Survival of Sindhi Community in Danger//Sindh in Hind

Survival of Sindhi Community in Danger

Published in 

  

  "Hindu Bhoomi" Sindhi Weekly dt. 02/08/2006, 

  "Sujag Sindhi" Weekly Devanagari dt. 20/02/2006, 

  "Samvad Sindhi" Hindi - Fortnightly Dt. 16-31 July 2007, Oct 1-15, 2011 and October 1-15, 2012, 

  "Akhand Sindhu Sansar" Monthly Dt. 01/04/2006, 

  “Challenge” Sindhi – dt. April 11, 2009, “Smarka” 2007 (Devnagari) (Chhatisgarh)

Today our Sindhi Culture, Heritage, Sanskriti and Language are passing through a crucial stage. We have sacrificed maximum in getting Independence of India, by giving away complete Sindh and leaving our soil forthwith, thus Sindhis should be treated as freedom fighters. On the contrary, however, the condition today is exactly the reverse. Step-motherly treatment is given to Sindhis and the Central Government has conveniently forgotten all the assurances and promises given to us by great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru etc. 

1. Nobody misses a chance to overpower Sindhis. Number of times our shops and houses have been looted or burnt particularly in M.P., Gujarat and Maharashtra. The sword of Damocles is still hanging over the heads for regularization of 855 buildings of nearly One Lakh Sindhis residing in Ulhasnagar. Since we are scattered all over India, our representatives cannot reach in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Assemblies and Municipalities by winning elections. No Vikas Board, University or T.V channels are established for Sindhis. No Sindhi is appointed as governor or Ambassador / High Commissioner etc. Sindhi Language is not printed on Currency Notes. No bank holiday is declared on ChetiChand Day. Leave aside other things, even trifle ‘Sindhi Jhanki’ is not permitted on the Republic Day. As a result, our community is drifting away from our rich culture, language and heritage. Neither the children are spoken to in Sindhi language nor are they sent to Sindhi Schools. This has resulted in the closure of Sindhi Schools and has brought a continuous fall in the number of Sindhi language readers. The dilemma of using two scripts has added fuel to the fire, making total ruination of our literature. One who sails in two boats simultaneously reaches nowhere. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. 

Friends, it is said that every problem has its solution; let us find out the solution of our problem and raise the pride of Sindhiyat more than ever before. For example, as for the diagnosis of a chronic disease, one has to go deep and find out its root cause, likewise to find out as to why we have reached such dreadful conditions, we have to refer back to the history of India.

2. The British Government separated Sindh from erstwhile Bombay Presidency in the year 1935 with an ulterior motive of creating seeds of partition with the connivance of the Muslim League. At the time of partition in 1947, though Bengalis got a part of Bengal state, Punjabis got a part of Punjab state, and although Hindus were in majority in at least in 3 districts / Talukas of Hyderabad, Karachi and Tharparkar, yet entire sindh having 5000 year old rich civilization and comprising of 55000 sq. miles was given away to Pakistan (in Dowry?). It was mainly due to the simple reason that our Sindhi leaders at that time were not farsighted and lacked adequate determination to push for getting a part of Sindh State. Though Gandhidham area was given to us at a later stage, all of us did not go there, as many of us were rehabilitated in different camps scattered in different parts of India and also, because some of us were partly economically established at those places. Consequently, we lost the chance of electing our own representatives in the political field. As per Congress resolution of 1935, linguistic states were formed in 1956 based on the recommendations of the Linguistic States Reorganization Commission. However we could not get our state then, as we were leaderless and were neither fully settled economically nor were we united. Time and again, various Sindhi organizations such as World Sindhi Congress (now United Sindhi Forum), Akhil Bharat Sindhi Samaj, Bharatiya Sindhu Sabha and later on Sindhi Council of India have been trying their level best to make representations to the Constitutional Review Commission and also to the Prime Minister of India, for getting their legitimate rights, but they have not yet been able to achieve anything perhaps because the government has rightly sensed the weakness of Sindhis i.e. disunity and no motivation to fight.

3. It is worth taking into account that though total population of Sikkim, Andaman Nicobar and Mizoram is 3,4 and 5 Lakhs respectively, yet each one of them has two elected members in Lok Sabha and over 30 elected members in State Assemblies. But in case of Sindh, with a population of 13 Lakhs before partition, we had at least two elected members in the then Central government and twenty-two elected members in the Sindh Assembly. Yet Alas! Today there is not a single Sindhi member – even nominated – in Lok Sabha, State Assemblies or Municipal Corporations and hence we don’t get anything out of five years plans. This step-motherly attitude of the Central Government is a complete betrayal of its promises given to us. Therefore we have become political orphans. 

