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Sindhis (Sindhi: سنڌي ) (Urdu: سندھی ) are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province of Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Muslim, Zorastrian, Hindus and Christians. After the Partition of India in 1947, a large number of Indian Muslim refugees (Muhajirs) flocked into Pakistan and settled in the prosperous Sindh region. At the same time Sindhi Hindus migrated to India in large numbers.
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History
Ancient history
The original inhabitants of ancient Sindh were believed to be aboriginal tribes speaking languages of the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BC. The ancient civilization centered around the towns whose modern names are Mohenjodaro and Harappa (both names are derived from the modern Sindhi language - the language of the Indus Valley Civilization remains undeciphered).
The Indus Valley Civilization went into decline for reasons that are not entirely known. Their decline coincided with the arrival of Aryan tribes from Central Asia. The Indo-Aryans are believed to have founded the Vedic Civilization that have existed between Sarasvati River and Ganges river around 1500 BC. This civilization helped shape subsequent cultures in the South Asia.
Muslim travelers, specifically the great Persian scholar Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī (Al-Beruni) in his book Kitab-ul-Hind, has declared that even before the advent of Islam into Sindh (711 A.D.), the Sindhi language was prevalent in Sindh.[citation needed]
Arrival of Islam
In the year 711 Sindh was conquered by Umayyad Arabs from Damascus, led by the young Muhammad bin Qasim . Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate Referred to as Al-Sindh on Arab maps with lands further east known as Hind". Muslim geographers, historians and travellers such as al-Masudi, al-Tabari, Baladhuri, al-Biruni and Ibn Battutah wrote about or visited the region and also sometimes used the name "Sindh" for the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush.
By the twelfth century Sindhi sailors from the port city of Debal voyaged to Basra, Bushehr, Musqat, Aden, Kilwa, Sofala, Malabar, Sri Lanka and Java.
Direct Arab rule ended with the ascension of the local Soomro dynasty, and they were the first local Sindhi Muslims to translate the Quran into the Sindhi language. The Soomros controlled Sindh directly as vassals the Abbasids from 1058 to 1249.
Sindh was also ruled by Muhammad Ibn Tughluq, his descendants and various other figures until the year 1524.
Post 712 A.D.till 1947
Because of its location at the Western edge of South Asia, Sindh was one of the earliest regions in the Indian subcontinent to be influenced by Islam. It was part of the Islamic empires of the Abbasids and Umayyids. Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and Sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in Sindh. Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting millions of native Sindhis to Islam. Settled by Turks, Pashtuns, and Mughals, Sindh continued to evolve as a frontier state and by the time of British colonial occupation was ruled by Baloch kings.[3]
Partition and mass exodus of Hindu Sindhis
In 1947, with the departure of the British from India, the state of Pakistan was created out of the Muslim-majority provinces of British India. All of Sindh was allotted to Pakistan. According to the 1941 census, 25% of the population of the province of Sindh was Hindu, about 23% was made up of Sindhi Baloch tribes and nearly one-third was Muslim[citation needed]. Most of the Hindu Sindhis were city dwellers and were over-represented in the fields of trade and commerce. A number of Sindhi Hindus opted to remain in Sindh even after Partition, because there was no history of conflict between Hindu and Muslim Sindhis. However, when waves of Muslim refugees from India (known as Muhajirs) started to pour into Sindh, violence erupted on the streets. Many Hindu Sindhis were forced to flee Sindh leaving everything behind. [4] Popati Hiranandani, a Sindhi Hindu writes in her autobiography[5] that the local police were complicit in the anti-Hindu violence. After the mass exodus of Hindus, their property was taken over by Mohajirs, making it impossible for them to return. These Hindus were settled in refugee camps in India, and went on to assimilate into the local population, mainly in Western India. The city of Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra, India presently houses a large number of Sindhis which served as a refugee camp for Sindhis who fled from Pakistan.[6]
Modern history after independence of Pakistan
On 14 August 1947 Pakistan gained independence from colonial British colonial rule. The province Sindh attained self rule, the first time since the defeat of Sindhi Talpur Amirs in the Battle of Miani on 17 February 1843. The first challenge faced by the Government of Sindh was the settlement of Muslim refugees. Nearly 7 million Muslims from India migrated to Pakistan while nearly equal number of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan migrated to India. The Muslim refugees known as Muhajirs from India settled in most urban areas of Sindh. Sindh at the time of partition was home to a large number of Hindus who accounted for 23% of the total population of the province. They were more concentrated in the urban centres of the province and had a strong hold on the province's economy and business. Although the relations between the local Muslims and Hindus were good but with the arrival of Muslim refugees in the urban centres of the province, Hindus started to feel unsafe. Many of Sindh's Hindu community where further enticed by their co-relgionists in India to depart with all their belongings and financial capital to further cripple the new nation.
