The history of Pakistan is replete with complicated stories, tragedies, and downfalls. In fact, there are too many to count.

I want to share with you a summarized story of one of those downfalls, the effects of which are felt even today.

The Story of Bahawalpur.

THREAD. https://twitter.com/FunkySabbath/status/1242441369425149954
Disclaimer: This is not the story of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur or a callback to its autocratic past. We don’t need Nawabs or monarchs anymore. It is instead the story of a region which gave too much to Pakistan, only to then be marginalized by the State.
Today, BWP is just a district in Punjab. In its past, it was a powerful, wealthy princely state that was spread across the Cholistan Desert & eastern bank of Sutlej.

It was formed when the Mughal & Durrani empires declined, leaving behind a vacuum that the Abbasi tribe filled.
In an otherwise unstable political region, BWP state was able to consolidate itself into a largely peaceful political unit with a healthy economy through multiple treaties, strategic alliances, & amicable relationships with its neighbours since its formation in the 17th Century.
The Nawabs used this peace to govern well. They initiated large-scale canal projects & invited agriculturists from other regions to utilize the otherwise infertile land in the state. They invited talented people into the state & incorporated them into a robust civil service.
BWP had good relations with the British, whom they provided with war supplies, passage, & support of other kinds. The British also provided BWP with stability such as when they accepted the principality of the 4-yr old Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV in 1866 until he came of age.
The state, especially in 20th century, focused a lot on population welfare & development. The Sutlej Valley project initiated in collaboration with the British was one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the region at its time & continues to benefit Pakistan even today.
It is also noticeable that during this time many educational institutes emerged in the State which provided cheap & free education to students from marginalized background. Along with education, the State tried to provide as much welfare services to its people as it could.
But the Nawabs were also autocrats who didn’t allow political dissent. They crushed most rebellions, just like other British Indian princes. The Nawabs were important figures in the Chamber of Princes and the strategic location of the state made it an important commercial route.
By the time of partition, BWP was a wealthy state with a strong agricultural base, small-scale industries, profitable commercial markets, effective taxation system, a base of well-educated officer corps, military force & working state institutions.
Along with its economy, it was also a seat of culture with the State patronizing & investing in high-quality architecture, craftsmanship, literature, education, tourism, & arts. The remnants of that culture are still visible in the city of BWP & others.
BWP city itself was a major urban centre in the region which was just as successful, if not more, than other cities of Punjab like Lahore of Multan. The State had ensured that the city possesses proper infrastructure needed for urban development & to attract quality migrants.
There were a lot of opportunities of migrants in the region with businesses, small-scale industries, education & government institutions. There were also established branches of many foreign companies & banks.
BWP was heavily courted by both India & Pakistan, with Nehru sending his trusted aide to convince Nawab Sadiq. The nawab famously retorted that “My front door opens in Pakistan and the back door opens in India and a gentleman likes to come in the house from the front door.”
From there on, BWP signed accession with Pakistan & opened its coffers for the country when Pakistan was struggling with financial resources. BWP state contributed 70 million rupees towards Pakistan & paid for one month’s salaries of all Pakistani government officers.
Overtime, BWP army also was incorporated into the Pak Army. There is also an (unverified) story that the State’s wealthy official Bank of BWP helped set up State Bank of Pakistan.

Anyways, BWP’s joining proved to be a boon for the new, struggling, resource-starved Pakistan.
It was richer & far more developed than most of the country. While BWP provided the Pakistani state with unconditional support when it was needed, it also expected autonomy in internal matters & a proper federal status.

This is where things start to get bad.
Pakistani state brought their own desired people in power in BWP to serve the Nawab & tacitly supported agitation against his autocratic rule by the local Muslim League chapter. They enforced two acts (1949 & 1952) designed to democratize BWP by bringing in an elected assembly.
Democratization in itself was a good thing, but it was also the Pakistani state’s attempt at wrenching control of erstwhile princely states. A process they repeated in Khairpur State. Back then, these territories were still autonomous in domestic affairs & self-ruled.
BWP was given province-level status in 1952. Noticeably during its self-rule, BWP state continued focusing on welfare, unlike other federating units. For e.g. BWP’s education spending was vastly superior to others else with a majority of students receiving free education.
However, this democratized self-rule was stopped in 1954 when Iskander Mirza forced the BWP state to merge itself into the West Pakistan province, a decision that was meant to stop East Pakistan’s dominance. The State reluctantly agreed, but with an implied condition that…
when West Pakistan is broken again, BWP will retain its provincial status because the 1st instrument of accession was signed with an explicit clause that allowed the BWP state to pull out of any subsequent agreements + the BWP Act of 1952 had granted it provincial-level status.
During the West Pakistan period, the Pakistan state slowly took control of the region while sidelining its local government & vastly reducing Nawab’s role to a mere figurehead. They turned BWP into a division and also started appropriating resources from BWP to Lahore.
When West Pakistan was broken in 1970 & the new Constitution written in 1973, BWP was forcefully merged into Punjab & the division was broken into three districts Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar & Rahim Yar Khan, all of whom were to now be ruled from Lahore & Islamabad.
From here on, is a story of the continuous downward trajectory that BWP has shared with the rest of South Punjab. Even the 18th Amendment has not changed that much. This region continues to lack any form of empowered local government & control over its own resources or wealth.
When you look budgets or development schemes by many governments, BWP & S Punjab continue to receive the least amount of money while still providing resources & wealth to the provincial set up. The state institutions that underpinned BWP’s development have long been dismantled.
What we have instead now is a region that has dismal education indicators, many marginalized communities, stunted cities, & decaying infrastructure. The HDI of the districts that formed part of former BWP state is extremely low & amongst the worst in the country.
The grand architecture & art that BWP took pride on is now crumbling & what isn’t crumbling is already in the hands of the State who has appropriated all the potentially profitable tourism places. The wealthy BWP state that provided welfare is nothing but a distant memory now.
Bahawalpur & other cities have ceased to be the aspirational urban settings where talented people can go & contribute effectively. Even the people of the region would prefer moving to Lahore (like rest of the province) because that’s perhaps the only place with opportunities.
Even the plans that are designed to uplift South Punjab have not done much. In 21st century, most of Punjab’s development & progress has happened in Lahore & other favored cities where successive Punjabi elite politicians in power have chosen to patronize their own regions.
That’s not to say that BWP’s local politicians have not shown a lack of responsibility but ultimately, this is a structural issue that can only be addressed by those in power in Lahore. They still hold power despite the 18th Amendment’s promise of local empowerment.
A LOT of ppl in BWP realize this. They feel that powerlessness & marginalization. I haven’t yet mentioned the complicated phenomenon of Seraiki nationalism that somewhat originates from & intersects with the simmering anger in the region (that’s a discussion for another time).
Anyways, this is just as summary of the downfall of what was once a prosperous region that is now another victim of marginalization at the hands of a Pakistani state that has a penchant for marginalizing & disempowering multiple peoples, regions, cities, & provinces.

END.
Also, if you want to look at the beauty of Bahawalpur's architecture, check out and follow @FunkySabbath. https://twitter.com/FunkySabbath/status/1245766153236078593?s=19
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