4. There is popular proverb in our Language which says that, “One Stroke of an Ironsmith is equal to 100 strokes of a Goldsmith”. Therefore there is only one “Ramban” (Perfect) all-in-one solution for all these problems i.e. to get Sindh Land in India (or to get landless Sindhi State or to get at least reservation of linguistic minority political rights for the time being?). It is also remarkable that in case of every need, we have done many daring and enterprising wonders such as: progressing economically, establishing schools, colleges, hospitals, temples, etc. for the benefit of all communities. We have got Hinduja Brothers, NRI brothers like Shri Ram Buxani, Shri Murjmal Manghnani and other philanthropists who are always ready to help us. We have shined with bright colours in every field. We have greatly contributed in each and every field and in the development of the country at large. As compared to others, we are always ahead in paying government taxes. Whenever required, we have succeeded in Supreme Court & in front of other authorities in vacating an attempt to remove “Sindh” word from the National Anthem, an attempt to remove words “Sindhu Darshan Yatra” in Leh (Ladakh), an attempt to remove Sindhi Syllabus from Gujarat Educational Board and on many such other occasions by getting united, exhibiting courage & foresight. Recently we have demonstrated admirable unity in closing of all shops, railways, and bearing ‘Lathis’ for saving the 855 buildings in Ulhasnagar. This means if a situation genuinely demands, we have the capacity to persist till we succeed. Consequently, Maharashtra Government was pleased and persuaded at least to promulgate an Ordinance for the regularization of these buildings of Ulhasnagar (Through it yet remains to be finalized). 

5. I have personally visited over 150 cities & towns of India in the last 28 years and have met with the officials of important Sindhi organizations there. I have felt that the morale of Sindhis is very high particularly in small towns and Sindhi language is normally spoken proudly by them among themselves and in their homes. They are more advanced and enthusiastic in celebrating annual festivals like ChetiChand etc. as compared to the big cities. Therefore, my heroic Sindhi brethren! Remember it is never too late. If you have had the milk of a Sindhi mother and enjoyed her “Loli” (Lullaby) in your childhood, please compose your mind and plunge into this movement. It does not matter even if we may get only 5 villages (like the proverbial 5 villages demanded by Shri Krishna from Duryodhana for Pandavas before Mahabharata war). 

6. However, for that achievement we have first to submerge all our differences and misunderstandings among ourselves and get united by boosting our morale and will-power with fortitude. We should also form a co-coordinating body/High Command represented by all main Sindhi organizations of India and abroad. We have also to search and find out commendable Sindhi leaders with the qualities of selfless service, courage, foresight and humility etc. (as guided by Dada J.P.Vaswani).Then we should make a common minimum programme by consensus and obtain our legitimate cultural & political etc. rights by constitutional methods as per Articles 16,29,30,330,331,332,338,350 etc. of our esteemed Constitution as far as possible (or also by adopting other reasonable methods as the situation demands). It is said that even a mother does not give her milk to her child unless he/she cries (nowadays “fights”). So let us all stand together and voice our demands.

7. In addition, it is our sacred duty to talk in Sindhi with our children. Sindhi subject should be taught and made compulsory in at least the schools & colleges run by Sindhi managements. We should solve the two scripts problem by consensus, create interest for Sindhi language among young generation through electronic media and should not relax till we get Sindhi State/Land in India. The whole world can be stirred but there should be a worthy person to do so. Even if we get a deserted land, we can definitely make it an oasis as Jews have made their land Israel. However we have to persevere in maintaining sincere love for our land & language and be ready for making sacrifices like Jews.

