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During Pakistan Formation

Sindhi Hindu Leaders’ Abdication from Moral Duties

 By Dr. Ram Buxani

Within a decade and few years after end of first World War, the world was caught between fires of hatred and fascism. The rise of Hitler in Germany bode ill will for one and all. At that time Indians hoped, that they would achieve complete independence from British Raj, but their hopes were belied, at least for a near future. Indians were divided vertically on religious lines, as now Muslims didn’t just want independence but insisted on creation of a separate homeland for them from the rest of India.

A new political party, Muslim League founded in 1906, put forward a new hypothesis called Two Nation Theory, which claimed that Muslims of India were a different nation and needed a separate country. The idea itself put a spanner into wheels of Indian Independence. When Second World War broke out in 1939 and it looked like Germany was going to overwhelm England and its allies, Muslims sensing the vulnerability of England passed a resolution, on March 23, 1940, which is popularly known as Pakistan Resolution that laid the foundation of a new country.

The British government in 1942 A.D., faced with the advances of German and Japanese forces, promised Indian politicians, dominion status for India after end of Second World War. It also requested Congress that later should support England in her war campaign. Gandhi flatly refused any such offer, though Nehru was ready to support it but kept quite, sensing Gandhi’s tough stand. Gandhi issued a call of ‘Quit India’ to Britishers and ‘Do or Die’ to Indians, whereas Muslim League supported England’s stand wholeheartedly. The Britishers, at that time thought that after Independence, they should have sympathetic government in India, so as to contain Russia or China and for that it needed access to hot waters of Arabian Sea from Central Asia. The history has amply proved that they were right in their perception as Congress government of India had sided with Russia and Pakistan has always lent every help to western powers in their hours of need.

Demand for Pakistan by Muslim League had polarised Indians on religious lines. After Sindh’s separation from Bombay Presidency and holding of first ever elections in Sindh in 1936, there was unstable government of Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah. Allah Bux Soomro, with the support of seven members of Congress, Vazirani and his group of ten independents and eight members of Sindh United Party formed the government on March 23, 1938.

Muslim League sensing division in Muslim votes called for Provincial Muslim League Conference on October 8, 1938. Muslim leaders passed a resolution No. 5, in the said conference, which is said to be precursor of famous Pakistan Resolution described above.

G.M. Syed, being a highly sentimental person had taken the 1938 Sindh Provincial Muslim League Resolution and subsequent Pakistan Resolution of 1940, passed at Lahore seriously and brought them to their logical conclusion. He introduced an official resolution in Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943, in favour of creation of Pakistan.

This resolution read roughly like this: “This House wants to convey to the King Emperor through Viceroy of India, the wishes and sentiments of the Muslims of Sindh. That the Muslims of India are a separate nation due to their religion, philosophy of life, customs, traditions and economic beliefs. Taken into consideration the identity of Muslims, they are entitled to their separate autonomous national government. That in order to nurture their philosophy and independent life, it won’t be possible for Muslims to live under any strong central government.”

When Jinah found out that the situation at the time was not conducive for him to become the Prime Minister of India and Nehru too refusing to budge from his position that majority should prevail, Jinah called for Direct Action Day on August 16, 1946, in Culcutta. Premier of the then Bengal, Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi engineered mass scale killing and rape of Hindus by Muslims, specifically brought from outside into Calcutta. The macabre episode is popularly etched into the Indian history as ‘Great Calcutta Killings’.

The then Governor of Sindh, Mudie called for fresh elections in December 1946, which saw large scale rigging in the favour of Muslim League. The 1939 Manzil Gah riots in Sukkur, 1943 Sindh Assembly Resolution and other such incidents had already vitiated the communal atmosphere in Sindh and led to insecurity in indigenous Sindhi Hindus. To top it all local Sindhi Hindu leadership either from Congress or Hindu Maha Sabha didn’t instil confidence into the minds of local Hindu populace. It looked as if they were prepared to migrate to rest of India in the wake of proposed Partition of India, leaving behind rest of Hindu Sindhis to fend for themselves.

When 1943 Sindh Assembly Resolution was passed, the local Sindhi Hindu leadership could have opposed it tooth and nail and demanded that if such be the case the areas having majority of Hindu population in Sindh be added to India and Sindh be divided a la Punjab and Bengal. But that was not going to happen as local Sindhi Hindu leadership had already established themselves into areas proposed to be retained by India and they cared less for the rest of Sindhi Hindus.

Did the then Sindhi Hindu leadership have any right to decide for other Sindhi Hindus that they should abandon their homes, properties and migrate towards unknown places of India after Partition, empty handed?

There is a book, titled ‘History of The Non-Cooperation Movement in Sind’, published by the Gazetteers Department, Govt. of Maharashtra, Bombay, which chronicles the years from 1919 to 1924, the contributions of Sindhi leaders in Non-Cooperation Movement. It deals with the glorious period of non-cooperation movement in Sindh, which was launched after the formation of All India Home Rule League in 1916, mainly by Annie Besant and Lokmanya Tilak, as also the progress of the movement, the gradual decline of the influence of the responsivists and the growth of Mahatma Gandhi, the efforts made by Sindhi leaders, like A.T. Gidwani, C.P. Gidwani, Abdul Majid, G.J. Shivdasani, Ghulam Muhammad Bhurgri, J.P. Gulrajani, J.P. Mansukhani alias Swami Govindanand, Mukhi Jethanand, Jairamdas Doulatram, Jeswani T.K. and many non-Sindhis like Mahatma Gandhi, Jamnalal Bajaj etc.

As described earlier that there were many Sindhi Hindu leaders at time, like Dr. Choithram Gidwani, Jairamdas Doulatram or Acharya Kripalani. Dr. Choithram Gidwani had successfully organized a Hartal at Hyderabad, Sindh, in 1919 in protest against Rowlatt Act. He had been to jail on several occasions. Alongside his political activities, he was active in social service, like running a charitable dispensary, supplying medicines to the poor free of charge, collecting donations for pathshalas and narishalas, organizing relief work during floods and helping needy during communal riots. It was popularly said that he had sacrificed everything and turned into a ‘Faqir’ for the cause of the country.

Jairamdas Doulatram was a well-known legal luminary of Karachi. Gandhi used to compare him with pure gold and say that he swore by Jairamdas. Sarojani Naidu described him as a ‘Lamp in the Desert’ because of his services in the Sindh. Gandhi once recalled and described Jairamdas as, that cool-headed Sindhi who had come to former’s rescue at Amritsar session of Congress.