Sindh did not witness any massive level genocide as other parts of the Subcontinent (especially Punjab region) did, comparatively there were few incidents of riots in Karachi and Hyderabad but over all situation remained peaceful mainly due to the efforts of the Muslim Chief Minister of Sindh Mr. Ayub Khuhro. According to 1998 census, there were 2.3 million Hindus in Sindh forming around 7% of the total population of the province[7]. Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan (i.e caste Hindus accounting for 86% of the total Hindu population of Pakistan as of 1998 census) are mainly into small to medium sized businesses. They are mainly traders, retailer/wholesalers, builders as well as into the fields of medical, engineering, law and financial services. However the scheduled caste Hindus (Dalits) are in a poorer state with most of them as bonded labour in the rural areas of the province. Most of the Muslim refugees are settled in urban areas of Sindh especially in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Since Pakistan's Independence in 1947, Sindh has been the destination of a continuous stream of migration from South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Burma, and Afghanistan as well as Pashtun and Punjabi immigrants from the North West Frontier Province and the Punjab Province of Pakistan to Karachi. This is due to the fact that Karachi is the economic magnet of Pakistan attracting people from all over Pakistan. Many native Sindhis resent this influx. Nonetheless, traditional Sindhi families remain prominent in Pakistani politics, especially the Bhutto, Zardari and Soomro dynasties. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan, was from Karachi, of Gujarati descent.
Sindhi Nationalist movement
The mass arrival of millions of indian refugees, known as Muhajirs and the later influx of Pashtun and Punjabi immigrants to Karachi and other parts of Sindh caused a great deal of resentment among the local Sindhi population. In 1972 the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz movement was founded by G M Syed[8]. The aim of this movement was the liberation of Sindh and ethnic Sindhis from Pakistan. G M Syed was placed under house arrest until his death on 25 April 1995[9]. In spite of this, traditional Sindhi families remain prominent in Pakistani politics, especially the Bhutto dynasty. In recent years Sindhi dissatisfaction has grown over issues such as the construction of large dams, perceived discrimination in military and government jobs, provincial autonomy and overall revenue shares. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto further complicated matters. Nonetheless, Sindhis have actively participated in the bureaucracy of Pakistan, and many have attained senior positions. Recent changes in army recruitment have seen an increase in the number of Sindhis serving in the Pakistani armed forces.[10]
Ethnicity
Original Inhabitants and later migrants
Ethnic Sindhis are the direct descendants of the Great Sindhu Kingdom and followed Hinduism. Over the centuries the name of Sindhu has taken many forms: Indus, Indos, India, Sindhus, Sindhos, Sinthos, Hindus, Hindos, Hindu, Hind, Hindustan.
As regards the composition of the Non Ethnic Sindhi population the two main stocks that inhabited Sind are related to, and common, one with the Punjab and another with Balochistan. The majority stock is that of Rajputs and Jats who are the partial descendants of Sakas, Kushans and Huns. During Kalhora rule a number of Jat tribes such as the Sials, Joyas and Khawars came from the Punjab and settled in Sindh. They are called Sirai i.e., people from the north, and speak Siraiki, a group that overlaps and is sometimes considerable transitional between the Punjabis and Sindhis.
