The Muslim dated September 20, 1997
Author: Syed Shams ud
Din
Viewed in
retrospect, the Northern Areas seem to have, all along, lagged behind other
parts of the country insofar as over all development and human-resource
building is concerned. The situation naturally persisted until the construction
of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was completed about two decades ago.
The
economically infernal state resulted directly from the ominous geographical
setting that always impeded overall progress in the complete absence of
perennial outlet for an access to the outside world except the ‘legendary Silk
Route’ of the ancient times - a journey along which was extremely difficult
due to the vagaries of weather and allied natural catastrophes which obviously
precluded ordinary people from a free and unfettered journey.
However, in
the aftermath of independence, a jeepable road called the ‘Indus Valley Road’
linking the Northern Areas with the rest of the country via Babusar Pass, was
constructed during the post-independence era, which too happened to be purely
seasonal linkage with the down country.
Its
construction eased to some extent, movement compared to the primitive living of
the past in these landlocked areas albeit the same did still fail to usher in a
prosperous change for the simple reason that this seasonal linkage say for 4-5
months remained always bedeviled by vagaries of weather. No machinery could
then be transported along, by this road into these areas nor could the direly
needed material be shifted for the implementation of development projects on
the above score. Air service has all alon g been available to these areas but
this meant the passage of the people alone while no good whatsoever, could
ordinarily be airlifted.
A quaint-modelled
jeep called ’50-model’ would seasonally shuttle between Gilgit-Hazara Division
via Babusar during summers - provided the climatic conditions were
conducive for an unhindered plying of vehicles for a safe passage into the
Kaghan valley. The local traders would solely rely on these ’50-models’ for
carriage of their merchandise from Rawalpindi to Gilgit.
In order to
cope with the direly needed requirements of essential commodities, this
seasonal trading was however, bolstered by the camel-caravans from Kaghan and
other adjoining places of Hazara Division that would flock the beasts laden
with these essential commodities including salt, for delivering the same to the
locals of Chilas and Gilgit. The caravans would also bring along, donkeys,
mules and some horses for sale in these mountainous regions.
The
governmental authorities of the day would not remain contented with these
scanty supplies hence adequate quantities of wheat, salt, kerosene oil and
sugar etc. had to be airlifted by chartered C-130 flights during winters and
the goods thus transported were kept in storage to meet the impending
requirements. These items would then be doled out to the inhabitants strictly
against cautiously issued ration-cards for each hearth. Such was the state of
affairs obtaining in the regional capital of the Northern Areas i.e Gilgit
while that in Skardu and other places was no much better either.
It would be
worthwhile to mention here that the Kirghiz of the Pamir and others of the
Wakhi enclaves there, would frequently sneak in to the Chapursan Valley in
Gojal and Sukhtarabad in Ishkoman Valley, to sell flocks of sheep and goats to
the people of the Northern Areas. The sale would preferably have been a barter
especially for tea and other items of daily use as those people mostly happen
to be nomads with no agrarian activity at all, to cater to their needs. This
trading has always remained constricted to the Wakhi populace of Gojal and
Ishkoman as nothing of the kind ever broadened to Gilgit, from times
immemorial.
The living
conditions of the people of the North on the whole and those of the far-flung
areas here used to be still worse than those of the dwellers of Gilgit and
Skardu due to scarcity of items of daily use and the persistent state of being
unvictualled in the face of the acute geographical barriers. Making
availability of the present day infrastructural facilities could never be
dreamt of in those days.
The
inhabitants of the adjoining areas would traverse long distances which would
have been a vexatious journey to come over to Gilgit and Skardu for getting
essential commodities - only the direly needed ones.
There used to
be rope bridges consisting of three ropes of twisted birch or willow bark
whereby the one crossing the same had to walk on one rope, made up of smaller
ropes, usually three twisted together. Clinging grimly to the other two which
were used as flexible, insecure banisters or rails, joined by short withies to
the footway. The end of the ropes were lashed to baulks of timber buried in stones,
on either bank. Crossing by the birch-bridges was a very difficult experience
where the traveler would go down steeply till a third of the way across where
it would be comparatively level, until the last third would be reached when
climbing steadily. Col R.C.F Schomberg has well depicted such experiments in his
travelogue ‘Between the Oxus and the Indus’.
At places
there used to be inflated rafts of goat-skin which would be noodle across to
facilitate movement of people especially during summers when the water level of
rivers would escalate enormously. Beneath Danyore Shrine, there used to be a
boat aided by raft for the passage across the Hunza River, until the
construction of the present suspension bridge was completed in mid-sixties. In short, transport-communication
system here was of the crudest kind and necessity alone had made the
inhabitants of these areas intrepid cragsmen who would pass with ease over all
the dangerous places where experienced mountaineer would clamber dismally.
Agricultural
economy those days was in shambles but despite this, land-tax was invariably
leviable throughout the Northern Areas which was called ‘malia’ in Gilgit and
adjoining places. The ‘malia’ was in fact a legacy of the colonial era which
became to be indiscriminately foisted upon the people only to be revamped later
even after independence. The place where ‘malia’ was being collected and stored
was called ‘kamsarait’.
The building
reminiscent of this back-breaking system was demolished a decade and a half ago
thereby obliterating the horrible vestiges of the preceding oppressive regimes.
It will be pertinent to mention that there used to prevail this taxation system
with all the ancient fiefdoms and principalities of these areas from times
immemorial which the successive occupying forces adapted in totality for giving
indefinite currency afterwards.
Whatever be
its justification under the specific circumstances, it was a very tormenting
system that was literally breaking the back of the poor people who would beat
very difficult tracks for delivering the same to the governmental authorities
of the days. Only the lucky ones would arrange its carriage on donkey-back for
the mere reason that the tracks providing a linkage with Gilgit and Skardu were
all mostly meant for pedestrians with the exception of a very few then serving
as mule-tracks for driving the beasts of burden along.
However, the
‘malia’ system was in toto, revamped after the liberation of these areas and so
long as this was finally done away with in the wake of the administrative
reforms of 1973. The tax-system then prevalent in the former tiny kingdoms of
Hunza-Nagar and other principalities of the time, was still more perplexing in
the sense that the rulers of these states would invariably impose the tax on
all agricultural produce besides that on livestock and their byproducts which
their subjects were constrained to pay quite unhesitantly each and every year.
Other ceremonies are said to be taxed by the rulers.
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