Socio-Political Study of District Ghazi Khan

1988-1999

Session (2015-2017)

Submitted By: Abdul Majeed

Submitted to: Dr. Akbar Malik

Roll No: 15

Class: M.Phil. Studies

Department of Pak Studies

The Islamia University of Bahwalpur

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Socio-Political Study of District 1988-1999 Table of Contents Sr.No. Page No. Dedication II Statement &Declaration III Certificate IV Acknowledgment V Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 1 : 10

Hstorical Background of District D. G. Khan

1.1 Hostory of Dera Gahzi Khan. 1.1 Tehsil D. G. Khan 1.2 Tehsil Taunsa 1.3 Tribal Area 1.4 Kot Chuuta

Chapter 2 : 30

Social Study of District D. G. Khan

2.1 Rural Area 2.2 Tribal Structure 2.3 Customary Practices

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2.4 Historical and Tourist places Chapter 3 : 56

Political Parties and Politics of D. G. Khan (1988-1999)

3.1 Prominent Political Parties 3.2 The nature of National and Provincial Constituencies 3.2 Electoral History and Politics 3.3 Activities of Local Government (1988-1999) 3.3 Element affecting the Electoral Politics

Chapter 4 : 86

Political Families and Personalities of D.G. Khan and their Impact (1988-1999) 4.1 Political families of District D. G. Khan 4.1.1 Mazari 4.1.2 Khosa 4.1.3 The Leghari's 4.1.4 Gorchani 4.2 Political Impact of Personalities

Conclusion 101

Appendix 108

Bibliography 117

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Abstract

This research deals with the facts, regarding to socio-political growth and development in D. G. Khan from 1988 to 1999. There are two aims of this study, first to understand the nature of politics in D. G. Khan and second its impact on socio-political. Institution may be defined as a mechanism, organization, body, or company where people work collectively for any constructive objective that could lead the country as a whole towards development. It is very difficult to provide any definition for the understanding of socio-political situations. For the paper we can define, Politics is field through which public seeks authority through legitimacy, enforce laws, and punish the transgressor. It includes political parties, legislature, executive and judiciary. After having sensible political institutions one can think about growth, that is an evolutionary process for change. The change is development.

Therefore, D. G. Khan is one of the cities in the Pakistan where so- called politician are working for the growth and development of few individuals, few families, few media channels and few religious groups. Although it has been everywhere in the Pakistan but intensity of pragmatism makes the political development fruitful. It follows with growth and development with same intensity in the socio condition. Thus, D. G. Khan needs realistic politician that believe in the growth of a social and economical development of common person.

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Introduction

The word "Dera" is derived from the local word ḍerā which means "encampment". Dera Ghazi Khan thus means the settlement or city of Ghazi Khan. Many cities in South Asia have Dera as a pre-fix such as and Dera Allah Yar. People of Dera Ghazi Khan as well as Dera Ismail Khan are also known as or sometimes as Dervi while the latter is used as Pen name or Takhallus.

Dera Ghazi Khan is a mid-country city located on the junction of all the four provinces of Pakistan i.e. , Punjab, and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. Due to its location, it has been once in the list of prospective capitals of Pakistan. It has beautiful and unique landscape including , Green Fields, Pachad Desert and the .

Islam came into this region during eighth century when Muhammad bin Qasim (695–715), the Ummayad general entered Sindh and Punjab. More than 99% people are Muslims. Independence of Pakistan in 1947, Hindu population of the city migrated to . There are three Hindu temples in the city. Inhabitants of DG Khan District speak Saraiki and a great variety of Punjabi dialects.

Derawali (Mainly), Majhi or standard (Sizeable population in cities also in newly cultivated areas), Raangri (A mixture of Punjabi and spoken by sizeable population in cities), Thlochi (Border areas near Layyah & Muzafargarh districts), Khetrani (Border areas near Barkhan & Musa khel districts)

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Other Languages include:, Urdu is mother tongue of few people but being national language is spoken and understood by the sizeable population. English is also understood and spoken by the educated elite. Balochi is also spoken by sizeable population in the Baluchistan province border areas. is spoken by minority population in the Baluchistan province border areas and in the cities.

