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Social and Environmental Impact of Hujra

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DOI: 10.1089/env.2008.0540

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ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Volume 1, Number 4, 2008
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/env.2008.0540

Social and Environmental Impact of Hujra

Mughal B. Khan,1 Abdul R. Ghumman,2 and Hashim N. Hashmi2

ABSTRACT

The main aim of this paper is to identify the social and environmental impacts of the fall (change) of the
hujra culture. Hujra in Swat, Pakistan has been taken as a case study. Its impacts on eco-neighborhood,
controlling health hazards, water pollution and disasters have been investigated. These may be beneficial
for planners, sociologists and environmentalists. The means adapted in the study include literature re-
view, web search and survey through open-ended questionnaires, field visits and interviews. The study
area was divided into various zones. Eleven communities have been studied in different social units. Dif-
ferent age groups and professionals have been included in the survey to know about different views and
information. It is concluded that hujra culture used to have more positive and less negative impacts on
various aspects of life of people in Swat.

INTRODUCTION munal place has certain environmental impacts on the so-

G REENHOUSE EFFECTS, ozone depletion and over har-
vesting of natural resources have diverted the at-
tention of world leaders towards sustainable develop-
ment. It is bringing revolution in all the major fields of
development and the concepts like eco-city, eco-village,
eco-society, eco-culture and eco-neighborhood initiated in
different parts of the world. In 2003, according to National
Council of Slovak Republic Act No. 127/1994 Coll. on en-
vironmental impact assessment, 640 proposals for con-
struction, equipment and activity were assessed. Grants
and Licences, Forestry Commission (2007) has assessed
environmental impact of forestry projects. Andrew Skuse
(2005) has examined the social maintenance of commod-
ity exchange and use values with specific regard to radio
in Afghanistan. Modak and Biswas (1999) have conducted
environmental impact assessment for developing coun-
tries. Dr. Yaseen Iqbal Yousafzay published in The Fron-
tier Post of 26th Oct. 2003 that Pukhtuns of 21st century
are proud of their origin, know their blood brothers/sis-
ters and still have a desire to re-unite for eco-neighbor-
hood. Hujra was a communal or public place in the soci-
eties in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Middle East.
However it has collapsed due to the rapid urbanization
and developmental trends. The collapsing of this com-
1HUJRA
Saidu Sharif Swat and Government. College of Tech-
nology Mingora Swat.
2Department of Civil Engineering UET Taxilla.
ciety and biodiversity. This paper attempts to unveil im-
pacts of hujra culture and eco-neighborhood in Swat Pak-
istan.
Study area
Swat is located at 35° 22 42 latitude and 72° 10 47
longitude, http://www.context.org/PEOPLE/RCHBio.
htm by Robert Gilman. It is a district of NWFP Province
in Pakistan. Alexander the great crossed it, as proceeding
towards Punjab. Swat remained the center of Buddhists
until the eleventh century (AD) when Mehmood of
Ghazna whitewashed Raja Gira. Mehmood’s army con-
sisted of two tribes of Afghans “Swati” and “Dalazak”.
Swat was handed over to these tribes. Within few years
due to the internal conflict, Dalazak were pushed towards
Punjab. Swati ruled Swat until 1451 AD Latter Yousefzai
Tribe of Afghans under the leadership of “Malak Ahmad
Khan” Pushed Swati across river Indus towards Hazara.
Yousefzai are still living in Swat, (Inam-ur-Rahim, Alain
Viaro (2005)). Yousefzai, lifestyle and management were
of tribal nature. Swat was merged into Pakistan in 1969
AD through a presidential order.
Hujra
Hujra (Fig.1) used to be a public place and is as old as
the history of Pukhtoons or Afghans. The word hujra has
a diverse meaning as it came from Middle East to
Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Sheikh Milli Baba, a

