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ABSTRACT
The main aim of this paper is to identify the social and environmental impacts of the fall (change) of the
hujra culture. Hujra in Swat, Pakistan has been taken as a case study. Its impacts on eco-neighborhood,
controlling health hazards, water pollution and disasters have been investigated. These may be beneficial
for planners, sociologists and environmentalists. The means adapted in the study include literature re-
view, web search and survey through open-ended questionnaires, field visits and interviews. The study
area was divided into various zones. Eleven communities have been studied in different social units. Dif-
ferent age groups and professionals have been included in the survey to know about different views and
information. It is concluded that hujra culture used to have more positive and less negative impacts on
various aspects of life of people in Swat.
195
196 KHAN ET AL.
prominent Yousefzai Scholar designated hujra as a basic traditional neighborhood demands that all the people liv-
management and development unit, and it was generally ing in the jurisdiction of the hujra should be considered
based upon the property share. The basic shareholders of as neighbors of one another.
hujra, selected a Khan (leader of hujra) for duration of 5 Eco-village (Dawar Khan Dawood, (1995)) is a chal-
to 10 years. Hujra was communal property and not of an lenge to develop a community living in balanced har-
individual. Each person had equal rights because the mony. Presently there is no generally agreed-upon def-
ownership was communal. Sufficient beds were always inition of an eco-village. Human-scale refers to a size in
available in hujra where the village youths, spinsters, pas- which people are able to know and be known by the oth-
sengers, and guests were allowed to stay and sleep. ers in the community. Each member of the community
Mian Gul Abdul Wadood Badshah Saheb, the ex-ruler should feel that he or she is able to influence the com-
of Swat state allowed permanent settlement in 1924, munity’s direction. Sustainable community includes
(Inam-ur-Rahim, Alain Viaro (2005)). Hence, the situation eco-villages but it also includes clusters and networks of
changed and the Khan or Malak (leader of hujra) became eco-villages. In this sense an eco-village is a distinct
the state representative and got the authority to fine his place, either as a rural village or as an urban/suburban
colleagues (hujra member). One third of it was the share neighborhood. A city could not be an eco-village but a
of Khan and the remaining was given to the state. In 1950 city made up of eco-villages could be a sustainable com-
AD the administrative role of khan was abolished and munity.
shifted to Tehsil Administration, which squeezed the hu- Using these principles for eco-village, the hujra cul-
jra into communal guesthouse and “Jirga.” Presently the ture is considered an eco-village, and it provided the
status of the hujra is decaying (Khan Muhammad Asef, eco-neighborhood during its active period. Hujra cul-
(1950)). ture in Swat fulfilled all the basic requirements of eco-
village; therefore the culture was accepted as eco-vil-
Neighborhood AND Hujra lage.
Neighborhood remained a symbol of sustainability in
all the renowned cultures. Muhammad the last prophet MATERIALS AND METHODS
of God (peace be upon him) elaborates that forty residents
in each direction constitutes a neighborhood and God, the The main work of this study was executed by survey
Almighty, shall hold one to task if any among the neigh- through open-ended questionnaires. Different question-
bors goes to bed hungry. Different communities have dif- naires were designed for different groups of people of the
ferent ideas about the concept of neighborhood, but all area. It was kept very simple so that it was accessible for
believe that the community should have a familiar and illiterate people. Frequent field visits were made and suf-
homely environment, assist each other in daily needs, and ficient time was spent with to learn the local view of the
share experience and mutual support. Established com- hujra culture. The study area was divided into various
munities are recognized by their social care system. Ur- zones. Eleven communities have been studied in differ-
ban designers consider the the concept of mixed-use “ur- ent social units. Different age groups and professions
ban villages,” as providing convenient, hospitable and have been included in the survey to include different
enlivening pedestrian-scale environments. In Swat, the views and information.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA 197
Status of communal hujra culture but as the permanent settlement took place, the youths
became educated and employed in different depart-
Interviews and questionnaire shows that according to
ments at different locations. New ways of livelihood
29% of respondents the neighborhood has not failed but
and lifestyle have been adopted. This diversification of
has naturally changed. However, 20% of respondents said
livelihood enhanced cultural exchange process, and the
that the culture has changed. The results of survey are
traditional hujra culture started vanishing.
shown in Fig. 3. According to the history, the role of hu-
• Many respondents consider that the modern commu-
jra has gradually changed and is remaking its shape. The
nication system, print, and electronic media have also
communal hujra roles have now been shared by private
played a key role in the change of culture because in-
hujra, state authorities, political parties, nongovernmen-
formation is now available at home. So why to go to
tal organizations, and community based organizations.
hujra for it?
