Karachi Notebook – Land Reforms Teach-in

Some people like the idea. Some people don’t get the idea. Some people are willing to die for it. Some people are willing to kill for it. The idea of land reforms and Debt cancellation in this country is as old as the country itself. T2F is often being accused of attracting elites only. But no one can argue that it was the case during the teach-in conducted by Sindh Labor Relief Committee. There were people with different attires, dialects, culture and ‘classes’. There were Punjabis, Sindhis, Pathans, Baluchis and Mohajars. Segregate them as you wish, but it does not matter. There were only two broader classifications in this case. People who like the idea. And people who don’t get it. There is not any third valid category. You can disagree with this assessment. This is my assessment. You can have yours. Its perfectly fine.

There were presentations; one each on Land Reform and Debt Cancellation. They think that its an idea whose time has come. Recent floods have uncovered the shameful poverty of average Pakistani. The presentations were followed by a dialogue which was the highlight of the event. People were asked to write a question on the chit of paper and put it inside a box. Each of the participants was asked to draw a question and read it loud. A discussion followed. People took it passionately. There were people who argued in favor of the idea. There were people who did not get the gist of the idea and pretended to loathe the idea. The Karachi Walla liked the first group better.

Sindh Labor Relief committee is organizing a demonstration of 10,000 peasants in Moro, the heart of Feudal lords. It will be followed by another one in Punjab where they are targeting to bring 50,000 peasants.

I hope that people who like the idea prevail.