Especially its social aspect needs more attention of the researchers than usual. Same is the case with the life style of gypsies of this region; especially of the Bahawalpur District. Gypsies of this District have unique social features due to their increasing interaction with the civic life; especially their professions have greatly been influenced in the face of their increasing sociability with the indigenous settled people which are the core theme of the research work in hand.

xiv 1 Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Brief History of Bahawalpur Region

Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan I1 integrated the area of Bahawalpur in the

United India. It was included in the Punjab province in 1739. Nawab Sadiq a taaaaQ‎ btaB‎ a‎ iaa‎ aianQiQ‎ iwht‎ a‎ hwhai‎ P ‎ “laiaa”‎ ai‎ hti‎ laQwn‎ utat.‎

Technically this state came in to reality in 1702.2 The first English book that was published in the 19th century says that, on the eastern side of the state, there was

British possession of Sirsa. And on the western side there Indus River while the northern boundary was created by Garra River. At the southern frontier of this state, there was Bikaner and Jeyselmeer. Its total length from eastern side to western side was around 324 miles. There is much variation in its breadth. It varies from 80, ranges from 60 to 15 miles.3

It was the start of 20th century and the state was lying at the extreme southwest side P ‎hti‎PnPtwBai‎)p Baaa(.‎aha‎aPaahwPB‎iaa‎PniaintiQ‎aa:‎27.42’‎aBQ‎

30.25’‎ lPnht‎ aBQ‎ 69.31’‎ aBQ‎ 74.1’‎ aaah,‎ itwai‎ hti‎ hPhaa‎ ania‎ iaa‎ 15,918‎ ai ani‎ miles. The mean breadth of the total occupied area was 40 miles though the length of the whole area from north-east side to the south-west was 300 miles. There was a desert area of sand-dunes of utmost height. The height was 500 feet. The total desert area is of 9,881 square miles.4 There were 3 administrative units also known

1 as Nizamats. Name of those units were: Bahawalpur, Minchanabad and Khanpur.

All three states were comprised of a total amount of 10 towns and 1,008 villages.5

Tehsils is known as further sub-division of each unit (Nizamats). So, there is a total of 9 Tehsils in three administrative units.

Figure 1-1 Bahawalpur’s Position in Pakistan On the basis of census report of 1891, there was a population of 650,042 in

Bahawalpur and there were 546,680 Muslims, 90,013 Hindus, 13,321 Sikhs and only 11 Christians. Muslims were the landlords and Hindus were in the money and banking management sectors. Later, in 1901, there were 720,877 residents recorded by the British government, among which 83% were Muslims. The cast of

Hindus located there were Arora, Rajput and Jat while the cast of most of the

Muslims were Daudpotra, Mogul, Pathan, Syed, Arain, Jat, Rajput, Joiya, Sheikh and Baloch.6

2 When Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V (1904-1966)7, the last Nawab was ruling, the state of Bahawalpur was merged the western side of Pakistan in the year 1954. After that incredible event, the state of Bahawalpur became an administrative unit of Pakistan, having the headquarters in the city area of

Bahawalpur. The new location of the Bahawalpur was covered with River Sutlej,

Panjnad and Indus River from the northern side that was separating the areas of

Dera Ghazi and Multan. Both of these areas are adjacent to areas like Vehari,

Multan, Sahiwal, Lodhran and Muzaffargarh. The southern side of Bahawalpur was covered with Sukkur (division of Sindh province) and East Punjab (states of

Jeyselmeer and Bekaneer) are sharing the border with the southern side of

Bahawalpur. The area of Bahawalpur is exceptionally significant concerning about the national defense as well as from a tactical point of view. The three integral divisions of Bahawalpur are: RaheemYar Khan, Bahawalnagar, and Bahawalpur

District.8 Bahawalpur division remained as p Baaa’a administrative part

)paawahaB’a‎pnPtwBai(‎and this position existed until the revolution of 2000. It was hti‎hwai‎itiB‎zPtinBaiBh’a‎3rd tier was abolished.

As a result of this dramatic change, Bahawalpur became a district which was bound by Lodhran District, the northern side. From the eastern side, it was bound by India and District Bahawalnagar while on the southern side by India.

