation of valuable crops.

The area which now forms district Ziarat had a populationof 32,000 in 1981, whereas the National Institute of PopulationStudies (NIPS) Islamabad projected this figure to be around 52,000by the year 1995. However, an estimate put forward by the UnionCouncil of district Ziarat showed that the population in 1996 wasaround 110,000, twice more than the projected figure. Though theauthenticity of the data provided by Union Councils office cannotbe verified, the common consensus is that the figure projected byNIPS was too low.

Ziarat became famous when the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent his last days at ZiaratResidency which has now become a National Monument. Thismonument is a majestic piece of architecture; however, the generalpublic of Pakistan visits it primarily for its association with theQuaid. In fact the people believe that the Quaid died here in Ziarat;contrary to the official reports that he expired in Karachi on 11th

September, 1948.

Village Zandra

Village Zandra is part of Ziarat District. Actualname of thisvillage is Zarind means ‘panchaki’ (water operated flourmill) andthe name was given to this village because of its ‘panchakis’. Withthe passage of time, natives have started mispronouncing it asZarand. There are three other villages in the surroundings whichinclude China, Pachi and Pitau. These four villages including Zandramake a moza (a group of villages or hamlets). This mozais namedafter this village and is called asMozaZandra. In this paper Zandrarefers to the village not the moza.

Geographical Surroundings

On the way from Quetta to Ziarat, winding your way throughvalleys and villages, long decomposing mountain ridges ofKohiMurdar and lush green orchards in the lap of valleys is Zandravillage, irrigated by ZandraKarez. One is overwhelmed with joyand grandeur of the green surroundings couched in mountainsVoice of Intellectual Man 45


studded with “Junipers”. Zandra comes in Ziarat forest division,which comprises of over one lac four thousand acres and is thesecond largest juniper forest in the world. The village is 8,000 ft.high above sea level.

Climate

This area has a pleasant summer which lasts from May toAugust. Winter is extremely cold here. The weather starts gettingcold during the month of September.It is believedthat on 6th

September a starcalled ‘da seheilstarga’appears in the sky everyyear. This star is considered as an indication of start of the winter.In January the temperature decreases down to -20 degreesCelsius.The roads are blocked with snow and the village remainscut off from rest of the world unless the roads are cleared.Peoplehave to sit inside their household in front of stoves.Some peopleduring snow fall go to the mountains for hunting rabbits and‘chakoors’ (birds).

The annual rainfall in this area is 20.6 mm with most of therains fall in the end of summer (July-August) and at the start ofwinter (November-December).During the rainy season of July andAugust apples start ripening. First Kashmiri, ‘Fransilalkolu’,American and then ‘Kala kolu’ respectively get ripe. It is also thetime for peaches to get ripe. In September ‘mushadi’ and ‘ameri’apples get ready. 6th September to 15th October is called‘awalmanae’ (beginning of autumn). During this period ‘shin Kolu’apples get ripe. During 16th October to 16th November is called‘soormanae’ (cold autumn) in this season people slaughtered goatsand sheep for making ‘landhi’ and, start wearing warm clothes.Winter rains start in early November and lasts till mid-Decemberare called as‘torachila’ (black forty days). Snow fall during Januaryand February is called ‘spinachilia’ (white 40 days). Extreme coldstarts from 22nd December and lasts till 21st January. Weatherstarts changing by the end of February.Spring starts from 10th ofMarch and trees like almond, apple and apricot begin to blossom.Spring lasts till the end of April and from May to 21st June weatheris called ‘worae’ i.e. light hot weather starts. It is the time to harvestwheat and apricot, mulberry, plum get ripe by now.

Demography of the Village

According to a census carried out in 1986-87, the populationof Zandra village which consisted of 120 houses was 2,734.



However, according to the survey conducted by the researcher in2007 the total population had only increased marginally to 3,234consisting of 295 houses.

