THE partitioning of Punjab is a hot topic. Without going into the historical perspective of the matter we must understand that among all federating units of Pakistan, Punjab was and still is the only unit which is a geographical entity rather than a cultural one.

Punjab is so diverse in culture that within a district sometimes there is more than one dialect of the local language. The fact has been admitted by many Punjabi intellectuals, including former Punjab governor Hanif Ramay in his widely acclaimed Punjab ka Muqadma.

The sense of depravation of southern Punjab or the Seraiki belt is no fiction. There are proofs of that. According to the BBC, there are more than 1,000 CSP officers from northeastern Punjab whereas only 257 come from the southern part of Punjab. The contrast is sharp and speaks for itself.

The other side of the picture is that feudal aristocrats from southern Punjab have always been at the helm of affairs, be it Mushtaq Gurmani or Yousuf Raza Gilani. Why haven’t then the feudals of southern Punjab done anything for their people?

Thus, partitioning Punjab on the eve of elections is nothing but a political gimmick. The ruling party has lost its support in north and central Punjab, leaving them with no choice but to strengthen their political future, along with other left-leaning forces, in division of Punjab.

The consequences of the division would favour feudal lords of southern Punjab, while the common man would suffer more at the hands of traditional, absolutists power structures historically present there.

Therefore, any division of Punjab without land reforms would be like leaving lambs to wolves. Create more provinces, but create fair and a level playing field for all. Any partition without breaking the strength of traditional power structures would only benefit the forces of status quo.

It may give a short-term political advantage to the ruling party, but eventually the ruling party too would become a hostage to the whims of a few in the new province. Everyone would lose except the pro-establishment feudals.

ATIF MAJOKA Melbourne