HYDERABAD: Speakers at a Hari Conference on Thursday said feiled workers of Okara should be provided protection and the cases lodged against them should be withdrawn.

Workers should be given minimum wages that were announced at federal level by the government, they added.

The conference was organised by the Development, Awareness and Management of Natural Resources (Daman), a non-governmental organisation of Tharparkar, at the local press club.

Speaking on the occasion, comrade Mohammad Khan Ahmadani said that unfortunately students were taught about sportsmen in syllabus, but they did not have knowledge about any hari leader or Mai Bakhtawar. Class based education system existed in society which protected landlords, he added.

He said landlords and rulers went abroad even for the treatment of minor ailments, though they made tall claims that they had modernised health facilities in the country.

Had there been qualitative healthcare facilities, they would not have gone abroad.

He urged haris to give up different kinds of addictions and maintain unity among them.

Prof Hafeez Kumbhar said characters that symbolised resistance had been done away with. He said the history was silent about contribution of hari leaders and people had forgotten noted Salam Bukhari. Likewise, he feared, people would forget great hari leader Hyder Bux Jatoi.

He deplored the fact that after late Fazil Rahu, labourer leaders gave up visiting rural areas and most of them had confined themselves to cities. Those who organised people in rural areas faced atrocities of landlords, he added.

Social activist Quratul Ain said Sindh had a rich and long history of women peasantry which needed to be promoted among people. She called for unity among peasants.

Advocate Veerji Kolhi of the host organisation said peasants would have to organise themselves politically to come forward.

He expressed concern over increasing incidents of kidnapping and murder. He emphasised the need for creating hari wings in political parties.

Journalist Ishaque Mangrio stated that haris should send their children to schools so that they could learn to solve problems of their people as no one would resolve their problems.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016