All residents are divided into tribes; and each tribe into sub-tribes and further down the lineages called as khels. There are 8lineages(khels) living in the village. Among these 8 lineages 7 whichinclude Gull Mohammad Khel, JanakKhel,ParakhKhel, Anna Khel,Hassan Khel,Akhtairzai and Notaizai belong to KakarPanizai tribeand are in the majority, due to which this village is known to be thevillage of this particular tribe. The other group is Taran whoconsiders themselves Sayyed.

Table 1: Population of the village:Sr. Lineage In 1981 In 2007

POP HH AVG POP HH AVG1 Gull Mohammad Khel 787 34 23.14 854 78 10.942 JanakKhel 766 32 23.93 806 69 11.683 ParakhKhel 523 25 20.92 752 73 10.304 HussanKhel 317 14 22.64 305 30 10.165 Anna Khel 203 8 25.37 191 19 10.056 Tarans 118 6 19.66 62 5 12.407 Dautanies 20 1 20.00 0 0 00.008 Akhtairzai 0 0 00.00 210 17 12.35

TOTAL 2734 120 3234 295

(Source: Census reports 1981 and field data)

POP: Population, HH: Households, AVG: average numberof people in each household

Ethnicity

Zandra is a typical segmentary society and their socialorganization is based on lineages. Sub-tribes and lineages havedifferent relations with each other. For example among sevenlineages of Panizais three i.e. Gull Mohammad Khel, JanakKhel,and ParakhKhel trace their descent from three brothers who werethe fourth generation of Khojay. These three lineages are closer toeach other since they are descendents of real brothers. Presentlyfourth and fifth generations of these lineages live in the village. Theremainder three lineages i.e. Hassan Khel, Akhtairzai, and Notaizai,tracing their descent from three sons of Khojay, are closer to each



other because of the same reason. Anna khel is closer to the firstthree because they trace their descent through Juma Khan whowas father’s brother of Gull Muhammad, Janak and Parakh.

There is a complete social hierarchy among these lineages.Gull Mohammad Khel, JanakKhel, and ParakhKhel are jointly ontop of the social hierarchy and constitute the majority of the villagepopulation. When the question about the hierarchy among thesethree lineages was asked majority of the respondents said that theyare equal but it was observed that the people belonging to GullMuhammad Khelalways take pride in telling about their lineage.They have the political leadership of the village. They have thebigger population and a better control over the economic resources.JanakKhel comes next to them. Taran has the religious leadershipof the village.

Historical Background

Total population of Zandrais Pashtoon(Pashto speakingpeople).Historically they have been livingin the village since a longtime. It is believed that people came to this area in fourteenth centuryA.D.however; their origin is Afghanistan, not North Western FrontierProvince (NWFP). The language spoken in this area is also a localdialect of Pashto.

About 400 years ago the area was dominated by Taransasub-tribeof Syeds (people who trace their descent through HolyProphet). This was the time when Deotanis (a tribe amongPashtoons) started migrating to this areafrom Waziristan. The influxwas from Toi, Gomal and Wana villages of Waziristan. The firstDeotani to come to Zandra was Atta Mohammad. He later marriedthe daughter of his teacher Pir Syed MainaShadi and settledhere.Approximately 150 years after Atta Mohammad, anotherperson came to this area whose name was Khojay and he wasKakerPanizai. He came from Khanzai a village in Pasheen nearQuetta. First he came to Mangi with his family and animals. He didnot find enough food for his family and his animals so from Mangihe migrated to Zandra where he worked as a labourer. In this villageKhojay made huts (jhugies) at different places to live in. He madehuts in valley as well as on the mountains. In summer season heused to go on mountains. After that man Khojay the population ofPanizais in Zandra started increasing and the population of Dautanisstarted decreasing. Within 100 years all the Dautanis migrated to



another village Qawas, which is situated very near to Zandra andthe Panizais got full control of this village.

The people at that time were living a semi-nomadic life withtheir only occupation being herding. The times were tough andweather harsh; causing the people to migrate from low lying tohigh altitude areas in search of moderate temperatures andgrasslands. Later, some of them shifted to agriculture. In 1915 HajiPayo Khan brought a major occupational change in the village whenhe developed a model orchard and showed a big profit to the people.Following him others also started growing apple in their fields.Nowmajority of the people in the village is horticulturist. Almosteverybody who has a piece of land has an apple orchard. Otherthan apple they also plant cherry, apricot, peaches and almond etc.

One thing is very clear from the history of this area; thegradual shift of profession from herding to farming changed thelifestyle of the natives. From leading a nomadic life they transformedinto wealthy horticulturists, no longer requiring migrating from placeto place in search of resources.

Land of the Village

The land of Zandra village and its surrounding area can bedivided into three categories; Flood land, plain land and stony land.Flood land lies near mountains with alluvial soil coming along thestream water from mountains. Most of this land is used for orchards.Plain Land is prepared by the natives by layering dams’ mud onstony surface of the village. This practice was started in 1915 by alocal farmer called Haji Paijo Khan. The remaining part of the landis categorised as the Stony land which is weak and barren; notsuitable for cultivation.

According to 1998 census the total area of Zandra is 1229acres; out of which 669 acres are under roads, graveyards, residentialarea, mountains, karezes (underground water channels) etc. Out ofthe remaining 560 acres, 367 acres are under apple orchard, and193 acres remain uncultivated. In 1986 the area under apple orchardwas 227 acres. Reportedly, special efforts were made by the villagersat individual level to expand the area under fruit orchards bypreparing and converting their uncultivated land into orchards. TheGovernment has also taken measures to expand the area under applefarms in the entire district. As a result, in Ziarat District, the areaunder fruit trees increased from 4000 acres in 1986-87 to moreVoice of Intellectual Man 49


than 6400 acres in 2008-09. The production of apple has alsoincreased from 1.8 to 3.2 million mounds in the district. The area ofthe village under apple orchards has also increased up to 367 acresout of which 260 acres of land is called abi (irrigated by karez ortube-wells) and 107 acres is called Kuskaba or barani (irrigatedby rain).

Table 2: Land of Mozain Acers

Village Total Cultivated Unculti- Unculti- Abi Baranivated vable

Zandra 1229 367 193 669 260 107

China 623 293 3 337 293 0

Pachi 464 154 56 254 146 8

Patow 349 194 132 23 0 194

Total 2675 1008 384 1283 699 309

(Source: 1998 census)

The cultivable area of 560 acres of land is owned by 289households of the village, whereas there are 6 households whichdo not have any land. In 1981, the same area was distributed among120 households. The number of the households has become morethan double in the last 28 years. It was 120 in 1981, 208 in 1998 and295 in 2007. This shows a break up of joint families into nuclearfamilies, which has also affected the land holding patterns. Today,there are less big landholders than in the past. Majority of the peoplehas small pieces of land as compared to 1981. Apart from 6 landlessfamilies majority of the households has one acre of land.

Table 3: Land holding pattern in the village:

Sr. Landholding Land in acres Households Total land

1 Big landholders 21-35 3 78

2 Medium landholders 11-20 7 95

3 Small landholders 1-10 279 387

Everybody in the village, who has a piece of land, has plantedapple trees. So apple is cultivated in all 367 acres of land. Somefarmers have also planted other fruit trees in the same orchardsi.e. cherry, apricot, peaches and almonds etc. The ratio betweenapple and other fruits is 95%:5% respectively.



Table 4: Distribution of Land between khails:

Sr. Khels No. of households Land in acres1 Gull Mohammad Khel 78 1542 JanakKhel 69 1483 ParakhKhel 73 1264 HussanKhel 30 555 Anna Khel 19 276 Tarans 5 127 Akhtairzai 17 328 Notaizai 4 6

TOTAL 295 560

Economic Resources

In Zandra, there were various means of earnings i.e.horticultural and non-horticultural activities. Economic organizationof Zandra has undergone a transition. Since the middle of 20th

century, the village economy was only based on horticulture withapple as the main source of income, but over the years the populationhas outgrown the farming resources. Landholdings have reducedand hence the majority, apart from providing services to the orchards,during the season, has taken up other non-agricultural activitieslike different businesses and employment in public and private sectorto earn additional income. In order to further supplement domesticincome, the women folk have also started producing home basedhandicrafts like crochet work, embroidery, stitching etc. besidesthe household chores. Women are also working – mostly as teachersand some others as lady health workers (LHWs), lady health visitors(LHVs) lady doctors etc. but they are very few in numbers.

