Feudalism has had a stronghold on Pakistan's economy and politics since its inception. Feudal landlords control vast tracts of land and exert influence over the bureaucracy, police, and judiciary in rural areas. While feudalism is in decline in urbanizing areas, it still plagues much of rural Pakistan. Younger, educated leaders are needed to implement land reforms and curb the power of feudal elites to help modernize Pakistan's economy and political system.

1. In the name of Almighty “ALLAH” who Is
Most Beneficent And Most Merciful

2. Feudalism in Pakistan
By
Engr. Ijaz-Ul-Haq
Email: ijazrana96@gmail.com
ijazul.haq@amalacademy.org
Cell: 0092-303-6803796

3. INTRODUCTION
Definition
• Feudalism is a system of landownership by superior classes in special
relation to the royal or state power.
OR
• Its a system of receiving land from a king and in return working and
fighting for him.

4. INTRODUCTION
• Pakistan is basically an agrarian economy but most part of land is
occupied by feudal lords.
• These feudal lords also entered in politics and since its birth till now
they are ruling the country.
• The feudalism is a major hurdle in the way of progress and prosperity
of the country because the feudal lords do not let their subjects to be
educated so that no one share their power.

5. INTRODUCTION
• However in urban areas there is decline of feudalism due to industrial
development and education.
• But, industrial sector is also going under the control of the feudal lords
as they are shifting their investment to industry instead of agriculture.
• In rural Sindh and Baluchistan the situation is worse as compared to
Punjab and K.P.K. It is the need of the hour to control this evil.

6. INTRODUCTION
• At the time of independence it inherited a feudal set up for agricultural
land which harmed the roots of Pakistan economy severely.
• The feudal lords not only controlled agricultural land but they also
occupied political system and civil and military service in Pakistan.
It is difficult to define Feudalism.
• But one thing is clear that this is a system in which poor men live a miserable
life.

7. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• Feudalism in Pakistan has a stranglehold on the economy and
politics of the nation.
• The feudal landlords have created states within a state where they rule
their fiefs with impunity.
• The landlord’s influence spans over the police, bureaucracy and
judiciary3.

8. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• Since its birth, Pakistan is run by the politicians who are mostly
feudal.
• From Liaquat Ali Khan to present era, feudal occupied parliament and
this is why, Pakistan is still an under develop country.
• The Bhutto's is one of the richest families of the subcontinent, The
Bhutto's own around 40,000 acres (161874000 m² or 161.874 km²) of
land in Sindh and assets worth billions of dollars (Dasti et al., 2013).

9. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• In Pakistan, the feudal are known as
• Chaudharies
• Warraich
• Pirs
• Khans
• Makhdooms Arbabs
• Nawabzadas
• Sardars and Shahs (Anwar, 2013)

10. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• No province of Pakistan is immune (‫)محفوظ‬ to feudalism whether it
exists in the form of Zamindars, tribal chiefs or Pirs.
• The outward manifestations of feudalism are big lands, peasants (‫)کسان‬
and private jails in rural areas and spacious houses and luxurious life
style in urban areas.
(Ali, 1989)

11. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
In history Feudalism has appeared in different forms
• Feudalism is a system in which there is no change.
• Feudal lords do not permit their subjects (Like Peasant) to get
education, acquire money, to improve their standard of living, to
improve their social conditions.
• Even they are not allowed to perform religious duties without the
approval of federal lord.

12. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• The poor peasants are forced to live a miserable life whereas feudal lord
enjoys all the comfort of life.
• Pakistan suffers not only from decadent feudalism but also from the
primitive tribal system.
Feudalism is further defined as follow;
• Feudalism based on mutual relationships and loyalty. A peasant served his
lord and perform military duties. In return a lord granted him land for
Agriculture use.

13. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• To begin with, the Pakistan Muslim League, the party laying
Pakistan’s foundation, was almost wholly dominated by feudal lords
such as the Zamindars, Jagirdars, Nawabs, Nawabzadas, Mansabdars,
Arbabs, Makhdooms, and Sardars, the sole exception being the
Jinnahs (merchants and lawyers) and the Sharifs (industrialists).
• Pakistan’s major political parties are feudal-oriented.

14. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• Besides, most of the key executive posts in the provinces are held by
them
• Though the decline to feudalism started in Pakistan but still feudal
lords control the game of politics in Pakistan.
• Feudal lords consider poor farmers or village men as their personal
goods. They do not let them to do something for their own welfare or
for the welfare of their children or family. (Dasti et al., 2013)

15. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• When a state encourage businessmen then feudal lords put restrictions
to the movement of peasants because their lands depends upon the
labour of these peasants.
• Thus the sole objective of a feudal lord is to keep their subjects
backward and under their tight control so that they should not have
upward social mobility because if they will have upward social
mobility ( ‫نقل‬‫و‬‫حرکت‬ ). (Sen, 1967)

16. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• Corruption, favoritism, fundamentalism, provincialism, and all other
social evils are out come of this single feudal mentality.
• The feudal lord encourage criminal to show his power to his subjects.
• The criminal do crimes like theft, rape and even murder for the sake of
the feudal lord.

17. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• They kidnapped people if feudal lord is angry with him and rest of life
that poor fellow live in a private prison created by the feudal lord.
• Having such a mentality, when members of feudal families obtain
responsible positions in civil service, business, industry and politics,
their influence is multiplied in all directions. Thus feudalism is mother
of all evils.

18. FEUDALISM IN PAKISTAN
• The feudal did not let middle class people to change their status or
position and to move from middle class to upper class because they
did not wish to share their authority and power.
• This feudal elite has migrated into politics, where it exerts huge
influence.
• This feudal system has made the people of Pakistan pathetic ( ‫قابل‬‫رحم‬ ).

19. MYTH OR REALITY
• There are two schools of thought commenting on feudalism
One school of thought says that
• Feudalism is just a myth because after the introduction of land
reforms, not much land is left with the feudal class, if the holding of
certain area of land were the measure to judge one's feudal status.

20. MYTH OR REALITY
However, the other school of thought says that
• Feudalism is still a reality because the feudal class has managed to
deal with the land reforms by saving its fertile land on which it now
banks on.

21. CHALLENGES TO FEUDALISM
The feudalism of today is faced with numerous challenges.
1) The first challenge comes from capitalization coupled with
industrialization.
2) The second challenge comes from the movements of human
rights which are expressed in the form of women rights, labour
rights and children rights.
3) The third challenge comes from education. (Jalal, 1990)

22. CHALLENGES TO FEUDALISM
The feudalism of today is faced with numerous challenges
4) The fourth challenge has come from the media, both print and
electronic.
5) The fifth challenge has come from the state. In the past, a feudal
lord could violate law or commit a crime as heinous as murder
and do away with it but until now.
(Sayeed, 1980)

23. CONCLUSION
• It is the need of the hour to chalk out a comprehensive plan to get rid
of this feudal elite class.
• It is time that Pakistan should be run by sincere young and patriot
Pakistani who will work efficiently and will leave no stone unturned to
make this country a progressive Islamic Welfare State as dreamed by
our founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

24. CONCLUSION
• It is time to eradicate feudalism totally as our Islam provided the
lesson of equality.
• It is essential for an Islamic Welfare State that all citizens of the State
should be treated equally according to Islamic social justice.
• In Pakistan, for the uplift and development of agriculture sector it is
essential to introduce land reforms immediately.

25. CONCLUSION
• Both individually and collectively, all these challenges taking on feudalism
indicate that feudalism could be a reality in the past but now it is on the
wane, even if it has not become a myth (Siddiqa, 2014).
• Generally, a feudal class exists in all countries even those who have gone
capitalist and industrialist (Brinkley, 2010). The problem should not be with
the existence of the feudal class in Pakistan but whether or not the class
impedes social growth and impinge on human rights. In the latter case, there
should have been no problem with the existence of the feudal class.

26. REFERENCES
Ali, I. (1989) The Punjab under Imperialism, 1885-1947. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Anwar, F. (2013) The feudal culture. May 19. The Nation
http://nation.com.pk/letters/19-May-2013/the-feudal-culture
Brinkley, A. (2010) The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American
People. (6th ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dasti, J. K. H. A., & Khan, A. R. (2013). Feudalism is a major obstacle in the way
of social mobility in Pakistan. Journal of the Research Society of
Pakistan, 50(1).
Jalal, A. (1990) The State of Martial Rule: The Origins of Pakistan’s Political
Economy of Defence, (Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press).

27. REFERENCES
Sayeed, K. B. (1980) Politics in Pakistan: The Nature and Direction of Change.
New York: Praeger.
Sen, S. R. (1967). Growth and stability in Indian agriculture. Agricultural Situation
in India. Jan.
Siddiqa, A. (2007) Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy. Karachi:
Oxford University Press.
Times of Karachi, Feudalism in Pakistan.