When Gandhi was launching the Salt March in 1930, he wrote to Jairamdas who was then member of Bombay Legislative Council that he had taken charge of the Committee for boycott of foreign cloth and he must have a whole time Secretary, if it is to work and he could only think of nobody so suitable like Jairamdas. The later resigned his seat, took up the new charge and made a tremendous success of the boycott of foreign cloth.

Jairamdas was a leading activist in ‘Salt March’ and ‘Quit India’ movements. He was shot and wounded in the thigh when police opened fire on street protesters outside the Magistrate’s court in Karachi in 1930. After Partition, Jairamdas was appointed as first Indian Governor of Bihar, which post he held until 1948. Later on, he was appointed as Union Minister of Food Supplies. He had also played a key role in drafting and shaping the Constitution of India.

Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (Acharya Kripalani) was also very close to Mahatma Gandhi. He was President of Indian National Congress when India was partitioned in 1947. He had also served as the General Secretary of Congress for almost a decade. He had also contributed in the organization of ‘Salt Satyagraha’ and ‘Quit India’ movements. He was vociferous for division of Bengal and Punjab at the time of Partition and wanted Hindu majority areas of both provinces to be included in India.

All the above-mentioned Sindhi Hindu leaders had a great say in the affairs of Congress which spearheaded the movement of Indian independence. Sucheta Kripalani, wife of Acharya Kripalani was also an influential figure in Congress as she had become first woman Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh later on.

These Sindhi Hindu leaders who could have helped ordinary Sindhi Hindus at the time of Partition, by demanding a piece of land where Sindhi Hindus were in majority in Sindh or to cater to the safety and security of ordinary Sindhis, had already left Sindh and were ensconced in their safe heavens in India as governors and ministers in India and rest of Sindhi Hindu population had to go through hell when they were butchered in Nawabshah by goons of the then Deputy Commissioner, Masood Hussain or killed at Karachi in January, 1948, by artificially engineered communal riots by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan.

It is sheer grit and gumption of Sindhi Hindus to not only survive that nightmarish experience of Partition, their subsequent migration towards truncated India and standing on their own feet and rise just like legendary phoenix. Today, Sindhi Hindus are a force to reckon with in India and everywhere, wherever there could find a place to settle.

Midnight Journey to Unknown Destination

By Dr. Dayal Meshri

It was 1947 when I have passed my English standard and was in the 2 standard. Everything appeared to be rosy. As kids, we were enjoying inexpensive games such as 'Kabdi Kabdi", soccer, volleyball, running on sand dunes on rainy days, swimming and picking up colorful Sindhi berries "Peroon", "Kondhir" Pipoon, the delicacies of Thar (Sindh). It was so much fun that today's generation has no idea what is the outdoor life or how many delicacies nature offers us at no cost! We, as kids, were having the time of our lives. As if there were no tomorrow!

On August 14th 1947, there was a big celebration at our school, Dipio High school, the Pakistani flag was raised, sweets were distributed and the principal gave a big speech about the newfound freedom and formation of dreamland. Pakistani's Muslim community was jubilant while there were strange feelings in the minds of Hindu kids. It was my first experience to see that some of my close classmates started distancing from us, (Hindu boys), and started bullying. When we came back from school we saw our parents, especially males in the families, having sort of meetings, looking at maps and talking about the possibility of moving away from their own land and leaving behind homes, estates, movable and immovable possessions and sweet memories. Those days were nightmares for everyone. And Within a few months, there was looting, humiliation, false litigation, rapes, torture, arrests and murders of Hindus similar to current act of the Taliban or ISIS. All was being done in the name of Islam and Allah, similar to what is happening now in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Africa. Needless to say, every Hindu feared for their life and was thinking how to escape and where to go. The government of Pakistan had no control over the Muslim immigrants (Muhajir) coming from northern India and the new government of Pakistan, by Mohamad Ali Jinah, indirectly encouraged and supported the rioters and gangsters of the Muhajar community. They were taking over houses, shops, fields and the properties owned by Hindus and the Islamic courts had no time to pay attention to Hindus' complaints. On the contrary, the courts were approving the takeover of properties.

In late December of 1947, my family, relatives and friends, got a chance to escape, in the middle of the night, from Pakistan to India. It was a journey by a special midnight train about 6-8 hours and we arrived at Marwar Junction of Rajasthan, India. It was a frightening journey, all lights of the train cars were turned off, and women put pillows over the mouths of babies and children, so that no one could hear the crying of babies or any other voices.

We were very much afraid about the attacks of Muhajir and Pakistani police while traveling by train. When our train left the last station of Pakistan, we took a sigh of relief, some were jubilant and slogan "Hindustan Zindabad" was filling up the sky. A big relief and some joy, in spite of the fact that, we had left behind our assets, homes, properties, were penniless and going to an unknown destination with no hope to return back to our motherland, Sindh, the place where we were born, raised and lived for centuries. The dream of living in Sindh disappeared overnight. But, we were alive, safe and had hope and will to get settled in a safe, secured place and start a new life in India.

The government of India had a monumental task on its' hands as millions of Hindu men, women, children and babies were migrating and there was no planned place to get them settled. Temporary arrangements were in process.

The Indian military had to set up some tents. In each tent, 3 to 4 families and the relatives were put together. There was no kitchen to cook or restrooms. The government had put, blocks away, common latrines where one had to stand in a queue for hours. So, we started going early in the morning. For food, the military lorry loaded with piles of breads, "Thick Rotia of Juwar", would drive by and throw bread for people to fetch, followed by water tanker. Again, one had to stand, with buckets for water, in a queue. I think, per family, we got 3 or 4 buckets of water for drinking. There was no provision for a shower or washing clothes. Just being alive and having clothes on our back was the greatest gift of life. Luckily, it was early January and in winter, Rajasthan is very cold, so no one smelled that bad.

On the 30th of January, 1948, Mahatma Gandhiji was shot and the Hindu/Muslim riots took the toll. Luckily, when it was known the shooter was a Hindu named Nathuram Godse, our fears of communal riots were diminished, but did not stop. In February 1948, those families living in the camp were given two options by the Indian government. One, receive five thousand (rs. 5000) rupees per family and go get settled in any place in India as the resident refugee or two, stay in the camp. The local public of Marwar was orthodox so they stayed away from us Sindhis and would not even offer a glass of water, as if we were untouchable. You cannot imagine the discrimination we went through. If any of us touched a Marwadi or drank water from his cup or glass, the Marwadi would go and take a shower and the cup would be sterilized in fire before he/she could use it.

