POWER STRUCTURE AND MANIPULATIVE STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPMENTAL PROJECTS: A CASE STUDY OF A PUNJABI VILLAGE OF DISTRICT SHEIKHUPURA

Violence and show of power is a typical feature of rural life in province of Punjab, Pakistan. The Power elites in the Extremities among the factions based on caste factor in rural areas are wide spread in the villages. The purpose of the paper is to see the major developmental projects in village for agricultural development and the cultural response. In order to better understand role of power structure in manipulation of the developmental work, the inevitable existence of influential Deraydars, the evolution of all major power groups in the village are also discussed. This paper also discusses the political set up of the village to see how the political set up of village revolves around the pressure groups of village. How these pressure groups are formed, why these pressure groups try to manipulate benefits using their influence, political links, relationships, etc. The paper is based on an empirical research conducted in a Village ‘Sacha Soda’ located in Sheikhupura district of the Punjab province.