8. Moreover, it has recently come to light (refer to Gyan Hemnani’s Facebook page and www.youngsindhis.blogspot.com) that Sindhi speaking areas are still in existence at Rajasthan-Sindh border as well as Kutch-Sindh border, where a Sindhi state can easily be formed with the help of the local Sindhi masses (sons of the soil). NRI Sindhi brothers  can be persuaded to open new industries and other business establishments for these Sindhi masses (please also refer to “Sindh in Hind” in this book or on our website “www.fragrancesindhicommunity.blogspot.in”). Even if we get a small land like that of Gandhidham, all our problems will automatically be solved. It may not be necessary for all Sindhis to go there. Some may go there & other affluent Sindhis can purchase buildings and plots there. Even all “Sindhworkis” stayed outside Sindh in pre-partition days. Even otherwise, nobody has migrated/shifted after formation of the recent states (like Telangana mentioned in para 10 below). During vacation time when all students go to their native place, where can Sindhi students go? At least then they can even boast of going to their native place like their friends from other states! 

9. Not only that, today there has been an attack on the word “Sindh “in National Anthem and the word “Sindhu Darshan” yatra in Leh (Ladakh) as well as attack on Right of Indian Citizenship of Sindhis in Chhatisgarh State. Who knows tomorrow there could be a possible attack on inclusion of Sindhi language in National Educational Board (as once it unsuccessfully occurred in Gujarat State recently) and then there could be an attack on inclusion of Sindhi language in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution of India and our very existence would be at stake. If there is fundamentalism on linguistic basis in the country, where will Sindhis go? (As it has happened a number of times in Maharashtra when non-Maharashtrians were asked to leave Mumbai!).Will we go under the Arabian Sea? Is this the “compensation” of sacrificing whole Sindh by all Sindhis that they have become escape goats? Therefore, we have to achieve our goal under any circumstances even if by sacrificing our life. No one gets anything significant without any sacrifice. For example, Andhra Pradesh State was formed in 1956 after the sacrifice of life through fast-unto-death by Shri Sri Ramulo.

10. Recently when new states of Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Chhatisgarh and Telangana can be formed, why can’t Sindhi community with the total strength of over 70 Lakh, get their own State particularly when they had their own State in pre-partition days? As we cannot pardon past Sindhi leaders for unintelligently “donating” complete Sindh, similarly if we now don’t acquire Sindh State in India, then the next generation will intensely curse us. Moreover, we can consult famous advocates like Shri Ram Jethmalani, Ram Panjwani etc. to fight legally by filing a Writ Petition in the Honorable Supreme Court and/or by moving an amendment bill in the Parliament by creating such public opinion etc. to achieve our object. I am quite sure that after considering all these avenues, if we take some practical steps in this direction with a strong will and determination, God willing, we will be able to achieve our aim and thus all our problems will be automatically solved. 

Mohan G. Rohira, Advocate
Mobile: 09321448147

Sindh in Hind

Q: Seeing the conditions in the nation today, and seeing the politics being played, is it possible for Sindhis to demand a state of their own from the central government?  If yes, what are the means to do so?

A: Absolutely positively, as this article points out. First of all, readers are requested to read my previous article “Survival of Sindhi Community in Danger” on my blog at “www.fragrancesindhicommunity.blogspot.in”, which has also been published in several newspapers. 

1)      It is said that every problem generally has a solution, every illness a cure. Nothing is impossible in this wonderful world.  To make any movement successful, three types of personalities are required: a) Financiers  b) Intellectuals with foresight c) Activists who can make sacrifices.  There are many of the first two types of people in the Sindhi community.  The third type, activists or revolutionaries willing to make sacrifices, are few and far between. These will have to be created.  A strong association composed of dedicated, selfless, determined and far-sighted persons of the same mindset will have to be established to achieve the objective (of a Sindhi state). To achieve this goal, finances will have to be raised and a campaign will have to be carried out on electronic media and the Internet to form a strong lobby of Sindhis worldwide. In addition, we will need to engage the services of Sindhi writers and lecturers and create and distribute their talks and presentations in the form of booklets and audio/video recordings including CDs and DVDs.  This should be our short-term strategy. The pen is mighter than the sword.