• Due to poverty or opportunities to utilize more day
Causes of decay of neighborhood
hours in different engagements, it has becomes too dif-
As shown in Fig. 4, all the respondents perceived the ficult to spare time for hujra.
following different views, which were responsible for the • The population growth and increase in family/tribe
fall or change of culture. size made it impractical to accommodate all in a single
hujra. This promoted the concept of personal hujra or
• Hujra system in Swat was disturbed by the state ruler, guesthouse, which is responsible for cultural change.
making it the entity of individual “Khan,” and he was • Urbanization is also one of the causes especially in cities,
given the administrative role, which continued from where the general concept of hujra is just a guest house.
1924 till 1950. This created the gap between the share-
holders and loosened the social bindings between the
shareholders. Their relation had been based upon
equality, but now the role has changed to administra-
tor (Khan) and subordinate (Shareholders or “Daftar-
ian or Talgarey” in Pashto). As the administrative role
has been withdrawn so the disputes between the share-
holders has been started. A large number of hujra was
divided on the share basis and the personal hujras con-
struction was started by the individuals, which are now
nearly touching the number of houses, which has a
greater environmental impact. Besides it, as already
discussed in the resources of hujra, the land allocated
for the management of hujra has been divided in be-
tween shareholders or sold out by the owners. Thus
hujra lost one of its important fund generation re-
sources.
• Hujra culture was based on resources, defense, and the
pure agrarian society. Some refer to it as a nomadic cul- FIG. 5. Role of hujra in relief and rehabilitation during
ture. There was a village and land rotational system and after a natural disaster.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA 199
NATURAL DISASTERS • Loss of the symbol of unity at village level has created
selfishness. Love and sympathy with each other has de-
Natural disaster is not a controllable force.. However, clined to a greater extent.
relief and rehabilitation falls on the shoulders of com- • The society responsibilities have fallen to the individ-
munity because an individual is not in a position to re- ual to face such disasters.
spond to alone to natural disaster. Hujra was a set forum • Political parties and NGOs have exploited such disas-
to face such disasters. The respondents’ experience about ters.
natural disaster relief and rehabilitation is shown in • The concept of self-support has vanished, and every-
Fig. 5. body has started looking towards external agencies for
support.
Roles of Hujra at the occasion of natural disasters. It
is worth mentioning that role of hujra was confined to lo-
cal disaster management and humanitarian assistance. It
never had the capability to respond to big disasters. Re-
spondents identified different roles of Hujra in the relief
and rehabilitation, which are shown in Fig. 6.
Control of health hazards Impact of the change of culture on the control of health
hazards. The results of interviews of people are given in
Hujra was a community center and played a key role Fig. 8.
in health-hazard control. It was a place for knowledge
sharing, community education, and awareness. The mod- Positive Impact:
ern health facilities were initiated in Swat in 1940, from
• The people in hujra thought that they could find bet-
Civil Hospital Saidu Sharif Swat and due to this reason
ter health care and treatment in the province, country,
21% of respondents as shown in Fig. 7 negate the role of
and even abroad.
hujra in health care. But still 79% of respondents accepted
• Contagious diseases have probably been reduced, es-
its role. Even today there are projects where health de-
pecially tuberculosis, because the people no longer live
partments use private hujra for health education in rural
communally.
areas of Swat.
• New state-run hospital systems, as well as private
health services, have been developed.
Roles of hujra in the control of health hazards. Ac- Negative Impact:
cording to the interviews, the hujra had he following
roles. • Support system for health care dropped and nobody
care about others.
• Hujra provided health facilities because it was the most • The system at the doorstep has vanished and now
convenient place to go. everybody has to travel to the doctor, otherwise the
• The doctor/dispenser of the village provided pre- system is expensive.
scriptions to patients in the hujra without any fee dur- • Indigenous health practices are no longer possible.
ing different vaccination or relief programs.
• Because it was a community center, each person of the Water pollution
community gathered there, including doctors and el- Fig. 9 shows that 28% of respondents felt that water
ders. All types of disease could be discussed in hujra was clean and hujra did not have a role in keeping water
and health strategies were formulated. clean. Water pollution is a recent development.
