| 07 March 2005 | Monday | 25 Muharram 1426 |
Fate of monuments
Relocating bus terminals
The visit of two leaders representing, respectively, the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has created quite a stir. Their meeting with a president in uniform and the search by progressives here to cobble together a vestige of a left front to talk to the visiting leaders have been the subject of some levity. But the visit has served two important purposes. It has underlined the desirability and usefulness of contacts between the politicians of India and Pakistan. Such contacts, as opposed to interaction among government representatives, permit a freer and perhaps a more meaningful exchange of ideas. They can thus create both greater understanding and goodwill at the level of civil society. The second purpose that may have been served is that the visit has drawn attention to the virtual absence of left politics in Pakistan.
The left has been decimated by years of either outright state oppression or systematic political ostracization. It was barely tolerated in the early years after independence, and in the 1950s faced a massive crackdown by the government. After the military intervention in 1958, which led us down the road to constitutional ruination on which we continue to travel, all political parties suffered, the left more so because of its basic lack of organization and inability to mobilize committed cadres.
The charge that the leftists spent more time in woolly-headed arguments in coffee houses than in serious discussion on organization and policy goals was not entirely without substance. Added to this was a continued onslaught on left and liberal elements by the right-wing media.
The story is long and sad, with the Sino-Soviet schism making its own contribution to the decimation of the left. There was a stronger left movement in East Pakistan than in the western wing, and in fact it was pressure from that part that sustained the democratic, progressive forces in this wing. 1971 put paid to all that. Among the major parties, the National Awami Party (now the Awami National Party) was the closest to a left-of-centre party, but the anti-Bhutto movement that led to the Zia dictatorship confused the NAP/ANP leadership, and it appears now to be on the verge of another split.
The left should be seen as a very advanced stage of political development. In our country, even liberal tendencies have been stifled because the liberals have a habit of persisting in criticizing military rule and in asking for democracy. The establishment attitude towards them has been one of disdain, if not downright contempt.
Ironically, the present military-led regime finds that it actually now needs some kind of liberal backing. The international climate, too, has changed. The Americans were at one time part of the witch hunt of Pakistani liberals in disregard of all considerations of human rights and civil liberties and promoted religious parties; the pendulum has swung the other way. A small window of opportunity has opened for liberal, secular and democratic forces to regroup. There are issues that have dogged the nation for five decades and have not lost their urgency and need to be tackled without considerations of region or ethnicity or group interests. Unemployment, social injustice, education, inflation, feudalism, workers' rights, cultural rights, oppression of women - these are all problems that concerned the progressive movement at one time and remain as pressing as ever.
The mainstream parties have been so trapped in the power game that many problems that affect the lives of ordinary people have been ignored. There's space for a broad front of enlightened, committed political and social activists to act as a pressure group on the already established parties to move away from narrow parochial and personal biases. The public response might surprise everyone.
Fate of monuments
The federal government has decided to hand over the upkeep of historical monuments to the provinces from the next fiscal year. The decision has come in view of Punjab's long-standing demand to this effect.
Last year, the provincial government managed to acquire the Lahore Fort and Shalamar Gardens from the federal archaeology department. The remaining three provinces have shown a lukewarm interest in the matter, saying they need money and assistance from Islamabad to help them bolster provincial archaeology departments.
So far the Punjab experience has shown that shortage of funds and mismanagement have hindered better upkeep of our cultural treasures. Both the Lahore Fort and Shalamar are listed by Unesco as World Heritage sites.
There was an outcry by the world body when these were handed over to Punjab without the federal government first ensuring that the provincial archaeology department was adequately equipped to assume charge of these monuments. Nothing has been done since then to rectify the situation, and the two monuments' general upkeep has been far worse than before.
There is nothing wrong with handing over historical monuments to the provinces, provided Islamabad also helps the provinces out with resources and the expertise needed for proper upkeep and maintenance. There is now talk of carrying forth the devolution process down to the district level, whereby district governments would become custodians of the monuments within their jurisdiction. But the problem in all this is the difficulty in the monitoring and coordination needed to ensure proper protection and upkeep of archaeological sites. How will Moenjodaro, for instance, fare if given in the custody of the Larkana district government? Will the federal government ensure that funds meant for Mehrgarh in the Sibi district of Balochistan are not diverted elsewhere by Quetta? These and other concerns must be addressed before Islamabad transfers control of the historical monuments to the provinces.
Relocating bus terminals
After the death of three Karachi transport workers in January as a result of an explosion at an illegal bus terminal, the Sindh government promised strict action. The provincial home minister said that the illegal terminals would be shut down and those involved in this business arrested.
A letter from a reader this week, however, tells us that no action has been taken so far, and illegal bus terminals continue to operate in the city. This again brings into focus the mushrooming of illegal bus terminals in the city and the government's indifference to removing them. While the city government has started work on building new terminals for inter-city buses which are located on the outskirts of the city, the bigger challenge would be to make the transporters move to the new locations.
At present, large buses are seen entering the heart of the city where illegal bus terminals have been set up. Big tracts of government and private land have been encroached upon for this purpose. Residents who live in the vicinity complain of noise, pollution and the presence of unsavoury characters around these makeshift terminals. It is believed that the terminals are operated with the connivance of the area police which is one reason why no action has been taken against them. In fact, the Police Foundation also operates buses from these illegal bus stands.
Rash driving of buses have resulted in several accidents in the past. It is time the government took notice of these bus terminals and shut them down. The services of inter-city buses should be restricted to terminals located on the outskirts of the city.