A recent report in Al Jazeera brought to light and detailed the caste system that is still extant in Pakistan, even in the 21st century. In the face of the numerous problems which Pakistan suffers, the thriving caste system, particularly in the Hindu communities of Thar region, is not normally highlighted and remains forgotten by the general public. However, tribes such as Meghwars, Bheel and Kohli, to name a few, continue to be considered among low castes and are mistreated. These people are kept away from education by the feudal lords they serve, to keep them in their servitude. They are made to sit on the floor, they have to use designated utensils for drinking water, and so on.
Imagine the felicity at the occasion for these people when they found that the first list of its MBBS/BDS batch of 2021 by the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, included the names of 32 students from the tribes of Thar! As many as 20 students from the Meghwar community alone have made their names to the list. There is also at least one female student among the list of candidates who have earned a place in the medical college.
This is a brilliant milestone achieved by the courageous and resilient members of these communities. The qualifying students have not only set a precedent to attain higher education for other young people of their own families and neighborhood, but also brought a ray of hope to all the oppressed communities of Thar. Patience and struggle can make the impossible possible, they unmistakably seem to be saying. In fact, these children of farmers, peasants and daily wage workers have brought home the rare happiness that even surpasses the felicity of the first rain of the season.
The Tharis are now more optimistic than ever before to get their children educated. This is truly a spark of revolution which will go long ways toward bringing equality to the society.
Posters, websites, and social media pages of companies working on Thar coal projects are filled with the tagline, #TharBadleGaPakistan (Thar would change Pakistan). It seems these corporations’ message will really be realised, but not because of the region’s indigenous coal resources; instead, it will be Thar’s promising students and its people’s struggle for equality, justice and change which would turn the Tharis into torchbearers the rest of Pakistani population could follow.
Imagine the felicity at the occasion for these people when they found that the first list of its MBBS/BDS batch of 2021 by the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, included the names of 32 students from the tribes of Thar! As many as 20 students from the Meghwar community alone have made their names to the list. There is also at least one female student among the list of candidates who have earned a place in the medical college.
This is a brilliant milestone achieved by the courageous and resilient members of these communities. The qualifying students have not only set a precedent to attain higher education for other young people of their own families and neighborhood, but also brought a ray of hope to all the oppressed communities of Thar. Patience and struggle can make the impossible possible, they unmistakably seem to be saying. In fact, these children of farmers, peasants and daily wage workers have brought home the rare happiness that even surpasses the felicity of the first rain of the season.
The Tharis are now more optimistic than ever before to get their children educated. This is truly a spark of revolution which will go long ways toward bringing equality to the society.
Posters, websites, and social media pages of companies working on Thar coal projects are filled with the tagline, #TharBadleGaPakistan (Thar would change Pakistan). It seems these corporations’ message will really be realised, but not because of the region’s indigenous coal resources; instead, it will be Thar’s promising students and its people’s struggle for equality, justice and change which would turn the Tharis into torchbearers the rest of Pakistani population could follow.