Palijo was a scholar, intellectual and political activist of high integrity with a constructive mind and positive attitude
Ambassador Muhammad Alam Brohi
Palijo about Pakistan
Palijo was a scholar, intellectual and political activist of high integrity with a constructive mind and positive attitude. He used to openly preach his political beliefs. He would have openly preached it if he were against Pakistan or a protagonist of Sindh as an independent country. He had political affinity with the Bengali nationalists including Shaikh Mujeeb. Like them, he never wanted to undo Pakistan. He was never supportive of the anti-Pakistan slogans like Sindhudesh. What he wanted within the country was substantial autonomy for the federating units rendering them owner of their land and marine resources and assets in accordance with the Pakistan Resolution of 1940 – the autonomy which the erstwhile Socialist Soviet Republics, more or less, enjoyed within their Union.
The Lahore Resolution – later on converted into Pakistan Resolution – maybe on the second review – had envisioned ‘states’. It is not clear the authors of the original Resolution wanted independent states or autonomous states within Pakistan. One version is that the original Resolution demanded independent states keeping in view the Muslim majority in the North Western Provinces with undivided Punjab and Kashmir, undivided Bengal and Assam, Hyderabad Deccan, though the majority of its population was Hindus. What finally did Jinnah get, in his own words, was a moth-eaten Pakistan. There was originally no plan or agreement to divide Punjab and Bengal triggering the displacement of huge populations on both sides of the divide.
The Lord Mountbatten at the behest of the Congress leaders, particularly Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, took the decision of dissecting Bengal and Punjab in June 1947 and ordered the sick and weak Cyril Radcliffe to complete the task within the month of July. Why did Mr. Jinnah accept this moth-eaten Pakistan is the question which naturally comes to every thinking mind? In my view, Mr. Jinnah was well aware of his health. He knew he was not going to survive another year or so. He didn’t have time to battle against this injustice being meted out to the Muslims of the Sub-continent. If he didn’t accept this moth-eaten Pakistan, his dream of the emancipation of Muslims would remain unfulfilled. He had misplaced hopes in the Muslim League leadership to carry on his mission of a progressive, modern and prosperous Pakistan.
He never talked against the territorial integrity of Pakistan and always held Mr. Jinnah in high esteem.
On this point, Saeen Rasool Bukhsh had also supported Mr. Jinnah. According to him this son of Sindh fought the battle of Muslims of the Sub-Continent with valour, dedication and commitment to the risk of his health, wealth and family and won them a land with greater potential to rise as one of the most important Muslim countries. Therefore, he never talked against the territorial integrity of Pakistan and always held Mr. Jinnah in high esteem. In my view and analysis, this was also one of the reasons for his distant political relationship with G.M. Syed.
The Soviet Republics enjoyed the right to elect their leadership from President (read Secretary General) down to the Ministers, ownership of their resources and substantial share in the central pool of resources in accordance with their population, contribution to the central financial pool, social and economic needs. The central authority was left with a minimum number of subjects including Foreign Affairs, Finance and Currency, Defence and Defence Production, Foreign Trade and Communication.
The Bengalis accepted the parity and many other skewed and discriminatory schemes to maintain the territorial integrity of Pakistan. But all these schemes worked out by the Punjab-dominated establishment could not stem the injustice meted out to the federating units in the division of state resources, jobs, postings and promotions and just distribution of industrialization and the other public funded projects. Hence, the Awami League formulated an election manifesto based on its famous Six-Points to end the exploitative shenanigans of the federal authority and the establishment.
After the general elections of 1970 in which the Awami League emerged victorious capturing all the National Assembly constituencies barring two only in the erstwhile East Pakistan, Rasool Bukhsh Palijo like all other leftist, nationalist and democratic political activists supported the Awami League’s claim to power. He knew that the Six-Points are meant to stop the iniquitous and lopsided policies of the federation and end the acquisitive hunger of the Punjabi establishment. The Constitution framed on the basis of those points would redress the chronic problem of the small provinces.
Rasool Bukhsh Palijo like all other leftist, nationalist and democratic political activists supported the Awami League’s claim to power.
On this point he was in sync with the known nationalist political parties of the time. This negated the stance taken by Z. A. Bhutto or his Pakistan People’s Party which had emerged as the second largest party in the country with 83 National Assembly constituencies mainly from Punjab in the former West Pakistan. Bhutto opposed the immediate transfer of power to the Awami League purported to be in league with the Military Junta.
Palijo, even after remaining incarcerated for long eleven years, never allowed his personal grievances to change his stand on Pakistan. He wanted to see the country as a progressive, secular, democratic, modern and egalitarian nation state with the federating units enjoying substantial autonomy guaranteed constitutionally.