The two main Rajput tribes of Sind are: the Samma, descendants of the Samma Dynasty tha ruled Sindh during (1351 - 1521 A.D.); and the Sumra, descendants of the Sumra Dynasty who ruled Sindh during (750 - 1350 A.D.). Among other Sindhi Rajputs are the Bhachos, Bhuttos, Bhattis, Buriros, Lakha, Sahetas, Lohanas, Mohano, Dahars, Indhar, Chachar, Dhareja, Rathors, Dakhan, Langah etc.
The smaller stock is that of Balochi tribes settled in various parts of Sindh mostly during the last five hundred years or so. Since they were martial people and ruled over Sindh for some time before the arrival of the British, they acquired vast lands in the province with the result that a large number of present-day Sindhi landlords are of Baloch origin. According to the 1941 census, which was the last one held before independence, Balochis formed 23% of the total population of Sindh. Balochi tribes are spread over Balochistan, Sindh and the south-western districts of the Punjab. This group is almost entirely Muslim.
A third sub-stock of the Sindhi population comprises the descendants of Muslim conquerors, administrators and missionaries who were Arabs, Persians, Afghans and Turks (including the Mughals). They are a small minority settled in cities and towns and have largely blended with the other components of the population and yet maintain something of a sub-culture and are often referred to as Ashraf or the noble. Of this third element, Muslim Arabs have possibly contributed the most to the development of the modern Sindhi language and literature and to the advancement of its intellectual and cultural activities.
Another group of people who are largely overlooked in any discussions about groups and culture of Sindh are Haris a name derived from the term Harijan formerly used to describe Dalit people of India. These people are generally believed to be the descendants of indigenous populations that were enslaved by various invading people. Many are still living under abject poverty and in slave like conditions in rural Sindh, because of the benign neglect and only nominal efforts by the government to improve the situation. Some are nominally Hindus where as others have converted to Islam and moved on as artisans and wage laborers.
The last group of immigrants are the Urdu speaking Muhajirs who settled in Sindh after the Partition of India.[11]
Islamic influence
With Sindh’s stable prosperity and its strategic geographical possession, it is not surprising that it was subject to successive onslaughts by foreign invaders. The Arabs persistently attempted to conquer the country but were unsuccessful until 712 A.D., when Sindh was annexed into the Arab empire and became the ‘Arabian gateway’ into India (later to become known as Babul Islam, the gate of Islam). After the conquest by the Arabs, the people of Sindh were influenced by the new faith of Islam. [12]
Islamic Sindhi culture is a combination of Islamic traditions and local traditions with variances that include an adherence to a Muslim diet, i.e. Halal. Sindhi culture also absorbed considerable Arab cultural influence as well as that of the Iranian Baloch who still comprise a significant minority that have assimilated well with the Sindhis. Sindh is home to the Hindus who have remained in Pakistan as well as other religious groups such as Parsis. Muslim Sindhis tend to follow the Sunni sect, but Shia Muslims are a substantial minority.
Sindhi language
The immediate predecessor of Sindhi was an Apabhramsha Prakrit named Vrachada. Arab and Persian travellers, specifically Abu-Rayhan Biruni in his book 'Mal al-Hind', had declared that even before the advent of Islam in Sindh (711 A.D.), the language was prevalent in the region. It was not only widely spoken but written in three different scripts -- Ardhanagari, Saindhu and Malwari, all variations of Devanagari. Biruni has described many Sindhi words leading to the conclusion that the Sindhi language was widely spoken and rich in vocabulary in his time.
Sindhi was a very popular literary language between the 14th and 18th centuries. This is when sufis such as Shah Abdul Latif, Sachal Sarmast,Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (as well as numerous others) narrated their theosophical poetry depicting the relationship between humans and God.