The western side was also bounded by Muzaffargarh and RahimYar Khan districts. Among the largest districts of Punjab, one is Bahawalpur and its total area is 24,830 square miles.9 The area is known for its peculiar features such as

3 geographical characteristics, topographic and demographic features. The elevation of this district is 152 meters (from sea level) and is located approximately in the middle of the country. There are Five Tehsils that are:

i. Ahmad Pur East

ii. Hasilpur iii. Bahawalpur

iv. Yazman or you can say Cholistan, and

v. Khairpur Tamewali

In 1988, the population was 2.411 million while in 1981, it was 1.453 million so, it reflects a growth of 3.88% year as compare with 3.3% of p Baaa’a‎ total population. If we talk in terms of density, then the density had been increased from 59 to 97 by 1998.10

There are mostly plains of Indus basin in the soil of central Bahawalpur and its height is approximately 150 meter (above the sea level). On the southern side, there is desert that is known as Rohi or Cholistan which is undulated because of sand dunes and the peak of these dunes of sands is not more than 150 meters. The irrigation system was with the flood water of River Sutlej, but before the construction of canal system P ‎ u haia‎ aBQ‎ htah‎ ania‎ wa‎ aaaaiQ‎ “Ohant.”‎ rti‎ subsequent main area in relation to the topography was in between the passage of

Hakra and the railway line. Passage of Hakra was comprised of clay and the particular components are dunes of sand and silt. This area, locally, is recognized aa‎“ whant”.‎rtwa‎ania‎wa‎ inhwai and prosperous. There are residential and market

4 areas for Sutlej Valley Project colonies. The area had been divided in 3 strips, length wise as: desert area (Cholistan/Rohi), fertile tract in Sindh (river valley) and the third one was central tract (Bar or Pat).11

When it comes to climate, wh’a hot as the area is adjacent to Rajputana desert. It has an arid desert with the dry climate. The season of summer is long and it starts from the month of March and ends in October, total 8 months of summer.

Weather remains pleasant to cold in the month of November till February. The usual temperature in the season of summer varies from 40 and 50 degree centigrade, but when it comes to winter it remains in between 5 and 15 degree centigrade. Rarely, it falls in the range of freezing point that can damage crops.

When there was no canal system Bahawalpur region was consist of sand dunes and the temperature frequency of Khanpur and Fort Abbas were used to compare that of Jacobabad and turned out the reason of dust storms.12

In summer and usually whole the year there is more rain in Bahawalpur that shows that Bahawalpur is not affected by global warming. July and August considered as the month of heavy rain that is named as Sawan. Moonsoon.

Pleasant wind of Northern Punjab sometime become the reason of rainfall and makes the weather pleasant and cool. The area of Cholistan is consisting of 10399 miles. In winter cold winds come from Persian Gulf and moved towards these deserts that cause the thunderstorm which remain for more than a week or so. The harvest of spring in this area depends on the rain and the Cholistan desert totally depends on these rains.13

5 Due to desolate and barren desert here the rainfall is low as compared to other area. This desert was once a green and rich land. Around 400 BC Cholistan was a cradle of civilization which is well renowned with the name of Hakra Valley

Civilization (HVC) which water was the major sources of irrigation but with the passage of time because of drying of water, the area become the grazing lands.

Until 1200 BC river supplied the water to this area but around 600 BC there was irregular in flow of water that leads to vanished. As with the cultural advancement we can compare it with Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Harappa civilization. With the passage of time because of different problems it was the end of this great civilization.14

In ancient times Hakra River was known as Saraswati that combines the

Indus River after passing the through Pattan Minara in RahimYar Khan, Shukkur,

Rohri and Bhakkar. If we revise the historical traditions there were seven rivers that flow in the Valley of Indus which was also called as Sapat Sindhu (land of seven rivers). Two rivers of them dried up and become ancient cities. We can see these ruins in form of sand dunes.15

There were excessive of sand storms and winds at the beginning of summer in Bahawalpur before 1920. When the system of canal irrigation was established in 1920 to cultivate the area and agriculture grew which reduced the sand storms otherwise it turned into sand clouds that create darkness during day time. In summer the wind came to South West from North East.

6 In ancient time the water wells were the sole source of irrigation in this area and before it. And at that time the wells were un-bricked. In 1900 more attention was given to Bahawalpur State and Rs 7, 20,000 were given in advance for digging new wells and for the maintenance of 159 old wells. Till 1904 approximately 8 lakes had been therefore established but these resources were not enough to fulfill the need of water. Later on Bahawalpur State and Government of

India designed a project jointly for the irrigation of Sutlej River that was granted in 1920-1921. In this project four heads were built and the three were in the in the boundary of Bahawalpur State. In this system of irrigation there were two kinds of canals which are named as non-perennial and perennial.16

The crops of this state were wheat, cereal, cotton oats, gram, maize, barley, rice, sugar cane, tobacco, corn, turmeric, etc. The largest crops in 1903-4 were rice

(183), wheat (607 square miles), great millet (85), spiked millet (90), aBQ‎znaa’‎

(82). Now all kind of crops are produced there in this area. In Khanpur rive of fine quality were produced and in Minchanabad the crops of gram and barley were produced. In fruits dates, pomegranate, orange and mango are famous in quality of production. A long time ago as a gift the pomegranate, palm and dates of this region were sent to foreign countries. Bahawalpur State was also export wheat, indigo, gram, dates, gur (unrefined sugar), and mangos.17

