The study explores and analyzes the nature and extent of institutional involvement of Post Office in socio-economic development process in rural Punjab of Pakistan. The major area of focus was the functional input of postal services in the social institution of economy and its sequential effects on other social institutions in society in the process of socio-economic uplift. The discussion centers around the objectives of the study presented in section 1.4 and research theses mentioned in section 1.5. [1]
The study was focused on the changing role of Post Office in the socio-economic development of a rural area of Punjab, Pakistan. Although not intended primarily, the Post Office has been facilitating the rural community's economic activities by providing different services like payment of salaries and pensions, local and foreign remittances, savings schemes, saving bank accounts, parcel deliveries of small businesses and most importantly, the payments of state charity or welfare money like Food Support Programe and Zakat. The Post Office also provides access of the remotest rural communities to other basic services such as education through distance learning, employment opportunities and communication networks regarded as vital tools for the socio-economic progress of the rural community.
The study revealed that with the ever increasing needs, whether economic or uneconomic of the rural community, the stuture and functions of the Post also witnessed a change. The research indicated that while the institutions play significant part in the economic activities, their involvement in the process of socio-economic development has also become vital in the modern world. The development may be a process whereby economic growth brings about positive changes in the lives of the communities but it has now been recognized as a due right of denizens which has been recognized by the United Nations as well. [2]
A state or a government is the sole body which can exercise the right to development for its citizens which has to be done without keeping in view the social status of its nationals and provision of basic requirements to all communities without any idiosyncrasy which becomes even more important while discussing the right to development. Anthropology, deeply concerned with the development process after getting maturity as a discipline, laid more stress on the economic analysis on individualized terms. This point was realized during the research process that individuals are the nucleus for the process of socio-economic development. The empirical observations have suggested that inequality and improper distribution of resources are the main factors which disturbed the right to development in case of rural Punjab of Pakistan. As revealed by the study, the problem of accessibility to essential services has been one of the major causes of underdevelopment in rural areas of Punjab. In the developing world, an approach to services is quite common and the quandary of the poor nations is that most of their population is deprived of the fruit of development because of their less concentration especially in rural areas where basic infrastructure is not fully developed. The comparison between the urban and the rural population makes the disparity in development patterns more visible.
While governments or states have been entrusted with the provision of basic necessities like infrastructures and accessibility to the basic human needs for the public, their internal instabilities have, with the passage of time reduced their effectiveness in this process. The accessibility of essential human requirements for the local communities has always been a major issue in the process of rural development. In developing countries, the provision of essential services has mainly been focused in urban localities. The class difference is, therefore, increasing day by day in the developing nations which are quite visible in the rural areas. [3]
Empirical observations during the study have unequivocally suggested that the development process and the economic activities are part and parcel of each other and no community can achieve the socio-economic progress unless its members keenly participate in economic activities. Human mores have inherent emphasis on the economic activity and economy which is the most influential social institution plays central role in this direction. The production of goods and accretion of money are not, therefore, considered as grueling necessities but as main aims of life. The economic activities are, therefore, causing the income acquirement among members of a society and their income level is directly hooked up with the economic activity performed by them. For active participation in the process of economic growth and socio-economic development, members of a society accumulate money in their hands which they spend on different activities. Money thus spent by people becomes income/ earning of other members of a society.