195
196
FIG. 1. Hujra (a building) used as a public place.
prominent Yousefzai Scholar designated hujra as a basic
management and development unit, and it was generally
based upon the property share. The basic shareholders of
hujra, selected a Khan (leader of hujra) for duration of 5
to 10 years. Hujra was communal property and not of an
individual. Each person had equal rights because the
ownership was communal. Sufficient beds were always
available in hujra where the village youths, spinsters, pas-
sengers, and guests were allowed to stay and sleep.
Mian Gul Abdul Wadood Badshah Saheb, the ex-ruler
of Swat state allowed permanent settlement in 1924,
(Inam-ur-Rahim, Alain Viaro (2005)). Hence, the situation
changed and the Khan or Malak (leader of hujra) became
the state representative and got the authority to fine his
colleagues (hujra member). One third of it was the share
of Khan and the remaining was given to the state. In 1950
AD the administrative role of khan was abolished and
shifted to Tehsil Administration, which squeezed the hu-
jra into communal guesthouse and “Jirga.” Presently the
status of the hujra is decaying (Khan Muhammad Asef,
(1950)).
Neighborhood AND Hujra
Neighborhood remained a symbol of sustainability in
all the renowned cultures. Muhammad the last prophet
of God (peace be upon him) elaborates that forty residents
in each direction constitutes a neighborhood and God, the
Almighty, shall hold one to task if any among the neigh-
bors goes to bed hungry. Different communities have dif-
ferent ideas about the concept of neighborhood, but all
believe that the community should have a familiar and
homely environment, assist each other in daily needs, and
share experience and mutual support. Established com-
munities are recognized by their social care system. Ur-
ban designers consider the the concept of mixed-use “ur-
ban villages,” as providing convenient, hospitable and
enlivening pedestrian-scale environments. In Swat, the
KHAN ET AL.
traditional neighborhood demands that all the people liv-
ing in the jurisdiction of the hujra should be considered
as neighbors of one another.
Eco-village (Dawar Khan Dawood, (1995)) is a chal-
lenge to develop a community living in balanced har-
mony. Presently there is no generally agreed-upon def-
inition of an eco-village. Human-scale refers to a size in
which people are able to know and be known by the oth-
ers in the community. Each member of the community
should feel that he or she is able to influence the com-
munity’s direction. Sustainable community includes
eco-villages but it also includes clusters and networks of
eco-villages. In this sense an eco-village is a distinct
place, either as a rural village or as an urban/suburban
neighborhood. A city could not be an eco-village but a
city made up of eco-villages could be a sustainable com-
munity.
Using these principles for eco-village, the hujra cul-
ture is considered an eco-village, and it provided the
eco-neighborhood during its active period. Hujra cul-
ture in Swat fulfilled all the basic requirements of eco-
village; therefore the culture was accepted as eco-vil-
lage.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The main work of this study was executed by survey
through open-ended questionnaires. Different question-
naires were designed for different groups of people of the
area. It was kept very simple so that it was accessible for
illiterate people. Frequent field visits were made and suf-
ficient time was spent with to learn the local view of the
hujra culture. The study area was divided into various
zones. Eleven communities have been studied in differ-
ent social units. Different age groups and professions
have been included in the survey to include different
views and information.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA 197

Malak instructions. They believe the fall of the com-

FIG. 2. Role of hujra in maintaining a neighborhood.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Different roles of Hujra in the Neighborhood
Hujra is indispensable for keeping and developing bet-
ter neighborhoods, which is reflected in the study by the
respondents. The results of the study in this context are
shown in Fig. 2. The views of 52% people are in favor of
hujra because it plays such an important role and is cru-
cial for society in Swat. The survey in this study and ques-
tionnaire show that the hujra used to have the following
roles in maintaining the neighborhood:
• Hujra was the focal place for consultative meetings for
inter-family and intra-family groups, which enhanced
the unity and cohesiveness of the society.
• Populations living in the hujra participated in both the
pleasures and annoyances of daily living. Hujra played
the crucial role as a communal place for celebrating so-
cial and cultural events.
• Hujra was a permanent jury, always available to re-
solve conflicts between neighbors, and the decisions
were quick, cheap,unbiased, and honored by the peo-
ple, because the decisions were collaborative.
• Hujra acted as an information-sharing center.
• Hujra was a good contact place for all types of visitors.
• Hujra was an informal training institute. The elders ed-
ucated the young in ethics, sociology, culture, plan-
ning, history, leadership development, and politics.
• Hujra provided rooms for guests during marriages, cir-
cumcisions, funerals, and other ceremonies.
munity hujra culture has given them freedom. Except
for Pukhtoon, Mulla and Miangan, others were not al-
lowed to purchase land until the time the hujra was
functional hujra. However, the results of the survey re-
garding this point are debatable. Dr Sultan–i-Room,
who has done his doctorate on the history of Swat (Slo-
vak Republic (2003)), has disputed this argument. Dr.
Inam-ur-Rahim, who has written in his book (Yaseen
Iqbal Yousafzay (2003)) that the non Pukhtoons were
not allowed to purchase land, has also written that
Parachgan (A tribe having mostly the profession of Busi-
ness) have purchased land in Mingora. Many other au-
thors have written that Parachgan in Mingora has pur-
chased a lot of land before 1924 AD.
• Education has increased, and the traditional agrarian
society has shifted to diversified professions such as
engineering, medicine and business. It also has trig-
gered competition in the society.
• The youngsters spent most of their time sitting in hu-
jra, which was considered a waste of time. The cultural
change has given time for productive activities. This
has increased family earnings and changed life styles.
• The liabilities of group system are minimized.
The negative impacts of the culture change
• Group consultation (Jirga) has declined, and the deci-
sions are multiplied as the number of hujras has in-
creased. This has lead to individual decisions without
consensus. Collective harmony has reduced.
• The stage for sharing ideas, experiences, cultural con-
servation, and preservation has vanished. It is the loss
of a large social institution.
• Some activities that were considered a group respon-
sibility have changed to the individual’s responsibility.
It has overburdened individuals.
• Expenses of individuals have increased as one has to
construct his own guesthouse and operate it on indi-
vidual basis.
• Change of values has affected the respect for elders,
women, guests, and travelers.

