The British Colonial Encounter with the Pukhtuns: An Appraisal of Faqir Ippi’s Struggle against the British Raj (1936-1947)

The North-West Frontier region of the British Empire in India during the Great Game was part of the ‘Ring Fence Strategy’, framed by the Raj against its adversaries and rivals in Central and South Asia. To protect her ‘Jewel in the Crown’- India, the British Raj made several moves in the strategically placed Pukhtun1 land. The Pukhtun populace, adherent to their centuries old code of conduct, Puḳhtūnwali, consistently resisted the British encroachment of their territory. Mirza Ali Khan, popularly known as Faqir Ippi, was one of the many freedom fighters who challenged the imperialist power in this region. Taking notice of Islam Bibi’s case, a Hindu Convert, Faqir Ippi mobilized the Pukhtuns of Waziristan in defying and fighting the British. He was a serious contestant to the British authority with his well-known fighting skills, effective planning and guerilla tactics in one of the most difficult terrains. The entire Tribal Belt, especially Waziristan, proved to be a ‘turbulent frontier’ for nearly eleven years, i.e. 1936-1947. This insurgency started bringing bad name to the crown and encouraging others to rise against the British. To contain and end Faqir Ippi’s resistance, Governor George Cunningham hired the locals to instigate and bribe his followers to rise and fight against him. The aim of this paper is a critical evaluation of the British strategy in this region and an appraisal of Faqir Ippi’s response and assessment of how successful he was in invigorating Pukhtun resistance to defend their motherland, using both colonial and local sources.

Farmers Perceptions and Their Coping Strategies Regarding the Impact of Climate Change in Rice-Wheat Cropping System of the Punjab Pakistan

Climate change has been proved to be a hidden risk to the development of countries all over the world. It is also estimated that climate variation will have significant negative effect on agricultural production in the developing countries of Asia in future. Pakistan is one of those countries which is a victim of the climate change and is already facing many problems like poverty and food security leading to threats to agriculture expansion. Theclimate change is ahead of all these due to decreasing agriculture production, prolong water scarcity and declined income growth. Agriculture plays a big role in the economy of Pakistan and climate change is a matter of serious concern.The main objective of the present study was to find out the factors affecting the coping strategies of farmers regarding the impact of climate change in the Punjab, Pakistan. Three districts from ricewheat cropping zone (Narowal, Sialkot and Gujranwala District) were selected randomly. A total sample of four hundred eight respondents was selected by systematic random sample technique. A well-structured interview schedule was used as research instrument for data collection. Collected data were analyzed statistically. In addition, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for the data analysis. It was found that education level of the farmers was low in the study area. Mostly farmers were having small size of land holding and a huge majority of them were owner cultivator. Mean area of wheat was 7.31±6.06 acres and mean area of rice was 6.25±5.60 acres. It was observed that long summer season (mean = 2.39±.73), shorter winter season (mean = 2.30±.75) and high temperature (mean = 2.14±.60) were the main perceptions concerning consequences of climate change in the study area. Industrial smoke (mean = 2.64±.69), excessive cutting of forest (mean = 2.57±.68) and human activities (mean = 2.51±.72) also led to change in environment. A vast majority (84.1%) of the selected farmers reported that climate change affected negatively their crop productivity. Crop production was not enough to meet the needs of the people (mean = 2.72±.62). So, a huge majority of the farmers had thinking that their annual income was decreased due to climate changes. A very small proportion of the farmers was aware of the existence of agricultural institution working for climate change here in the Punjab, Pakistan. It was also found that recommended varieties now than past decades’ (mean = 2.58±.72), applying more industrial pesticides (mean = 2.50±.76) and practicing crop diversification (mean = 2.36±.81), increased use of irrigation (mean = 2.19±.89) and integrated farming system (mean = 2.15±.91) were the major coping strategies for controlling the effect of climate changes and copping strategies had positive impact on crop productivity. It was clear from the results that the fellow farmers (mean = 2.24±.54), private company dealer (fertilizer & pesticides) (mean = 1.70±.74), Burjij/Wall chalking (mean = 1.53±.66), TV (mean = 1.47±.72), field assistant/Agri. officer of the Deptt. of agriculture (mean = 1.43±.52) and mobile phone (mean = 1.42±.64) were the major sources of communication/information concerning climate change. Bivariate analysis showed that farming experience and coping strategies is negatively associated with the impact of climate change on crop productivity. It was concluded that long summer season, shorter winter season and high temperature were the main perception concerning consequences of climate change in the research area. The crop productivity was negatively affected by climate changes. It is recommended that farmers should use recommended crop cultivars, fertilizers and practice crop diversification. Investment on improved agricultural technology by government and other stakeholders are necessary for agriculture to be able to cope with future climate change.