THAT thousands of people gathered at Bhit Shah … of their own volition indicates a change in Sindh. This was a crowd of people that came from every corner of the province to demand their rights. Sindh has been in the clutches of the feudal culture. The waderas have been Islamabad’s henchmen and had leased out Sindh. But now people have become aware and have taken a step forward to stop the usurpation of their rights. …To strengthen the feudal system, the people of Sindh were divided into tribes and biradaris, which weakened their strength and paved the way for their exploitation at the hands of others. Tribal feuds have been encouraged … by such forces. By encouraging crime and criminals, crime was made an industry and the resources of Sindh put under the control of the central government. …The common man in Sindh is … told to vote for some feudal and pay back his loan.

…When elections are announced these waderas visit villages and tell the people that they are under a heavy debt, which can be repaid by voting in their favour. …Now the people have awakened and become aware of their affairs. They have responded to the slogan of change. Whether or not a new party has been launched, a fresh start has definitely been made. This may be the first step and the first phase, but the overall impact will be larger and will become apparent later. Some reaction from representatives of the wadera culture is clearly seen. This gathering indicates that people have overcome their fear and they want to say ‘no’ to the wadera’s social, political and economic culture. There is need to give a … direction to the change-seeking people as they have high hopes of those who bring it about.—(Jan 22)

Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi