Daily Times

Amongst all the provinces of Pakistan, South Punjab region is an ever-expanding part of the Punjab province, with a population of more than 12 million people. It is a region where 70 percent of the population directly depends on agriculture for their survival, and it is a region which plays an integral role in the agriculture’s GDP. Although the region is fertile but due to the long-term neglect of political leadership, this part of Punjab remains deprived from even the most basic amenities of life.

The feudal and clan system dominates the politics of south Punjab which are commonly known as ‘electable’. They play a vital role in the formation of any government but they fail to represent the aspirations of indigenous people and their politics are confined too bureaucratic politics only. The plight of the locals is widespread in the region as most of them are living below the poverty line. They work on farms for feudal lords from one generation to another generation because they do not know about their rights which are guaranteed under the constitution. The constitution of Pakistan guarantees fundamental rights of state subjects according to article 8-28. Before and after elections, a major chunk of political parties and even some of the media figures usually converse about the grievances of the inhabitants of South Punjab just to give them hope that someday their deprivation would be addressed.

Starting from primary education, every government started various initiatives to improve the education system in this area. but all of the policies partially failed due to the high drop-out ratio. The high ratio was because of factors like extreme poverty and the reluctance of parents to send their children to school, as they believe education would not change their lives. Moving forward to secondary and higher secondary level; teachers are not well trained at this level because most of the capable teachers migrate to big cities to earn better wages. And here the question of teachers’ credibility arises, as most of the students leave school at this stage or move to big cities like Lahore and Islamabad as they feel frustrated with the system. Moreover, at the university level, the condition of the universities of South Punjab is not hidden. Same is the case with the competitive exam at the provincial and federal level; it is not possible for South Punjab aspirants to compete with candidates from Central Punjab and the federal capital. Undoubtedly, Punjab is prominent for educational competitiveness but only for the people who migrate to central Punjab from the south or the people who belong to central and upper Punjab.

This agrarian society is facing a decline in crop production due to various reasons

Moving towards agriculture, as is described above the people who belong to this region are largely dependent on agriculture. This agrarian society is facing a decline in crop production due to various reasons. Since a few years, the provincial government has announced a subsidy over fertilizers. But due to the incapacity of farmers to purchase fertilizers, the farmer takes a loan from microfinance banks with high interest rates, which is upto 18 percent. And every year the crops do not fulfill this requirement but still the farmers have to pay the debt. Moreover, another policy of the government which is concerned with water and more efficient methods of cropping which have not been introduced to the farmers of South Punjab. This is not only affecting the farmers and their crop production but also the state, as a poor irrigation system takes more water for crop cultivation.

On the political front, most of the electable government belongs to this region and in every election they change allegiances. They promise the people before every election to struggle for the region but after elections they vanish not to been seen till the next elections. Due to these seasonal politicians, people of South Punjab are suffering more than ever.

In conclusion, despite the plight of this region, it has the capacity to contribute positively to Pakistan but it needs at-least some provisional help from the government. These measures comprises the revamping of the education system through revolutionising the curriculum which must be student- teacher friendly, and must address the high dropout ratio at primary and secondary level. The government should also level the playing field for students in the competitive exams and maximise the representation of south Punjab in public service. Moving towards agriculture, there is a dire need to introduce new methods for cultivation in south Punjab through government sponsored training programs, to deal with the future challenges of water scarcity and augment income-driven crops for the well being of framers. By taking such radical measures there will be a marked improvement in South Punjab which in turn will help Pakistan prosper.

The author has a degree in strategic studies from National Defence University, Islamabad. He can be reached at ss_researcher@outlook.com

Published in Daily Times, October 12^th 2018.