Apple economy of the village is based on production andsale of apples, in particular, and other fruits in general. In early1980s, majority of the fruit farmers earned from their apple orchardsfor whole of the year. About 74% of households were totallydependent on the apple economy while the rest of 26% wereinvolved in other occupations as well. In 2007, according to myown survey, only 22% families are solely dependent on the orchards,whereas 78% along with their orchards are involved in employmentand businesses activities. The reason behind this change is thebreakup of families and frequent distribution of property. The peoplehave left with small pieces of land from where they cannot earnmuch to meet their needs. The other reason is the cash economy



which has increased desire for money. Despite all that, apple stillremains the main source of income in the village.

Settlement Patterns

The local lifestyles vary according to the topographiccharacteristics of the area. In the highlands the settlements aresmall and scattered with the houses built near the farmlands. Onthe other hand in the valleys both small and big conglomerates ofhouses are built depending on the size of the plain tract. Most ofthe big villages are located at lower attitudes along the Quetta-Ziarat road; areas such as Kach and Kawas.

Joint family system exists in most of the houses of this area.To cater for big families big houses (havelis) are generally madeof square shapes with four walls comprising of many rooms. Thenumber of occupants of such big houses varies from 60 to 70.Sometimes, several houses are made in a single enclosure with asharing main entrance.

Structure of Houses

Two to three decades ago the people of this village used tolive in kacha (made up of mud) houses with only a few of the highclass of the society living in paka (made up of bricks) houses. Theaverage family had 5 to 8 rooms in their houses, aligned in a rowwith small windows opening in the veranda (an open courtyard).For this purpose the houses had huge courtyards with the guestroom situated near the main entrance. Across the courtyard therewould be a place for animals (kherkhoona) and a small garagefor the tractor. The houses were modest with no availability of aproper sewerage system; toilets were generally made outside thehouse with only a single bathroom inside the main structure of thehouse.

The new construction on the other hand is quite different.The bedrooms are now interconnected; toilets with flush systemare made near bedrooms, but not attached. The guestroom is nolonger near the main entrance but close to other bedrooms. However,it still has a separate entrance. The modern houses are smaller insize as family structure is fast changing from joint to nuclear; thecourtyards are becoming smaller and the number of bedroomsdecreasing. At present there are now about a 100 houses whichhave modern toilet systems.



Walls were generally built by mud and the roofs with trunkand branches of trees covered with plastic sheet and mud. Inmodern construction the roofs are made up of a thin corrugatediron sheets laid at an angle to the ground. This generally helps inavoiding snow from building up on the rooftops. However, duringwindy seasons there is always the risk of the roof being blownaway by strong gusts, this type of construction limits the houses toa single story building.

People used to sit on floor using cheap rugs with cushions.During winter the bedrooms were kept warm by a wood stoveinstalled in the centre of the room, whereas for summers, thebedrooms had windows which acted as natural ventilators. On theother hand the modern houses have gas heaters and a full set offurniture (beds, tables, chairs etc.).

Table 5: Households with different types of structuresSr. No House Type Number Percentage

1 Pacca 62 21%2 Semi Pacca 96 32.5%3 Kacha 137 46.5%

Total 295 100%

In 1970s karez (underground water channel) was the onlysource of water for domestic use. The people living by the side ofits drain used to extend their outer wall over it so that they couldtake water by keeping themselves inside the house. In 1980s peoplestarted making small wells (bowaries) in their houses for the waterof daily use. Now the government has provided water connectionsto every household with the help of tube wells. Importance of karezin their daily life has deteriorated because of this supply and thewellsare almost out of use.Karezplayed an important role information of household and to keep them united. They live togetheruntil they share water and land and when they distribute it theybecome separate. So the extended family brakes into nuclear family.

