Mayur Helia The Meghwal community has no written history as such. Everything is in the oral form. Through this research, I have understood that a major portion of their history is lost in this process of oral history. Also, there are multiple stories which have come up over a period of time. About the …
Alien Native
Dayaram Rikhisir Bhimo Kolhi came to the presence of his local political patriarch, the tribal-caste feudal lord whom he voted and elected to the Provincial Assembly and who had become a minister. Bhimo requested:“Saeen, if I may beg your mercy to allow me to ask for a piece of government wasteland where I could build …
Who is eating up 711 million budget of minorities in Sindh?
Sufi Ghulam Hussain In Pakistan, ‘minority’ as a term is implied to mean religious minorities, or non-Muslims. Constitutionally, ‘minority affairs’ is a provincial subject. Since, the problem of caste is denied, there is no specific budget allocated for Scheduled Castes or Dalits in Pakistan. The State of Pakistan gives primacy to the category of …
Why Dalits in Pakistan are reluctant to convert to Islam en masse!
Sufi Ghulam Hussain Mukhi, the panchayat headman of Oad [Dalit] community begged in the name of holy Gita and even threw his turban at Seetal’s feet, but Seetal just didn’t care much and replied:“Mukhi! Do whatever you like, but I shall change my religion.Mukhi: “But why after all you do, you want to change your …
Journey of a Dalit corpse
Ganpat Rai Bheel In district Badin, a corpse of a young Bheel was exhumed out of the grave and thrown in the open. Sahib-i-Iman (true believers of Islam) performed that inhuman act with the religious fervor of utmost sanctity. On the pages of daily Sindh Express, that photo and report were published with some detail. …
Ambedkar is as relevant for today’s Pakistan as he is for India
Auwn Gurmani Recently, a video was making the rounds, wherein a ponytailed man wearing glasses could be seen slapping a hapless man at the shrine of Bahaudin Zakariya. This man was Syed Mureed Hussain Shah, brother of Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is the vice chairman of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-insaaf (the major opposition party in the Parliament). Qureshi’s …
Bheel Intellectual Forum: Heartbeat of Dalit Activism in Pakistan
Sufi Ghulam Hussain On 26th of March, the Bheel Intellectual Forum (BIF) organized a Scheduled Caste Jagarta Rally, the first ever rally that saw the participation of all major Dalit communities of Sindh. Kolhi, Bheel, Meghwar and Baghri walked through the streets of Mithi city of Tharparkar to demand rights of Scheduled castes communities, …
Dr. Khatumal Jeewan on the Rise of Meghwars in local Politics of lower Sindh
Dr Khatumal Jeewan Dr Khatumal Jeewan (Khatu) is the most celebrated Dalit leader of Pakistan. He has been senator, four times MNA (Member of National Assembly) and two times MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly) on party ticket of Pakistan People’s Party, between 1985 and 2013. This speech was delivered at a time when the …