Converting the Kalash

The unique culture and identity of the Kalash people is under threat of extinction according to the National Commission on Human Rights which launched its report on the Kalash in Islamabad on Wednesday. The report states that the Kalash population has been reduced to a mere 4,000 people, mainly as a result of forced conversions and the conversion of Kalash women by Muslim men who marry them. Rights activists have frequently pointed out that the divide between seduction and abduction is not large at all. The failure by the state to ensure that the Kalash people enjoy rights to their lands and forests has aided those seeking to force a Muslim identity on them. So has the failure to include material on the Kalash culture in school textbooks used at Kalash schools. Instead, Kalash children are forced to study textbooks attended for Muslims. Justice Ali Nawaz Chohan, the director of the NCHR, has also pointed out that since the Kalash have no written script, it is important to preserve their history and tradition through some mechanism which can ensure it does not die away.

The failure to protect activists from other countries working for the Kalash in their valleys has also contributed to the problems of the community. In the past, individuals from foreign communities have been abducted by extremists for attempting to protect the Kalash and preserve their culture through museums or other means. The issue is linked to a far broader one. Pakistan has, as a nation, failed to embrace its diversity and recognise it as being of immense significance to all people in the country. The attempt to force uniformity has effectively decimated communities such as the Kalash and now poses the risk of us losing entire pieces of our culture and the colour or identity that they bring to society as a whole. Changing this mindset is fundamental to saving the Kalash and other endangered communities in Tharparkar, Hazara and other parts of the country.