The process of both the development and the growth revolves around the possession of money in hands of individuals performing functions of economic actors in a society. It is, however, an admitted fact that money is the main driving force behind all the economic activities and stockpiling of money is the basic human instinct and everybody in the society remains busy in pursuit of getting more and more money and a social fabric is framed on the same pattern whether it is a western society or a poor Punjabi society in Pakistan. Financing all dependents for their usual needs in urban as well as rural areas of developing countries is considered a social obligation of household heads. In Pakistan, especially in its rural areas of Punjab (the area under study) where a large number of people are either serving military men or retired soldiers, the remittances of their monthly salaries/ pension is the biggest source of money accumulation for meeting their routine expenses. Since Pakistan Post is also a government department, its role in circulation of money and transition from barter to trade economy is, therefore, substantially an admitted fact according to local perception. The institutions have a vital role in the process of money accumulation required for development. The basic parameters of functionalism highlight that the primary objective of an institution is the fulfillment of basic human needs. During the study, it was proved that the social institution of economy, facilitated by the organizational institution of Post has empowered the local communities helping them to fulfill their basic needs. The patterns of socio-economic development, as observed during the study revealed that institutional non-accessibility in the rural areas of Punjab is the major problem for relatively less institutional role in the development process, however, empirical observations have confirmed that the Post Office has better and meaningful accessibility in the rural areas due to which its institutional involvement in the socio-economic development process has been facilitated. It not only created the social cohesiveness between the local communicities and the institution of Post but also benefited both the stakeholders in financial terms. The first conceptual assumption of the study enlisted in section 1.5 has, therefore, been proved accurate. [4]
The empirical observations showed that the role of Post Office was multidimensional and the public perception about its involvement in the process of economic growth in the local communities was positive. The historical perspective of postal services revealed that the primary aim of the institution, right from its inception has been social service and welfare of local communities but later on financial gains for its survival were, however, included in its policy framework without compromising on its basic watchword and the concept of social service has always been the key factor while rendering its services. Based on institutional strength of Post Office with adequate accessibility to the rural areas of Punjab and its empirically proved significance, certain postal services were intorudced to meet the changing requirements of the community. These include internal and external remittances of individuals mainly of serving and retired servicemen, the saving deposits, the disbursement of government charity money among the marginalized segment of society, the facilitation of distance learning material to the youths especially to the females of remote areas. The provision of miscellaneous postal services and agency functions to the local communities combined with a sustained process of money and services inflow in the community have triggered the social institutions of economy, family, health, education, religion, language and government. That facilitated the process of socio-economic development in the area while as per research; economy has been greatly activated by postal services which has in turn affected other social institutions in the development process. Economy was facilitated with the inflow and circulation of money which besides promoting saving habits, helped the local communities in fulfillment of their basic needs including day to day expenses such as purchase of consumable items medicines, payment of school dues, repayment of their debts, expenses on social obligations like gift exchanges and other miscellaneous financial transactions. The functional relationship of different postal services with the social institutions in the process of socio-economic development of the locale is illustrated through the following figure (No. 13) based on the empirical evidences collected during the process of research.
The empirical data gathered from the area suggested that above mentioned remittances of people including those sent by their relatives from foreign countries had significant contribution in their social life and the latter were still helping the local communities in fulfillment of their basic needs including day to day expenses such as purchase of consumable items medicines, payment of school dues, repayment of their debts, expenses on social obligations like gift exchanges and other miscellaneous financial transactions. After meeting the basic and unavoidable requirements like food and shelter, health and education etc. the next important aspiration for villagers is to save some money for future needs. The savings rate directly commensurates with individual income which is weight linked with saving habits of the local people in rural Punjab of Pakistan. The rural people mostly having small savings prefer Post Office to banks because they have trust on the Post Office and also due to its user friendly social services, the villagers as being simple traditional people, feel the atmosphere of the post offices quite conducive and friendly where they find themselves easy and comfortable. However, the Post Office, under these conditions, as an institution, has become profitable organization by providing additional services to local communities for getting the benefits of savings at their doorsill in a convenient manner.The changeover from barter economy into trade economy which took final shape around the decade of 1970s had different reasons but the most important was the availability of money with the people in shape of cash and Post Office with its key role in this social transition, shaped the local economy into cash economy. [5]
The empirical observations have suggested that the local communities including the women folk are socially inclined towards savings and these savings play a pivotal role in the economic empowerment of the society. The remittances from abroad by the household heads and the relatives of local community are also contributing significantly in the socio-economic development of rural Punjab. The people of those villages where banks also exist have a choice to put their savings in the banks or in the local Post Offices. The study has revealed that by and large people use the medium of banks but prefer to keep their savings in the Post Offices. In those places where no option of a bank is available, the Post Office is the only institution which provides them the opportunity of depositing their savings. The effects of savings, short term and long term, have been observed tangibly on the socio-economic condition of the communities. The empirical evidences and observations have, therefore, confirmed the second research thesis of the study mentioned in section 1.5. [6]
As per observations during the study, the rural population was under immense socio-economic pressure due to menace of poverty. The socio-economic well being is a broad term containing many fields of action including health, education, employment, leisure, provision of goods and services, good environment and personal safety. [7] In the third world countries, due to scarcity of financial resources, the investment for providing such services is made by the governments in urban areas to focus on the more populated areas rather than in widely scattered rural populace. Some popular governments in Pakistan made arrangements for financial assistance for helping poor masses in meeting their unavoidable daily expenses. The efforts of Pakistan Post for distributing the charity money of FSP of government to the local poor people, especially to females for running the household food needs, are widely recognized by the local communities and the empirical data has substantiated its marginal effects on the life of those poor people, however, their economic conditions were found to be miserable and they could hardly meet their routine expenditures This facilitation could, however, not solve their problems and it was merely a subsidy. The trickledown approach for the measurement of socio-economic development of women in a society who, in developing countries comprise about half of the population is, however, important which gives a clear picture of actual relationships between economic growth and social development of the female class. For measurement of socio-economic development of women in any developing country, their economic participation, opportunities, political empowerment, educational achievements and welfare opportunities are essential. While these prerequisites of meaningful socio-economic development stress women participation, it was noticed during the study, that the women contribution in the economic activities has widely been overlooked in the rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan, and no effort, whatsoever, has been made to quantify their economic input in socio-economic development process. Their role in the socio-economic development process and their active involvement in the economic activities have been highlighted in the observations made during the study.