Sindhu – perceived as lifeline for Sindh
River Indus has been the lifeline for the survival of Sindh since millennia. Sindh and its Delta cannot survive without this God-gifted source of sweet water. The prosperity of Sindh, being an agrarian society, depends on the waters of Sindhu. This is what Mr. Palijo believed in as an article of faith. He considered River Indus or Sindhu as a living object with all rights that are or should be available to a human being, an animal or any living creature of the nature. He was the singular political leader from Sindh who had always been in the fighting mode armed with his shells and shields to plunge in the battle to foil the night raids on the waters of his beloved river.
Palijo was a senior advocate well-versed with the International Law particularly the conventions and laws regulating the apportionment of waters of rivers among the upper and lower riparian states. He had also studied the history of the agreements for the distribution of the waters of River Indus between upper riparian Punjab and the lower riparian Sindh. He had an uncompromising stance on the waters of Sindhu. This is what the patriotic leaders all over the world do for the preservation of the resources of their countries. They don’t compromise on the core national interests of their lands and are ever willing to spill their blood for this lofty purpose.
In my view, he had taken a leaf from the historic struggle of the Egyptians to preserve their right over the waters of the River Nile. Their struggle too spans over millennia. Therefore, a brief reference to their struggle here would be appropriate to help us understand and appreciate the dedication and commitment of Rasool Bukhsh Palijo to Sindhu. Many of us may not be well versed with how Egyptians perceive the River Nile. During my stay in the Islamic Republic of the Sudan and my frequent cruises in the Nile in Egypt, I witnessed amazing examples of the Egyptians’ commitment and vigilance to guard against the stealth of the waters of River Nile.
During our visit to one of the most backward state – Bahar ul Ghazal in the Sudan, I came across a small contingent of the Egyptian Engineers headquartered there to monitor the downstream flow of the White Nile. They briefed us that since the first agreements brokered among the riparian countries by the British back in early 1920s, the Egyptian Engineers had been there to ensure the downstream flow of their share of water from the river. The record of the rise and fall and flow of river waters had been kept over centuries by the water lords of Pharaohs even. These waters were a lifeline for Egypt then and are so, even today. British engineers had a world recognized expertise in the regulation of river waters. In their foreign possessions, they scientifically measured, recorded and analyzed river waters; new maps were made; new canals cut or old ones restored; barrages constructed to regulate the river floods causing terrible devastation in rainy months and store the rain waters for dry seasons. The Egyptian engineers monitored the flow of the river water round the clock sitting in this God-forsaken place like the desolate capital of Bahar ul Ghazal. My heart cried out instantaneously the nations who have conscientious officials like them survive all adversities.
Rasool Bukhsh Palijo’s love and commitment to Sindhu was as strong as those of the Egyptians with the River Nile.
They had established these water measuring posts in the execution of the Nile Water Treaties negotiated and signed with the upper riparian countries individually including Ethiopia from 1902 to 1925 and renewed them in 1959 according to which Egypt would receive 80% of the Nile waters and the Sudan would be entitled to 20%. The agreements stipulated that the upper riparian states of Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania would have no right over the waters of the Nile for irrigation and hydroelectric generation notwithstanding the fact that Ethiopia is the source of some 90% of the waters of the River. The Nile flowing some 7000 Kilometers from its original source of Victoria Lake and passing through the Sudan and Egypt, falls into the Mediterranean Sea in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
These states have now formed a commission and have been voicing their protest over the injustice done to them through the above water treaties by the colonial power. We may remember that barring Ethiopia, all the remaining upper riparian states were colonies of the British Empire at the time. So, their challenge to these treaties on the plea that they were not properly represented or heard in the meetings leading to their deprivation of the River waters is not at all unjustified. The Egyptians were irritated to the hilt by these protesting murmurs. They are on record to have once threatened Tanzania and Ethiopia with war if they ever dared to divert waters from the Nile. In 1999, Egypt and the upper riparian states formed a Nile Basin Commission for periodical consultations to avoid any unintended flare up in the region over the waters of the Nile.
The River White Nile, though originating from the Victoria Lake sprawled between Tanzania and Uganda, has its main tributaries – Blue Nile, Subat and Atbara Rivers – from the sprawling lake of Tana in Ethiopia. Even then, the above treaties did not allow this upper riparian state to have water for irrigation and hydro power generation from the Nile. Now, the Egyptians have agreed to allow Ethiopia to construct some small dams on the Blue Nile for irrigation and hydropower generation. This was done following the intervention of some major powers in favour of Ethiopia. At the same time, Egypt has also lost much of its earlier influence and importance.