Impact of the change of culture on neighborhood

The decay of the neighborhood has positive as well as
negative impact on the society, and the points identified
by the respondents during this study are given below.

Positive impact due to the culture change

• Most of the poor people stated that they were bound
to honor the hujra code and especially the Khan or FIG. 3. Status of communal hujra.
198 KHAN ET AL.

FIG. 4. Main causes of decay of a neighborhood.

Status of communal hujra culture but as the permanent settlement took place, the youths
became educated and employed in different depart-
Interviews and questionnaire shows that according to
ments at different locations. New ways of livelihood
29% of respondents the neighborhood has not failed but
and lifestyle have been adopted. This diversification of
has naturally changed. However, 20% of respondents said
livelihood enhanced cultural exchange process, and the
that the culture has changed. The results of survey are
traditional hujra culture started vanishing.
shown in Fig. 3. According to the history, the role of hu-
• Many respondents consider that the modern commu-
jra has gradually changed and is remaking its shape. The
nication system, print, and electronic media have also
communal hujra roles have now been shared by private
played a key role in the change of culture because in-
hujra, state authorities, political parties, nongovernmen-
formation is now available at home. So why to go to
tal organizations, and community based organizations.
hujra for it?
• Due to poverty or opportunities to utilize more day
Causes of decay of neighborhood
hours in different engagements, it has becomes too dif-
As shown in Fig. 4, all the respondents perceived the ficult to spare time for hujra.
following different views, which were responsible for the • The population growth and increase in family/tribe
fall or change of culture. size made it impractical to accommodate all in a single
hujra. This promoted the concept of personal hujra or
• Hujra system in Swat was disturbed by the state ruler, guesthouse, which is responsible for cultural change.
making it the entity of individual “Khan,” and he was • Urbanization is also one of the causes especially in cities,
given the administrative role, which continued from where the general concept of hujra is just a guest house.
1924 till 1950. This created the gap between the share-
holders and loosened the social bindings between the
shareholders. Their relation had been based upon
equality, but now the role has changed to administra-
tor (Khan) and subordinate (Shareholders or “Daftar-
ian or Talgarey” in Pashto). As the administrative role
has been withdrawn so the disputes between the share-
holders has been started. A large number of hujra was
divided on the share basis and the personal hujras con-
struction was started by the individuals, which are now
nearly touching the number of houses, which has a
greater environmental impact. Besides it, as already
discussed in the resources of hujra, the land allocated
for the management of hujra has been divided in be-
tween shareholders or sold out by the owners. Thus
hujra lost one of its important fund generation re-
sources.
• Hujra culture was based on resources, defense, and the
pure agrarian society. Some refer to it as a nomadic cul- FIG. 5. Role of hujra in relief and rehabilitation during
ture. There was a village and land rotational system and after a natural disaster.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA
FIG. 6. Different roles of hujra during a natural disaster.
• Poverty compelled people to go outside the village and
even abroad, which reduced the role of hujra.
• Development of NGOs and CBOs, took the place of hu-
