March 30, 2008

The book under review was written by three Russian scholars and published some 25 years ago in Moscow during the Soviet era of communism. It has now been translated into Urdu.

The book, written from an entirely Marxian point of view, is divided into four chapters which provide a detailed description of the economic conditions of what it designates as ‘Pakistani society’ as it emerged in all four provinces of the country when it came into existence in 1947.

It traces the general trends and related major aspects of the economy such as agriculture, industry, and the external trade right up to 1983. In a separate chapter it discusses the development of social hierarchies as found in the various groups of population, especially with reference to people belonging to trade and industry.

The third chapter surveys life in general in the newly established republic and also discusses structure of various social classes — the lower and upper strata — as found in villages of that period.

The last chapter deals with the general socio-economic structure composed mainly of the bourgeoisie, proletariat, and the middle- and lower-middle classes who lived in cities. Then follows a comprehensive chapter-wise index listing all the sources upon which the writers depended for their analysis.

The sources quoted consist mainly of Soviet publications, a number of trade and economic journals, yearly statistical books, and reports and bulletins issued by the State Bank of Pakistan.

Books on various aspects of the economy written by Pakistanis such as, The Social Characteristics of the People of Karachi by Ghulam M. Farooq (1966) and the Sweepers of Slaughterhouses have also been cited. A number of books focusing on Punjab’s economy along with comments on various Pakistani communities such as Pashtuns, Balochis and Mohajirs have also been referred.

According to the authors, the British occupied Sindh somewhere in 1843. Later they also entered Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan where they entrenched themselves. These occupations were mainly the outcome of their understandings with local feudal lords who gave in to imperial forces without any resistance and who later became the main power elite in their respective areas, supporting and strengthening the British Raj.

The British used these big landlords as go-betweens and implemented their policies through them for the future expansion of their empire. In Sindh particularly, the haris (farmers) were deprived of their lands and at the time of Partition they were found to be at the mercy of feudal lords who treated them inhumanly.

According to the writers, these feudals became so well-entrenched that even the Pakistan People’s Party could not disturb the feudal structure in any laudable manner, even though the party had pledged implementation of radical reforms in the agriculture sector when it came into power for the first time in 1971.

The book describes the main trades of the Muslim population in all four provinces and the earnings of the various professional classes, while maintaining that the ‘imperialist slavery’ in these areas proved the main blockade against the industrial development of the country.

It also says a few things about industrialisation itself in big cities like Karachi and Lahore and maintains that in Karachi, industrialisation was carried out mainly by ‘Gujratis’ (Memons) Who had migrated from India. Much can be said about the poor quality of translation in Urdu but the fault may well lie with the original Russian text. Otherwise there is not much for a general reader in the book which is full of facts, figures and charts.
 

Pakistani Samaj
Edited by Prof U.V. Gankovsky, Prof. V.Y. Belokripinsy and Prof V.N. Moscolenko
Translated by Dr Mahmud Sadiq
Maktaba-i-Daniyal, Karachi
430pp. Rs425