Sindh Hari Committee

Sindh Hari Committee سنڌ هاري ڪاميٽي
Leader	Hyder Bux Jatoi Azhar Jatoi
Founders	Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi Jethmal Parsram Gulrajani Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta Ghulam Murtaza Syed Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Founded	1930 (1930)
Ideology	Labor rights Land reforms
Political position	Reformist Agrarian / pro-peasant; Land-reform advocacy; Pro-worker / labour movement
Party flag
Politics of Pakistan Political parties Elections

The Sindh Hari Committee (Sindhi: سنڌ هاري ڪميٽي) is a leftist political organization in Sindh, Pakistan that sought to promote the interests of the Haris (landless peasant farmers) of Sindh. Hyder Bux Jatoi took over as president of the committee until his death in 1970.^[1] In 1957, it became a constituent party of the National Awami Party.^[2]

Tenant Rights Movement (1930s–1940s)

The earliest movement of the Sindh Hari Committee focused on tenant farmers (haris) who faced exploitation under the feudal landlord system. Formed in 1930–31, the Committee demanded adh-batai (equal share of produce between landlord and tenant), protection from forced evictions, and recognition of peasants as rightful tillers of the land. Through meetings, rallies, and petitions, it mobilised haris to challenge oppressive practices. The movement also popularised the slogan “Jo khery karey, so khaey” (“He who tills has the right to eat”).^[3]

Hari Inquiry and Anti-Claim Movement (1947)

After Partition, evacuee lands in Sindh were often allocated to migrants, while long-standing haris were ignored. The Sindh Hari Committee launched the Anti-Claim Movement, demanding redistribution of such lands among local peasants. In response, the provincial government established the Hari Committee of Enquiry in 1947 to assess the condition of tenant farmers. Although only partially implemented, its recommendations reflected the growing influence of the Hari Committee. The Anti-Claim Movement highlighted the peasantry’s role in early Pakistan’s debates on land rights and redistribution.^[4]

Sindh Tenancy Act Struggle (1949–1950)

Under the leadership of Hyder Bux Jatoi,led thousands of peasants to Karachi and surrounded the Sindh Assembly. For two days, 2 and 3 April, haris staged rallies and shouted slogans for their rights. During this protest, Chief Minister Sindh Yusuf Haroon met their delegation and promised to bring the Sindh Tenancy Act. The Sindh Hari Committee intensified its campaign for tenancy reforms in the late 1940s. Through mass rallies and demonstrations, the Committee pressured the provincial government to introduce the Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950. This landmark law legally recognised sharecropping arrangements, entitled tenants to a fixed portion of the produce, and offered some protection against arbitrary eviction. While its enforcement remained uneven, the Act represented the first significant legislative victory for peasants in Sindh. The struggle for the Tenancy Act became a turning point in Sindh’s agrarian politics and a central achievement of the Hari Committee.^[5]

Anti–One Unit Movement (1955–1969)

When the One Unit policy merged Sindh into West Pakistan in 1955, the Sindh Hari Committee joined nationalist and democratic forces in opposition. The Committee argued that centralisation undermined both peasants’ rights and Sindh’s provincial autonomy. Its leaders participated in protests, strikes, and alliances with other Sindhi political groups. This movement marked a shift in the Committee’s focus from a purely class-based agrarian agenda to broader political activism, combining the struggle for peasants’ welfare with Sindhi nationalist demands. The Anti–One Unit campaign reflected the Committee’s evolving role in provincial politics and the wider democratic movement in Pakistan.^[6]

Post-1970 Movements

After the death of Hyder Bux Jatoi in 1970, the Sindh Hari Committee’s mass influence declined, but it continued to advocate for agrarian reforms. The Committee organised campaigns against bonded labour, condemned the persistence of feudal dominance, and demanded redistribution of state-owned and forest lands among landless peasants. In 2009, it re-emerged with a notable land rights campaign, calling for equitable distribution of government land to local haris. Though lacking the mobilisation strength of earlier decades, these efforts preserved the Committee’s legacy as a symbolic voice of Sindh’s oppressed peasantry and kept the issue of land reform alive in provincial politics.^[7]

Comrade Azhar Jatoi (1962–2020)

Subsequent leaders included Azhar Jatoi (1962–2020), grandson of Hyder Bux Jatoi.^[8] Comrade Azhar Jatoi, chief of Sindh Hari Committee (Sindh Peasants Committee), was born on 15 February 1960 in Hyderabad, Sindh. He got his education up till graduation in Hyderabad and joined the hari struggle in 1982.

