micro study SUNGIDevelopment Foundation Unheard Indigenous Voices: The Kihals in Pakistan By Mushtaq Gadi, Naeem Iqbal and Wasim Wagha Washing on the banks of the Indus, Pakistan Photo: Jim Holmes/Panos Pictures Background Religious and national minorities, women, tribal groups and huts according to their needs and the time of year. They indigenous peoples in Pakistan face serious threats to their have distinct livelihood and food consumption patterns, and livelihoods and identity. Since the partition of the sub-con- an equally distinct social organization and cultural value tinent in 1947, the ideology of government-backed official system. Islam and processes of development have increasingly sup- pressed them. The government has little tolerance or Identity respect for religious, ethnic and socio-cultural diversity. ‘The Kahils and Mors are said to be one tribe. In the North The vulnerability of tribal groups and indigenous peo- of the district they are called Mor, eat crocodiles and tortoises ples is increased when development is imposed on them. and no Mohammedan will associate with them. In the south Commercial logging, the construction of big dams and cor- they do not eat these reptiles, and are considered good porate agricultural farming threaten tribal and indigenous Mohammedans. Kahils and Mors live by fishing, but some peoples with loss of their rights over natural resources and have taken to agriculture.’ thus with ultimate extinction. The increasing role of inter- (Gazetteer of the Muzaffargarh District, 1929) national financial institutions further weakens the ability of tribal and indigenous peoples to influence decision-making Kihals and Mors are considered low caste non-Muslims in processes. Their voices are unheard. This case study of some areas, in others they are generally accepted as Kihals – a riverine indigenous group living in the upper Muslims. A considerable number still make a living through Indus region – illustrates the process of the weakening of fishing and basket making – their traditional livelihoods – their already fragile identity and displacement from their supplemented by seasonal agricultural labour; but some livelihoods. have abandoned these activities and started farming near the river. The size of the population is not known because The Kihals: an endangered indigenous people the concept of indigenous peoples is not officially recog- The Kihals are boat people who live in the upper Indus nized in Pakistan so they are not counted separately in the region. They travel up and down the river, shifting their census. Means of livelihood PAKISTAN Of the Kihals’ major activities, fishing goes on all year Indus River irrigation system The boundaries shown on this map Tarbela dam round, but agricultural labour and basket making are sea- do not imply any official endorsement, they are for illustrative purposes only. JAMMU & sonal. As well as many local types of fish, Kihals also eat KASHMIR Islamabad sisar (crocodile) and kumi (tortoise), which are considered ISLAMABAD AFGHANISTAN CAPITAL FEDER. taboo in mainstream society. In early summer, Kihals work TERRITORY ADMIN. TRIBAL N.W. Mangla dam as harvesters in the kutcha (low-lying delta area) but the AREAS FRONTIER PROV. introduction of modern technology and cash crops has Lahore reduced this option. In late summer Kihals cut kanmban (lai Zhob Faisalabad plant) from the deltas and make tokarey (baskets), cages and PUNJAB ropes for the markets. Quetta Multan Culture and patterns of social organization PAKISTAN Bahawalpur Kihals do not have a caste system; they are organized into BALOCHISTAN extended families with no higher-level political structure. Each extended family (miani) inhabits a cluster of huts. Sukkur INDIA Recently, they have started to incorporate elements of the s u d caste system, because of displacement and increased In 0 100 200 km dependence on mainstream society. SINDH For conflict resolution, they choose a Malik, who calls a meeting of elders and concerned parties to resolve issues. Hyderabad They do not go to court. Karachi Kihals simultaneously exchange their men and women in marriage. If a family is marrying away their daughter, the bridegroom’s family will be asked to marry their daughter to a son, or to give cash compensation instead. Kihals spend very little on marriage. Kihals do not have any regular religious practices or resources. The World Commission on Dams (WCD) 2 calcu- prayers. They say their religion is that of Imam Shaafi, lates that dam construction around the world peaked in founder of the Shaafi sect. Recently, however, more Kihals 1970s at about 5,400 annually. have been becoming Muslims and Islamicizing their names, because of the pressures on their livelihood base and The Indus Basin Project increasing economic dependence on neighbouring