Villages are the backbone of the Pakistani nation. More than eighty percent of our people live in villages. But it is a matter of great sorrow that till now very little attention has been given to their welfare. Our villagers are still living a life of the 18th century world. Most of our villages have no electric light, and they can hardly think of the comforts that our age has brought for mankind. Moreover, there are also many other drawbacks from which our villagers suffer. The lack of education facilities, sanitation, medical aid, and cheap means of communication, are a few of these problems.

A majority of our villagers are very poor and their only occupation is agriculture. They depend entirely on the elements of nature, and if the monsoons fail, their crops are destroyed. Floods and famines ruin them, money-lenders and Patwaris squeeze them, and their fields are uneconomic holdings. Lack of education is another great handicap in their progress. Old customs and litigations have ruined them and it is high time that our villagers be helped.

Anyhow, it is a comfort to note that by the introduction of the system of 'People's Work Project' and other work schemes, special attention is being given to the problems listed above. Still, for a complete overhaul of the conditions of our villages we shall have to do many things in all fields. First of all we should improve the village sanitation and hygienic conditions. There should improve the village sanitation and hygienic conditions. There should be well-ventilated houses, and the village drainage system should also be improved. There should be no rubbish inside the village, and separate pits for dung-manure should be dug, away from the village.

Every village in Pakistan needs a good school. Until and unless there is an all out effort to make our people literate, it is not possible to achieve any remarkable success in the field of village uplift.

Another need of our village life is the facility for immediate medical help. Malaria, typhoid and smallpox are the common diseases of our villages. They take a toll of thousands of lives every year. Therefore, it is necessary that every village should have a good dispensary. The villagers should also be given basic training in health in health and hygiene. Trained midwives should be appointed to stop the increasing rate of infantile mortality in villages.

So far as the poor economy of our villagers in concerned, there are several reasons. First of all, the uneconomic holdings of land should be finished and farming should be done on co-operative basis. Proper arrangements should be made to fight it out. New methods of irrigation and cultivation should also be adopted. These things can be taught to our villagers through radio, newsreels, posters and lectures. Co-operative credit societies and co-operative marketing societies may also help us in the improvement of the economic condition of our villagers.

But all these things are possible only if the means of communication are improved. There should be village co-operative transport societies on self-help basis. Our villagers should also be taught to use their leisure properly. They should establish small scale industries on co-operative basis and work there in their leisure hours. Modern ways of recreation should also be introduced in our villages, and if all these things are done properly and systematically, the condition of our villages will improve in no time.