I have been here for over a month now. Shigar is far behind in terms of education , infrastructure and other amenities from many other places in Gilgit Baltistan. Posted to Shigar recently from Hunza which matches ,if not surpasses , all the geographic features of Shigar , i imagined the same development level as i witnessed in Hunza here.However , it didn't took me long to realize that mere land similarity doesn't necessarily bring two places at par in progress.My naivety of optimism took further blows as i started visiting the remote areas of Shigar. I worked as AC Hunza for over an year. That place is a fast developing hub in terms of all the social indicators. There are good educational institutes catering for quality education of the people. Health facilities are more than enough to meet the needs of the populace. Community-run welfare societies are utilizing the potential of villages to the maximum. More endeavors are afoot for future development. It may seem if the Government is showing extra grace and favor to the place. Thats not the case though. Almost all the progress has its roots in the community in one way or the other. Take the Information Technology sector for instance. The AKDN realized the importance IT there. It introduced the project through KADO (Karakuram Area Development Organization). Now the local people are doing on-line jobs from a cyber-hut in Karimabad. These are the people who do all the agri activity and still manage to come there and interact with the world. There are so many examples one sees , where the visionary policies of His Highness Prince Aga Khan are brining a silent revolution in the whole society. Having said that , this all activity is driven by faith. The religious bodies have a supervisory role on the activities of AKDN institutions even FOCUS , a humanitarian assistance organization, is answerable to the Regional Council there.Any resident of the headquarter Hunza has to get an NOC from the religious authorities before renting out his house to any non-Ismaili is another example of the overarching role the bodies play.
So this image was looming large in my mind when i first came to Shigar. With all the religiosity around , i thought people must have done something for social development too. One image after another proving wrong as i am slowly getting introduced to this society. There are numerous fire-brand religious leaders out well-known madressahs Iran and Iraq active here. Like their fathers and in some cases forefathers, they have focussed on keeping the religious sentiments of the people alive. When it comes to opening schools , providing clean drinking water , electricity or for that matter any conceivable infrastructure uplift , nothing has been done and sadly enough thought about.
So today's Shigar is like a medieval society. More than 90 percent of the population lives in mud-brick houses with no modern day washroom. "The stinking smell of shit is everwhere here" , commented one person who has lived here for quite some time for business. Many people prefer to keep their children away from schools to look after the vast agricultural land every household possesses. So the literacy rate is quite low. In the sub divisional headquarters , there is not a single privately owned RCC house. For an outsider , no living place is available on rent. A lecturer of Enlgish from Ghizer district came to my office asking for help in finding a place to live with his wife. We tried several Government quarters but couldn't accommodate him. So he was considering to get him transfered somewhere else!!
What troubles me most is that there is no awareness among the public about their abysmal condition. Political infightings are common.Politics comes in even with the matter is purely of religious importance. The spirit of volunteerism shown by the people of Hunza during the Attaabad disaster , was no where to be seen when devastating flood hit this place earlier this month. People would come on the street in protest against the Government for not being effective but would always avoid helping it or knowing where the problem lies. There are so many medieval attitudes. I wonder if i can do anything for these people as long as i m here on duty. Can i make the performance of Govt departments better , for example. I want to do something for this place before my Govt transfers me somewhere else all of a sudden. Lets see!