• Sharing of experiences of treatment of the patients, suc-
cess and failure stories about any disease, doctor or
treatment was very helpful in controlling health haz-
ards.
• Hujra members considered each other as friends and
relatives and cared for patients even from remote
places.
• Collective decisions were reached in hujra about heath
education, clean water, and other health issues.
• Cost of relief measures could be reduced due to shar-
ing of responsibilities.
• The ill from the other villages could be accommodated
here to consult doctors.
• The elders could share their experience with medicine
with youngsters in hujra.
• There was moral and financial support for patients. FIG. 9. Role of hujra in controlling water pollution.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA 201
Hujra and control of water pollution. ning in Swat in 1451 AD until the middle of 20th century.
This can be termed as the most sustainable neighborhood.
• There was a time when no other sources of water were The old concept of hujra is no longer workable within
available except stream water. Hujra created awareness the parameters of present society, but the basic concepts
for keeping water clean. Hujra members were vigilant are still workable. The village council and union councils
to watch any water activity that may pollute water. can adopt and further build on the concepts because they
• Collective action was initiated for timely controlling have authority the power to implement its decisions for
measures. a better Pakistan.
• The springs, which were communal, were segregated To overcome the environmental issues, the union coun-
as male and female springs and the male were strictly cil should have its own hujra, in which there should be
prohibited from walking near the female springs. In all basic facilities. The hujra may be managed by Hujra
case of only one spring, timings were fixed and nobody Assembly (Jirga), which includes all the members of
was allowed to violate the rules. Such places were union, village and community citizen board. Hujra should
named in Pashto, as “Gooder” and Pashto poetry was be open to everybody under certain bindings and bylaws.
full of its glory, which used to be the place of exposure It must also be open for any type of function, and the
and entertainment for women. councils should manage its resources and expenses.
• It was the general custom that if some one pollutes wa-
ter, he or she must take out an eyelash and throw it in REFERENCES
water. It was self-punishment of polluting water.
• Water use was strictly monitored by the community el-
ders and was discussed in hujra. No one would dare 1. Andrew Skuse, (2005), The Social Life, Death and Re-
to pollute drinkable stream water. Elders of the hujra birth of Radio as Commodity in Afghanistan Journal
walked on irrigation channels to check any pollution. of Material Culture, Vol. 10, No. 2, 123-137.
• The communal reservoirs of water were jointly cleaned. 2. Dawar Khan Dawood, 1995 ‘ Da Pukhto Tappa,”
• Communal wells were very common. Peshawar Hameed Press. Dr.Sultan-i-Rome, 2002,
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• No one was to drop sewage of any type into the run- Norms and Practices.
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• Livestock were not permitted to take water from the Geografia” translation of Swat an Afghan Society in
same drinking point as humans. Pakistan, Lahore Motorway Press.
• Water pollution was considered a great sin. 4. Dr. Yaseen Iqbal Yousafzay (2003), The Frontier Post,
25th and 26th Oct. 2003 (Editorial Page) Is Durand line
Impact of the Change of Culture on Water Pollution a problem?
Positive Impact: 5. Grants and Licences, Forestry Commission (2007), En-
vironmental Impact Assessment of Forestry Projects,
• The provision of water supply in each house especially Edinburgh, 1814/19 Crown, EIA.
helped the women who had to carry water for domes- 6. http://www.context.org/PEOPLE/RCHBio. htm by
tic use. This was a major positive change to the com- Robert Gilman ,One of the articles in Living Together
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7. Khan Muhammad Asef, 1950, Tarikh-i-Ryasath-i-Swat
Negative Impact: “, Peshawar, Feroz Sons
8. Modak, P. & A.K. Biswas. 1999. Conducting Environ-
• Norms and values changed, no flowing water re- mental Impact Assessment for Developing Countries.
mained clean. Every house has started throwing its United Nations University Press, USA..
sewage to the flowing water in channels, streams and 9. Slovak Republic -2003 , Environmental Impact Assess-
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• Many consider interior plumbing a cause of health the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and
problems in women because they no longer get the ex- Related Environmental Laws California Environmental
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• Additionally, the “Gooder” was a nice discussion forum
for women. Address all reprint requests to:
Dr. Abdul R. Ghumman
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Department of Civil Engineering
UET Taxila
Hujra was an ideal neighborhood within the environ- Taxila 47050, Pakistan
mental and social conditions of the time, and the concept
of the neighborhood remained workable from its begin- E-mail: abdulrazzaq@uettaxila.edu.pk
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