Javed Hussain writes about the political and social changes that affect lives and livelihoods of peasants in Sindh

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Sindh has a feudal and semi feudal social composition and agrarian outlook with agriculture being its mainstay of over all economy. In this way, agriculture by and large contributes of 30% share of total GDP of the country. In these modern times and the fastly growing development a common peasant is still living in a very pathetic situation where they are denied access to justice and their rights snatched and life barred from basic amenities.

The peasantry in Sindh was hither to well protected under Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950, however, due to frequent amendments it failed to cater to the needs and fulfill the desires of the peasant class and consequently rendered it ineligible to face the growing challenges of the world and globalization as a whole. More over, the relationship between the peasantry and the land lord had never remained ideal and further more the ineffective implementation of tenancy law has further ruined the situation. Bureaucratic influence favouring the feudal class out of way has caused a serious blow as far as genuine rights and needs of peasants are concerned. Peasants of the Sindh province are particularly faced to range of issues such as forced eviction of the tenants from the lands, faulty mechanism of peasants registration at revenue department, flawed tenancy law coupled with inefficient functioning of tribunal concerned resolving the disputes between the land owner and a peasant, injustice with peasants at time of division and unequal share of crop yield , lack of law enforcement in implication of STA in real sense and actual terms and faulty composition of tribunal inflict huge losses in the socio-economic life of a peasant in Sindh.

In this connection Sindh peasants long march commemorating the amendments in Sindh Tenancy Act pledging for new legislation, was staged in Hyderabad on 15th February, 2009. The long march set off to its journey from the shrine of the legendary peasants leader Comrade Hyder Bux at Ghulam Shah Kalhorra colony and it finally terminated in front of the Sindh Assembly Building Karachi on 26 February, 2009. Sindh Peasants long march was staged under the auspices of South Asia Partnership Pakistan Sindh office], a leading civil society organization of Pakistan working for peasant rights and Sindh Agrarian Reforms Committee [a network of civil society organizations working in Sindh on land rights and peasants and laborer rights]. Thousands of peasants across from the province with equal participation of women peasants were gathered. The march took out its way, in which peasants were chanting slogans of Jagya Jagya Hari Jagya and holding play cards in their hands inscribing demands for pro peasantry amendments in the existing legislative piece.

Sindh has remained the beginning point of peasants movement in history where Sufi and Hari Leader Sufi Shah Inayat Saheed is buried who was the architect and a symbolic figure as far as peasants movement in South Asia is concerned. He fought against the feudal lord of the area during the era of Kalhora empire in Sindh and gathered peasants and initiated cooperative farming in the region. Later on, the communist movement followed the same pattern and spearheaded the cause of peasants movement in the region as well as in the defunct Soviet Union.

The Sindh Tenancy Act has been outdated and the over all agriculture trends have been changed and even though the productive relations also have been changed due to globalizations and other challenges. With the passage of time the socio - economic trends and conditions have altogether been changed and the productive relations and agriculture patterns have transformed due to urbanization, use of technology and globalization. The existing law was approved and came into effect in 1950 with the rigorous and untiring efforts and struggle of Comrade Hyder Bux Jatoi of Sindh Hari Committee. it was regarded as a timely and appropriate action . In this regard, after a consultative process by civil society organizations with the peasants of different crop pattern area, peasant activists and legal experts a draft of amendments in STA has been developed. Since last couple of years the peasants of Sindh with the support of their representative organizations and civil society actors have been struggling for the amendments in the STA. draft of amendments has been generated and shared with the Speaker and MPs of Sindh.

Following the challenges, problems posed by globalization there is dire need to keep away peasants from the vulnerability of challenges through timely actions, programming, policy formulation, amended legislation in STA, implementation of the land reform act and formulation and implementation of National Farmer Policy for the long term protection of farmers of country.   

Some suggestions for the improvement in the social status of the peasants

·     Hari [Peasants] courts should be established for quick disposal and speedy justice to the peasants.

·     Composition of Tenancy tribunal should be restructured and the Judges of a civil court should be authorized to deal with the cases of Hari courts.

·     Changes in STA are inevitable and must be legislated with amendments in some articles of chapters 1, 2, 4, 5 to make pro peasants.

·      A comprehensive Framer policy is needed, which could address the modern challenges in a befitting manner.

·      Insurance of crops and peasant must be initiated and there is need to equip peasants with new technologies and methods in agriculture.

·     Allowing Corporate farming and promoting multinational companies would be a grater factor in deteriorating the agriculture sector as well as millions of peasants.

·     Each peasant who works on the land of a land owner more than 3 or one year should be registered with revenue department and be considered as permanent tenant.

·     Any free of cost agriculture labor should be monitored effectively in the spirit of Bonded Labor Abolition act 1992 and it should be fully implemented with out any outside interference.

·     General land reforms provide an effective remedy to the hither to unheard agonies of the millions of peasants of the country .So it is high time to reinforce the Land reform act 1977.