Durham E-Theses Time, Space and Social Change in Rural Pakistan: An Ethnographic Study of Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District MUGHAL, MUHAMMAD AURANG ZEB How to cite: MUGHAL, MUHAMMAD AURANG ZEB (2014) Time, Space and Social Change in Rural Pakistan: An Ethnographic Study of Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/9492/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Time, Space and Social Change in Rural Pakistan An Ethnographic Study of Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal Abstract This thesis is a study of the social organisation of time and space in a Pakistani village. The fieldwork was carried out in Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District through 2010. A rapid population growth in the second half of the last century resulted in an inadequate supply of agricultural land, leading to a gradual shift from an agricultural to the market economy. Many farmers are abandoning agriculture and entering wage labour. This combined with urbanisation, more pervasive telecommunication services, the media, and technological changes has affected shifts in the ways of perceiving and managing time and space. In this thesis, I examine generational changes in the village. There have been generational shifts in the types of calendars and the contexts for which they are used. Household organisation and composition have also undergone dramatic change as a consequence of economic transformations. Fundamental economic changes have included a number of shifts in how people engage with information technologies, the media, and urbanisation. These have resulted in a transformation of the physical layout of the village along with changes in the design and structure of places such as the mosque and the house. Such changes in the physical environment have also triggered a shift in the sociospatial relationships, which has resulted in negotiation of some social boundaries between different gender and social classes. I examine the ways in which changes in the social organisation of time and space are indicative of the pace, direction and mechanism of social change. Time, Space and Social Change in Rural Pakistan An Ethnographic Study of Jhokwala Village, Lodhran District Muhammad Aurang Zeb Mughal Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Department of Anthropology Durham University 2014 اے اسیر دوش و فردا درنگر ,Look O thou enthralled by Yesterday and Tomorrow در دل خود عالم دیگر نگر ,Behold another world in thine own heart در گل خود تخم ظلمت کاشفی ,Thou hast sown the seed of darkness in the clay وقت را مثل خطے پنداشتی ;Thou hast imagined Time as a line باز با پیمانئہ لیل و نہار Thy thought measures length of Time فکر تو پیمود طول روزگار ,With the measure of night and day مسلمی؟ آزاد این زناد باش .Art thou a Moslem? Then cast off this girdle شمع بزم ملت احرام باش .Be a candle to the feast of the religion of the free تو کہ از اصل زمان آگہ نئہ .Knowing not the origin of Time, Thou art ignorant of everlasting life زندگی از دھر و دھر از زندگی ست :Life is of Time, and Time is of Life “Do not abuse Time” was the command of the Prophet. ﻻ تبسو الدھر فرمان نبی ست Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a philosopher, poet, and politician. He is regarded as the national poet of Pakistan because his poetry and philosophy inspired the Pakistan Movement. He wrote many books of prose and poetry in English, Persian, and Urdu. Among his many views, he believed that the Islamic conceptualisation of time and space is vital for Muslims at individual and collective levels. The conceptualisation of time and space shapes the worldview of Muslims according to which they maintain their individual as well as social lives and adapt to the changing circumstances of the world. The above poem is from his Persian book Javidnama, translated by Arthur J. Arberry (Allamaiqbal 2013). Contents List of Illustrations .............................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ix Note on the Text ................................................................................................................. xv 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Time, Space and Social Change .............................................................................. 2 1.2 Social Change and the Anthropology of Pakistan ................................................... 6 1.3 The Dynamics of Social Change in Pakistan ........................................................ 10 1.4 The Social Organisation of Time and Space in Rural Punjab ............................... 13 1.5 Thesis Structure ..................................................................................................... 17 2 On the Study of Time, Space and Social Change .................................................... 21 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 21 2.2 The Anthropology of Time and Space .................................................................. 22 2.3 ‘When’ is Time and ‘Where’ is Space? ................................................................ 26 2.3.1 Time ......................................................................................................................... 28 2.3.2 Space ........................................................................................................................ 31 2.4 Understanding Social Change: Theories and Perspectives ................................... 34 2.5 Social Change: Temporal-Spatial Perspectives .................................................... 41 2.6 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 43 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 45 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 45 3.2 Anthropology at Home .......................................................................................... 46 3.3 Methods ................................................................................................................. 52 3.3.1 Rapport Building and Observations ......................................................................... 52 3.3.2 Jottings and Fieldnotes ............................................................................................. 53 3.3.3 Interviews and Discussions ...................................................................................... 54 3.3.4 Case Studies and Oral Traditions ............................................................................. 56 3.3.5 Imagework................................................................................................................ 56 3.3.6 Spot Checks .............................................................................................................. 57 3.3.7 Surveys and Questionnaires ..................................................................................... 58 3.3.8 Mapping and Transect Walks ................................................................................... 58 3.3.9 Visual Methods ........................................................................................................ 59 3.3.10 Free Listing .............................................................................................................. 61 3.3.11 Computer and other Technical Equipment ............................................................... 61 i Contents 3.4 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 62 3.5 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................... 62 3.6 Researching with Children .................................................................................... 64 4 The Country, the Region and the Village ................................................................. 67 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 67 4.2 The Land and People of Pakistan: Change and Continuity ................................... 69 4.3 Punjab .................................................................................................................... 74 4.4 Saraiki: Language and Identity.............................................................................. 79 4.5 Lodhran ................................................................................................................