Statement of Problem

This research is concerned with the study of Socio-Political study of D. G. Khan District duing 1988-1999. In this respect, I have to observe the social and cultural rights and traditions in the society of D. G. Khan District. On the same pattern research will be focused on electoral political situation, political parties and political personalities of D. G. Khan District. History of D. G. Khan District will also be searched.

Objectives of Research

Objectives of my research are to answer the following questions and also highlight the hidden aspects of life of Socio-Politics study of D. G. Khan District so that if the political and cultral role of D. G. Khan District in Pakistan be assessed. Up to now no research work carried about the Politics and Economy of D. G. Khan District. So many questions are present in the mind of many people about the importance of D. G. Khan District. Common questions are as follows:

1. What is the historical and geographical importance of D. G. Khan District?

3 2. What are the social traditions? What kind of social development took place in D. G. Khan District during research period? 3. What is the trend of political parties? 4. What is the role of Biradries in electoral politics? 5. What is the politics of local government?

Significance of Research

It is a first time in the history of D. G. Khan District research is oriented on its different aspects like sociology, politics and history. It would highlight the history since its foundation till to now. Most of the people of D. G. Khan District are unaware about its history it would satisfied them. In the same way role of D. G. Khan‘s District personalities on national and international status will be highlighted.

Research Methodology

The Research Paradigms used by the Social Scientists and Researchers were applied to obtain a first hand, reliable data, which could be used for further intervention. As the study widely involves a data based on facts and figures pertaining to various aspects of human life, i.e., social, economic, political, cultural, religious, and gender, therefore it was pertinent that the study must be conducted on scientific empirical research paradigm.

The study toolkit used for the collection of data included collection of primary data through Questionnaire, Traverse Walk for direct observation and collection of Secondary data from various sources including National Census Report 1998.

4 The researcher collected secondary data for Tehsil from the Tehsil Municipal office. This secondary data included information about number of Union Councils and villages and number of schools in various villages. Some of the secondary data was also taken from the National Census Report of 1998 of the areas.

While researcher aimed to conduct this study on scientific basis and has framed an empirical research design, hence total dependence on Secondary data could not be of any benefit for intervention. Reason being, the public sector normally project such figures, which usually do not conform to the physical verification. Therefore, primary data was collected on group and individual basis. The reason to collect primary data from the group was to obtain information about the entire village so that a separate village profile could be prepared and an overall picture of the village could be sketched for future decision or intervention. However, the data from individual was collected in order to know the state of affair of an individual household. The information was collected on a structured questionnaire, which was developed especially for the study purpose.

Questionnaire Development

A detailed Questionnaire was developed to obtain relevant data for the study. For Questionnaire development, the services of an expert were secured who provided a comprehensive Questionnaire and imparted required training and education to the The Socio- Economic and Political Situation of D. G. Khan District surveyors to conduct this study. The questions were framed in a manner and sequence to ensure their relevance to the Respondents and

5 can obtain maximum information required for the study. Almost all types of questions used by the social researchers and scientists were incorporated in the Questionnaire.

Research Organizations

Research will be divided in four chapters. Chapter one would be tilted as introduction and history of D. G. Khan District. It will consist of its ancient and current history and its geographical distribution. It will also discuss the ancient tombs and religious places. Chapter second will concerned the social, culture and civilization development of D. G. Khan District including social set up, traditions and local games. It will also focus the casts and tribes living in D. G. Khan District.

Chapter three will touch the political history and politics of D. G. Khan District including local, provincial and national politics of research period. Local, provincial and national constituencies and results will also be discussed in this chapter. Chapter four will highlight the personalities of D. G. Khan District including religious and political personalities.

Literature Review

There is a lot of literary material about the Social, Political and Cultural study of D. G. Khan. In the same many books are present in libraries that are concerned with the customs and traditions of in Dera Ghazi Kahn Division. But I have to review few of them which are more authentic and provide firsthand knowledge about the topic.