In the first week of February, we took a train from Marwar Pali to Sidhpur Gujarat we changed trains several times during the journey. Sindhur is situated on the banks of Saraswati River, a sort of holy city in north Gujarat. It was a pretty good city but there was a strong influence of Dawoodi Bohra's community who were very sharp businessmen and there was no chance to succeed in business there. So, we moved to a neighboring city name Patan (N.G.), about 31 km (19 miles) from Sidhpur. Patan was a more developed city and Jain population had a heavy impact on business, especially precious jewelry, diamonds, precious stones, etc. Also, it was a city of middle high-to-high income groups and was a hub of fresh vegetables and grains. The city was flourishing.

My one uncle started a cloth business and the other flourmill. I joined M.N. High School, Patan, in May 1948 and finals were due in the end of May. My biggest handicap was local languages that I did not know either the alphabet of Gujarati or Hindi or spoke these languages. 1 spoke only Sindhi and broken English of 2 standards level. The Principal A.B. Takalkar decided to give me tests in Mathematics and English only, which 1 passed successfully. All other subjects, (e.g. History, Geography, Gujarati, Hindi and Science), being taught in Gujarati etc. from which I was exempted. Among the 81 students in 2 classes, my rank was 81st the last one. 1 was promoted to 3rd standard.

After finals, we had about 8 weeks of summer vacation. During those 8 weeks, I worked 16-18 hours/day to learn to write, read, and speak Gujarati as well as Hindi, with the help of my late teacher J.P. Mehta. In short, the year passed very well and at the final, I achieved rank 19'^'^ among 81 students. Not bad for a kid who had just learned local languages for only one year. Then in 1949, I came to 4^^ standard and at finals achieved first rank! I was getting higher marks in Gujarati and Hindi than the local kids and became the popular kid in the school. In 1950- 1953, I was monitor, president of the student union and always first in the two classes. In 1954, I passed secondary school certificate examination S.S.C.E. with first class distinction and first in school, was awarded scholarship at the two prestigious colleges, Elphinstone College of Mumbai and Gujarat College.

I decided to go to Gujarat college because Ahmedebad was much smaller and closer city to Patan and it was much more affordable for living than Mumbai.

Although I dreamed about Mumbai college, my economic condition was not good. My family was trying to make two ends to meet. In 1958, I received First Class Distinction degree from Gujarat University. How lucky could I be! In Chemistry/Physics or Chemistry/Biology group, only 3 candidates got first class (Hons) among 800+ students. I immediately got a job as Demonstrator at St. Xavier College and started my MS under Dr. B.C. Haidar, the student of Sir P.B. Sarkar and Dr. Glen Seaborg (two-time nobel prize winner). With the help of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai's PRL laboratory, we build the first Gieger Counter and established the first Nuclear Chemistry department at the Institute of Science,Mumbai.

We sent our samples to Trombay for bombardment. I received my MSc in 1962 and got a scholarship from USA and headed for my doctorate. I received my Ph.D. in Inorganic Fluorine chemistry under a distinguished professor. Dr. Jean'ne H. Shreeve in 1967 and headed from Moscow, Idaho to Ithaca, New York to attend Cornell University as a postdoctoral fellow under another famous professor. Dr. W.T. Miller of Cornell who had been the head of Manhattan Project (an atomic bomb project). I left Cornell University to come to Tulsa, OK USA on October 23''^ 1969 and joined Ozark-Mahoning Co. as Chief Chemist, where I served from 1969 to 1986 as the Head of the Research Department and then, the Director of Research of fluorine and inorganic chemistry. In 1987, I resigned from OM/Pennwalt Corp. as the Director of Research and started my own company "ARC", which is today the largest specialty producer of inorganic fluorine products in the world. We serve hundreds of Fortune 500 companies around the globe and our fluorine products are found in uses of every human's daily life.

In summary, I would say that Sindhis have genes and spirit in their blood, which they have inherited from a 7,000-year-old civilization, for the creativity and businesses. No matter how much difficulty comes in the path, Sindhi will be able to come out of it successfully. Historically, wherever Sindhis have gone, they have created Sindh of their own version. Sindhis mix with locals in amicable ways, adopt local customs and make their future as well as the future of the community they live in.

Jai Jhulelal, Ji Sindh, Jai Hind

Uprooting of Sindhi Hindus in 1947

By Prem Matlani

At the stroke of midnight hour on August 15, 1947, India attained freedom from her British masters but sadly it was not an occasion to celebrate because India had not just become independent but she was also divided into two nations and a new country called Pakistan was carved out of it.

     It all started with Mohd. Ali Jinnah’s ambition to become Prime Minister of India and Jawaharlal Nehru not succumbing to his pressure tactics, which gave rise to Two Nation Theory, literally out of blue.

     Dalai Lama had once said, “Had Jawaharlal Nehru let Jinnah become prime minister of India, as suggested by Gandhi himself, there would have been no partition of India at all.”

     According to Two Nation Theory, “Muslims and Hindus of British India are two separate nations, with their own customs, religion and traditions, therefore from social and moral point of view, Muslims should be able to have their own separate homeland outside of Hindu majority India, in which Islam is the dominant religion and be separated from Hindus and other Non-Muslims.”

     To understand Jinnah and his Two Nation Theory, an assessment by Jawaharlal Nehru in his book ‘Discovery of India’ would certainly help us:

     “Mr. Jinnah’s demand was based on a new theory, he had recently propounded, that India consisted of two nations, Hindus and Muslims. Why only two, I do not know, for if nationality was based on religion, then there are many nations in India. Of the two brothers, one may be a Hindu, another Muslim: they would belong to the two different nations. These two nations existed in varying proportions in most of the villages of India.They were nations which had no boundaries, they overlapped. A Bengali Muslim and a Bengali Hindu living together speaking the same language and having much the same traditions and customs, belonged to different nations. All this was very difficult to grasp; it secured a reversion to some medieval theory. What a nation is, it is difficult to define.” 

Mr. Jinnah’s above said ‘Two Nation Theory’ was led to logical conclusion on March  23, 1940, though even Jinnah and his Muslim League were skeptical about it.

     On March 23, 1940, an open session of All India Muslim League got underway under the presidentship of Mohd. Ali Jinnah at Lahore. Bengal Premier, Fazal Haque presented the resolution, which is commonly known as Pakistan resolution.