The socio-well being of women becomes more important because of their role in the household activities where their chief role is upbringing and educating their children. They can only become responsible citizens if their social as well as economic status is raised to such a level that they can perform their functions in a better way. This can only be achieved if liberal economic policies with special attention to the economic empowerment of females through enhancement in their education are implemented in the society.
The socio-economic development faces many impediments but as per local perception, the poverty was the most important reason for relatively slow socio-economic progress of the locale. The growing population was creating problems for the community. The poverty alleviation schemes framed by the governments did not match with the increasing number of poor people which was outstripping the efforts in this direction. [8] The local community, however, felt that fight against poverty was very vital. For achievement of socio-economic development focus on the problem of poverty as well as hunger and wretchedness of the poor people in order to attain lasting economic and social development is quite necessary. The literature on development urges that the socio-economic well being is a broad term containing many fields of action including health, education, employment, leisure, provision of goods and services, good environment and personal safety. But during the study, it was revealed that the above pre-requisites for socio-economic well being were nonexistent as far as marginalized segment of the society was concerned. While poverty assuagement is the foremost responsibility of governments, the civil society and the institutions like Post are also contributing in this direction and their efforts are very perceptible in rural Pakistan. Although the paucity of financial resources does not let the government and other institutions for cent percent poverty eradication, yet the financial assistance is helping the poor masses in meeting their unavoidable daily expenses. The efforts of Pakistan Post for distributing the charity money of government to the local poor people are widely recognized by the local communities and the empirical data has substantiated its marginal effects on the life of those poor people, however, their economic conditions were found to be miserable and they could hardly meet their routine expenditures. In the given circumstances, they were subjected to scarcity of money in their hands and the postal facilitation of charity money distribution initiated by the Federal government was helping them. This facilitation could, however, not solve their problems and it was merely a subsidy. The third conceptual assumption enlisted in section 1.5 (p 29) of the research was, therefore, partially proved as real.
Although the money has played a pivotal role in modernization process during the post World War-II era which had been the focal point but this exemplar which was a dominating policy practice and theory is being swapped now by a new rural development paradigm. [9] This rural development mechanism is equally valuable for different income groups in the society and it has been accentuated in this paradigm that the socio-wellbeing of a society is more important. Thus, the socio-economic development is a continuous process which is not linked to any specific plan rather is itself a plan which can be short term as well as long term objective of a state. [10] It is imperative for achieving the socio well being that the level of education is increased especially in rural areas of the developing nations. That's why most of the developing nations lay stress on social-welfare of the masses through educational enhancement but the predicament/ dilly dally for their policy makers is to enhance the social benefits without hindering the process of economic growth of their countries. The study has, however, revealed that this process, in case of rural Punjab in Pakistan, is quite slow.
The educational development is always considered a byproduct of the economic growth, however, without its trickle-down effect, it is meaningless. In case of Pakistan, the previous Government (2003-2007) headed by a career banker, Shaukat Aziz during its entire tenure continued claiming the unrivalled economic development of the country and the foreign exchange reserves at the end of its term were averred to have crossed the figure of 15 billion dollars. [11] Very less dripping effect was, however, witnessed on life of a common man in the locale during the study period.
The trickledown approach for the measurement of socio-economic development of women in a society who, in developing countries comprise about half of the population is, however, important which gives a clear picture of actual relationships between economic growth and social development of the female class. The education is important for every segment of society but for females, the attainment of education is of prime importance. For measurement of socio-economic development of women in any developing country, their economic participation, opportunities, political empowerment, educational achievements and welfare opportunities are essential. While these prerequisites of meaningful socio-economic development stress women participation, it was noticed during the study, that the women contribution in the economic activities has widely been overlooked in the rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan, and no effort, whatsoever, has been made to quantify their economic input in socio-economic development process. Their role in the socio-economic development process and their active involvement in the economic activities have been highlighted in the observations made during the study. The future dimensions of development also indicate that their active role will be essential if the process continuous in a positive manner. As their participation in economic activities is important, their socio-economic empowerment is also essential requirement for development.
