Over sixty two years ago, on a BLACK Fourteenth August, owing to dismemberment of United India and forcible conversion of sufi-secular Sindh into part of theocratic State of Pakistan, Sindhis were compelled to disperse and settle in every nook and corner of remaining Indian territory.
While leaving behind, their hearth and home in their Mother Province, Sindhis believed that new Indian Dominion would be a well knit entity, divided only into administrative units. They dreamt to be full members of an egalitarian Indian Society, where they would be equal partners to shape the destiny of new Indian nation, without distinction of origin, region, caste, creed and sub nationality.
But, alas, their hopes were shattered to pieces. With the creation of linguistic provinces, ‘MOTHER INDIA’ became ‘GRAND MOTHER INDIA’ – Assam, Bengal, Punjab, Gujrat etc. playing the role of MOTHERS of respective child communities residing there. In this sordid step of disunity (enthusiastically called Diversity), while every other national community got her mother, physically present, ‘Mother Sindh’ found her place only in National Anthem. Sindh child, thus became orphan for time indefinite. This was second time in single century, Sindhis stood betrayed.
In retrospect, during pre-independence period, Sindhis trusted national leadership for taking care of their interests. In fact, they never thought in terms of parochialism, regionalism and communalism. They considered themselves Indian first and Sindhis last. They could never foresee, even in their remotest thoughts, that this selfless idealism, would bring disastrous results in the form of truncated Independent India- throwing their own mother to wolves – their wholesale exile and slavery for their compatriots, left in Sindh.
Post – partition period i.e. past six decades, for Indian Sindhis narrates the unpublished story of their heroic struggle against all odds, struggle for resettlement – nay for existence with self respect intact. They started from scratch – homeless and penniless as they were.
Today, by the dint of sheer enterprise and miraculous business acumen, the Sindhi Community in India is one of the prosperous communities – yet homeless-motherless and isolated. They are earning millions worth Materialistic wealth, but loosing billions worth treasure of five thousand years old language, culture, literature and civilization. They are owners of skyscraper buildings, yet they are virtually paupers, as they have no land, which they can call their own, as, their home is, where they live. Sindhi Hindus now live in over 75 countries, yet they feel homeless like Palestinian Arabs, like Tibetans in India, in absence of any self governed territory.
But, what they can do to liberate their motherland. Being patriotic, they cannot do anything which may cause embarrassment to Indian National Leadership. They can only hope that one day, their unmatched sacrifices and selfless patriotism would be recognized and concrete steps would be taken to safeguard their linguistic, cultural, economic and political interests. This would be possible only when echo of their voice reaches in the corridors of power, through their representatives in various parliamentary forums like Municipal Corporations, Zila Parishad, State Assemblies, State Councils, Parliament and Cabinets. But, it is well…. nigh Impossible to send their representatives in good numbers, at-least in proportion to their population. Firstly, because Sindhis are scattered and secondly because of Indian Society being ridden with castism, communalism, parochialism and regionalism.
The only alternative is to accord it, the status of ‘National Minority’ and to reserve adequate seats in various parliamentary forums, in proportion to their population.
Besides, it may also be advisable to establish one Central Sindhi Assembly at any place having considerable Sindhi population, like Gandhidham (Gujrat), Ajmer (Rajasthan) or Ulhasnagar (Maharashtra). This assembly will be elected on the basis of adult franchise by the entire population of Indian Sindhi community, at the rate of one member per twenty five thousand Sindhi voters or part thereof. But unlike other State Assemblies, it will only be a sort of debating forum, passing resolutions, pertaining to entire gamut of problems faced by Sindhis – linguistic, cultural, economic, political etc., all over India. These resolutions would be forwarded to concerned governments, state and central, for implementation.
This arrangement although does not fulfill the legitimate aspirations of Sindhi community, but atleast, would give them a sense of participation in the democratic main stream of Indian Polity, from which it has been lying cut off, for all these years, since Independence. This would further consolidate the solidarity of Indian Nation.
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