LIFE IN PAKISTANI VILLAGE

 

Pakistan is a country of villages; the majority of Pakistanis are villagers. Villages differ in different parts of Pakistan for the people of Pakistan belong different races. But village life in some ways is much the same all over Pakistan.

The villagers are nearly all farmers. They till the soil, plough the fields, sow the seeds water the crops and reap the harvest. They are generally tenant of some zamindar, and pay him rent. And there are village mistri who mends plough and carts, a cobbler who makes and mends shoes, potters, blacksmiths, and carpenters all work at their shops. A Pakistani farmer leads a simple, peaceful and contented life. His wants are few, and his only wealth is a land. If the harvest is good, he rejoices, but when there is a draught, his crops fail and he runs into debt. A villager is industrious and hard-working. Village women are also very hardworking and help men in their daily work.

The villagers live in humble cottages. There are no melted roads in our villages. The village streets are narrow. The winding lanes are crowded with animals and playing

children. The houses are built quite close together and are often adjoined to one another.

A villager is very conservative. He knows no change. He is content with running in the old grooves. What was good for his ancestors contents him completely. He is a prey to various superstitious: that sap his vitality. Their social customs, though sometimes utterly absurd, die hard.

The village people have two opposite characteristics. They are simple, kind and generous. But they fall out with one another on the slightest cause. They sometimes get so much heated that in excitement commit murders. They can hardly be said to lead refined lives. They know no culture. It is because they are not educated.

As compared to the noise in towns, there is little social activity in our villages. The villagers are fond of manly sports. Wrestling matches are held at the time of normal exhibitions or fairs. In horse breeding areas, there are contests for horse races and tent-pegging; the village pond is also a centre of great activity. The villagers are fond of music. In N.W.F. Province the ‘Khattak’ dance is very popular. The people of villages are also fond of mystic song. The people of Villages are very hospitable.

Every village has a primary school its own. The mosque also serves the purpose of school. Prosperous and enlightened villages have their high schools.

It is the bounded duty of all of us to improve the life of the villagers. Proper education should be given to them.

Medical facilities should be provided to them and the villagers should be taught to observe the laws of health. Co-operative credit societies should be established in the villages. In these and many other ways, life in a Pakistani village can he made better than what it is to-day.