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By:- FAROOQ ABBAS MIANA
The Wasaib:-Seraiki wasaib is the proud inheritor of Indus Valley Civilization, its history is expanded over millennia . Seraiki wasaib , today is littered with the ruins of various unknown civilizations which flourished and then vanished without leaving any solid information about themselves. Archeologists give them a collective name of Indus Valley Civilization . All the ancient civilizations flourished on the banks of the river. The ancient people made those places their abode which had fertile land , plenty of fresh water and vegetation. The Indus valley had very fertile plains , every thing for survival of human beings was in abundance . It had great expanse of land which was irrigated by two great Rivers , named Indus and Hakra also referred as Ghagra . The civilization is sometimes referred to as the Indus Ghaggar-Hakra civilization or the Indus-Saraswati civilization. The Hakra River dried out and left behind a desert which today is known with the name of Cholistan. Estimated period at which the river dried up range, very roughly, from 2500 to 2000. Indus still flows through the wasaib and has the same meaning for Seraikies which Nile has for Eygptians.
The Indus Valley civilization extended from Balochistan to Gujarat, with an upward reach to Punjab from east of the river Jhelum to Rupar on the upper Sutlej. This Civilization encompassed most of Pakistan as well as the western states of India. An Indus Valley site has been found on the Oxus river at Shortughai in northern Afghanistan, in the Gomal river valley in north-west Pakistan, at Manda on the Beas River near Jammu, India, and at Alamgirpur on the Hindon River, only 28 km from Delhi. However most of the sites of Indus Valley Civilization are found in Seraiki Wasaib. Dr. Rafiq Mughal a leading archeologist identified around 400 such sites in Cholistan and Bahawalpur along the bed of dried River Hakra . Another 100 such sites are found around the banks of River Indus , most part of which flows through Seraiki wasaib. There still are countless sites through out seraiki area which yet have to been studied by archeologists .
The most prominent sites of Indus valley civilization found in Seraiki wasaib are Harappa near Sahiwal, Rehman Dehri ( Dera Ismail Khan) Hasam Dehri ( Dera Ismail Khan) Ganwariwala (Cholistan) . Besides these site there is long list of such other sites which still have not been approached by the experts and have huge acrheological treasures in their fold.
History reveals that Seraiki area always remained in the whirlwinds One conqueror followed the other and its vast plains served as battle fields for the power mongers . In the ancient times Aryans, Greeks, Parthian, Huns, came to this land and settled here , nothing much is known what happened to native of this land . With the passage of time these foreigners became native . In the medieval era Turks, Mongols and Arabs wrestled for controlling this area . So intense were invasion during those tumultuous timings that dynasty would establish for a brief time was replaced by other . This was the time when Hinduism was replaced by Islam as religion of the masses. Due to these Invasions and resultant excessive settlement the peripheral Seraiki areas lost their Seraiki character . But around the centre the Seraiki language and culture was so rich and deep rooted that it absorbed all the languages and cultures of invaders and developed itself into a unique language and culture. However the invasion continued and in modern times Pathans and Baluch kept settling here , the Pathans reached the centre where as Baluchs controlled areas around it . They too were absorbed in the local culture .
The final attack on Seraiki area came from Punjabis who under Maharaja Ranjit , the first and last king of Punjab conquered the wasab. The period of Sikh subjugation was very hard and tragic for Seraiki people. Sikhs plundered and looted the beautiful cities and forts. The farmlands and bazaars became desolate due to deteriorated law and order situation and heavy taxes.
Seraiki poetry and folk literature of this period is gloomy, and introvert. The term “Sikha Shahi” is still used as a synonymous of misadministration, injustice and highhandedness. Eventually Seraikis welcomed the British take over this area in 1849.
Seraiki is an Indo-Arian language. In days bygone It was a language which was spoken over quite a large expanse of land . Till recent past it was spoken in some parts of Afghanistan , specially in Kandhar where it was known as Kandhari or Multani. There are few tribes in Iranian province of Zabul and Siastan , who speak Seraiki , the language there is referred as Judgali or Jugdal. Similarly there is a tribe in Tajikistan which speaks language similar to Seraiki . The Russian linguistic Joseph Euroiski after an in-depth research has confirmed that this is a Seraiki Language. Before acquiring name Seraiki It has been variably called by different names such as Baluchki, Partake, Jagdali, Riasti, Bahawalpuri, Derewali, Multani, Western Punjabi, Lanhda, Uchi, Thallochi, Shahpuri and Hindko .But thanks to the recent cultural awareness the name “Seraiki” given by the Sindhi brothers, has been accepted and established universally beyond all doubts. In fact Seraiki language is spoken in substantially large area and the names given above are its different accents .
Seraiki is the only true Pakistani Nation. They are the only people who have no linguistic, ethnic and cultural ties outside the country’s border. The Sindhi, Punjabi, Pushtoons and Balochs may have some reason to break away from Pakistan but the Seraikis have a vital stake in the integrity of Pakistan as they dwell the heart of the country. Seraiki is the mother-tongue of more than 50 million people in the south-western Pakistani Punjab , parts of NWFP , Baluchistan and Sindh province. . Seraikis have their unique culture i.e. psyche, food habits, folk dances, music, poetry, idioms, dresses and way of living..
The following districts are predominately Seraiki: Mianwali, Taank, Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan Rajan Pur, Rahim Yarn Khan, Bahawalpur, Bahawal Nagar, Vehari, Khanewal, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Bakhar, Jhang, Khushab and Sargodha.
Seraiki wasaib has extremely rich natural resource base . It has very fertile land and plenty of fresh water. It produces 80% of cotton for the country , which is major raw material for textile industry … a major source of foreign exchange for the country. The lands of this area yield bumper crops of wheat and sugarcane , the orchids here produce most aromatic fruits and the area is most suitable for livestock farming . Seraiki land also has huge reserves of minerals like gypsum and lime stone , this area has precious metal like uranium and unexploited reserves of gas and petroleum.
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