TAKING a historical perspective of issues does improve understanding, and there is every reason to apply the same approach while analysing the ongoing opposition by Sindh to the project entailing Cholistan canals.

In Sindh`s recorded history, the first struggle over agricultural land appeared in the form of Shah Inayat movement.

He was murdered on Jan 7, 1718, through a joint effort by the Mughal governor and local landlords.

The fundamental slogan of the movement was `Jo Boye Wohi Khaye` (The one who sows shall reap). Due to this reason, Sibte Hassan referred to him as `the first socialist Sufi of Sindh`. Even today, Shah Inayat is largely remembered as a hero by nationalist and socialist circles across Sindh.

After the construction of the Sukkur Barrage in 1932, when newly cultivated lands were allocated to non-local individuals, G.M. Syed, Jethmal Parsram, Jamshed Mehta and Gopal Gokhale had convened a meeting in Tando Jam, laying the foundation of the Sindh Hari Association, which later evolved into the Sindh Hari Committee.

Although the committee has lost its former prominence, it is due to its continuous struggle that today, all political forces in Sindh, whether right-wing, left-wing or centrist, at least acknowledge the importance of farmers and agricultural issues.

After the formation of Pakistan, the first serious rift between Sindh and the central government/Punjab occurred in 1979 when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed in Rawalpindi. However, at the time, Sindh`s nationalists and left-wing groups were not particularly disheartened, as they were already resentful of state repression against them during Bhutto`s tenure.

A few years after Bhutto`s execution, the plan to construct the Kalabagh Dam on the Indus River was introduced with Punjab`s support. Sindh strongly opposed this, culminating in a protest at Kamo Shaheed, a border point between Sindh and Punjab, in 1997.

The demonstration was led by BenazirBhutto and was attended by all nationalist and left-wing leaders and activists from Sindh. I believe that this protest ultimately led to the shelving of the Kalabagh Dam project.

Recently, there has been much discussion about the construction of Cholistan canals, with the army chief and Punjab chief minister attending a ceremony in this regard.

As a student of political history, I see that from the movement in 1718 till the shelving of the Kalabagh Dam in 1997, the state was never as weak as it is today.

Additionally, in all the historical instances, certain segments of the local population sided with the state because they were not directly affected by the issues raised by those movements. However, this is not the case with the project involving Cholistan canals. Interesting. Right? Aslam Khwaja Karachi