7 1.2 A Detailed History of Bahawalpur City

The state of Bahawalpur was the result of efforts of Nawab Muhammad

Bahawal Khan Abbasi I (1748) that was later on included in the territory of

Pakistan in 1947. During British rule the state was one of the largest states in Indo-

Pak region and covered a vast area of about 451 kilometers in length. It was the decision of Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur to include the state into the territory of Pakistan independence time in 1947.18

The history of Royal House of Bahawalpur is considered an Arabic origin and elongates its root to Abbasid Caliphs of Baghdad and Cairo. It was the time of

1370 AD, when Sultan Ahmad II son of Shah Muzammil indoors Sind and opened the door of Hindustan for Arabs. Raja Rai Dhorang Sahtas became his father –in- law and dedicated one third of his territory to Shah Sultan as a dowry however,

Shah left Amir Fathu'llah Khan Abbasi as his ancestor of the state. Amir daht ’aaat‎aahin‎PB‎ixPaBQiQ‎hti‎ahahi‎itiB‎ti‎aPBi iniQ‎a‎iwQi‎ania‎P ‎hti‎ahahi‎ of Dallu, of Alor and Ahmadabad that was named as QahirBela. Amir Ahmad

Chani Khan the other great name in the history of Bahawalpur appeared with the role of Panjhhazari when joined in the imperial services in 1583. In 1690, Amir

Bahadur Khan Abbasi vacant Tarai and decided to settle near the area of Bhakkar where founded Shikarpur city. Daud Khan was the first member of his family who ruled Bahawalpur after Amir Bahadur. He was originated from Sind after opposing the Governor of Afghanistan and signed a treaty in February 22m 1933 with the HEIC (East India Company hereafter EIC).19

8 The princely state of Bahawalpur was originally stretched along the banks of river Sutlej and Indus and the city of Bahawalpur as its capital. The population of the state was counted as 1,341,209 and spread over the area of 45,911 km²

(17,494 sq. mi). After the end of Durrani Empire the state was restructured by

Nawab Muhammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi in 1802. First subsidiary alliance of the state with the British Government was first signed by Nawab Mohammad

Bahawal Khan Abbasi III in February 22, 1833 that guaranteed the rule of Nawab under the Suzerainty of the Britain. The ruling family that belonged to the Abbasi tribe claimed to be the descent of Abbasid Caliphs. The tribe migrated from Sind to Bahawalpur and presumed sovereignty with the end of Durrani Empire. The borders of the state were adjoined with the Delhi and Yamuna River on the south, the Himalayas on the east, and Sirsa on the west. The states however, were rules by Scindhia family of the Maratha Empire, Rajas and Sikh Sardars. Their rule of the states continued till 1805 after the loss of Marathas rule.20

sa‎a‎nia ah‎P ‎1809’a‎hniahi‎hti‎ahahi‎P ‎saaa‎saBawh‎uwBzt‎iaa‎ai iigiQ‎hP‎ the right bank of the Sutlej. In the treaty of 1833 between Ranjit Singh and the

Nawab of Bahawalpur it was decided to regulate traffic in the Indus region. The purpose of this treaty was to protect the independence of the state and the rule of power of the Nawab and to give root to the traffic in between the area of Indus and

Sutlej. To further smooth the political connection of the state of Bahawalpur, the

Nawab signed another treaty in 1838 with the paramount power of the day. It was

9 exactly the time when the restoration celebrations of the thorn of Shah Shuja of

Kabul were in progress.21

The Nawab of Bahawalpur was an active alley of the British Government while setting out expeditions against Multan under the guidance of Sir Herbert

Edwardes and giving passages and facilitating in providing supplies during the

First Anglo Afghan War.22 As a result of these services, the Nawab received a massive aid for districts Sabzalkot and Bhung in addition to receiving a pension of

PBi‎ “aaat”‎ Ptin‎ hti‎ aw i‎ hwaia.‎ Piitin,‎ hti‎ QwaP hia‎ in PhiQ‎ aaPBz‎ twa‎ successors with his death and the state was eventually ruled by his third son who was latterly thorn off by his eldest brother and had to live a life of refugee of the

British Government. He was promised to obtain a pension from the revenue of

Bahawalpur but he violated the agreement as a result jailed in Lahore fort and died in 1862.23

The Nawab died in 1866 after the successful expedition of finishing the rebellion erupted against him during 1863-1866. After his death, his son of age four named as Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV, became the new ruler of the state. The state was however, gone principally in the hands of British Government in order to save the state from the state of collapse resulted due to mismanagement and lack of administration. But in later years like 1879, the Nawab was empowered while including the assistance and advice of a council involving six members. In 1878-1880 the period of Afghan war and Nawab participated while disposing entire sources of the state under the consensus of British Government

10 while guarding the Dera Ghazi Khan as a frontier. The state was ruled by Nawab