During the British period, traders and common people—including Khojas and Memons -- were using Devanagari, Modi or Khudabadi Script (later known as Vanika script), without any vowels for writing Sindhi, while government employees used some kind of Arabic script.The Khudabadi script was invented by Khudabadi Sindhi Swarankar community. The members of the Swarnakar community, while residing in Khudabad, around 1750, felt it necessary to invent a very simple script so that they can send written messages to their relations, who were living far away from them in their own home towns. This necessity mothered the invention/creation of a new script. The new script had no vowels and to be written from left to right (like Sanskrit) and continued to be in use for very long period of time among Khudabadi Sindhi Swarankar. Due to its simplicity, the use of this script spread very quickly and got acceptance in other sindhi communities, for sending written communications. Even, The Education Department of Sindh, on advice of Directors of British East India Co., directed Hindu Sindhi Schools to employ Khudabadi Script for teaching. Because it was originated from Khudabad, it was called Khudabadi script and later on, was known as Vanika and Hatkai, because it was mainly used by traders and shopkeepers, till 1947. The Khudabadi Script could not survive because it had no vowels.
In 1849 the first English-Sindhi dictionary was written in the Devanagari script.
According to Sindhi tradition, the first translation of the Quraan into Sindhi was made by in 270/883 by an Arab scholar. The first extant Sindhi translation was done by Akhund 'Azaz Allah Mutta'lawi (1160-124011747-1824) and first published in Gujrat in 1870. The first to appear in print was by Muhammad Siddlq (Lahore 1867).
Culture
Sindhi names
Muslim Sindhis tend to have traditional Muslim names, but sometimes with localized variations.
Hindu Sindhis tend to have surnames that end in '-ani' which is a variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansh', which means 'descended from'. The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of'), are also common. A person's surname would consist of the name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'.
Sufism
Sindhis culture has been strongly influenced by Sufism. Jhulelal, the Sufi pioneer of Sindh, is revered by both Hindus and Muslims. A common greeting among Sindhis "Jhulelal Bera-Hee-Paar".[13]
Notable Sindhis
Politics
Pakistan's political scene is dominated by Sindhi politicians like
- G M Syed
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, former Prime Minister
- Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Muhammad Khan Junejo, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, former Prime Minister of Pakistan
- Asif Zardari, President of Pakistan
- Muhammad Mian Soomro, who served as President, Prime Minister and Senate chairman. In the province of Sindh, Sindhis have been dominant in the government and its various departments.
In India
- Lal Krishna Advani, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party
- Arun Jaitley and
- Ram Jethmalani are some of the notable Sindhi Politians.
Before partition, important Sindhi politicians included Dodo Bin Khafef Soomro III, Raja Dahir, Darya Khan Rind, Soreh Badshah, Hoshu Sheedi and Hemu Kalani.
Entertainment
The famous Sindhis in Bollywood include: Aftab Shivdasani, Jackky Bhagnani, Vashu Bhagnani, Tarun Mansukhani, Ritesh Sidhwani, Rajkumar Hirani , Gopal Raghani, Dalip Tahil[14], Jatin Lalwani, Ramesh Taurani, Nikhil Advani, Sadhana Shivdasani, Babita, Sangeeta Bijlani, Hiten Tejwani, Shilpa Saklani, Preeti Jhangiani, Kitu Gidwani, Hansika Motwani, Ramesh Sippy, G. P. Sippy, Rohan Sippy, Ramsay Brothers, Govind Nihalani, Vishal Dadlani, Ehsaan Noorani and comedian Asrani.
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See also
References
- ^ Population Census Organization, Government of Pakistan - Population by Mother Tongue
- ^ Ethnologue report for India
- ^ Sindhi Language and Literature
- ^ http://www.iccs.edu/HEJ/History%20of%20Sindh.html
- ^ Popati Hiranandani, one of the best-known Sindhi women writers, born in 1924 in Hyderabad, Sind
- ^ http://www.sindhishaan.com/ourroots/sindhi_statistics.htm
- ^ Hindu Population in Pakistan according to 1998 census. Pakistan Hindu Concil
- ^ Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz
- ^ G. M. Syed - A national leader of the Sindhi people who struggled for human rights, democracy, secularism and freedom of Sindh
- ^ The Destabilization of Pakistan
- ^ The People and the land of Sindh
- ^ http://www.usindh.edu.pk/shaikh_ayaz_conf_07/sindh.html Historical perspective of Sindhis
- ^ http://www.jhulelal.com/infotainment/story.html About Jhule Lal Sai
- ^ http://www.sindhiinfo.com/actor.asp Sindhism in Bollywood
External links
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