     In Sindh, even when population of Muslims was roughly 75% and Hindus 25%, Hindus had always been in the forefront. Majority of government posts were occupied by Hindus. They had created the city of Karachi, led various movements to establish educational and charitable institutions in Sindh and majority of Muslims remained in rural areas and were satisfied with their separate fiefdoms.

     On earlier occasions, the Muslims of Sindh had demanded separation of Sindh from Bombay Presidency. In 1928, the communal riots had broken out in Larkana following ‘Shudhi Karan’ of a neo-convert woman. From 1929 to 1931 there were frequent incidents of violence against Hindus particularly in Sukkur. It created fear psychosis into the minds of Hindus as Muslims’ persistent demand of separation of Sindh from Bombay Presidency was seen as converting Hindus into minority in Sindh which would certainly put them at the mercy of Muslims.

     In the proceedings before ‘Simon Commision’, Hindus represented by Prof. Chhablani contended about employment opportunities enjoyed by minorities (Muslims) in United Province, vis a vis minorities (Hindus) in Sindh, and said that the Muslims in U.P. could get minimum of 16% in subordinate services and 40% in the executive and there was no ceiling as to the percentage of employment for Muslims in U.P. whereas in Sindh there was a decree passed by the executive preventing the recruitment of Hindus into the services above a particular ratio in Sindh.

     Taking cue from the Pakistan Resolution passed by Muslim League in Lahore in 1940, Ghulam Murtaza Syed, popularly known as G.M. Syed introduced an official resolution in Sindh Assembly on March 3, 1943 in favour of creation of Pakistan. It read as under:

     “This House wants to convey to the King Emperor through Viceroy of India, the wishes and sentiments of the Muslims of Sindh. That Muslims of India are a separate nation due to their religion, philosophy, life, customs and traditions and economic beliefs. Taking into consideration, Muslim’s separate identity, they are entitled to their separate, autonomous national government. That in order to nurture their philosophy and independent life, it would not be possible for them to live under any strong central government.”

     One can understand Muslims in Sindh Assembly could pass such a resolution, but there were more than twenty Hindu legislators in Sindh Assembly and they could have opposed it vehemently, not only on the floor of the house but outside too and should have launched an agitation agaist creation of Pakistan. If this looks farfetched idea, as a last resort they should have demanded bifurcation of Sindh and asked for those districts which had sizeable population of Hindus, to be included in India just like Punjab or Bengal were bifurcated. But that was not to happen and Sindhi Hindu leaders were content with flattering the national leaders, like Gandhi and Nehru and they just forgot about the impending plight of Sindhi Hindus, after the creation of   Pakistan and Sindh being the part of it.

     Though by and large, Sindh didn’t experience the severity of communal riots in 1947 after creation of Pakistan as experienced by Punjab but yes, there were riots in Nawabshah headed by its Punjabi Collector Masud, taking part in killings of Sikhs residing there which resulted in their mass migration towards Rajasthan. Likewise, when Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s first Prime Minister needed houses for incoming Muslim migrants from India into Sindh,  he engineered Anti-Hindu riots  in Karachi in January 1948.              .

     Such happenings resulted in mass migration of Hindus to India. People were either travelling by rail through Tharparkar to Rajasthan or boarding ships at Karachi harbor to reach Bombay. They had to wait in Karachi and stay at Guru Mandir before their turn comes. There had been many assaults by Indian Muslims migrants on Sindhi Hindu camps and Sindh Government had tough time to control the crowds.

     There were many Sindhi Hindu politicians at that time, even the last Sindh Assembly elections held on January, 21, 1946 gave out 21 Non-Muslim seats. Prominent among Sindhi Leaders of the times were Choithram Gidwani, Jairamdas Daulatram and Acharya Kripalani.

     Dr. Choithram Gidwani was born in Hyderabad, Sindh on December 25, 1889. Initially, he worked as a teacher at Bubak in Dadu district. Later on, he joined the medical school and became medical officer. He came into contact with Mahatma Gandhi at a Congress session held in 1915, at Bombay. He successfully organized a strike against Rowlatt Act, in 1919, at Hyderabad. He was sent to jail on various occasions. He had been an Editor of a newspaper ‘Hindu’. He had broken the Salt Law at Karachi and taken part in civil Disobedience Movement in 1932 and Quit India movement in 1942. Gandhi had once said about him that he had sacrificed everything and turned into a Faqir, all for the cause of the country.

     Jairamdas Daulatram was born on 21st July, 1891, in Sindh. He joined the Congress party and was subsequently elected to the Bombay Legislative Council from 1935 to 1938. He was appointed as a member of various committees on labour rights and issues.

     Jairamdas had great rapport with Mahatma Gandhi and resigned from Bombay Legislative Council in 1930 to join Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha. At Gandhi’s request, he became a member of the Foreign Cloth Boycott Committee and travelled to several different provinces to convince local administrations to support the boycott.

     At the time of Independence, Jairamdas was appointed as the Governor of Bihar. Later on, he won the elections to become member of Constituent Assembly from Punjab. From 1948 to 1949, he was Union Minister for Food & Agriculture. Again, he became Governor of Assam from 1949 1956. He was also included into Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India headed by Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, popularly known as Acharya Kripalani was born in Hyderabad, sindh, in November 1988. He earned a Masters degree in History and Economics from Fergusan College, Pune and became a teacher. He had an encounter with Gandhi in 1917, when later one had taken up the cause of Indigo workers in Gujarat. From 1922 to 1927, He was the Principal of Gujarat Vidyapeeth in Ahmedabad.  After 1920, he also participated in the acts of Civil Disobedience Movement and served jail term. He became General Secretary of Congress in 1928-29 and later on from 1934 to 1945. In 1946, he was elected as President of Congress from which post he resigned in last months of 1947. He was also included into the Constitution Drafting Committee. His wife, Sucheta became Chief Minister of U.P. in 1963.

Of all those Sindhi Hindu political bigwigs, one thing is certain that they completely forgot about the situation of Sindhi Hindus in Sindh after creation of Pakistan.. They had already created their base in India and had moved out of Sindh and therefore never experienced the pangs of migration, from which ordinary mortal Sindhi Hindus had going through.