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―District Gazetteer of Dera Ghazi Khan” is a primary source about District D. G. Khan. It is published by Snag-e-Meel Publications. It provides a lot of information about its geography, history, distribution, fauna, flora, culture, civilization, economy, development tribes, people etc.

“Tawarikh Dera Ghazi Khan” 1 is written by Munshi Hokum Chand Assistant Commissioner of Dera Ghazi Khan in 1975 and Published by Indus Publications. It is divided in four parts and each part further divided in chapters. It consists of 869 pages. It is written in ancient Urdu. It is a primary source about the history, administrations, Tribes and customs of Dera Ghazi Khan. In the past Present District was a part of District Dera Ghazi Khan so it is also discussed in it.

Title of part one is Geography and all issues concerning to geography like area, boundaries, rivers, introduction of different cities that are part of District are given discussed in it briefly. In this chapter Rajanpur along with its tribal area are also discussed in it. Part second is about the Tribes and costs living in Dera Ghazi Kahn and its different parts. In the same chapters religious, social, triabl customs and traditions are also highlighted after deep observations. Part three is also of same nature. Part fourth is about the administration with respect to government taxes.

“Gul Bahar”2 is also a primary source about the Tribal area ad Tribal system. It was compiled by Hato Ram in 1962 and later edited by Aziz Muhammad Bugti in 1982 and published by Baloch

1 Munshi Hokum Chand, Tawarikh Dera Ghazi Khan. Indus Publications, Karachi, 1975 2 Hato Ram, Gul Bahar, Baloch Acadmey, Quetta, 1962

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Acadmey Quetta. It is divided in four parts and each part is further divided in four chapters that are expanded on 377 pages.

Chapter one of part first is about the introduction of District Dera Ghazi Khan and its administrative organization. In the same chapter tehsils of Dera Ghazi Khan Snagher, and Rajanpur are also discussed in detail. Chapter second is about the introduction of boundaries areas like Sindh, State, Dera Ismail Khan, Quetta and Afghanistan. Chapter three is ancient populations and area.

Mughees Ahmad and Fozia Naseem in ―Social System Influences Political System: A Comparative Study of Subcontinent‖3 have made a study of the Tribal system and its impacts on politics of Pakistan with special reference to the province of Punjab. They believe that local culture is significant for social system which ultimately impacts the political system. In the study of comparative politics, political behaviour is based on attitude, believes and values which are related directly to the caste-system. Thus the Tribal system becomes a significant factor influencing political behavior, particularly in the area of Districts D. G Khan and Rajanpur.

“The Pakistan Election Compendium” 4 is a data on elections to the national and provincial assemblies since 1970 to 2008. It is compiled by Church World Service of Pakistan and published in 2012. It is expanded on three volumes but second volume is our research concerned. Before the start of new session, complete introduction is

3 Mughees Ahmad and Fozia Naseem in their article ―Social System Influences Political System: A Comparative Study of Subcontinent‖, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 2011 4 “The Pakistan Election Compendium” Church World Service of Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2012.

8 given. Feature of each constituency with exact facts and figures are given in it.

Books of Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed like are also to be reviewed Wazeer-e-Azem Benazir Bhutto Namzadgi Say Bertarfi Tak 19955 Nawaz Shareef Ka Pehla Dour-e-Hakoomat 19976 Benazir Hakomat Ka Aroj-wa-Ziwal 20017 Nawaz Sharif Iqtidar say Azab Tak 20038

5 Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed, Wazeer-e-Azem Benazir Bhutto Namzadgi Say Bertarfi Tak, Zahid Publishers, , 1995 6 Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed, Nawaz Shareef Ka Pehla Dour-e-Hakoomat, Jang Publishers, Lahore, 1997 7 Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed, Benazir Hakomat Ka Aroj-wa-Ziwal, Sang-e-Meel, Lahore, 2001 8 Prof. Ghafoor Ahmed, Nawaz Sharif Iqtidar say Azab Tak, Zahid Publisher, Lahore, 2003