Religion

All the inhabitants of the village are Muslims belong to Sunnisect, which is further divided into two sub-sects i.e. Ehl-e Sunnat-wal-Jamaat and Ehl-e-Hadith. Majority of them are Ehl-e Sunnat-wal-Jamaat. Their mosques are not separate. Majority of them arevery particular about their prayers and fasts. They celebrate all



religious festivals with fervour. Women strictly observe purdah,and normally stay inside the house. Majority of the men keep beards.Most of the young boys and girls attend mosques to learn the HolyQuran.

They have a firm belief in fate (naseeb or qismat), whichaccording to them is written by God at the birth of an individual andno one can alter it. A 60 years old respondent narrated that all theincidents which occur in one’s life are written by God at the time ofone’s birth. They also have belief in supernatural beings, shrines,amulet (taveez), possession, evil eye, pir (spiritual leader) etc. Thesebeliefs are very much important in the life of the natives as theytreat several illnesses through these beliefs. These beliefs are deeplyingrained in the individual’s life through his cultural training offeringa pattern of social control, enabling the individual to cope with theunknown and uncontrollable phenomena.

Mosques and Madrassa (religious educationalinstitution)

There are two mosques, two mosque madrassas and onecentral madrassa for Quranic education called Madrassa-e-Tajveed-ul-Quran. One mosque is in the centre of the village whereas theother is at a far off distance at the borders of the village. Religiouseducation, both for boys and girls is given great importance in thevillage. The parents who do not send their daughters to school ensurethat they attend madrassa regularly. When the girls grow up andreach up the age of 10 to 12 years, their parents normally withdrawthem from madrassa. Some of them start sending them to cleric’swifefor further learning. These religious educational institutions havetheir own syllabus. Boys learn the Quran and memorize by heart inmadrassas. The madrassa runs on the charity by the villagers.Majority of the students reside in the madrassa and are allowed togo home, only on weekends.

Shrines

There are 2 Shrines in the village; Shrine of Baba Kharwariand Shrine of MianShadi. The people often visit these shrines andalso pay homage to them.

Shrine of Pir Baba Kharwari

The shrine of Baba Kharwari whose real name wasMulaTahir is one of the most well-known places in the district.



Baba Kharwari rendered great services to the cause of Islam inthe early 18th century. His shrine is situated about 9 km from thetown of Ziarat and has an area of 6 acres. The shrine consists of amosque, a langer (free food served at shrines), and a place ofworship. A large number of people who visit Ziarat go to the shrineto offer fateha(prayer for the saint).

Shrine of Pir Syed MianShadi

The shrine of Pir Syed MianShadi is situated in the village.Pir Syed MianShadi was the local spiritual leader of this area wholived approximately 400 years ago. He belonged to the sub-tribeTarans of the Syeds tribe.

The people of this village believe in the powers of shrinesand offer vows for the fulfillment of their desires. Shrines fulfillvariety of needs of the community and the followers, including social,economic, political, educational, cultural and religious needs.Various festivals and ceremonies of religious and spiritualsignificance take place at shrines. Social interaction increases whenurs (annual religious festival) is held. Many individuals and familiesearn their livings by performing different duties during the festivals.Health seeking is one of the most important functions of shrines.The shrines are like faith healing centers where the followers aregetting satisfactory results.

Sarai (communal co-operation)

The natives used to work for each other in the fields inharvesting season on reciprocal basis where they performed activitieslike digging the orchard, leveling the land, plucking and packingthe fruit. They also helped each other while fetching firewood fromthe forest on donkeys, at the occasions of marriages and funeralsetc. This tradition of communal co-operation was called as sarai.Nothing was paid in cash or kind for doing the work. Only lunchwas served by the host. At marriages and funerals financial supportwas also provided to concerned people.