     They were comfortable with their various posts in Independent India after Partition and never thought of their Sindhi brethren in Sindh. The Independence of India was not Independence for Sindhi Hindus, because they had to flee from Sindh, literally empty handed and disperse throughout the length and breadth of India. Overnight Sindhi nawabs became paupers as they had to start from scratch in India, live in dilapidated barracks, originally meant for Second World War soldiers. How could they survive and prosper, that is another story altogether, but their leaders were nowhere to be seen when their brothers and sisters needed them most. Alas!

 Displaced but Not Lost

By Manju Nichani

“While every refugee’s story is different and their anguish personal, they all share a common thread of uncommon courage – the courage not only to survive but to persevere and rebuild their shattered lives.”

This popular quote exemplifies the story of India’s Sindhi community. A prosperous community, that was living a happy and settled life, when suddenly political war tore them from their roots, rendering them homeless and making them flee to India, where their status was – Refugees.

Possessing hardly any material resources and depending only on their own abilities, determination and perseverance, these same Refugees courageously made a name for themselves in their adopted homeland and became known for their industry, business acumen and philanthropy.

I had the privilege of being born into this community, though in an Independent India. Growing up in a warm and affectionate home, imbibing the Sindhi culture, I recollect the nostalgic memories that my father shared with us of his homeland.

Every Sindhi has beautiful reminiscences shared by their parents or grandparents about their fond memories of life in Sind.   I too remember that there never was a day when my father did not speak about Pakistan.  He was born in Shikarpur, a magical city of rose water fountains, havelis, and colleges. Even though he was happily settled here in India, he had a huge mental connect with that place.  Every night before we went to bed he used to tell us stories about his childhood which he spent in Sind.  He shared his memories with a wistful smile - eating kulfi in one corner to having chole bread at another place, playing games with his friends and family and how his great grandmother looked after them.  All this part of his growing up was in a distant land of which he was no more a part but was much attached emotionally.   He yearned to reconnect and share his original home with us through his fond recollections.

He got married and came back to India but yet his mind and soul was in Sind.  It is so very true when one says, “It doesn't matter how high you fly but your soul is still trapped in the roots.”  Sindhis do not have their roots in India but yet they are everywhere.  They were suddenly uprooted from their place of birth, familiar streets and friends and had to undertake the difficult journey across the border and look for settlement in an unknown land, unfamiliar food, language and customs often in the face of resistance.  They were staying in refugee camps under miserable and uncertain conditions but there was one thing which they never gave up and that was Hope! Their grit and determination tuned displacement into Enterprises. They struggled a lot to achieve a lot.

My own life took a turn when I came to Pune where I had the privilege of meeting Dada J.P Vaswani.  Dada Vaswani was the spiritual leader at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission founded by his Guru, Sadhu T.L Vaswani.  I realized the bond and fondness he had for Sindh through his conversations and lectures.  He had beautiful memories of Hyderabad, Karachi where his upbringing and education took place. His historic journey to Sindh to connect to his roots, to connect to the land of his Gurudev touched the hearts of the people on both sides of the border and it was a journey that healed spirits.  His Uncle, Sadhu T. L Vaswani, who formed the Mira Movement Education in 1933 in Hyderabad (Pakistan), did not want to leave Pakistan but due to the circumstances and the threat to many people, for the welfare of the community, he resettled and made Pune his Karma-Bhoomi.  But never ever, ever his home because his soul still lingered in the streets of Sindh!

Later on, I joined KC College where the Principal was Prof. K. M. Kundnani.  He lived, walked and talked only Hyderabad Sindh.  I remember he told me that he was Professor of Physics in Hyderabad, Sindh and when he had to leave, he came with nothing but with only a few books and his chair, about which, he was very sentimental.  He said Sindhis were scattered and so were upset. The teachers teaching with him were very uncomfortable.  He also recollected how once while sitting at Marine Drive some teachers came and said to him “what are we going to do?” And he told them, “I will start a college” - and he did that with his first college in Bandra – National College.  After that there was no looking back.  Every 2 years he started a college and today as Hyderabad Sind National Collegiate Board, we are proud to have 17 colleges and many schools in Mumbai and Ulhasnagar.  It is their belief that there is nothing that they cannot do which drives them forward.  Principal K. M. Kundnani and Barrister H. G. Advani, the founding fathers of the H(S)NC Board, fought against the onslaught of circumstances and established educational institutions which have played a pivotal role in the lives of millions of students.

Partition created a huge exodus of people from both sides of the border causing traumatic experiences to all.  The prosperous Sindhi community had to leave everything behind and escape with their lives.  They became homeless and penniless overnight.  While most of the other refugees found a state to their name in free India, the Sindhi migrants had no place to call their own then and even now. But the never-dying spirit and tolerant outlook of the Sindhis has helped them make the transition a seamless integration.  They took things in their stride, picked up the pieces and moved on and in the process managed to prosper, contribute and live in a peaceful and sustainable way.  As language, culture and history slipped away, the community held firmly onto the memories and created a community of harmony and brotherhood in the place of their settlement.  Today I am sure most of us never realize that Sindhis have come from across the border.  They have merged themselves both nationally as well as globally.

From the idyllic Indus Valley bound together as one community to becoming scattered around the whole of India and the world; Sindhis are trying hard to hold on to their original culture.  Any culture can be alive with 3 things - language, literature and food.

This ‘beautiful’ Sindhi language was in grave danger of being lost as Sindhis realised that that there was no state support for their language. In order to save it from oblivion, they began publishing several daily and weekly periodicals— Hindustan, Hindvasi and Bharatvas.  These publications played the vital role of keeping the Sindhi language alive.  Sindhi language, heritage and culture are also kept alive by attractive cultural activities.   There are many playwrights, theatre personalities and dancers who are constantly trying to capture the imagination of future generations with their beautiful cultural portrayal of Sindh.

Sindhi language is very rich.  It has a great great literature but unfortunately many people cannot read the script and I hope we will do something to keep the great literature of Sindhis alive because your culture is understood only by its literature.  The literature inked in strong poetry and prose reflects the vibrancy and quality of Sindhi life and thought. The treasured works of Sadhu T. L. Vaswani and Dada J. P. Vaswani brings about the richness of the language sung in sweet, melodious, rhythmic Sindhi tune and it fills the hearts and souls of the audience with peace and joy.

Sindhis love food.  They are known as foodies.  They enjoy their food.  Even after partition many things have changed but the food habits still remain the same.  The majority of the Sindhis even today love to have their Sunday kadi chawal, tuk and boondi.  They love their Sai bhaji and bhuga chawal.  Recently I have been seeing a pakoda day, dal pakwaan day celebrated even by the younger generation who are slowly infusing the traditional Sindhi dishes into their life.  All these things are reviving the Sindhi culture because food is a very important integrating factor and by opening doors to Sindhi cuisine, it is a good way to promote Sindhi culture and let it live.

