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Chitral: a lost identity
By Dj Mathal It took about 63 long years for the Pashtun population of the NWFP to get their identity recognized like the Sindhis, Punjabis and Baloch. The journey that was started by Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan from the platform of the ANP at last bore fruits on April 8, 2010. With the new name of their province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the day brought a new joy for the Pathans and of course is a milestone in the history of the country. However, the name brought about through the 18th amendment boiled sentiments of the people of Hazara Kohistan and Chitral who have taken to the streets against the new name saying it endangered their identity and culture and showed that the province was inhabited only by the Pashtun people. They have for long been demanding that the new name, if needed at all, should be adopted through a consensus or a referendum be held to ascertain support for it. The people of Hazara, Kohistan and Chitral are neither Pashtun nor their culture and traditions resemble with that of the Pathan. They have their own languages, traditions and rich cultures spanning to well over thousands of centuries. The demand of the people of Chitral is based on their separate identity and existence for centuries. They have never been part of the province now making the NWFP. Actually, Chitral, a former princely state, has historic links with Gilgit-Baltistan due to similarities of languages, culture and geography. Geographically also, they form one compact mass of land inhabited by people of same race and temperament. They have lived together through centuries in a harmonious way and are still comfortable dealing in day to day life. The conspiracy against Chitral is not new. It started in late 17th century when the then Mehtar of Chitral Amanul Mulk and his son Afzalul Mulk joined hands made friendship with the British. However, the actual subjugation of the people of the area and violations of their basic rights started in 1947 after the creation of Pakistan. Till 1950s, Chitral remained part of Pakistan as a separate princely state. However, the imperialist minded rulers of Pakistan started to strengthen their foothold on the area and as a first step gave Chitral the status of an agency in 1966 and took over the administrative charge by appointing a political agent there. Later, it was declared a district after which a deputy commissioner took over the local administration. Exactly one year later, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto created the Malakand division and included Chitral in it declaring the region as part of the NWFP. As a result, the process of enslaving the Chitralis, which was started in the year 1877 by a British military officer, completed at the hands of Mr Bhutto who never tired claiming that he was the savor of the Chitralis. It is another matter that the British had adopted indirect ways to subjugate Chitral due to its strategic location during the great game. At the head of the Dogra army the British in 1892 besieged the Chitral fort and then took into custody the then Mehtar Sher Afzal and his brother Amirul Mulk and then deported them to Madras in order to avoid a rebellion in the state. Later, Shujaul Mulk was given the reign of Chitral by extending his reign to Yasen, Ishkoman and Ghizer.After the creation of Pakistan, the rulers hatched a heinous conspiracy to subjugate Chitral and as a first step got Muzafarul Mulk killed at the hands of his own bodyguards. Soon after the death of his father, his son Saifur Rehman occupied the throne of Chitral but ran into discords with the Pakistani rulers leading to his deposition. In the meantime the Pakistani rulers formed a board consisting of Pakistani officials and the locals to run the affairs of the state. The Mehtar after completion of his six years removal returned to Chitral to take over the charge but was killed in a mysterious air crash over the Lowari Pass in 1954. After his death, his four years old son Saiful Mulk Nasir was made the Mehtar of Chitral. As the boy was unable to run the affairs of the state, the rulers of Pkaistan got a golden chance to manipulate the affairs through a council for 12 long years till the area was merged into Pakistan in 1969.Historically speaking, Chitral has never been part of NWFP or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. When the government of Pakistan announced a package declaring to give Gilgit-Baltistan the provincial status and changing its name in 2009, the people of Chitral had expressed the joy and also hoped that one day their area would be included in the new province to ensure that their culture and language are protected and promoted. However, the new step to rename the province has not only disheartened the Chitralis but has also endangered their very survival.The apprehension of the peaceful people of Chitral is not exaggerated. For the last about six decades, they have only seen discrimination, intimidation, prejudice and callous attitude of the ruling class towards promotion of their culture and language. As a result, within a very short span of time outsiders have occupied the natural resources of Chitral at the cost of the locals. Today the people of Chitral remain the most backward and marginalized with their elected representatives hands in gloves with the ruling class. Even the locals are ignored in award of lease of the natural resources. Today the new name of the province has been adopted on the basis of the so called majority population and tomorrow Pashto may be declared a compulsory subject in all educational institutions. In such a situation, where the people of Chitral will go, what would happen to their language and culture? These and many other questions perturb the people of Chitral who have been very conscious about their cultural survival. The rulers need to take along all small cultural groups and nationalities while adopting any strategic decision. In the renaming of the province, the rulers have demonstrated their traditional attitude of following self interest and strong arm tactics putting the survival of a large majority of people at stake.
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