Muslim Immediately after the partition of India and Pakistan, India communities. unilaterally cut off water supplies to Pakistani canals. The conflict between India and Pakistan was resolved in 1960s by the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) and the Indus Basin The impact of water resource development Project (IBP) was implemented. Pakistan built two major The advent of modern irrigation storage reservoirs: the Mangla Dam Project (completed in The Indus River basin stretches from the Himalayas to the 1968) and the Tarbela Dam (1974), financed by the World dry alluvial plains of Sindh, covering an area of 944,575 sq. Bank. The Chashma Barrage was also constructed under km. The annual floods of the Indus River have shaped the this project. livelihood systems in the region for at least four millennia. The IBP significantly disrupted the annual flow cycle In pre-colonial times, responsibility for the management of and thus the livelihoods of communities downstream. water, land and forests was vested in local communities. There were substantial losses in downstream biodiversity Inundation canals were constructed which opened up areas and fisheries, and degradation of wetlands. beyond the direct impact of river floods to regular irriga- tion. Farmers and fishing communities were mutually WCD’s case study on the Tarbela Dam dependent and the economy was one of reciprocity and The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was established exchange. in 1997 to assess the development effectiveness of large British colonial rule brought the construction of peren- dams, and their social and environmental impacts. The nial canals, which opened up millions of acres of arid land Tarbela Dam case study records that the dam directly for new settlements and played a central role in building affected 32,800 ha of land in 135 villages; a total of 96,000 colonial state power. Water resources came under bureau- persons were displaced and 120 villages submerged. 3 cratic control and most local communities were excluded Compensation was inadequate and many of those affected from natural resource management. have yet to receive any. The demands of tribal groups living The Green Revolution 1 in the 1970s further alienated in upstream areas, that they should be resettled collectively, local communities and indigenous groups from natural were ignored. Adverse social impacts on downstream com- MICRO STUDY UNHEARD INDIGENOUS VOICES: THE KIHALS IN PAKISTAN Conclusion: challenges and opportunities munities as far as Sindh province include reduced fishing opportunities, loss of grazing land, deforestation and sea The government did not consider the adverse social, envi- intrusion in coastal areas. ronmental and livelihood impacts on indigenous boat peo- Among the most severely affected groups were the ples, including Kihals, Jhabils, Mors and Mohanas, during Kihals, Jhabils and Mors of Punjab province. However, the water resource development planning and implementa- these groups were largely ignored in the Tarbela Dam case tion process. International financial institutions (IFIs) have study because (1) the consultation process in the upper also until very recently ignored the impacts of these Indus region excluded boat people dependent on fishing processes on the identity and livelihoods of these indige- and basket making; (2) these groups were politically weak nous groups. Currently, there are plans to construct a series and marginalized; (3) there is no national policy on indige- of upstream storage and irrigation projects under Pakistan nous peoples protecting their social, cultural and economic Water Vision 2025, which is an integral part of the Interim- rights. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP).4 This document During a group discussion and interviews undertaken is blind to the adverse impacts on indigenous boat peoples, for this study (2001), the following impacts of upstream and lacks any measures to mitigate them. The recently pre- water diversions, and other factors, were identified by pared Pakistan Water Sector Strategy and the draft National Kihals: Water Policy also pay little attention to the rights of indige- The construction of the Chashma Barrage, Taunsa nous and tribal groups. The only exception is the draft Barrage, TDA Thal canal and Chashma Right Bank National Resettlement Policy that mentions and, to some Canal have deprived the River Indus of almost half of extent, recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples. its water and fish. However, it lacks specific provisions with regard to the In order to create a fish market in urban centres, the mega-water development projects and subsequent impacts government is selling fish contracts to contractors. on indigenous peoples. In the late 1980s the fisheries