PEASANT MOVEMENT IN THE WEST PUNJAB (PAKISTAN) (1947-58)

Author(s) : Muhammad Waris Awan, Rehana Iqbal

Abstract:

Current paper analyses the formation, contribution and importance of Punjab Peasant Movement in social and political sectors of the province. The internal and external constraints in the development of the Peasant Movement have been examined. In this regard the challenges to the Movement in the form of actions of governments, religious leaders and the local Zamindars who acted to create hurdles in the development of the Movement need to be explored. The paper thus marks how the affiliations of the peasants with the Movement that could contribute to its success were wasted because the weak leadership could not transform it into highly result oriented struggle, as initially envisaged by the founders of the movement. The incapability of the leadership in respect of the organization of the Movement was also examined. Current study is exploratory and descriptive in nature, where the conclusions have been drawn on the basis of interviews conducted with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and the relevant literature has been reviewed for the purpose.