For the past few days, the Siraiki Students Council at the Punjab University has been protesting outside the VC office. The main reason for this protest, according to the chairman of the Student Council, Bilal Gurmani, has been discriminatory behavior. In a message shared on social media, he declared that “We visited the VC office for permission to welcome new students and celebrate our culture day. But when we met the PA, he said that the Siraikis are responsible for destroying the peace of Pakistan. We, therefore decided to protest outside the VC office and are launching a campaign on social media”.
This incident evidently reflects neo-colonial struggle for identity in Pakistan for many communities including Siraikis. Unfortunately, we are witnessing racism in a democratic state. African writer, Ngugi Wa Thiongo discussed the idea of ‘racial pyramid’ created during the colonial era where whites stood on the top of this hierarchy. He said that “these absurdities of the postcolonial era force the young to raise questions that lead them back to the colonial roots of those postcolonial absurdities”. This incident at a well-established public institution of Pakistan is a reminder of such absurdities which surely force us to reflect on the redefinition of democracy in Pakistan. This conflicting situation makes us raise a basic question about social, cultural, human and political rights of people who peacefully struggle for the acknowledgment of their identity and its acceptance within the federation of Pakistan. The question arises, why should they be stereotyped as destroying the peace of the country? Is it because the white supremacy has now replaced the supremacy of the ruling elite in Pakistan who will decide that who deserves to be acknowledged in this country?
For the past few weeks, I have witnessed multiple efforts made towards reinforcing this struggle for identity. This involves both literary and political events organized within and beyond the Siraiki-speaking area. Only within the month of November there have been multiple activities endorsing this struggle. This includes the famous literary festival called Mehraywala organized by the renowned Siraiki resistance poet and the author of ‘Usan Qaidi Takht Lahore dy’; the Khwaja Fareed conference and urs organized at Kot Mithan; the launching ceremony of Nazir Leghari’s novel named Visakh at Tea House Multan (which was honored by the VC Bahauddin Zakariya University); a reference organized in the memory of Siraiki activist, Mahmood Nizami at Bahawalpur and Karachi Press Club; and a public protest for voicing the demands of Siraiki people at Multan. These events reflect the persistent struggle of Siraiki people at multiple levels. These efforts contribute towards strengthening of the discourse surrounding the basic rights of Siraiki people: the right to speak their mother language; the right to assert their identity; the right to practice their cultural values; the right of freedom of expression/speech; the right to be politically recognized if they live in a truly democratic state.
Nevertheless, the question remains, how long does this struggle have to last for? The active emergence of Siraiki political consciousness since 1970s gave birth to this constant reassertion of their struggle within the federation of Pakistan. The slogan of creating a Siraiki province within hundred days of coming into power put forth by the incumbent government and later offering the glamour of creating a secretariat in Multan seem like utopian dreams which can never be achieved in reality. No doubt, such fake claims have resulted in the Siraiki youth to bluntly protest against the humiliating behavior of the hegemonic authorities in Pakistan who never miss a chance to degrade the marginalized communities to maintain their supremacy. This attitude is no different from colonial strategies of humiliating certain races and identities. It is a sorry sight that the ruling elite of Pakistan that claim to be educated ‘progressives’ have failed to prove themselves even after decades of gaining freedom from the Britons and claiming to be a free independent state.
