Mango is top banana in fruit politics

UNLIKE in the rest of the world, the mango in several Pakistani provinces has another purpose than just consumption and enjoying.

"If you receive a crate of mangoes from your rivals in summer that means they want to reconcile with you," said Imtiaz Hussain Gillani, a top mango producer and tribal chief.

"Tribal traditions consider it very bad form to reject such a gift," he added.

For many Pakistanis, mango is used only as a delicious fruit.

But it serves other purposes in Sindh and the southern Punjab provinces, where political rivals and tribal people use it to mend fences and end their rivalries and bloody feuds.

Hailing from the southwestern town of Khairpur, in the interior of the Sindh province, Gillani put an end to his old enmity with rival tribesmen after they sent him a mango gift two years ago.

"When you accept the gift, the rivalry goes away automatically," he said.

"You do not have to say or discuss anything further after that."

The interior parts of Sindh and southern Punjab are famous for mango production, which is known as the king of fruit.

These areas produce 110 kinds of mangoes, which are exported to several European and Gulf states.

The United Arab Emirates is the largest buyer of Pakistani mangoes.

The most popular commercial varieties — all different in colours and sizes, and each with a distinct flavour and taste — include Anwar Retol, Dasehri, Langra,Chaunsa, Sindhri, Alphonso, Pairi, Fazli and Neelam. Sindhri and Chaunsa are the major export varieties.

In 2005-2006, Pakistan exported 105000 tons of mango to different countries, earning US$323 million ($500).

Gillani insisted that the gift sent to rivals must be not be bought from the market.

"These mangoes must be from your own farm. Mangoes purchased from the market are not accepted."

The tribal chief said mango gifts are used to replace embarrassing verbal apologies in local customs.

"In a tribal atmosphere, it is very difficult for people to apologise verbally or publicly," he said.

"Their ego doesn't allow them to apologise publicly. Hence, the mango custom."

Gillani traced the history of mango diplomacy to the 19th century.

"This is an old custom which was introduced during the British era in Sindh. I can't tell you the exact year, but I think it was after 1843, when General Charles Nippier conquered Sindh province," he said.

In the 19th century, the southern Punjab was also part of Sindh.

The tribal chief regretted that the custom was on its way out.

"It has been dwindling for the last two decades," he said.

"Until the late 1980s, most of the tribal feuds were settled through this custom. Then the trend began to die.

In particular, the younger generation doesn't know much about it."

The mango also plays an important role in Pakistani politics.

In the high mango season — June and July — politicians send mangoes as gifts to their political friends and foes.

This trend was introduced by late Nawabzada Nassarullah Khan, a seasoned politician, in 1960.

Until his death in 2003, he used to send mangoes from his own farm in Muzzaffer Garh town of southern Punjab to his political friends and rivals regularly.

Nowadays, Pir Sahib Pagara, the spiritual leader of the Hur clan and acting chief of the Pakistan Muslim League, is following this tradition.

"Pir Sahib sends mangoes from his own farms not only to his friends, but to his political rivals every year," his spokesman Shams Kerio said.

"The prime motive behind this tradition is to follow the Sunnah of Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Secondly, it is aimed at introducing mutual respect and tolerance in our otherwise charged politics," he said.

"Pir Shaib harbours respect for all the leaders regardless of their political affiliation. He remembers them when the mango trees bear fruits every year. That is why, all the politicians have great respect for him," added Kerio.

"The price of a mango crate is not more than a few hundred rupees, but the love and respect behind that cannot be matched by any price."

Manzoor Hussein Wassan, a veteran parliamentarian belonging to former premier Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is also a regular mango sender.

"I don't have any political motives behind that. It's just a tradition that you gift season's fruit to your near and dear ones," he said.

"The mango is the specialty of our region that is why we gift it to our friends and colleagues," he added.

"Our forefathers had introduced this tradition, and it is our responsibility to continue that."

But mango politics also bring back some unpleasant memories for Pakistanis.

Many believe that the mangoes in the Presidential C-130 air craft of then military ruler General Zia-ul Haq were somehow linked to its crash in 1998.

There have been numerous theories about what might have happened, including conspiracies by the Israelis, the Americans or the KGB.

No one has ever given any definitive answer as to what went wrong with the aircraft.

One theory went that some nerve gas was planted in the mango crates which were gifted to Zia-ul-Haq during his visit to Bahawalpur, southern Punjab.

The Brunei Times