It is commendable that the Sindhi community accepted and adapted to the new realities easily but this cost them their cultural identity. The Sindhi identity was lost in post-independent India. Sindhis do not have political power.  Along with geographical territory, they also lost their cultural inheritance.  But with the same grit and determination that determined their success in educational and business fields, they are fighting to keep its rich cross-border culture alive. There is only one thing that will keep Sindhis together and that is the language.  Dada J. P. Vaswani often use to say, “Language is the root of our community. Language is the Soul of our community. If the soul goes away, how long will the community last?”

We may speak English because it is an international language.  We may speak Hindi because it is a national language but Sindhi is our mother tongue.  May we never forget what will keep us together is our language!  If our culture has to be alive, if our literature has to be alive then Sindhi language has to be alive.  Youngsters are often reluctant to learn their mother tongue.  But many eminent scholars of the language are trying to reclaim the language at least for future generations. As London-based Devendra Kodwani says: “There is a very rich body of literature, rich Sindhi culture embedded in the Sindhi language, which is part of the finest traditions and human achievements which we must enjoy and pass on to the future generations.”  I am happy to know that today a lot of effort is done to keep this language alive.  Sindhi Institutions seek minority status so that they can admit their own students and their own people where Sindhi is one of the languages to be learnt.  When people are ready to learn and study, to speak and read, to pass it on – it will happen.  So I am sure that one day it will come alive – maybe not just yet.

We have a very big temple, Jhulelal temple in Kutch which may become the Tirathdham for many Sindhis.  It will bring a huge cultural reform for the Sindhi community across the world as this Tirathdham will connect with their heritage and language and also a place they can call their own.  Sindhis are present globally everywhere, they only need to come together.

His Holiness, The Dalai Lama – the most apt representative of a political refugee – says, “Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back and reasons to stay”. Today it is the responsibility of the older generation of Sindhis to give their children the wings of education and ambition to fly with. However, it is also imperative that the roots of the beautiful Sindhi culture, language and ethos be preserved so that the young may never forget their origins and the sacrifices of those who suffered, yet gave their blood, sweat and tears for them. This memory and reverence is enough to unify all Sindhis and help them move forward always as one, involved wholly in building this nation and never letting differences divide them. 

Sindhi Hindus flee to India from Pakistan

In search of Freedom to Pray

By Lavina Melwani

When young Hindu girls go to school in the morning in Sindh, Pakistan, their parents are never sure whether they will ever see them again: two Hindu sisters in Dahrki in Sindh’s Ghotki district, both minors, were kidnapped, converted to Islam and forced into a shotgun wedding. A group of ‘influential’ men took 13-year-old Raveena and 15-year-old Reena Meghwar from their home while they were playing Holi.

This is a common enough occurrence in Pakistan and hundreds of young Hindu girls have vanished, to reappear with Islamic names, married to Muslim men. It is indeed the genocide of a faith. It is gut-wrenching experiences like these which have caused so many to leave home in search of spiritual freedom, security and justice for their daughters.

Even 72 years after Partition, for many Hindu Sindhi families in Pakistan the despair and uncertainty still persists – their religious freedom and their ability to embrace their spiritual culture and traditions continues to be in jeopardy. The trauma of persecution, of scarce ways to earn a living as a minority in as Islamic country, danger of their young daughters being kidnapped, raped and pushed into forced marriage and conversion to Islam persists.

For these struggling families the partition of India is not over as they still struggle in Sindh for their basic human rights, their right to pray to their God, and bring up their children in the ways of their forefathers. As Meera Bai, a Hindu migrant who fled Pakistan, told the media, “Muslims in Pakistan will never treat Hindus as their own. For them, we will always remain the ‘other’. We escaped religious and cultural persecution when we came to India. We are happy here. At least here we know that no one will steal our cattle or our daughters.”

Professor Satya Narayan of Jodhpur tends to agree. “The growing religious radical fundamentalism is so widespread that there seems to be no safe room left for minorities, particularly in Pakistan. Minorities are facing forced conversions and marriages, abductions, land grabbing, rapes, murders, kidnapping for ransom, fake blasphemy cases leading to minority settlements being set on fire and people being burned alive, disgracing dead bodies of Hindus and demolishing, attacking and setting fire to Hindu temples.”

As Narayan points out, the Pak minorities are neither safe as nationals in Pakistan nor have basic rights as migrants in India since the latter was not a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees.

The Hindu Sindhi refugees are the forgotten people whom the fast-moving world does not have time for. Yet they have a friend in Hindu Singh Sodha, himself a refugee from Chachro in Tharparkar, Sindh, who migrated to Jodhpur, India just before the 1971 Indo-Pak war. A law graduate from Jodhpur University, he has spent two decades in Jodhpur, greeting many of these first arrivals who had no place to stay or food to eat. From the 90’s he worked as a human rights activist and founded Seeman Lok Sangathan and Universal Just Action Society (SLS/UJAS) to help rehabilitate the Pak minority migrants.

According to Kavita Tekchandani, a lawyer and community activist who works with UJAS from California, there are currently 85,000 Pakistani Hindu refugees who have crossed the border into Rajasthan, India due to the recent instability in Pakistan. Most come from Sindh, Pakistan as well as from Southern Punjab and Balochistan. She says, “Like other religious minorities, they have become ‘soft targets’ for crime, and many have faced issues with discrimination, kidnapping for ransom and kidnapping for forced marriage, forcing a trickle migration.”

In his book ‘Fence without Fencing’ which he has co-authored with a recent refugee Ashok Suthar, a social activist, he mentions how 13,000 migrants succeeded in getting Indian nationality through UJAS support. In fact, one media article has referred to the gentle yet determined Sodha as “the god of small people.”

Over the years Sindhi refugees have continued to trek to areas in Rajasthan and Gujarat close to the border and try to start a new life. I visited Jodhpur to get a first-hand report on how these newest and youngest survivors are faring as they walk the tightrope of refugee life between Pakistan and India. My guides there were Hindu Singh Sodha and Ashok Suthar, both refugees themselves.

Now fresh determined Hindu migrants have landed up in Jodhpur in refugee camps and India is the real homeland to which they are returning. Here at least their rights to worship and to make a new life are sacrosanct – though the road may be rough and full of potholes.