jra in the society.
• The permanent settlement in 1924 AD changed the real
hujra culture.
• The changing role of women in society and exemption
of them from hujra, may have also contributed to the
fall.
• Foreign funded projects have played some role in the
cultural change and exchange.
• Introduction of new food and beverages affected the
culture. Diversification from the natural production to
artificial production affected the culture.
• The division of families from the land had an impact
on the hujra.
NATURAL DISASTERS
Natural disaster is not a controllable force.. However,
relief and rehabilitation falls on the shoulders of com-
munity because an individual is not in a position to re-
spond to alone to natural disaster. Hujra was a set forum
to face such disasters. The respondents’ experience about
natural disaster relief and rehabilitation is shown in
Fig. 5.
Roles of Hujra at the occasion of natural disasters. It
is worth mentioning that role of hujra was confined to lo-
cal disaster management and humanitarian assistance. It
never had the capability to respond to big disasters. Re-
spondents identified different roles of Hujra in the relief
and rehabilitation, which are shown in Fig. 6.
• Hujra was apermanent volunteer’s center, where vol-
unteers were available all the time and in any such oc-
casion used to help people. Volunteers rushed to the
site for possible relief. Mr.Sultan Bacha, of Louybund
who is now in his eighties narrated a story in this re-
gard about receiving a message that a neighbor had
drowned in the Jambeel Khwar (stream). Everyone
rushed to the stream to try to help. He added further
that now nobody cares about such occasions.
• The hujra role was crucial to assist affected persons so-
199
cially as well as financially, as well as being a forum
for discussion, planning, relief strategies, and rehabil-
itation.
• Human resource management was planned in hujra.
“What, how and who will do?” was discussed in hu-
jra
• Other resources (money, tools, and machines) were
pooled in hujra for further works of relief and rehabil-
itation.
• Progress of relief goods, contributions, and overall
progress of rehabilitation work was reviewed in hujra.
• Discussions of success and failures were shared in hu-
jra.
• Women from collapsed houses used to be given shel-
ter by those with undamaged houses during the dis-
aster, and the men lived in the hujra.
• There were cases of adjustment or reallocation. Ac-
cording to the authors own experience of village
Charbagh, there are two tribes Khadi Khail and Kamal
Khail. The kamal Khail used to live in Nawey Kilay near
the riverbank. Khadi Khail used to live in Charbagh.
There was a flood in 1930s and Naway Kali was dam-
aged by the flood. Two steps were taken by the two
tribes. A levee was constructed jointly to protect the
land on communal basis and the Kamal Khail was given
space in Charbagh to construct houses. They settled
and are still living there.
Impact of the change of culture at the occasion of nat-
ural disasters. Change in culture always brings other
changes. The impacts of the fall of hujra culture associ-
ated with the natural disaster management has been iden-
tified in this study as follows:
• Loss of the symbol of unity at village level has created
selfishness. Love and sympathy with each other has de-
clined to a greater extent.
• The society responsibilities have fallen to the individ-
ual to face such disasters.
• Political parties and NGOs have exploited such disas-
ters.
• The concept of self-support has vanished, and every-
body has started looking towards external agencies for
support.
FIG. 7. Role of hujra in overcoming health hazards.
200 KHAN ET AL.

FIG. 8. Different roles of hujra in controlling health hazards.

