MITHI: Leaders of leftist parties have warned mining companies to stop polluting environment of Thar desert and urged the government and landlords to stop treating peasants as their “slaves”.

They said at Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed conference organised by Sindh Hari Committee in Islamkot town late on Sunday evening that landowners must mend their ways with regard to poor peasants and their families.

Comrade Imdad Qazi, general secretary of Communist Party of Pakistan, stressed that as long as peasants were treated like slaves there would be no change in society and the country would continue to face food crisis in coming years and decades.

He said that “greedy” private companies engaged in extraction of coal in Thar were violating basic human rights in the region and polluting environment. The firms must stop measures that had led to environmental disaster in Thar.

He said that it was high time for grain producers to launch a decisive struggle in the light of philosophy of Shah Inayat, who was a hero of all those who had a firm belief in preserving dignity and honour of farmers and peasants.

“Shah Inayat was the person, who had not only coined slogan of Jo khere so khai (one who tills has the right to eat) but also laid down his life for the noble cause,” he added.

Qazi lashed out at the mining companies for “depriving” Tharis of basic amenities of life and said it was a matter of great shame that people of Tharparkar were still being denied supply of safe drinking water and were therefore dying of waterborne diseases.

He expressed deep concern over rising cases of “forced” conversion of Hindu girls and urged the government to take action against all the people who were directly involved in abetting the crime of abduction of underage girls.

He said that government had given the companies a free hand to play havoc with clean atmosphere of Thar. Sadly, no studies were being conducted to assess the scale of damages being caused to environment of the desert region.

Comrade Mir Munawwar Talpur of Sindh Hari Tehreek said that Tharis were the most victimised section of society.

All mainstream political parties including Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were only acting like puppets in the hands of establishment, he said.

Comrade Gulab Pirzado said that it was high time they followed teachings of great revolutionaries like Shah Inayat and Shaheed Mai Bakhtawar.

Prof Dr Riaz Ahmed lashed out at rulers and said that people of Thar were being subjected to abject poverty, which was the major reason behind rising number of suicides. The “insatiable greed” of the mining firms was creating grave dangers for the desert region, he said.

Comrade Iqbal said that mining firms were “forcing” people to leave their ancestral land without carrying out any development works in their areas or giving them jobs. Such cruel steps that the companies were taking in connivance with government might compel people to rise in revolt, he warned.

Prof Dr Fullo Mal Meghwar said that Tharis could get rid of the unjust system if they sent their children to school. Rulers were snatching Tharis’ rights to education and healthcare facilities, he said.

Neelam Kumari said that Thari women were denied all basic rights and were treated worse than animals. There was greater need to focus on the rights of Thari women, who fed the families and fetched water from wells located in remote areas.

Mohib Bheel, Ali Mardan Shaikh, Comrade Anwar Dingrani, Dayal Meghwar and others also spoke at the moot.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2020