Muhammad Bahawal Khan V after the death of Nawab Muhammad Sadiq. The

Nawab awarded the power in 1903 and was entitled to a salute of seventeen guns.24 The detail of the titles and salutes of the Nawab of Bahawalpur is as follows:

“The ruling prince: ba-Fazlahtaalah AlaHazrat Jalalatul-Mulk, Ruknud-

Daula, Saifud-Daula, Hafiz ul-Mulk, Mukhlisud-Daula, waMuinud-Daula, Nawab

(personal name) Khan (reign numeral) Abbasi Bahadur, Nusrat Jung, Farman rawa-

i-MamlukatKhudadad Bahawalpur, i.e. By the Grace of God, His HighnessRuknud-

Daula, Saifud-Daula, Hafiz ul-Mulk, Mukhlisud-Daula, and Muinud-Daula, Nawab

(personal name) Khan (reign numeral) Abbasi Bahadur, Nusrat Jung, Commander of

the God gifted kingdom of Bahawalpur. The principal consort of the ruling prince:

Nawab (personal name) Begum Sahiba, with the style of Her Highness. The

otherwives of the ruling prince: (personal name) Begum Sahiba. The Heir

Apparent:Nawabzada (personal name) KhanAbassi, WaliAhadBahadur. The other

sons of the ruling prince: Sahibzada (personal name) Abbasi. The daughters of the

ruling prince: Sahibzadi (personal name). Other male descendants of the ruling

prince, in the male line: Sahibzada (personal name) Khan Abbasi. The senior

members of the family sometimes use the title of Prince and Princess when

communicating with foreigners”.25

The majority of the population of the state was Muslim and therefore, the movement of Muslim League in the favor of Muslim Independent territory was highly supported by the state in accordance to the will of the local population. As a

11 result of the desire of the population, Nawab decided to be the part of Pakistan in

1947 and facilitate the migration of minorities comprised of Hindus and Sikhs to

India and paid attention towards the settlement of Muslim refugees coming from the states of India. The generosity and cooperation of the Nawab of Bahawalpur was highly admired by the government of Pakistan when he contributed a huge amount of seventy million rupees to run the government of Pakistan including one month salary for employees of all departments from Royal treasury. His gift of personal property to the King Edward Medical College, Punjab University, and the

Atchison College Mosque, Lahore is another token of appreciation for the services of Nawab of Bahawalpur to the government of Pakistan and its civil institutions to run their functions smoothly and effectively. The princely states of South Asia at the time of independence were given the choice of joining to either Pakistan or

India. Nawab of Bahawalpur was also opened to select and decide about the country to join and was approached by Pundit Nehru with plenty of incentives to show intention of joining in India but the decision of Nawab fell in the favor of

Pakistan not only because of personal interest but also in the interest of majority of the Muslim population in the state. As a result of the decision the state was officially declared as the part of Pakistan in October 5, 1947 after signing the agreement and collected the honor of being the first state that was joined with

Pakistan after its independence. The close friendly relationship between Nawab of

Bahawalpur and Quaid- e- Azam and the respect they had for each other before the independence of Pakistan led the ruling state to be a part of new born country to

12 ahniBzhtiB‎ wha‎ wBhiznwhi‎ aBQ‎ aPaiBQPn.‎ rti‎ wBwhwahwPB‎ P ‎ saiin‎ P ‎ nataiaaP n’a‎

Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Fund was a great effort by this friend of

Pakistan to organize and provide the relief in the settlement of thousands of refugees and the efforts were highly acknowledged by Quaid-e-Azam.26

Nawab of Bahawalpur participated on the behalf of government of Pakistan in various international occasions like the setting up of Faisal II in Iraq and at the

Elizabeth II coronation during the year 1953.As a result of the accord signed between the government of Pakistan and the Nawab of Bahawalpur, the state went under the administration of West province of Pakistan and the Nawab of

Bahawalpur will receive the keep the title and protocol of the state head inside and outside the boundaries of Pakistan while getting an annual pension of 32 lakh rupees. The agreement was established between General Ghulam Muhammad

Malik and Nawab Sadiq Muhammad. This friend of Pakistan died in 1966 in

London and buried in his royal family graveyard of Derawer Fort. After his death his elder son owned the title of Nawab but with no political and administrative power named as Haji Muhammad Abbas Khan Abbasi Bahadur. Salah ud- Din

Muhammad Khan is presently the entitled Nawab of the state of Bahawalpur.27

Though, the Royal family of Bahawalpur is not enjoying any political power in the region, a highly noble and respected family in the area. This is due to the fact that royal family did a lot for the development of the area and the population of the state during the period of its reign. But the continuous economic and political deprivation from the government of Pakistan is evoking voices of the

13 political figures of the state to regain the power of governance as a separate province of Pakistan. The movement has the support of newly entitled Nawab

Salahud

- Din Ahmed Abbasi, the grandson of the last Nawab and one of the most significant and key political figures in the area.28

The Bahawalpur rulers were Abbasids who moved from Sukkur and

Shikarpur and captured the areas that later named as Bahawalpur. They took the title of Amir when the title changed to Nawab Amir until 1740. While the title was brought to an end in 1955 by the Pakistani Government, the present head of the

House of Bahawalpur who referred as the Amir is Salah ud-Din Muhammad

Khan.

