Cultural Representations as Subversive Discourses in Pakistan: Literary Festivals in the Siraiki Cultural Context

This article explores the cultural discourse of Siraiki as a regional language that represents ethnicities, cultures and identities in Pakistan. The Siraiki language is spoken in the major districts of the Punjab province (politically tagged as ‘Southern Punjab’). In the highly charged political context of the Siraiki community’s political struggle for a Siraikistan province within the federation of Pakistan, the literary festivals (such as Mehraywala ) organised in this region reflect subversive discourses in Pakistan, unlike the elitist festivals organised in the urban centres of Pakistan (primarily, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad). These Siraiki literary festivals focus on the key objective of promoting Siraiki language, culture and ethnic identity while resisting state pressures. This discourse is analysed through the theoretical premise proposed by Ngu˜gı˜. I argue that the duality of this discourse questions the political reassertion of the Siraiki language and culture through the demand for a new province. 1