This tradition was very strong in Zandra till 1970s. But nowit is very rare as the people have started using machines and thepaid lobour in the fields during harvesting season. They do nothave to fetch firewood from the forest as the government hasprovided gas connections to the households. As far as the marriages



are concerned this co-operation has been limited to provision ofspace for holding the feast only, which is given by the bridegroom’sparents to the whole village. Financial assistance is only providedto the needy if there is any, by the community and that too only onthe occasion of a wedding or a funeral. The main reason for thedeterioration in communal co-operation is improved economicconditions of the people due to fruit production and technologicaladvancement in the field of horticulture/agriculture.

Languages and Dress Patterns

Pashto is the language which villagers speak. This is thetraditional language spoken since the time of their forefathers.However, the dialect is somewhat different from that of nativePashto spoken in NWFP. The local variant originates from kakar,a person who migrated a long time ago from Kandhar district ofAfghanistan. Urdu being the national language is also understoodby the majority. In fact Urdu is quite common amongst school goingchildren.

Male Pashtoons wear shalwarqamiz (Pakistani nationaldress) with a Balochi cap which is generally wrapped within aturban. The summer clothes are made up of simple cotton, whereasin winter woollen clothes are preferred with a waistcoat, woollenshawl or sweater. Women on the other hand generally wear ladies’shalwarqamiz and a veil, especially when they are travelling. Forfunctions and occasions women prefer silky clothes. HandmadePeshaweri and BalochiChaple (footwear) are common, thoughthey are fast becoming extinct owing to the factory made shoes.Handmade sweaters have also been replaced by the machine made.Among the males readymade garments (shalwarqamiz) arebecoming popular.

Food Habits

People who do manual labour prefer simple yet heavy meals.There are 3 meals a day; Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The breakfastconsists of tea (with milk) and simple bread/chapatti. Some of theupper class people however, take fried bread/chapatti (paratha)with yogurt and butter for breakfast. Potatoes, pulses and red meatare the main ingredients for the lunch and dinner. Generally poorpeople don’t eat much of the red meat as it is quite expensivecompared to the vegetables and pulses. Rice is not a normal orfrequent part of their diet. During summers lasi (drinkable by-



product of yogurt) is taken to quench the thirst. However, it is nowbecoming a luxury as milk and its by-products are becomingexpensive day by day. Children generally drink milk and take thesame food as their parents. Food is always freshly prepared andthe families normally eat together, sitting on a mat or a blanketspread on the floor. Evening tea is not common among the people,though some have it.

On occasions such as marriages and deaths the peoplebelonging to lower and middle class also cook beef and muttonwith rice. Such occasions are marked with great feasts which costthem dearly; sometimes even loans have to be taken. However,spending money on such occasional banquets is matter of pride andhonour for the people.

The trend of fast food is becoming popular among the youngergeneration. Though there is no fast food restaurant in the villagebut a small stall by the roadside selling burgers. The teenagers arefound of visiting fast food restaurant. Whenever they go to Quettathey try to avail the opportunity.

Landhi (dried meat)

Landhi is dried sheep meat, taken only in winter to provideextra energy. Preparing landhi meat is a complex process. A healthysheep is reared up on a special diet of grass, wheat flour, dry bread,wheat, maize and garlic for at least 6-9 months. During the monthof November the sheep is slaughtered. The hair of the slaughteredanimal is handpicked until the skin comes loose. An iron rod is thenpierced through the body of the animal and it is slow roasted about2-3 feet away above the bonfire. Special soft wood is used for thebonfire. When all the remaining hair has burnt off, the skin iscompletely taken off the body and is cleaned by washing. It is thencut into small pieces. Red salt and pepperare spread all over it.Then it is hung for a month to dry away from direct sunlight innatural ventilation. Once it is dried, it is packed in wooden boxesalong with sacks. The entire process of preparing landhi has tofinish before the end of December as from January onwards thedelicacy will have to be enjoyed.

Development in the Village

Boththe Government and NGOs’ are taking active part in thedevelopment of the village.There are certain fields where thedevelopment has taken place over a period of two to threeVoice of Intellectual Man 57


decades.Quetta Ziarat road which eventually leads to the Punjabprovince has been converted into a dual carriageway. Work on arailway track between Quetta to Punjab passing Ziarat is also inprogress. Number of private automobiles has increased from 3 to70 in last two decades out of which 20 operate as private taxis.Number of motorcycles has also present many folds. Publictransport is frequently available.

