A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University for the partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Master of Philosophy in Anthropology

Abstract

In all the societies, the social, poli tical and economic institutio ns, their moralities. norms and values are always under continuous change but the rate of th e change is unhurried. However, sometimes there come to pass certain situations when a rap id change occurs in almost all the aspects of a soc iety due to sudd en environmental and phys ical changes which are the result of natural di sasters and catastro ph es. In such cases, the whole of th e society undergoes a bri sk change. October 8th , 2005 was one of the most unforgettable days in the hi story of Paki stan when a severe earthqu ake meas uring 7.6 on the Richter sca le struck KPK and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). As a resu lt, nearly 83,000 deaths taken pl ace and over 100,000 people were severely injured, causing permanent di sability to oth ers (WB 2005). Thousands of humans and livestock obscured under the de bris of mud houses whil e the city of Muzaffarabad and Balakot which were close to the epicenter of the quake, were most horribly hit and completely packed down. (ERRA & UN 2007)