Figure 1-2: Darbar Mahal, the former abode of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur

Figure 1-3 :The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, formerly known as Jamia Islamia established by the last Nawab, Nawab His Highness, Sadiq Khan, Abbasi V

Figure 1-4: Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, The only facility of medical education in the Bahawalpur Division.

Figure 1-5: Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) established in 1876 as Civil Hospital and named as Bahawal Victoria Hospital in 1906.

Figure 1-6 : Noor Mahal, built in 1872 by NawabSadiq Muhammad Khan IV for his wife, located in Bahawalpur.

16 1.3 General definition and Short History of Gypsies

Gypsy phenomenon in Pakistan is quite obsolete regarding intra-city oscillation. Gypsy means a person/family that move from one place to another and keeping on traveling moves back to the original place where he had left. In

Pakistan, the movement is translatory rather vibratory or oscillatory is more conspicuous. Worldwide definition P ‎ giPai‎ wa‎ “piPPai‎ itP‎ QP‎ BPh‎ tati‎ permanent homes and wander starting from one place and moves back to the original after a specific period of time; this movement is oscillatory while for

Pakistani Gypsies this definition needs slight modifications to best define them.

Word Gypsy is more European phenomenon while in Pakistan a colloquial word

aiQ‎ Pn‎ htia‎ wa‎ “btaBa-aaQPat”‎ itwat‎ ihiaPaPzwaaaai‎ aiaBa‎ tPaiaiaa‎ itwai‎ aBPhtin‎BPhahwPB‎wa‎“wt zzw iaaai”,‎hti‎Baai‎zwtiB‎hP‎htia‎ Pn‎hti‎hiPi‎P ‎tP aia‎ they use to build and live.29 They built huts of straw and dry branches with a special type of cloth over those branches and that used to be their house during severe winters and scorching summers.

Gypsy or Gipsy travelling people whose beginning is unknown, focused in

South Europe, but existed all through the world. They named themselves as Rom, from their language Romany, due to the negative connotation of the world Gypsy,

“hnatiaina”,‎and normally mostly chosen term in Britain. There are estimated 2-3 million gypsies today worldwide.30

Gypsy also called Gipsy, Romany Rom, is any member of dark Caucasoid people founding in Northern India but existing in the modern times throughout the

17 world majorly in Europe. Most Gypsies use the language Romani, which is generally considered a language closely linked to modern Indo-European language in Northern area of India, in addition to the national language of the country in which they spend life.31

The origin of Romani group is Europe and America where the group of wBQwtwQ aaa‎ wa‎ aBPiB‎ ai‎ hti‎ iPnQ‎ “giPawia”‎ Pn‎ giPawia,‎ sPaaBi,‎ sPaaBwia,‎

Romanis and Roms in Romani language. However, the collective pronunciation of the word is Romani or Romaine that all depends upon the dialect.32 They are widely spread with strenuous population in areas of Europe i.e. the Roma of

Anatolia and Central and Eastern Europe including the Southern France and Kale of Iberia. The large number of their population is claimed to be migrated to

Europe from the Middle East during the fourteenth century. Dome people also have parallel history and existed evidence showed the fact that the ancestors of both group of individuals had migrated from the North India during the period of sixth and eleventh centuries.33

History also showed migration of Romanis to the states of America during the nineteenth century and record showed the fact that there are about 1millions

Roma in the United States and about eight hundred thousand in Brazil of those whom ancestors have been migrated to these countries during the 19th century from the regions of Eastern Europe. There are also a huge number of Roma settled in the territory of Brazil whom ancestors had been deported by the Government of

18 Portugal when the wave of inquisition of colonialism raised and the Roma became forced to move towards countries like Canada and South America.34

Etymologically, word gypsy has its origin from the Middle English gypsies that is thought to be short form of Egyptian. It is thought to be most probable that the Romanist or some other Gypsy groups originate in Egypt. There is another myth that they were exiled as the penalty to abduct toddler Jesus and hence they were send outside the country.

Gypsy is also called a member of a wandering race (themselves called

Romany), of Indian origin, which first emerged in England in the start of the 16th

Century.