The knowledge, economy and socio-economic development have certain pre-requisites and the literacy practices are important among them. Only the literacy can create awareness among members of a society to know their own rights and to realize their obligations towards the society as a whole. In order to promote socio-economic development these 'literacy' practices are incorporated into social activities in schooling, personal, civic and cultural life and of course in the workplace. These literacy practices are of course generated by governments with the help of academic institutions.
It was noticed during the study that while government schools and colleges were important means of improving literacy rate, some other institutions like Allama Iqbal Open University Islamabad, Pakistan through its widespread distance education system (having its communication network of studies in rural areas facilitated by the Pakistan Post) were also playing a positive role in this direction. This literacy drive was helping the local communities to increase the literacy level as well as to create awareness for development among masses in these areas.
Although the learning process was in practice in one shape or the other in the area under study, yet it could not work in isolation because the social capital in this process was of vital importance. Seeking knowledge is considered as a collective dynamic that concurrently builds and draws on social capital commonly defined as the norms (values), net work and trust that stir up economic and social wheels of society. It was observed during the study that Pakistan Post, in the realm of social capital vis-à-vis socio-economic development process in rural Punjab, had contributed significantly as proved by the empirical evidences. It had used its infrastructures and trust level of the local communities effectively in the social structure of society. Thus, this centuries old institution of social service has introduced a dimension to the capital formation. It has been established in the literature of social capital that its paradigm introduces a new form of capital which turns out a gush of socio-emotional goods that have worth.
The study revealed that the postal facilitation has significantly helped the females of local community in their economic empowerment. The empirical observations and data revealed that the postal delivery service of distance learning material has contributed significantly in the economic and social empowerment of the local communities, especially of females who have benefited from this service. The fourth research thesis enlisted in section 1.5 (p 29) was also proved based on facts during the study.
The empirical observations during the study revealed that the members of a society in rural Punjab have a remarkable social adoptability with postal body which is predominantly based on reliance and trust having exclusive acceptability in the societal milieu and give and take is the hallmark of these relations. Institutions are formation of procedures, systems and individuals while a social order is component of individuals, families and institutions which work in synchronization for the mutual gains of the societies.
The social capital in any society is guided by certain local cultural values which are very important because much depends on them. The individuals tag on those cultural values based on the concept as to what are good or bad for human life and their existence in the society, therefore, these values guide choices and the actions of human beings and they are the ultimate inferences by which individuals appraise their actions.
The interaction among ethics, human objectives and actions are mutual in nature. The local cultural values in rural Punjab are based on notion of trust among the communities which is usually the outcome of permanent nature of inhabitation of the communities who have been living in the same area for centuries. The mutual bonds of trust are prevailing among the local communities on individual basis but this trust can also be traced between the individuals and the institutions serving them in their area since long. As per local perception, the Post Office, as an institution, enjoys this unique relationship based on mutual trust. But the empirical data has strong evidences that staff of local Post Office which includes the Postmaster, locally known as 'Baboo' and the Postman trusted as household member in the local community, is mainly responsible for existence of this level of mutual trust in the society.
In anthropology, the problem of cultural changes has been under constant irritation and the notion that defines these changes as a privilege of modern societies has been abandoned to great extent by the modern anthropology. [12] The analysis of this notion in the context of social trust or the institution of Post by local individuals crystallizes that dynamics of cultural acquisitiveness whereby people express and perform their actions for fulfillment of their basic needs, have also contributed significantly in this direction. The cultural materialistic mindset, therefore, unpicks the labyrinths of socio-cultural similarities and dissimilarities prevailing in the society. This approach, therefore, helps in shaping the level of trust among individuals and also between the institutions and individuals. The Post Office, as an institution, enjoys this unique relationship based on mutual trust. The staff of local Post Office which includes the Postmaster, locally known as 'baboo', the Postman who is a trusted household member in the local community has developed social relations within the rural community that is one of the peculiarities of rural culture.