2) It takes time to plant a coconut tree or a mango tree and nourish it till it yields fruit. So too, our long-term strategy must involve planting the seeds of spirituality, patriotism, sacrifice and Sindhiyat in children.  We need to build children’s centres (shishu mandirs) where the services of Sindhi social workers are availed of to present audio/video recordings to children and plant these samskaras in them.  This will also help to develop their will-power so that we can create fearless leaders like Netaji, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap, Baba Ramdev, Narendra Modi etc. in the long run.  We will also have to create enlightened teachers who groom their disciples, such as Sri Krsna and Arjuna, Chanakya and Chandragupta, Samarth Guru Ramdas/Jijamata and Shivaji, and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Narendra (Vivekananda), though this will definitely take time and we have to keep patience. The Jews gained Israel after centuries, because they made sacrifices and passed on these virtues of  sacrifice, patience and faith to younger generations.  The mind has unlimited power, a single spark can burn down an entire forest.  If we can create one Swami Vivekananda, one Netaji, one Baba Ramdev, or one Narendra Modi in the Sindhi community, he can give rise to thousands of revolutionaries, and we can achieve our objective of getting a Sindhi state in India, “Sind mein Hind”.  “Duniya jhukti hai, jhukanewala chahiye”.  One Sreeramulu sacrificed his life which led to the creation  of the state of Andhra Pradesh. Nothing happens without sacrifice.  Netaji used to say: “Give me your blood and I will give you freedom”.

(3) In his book “Vedanta Treatise”, Sri Parthasarathy has provided a fine example which helps us to develop will-power, described below. In this bright and beautiful world, God has created crores of human beings, who number approximately 700 crores at this time, whose nature, face, voice, fingerprints etc. are all different, differing even from those dead or yet to be born. But all these human beings can be classified into four categories:  1) “active good” 2) “active bad” 3) “passive good” 4) “passive bad”. There is no category other than these. Both active varieties use the intellect, while both passive varieties do not use the intellect.

(1) An example of “active good” is Sri Krsna.  But for him, the Mahabharata war would not have been won by the Pandavas.  In this war, on his advice, the Kauravas were killed by fair and foul means (sama, dama, danda and bheda) which were deemed to be justified in order to establish dharma. The same policy was adopted by Chanakya, Shivaji, Netaji etc. In the last example of Netaji, the enemy of an enemy was treated as a friend. 

(2) An example of “active bad” is Duryodhana.  But for him, the Mahabharata war would not have taken place at all.

(3) An example of “passive good” is Raja Yudhisthira. No matter how truthful and principled he was, he was not a good politician in practice.  Nor did he have foresight. Even though he had lost even himself in a high-stake game of dice, he subsequently staked his wife Draupadi.

(4) An example of “passive bad” is Dushasana.  At the order of Duryodhana, he attempted to disrobe Draupadi without success. He would have even given his life for Duryodhana upon his order without using his own intellect.

From these 4 categories of human beings, it can be seen that we Sindhis (or Hindus) are exactly like Raja Yudhisthira. Till we become “active good” (physically, legally or using will power), we will keep getting defeated, and we will not achieve our objectives. The government too has checked the pulse of our community  and seen that in this community, there is no unity or strength to fight in any manner.  We restrict ourselves to memos and agitations, but do not go further in our objects, like a cry in the wilderness.  For this reason, Sindhis, particularly the young generation, will have to be trained to be leaders and increase their will-power.

There are many other examples of how will-power can be developed. Some of these are now described below.

(4) It is said that we Sindhis are expert at imitating each other, like jackals, particularly in business (but in a destructive manner). This too requires some level of skill.  Instead we should emulate qualities that are worth emulating. For example, some communities such as Muslims, Marathas and Khalsas are united, which is worth emulating by the Sindhi community. Have we ever considered that they use the same food, water and air as we do? Is their blood blood and our blood water? Or do they have four arms and four legs?  Those who took a courageous stand managed to establish new states such as Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and now Telangana etc. Then why cannot we Sindhis emulate them and get a Sindhi state in India on these lines, especially when we already had a Sindh state in undivided India? Due to which our case is stronger or more solid than that of others. Like Marathas, Gujaratis, Bengalis and Tamilians, we too are a sub-nation. We have been deprived of the  rights that they have enjoyed and we have been betrayed.  Sri Krishna indicates to Arjuna in the Gita “It is sheer foolishness not to assert your rights, punishing even a friend is justified to get justice”  (in the words of Rashtra Kavi Shri Maithili Sharan Gupta in his book ‘Jaidrath Vadha’. अधिकार खोकर बैठ रहना यह बड़ा दुष्कर्म है | न्यायार्थ अपने बंधु को भी दण्ड देना धर्म है ||)  This implies that tolerating a crime is a greater sin than committing a crime. A fight should not necessarily be physical,we can fight the government via satyagraha (like Mahatma Gandhi) or legally, or by creating consensus, or through dinner diplomacy, by agitation etc., by whatever language the government understands. Even a  mother doesn’t feed her child till it cries (or nowadays, fights).  There can be amendments made to the law.  Everything is possible, but it requires firm determination, faith, unity, will-power and steadfastness. Our so-called leaders at the time of partition, due to passiveness and a lack of foresight or a spirit of self-sacrifice, or possibly caught up in dreams of  gaining political office in the future India, lost the whole of Sindh.  The generations of today are suffering the consequences. Our rich,  ancient civilization  of Mohenjo Daro days which flourished on the banks of the Sindhu river, where rishis/munis composed the Vedas, is slowly disintegrating.  The government is ignoring even our reasonable and legitimate rights, such as providing a DD channel in Sindhi or allowing a Sindhi jhanki on Republic Day, etc. (as mentioned in my article “Survival of Sindhi community in danger” at www.fragrancesindhicommunity.blogspot.in). Just as we cannot forgive these so-called leaders, the coming generation will also curse us if we do not make any attempt in establishing a Sindhi state with courage, intelligence and boldness. 