Control of health hazards Impact of the change of culture on the control of health
hazards. The results of interviews of people are given in
Hujra was a community center and played a key role Fig. 8.
in health-hazard control. It was a place for knowledge
sharing, community education, and awareness. The mod- Positive Impact:
ern health facilities were initiated in Swat in 1940, from
• The people in hujra thought that they could find bet-
Civil Hospital Saidu Sharif Swat and due to this reason
ter health care and treatment in the province, country,
21% of respondents as shown in Fig. 7 negate the role of
and even abroad.
hujra in health care. But still 79% of respondents accepted
• Contagious diseases have probably been reduced, es-
its role. Even today there are projects where health de-
pecially tuberculosis, because the people no longer live
partments use private hujra for health education in rural
communally.
areas of Swat.
• New state-run hospital systems, as well as private
health services, have been developed.
Roles of hujra in the control of health hazards. Ac- Negative Impact:
cording to the interviews, the hujra had he following
roles. • Support system for health care dropped and nobody
care about others.
• Hujra provided health facilities because it was the most • The system at the doorstep has vanished and now
convenient place to go. everybody has to travel to the doctor, otherwise the
• The doctor/dispenser of the village provided pre- system is expensive.
scriptions to patients in the hujra without any fee dur- • Indigenous health practices are no longer possible.
ing different vaccination or relief programs.
• Because it was a community center, each person of the Water pollution
community gathered there, including doctors and el- Fig. 9 shows that 28% of respondents felt that water
ders. All types of disease could be discussed in hujra was clean and hujra did not have a role in keeping water
and health strategies were formulated. clean. Water pollution is a recent development.
• Sharing of experiences of treatment of the patients, suc-
cess and failure stories about any disease, doctor or
treatment was very helpful in controlling health haz-
ards.
• Hujra members considered each other as friends and
relatives and cared for patients even from remote
places.
• Collective decisions were reached in hujra about heath
education, clean water, and other health issues.
• Cost of relief measures could be reduced due to shar-
ing of responsibilities.
• The ill from the other villages could be accommodated
here to consult doctors.
• The elders could share their experience with medicine
with youngsters in hujra.
• There was moral and financial support for patients. FIG. 9. Role of hujra in controlling water pollution.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF HUJRA
Hujra and control of water pollution.
• There was a time when no other sources of water were
available except stream water. Hujra created awareness
for keeping water clean. Hujra members were vigilant
to watch any water activity that may pollute water.
• Collective action was initiated for timely controlling
measures.
• The springs, which were communal, were segregated
as male and female springs and the male were strictly
prohibited from walking near the female springs. In
case of only one spring, timings were fixed and nobody
was allowed to violate the rules. Such places were
named in Pashto, as “Gooder” and Pashto poetry was
full of its glory, which used to be the place of exposure
and entertainment for women.
• It was the general custom that if some one pollutes wa-
ter, he or she must take out an eyelash and throw it in
water. It was self-punishment of polluting water.
• Water use was strictly monitored by the community el-
ders and was discussed in hujra. No one would dare
to pollute drinkable stream water. Elders of the hujra
walked on irrigation channels to check any pollution.
• The communal reservoirs of water were jointly cleaned.
• Communal wells were very common.
• The safe place for farmyard manure was located to con-
trol water pollution.
• No one was to drop sewage of any type into the run-
ning water.
• Livestock were not permitted to take water from the
same drinking point as humans.
• Water pollution was considered a great sin.
Impact of the Change of Culture on Water Pollution
Positive Impact:
• The provision of water supply in each house especially
helped the women who had to carry water for domes-
tic use. This was a major positive change to the com-
munity.
Negative Impact:
• Norms and values changed, no flowing water re-
mained clean. Every house has started throwing its
sewage to the flowing water in channels, streams and
river. Flowing water pollution is increasing in spite of
efforts of environmental protection agencies.
• Many consider interior plumbing a cause of health
problems in women because they no longer get the ex-
ercise of carrying water from the stream.
• Additionally, the “Gooder” was a nice discussion forum
for women.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Hujra was an ideal neighborhood within the environ-
mental and social conditions of the time, and the concept
of the neighborhood remained workable from its begin-
201
ning in Swat in 1451 AD until the middle of 20th century.
This can be termed as the most sustainable neighborhood.
The old concept of hujra is no longer workable within
the parameters of present society, but the basic concepts
are still workable. The village council and union councils
can adopt and further build on the concepts because they
have authority the power to implement its decisions for
a better Pakistan.
To overcome the environmental issues, the union coun-
cil should have its own hujra, in which there should be
all basic facilities. The hujra may be managed by Hujra
Assembly (Jirga), which includes all the members of
union, village and community citizen board. Hujra should
be open to everybody under certain bindings and bylaws.
It must also be open for any type of function, and the
councils should manage its resources and expenses.
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2. Dawar Khan Dawood, 1995 ‘ Da Pukhto Tappa,”
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Address all reprint requests to:
Dr. Abdul R. Ghumman
Department of Civil Engineering
UET Taxila
Taxila 47050, Pakistan
E-mail: abdulrazzaq@uettaxila.edu.pk
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