The North-West Today
By H. M. CLOSE 0 N the whole Pakistan has not found in England the publicity that it needs. But of its component parts the North-West Frontier, which has a famous name, probably attracts more attention than the others ; and, indeed, traditional associations apart, there is some reason for this, for, while it cannot by any stretch of imagination be called the heart of the country, it may well be that it is the part with the most interesting possibilities. It is often pointed out that the tribal belt is potentially explosive. Explosions, however, can be constructive as well as destructive, and latent sources of power, human as well as industrial, may reasonably be considered an asset to a country. But perhaps the most remarkable fact in the history of the Frontier, taking it as a whole—the province, the tribes and the states—in the period since partition, has been the steady normality of its develop- ment in circumstances that have not conduced to quietness.
It is worth giving a little attention to some of the problems that have threatened and the dangers that have come to nothing. Early in 1946 the Congress Party, committed to a United 'India, gained power in general elections in the province. By the summer of 1947 public opinion had swung so unmistakably in favour of the Moslem League that Congress did not dare to contest the referen- dum which gave the Frontier to Pakistan. Instead it adopted the programme of an independent "Pathanistan "—a programme calculated to strike at the very roots of the new Dominion. But the idea, to put it bluntly, proved a wash-out from the start, and merely succeeded in demonstrating the solid loyalty of the Pathans to Pakistan. More recently the Pathanistan idea has been taken up by Afghanistan, which, encouraged apparently by some Power unfriendly to Pakistan, pours out a ceaseless stream of propaganda, directed particularly to the tribes, without, however, achieving any appreciable result whatsoever. The essential fact, after all, is very simple The tribesmen are shrewd people, and in certain matters well-informed, and they know perfectly well that, whereas Pakistan is wealthy enough to give them quite a lot, and does give them quite a lot, Afghanistan is poverty-stricken and can give them practically nothing.
The Kashmir affair, on the other hand, did produce an unques- tionable explosion, with the irruption of large numbers of tribesmen into that state. I recollect how, at the time, many people expressed the fear that it would never be possible to get them peacefully home again. It is a significant fact, surely, and one that deserves more attention than it has been given, that this fear proved unjustified. The tribesmen did go peacefully back to their own more barren hills, and content themselves nowadays, so far as Kashmir is con- cerned, with resolutions urging the United Nations to get a move on with the plebiscite. And, of the present condition of the tribal areas, it has been said by good judges that they are quieter than they used to be in the days of the British.
From this brief consideration of events of the recent past it is reasonable to conclude, I think, that the Pathans have more political stability and a fuller appreciation of the benefits of an orderly society than they have usually been credited with. That is partly due, of course, to a satisfactory economic situation. In the first winter there were serious shortages and considerable hard- ships for the poorer people. But since that time the two necessities of life, food-grains and cloth, have come into good supply, and sugar also is less scarce, while prices in general (relatively, that is to say, to the common post-war situation of the world) have been reasonably steady.
It need hardly be said that this condition of fundamental political and economic stability does not by any means imply that there is no need for, and no demand for, improvement and development. On the contrary, far more demands are made than the limited financial resources of the Government can fulfil—for schools, for hospitals, for electricity, roads, tube wells, canals and so on. More fundamental, and, from the political point of view, more interest- ing, than any of this is the demand (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with Communism) for a change in the system of land-tenure ; and certain parts of the province have, in fact, experienced agrarian unrest, with tension and occasional violence between landlord and cultivator.
Now it is the declared policy of the Pakistan Moslem League, as also of the Government, to introduce reforms in this connection. To some degree the nature of these prospective reforms has been specified, while, more broadly, such phrases as " Islamic Socialism " and " Islamic justice " are constantly heard. It may be considered certain, I think, that some moves to the left will take place—and, indeed, the Frontier Government has already abolished those special privileges known as jagirs, and passed a Tenancy Bill embodying important reforms. Yet inevitably there are disagree- ments on these matters. Some months ago, visiting a certain village, I talked with an old man who was entirely and ingenuously perplexed at the unexpected notion of having to give up some of his privileges. Other defenders of the status quo, it may be, are less admirable and simple in character than this acquaintance of mine. The exact pattern of the future, therefore, in this matter of land-tenure is uncertain. It is also vitally significant, and deserves to be watched with the greatest /attention.
The Frontier, certainly, is changing ; and not the least noteworthy sign of this is the popular demand for education. During last summer I travelled a good deal in these parts and visited a great many villages. (Let me observe, in passing, that I'saw the most convincing first-hand evidence of the tranquillity of the tribal agencies.) Everywhere headmasters spoke to me of the demand for more schools. Many of them told me of boys (and, indeed, I saw some myself) who walk five or six miles to school every day and the same distance home in the afternoon—a strenuous exercise for the hot weather. And, at a higher level, we are planning to have a university of our own, for which the Central Government has promised to give assistance.
With increasing education, then, and a certain measure of indus- trialisation—work has been started, for instance, on two new hydro- electric schemes, one very ambitious—new elements are coming into the life of the Pathans. And it is not unreasonable to hope that the latent power of the race will be put to good use. English- men who have known the Frontier in the old days, and remember the Pathans for their soldierly qualities, may perhaps wonder whether the old characteristics will remain in the new age. This, at any rate, may be said—that difficulties of communication in mountainous lands will for long keep certain neighbourhoods out of the main stream of change. Thus, while on the one hand work goes on at hydro-electric projects and other schemes for modernisa- tion, there remain, on the other, extensive tracts of barren' and roadless hills where geography itself demands that the people con- tinue that arduous life that for generations past has made them famous for their toughness. Perhaps it is a fanciful notion, but I like to imagine that those schoolboys who walk ten miles daily in blazing heat to get the benefit of education combine what is good in the new way of life and the old. At any rate, I am sure that it is such a fusion of qualities that, in our social and educa- tional policy, we in the Frontier need to aim at
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