When Arif Hasan went to Chhachro in the 1970s, there was no road. Four wheel drive needed. He learnt of the caste system bc the driver carried his own utensils. He wouldn’t share. (thread)

There was the begarr system of serfdom. You could not leave your village. This was Chhachro, Thar. Arif Hasan went with Ghulam Kibria

When the Indian army left, the Hindu haris left, the Rajputs and Ranas migrated. So who would till the soil? They left but after bricking up wells. The system of maintaining infrastructure collapsed.

Arif Hasan returned to Thar in 1985, w a water expert Hann Heinen on drought. Their report said:
1. Reliable water aquifer is only rainwater
2. If this is the aquifer it must be recharged
3. The rate of pop expansion means this aquifer will run out in 20 yrs
4. How to store water

While studying Thar drought, recommended:
1. End diesel pumping of aquifer
2. Desilt tarai depressions where water gathers, channel h20 here. But who would do since munshis left
3. Only the community can
4. How to secure water in tarais? Grow lotuses to prevent evaporation

“With the road came wheat,” Arif Hasan said this morning as we waited for bajray ki roti. There was only bajra before #Thar

Arif Hasan meeting TRDP reps from across Sindh in Mithi, Thar to talk about how they will continue to work. Berr grafting 1 prog started back in the day. Today Thar exports Berr.

As the team introduced themselves, I was floored. Small govt scholarships, colleges and unis such as Agri at Tando Jam have given all these women and men the chance to study. One man did child labour by day to study. Allama Iqbal Open Uni was his ticket.

Big demand, Arif Hasan noted was for girls hostels as they wanted to study in District HQs. As extended families broke down, relatives stopped being willing to take in students. Previously women could stay w relatives. Then hostels grew unsafe. So women’s ed graph

I need to get these threads...

You would find home-churned butter in Mithi. Now it is transported in.