He strived hard for his grandfather’s mission and took its responsibility from a very early age. Just like his grandfather Hyder Bux Jatoi and father Mazhar Jatoi, Comrade Azhar Jatoi always spoke for the rights of the poor, no matter the situation he never let injustice take place in any peasant’s life. Just like his grandfather, Comrade Azhar Jatoi was also a leader who waged struggle to awaken the downtrodden masses and make them aware of their rights. He remained associated with Anti Greater Thal Action and Kalabagh Dam Action Committee as well as Ponam, a now largely dormant conglomerate of various nationalist political parties. He actively participated in protests against dual local government system introduced by PPP government in Sindh in 2012.^[9]

After years of his struggle serving the hari community with his support Comrade Azhar died due to cardiac arrest on 18 November 2020. Comrade Azhar Jatoi led the Sindh Hari Committee till his death to the best of his abilities and tried to emulate his grandfather, raising voice for the downtrodden and haris at all forums. He was laid to rest in Kalhoro Colony near Hyder Bux Jatoi’s grave.^[10]

Present State

In recent years, the Sindh Hari Committee has remained active as a symbolic platform for peasant rights in Sindh. Under the leadership of figures such as Comrade Azhar Jatoi and Comrade Samar Jatoi, the organisation continues to highlight issues of land redistribution, bonded labour, and water scarcity. Samar Jatoi has publicly vowed to defend the rights of peasants against corporate farming projects and government neglect, while also criticising mainstream political parties for exploiting rural communities.

The Committee has also accused ruling parties of harassing political opponents through fabricated cases.^[11] It continues to observe anniversaries of Hyder Bux Jatoi, keeping alive the legacy of Sindh's peasant struggles.^{[12][13][14][15]}

External links

• Sindh Hari Committee official Facebook page

References

1. Zubeida Mustafa, Champion of haris’ rights, Dawn (newspaper), 2 June 2010
2. Progressive Movements in Pakistan Collection, International Institute of Social History website, accessed 27 June 2010
3. Sangi, Sohail (22 October 2018). "Sind Hari Committee: Pakistan's first peasant movement". Europe-Solidaire. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
4. Ansari, Sarah (2024). "He who tills has the right to eat: Development and the politics of agrarian reform in late 1940s and early 1950s Sindh". Critical Pakistan Studies. 1 (1–2). Cambridge University Press: 50–75. doi:10.1017/cps.2024.9.
5. "History of Haris' Struggle". The News International. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
6. "Sind Hari Committee, 1930–1970: A Peasant Movement?". International Labour Organization Library Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
7. "Sindh Hari Committee struggles for land rights, 2009". Global Nonviolent Action Database, Swarthmore College. 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
8. "Baba-i-Sindh's grandson dies". Dawn. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
9. "Hyder Bux Jatoi remembered on 50th death anniversary". DAWN.COM. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
10. "Baba-i-Sindh's grandson dies". Dawn. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
11. "Hari committee accuses PPP of harassing opponents". The Express Tribune. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
12. "Rich tributes paid to Hyder Bux Jatoi on 55th death anniversary". Dawn. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
13. "Dacoits are products of feudalism: hari leaders". Dawn. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
14. "Jatoi remembered on 49th death anniversary". Dawn. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
15. "Peasant and Class Struggles:: The Case of Sindh Hari Committee and the Communist Party of Pakistan". Retrieved 24 September 2025.