SHORT STORY OF SINDHIS

If you look into the political maps of India, printed between 1935 and 1947, you would find a small province of eight districts, on the western tip, called Sind or Sindh. The natives of this province are known as Sindhis, whose mother tongue is Sindhi language, whatever be their religion & place of present inhabitance.
In this small article, I would be telling the story of these Sindhis­­ ---------------- story of suffering silently & story of betrayal by their own countrymen, their own compatriots. Who for half century shouted at top of their voice – “Bharat Mata ki Jai”, but on one black fourteenth mid-night of August, 1947, agreed to murder this very “Bharat Mata” by cutting her into three pieces.
Sindhis, thereby, became foreigners in the lap of their own mother, as SHE herself was thrown to wolves. Never before in the history of world, had people seen the replacement and displacement of masses. They had seen the ouster of Kings and “Rajas” only, but not of their subjects – their “Praja”.
Sindhis were, thus, ousted from their hearths and homes, for no fault of theirs to live the lives of ‘KHANABADOSHS’ in the vast ocean like land of partitioned India.
Now, let us read the story of discrimination. India was partitioned to provide home for Indian Muslims, Punjab was partitioned to provide home for Punjabi Hindus, Bengal was partitioned to provide home for Bengali Hindus but Sindh was not partitioned to deny home for Sindhi Hindus. Nobody cared to know their wishes. Nobody even bothered to respect their right of self-determination. There was referendum in N.W.F.P., but not in Sindh. There was referendum in the sole Muslim majority district of Sylhet in the Hindu majority province of Assam, but no referendum in the sole Hindu majority district of Tharparkar in the muslim majority province of Sindh.
Sindhis were, thus, doomed to live the lives of ‘REFUGEES’ till eternity.
Then, started the story of struggle-------struggle for existence, struggle for sustenance, struggle for bread, struggle for resettlement in unknown pastures. Sindhis by dint of diligence & business acumen succeeded to defeat the odds and solved to a great extent, their economic problems, but at what cost? At the cost, which cannot be calculated. At the cost of their four thousand year old culture, at the cost of their rich language, at the cost of their ownself, at the cost of their ‘IDENTITY’.
Sindhis thus became ‘PAUPERS’ in their skyscrapers. To sum up, I would narrate the story in present tense----the current story. This is the story of aloofness from mainstream of national life, story of their de-recognition by national leadership, story of their virtual write off.
Fifty lakhs Sindhis, living within the borders of partitioned India, have hardly any representation in the numerous democratic institutions. Their voice never reaches to the ears of those who are at the helm of affairs. National press hardly take notice of their seminars, their conferences, their cultural activities or their praiseworthy role in building Indian economy and past glorious role in Indian freedom struggle.
Radio and Television, has no time to spare for Sindhi speaking citizens, as they have to divide the working time among national and provincial programmes. How can they accommodate Sindhi programme, which is neither national nor provincial?
“APNA UTSAV” can include ‘Utsavs’ of all the twenty eight provincial cultures and few Union territory cultures, but not the ex-provincial culture of Sindhis.
Republic Day parade in the national capital depicts the ‘Jhankis’ of all small and big Indian nationalities minus Sindhi nationality. So Sindhis are completely ignored.
These circumstances produce the real danger of the extinction of Sindhi species, like Red Indians of America.
Nation is concerned for preserving the ‘Gir Lions’. Nation is concerned for preserving wild life species. Nation is concerned for preserving French culture in Pondicherry and Portugees culture in Goa. But nation is unconcerned for the preservation of the oldest national culture, that is, the culture of the natives of Mohan-Jo-Daro.
So, Sindhis have no alternate but to awake from long slumber and depend on themselves to achieve their due place in the national mainstream.
The beginning of the end of all stories would be to resettle at the feet of our own mother, who is languishing in the dingy cell of prison, ever since her own mother, the ‘Bharat Mata’ was assassinated in 1947. The place I indicate is the soil of Kutchh, adjoining our native land, who native inhabitants speak the language, which is the only dialect of Sindhi language. This is the place, where voice of river Sindh is audible. This is the place, where Sindhis can hear the voice of their enslaved mother. This is the only Sindhi speaking territory in entire partitioned India.