Author – Khushbu Gyanchandani, Student from Navrachana University
Introduction and the origin of Sindhis
India is a diverse nation. communities across India are known for their unique talent. The term Sindhi and Sindh are derived from Latin word “Sindhu” the ancient name of the Indus River. Based on historical records the Sindhi community is at least 5000 years old. The original land of the Sindhi community was Sindh which is now a province of Pakistan. Before partition Sindhis had their own land which was famous all over the world as Sindh. After partition India gave birth to Pakistan. But unfortunately, Sindh became the part of Pakistan. After partition the majority was of Islamic people due to whom Sindhis were tortured to either leave Sindh or die or convert into Islam. Because of this Sindhis forcefully left their land and all their wealth and chose Hinduism. But just like Kashmiri pandits the bad luck is not leaving Sindhi people. They came to India with hope that they will get Indian citizenship, peaceful life and will be recognised as Indian Sindhi Hindus. But instead, they were treated as refugees for many years. But because of Sindhis business nature, their loyalty towards Hinduism and Indian Constitution they were accepted as the citizen of India and given Indian citizenship. The Sindhi traders were probably the first group of traders that undertook long-distance trading in India. During the Indus valley civilization, the Sindhi traders use to trade artefacts, coins and metal tools. Most of the trades took place between Thatta, a city in Sindh, Pakistan and Mesopotamia, the modern-day Iraq, Syria and Turkey.
Sindhis were truly global business community. With the invention of boats, the Sindhi traders expanded their trading to almost every part of the world. Partition brought huge movements of people from both sides of border causing traumatic experience to all. Sindhis were refugees on their own land and they did not have any place to call their own. Started everything from scratch, now Sindhis are one of the India’s wealthiest communities.
How Islam took over Sindh?
On March 1940 Jinnah delivered a two-hour lecture in English at the League’s annual three-day session in Lahore, in which he laid out the arguments for the two-nation idea. The League passed the Lahore Resolution, or Pakistan Resolution, on the last day of its session, calling for the areas in which Muslims are numerically in majority, such as the North-Western and Eastern zones of India, to be grouped into independent states resulting in the partition.[1]
The Painful Plight of Sindhi’s.
There are so many books available for the studies of partition and also movies have been made on the same. Trending current topic movie made by Director Vivek Agnihotri “THE KASHMIR FILES” which is a very sensitive topic for which whole India raised the voice. The whole movie is based on what earlier happened to the Kashmiri pandits of India, how they were forced to either change their religion and convert into Islam or leave Kashmir or die.
Books on partition have not considered the trouble of the Sindhi Hindu. No book, movie or anything else is made on the suffering which Sindhis faced. Government of India made Kashmir Files tax free so that people can watch and know what happened with pandits.
Government also removed Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, now more than 3800 kashmiri pandits went back to Kashmir and now have been feeling ‘more secure’. Youngsters started applying for jobs provided by the Prime minister’s rehabilitation package. Recently government authorities have[2] [3]additionally organised a complete coverage to offer residential lodging to those Kashmiri migrants who have returned to Kashmir.
We say India is a country where everyone should be treated equally then why there are no such laws provided for the Sindhis. The thing which happened with Kashmiri pandits the same was happened with Sindhis back in 1940s.
Where Sindhi were refugees in their own country. Only one option was given, if you want to live in Sindh convert into Islam. Everyone is free to choose their own religion no one can force a person to change their religion. But Sindhis chose their identity of being ‘Hindu’ and Hinduism leaving behind their property, money and everything. People turn a blind eye and ignored the fact which happened with Sindhis, if this thing was not overlooked and given some importance then Kashmir and the pandits would have been saved and that same thing might not have happened.
CONCLUSION- What Sindhis demand for their rights?
Day by day the number of sandhi speakers are reducing. The younger generation prefers to speak English. Earlier there were sindhi schools but now majority of them are shut down. No school or institute teaches Sindhi. The traditional rituals of Sindhis are also going out of date. Hardly few numbers of siddhis follow it. Sindhis feel the strain of keeping their language alive.
Now Sindhis are facing linguistic minority. The definition of linguistic minority is, a minority language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. mother language is as necessary for man as air, water, food, oxygen, etc so Government should take necessary steps by opening Sindhi universities and open university where every person can get benefit to learn, read and write Sindhi.
To save the language government should come forward and take initiative.
It should be made compulsory to have one subject as Sindhi like others.
In India majority of people follow Hinduism but recently Urdu language is seen to be more in demand everywhere take it in movies or dramas, motivational speeches etc. The only request is to be treated at par with other communities in India so that we do not feel like outsiders in our motherland.
Creation of National development board for Sindhi like Warf Board. Like different minorities we ought to additionally be granted a board that could study general improvement of the community. Also, there should be representation in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha like Anglo Indian community. We are seen as a business community which is relatively well off. Little do people do almost 30 % of Sindhis are still below poverty line. There is a Sindhi television in Pakistan then why we must not have in India. So, our government should start a channel in Sindhi, we plead Government to start one. So, it will help in keeping alive our dying Sindhi culture.
India is an agrarian country where 70% of rural people depend on agriculture. It contributes about 17% of total GDP and provides employment to 60% of the population. There in Sindh, Sindhis used to have agriculture lands where they also used to do agriculture. But after partition their lands were under the possession of Islam. But if the Sindhi farmers have documents of the land which they had in Sindh. Documents like 7/12 can be useful, as there are few Sindhis having ownership of property.
We’ll by no means recognize the volume of anguish, helplessness and ache that humans went via as they battled and survived the 1947 period. But what we do realize and recognize, perhaps, is that Sindhi are at a loss – a lack of a consolidated identity, a lack of a judgment of right and wrong binding the Sindhi’s together, a lack of oneness as their mother tongue fades away and a lack of history, as almost all from migrant populace burn to ashes. First Sindhis were forced to leave their native place then Kashmiri pandits were forced for the same. So, if government does not take necessary steps, then there will be a day where Hindus might be forced to leave their nation.[4]
[1] Kriti Tulsiani, The irony of being a sindhi; from 70 years of independence, (Aug.15, 2017, 12:55 IST), https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/the-irony-of-being-a-sindhi-70-years-on-from-independence-1491801.html
[2] K.R.A Narasiah, when they had nowhere to go, (Oct. 27, 2014, 22:16 IST), https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-when-they-had-nowhere-to-go/article6538736.ece
[3] Santosh Shinde, Sindhis unite to demand their rights, (May 29, 2010, 15:54 IST), https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/sindhis-unite-to-demand-their-rights/articleshow/16021092.cms
[4] K.R.A Narasiah, When they had nowhere to go, (Oct. 27, 2014, 22:16 IST), https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/book-review-when-they-had-nowhere-to-go/article6538736.ece