Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies
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Donor-Driven Participatory Forest Management and ‘Local Social Realities’: Insights from Pakistan
No full textThe process of institutional changes in the forestry sector of Pakistan was initiated by the Government of Pakistan with support from different donor agencies during the mid-1990s. This paper analyses a participatory forest management initiative in the milieu of local social realities (such as customary forest use, power relations and livelihood concerns) and the actors who are part of these realities. The paper shows that the donor-driven decentralisation of forest management did not consider traditional practices of forest use, nor did it attempt to engage customary institutions and local civil society in the process. Though new institutions (joint forest management and village development committees) have been established for implementation of participatory forest management and land use plans at the village level, the paper shows that responsibility delegated by the state to these institutions concerns protection of the forests rather than management. A mismatch between local livelihood concerns and the institutional change process is also revealed. The paper identifies historically rooted mistrust between local actors and state authorities as one of the key factors hindering the success of the participatory approach, and recommends that the village-level institutions should be accorded both empowerment and incentives to ensure sustainable participatory forest management
Distinctive Cultural and Geographical Legacy of Bahawalpur
Get PDFThis article will throw light on unique cultural and geographical heritage of Bahawalpur, in the context of regional heritage. This place has pedigree in Ancient world, yet to discover its ancestor age. This region was integral part of Hakra civilization, which underwent Alexander and Hindus domination afterwards. Nevertheless, Bahawalpur sustains its importance when it was a Princely state, and even when it merged with Pakistan in 1954. Its culture is amalgamation of customs of urban and rural areas which also consist of plain and desert lives’ time-honored traditions. Geographically, it has three shads; it comprises desert, Bar or Pat (high land) and fertile land. All of these have their own norms, mores and ethnicities. But they are also silhouetted by a united culture of Bahawalpur. The adherence of Islam in day to day life and regional language (Sariki) are significantly important binding force of the natives of this vicinity. Â
Education, Religion and the Creation of Subject: Different Educational Systems of Pakistan
Get PDFEducational systems have assumed great sociological significance in modern nation states because education is the only instrument which provides the possibilities to progress and prosper in the world today. It has put a lot of power in the designers of education systems. This paper argues that the three different educational systems of Pakistan have very different historical origins, pedagogical style and curriculum. Therefore, the students of these schools develop totally different worldviews. I argue that this difference in basic outlook towards life among different subgroups of population is one of the major reasons for the religious violence and terrorism in Pakistan
