The smoldering day heat could not in any way change what these revolutionaries had in mind. What mattered at that point in time was the song of revolution, the song that every single farmer in Thatta hummed: “Utho Sindhu ja warison Sindhu khe bachayo” (Wake up, O’ heirs of Sindh Help us cross on this broken boat to the other side).
Kharo Chan, located at the tip of the Indus Delta, once a prosperous town with its lush green rice fields was now reduced to a barren island with not a glimpse of Indus River water in sight. The same mighty river, once known to have attracted conquerors from around the globe for its fertile mineral soil, failed to even supplement for the thirst of its indigenous community.
Kharo Chan did well to mobilize thousands of farmers across Sindh who were ready to march in protest against the worsening water shortage that had resulted in massive land losses. Blame the large capitalist corporations for being an (in)direct signatory to the ecological disaster, blame the bureaucratic officials for turning the pleas into deaf ears or blame the system for perpetually breeding a culture of exploitation. The fact that remained was that Kharo Chan was on the brink of a catastrophe.
The abysmal crisis currently impacting Thatta and its surrounding region is just a small glimpse of how the government has actively failed in solving its domestic environmental concerns. Like every year for the last three years, Lahore is expected to choke itself in the poisonous smog yet again putting the health of millions of its inhabitants at risk. The three years of condemnation have so far not manifested a meaningful solution, and the smog is hence likely to continue with its annual ritual. On the other hand, the country’s largest city, Karachi laments a similar unfortunate picture with queues of rubbish dumps and high levels of sea pollution making it one of the least livable cities on earth.
But amidst these times of despair and hopelessness, the rise of 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, perhaps sowed the much-needed seed of awareness about the ramifications of climate change. Her speech, while primarily considered to be a slap on the face of global warming apologists, successfully rendered a global response in the form of the Climate Strike Week.
Starting on 20th September, the world prepared itself to witness the largest climate mobilization ever known to human history. Millions of young students, activists, and individuals from all walks of life were ready to have their voices heard. With bolstering confidence, utmost dedication, and commitment towards the cause, the young generation was ready to step in and demand a radical solution to the ecological disaster. If no timely solution had been sought earlier, now was the time to turn the tables once and for all.
Keeping up with the spirits of Greta and her inspirations for mobilizing the largest ever Climate Strike, a similar demonstration was organized across thirty different cities of Pakistan. Climate March, as it is known, operated on the same footwork as that of the March for Water led by the farmers of Thatta, but possibly with the added enthusiasm of the youth population. The interest of the participants was clear: the young generation seemed to be at the most considerable risk of the catastrophic consequences that lay ahead of their future.
It was thereby a march to draw the attention of the government, big corporations (and the general public) towards the looming environmental disaster, while concurrently embedding the notion that the climate crisis is a much deeper and complicated problem than most perceive. This should also be evident from recent changes Pakistan had to experience. Take the example of the extreme summer-weather conditions affecting nearly all parts of the country where the heatwave, particularly in interior Punjab, came at the cost of hundreds of lives. Other cohesive examples include infrequent rainfall, perennial flooding, melting glaciers and extensive period of drought, all reiterating the need for a climate emergency.
I joined a group of protestors outside the Lahore Press Club under the blazing Lahori afternoon sun. We traveled there in buses organized by LEAF, a new society in LUMS built to encourage a green campus. The numbers gradually swelled with other demonstrators, all tied up to complete the kilometer walk to Alhamra Hall. While the participants of the Climate March rounded themselves in a circle with banners and placards, on my other side stood another group of individuals in support of the Kashmir Banega Pakistan movement. Peculiar, to describe the timing of the movement, one could arguably see the purpose of the Climate March being actively jeopardized. Yet, the latter proceeded with hundreds adorning to the climate cause, and soon the procession filled up the entire Davis Road.
For an outsider, not well-rehearsed with the intricacies of the consequences of global warming, the Climate March appeared nothing less than a privileged gathering of the youth. When most held placards with an inscription of text in English, it seemed as if the protest would fall short of its initial purpose of general public awareness. And to this very day, opponents of demonstrations unwillingly criticize such initiatives for failing to mind the gap between the social classes. However, it might be a lazy criticism to make with regards to the Climate March. While conceding to the assertion of the domination of the privileged, the protest on its groundings opened its ways for all, irrespective of any class differences. This can viably be validated when hundreds of farmers, workers, laborers joined the procession in cities like Ghotki, Muzaffargarh, Kasur. But it was the support for the release of Climate Activist Baba Jan, that multiplied the strength of the March even further.
As our state has regimented control over the masses through strict surveillance and censorship, not many are aware of the wrongful life imprisonment of Baba Jan, a political-climate activist from Gilgit Baltistan. When in 2011, Baba Jan organized a demonstration in the aftermath of a deadly landslide in Hunza that had left thousands displaced from their original homes, Baba Jan was arrested by the state officials under the infamous banner of “national security.” For the past 8 years, he remains in prison for lawfully demanding the rights of his fellow community members, but the government and media remain oblivious to any of his justified concerns.
The Climate March was hence pertinent for the cause of Baba Jan, not just for releasing the country’s only climate prisoner but for the sheer reminder that it undeniably remains the responsibility of the state to provide relief to all those facing the brunt of environmental damages.
Pakistan currently ranks as the eighth country most affected by global warming experiencing the impact of climate change in manifold ways. The task before us is enormous and too momentous in its undertaking. Millions have suffered in the aftermath of the past ecological catastrophes and millions will suffer in the future if no critical structural measures are sought. While climate change is still in its nascent stages, capitalism will in no time force the planet to the brink of destruction. Therefore, it is about time that the innate logic of the issue is holistically understood, so the system perpetuating the problem is challenged.
The Climate March evokes hope in these despicable times and the efforts of all those who stood up for the mother earth should not go unnoticed.