Pukhtunkhwa(NWFP)virtually turned into cultural wasteland

PESHAWAR: The North-West Frontier Province with its rich cultural heritage has been turned into a cultural wasteland for the last few years.

The most trumpeted cultural directorate is yet to become functional at the historic Gor Gathri complex, while artistes and singers are still under threat and yet to restart their career. Private cultural and literary functions are being held at their own risk.

“The government has made tall claims to establish cultural directorate and work for the benefits of the poets and artistes but no such promise has been fulfilled. The state-run television station in Peshawar too has no plan to air quality cultural or literary programmes for the last many months. The artistes and writers are demoralized with the Philistine attitude of the government. On the contrary whatever the government says is no more than hollow slogans,” deplored Prof Abaseen Yousafzai, a Pashto poet and chairman of the Pashto Department at the Islamia College University.

Providing protection and security to the artistes is another important issue. A year ago many singers and performing artistes were threatened with dire consequences if they did not give up their profession while some were even kidnapped for ransom and released on the condition of quitting the profession. Some started reciting na’ats.

Kafayat Shah Bacha who was a popular folk singer began sporting a beard and started reciting religious hymns. Many artistes left NWFP and moved to other cities in the country or abroad to escape the wrath of the militants. Haroon Bacha, another noted singer, sought political asylum in 2009 in the US.

“If there is no cultural activity, how can the singers and artistes survive? It is now the question of the survival of the artistes themselves, let alone the arts and culture in the NWFP,” observed a young singer, Bakhtiar Khattak.

“There are eight audio recording studios in the city, a few amateur singers turn up for singing as there is no academy or government sponsorship. It is at their own risk that they invest in a music chart and take it to private TV channel for airing without caring for its quality,” he said.

Prof Dr Rajwali Shah Khattak, director Centre of Pashto Language and Literature, University of Peshawar, told The News that it was unfortunate that owing to recent wave of militancy, Frontier cultural heritage was affected in several ways.

He felt bombing mausoleum of great Sufi poet Rahman Baba was a tragic incident not only for Pashtuns but for all human beings. “In Peshawar’s Dabgari Bazaar there were 30 to 50 shops where musical instruments used to be hand-made and put on sale but now only two rabab making shops are left there which I believe is a great cultural loss. We must try to revive our rich cultural heritage by organizing cultural and literary events otherwise posterity will not forgive us,” Dr Rajwali Shah Khattak said.