Peasants’ march to arrive in city today
Amar Guriro
Daily Times
Feb 23, 2009
KARACHI: Thousands of peasants from all over Sindh initiated a long march from Hyderabad last week for proposed amendments in the Sindh Tenancy Act 1950, refreshing the memories of the famous peasant leader Baba-e-Sindh Comrade Hyder Bux Jatoi.
About 200 peasants, along with thousands of haris, started the long march from Hyderabad on February 15, marching for about 250 kilometers from district Hyderabad. Passing from Tando Muhammad Khan, they paid tribute to the legendary peasant leader Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed in Jhokshrif and visited different cities and towns of Thatta District. Today, the marchers enter Karachi after a long journey.
The peasants have prepared a draft of amendments in the Sindh Tenancy Act 1950. The demand draft comprises of demands of land reforms, land for landless haris, eradication of bonded labour and exploitative labour, as well as the establishment of hari courts, along with the implementation of laws in the Bonded Labour System (abolition) Act 1992. The peasants will stage a sit-in at the Sindh Assembly and present their demands to the Sindh assembly speaker and members.
On February 25 at 5 pm, the ‘Hari Conference’ will be held at the City Sports Complex, Kashmir Road, where a book on Mai Bakhtawar will be launched. Prominent Hari, Mazdoor and Mahigir leaders and civil society representatives will address the conference. Personalities from other walks of life including showbiz, literature and business have also been invited to address the conference and express solidarity with the peasants.
The Sindh Hari Long March is being taken out by South Asia Partnership Pakistan, a civil society organisation working for peasant rights and Sindh Agrarian Reforms Committee, a network of 20 civil society organisations working in Sindh on the issues of land rights, peasants and labour rights.
Addressing a joint press conference at Karachi Press Club, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Co Chairperson Syed Iqbal Hyder, PILER Executive Director Karamat Ali, Sharafat Ali and Zulfqar Shah, along with the Network for Working Women’s Saleha Athar and ActionAid Pakistan’s Adam Malik, said that the people of Karachi should join hands with the struggling peasants for their rights.