LIFE IN THE FEUDAL LANE

The Dawn, Friday, February 12, 1993

LIFE IN THE FEUDAL LANE

By Adil Ahmad

IT NEVER gets too hectic in the feudal lane. Life carries on and nothing ever changes. Sure there is progress, or signs of it at least. The feudal has taken the urban strongholds by storm! He mixes it in with the most 'civilised' of them, and often becomes an indispensable part of their evenings. He is out there in the legislative arenas, full of sound and fury signifying quite a bit, actually!

The feudal is our very own, homegrown aristocrat, irrespective of what our European community might have to say about it. He romanticizes the lords and masters of an age gone by, and he symbolizes the dreams and aspirations of his people.

Sometime, it does get hectic in the feudal lane. There are other lanes alongside it running at a feverish pitch. They all run in the same direction. Towards peace and prosperity. The feudal survives in splendid isolation, for a while at least. But the general 'speed' in the atmosphere leads to a building of pressure in the feudal lane. Peace and prosperity! Peace and prosperity! The people are fed up with austerity and violence. You can kick a dog that much and not more before it snaps. You corner a rat and it too snaps. Peace and prosperity is the antidote for ulcers!

But peace and prosperity doesn't come bottled on a supermarket shelf. It is the product of a systematic, dedicated effort. "My children have received the finest education at home and abroad. Every child above the age of five goes to school in my area. It is mandatory, and the parents who keep their children at home are taken to task. There is no forced or bonded labour here. People get paid an honest day's wage, and are free to look for their livelihood in the cities," says a feudal who wishes to stay unidentified.

"It is not that I am ashamed of my attitude, but there are a lot of brothers out there who would think I was thumbing my nose at them!”

"A meaningful, sincere effort at progress! That’s what we need. We must shed the Pajero mentality. That's precious money and time going to waste! We can ill afford it. There is no compulsion to keep up with the Joneses. Not in the true pursuit of excellence. Suddenly there are a lot of Joneses trying to keep pace with you in the way you have organised the fields and harvest. The fact that you are getting about in a seemingly dilapidated Suzuki jeep ceases to be the centre of attention!"

Truer words were never spoken, and this very dynamic, very progressive zamindar from Sindh has demonstrated how it can be done. "It is just the attitude. People go crazy sometimes! But once the attitude is set right there is no problem."

There is always the other point of view. It is the long tradition of politics and power play that keeps the feudal domain the way it is.

"Once you educate people they develop a mind of their own. They question authority. They become full of new fangled ideas that could never work! You let in outside influence and it contaminates the whole pond, and suddenly we cannot be certain of their votes any more!" says a disgruntled ex-MNA.

"You cannot hold back the global onslaught of education and learning. If you do, then you will have catastrophe similar to the one in Somalia and other parts of Africa. In this day and age, people must become versatile, and versatility comes through education and the freedom to pursue it." These are the words of a struggling educationist who is forever bemoaning the lack of proper funding and manpower.

"If you want to send somebody into a village to run a school, you are talking about a person with missionary zeal. Someone so highly motivated that he can withstand the abuse of his environment. Unfortunately, we have failed to produce such a cadre."

"Gimme a break guys!" This feudal has been to the University of Southern California! "What do you expect? I am my father's son! I have an image to protect! You can't expect us to change overnight! We're working towards it! My tribe is very poor. It can barely afford camels. But that doesn't mean that I should commute on a donkey. My personal wealth permits me a Pajero. Four Pajeros and a Land cruiser actually. I subsidize my tribe as much as I can, and I ensure their collective security, not to mention the settling of their disputes. City people are cold and isolated. They don't understand. So what if they have superior education! Do they have contentment?" Good arguments coming from an enlightened feudal.

But what of the dacoit! How did he come about on the feudal lane? "There are good feudals, and there are bad feudals! It is the same in every society. The bad feudals undermine the image of the good feudals. The dacoit constitutes the bankrupt feudals' last hurrah! The land becomes untillable through neglect, and there is no money for inputs. So the hari turns to snatching. The dacoit is the product of uninspired, impotent, corrupt leadership. It is a very profound social revolution that we are witnessing today, and it is a shame that so many have been driven to this plight. As a social scientist I could not have picked a better place and timeframe to be in!"

A lot of analysis is forthcoming and some solutions are finding expression. You can stonewall formal education in the name of status quo, but you can't do a thing about 'learning', and people are learning fast! Be it through the radio in the paddy fields, or the television in the village teahouse, or the dish antenna atop a house in the city, the learning experience continues unabated. And the word is that you can either lead the way into the twenty-first century, or you can be dragged into it kicking and thrashing! Life in the feudal lane is all set for a gear change.