(5) In order to increase our will power, we have before us the example of the lion.  On the one side, one lion, and on the other, twenty he-buffaloes.  Even though the he-buffalo is more powerful than the lion, the poor animal does not have as much courage as the lion.  Even 100 he-buffaloes cannot confront a single lion.

(6) If Guru Gobind Singh was able to create the Khalsa Panth with the “5 pyaaras” (who were willing to sacrifice their lives), Dr. Hegdewar was able to create a robust organization like the RSS with swayamsevaks, Baba Ramdev headed a major movement in the country, and Anna Hazare, an old and poor man, made the Lok Sabha stay up till the late hour of 12 am and get the Lok Pal bill passed, Shri Narendra Modi ran a highly successful election campaign across the length and breadth of the nation, then can we not give rise to a “mai ka laal” in our community who can get us a Sindhi state in India even at the cost of his life? Especially when according to government and non-government sources,  Sindhi is by and large spoken in the border districts of Rajasthan and Kurch bordering Sindh, and a Sindhi state can easily be formed there (Visit Gyan Hemnani’s blog at www.youngsindhis.blogspot.com).

If Sindh Pradesh is formed, Sindhis do not necessarily have to migrate to it. Nobody has migrated to the recently formed states mentioned above. It is not necessary to do so. Even if a special team of Sindhis carries out more land surveys in the above border areas, we can get more information on Sindhi-speaking areas. We can persuade NRI Sindhi brethren to establish factories and other sources of employment there and with the cooperation of the Sindhi population there, we can successfully conduct a campaogn for creating a Sindhi state in that area (refer to last para of the article “8 Cities of West Rajashtan” in my blog).

(7) History is witness to the fact that we are a brave community like the Rajputs.  We are the sons of Raja Daher Sen, but have forgotten our background, just like the proverbial lion raised among lambs who began to think of itself as a lamb, but awoke to its reality. Therefore, my brave Sindhi brethren, let us be lions.  If you have suckled at  your Sindhi mother’s breast and heard her lullaby (see “Survival of                Sindhi Community in Danger”), then come forward and join this movement.  It doesn’t matter if we get only five villages, like the proverbial five villages that Sri Krsna requested for the Pandavas. For this, we need to bury all our differences and with a firm determination and awakening our willpower, we should stand united. In addition, we should form a confederation or mahasangh ( coordinating body) of all major Sindhi organizations and look for and cultivate good leaders (in the words of Dada Jashan Vaswani: those who have an attitude of selfless service, are fearless and ego-less, have humility and foresight), then after creating unanimity/consensus and adopting the methods described above fight for the above legitimate rights from the government, according to the Constitution, particularly paras 29 and 30, 330, 331, 332, 338, 347, and 350, and ultimately obtain a Sindh Pradesh in Bharat itself. Till that time, we should not rest. Only then will all our problems be solved.  “One stroke by an ironsmith is equivalent to 100 strokes of a goldsmith”. We have to water the roots of the tree of Sindhiyat rather than its leaves.  The tree of Sindhiyat will not survive permanently without a base (soil). Just like Arjuna of the Mahabharata, we have to focus on the eye of the bird till the objective is attained. God helps those who help themselves. I am dead sure that the Sindhi youth will fulfill our dreams and all our problems will be automatically solved.

Mohan G. Rohira, Advocate

(English translation with the assistance of Anil G. Gidwani)