The Sindh Festival Culture politics is the most easiest , cheapest and yet ruinous way to take. History has witnessed that through cultural discourse, only the populists, demagogues and charlatans have played with public sensibilities, pricking their dormant sense of identity, history and glory, but without giving them anything in return or even promising them to do anything for the protection of their identity and glory. Therefore, real statesman never indulge in hollow cultural sloganeering, but they practically save culture and identity by way of initiating meaningful economic and political initiatives/ programs at the party, government and state levels. No wonder, historically hollow and fake cultural politics has resulted in racial provocations, leading to inter ethnic and inter race conflicts. Instead of bettering public life, more conflicts are created by the wily politicians for their narrow political gains. Remember Hitlers nazism leading to the second world war also originated from his puerile culture & race politics. Bereft of any socio-economic solution to the first-world-war devastated Germany, he resorted to using cultural symbols( Swastika) and racial glorification of the German Aryan roots, demeaning other (inferior) races in Europe and elsewhere. The Germans humiliated at Versailles fell for his national social politics. But soon the Germans, and Italians ( who were following another charlatan Mussolini) paid the heaviest price ever of being conned by this bogeyman! Therefore, last night watching the festival I felt like crying when I saw the artificial mirth and festivity effected by the officianados and hired minstrels amid the ruins of Mohenjo Daro , insulting the millions of the Sindhi folks. Ironically, I saw the people of Sindh sharing the same fate with Mohenjo Daro. Both have been exploited and yet both have been abandoned by this govt and the previous ones Like Mohenjo Daro the peoples lives stand in utter ruins. They are unemployed, illiterate, famished and eternally condemned to the servility of a dirty bureaucrat-feudal duo that has long been imposed upon them by the establishment and now by this PPP government. I wonder what would the Priest King of the Mohenjo Daro would be thinking looking at the farce that was being enacted on its sacred space?? He must have been reflecting on the difference between his reign which gave his people a start-of -art city 5000 thousand years ago, and the present one that has turned this great land of civilization into an embodiment of rot corruption and decay!!! And yet these rulers have the cheek to stand in the feet of this great city and celebrate the glory? But the glory of what? Surely, the King must be crying like me , and like all those millions of poor Sindhis whose worsened existence mirrors and matched the soul of Mohengo Daro, a worsened decrepit existence , visited more by stray dogs and rowdy kids than by great archaeologist and preservationists, thanks to its villainous curators! This festival may have allowed the govt minions to milk more money out of the ruins and the PPPs young leader may also have earned some more (ill-earned) fame and popularity, but it chilled my bones saddened my souls to see yet anther display of our rulers venal face graphically portrayed by the hollow festivity juxtaposed to I fathomable pain and plight of the poor folks---the real inheritors of the glorious Indus civilization that once was, But alas it is no more!!! It is this realization that the festival has brought to me--Sindh has no future in the hands that are now holding it, whether by fraud or by this farcical democracy. Sindh must be freed of these strangulating hands, sooner the better.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 09:15:21 +0000