According to Sodha, most of the migrants coming into Western Rajasthan are Hindus of different castes such as Mehwals, Bhils, Kolhis, odhs, Rajputs, Brahmins, Suthars, Sonars, Prohits, Jats, Nais, Darzis and others. In his book he estimates that the current total population of Pak minority migrants in India, increased through births, of nearly one million is staying mainly in Rajasthan, then Gujarat followed by Madhya Pradesh and some other states. The new migrants go through many difficulties – they have to wait at least seven years before they can be eligible for citizenship and during that period they cannot leave the city where their visa was registered and have difficulties in obtaining homes or driving licenses, among other problems.

It is a story of displacement. “This group is not helped by the government, and none of the national and international human rights organizations have yet shown an interest in taking care of their agonies,” notes Sodha. “They are deprived access to basic rights including the right to justice, the right to self-recognition, the right to work, education and healthcare.”

They come to India for the intangible concepts of religious and economic freedom but settling into camps in the Rajasthan border areas, these refugees have almost no electricity, no clean drinking water, limited food, no shelter and very little resources. Many are being treated for malnutrition in addition to other conditions.

Currently it is estimated that about 250 – 500 people are coming into the Jodhpur, Rajasthan temporary camp grounds every 2 weeks due to the rise of violence across the border,” says Tekchandani. “Without proper work permits and legal status, they are living in a no man’s land, and feel unsafe to return to Pakistan, while also not being able to easily attain their livelihood in India.”

According to UJAS which works with these migrants, these families are poverty stricken, many with the status of scheduled castes and tribes and become more susceptible to discrimination and exploitation when they are further stereotyped as women and children of Pakistani migrants. UJAS is working with local government organizations to help get the rights, visas and citizenships of these migrants addressed.

It was heart-wrenching to visit the dusty wasteland of Anganwadh refugee camp with Singh and Sodha, and meet the refugees face to face. Here the refugees live in mud dwellings with thatched roofs, their cattle and their small community. It is a nowhere land with no stores or medical facilities close by. Some of the refugees have lived there since 5 years – others are as recent as two months. Rough and hot, with rocky, dusty ground and no paved roads, this is home. There are about 300 households in this area with a total population of 1550 people, including about 720 children. Currently a total of four NGOs are working in the community with the government, assisting with schooling, mid-day meals and health camps.

We had an open air panchayat, sitting on spread-out Rajastani dhurries. Hot tea was passed all around as men, women – many with ghunghats covering their faces – and children gathered around us. They discussed their concerns and even the young girls were asked to come forward and tell us about their new lives. They spoke about being enrolled in high school, and one of them happily shared her plans to study medicine. We walked around the area with them and were taken inside some of the humble mud homes furnished with just the basic necessities – string charpoys and their few possessions piled into metal trunks.

One of the first structures the refugees built in the Anganwad refugee settlement is a temple to their Gods to bless their new endeavors in a new country. They had walked hundreds of miles and faced dangers to win this privilege and now they could worship freely with no restrictions. It is here that they celebrate all Hindu rituals and festivals, without fear of reprisal or abduction.

At the UJAS office, which is some distance from the camp, we met the small, dedicated staff and ate a vegetarian meal with them. Ashok Sodha is himself a recent refugee who left Mithi, Sindh to safeguard his young daughters. A graduate in sociology from the University of Sindh, he has authored several books on social development and devoted himself to working with migrants. He mentioned that most of the refugees are tribal families and their children have great needs as many are illiterate or can only communicate in Sindhi.

As we spoke, Neha, his lovely young daughter, now in her teens, returned from high school. I looked at her radiantly smiling in her white school uniform, excitedly talking about a career in fashion design, and I knew Sodha had made the right decision to risk the unknown to come to India. Had they stayed on in Pakistan, there is a strong chance she would have had a very different life.

Later we visited another camp in the heart of the city where Sindhi migrants were housed and this did have more conveniences like furniture and cooking equipment. This was a solid brick and mortar building where the migrants weren’t at the mercy of the elements, with proper kitchens and bathrooms. They still looked shell-shocked and grim, and the children didn’t laugh and play in the care-free way children normally do.

Indeed, gradually life does get better for the refugees. We visited a private home in the city where many of the Sindhi migrants had gathered to meet us. They were boisterous and happy as some had just got their citizenship papers after many years. There was hot tea and samosas and garlands for us and a fancy turban presented to Hindu Singh Sodha who is regarded as a savior for the work he does with the migrants.

We were hosted by a refugee who had been here for several years and his home was a three floored comfortable apartment. The three sons had set up several shops in the area and the children, even the little daughters, were playful and confident. They all attended school in the area. It was as good a life as it can get – and there were unexpected bonuses too. I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the stores which sells fabrics and women’s clothing was run totally by women – the daughters and daughters-in-law of the house! They had their heads covered in decorous Sindhi small-town fashion but they were clearly independent, making a living and being the boss – something which would not have ever happened in Pakistan.

In an attempt to help safeguard the refugees, the Hindu faith and the fast-fading Sindhi language, supporters in New York as well as the UJAS and other NGO’s in India are helping these latest refugees establish a community center and school in Jodhpur. As we went to press, I received the first photographs of the launch of the UJAS Asha Kendra being built in collaboration with Children’s Hope India, the New York organization that I am affiliated with. It was satisfying to see the ribbon cutting of the temporary school building as the permanent structure is being built and the teachers have already been hired. Now these children will not have to walk many miles to school and will also learn Hindi, the national language, which will make them a part of their homeland India. They will also learn English and travel by school bus for which the funds are being raised in New York. There are sewing machines for the women and a new skills-training center and also plans to help them market their creations.

On my last day in Jodhpur, I visited the famous Clock Tower open market which is a big tourist attraction and is also a vital market for the locals since it has everything from groceries to clothing at very reasonable prices. Not surprisingly, 80 percent of the businesses are run by former Sindhi refugees who with their perseverance and enterprise have cornered the market.

One of the most popular businesses is a spice chain run by seven young sisters, the daughters of a former Sindhi refugee. They are known as the Spice Girls and so successful is their business that tourists flock to their three bustling stores and even the tourist bible Lonely Planet has written about their famous spices. The business of the seven sisters had its origin in the spices their refugee parents used to grind in the camps back in 1947 – the only work they could do in the desolateness of the refugee camps. Like most Hindu refugees, they took a difficult time in their lives and turned it into the foundation of their future. 