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) elaborates the usage of this word. OED claims that this word was first used in 1514. Gipsy word does have many usages during the same century and famous writer of that time like Edmund Spenser and

William Shakespeare used this word in their writings. In the writings, word gipsy is used with capital letter and that is conspicuous evidence this word us used to indicate an ethnic group. The Spanish term gitano and French term gitan also claimed to be having the same origin as it has. The same term used in 16th and 17th

Century has different intonation like Egipcian, Egypcian, gypcian etc. It is quite probable that word gipsy/gypsy comes from the misspelling.35

Word gipsy/gypsy is also found in The World Atlas of Divination that aPBawQiniQ‎ziPawia‎aa‎“awai‎aPaiB”.‎ePaaPi waaai,‎htwa‎iPnQ‎aai‎ni ina‎hP‎hti‎ person who is stereotypically a wanderer and keep on travelling having no

19 permanent abode. Word gipsy does have many overlapping meanings in English

Law. Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, the definition of gypsies is as under:

“pinaPB‎P ‎BPaaQwa‎taawha‎P ‎aw i,‎itahitin‎hheir race of origin, but does not include member of an organized group of travelling showmen, or persons iBzaziQ‎wB‎hnatiaawBz‎awna aia,‎hnatiaawBz‎hPzihtin‎aa‎a at.”‎lii‎szi‎rnatiaina‎aa‎ iiaa‎aa‎anwat‎hnatiaina‎aBQ‎sPaaBwia‎ani‎aaaP‎wBaa QiQ.”36

Fundamentally, there are following two groups recognized as gypsies according to Race Relations Act 1976 since Commission for Racial Equality v

Dutton 1989;

1. Gipsies of Romany origins

2. Irish Travelers in England and Wales

However, these groups themselves consider this term offensive but still today certain laws prevail that keep the Romani people committed to their life style and they are being segregated from other people.

Some historians consider that gypsies are incorrectly referred that they have origin in Egypt. They argue that The Romani or Romany people used to go to many cultural groups, the literature of that era clearly exhibit this but the literature also shows that term gipsy was pejorative at that time. These historians argue that

Roma came from Egypt, Nubia‎Pn‎aPai‎Phtin‎“uanaaiB”‎aaBQ‎Pn‎itiB,‎htii‎iini‎ one of the lost Jewish tribes.

20 Scholars, activists and government are pole apart on the researches that conducted to elaborate the basis and history of Gypsy people all around the world.

The only similarity in their opinions is that record of nations showed that they people may or many have some joint uniqueness and they are wanderer and covers enormous geological distance with or without any purpose. A nomadic type of life is their characteristics. Another characteristic is that they used to travel on their historical routes. These routes are considered as pre-QiahwBiQ‎ “Paht”‎ aBQ‎ htiai‎ paths actually bring them into contact with history again, as a nation.

The survival of the group is like a container while protecting the level of satisfaction until or unless the group gets back to its historical origin or some situations that can bring them to act like a nation. The history of Gipsy depends upon different experiences range from the experiences of Romani, Domari, Lom and the rest of the groups included in the history. The other thing found in the history of gypsies is the design of their lifestyle i.e. nomadic and connected with the phase of time. It has been noted that lifestyle of the many gypsies is nomadic in nature and let them to turn back to their former culture. The transition of design of the lifestyle from former to modern represents different stages of settlement over different periods of time and concluded the fact that nomadic lifestyle is one of the most common style of survival of the group of individuals but the philosophy of the nation would highly referred the idea of modernism in this context.37

21 However, the debate about the concept of nation – states are of great importance for us to determine while studying about the Gypsy Group of individuals that have been excluded from the nation- state in various time periods.

Therefore, they are considered as people without history and as people who always suffered harassments, unfairness and forced migrations and settlement. In different the group of individuals has the recognition of inherent criminals and without proper record. The general notion related to gypsies and non-gypsies is the fact that they are people without an eternal existence at present and are unable to plan their future. Generally, the scientific discrimination that covers the philosophy of the nation – state is that people as a nation able to survive along a point of a continuum with the stretching capacity of backward to forward followed by actions and plans that can be recorded in the history of nations which is known as historiography. This specific concept of Eurocentric thoughts has affected the political and public campaign of the Gypsies as anarchical movements even in the most democratic governments and countries.38

It is evidenced from the reference of Gypsies that is only illuminated or referred by the Luri in the Shah name or in the book of Kings. According to Abdul

Qasim Firdausi written in his 60,000 verse related to Iranian epic and he wrote

1010 verses in the splendor of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni (997-1030) who was another great name of gypsy origin. The legend of Luri and Bahram Ghur are another unique character in Romani studies characterized in different features, articles and monographs and websites for Gypsies that recommend their presence

22 in the fifth century Sassanid Persia. Col. John Harriott (1830) reexamined the oriental origin of the Romanichal or English Romanies in different time periods.39

However, Firdausi and Hamza al Isfahani chronology did not define the term of

Luri that is unable to define the explanation of the presence of Gypsies in eleventh century in reference to a set of musician origin from Sind or from India. Number of poets, musicians and singers were originated from the sovereign of Hindus and

Buddhists who got highest ranks but little evidence have been arrived from the history that they were Gypsies. 40