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Chapter 5: Conclusion

The city of D. G. Khan was founded at the close of the 15th century and named after Ghazi Khan Mirrani, son of Nawab Haji Khan Mirrani, a Balochi chieftain, who had declared independence from the Langhi Dynasty Sultans of . Together with two other i.e. settlements,Dera Ismail Khan and Dera , it gave its name to . Derajat eventually came into the possession of the British after the Sikh War in 1849 and was divided into two districts: Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan. After the , many of the city's Hindu residents settled in colony of , India. The district of Rajanpur was later carved out of the . Some of them also settled in various part of India, including Bhiwani, Delhi, Jhansi, Ranchi, Ambala and Haridwar.

Dera Ghazi Khan was founded by a Balouch ruler, nawab Haji Khan Mirrani, also called Mirani Balouch, in 1476; he named the town after his son Ghazi Khan Mirrani. In those days, game abounded near Dera Ghazi Khan and the fields were green. Haji Khan Mirrani was a great cattle owner and was attracted to the site by the plentiful supply of grass. It was known as "Dera Phoolan Tha Sehra" due to plenty of gardens and kastori canal, supplied by the Indus river.

In 1909-10, this cradle of Mirrani civilisation was inundated by the Indus. At that time, there was a population of about 23,731. The present town was built 10 miles (16 km) from the old town. It was laid out on a grid pattern comprising 66 blocks with wide long roads and streets.Two open spaces were planned in each block for social gatherings. Some of these have been encroached upon.The

102 population of the new developed town in 1911 was 18,446. This 2.22% decrease of population was due to dislocation of population after the destruction of the previous settlement.

District D.G. Khan is a region of far west of province of Punjab and as compare to other provinces of Punjab it is more tribal in its social set-up. The contiguity of this region to Baluchistan has had the influence on the lives of people due to the nature of tribal culture. The paper tried to investigate the trends of tribal culture on the lives of women of this region who had been subjugated in every aspect of life.

The politics in District Dera Ghazi Khan is probably the most complex of the three divisions of South Punjab. Half of this division Dera Ghazi Khan district is considered tribal belt. Political parties have very little to do here as tribal chiefs play key role in the success or failure of any candidate and almost all candidates come from major tribes like the Legharis, Khosas, Mazaris, Qaisranis, Buzdaars, Gorchanis, Dareshaks, Loonds and Khawajgaans. Nevertheless, parties do matter when it comes to politicizing in the remaining two districts: Muzaffargarh and Layyah. Similarly, it‘s the area, where the slogan of Saraiki province may affect the results of elections as well.

It would be save to conclude that women in the region of D.G.Khan were relatively far behind in getting their due rights in the tribal set- up. Women had to suffer at different fronts and most importantly in determining their practical and strategic interests. As Chandra Mohanty argued that for too long that women in the third world have been considered not agents of their own destiny, but victims. An

103 image of woman of D.G.Khan is more or less similar to those who are described in the perspective of feminist scholarship as third world woman leads an essentially truncated life based on her feminine gender sexually constrained and her being 'third world' status as ignorant, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound, domestic, family- oriented, victimized, etc. It has been realized that colonial set up introduced the system of liberty, democracy and human rights in the colonized world with the claim of rationality but it consummated its rule with customary practices to not only establish the rule but provided the additional fillip in its prolongation. The British rule seemingly stressed on utility concerns by compromising the rights of women and she was subjugated more and more in the tribal society of D.G.Khan. It was also found that where she had been lacked at different fronts could be caused by her position in the sexual division of labor, and she tends to involve struggles not for liberation but for the ability to fulfill their roles as wives and mothers. It could also be said that woman was excluded from the social set up of D.G.Khan deliberately and the maxim of Sherry B.Ortner come to true as that ‗Is Female to male as Nature is to Culture‘.