The empirical study during the research suggested that the cultural and social pressure on postal services had played a vital role especially in the rural areas in shaping of the changing role of Post in Pakistan. The Post Office on one hand was obliged to retain its Post Offices irrespective of financial gains while on the other hand had been compelled to adopt certain business diversifying strategies without compromising on its past services. In the mean time, the cultural changeability demanded of the Post to introduce those services having value added elements and the public demand was changing due to awareness, competition in the communication market and availability of money in individuals' hands. The Post, therefore, introduced certain new services to satisfy the communities and also to cover the losses being sustained on its traditional postal services. The public pressure on the department was so intense that neither it could abandon nor reduce its service in the rural areas nor it could refuse to provide extra value added services. The empirical evidences suggested that the changing role of the Post did not suffer any set back and the mutual dependency of Post and the community was harmonious.
The proper upholding and sharing of societal benefits which are very critical for the very existence of a society are, however, the basic aim of this integration process. In order to achieve the societal benefits, this theory not only emphasizes on skills and capabilities of members of a society but also lays stress on the importance of personal sacrifices to ensure the greater goals. It also gives value to the identical distribution of communal benefits and institutionalized arrangements of their role for the benefit of a society as a whole. The outlines of the anthropological theory of structural functionalism which indicate that the social institutions meant for fulfillment of societal needs are, therefore, quite visible in the social milieu of locale. The rationale behind the economizing behaviour of rural community had certain cultural predisposition. It is because in Pakistan, as I already said, the rural people's economic behaviour is combination of several types of motivations because their social and ritual life is greatly dependent on wealthy economy. [13] The study indicated that the ownership of a pakka house was considered a status symbol and extravagant expenditures on social ceremonies such as marriages, funerals and other feasts that ensure the continuity of social relations, on the one side, and are also quite endemic in the society, on the other hand.
The study highlighted that the modernization or change was the process which, like any other society, triggered the socio-economic development in rural areas [14] . The rural areas of Pakistan have witnessed change in overall social structure due to availability of economic resources. However, the local perception about living social standard revolves round construction of houses, possession of domestic electric appliances, motorcycles and expenditures on ceremonial occasions; while the provision of quality education and better health facilities are given least importance. It is interesting to mention that people do not generally associate the notion of happiness with economic growth despite the fact that all activities revolve around money transactions. However, as per study, such activities are structurally embedded with social relations.
It was also proved through empirical evidences during the study that the public views about the postal role in the process of socio-economic development were predominantly positive and the local communities thought that their rapport with this institution is based on mutual dependence and the Post is a socially constructed imperative. The fifth conceptual assumption of the thesis mentioned in section 1.5 (p 29), therefore, also proved right.
In nut shell, the study indicated the implications of the socio-economic development on social, economic and political uplift and freedom of the individuals at household, family, caste, community levels in Sanghoi and Dhoke Bidder as facilitated by the changing role of the Postal Services. The study revealed that on the one hand it has been providing services to help the people in meeting their ever increasing economic needs, and on the other hand, constantly changing its policies in line with the societal requirements through modifying the features of the Postal Services by adopting modern technology and at the same time ensuring the survival and sustainability in the competitive corporate environment.
The study of socio-economic development and functional role of Post Office in triggering the social institution of economy and its effects on other social institutions have many dimensions and theoretical offshoots which were not included in the realm of study while conducting research for this thesis. These thought provoking subjects, however, merit further research and the current thesis opens new avenues for future researchers. It becomes more important due to the fact that no research has been carried out on this particular topic which needs to be augmented by detailed studies on different topics. For example, further research is required as to how the institution of Post Office can play a meaningful role in poverty eradication other than the disbursement of charity money. The construction of a new model of micro-financing through the Postal Savings for poverty alleviation in the rural areas of Pakistan may be a thought provoking topic. In rural Punjab, the socio-emotional problems of families whose household heads have proceeded abroad for earning their livelihood, can also be a topic of study. The effects on behaviours of children left by such long absence of household heads from their families can also be studied. The economic inequality of the women folk and its negative effects on their personal life also merit further research. The possible role of Post Office, especially local postal staff in the local bodies to resolve the local problems keeping in view the social capital of Post Office and the trust and respect being enjoyed by the postal staff, can also be a topic of further study. The postal role can also be explored whereby the local Post Office may be assigned the status of a community centre where all necessary facilities like fax, telex, internet etc. are made available for youngsters besides exploration of new horizons for promotion of education where both the generations i.e. youth and old age may be able to work for the promotion of education can also be explored which will provide a chance to youth along with older generations who treat Post Office as a meeting point.
The attainment of knowledge is an endless practice and the mankind will continue to contribute in times to come.
