Generally, historians give importance to big cities by highlighting their role in history while small towns are ignored along with their contribution to cultural and social development in society. However, each small town has its own history, its unique character and culture, traditions and institutions.

Under its cultural milieu, its inhabitants evolve with a certain type of behaviour, attitude and an approach to their daily life. The impact of culture is so visible that they can be recognised by their association with their home town. Often writers and scholars identify themselves by adding the name of the town to their name, for instance, Shikarpuri, Thattavi or Hyderabadi. It shows their pride in belonging to the city that they represent.

Interestingly, each of these towns identifies with a certain profession or genre such as music, wrestling, scholarship, politics and business or it may be famous for specialty products such as sweets, fruits and handicrafts. There may be particular expressions or dialects that are particular to a town. Professionals from these towns are in demand by the bigger neighbouring cities where they can contribute socially, politically or professionally.

These small towns create a Kasbati culture with a unique character that inspires people to emulate and contribute to it through poetry, music, art and architecture.

While stories of the city loom large in history, tales of the town go unrecorded

To unfold the cultural history of the small towns of Sindh such as Shikarpur, Larkana, Sukkur, Khairpur, Mirpur, Dadu and Mithi, etc., oral history should be used as a tool. Historians who are well-trained to collect oral material about a town could record and document 100 years of history of each town through interviews of teachers, shopkeepers, artists, musicians, physicians, politicians, workers and literary people. The first important question should perhaps be in regard to the condition of the town before partition, when it was populated by the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Parsis, and how the life in the city changed over the years after the departure of non-Muslims. People should be asked about their childhood, youth and middle-age experiences while living in that particular town.

These narratives would bring to light different occurrences and events which took place in that town over the years. One could conclude whether these changes benefitted the town or deteriorated its traditions and values.

The cultural significance of a town is judged by its cultural institutions and events. Literary meetings are organised where writers present short stories, essays and columns. Music concerts and theatre performances are held which provide entertainment to people. In formal meetings, held either in hotels or other prestigious venues, people participate in political, social and economic discussions. These meetings and gatherings bring people together and facilitate an exchange of views.

Since it was customary in the past for each mohallah to be populated either by a certain caste or cadre of professionals, the history of different neighbourhoods (mohallas) should be emphasised upon. This would bring to light fascinating details about the cultural characteristics and contribution of these mohallas to the society.

Another important institution is the main bazaar which is generally known in Sindh as the ‘Shahi bazaar’. It has a variety of shops supplying all kinds of goods to the locals as well as the nearby villagers who visit the town to buy and sell.

On the same pattern, cultural history of the towns of Punjab, KP and Balochistan may also be recorded. The significant feature of this type of history writing would be aspects which are not mentioned in the grand, national narratives. Once the contribution of small towns is recognised, they would not be referred to in a derogatory manner but instead be admired for their participation in shaping national culture.

There are talented individuals in these small towns whose creativity is not recognised because they lack access to national media. The result is that their contribution remains unknown and unacknowledged. Therefore, it is the task of historians in the media to hunt such talent and introduce their work to the masses.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 30th, 2014