Date Place

India start

Persia 900

Anatolia 1100

Crete 1322

Corfu 1346

Serbia 1348

Moldavia 1370

Croatia 1378

Wallachia 1385

Basel 1414

nnaşPt 1415

23 Strasbourg 1418

Germany 1420

Paris 1421

Bologna 1422

Rome 1423

Barcelona 1425

Wales 1448

England 1501

Scotland 1505

Poland 1509

Russia 1510

Baltic 1512

Norway 1544

Finland 1597

Figure 1-7the migration roots of Gypsies

The Judeo Christian Group that is centered in the region of north Asia

Minor can give the most primitive evidence of existence of people of Roma which are still in doubt while referring to different period of time by different school of thoughts. However, the referenced used for the migration of 10th century the term used for these people is Sarmatian people. 41 The Sarmatian people were considered as Central Asian with nomad ethnicity and mother tongue Indo –

Iranian. The historical notes of Herodotus depicted that these people used to travel and lived in wagons and their warriors were comprised of women and men who eventually ran away into their pampas land when defeated the Persian warriors.

But this reference is lacking its worth when related with the argument of gypsies.42

According to the explanation of Byzantine Gypsies from the reference of

12th century, these people are bear keepers, magicians, soothsayers and charmers

25 originated as Egyptians that were the participant of number of religious commentaries and tracts. 43 There is no apparent link found with the former

Indians when defined the origin of itinerant acrobats, jugglers and animal-trainers stated in Late Byzantine sources. According to another reference the Arabs that were Simon Simonies in 1323 originated from the island of Crete that was asserted as the place of families to be known as Chaym i.e. famous for wandering and fugitive while spending their lives in black tents.44

However, there is a common description related to the biblical reference of

Chaym or Ham while exploring about the history of Gypsies in the era of 1400 when they were familiar as pilgrims in the region of Western Europe. There are number of myths that are linked with these dark skinned passengers that were usually led by counts or Dukes while making a link with the author of a chain of gBPahwa‎aBQ‎aaatiawaaa‎hixha‎aBQ‎aPah‎PnPaaaai‎aPBawQiniQ‎aa‎hti‎“aziPhwaBa”.‎45

26 1.4 Nomadism: A cosmopolitan phenomenon

Figure 1-8A traditional way of travelling of European Gypsies

Figure 1-9Conventional Mode of transport of European Gypsies

Figure 1-10Conventional mode of transport of Gypsies in Pakistan.

Figure 1-11Dogs are mythological related to European Gypsies

Figure 1-12Dogs are considered best companions by the Gypsies in Pakistan

Figure 1-13Modern mode of transport by the European Gypsies

Figure 1-14Modern mode of transport by the Pakistani Gypsies

Figure 1-15Alvis Presslay, one of the famous singers in America from Gypsies’ genealogy

Figure 1-16NaseeboLal, the famous singer from Gypsies’ genealogy

Figure 1-17Still, singing is the most popular mode of earning livelihood among gypsies

Figure 1-18Modern types of Mountain Bikes used by the European Gypsies’ children

Figure 1-19Small Bicycle being used by the gypsies’ kid

32 1.5 Scope of Study

Khana-badosh makes up a significant amount of population so a scrupulous study needs to be conducted. As they do not have proper records like National

Identity cards, Bay Forms etc, therefore, they are unable to get advantage of any poverty alleviation schemes that government introduced from time to time. The

Constitution of Pakistan gives guarantee to educate each citizen but if we meticulously look at the literacy rate of gypsies, it is pathetically low almost equal to zero. Their children instead of going to schools go for begging and from here an inalterable journey of begging starts and ends till grave. As they do not possess identity documents so if they are involved in certain criminal activities, they will remain untraceable. There are many castes of Khana-badosh and they are involved in different professional activities e.g. Baloch tribe of Khana-badosh is considered hP‎ai‎anwawBaa‎aaa‎hti‎hti ha‎ani‎aiwBz‎aannwiQ‎P h‎ai‎htia.‎sBPhtin‎hnwai‎uatPhna’a‎ girl are involved in dancing and music and they are also involved in prostitution.

This study will help the government, NGOs to plan for Khana-badosh in following way

1. Poverty alleviation programs to get them out of this miserable

situation

2. Health projects to save them from communicable diseases and hence

on the larger spectrum avoiding breaking out of that particular

disease in the surrounding locality.

3. Proper data collection to bring them to the mainstream citizenry

33 4. Literacy programs so that their children can be saved from lifelong

dependency and brining them out of this shameful profession of

begging

1.5 – Focus of This Study

The title reveals that this study is quite focused on social and economic conditions of gypsies. Culture encompasses almost everything that we learn from society, therefore, it is a wide topic encircling almost all the aspects of life but this study is going to focus following cultural traits

Religion

Language

Superstitions

Caste system

Family structure

1.6 – Scheme of Study

This whole thesis is consisted of 4 chapters. Chapter 1 is the general introduction of the topic. Chapter 1 introduces Bahawalpur region and

Bahawalpur City. This chapter deals with the introduction and general understanding of the term gypsies. As it is cosmopolitan phenomenon, so it is seen everywhere in the world so does in Pakistan and in Bahawalpur. This chapter gives literature review and also makes a brief comparison in the culture of

European gypsies and Pakistani gypsies. Somehow or the other, it is evident from this study, that all the gypsies throughout the world share same culture.