A modern digital telephone exchange with 200 lines wasinstalled in 1986 in the village.People have started using cellphones.The young ones are well aware of internet and emailfacilities. However, they have to travel to Quetta to use thesefacilities as no cybercafé is present in the village. The nearest postoffice is in village Kawas, just 2 km away which was establishedin 1994.

Electricity was provided to the village in 1986; much haschanged ever since. Water is now pumped through tube wells andmotors, small household appliances such juicers, electric irons,washing machines etc. are now being used throughout the village.

The villagers have started using modern technologyin thefield of horticulture i.e. bulldozers,tractor, modern sprayingmachines,trucks,chemical fertilizers and insecticide.They have alsoswitched over to the verities of apple havingbetter export value,higher rates, a great demand and bring them more profit.

Besides horticulture/agriculture some other occupations arealso becoming popular in the village which includes business,professional driving, government jobs,migration and labour.Thebusiness includes shop keeping,sale and purchase of automobiles,rental property and the industrial middlemen for farmproducts.Barter system and sepi system which are locally calledas had system no more existing in the village. About 30 years ago,there was no market in the village, but now there is a proper markethaving 68 shops in the middle of the village, where all the modernproducts of daily use are available. Many such products wereavailable in the shops, which were even newly introduced inIslamabad. A major change from homemade products to consumerproducts mostly from the core countries was observed in thevillage.Natives have started migrating towards the cities in pursuitof jobs, businesses, wages, services and luxuries like better healthfacilities, higher education, better housing facilities, entertainmentsources like television, cinema etc.



In 2002 a major change in the field of irrigation and watersupply took place when the government with the help of nativesstarted installing tube wells in the village with deep boring whichprovide sufficient water to fulfill their needs. This technology is farahead then the wells and karez which were the only source ofwater in the past. This improvement is not in the irrigation systemsonly; the household water supply has also been improved. Thewater connections have been provided to the households. Nowevery household has a water connection and is linked with thepipeline. The karez has also been improved. New drains have beenconstructed to stop the wastage of water. Now there are threecemented drains which carry the water from the karez to thevillage.

In most of the villages livestock plays an important role inthe economy. In recent past the people of Zandra were also dependentupon the livestock, which included donkeys, cows, oxen, goats,sheep, hens etc. for their additional household income. During thelast decade the animals have been replaced by the technology, whichincludes machinery, natural gas and chemical fertilizers. Now thereare very few households, which keep the animals.Reasons for thisdeterioration are improvement in economic conditions, lack ofinterest of younger generation, non-availability of suitable servants,non-availability of space in the houses, availability of milk productin bazaar.

In Zandra a Basic Health Unit (BHU) was setup in the year1979. The total number of people working in the unit was 5. It waslater increased up to 14 persons. The facility remains open for publicfrom 8am to 2pm. Medical supplies are provided free of cost to thepatients in this health centre. Over the last 3 decades the annualquota of medicines for this BHU has also been increased.Consultation and medicines can also be availed from the 2 recentlyopened private clinics which are located about 15-20 km fromZandra village. Lady-doctor is also available in one of these clinics.Two medical stores are also operating in the village since 1998.

The educational facilities are available in the village both forboys and girls in governmental, non-governmental and private sectorup to secondary and elementary levels respectively.Madressas(religious educational institution) and the private tuitioncentreare also present in the village. For the higher education peoplesend their sons to the colleges and universities in Quetta.Major



changes have taken place in the education sector over the last 3decades. In 1980 the village only had one primary school for girls,a middle school for girls and boys and two madrasssas. However,with a joint effort of the government, NGOs and public sector, thenumber of schools, madrasssas and tuition centres have beenincreased up to 14.