We may keep in mind that there are two Niles – White and Blue Nile. As stated above, the White Nile –having purely white water – originates from the Victoria Lake while the Blue Nile – having purely blue waters – from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. These two Rivers flow parallel to each for thousands of kilometers and join each other in the Khartoum, the capital of the Sudan. One can clearly see from a distance converging white and blue waters. From there, one Nile flows thousands of Km through the Sudan and Egypt – majestically strolling and witnessing love stories coming into life by its banks – to reach the Mediterranean Sea.
The Sudan had already constructed some dams on the River. Leaving aside the small ones, the Sennar and Roseires Dams were originally meant for irrigation purpose to provide water for the fertile lands of Blue Nile State for cultivation of sugarcane. The biggest one catering for irrigation and hydropower generation is the Meroe Dam inaugurated in April 2009 by President Omer Al-Bashir. The reservoir of the Aswan Dam called Nasser Lake is also within the Wadi-e-Halfa of the Sudan which covers a sprawling radius with a cross capacity of 169 billion cubic meters of water, and irrigating over 800,000 acres of land. It had submerged the earlier city of Halfa. Later, Egypt funded the construction of a new Halfa city complete in all respects with housing schemes for the displaced population.
In prior consultations with Egypt, the Meroe Dam has been constructed on River Nile some 350 kilometers from Khartoum near the Meroe town. The town was once a busy city and capital of the kingdom of the Nubian dynasty. The Nubians under the Kush Kingdom held sway over the northern Sudan stretching from the South Kordofan all the way to the Sinai desert in Egypt. Later they also conquered Egypt and ruled all this vast land as the twenty-fifth dynasty of Pharaohs. The last of their kingdoms collapsed in 1504.
The town is now a ramshackle of its past grandeur. The Nubian Pyramids some 40 kilometers from Khartoum, the large and huge stone statues scattered from Dingola, the present capital of the Shumali State to Wadi-e-Halfa and onwards to Aswan in Egypt bear a silent testimony to the vast geographical frontiers of the Nubian Kingdom, their civilization and the power they had once wielded in this part of the world. The beauty of the Nubian girls with their long necks, big and shining eyes, long black hair and shaped bodies is matchless. The Nubians claim that the world fame Queen Cleopatra was from their tribe.
The Saudis in anticipation of the dam had leased a vast stretch of land measuring some 250,000 acres for cultivation of vegetables and constructed an airport of international standard in the town for the landing and taking off their planes which would ferry the agriculture produce back to the Saudi markets. Five International Companies from China, Germany and France participated in this huge project which cost over 1.5 billion Euros. Similarly, a number of international and regional financial institutions also extended financial assistance and loans to meet the staggering cost. The Sudanese government also provided an amount of 400 million Euros.
The dam was conceived as early as in the last quarter of the 19th century by the British hydrologists to bring the surrounding Meroe plains under cotton cultivation for their sprawling textile industry in Manchester. However, the project was shelved to make way for the more feasible and profitable dams. The British Imperialists didn’t construct barrages on the River Nile as they did in the Sub-Continent. We are lucky that we have the British heritage of a large network of Barrages including the Lloyd Barrage of Sukkur.
Read: Death Anniversary of Rasool Bux Palijo: Awami Tehreek rejects Digital Census Results
Knowing their rights over the precious waters of the Nile, the Egyptians have so long and so religiously guarded them from violation or trespass by any country or power. They have check posts all over the regions in the Sudan and other riparian countries to watch the ebb and flow of the water. For them the Nile is Egypt and Egypt is Nile. This hymn they recite every day in their schools from primary to secondary to make it part of their faith.
The Sindhu, in a similar way, is the lifeline of Sindh. Any diversion from its waters will ultimately render Sindh a desert. Rasool Bukhsh Palijo’s love and commitment to Sindhu was as strong as those of the Egyptians with the River Nile. He had imbibed the historic influence and importance of Sindhu to his land and people. For him, there could be no Sindh without the sacred waters of Sindhu. Sindh is Sindhu and Sindhu is Sindh. For him, everything would perish and there would be no living object if the flow of the waters of Sindhu to Sindh were stopped or drastically reduced. This was his perception, vision and faith which worked as stimuli to him to plunge into every battle when the issue of the construction of new dams on Sindhu was raised. (Continues)
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Muhammad Alam Brohi Born (1952) have qualified CSS in 1977 and joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in March 1979 and served over 30 years; retired in 2013 as Ambassador. He is writer of many books in English and freelance writer and columnist. Live In Karachi. Writer can be reached at brohialam7@gmail.com
Splendid article by an avid scholar M. Alam Brohi sahib on great revolutionary icon and intellectual R. B. Palijo sahib. This article has enlightened me by its historical context.