Daira Din Panah Declaration

 Din Panah Declaration

Today, we gathered in Daira Din Panah, the home of the late Riaz Anwar, who was among the foremost figures active in the early Siraiki identity movement. The purpose of today’s gathering was primarily to pay homage to Riaz Anwar and declare to the world that we have made enormous progress in terms of the recognition of our identity. The Siraiki identity today is well recognized and it is no longer a question of, “who we are”. We are Siraiki, so is our language, nation, Wasaib, and culture. “We are Siraiki, Our Jhok is Siraiki” is not just a slogan, but it is the ultimate truth now and the manifestation of our dreams.

Needless to say, the movement for the recognition of our distinct language and culture has been successful. However, from here onwards we enter in the new phase of the struggle, essentially political. The new phase necessitates the demand for a Siraiki province within the federation of Pakistan. In this phase of the movement, there are a few things that we can control, while for the rest including constitutional amendments, we are dependent on the legislatures.

It is on us, how far we are prepared to go in this phase of the struggle. The demand for Siraiki province is hollow, unless it rises from each corner of the Wasaib equally, because that is what determines the success of this movement. We cannot have a province until the slogan “There is only one change, the making of a Siraiki province” echoes in the hallways of the parliament. We lose if the demand for the province does not translate into the Siraiki melodies. The journey ahead is difficult as it involves walking barefoot and traversing the deserts of Thal, like Sassi did. This struggle is the battle of nerves involving patience that Sassi demonstrated while she longed for Punnal in the searing heat.

We are reliant upon others as well in this phase of struggle because the making of a separate province entails the division and as often the case there are stakeholders involved in it. This division is not possible without our neighboring nations falling in with our demand. For that to happen, we have to build alliances with the democratic forces. This fight cannot be fought alone, rather we have to build solidarity connections with the nations of the great Indus Valley. The current moment essentialises the dialogue with the mainstream democratic political parties and this is only possible through politicking rather than confrontation.

From today’s gathering, we declare to seek accountability for those who made headlines promising to create a Siraiki province within 100 days. We demand that the bill for the creation of the province should be brought in the parliament. The parliament should initiate a debate as to determine the name, the geography and the redistribution of resources for the Siraiki province. This debate should also involve reassessing and changing the state’s policy of not recognizing the linguistic identities. It is Pakistan’s imperative to divide Punjab and create a separate Siraiki province.

Whether or not the bill is passed in the parliament, in the end we will be able to differentiate between our friends and enemies which will help us in the future.

The accountability starts from today. From now on, it will be asked from every street, corner, gathering, festival, and by putting up panaflex and posters that what happened to the promise of making Siraiki province. We will ask this while dancing, singing, and holding hands.

Siraiki Sooba Sang Committee

(6th June, 2021)

Translated from Siraiki to English by Auwn Gurmmani