34 Chapter 2 deals with the culture of the gypsies. This chapter deals with the religious practices of the gypsies then it discusses the rites and rituals that they practice during the birth and death ceremonies and last part of this chapter deals with the living and the economic activities being carried out to earn their livelihood.

Chapter 3 deals with the problem faced by the gypsies from community while the other half part of this chapter deals with the problems being faced by the community from gypsies.

Chapter 4 provides the conclusive statement about the mysterious life gypsies, their culture, and the problems they faced. The chapter also gives some suggestions about how the problem of gypsies can be solved.

35 4 Chapter 4

Conclusion

Throughout this study, a conspicuous fact quickly comes forward and that is they take themselves for different species. Their thoughts are poles apart from an ordinary man of average thinking in our society. They strongly believe that whatever their forefathers were used to do, they are predestined to do all those chores. Begging is the major source of their livelihood and same profession is appreciated in them.

Social mobility is almost zero in them. They never prefer to send their children to the get formal and informal education through schools or apprenticeship hence there are no chances of change in the profession in gypsies in the near and far future. They have their own logic to justify this behavior. They think that, unemployment is widespread here and what is the use of sending a child to school and get educated when you know that they are not going get any aPa‎aP‎waB’h‎wh‎aihhin‎hP‎hnawB‎htia‎hP‎aiz‎nwzth‎ nPa‎hti‎aanahat.‎gihhwBz‎wB Pnaaa‎ education is also not appreciated in them as again they have their own logic. They think that teaching a trade to a child would take him 5 to 6 years which is a pretty long period and after the completion of the training, a staggering amount of capital is required to establish a business and they believe that money is the scantiest

84 commodity available with them so getting their children for this trade is completely useless.

They take common man as the strangest creature, although they beg money from them but they never wanted to intermingle with them. If common man tries to intermingle with them, they think they are intermingling with us only to flee aiai‎P n‎iP Bz‎zwnaa‎aP‎htii‎aaiaia‎aiiP‎hti‎ahnaBzina‎ah‎aB‎ana’a‎aiBzht.‎u at‎ thinking is responsible for their living aloof from the vicinity community.

Education is the only way that can bring them to the mainstream. A complete brain washing of new generation is needed and such thinking may take generations to change. Children might be given education and this education will give them confidence to communicate with the local community with language which will be like theirs. Mobile schools are recommended for their uplift. They must be provided with the mobile schools and those schools will move with them wherever they go. Education is only possible when people are living sedentary mode of life and constant mobility will hinder the phenomenon of education.

Government and Non-Government Organization must show their will to bring change in their lives and such a change. Education may bring a slight change in their thinking and when they are given such an education for the generations, they can be brought into the mainstream.

Mobile school is not a new idea. Irish travelers do have mobile schools that remain with them from years to years and educate the children of Irish travelers. ol’a‎aaBi‎PnzaBwgahwPBa‎ani‎wBtPatiQ‎wB‎iiaa‎aiwBz‎P ‎anwat‎hnatiaina.‎

85 Diversity that is present in our nation is appreciable as long as this diversity is by choice and not by fate. Gypsies complain that this huge gulf of economic difference is due to the non-availability of opportunities of social mobility while

NGOs and the government put blame on the gypsies that they themselves do not get benefit from the available facilities being provided by the government e.g. government claims that free schooling is available for each and every citizen is available without any discrimination and now if someone do not take advantage of that facility what should a government can do in this regard.

There are two-way channel of complains from both sides. Gypsies complain that political leaders get their votes and when they win the election, they would not turn up to listen to their problems and proper solutions are never envisioned while political leaders claim that they themselves do not want to change their mode of life and coming generations would also face such problem.

Although, gypsies do have stubborn behavior and resistance regarding change in their mode of life but political will to bring them to mainstream is also lacking.

The demand that they beg for, if fulfilled once, let them do what they plan for their betterment and observe them closely that what further betterment can be brought about.

Rituals and rites they used to do during their marriage and death gathering are really wastage of money and spend-thrift gypsies may waste the money in such an extravagant way that one marriage or death may leave them under a burden of lacs of rupees which will be a perpetual misery for them for the years to come.

86 My personal observation in the beginning was quite negative but as the time passed, I found them justified in one way or others. As citizens of Pakistan, they are the sons and daughters of this motherland and they may have complete set of right to progress, prosperity and live comfortably on this motherland.