Tour report of Sindhis of some cities in M.P. (Aug
2008)
Published in (1) “Suhaag Sindhi” weekly, dt. Sep 22, 2008
(2) Hindvasi Sindhi weekly, dt. Oct 26, 2008
Mohan G. Rohira
(Advocate)
(Advocate)
Recently I got the
golden opportunity to meet Important Sindhis living in some cities of M.P. They
were good enough to arrange long meetings of Sindhis at short notice on my
request for promoting our ancient culture, language and Sanskriti as well as
for getting legitimate political rights from the Central Govt, and for boosting
the morale of community. Most of these reports have already been published in
these columns. The reports of remaining cities are shown in a nutshell as under
:
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DABRA (Aug 1, 2008)
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This small town
with a total population of 1 lakh is situated in Gwalior Distt. The total
strength of Sindhis is 500 families. Shri Tikamdas Santwani is President, and
Shri Satypal Davani is Secretary of Puj Sindhi Panchayat, Dabra . They have 2
Sindhi Darbars, namely Sant Bhagatram Darbar & Seth Ladharam Darbar wherein
arrangement for marriages etc. is made with a total strength of 500 and 1000
respectively. These darbars also provide facilities and lodging. They have 4
sindhi temples. The Sindhis here are mostly in one or other business and nearly
90% of them speak in Sindhi with children at home and among themselves. The
city has Sant Kanwarram Mahavidyalaya and a Higher Secondary School under
Management of Sindhis but alas! Sindhi language is not taught there even as one
of the subjects. Hence they were persuaded to start Sindhi subject in future.
They celebrate important annual festivals such as Chetichand, Guru Nanak
Jayanti, Sant Godriwala & Swami Teoonram Jayanti.They take out procession
in the city on the auspicious occasion of Chetichand and they close their shops
& schools on that day. This day is also declared as a public holiday in
whole M.P state. Let us hope that our community will succeed in persuading
central Govt. to make this day a National Holiday in whole country under the
Negotiable Instruments Act. Shri. Dwarkadas Hakvani is Press Reporter. They
have published a beautiful Directory of Sindhis of the city. They are united
and mix with themselves on happy & unhappy occasions. Their relation with
local masses are very cordial. This Sindhi Panchayat is engaged in many social
activities such as helping in marriages of poor girls & widows, giving free
medicines to needy persons, serving drinking water to thirsty passengers
throughout the day and the year at railway station and also helping sindhi
needy passengers. In case of marriages of girls coming from other cities, the
total expenses of marriage are fully met by boy's side only which is rare in
our community. Sindhis of other cities can learn a good lesson from this
custom. They suggested that Sindhi Community should unite and forget all their
differences & should do selfless social service.
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SAGAR (Aug 4, 2008)
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This famous city with a total strength
of 5 lakhs is situated on Bina-Katni section of central Railway. From the
Sindhi population point of view, it can be divided into 2 bastis (Areas) -
Subhash Nagar and Civil Lines. Nearly 10,000 Sindhis stay in Subhashnagar and
2000 in Civil Lines. Nearly 98% Sindhis are in business & practically all
(nearly 99% of them) converse in Sindhi language among themselves & at
homes which is a satisfying trend but sorry to say that, though they have one
school upto VIII Standard under their control, even Sindhi is not taught there
as one of the subjects, for which they were persuaded to start the same.
The President
& Secretary of Sindhi Panchayat respectively are Shri Tekchand Lahirwani
& Shri Mohanlal Sonia, whereas the President & Secretary respectively
of Sri Guru Nanak Trust (in Civil Lines Basti) are Shri Lakhanlal Bajaj &
Shri Prataprai Phulwani. There is also one Hari Madhav Samiti in this city. All
these social organizations are doing marvellous social activities (as in case
of Dabra city mentioned earlier) i.e. giving free tuition and dresses to poor
students, helping in marriage of poor girls & widows, arranging free
medical camps, arranging drinking water for thirsty passengers at Sagar Rly.
Station during summer season & helping needy Sindhi passengers etc. Like
Dabra City, here also all marriage expenses are met by boy’s side in case of girls coming
from other cities. The important annual festivals of Sindhis here are
Chetichand, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Sai Milanram's Varsi, Jhulelal Chalisa, Guru
Punam, Navratra etc. A Priti Bhojan and procession with "Jhankis" is
arranged by them on the noble occasion of Chetichand. They have 4 Sindhi
Dharamshalas, namely Geeta Bhawan with hospital, Sai Milanram Sindhi Darbar,
Jhulelal Sindhi Dharamsala (all in Subhasnagar Basti) and above mentioned
fourth Sri Guru Nanak Trust and
Dharamshala (in Civil Lines Basti). While passing through Subhashnagar Basti,
one feels like passing through mini Sindh! They suggested that all important
Sindhi Associations throughout India, inspite of having different political
affiliations, should unite under one banner in the interest of real progress of
our community with tangible results for getting legitimate rights of Sindhis
from the Govt. The places worth seeing are Garapra Hanuman Mandir, Rajghat Dam,
Lakha Talao & Sagar University etc.
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VIDISHA (Aug 5,
2008)
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This tiny town of 1 lakh population is situated on
Central Rly. near Bhopal. The Sindhis
Strength is 400. The President of Puj Sindhi Panchayat is Shri Radha Kishin
Motwani & Secretary is Shri. Harish Wadhwani. Sant Hirdaram Sindhu Seva
Trust & Sai Jhulelal Mandir (President, Shri Gurmukhdas Chhugani &
Secretary Shri Suresh Motiani) are situated in Dandapura Sindhu Colony.
Moreover, Sindhi Dharamshala and Gurudwara are situated in Bajaria area. Nearly
97% of them are in business. However as compared to above 2 cities, they are
lagging behind in using Sindhi Language (i.e. nearly 50%). Hence the importance
of speaking in Sindhi was emphasized. However in celebrating annual festivals,
they are no less than above cities such as Sri Guru Nanak Jayanti and mainly Chetichand wherein they
arrange "Bhandara" (Joint meals) and take out a big procession in the
streets inspite of being less in number in the city. They also close down their
business establishments on this auspicious occasion. They have produced a
beautiful Sindhi Directory of the city. Many of them in the Panchayat are
dedicated workers and do yeoman Social activities such as helping financially
in the marriages of poor girls and widows, arranging Netra Shibirs (Eye camps)
twice a year irrespective of community,
arranging Marriage Bureau (I/C Shri kishinchand Gurdasani), helping needy
Sindhis even at Rly. Station etc. They are united & often meet together on
happy and unhappy occasions and keep cordial relations with local people. The
places worth visiting around the city are famous Sanchi Stupa, Udaigiri,
Sidheswari Durga Mandir, Ranch Mandir, Shivalaya and Durga Mata Mandir, etc..
Thus on the whole,
it would be seen that Sindhis are having blessings of Sri Laxmi Mata. However
they don't take interest in Political field or in running Sindhi schools,
(which I emphasized in the meetings). However they have been more or less
preserving our rich language of Mohen -Jo-Daro days by conversing in Sindhi.
Furthermore for keeping their identity, most of them are keeping Murtis of Sai
Jhulelal in their homes or shops / offices (as in case of Bangalore city
arranged by Bangalore Sindhi Samaj), which is a satisfying factor.