Link to article in Lassi with Lavina

14th August 1947: The creation of Pakistan was a Black day for Sindhis

By Raj Daswani

In 1947 before the creation of Pakistan, Sindhi Hindus were a minority community in their own province of Sindh, having no rights or privileges, unlike their Muslim neighbours who were a majority.

Sindhi Hindus and Muslims had lived side by side for hundreds of years with hardly any animosity between them and honouring of each other's religions. Most mosques were decorated during Diwali (a Hindu festival) in Sindh. This harmony between Muslims and Hindus came to an end a few months before the Partition, during which the ‘Muhajirs’, who were a politically extreme Muslim organization, migrated from India and forcibly took over the properties of Sindhi Hindus. So began a long and bitter process in history.

Sindhis were aware of the potential violence after 1947, and so they wanted to flee before the violence began. On December 21st, 1947, a raid took place in the houses of Hindus starting with Hyderabad. People were thrown into camps awaiting migration to India. Similar action was organized by Muslims on January 6th, 1948, in Karachi and all the Hindus were gathered at the exit camps, for the forced migration to India by road, rail and sea. 

The eruption of riots and violence in Sindh was started by the Muhajirs and encouraged by Punjabi Muslims. Hindu Sindhis were forced to flee with just the clothes that they were wearing and a few personal belongings, often tied up in a bed sheet. Some were fortunate to have the opportunity to sell their belongings on the street.

Sindhis fled for their lives to the borders of India to escape and get away from the mass killings by the Muslims who were now entering Sindh. Some reports even mentioned those women who were at that time in hospital delivering their babies were murdered in cold blood along with their innocent new-borns.  India was now their only hope.

Upon arrival, they found themselves hungry, homeless, and unemployed. Employment and food were hard to find, and so voluntary support was a necessary part of survival. 11 lakhs (1.1 million) Sindhis migrated to India, aiming to settle down. The Government of India set-up Refugee camps to provide shelter, schooling, medical care, markets, hospitals, and other necessary amenities. The government also provided free transportation like trains, trams and buses. Some were relieved to be reunited with their families who had been separated in the struggle to leave Sindh. It was only despair and bewilderment for those who never found their loved ones. They were unaware of what happened to them and did not know if they were alive or had been killed in Sindh.

Many refugee families shared the same military camps. In the evening they put up sheets to partition the room into family sections, but for most of the day they would cook, eat and wash communally. The conditions were appalling and unhygienic, the toilets were outside and very few. The ladies, men and children used to queue for hours to relieve themselves with pigs and rats roaming around. Many died of tuber-colossi, cholera, and of snake and scorpion poisoning.

The partition was not the result of a surgical KNIFE but butcher’s HATCHET. The wounds are still bleeding… and hearts still long…!

After the partition, the Sindhi community had to pass through the most difficult times of their lives. Deprived of their homeland, torn from their roots, and leaving behind all wealth. They initially remained occupied with their struggle for livelihood. Nearly One Million and quarter left their sweet soil and crossed the artificial man-made border carrying with them one and quarter millions of stories in their hearts. They crossed the border by any means available to them, by busses, by trains, by planes, by ship even by bullock carts and by foot. This migration was the biggest migration in the world.

Punjab was divided, Bengal was divided but whole of the Sindh was given on a silver platter to Pakistan by our so-called Sindhi leaders.

Those who survived managed to find their own way of feeding their families. They attempted to be employed in any area possible. Soon they started their own businesses and became highly successful business people.

In India the accommodation was too expensive for the common Sindhi to buy or rent, so they remained in their military camps for many years. Sometime later Bombay housing commissions were set up and run by Sindhis in order to provide affordable accommodation for them to settle down in. Sindhis introduced the flat system in Mumbai on a co-operative society basis, a new concept for India.

Sindhi community has made the world their home, they have managed to survive the partition and have settled all over the world.

Sindh, once the home to Hindu Sindhis, no longer exists, except in the memories, hearts and history books. Sindhis were forced to give up their homeland, where their forefathers lived, for the betterment of the whole nation of India. At that time many of us were young so, we could not raise our voices. A Mother’s womb is the most protective, comfortable and secure place for a child. However, when a child is aborted, not only the mother bleeds and suffers, but also the child does not survive. This is how we felt when we migrated from Sindh, after the creation of Pakistan on 14th of August 1947. Sindh, my mother land, where we were once protected, comfortable and secure like a child in the mother’s womb, after we felt like we were aborted alive.

Despite many odds, Sindhis knew only to survive and give and so they started surviving and giving. The institutions which had schools in Sindh started schools in India, who had colleges started colleges, hospitals, industries, shops, co-operative societies and many charitable institutions.

Those who could not afford to buy shops, they started selling their goods on the footpaths with minimum margin of profit and low overheads. Sindhis knew one thing.... ‘HOW TO SURVIVE!

After surviving economically, Hindu Sindhis begin to realise, that they are losing their identity. They were disintegrated, due to un-systemically migration, they were scattered in the different parts of the World and they were at the verge of merging with the local communities where ever they were.

Adoptability is in their character, but losing their identity was not acceptable to them. They started resenting. They resented losing their language, their customs, culture, their thousands year old civilization and their heritage of Indus Valley. They resented but could not help, since everything was slipping away. They had lost their soil, uprooted from their soil, they did not have any soil and roots to hold on to.

Today, Sindhis love being in Maharashtra, as Sindhis not as "Sindhikar". We love being in Gujrat as Sindhis not as "bhai" or "ben". We love being in Bengal as Sindhis not as a "jee". We love being in the far-east as Sindhis Chunilal not as "chungian". We want to be in the west as Shyam and Dhamu not as Sam or David. We resent losing our language, customs, culture, we need leadership to guide us, we need a political voice, which can get support from the government.

Everything is slipping away as time passes. Ever since the partition we have been condemned to sustain political, religious, and social rape. The language which would have flourished on its sweet soil of Sindh was banished from its own homeland. Without language a community cannot exist.

However, the intellectuals of our Sindhi community have arisen and realized that our existence as a distinct community is in danger and have strived vigorously to preserve our identity. These people are intoxicated by our Sindhi culture and the love for Sindhiyat. Our writers, teachers, professors, and artists, a dynamic movement has started with our writings, publishing, gatherings, cultural shows, and all activities which will unite the Sindhi community and save Sindhiyat!

Raj Daswani Author of Shattered Sindh Scattered Sindhis - Now on Amazon

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Raj Daswani

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