There are no local banks in the village hence people have togo to Ziarat and Quetta for their banking needs. As for as theirpersonal accounts are concerned majority of them have in Quettaas they have to do their shopping there. Males have the awarenessto operate their personal accounts. Women on the other hand savemoney via a local Committee system. In this system money iscontributed by every member of the committee periodically over afixed period of time and then turns are taken in which each memberwould get his share of money. The committees can last from a fewweeks to a few years whereas the money involved may vary from afew hundred Rupees to hundreds of thousands.

Conclusion

The data reveals that this pace of progress has also affectedthe village and economic growth is visible everywhere.The villagehas gone through some major structural changes during recent past.The natives are economically well off which they consider asdevelopment. This development has increased their choices. Use oftechnology has become common. Their income through farm andother secondary sources has grown up. Cash economy has resultedin the growth of per-capita income and increase in the volume ofconsumer goods and thus improved the material quality of life ofthe people. On the other hand it has also resulted into thedisintegration of social bonds in the village. They have a betteraccess to education and health facilities. Their perception aboutbiomedical healthcare has changed which reduced the clientele ofthe ethnic healthcare systems and increased the people’s expenditureson health care.

According to world system theory core countries have aninterest in growth of the peripheral countries, because such a growthincreases demand for the goods produced by the capitalist industry.This, in turn, will promote growth in the core countries. The reverseis also postulated to apply, that is the developing countries can sellmore of their products in the industrial countries when the economiesin these countries grow. The main point here is that it is not only the



peripheral countries that depend upon the core countries, the corecountries are in many areas dependent upon the periphery. Sointerdependence exists, for periphery it is for finished products andfor core it is for raw materials and human resource. Thisinterdependence supports the core countries as the consumerproducts used in peripheral countries become a source of profit andinexpensive raw material and cheap labour provide them savings.So they are becoming richer and richer at the cost of the peripheraleconomies.

The world’s capitalist economies determine the rout fordevelopment of the large part of the world’s population in their ownfavour. Industrialization is a precondition for aggregate growth andeconomic development of backward societies. Distorted productionstructure in the peripheral countries and their dependence is a resultof the dominance of the core countries. The economically backwardcountries have to pledge considerable resources to set in motion anindustrial development process. Technological development bringspositive changes all over the world. Some impulsive changes arebrought in peripheral or semi-peripheral countries, but the corecountries get the most advantage.

ReferencesAmin, S. 1970. L’accumulation à l’échellemondiale; critique de la théorie du

sous-développement. Dakar: IFAN.

Amin, S. 1973. Neo-colonialism in West Africa.Hamondsworth, UK: Penguin.

Cardoso, F. H. &Falletto, E. 1969. Dependenciaydesarollo en América Latina.Mexico City: SigloVentiuno.

Dos Santos, T. 1970a. Dependenciaeconómicaycambiorevolucionario. Caracas:Nueva Izquierda.

Dos Santos, T. 1970b. The Structure of Dependency. American EconomicReview, 60(2), 231-236.

Frank, G. 1969. Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America. New York:Monthly Review Press.

Rodney, W. 1974. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, DC: HowardUniversity Press.

Wallerstein, I. 1974. The modern world system, vol. I: Capitalist agriculture andthe origins of the European world economy in the sixteenth century. NewYork: Academic Press.

Wallerstein, I. 1980. The Modern World System II: Mercantilism and theConsolidation of the European World Economy. 1600-1750. New York:Academic Press.



Wallerstein, I. 1989. The modern world system, vol. III: The second greatexpansion of the capitalist world economy 1730-1840s. San Diego:Academic Press.

Wallerstein, I. 1979. The Capitalist World Economy. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Wallerstein, I. 1983. Nationalism and the World Transition to Socialism: IsThere a Crisis? Third World Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 1, 95-102.

Wallerstein, I. 1997. The Rise and Future Demise of World Systems Analysis.Paper delivered at the 91st annual meeting of the American SociologicalAssociation, New York.

Wallerstein, I. 2004. World-Systems Analysis, in World System History.In G.Modelski (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS),UNESCO. Oxford: Eolss Publishers.



VILLAGE OF MAD MAN

Documents

Transcript of VILLAGE OF MAD MAN