It would be save to conclude that women in the region of D.G.Khan were relatively far behind in getting their due rights in the tribal set- up. Women had to suffer at different fronts and most importantly in determining their practical and strategic interests. As Chandra Mohanty argued that for too long that women in the third world have been considered not agents of their own destiny, but victims. An image of woman of D.G.Khan is more or less similar to those who are described in the perspective of feminist scholarship as third world woman leads an essentially truncated life based on her

104 feminine gender sexually constrained and her being 'third world' status as ignorant, poor, uneducated, tradition-bound, domestic, family- oriented, victimized, etc. It has been realized that colonial set up introduced the system of liberty, democracy and human rights in the colonized world with the claim of rationality but it consummated its rule with customary practices to not only establish the rule but provided the additional fillip in its prolongation. The British rule seemingly stressed on utility concerns by compromising the rights of women and she was subjugated more and more in the tribal society of D.G.Khan. It was also found that where she had been lacked at different fronts could be caused by her position in the sexual division of labor, and she tends to involve struggles not for liberation but for the ability to fulfill their roles as wives and mothers. It could also be said that woman was excluded from the social set up of D.G.Khan deliberately and the maxim of Sherry B.Ortner come to true as that ‗Is Female to male as Nature is to Culture‘.

Second aspect of this research is political study and with respect to this study of election results of two constituencies of NA-132 to NA 133 and PP-199 to 203 gives a good example of political study that influence on our socio-political system, of District D. G. Khan is a typical locality it falls into categories what Cifford Greetz calls ―old society and new state.‖ With its background combining colonialism, cultural pluralism, Islamic and traditional political trend including impact of tribal system in its day to day life, Pakistan politics in complicated with particular reference to District D. G. Khan. Although education and ideas have brought changes in political thinking and meaning of dependent political trend, the majority of District D. District G. Khan population living in rural area is still

105 strongly influenced by its traditional value-system of religion, socio- political tribes. Therefore in the great task of making District D. G. Khan a stable political society there is need to weld together the diverse tribes, families and religious groups. Pakistan fits into castes fully low political culture.

The trends discussed above had led to a high degree of distrust in the political system of District D. G. Khan which has brought the policy formulation task under the hands of central authority, creating despotic rule even under the umbrella of democracy. This part of South Punjab is influenced by its traditional life style and its people still live under supremacy of their family relations rooted in tribal system. These tribes carry authoritarian socio-political structure and, therefore, their role in political participation is passive. Although rural culture of of District D. G. Khan is under transformation because of the impact of rising education, however the rural people in general are still sub-subservient to their socio-cultural traditional background living under tribal system. Consequently the rural political culture of of District D. G. Khan is parochial which implies that either the general public does not understand the political system or if they do, they do not participate.

Hence the traditional elites such as tribalchiefs are the backbone of the political order ultimately influencing political voting trend of the rural populations. The study of the two constituencies of District D. G. Khan developing its modernity urban contracts, ultimately the impact of different elements influence the larger areas of the districts which lies in the countryside because of tribes are the main features of political decisions making process. Pakistan is suffering

106 participatory crisis particularly in the region of South Punjab due to the strong influence of religion and linguistic issues. It has low and fragmented political culture leading to authoritarian nature of rule. The elections analysis of has further shown direct participation and influence of the tribal chiefsin all constituencies of the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies. The historical impact on the region of District D. G. Khan has played significant role in developing tribal culture, dividing it into tribes and making it pluralistic culture. Broadly speaking, the people of that are speak the same language, eat the same food, wear the same clothes and their living style is almost same. But internally they are deeply divided on the different basis in their socio-political trend. Politically, they are bound together to participate in their voting trend under the umbrella of their tribes. Hence the tribal culture is not only pluralistic but also a low political culture. Consequently, tribes in their political trend are passive in general. A large number of population carry rural background which has made them radically traditional and therefore, static and passive in their socio-cultural attitude and trend. Thus the influence of tribal system has itself created a unique political culture for its people, which are considered as backbone of their voting trend.

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