Sindhudesh
Encyclopedia
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, for the creation of a Sindhi state, which would either be independent from, or autonomous within Pakistan. It was conceived by senior Sindhi political leader G. M. Syed
G. M. Syed
G. M. Syed was a political leader who pioneered the Jeay Sindh movement for the freedom of Sindh from Pakistan. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Sindhi nationalism...
. A Sindhi literary movement emerged in 1967 under the leadership of Syed and Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi
Ali Muhammad Rashidi
Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi was a Pakistani politician, scholar, bureaucrat, journalist and well-known writer. He was from Rashdi Syed, those are calculated in Lakyari Syed's branch. He was elder brother of scholar Pir Hassam-ud-Din Rashdi....
, in opposition to the One Unit
One Unit
One-Unit was the title of a scheme launched by the federal government of Pakistan to merge the four provinces of West Pakistan into one homogenous unit, as a counterbalance against the numerical domination of the ethnic Bengalis of East Pakistan...
policy, the imposition of Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
by the central government and to the presence of a large number of Mohajir (Indian Muslim refugees) settled in their province. During the 1970 national election campaign, Syed proposed the formation of an autonomous Sindhudesh within a loosely federated Pakistan. The movement for Sindhi language and identity led by Syed drew inspiration from the Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
language movement
Language movement
Language movement may imply any of the following:Language specific social/political movements:*The Bengali Language Movement, which is commemorated by the International Mother Language Day declared by UNESCO and Language Movement Day in Bangladesh...
, but the emerging Sindhi nationalism was marginalized as the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
agenda of pro-Pakistan Sindhi politicians such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
with his Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
,which drew mass support amongst Sindhi people opposed to the previous regimes. To this day,not a single party provoking Sindhi nationalism has been voted into power in Sindh.
With his political base largely weakened, Syed later advanced his position, towards openly demanding separation from Pakistan and build-up of an independent Sindhudesh in his books Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey (Now Pakistan Should Disintegrate) and Sindhu Desh - A Nation in Chains.
The idea of Sindhudesh is also supported by Hindu Sindhis, most of whom had to be relocated out of Sindh after Partition, leaving behind their property as evacuee trusts under reciprocal government supervision ; however it is not known whether Sindhudesh would be open to Hindus or not. Sindh was a relative peaceful province,with communal violence only erupting sporadically and during partition
Historical Kingdom
Sindhudesh was also ancient name of modern Sindh, as the state of Sindh is mentioned in the epic of MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
by this name only. For more information refer to Sindhu Kingdom
Sindhu Kingdom
Sindhu&sandhu was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It stretched along the banks of river Sindhu in the Ancient Greater India, which is now Pakistan. It is believed that Sindhu kingdom was founded by Vrsadarbh, one of sons of Sivi...
.
Resurgence of Sindhudesh Movement
After the death of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, the Sindhudesh movement has seen an increase in popularity. Sindhi nationalists judge that Sindh has been used to the advantage of people from non-Sindhi ethnic groups, citing the dominance of Mohajir people in key areas of Sindh including Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, the unrecognition of the Sindhi language at provincial or national level, large scale migration to Sindh from other regions of Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleged Punjabi dominance in the defence sector, and an increase in Taliban migrants moving to Sindh; as well as terrorist related attacks on the region. and believe this to be the cause of recent troubles in Sindh (see Sindhi nationalism
Sindhi nationalism
Sindhi nationalism is the political expression of ethno-national consciousness of the Sindhi people, who inhabit the ethno-linguistic region of Sindh started by the Ghulam Murtaza Shah, which lies in current day Pakistan....
). Pro-Sindhudesh organisations such as the JSQM and World Sindhi Congress have gained a wider support base.
Sindhu Desh Liberation Army
The Sindhu Desh Liberation Army of SDLA is an organisation based in the SindhSindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province often compared to the Balochistan Liberation Army
Balochistan Liberation Army
The Balochistan Liberation Army is a terrorist group based in Balochistan, a mountainous region within southern Iran and Pakistan. The organization is a participant in the Balochistan conflict and strives to establish an independent state of Balochistan, free of Pakistani and Iranian rule...
in terms of is objectives strives to establish an independent state of Sindhu Desh. Recently a series of attacks on railways lines have been claimed by the SDLA leaving pamphlets on the scene, mentioning the “atrocities” being carried out against Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and promising to continue their “struggle” till Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
was granted “freedom”.
It has considerable support from the disgruntled people of Sindh who are oppressed by the Punjab dominant politicians, army and bureaucracy of Pakistan since the 1970's.
See also
- SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
- Jeay Sindh
- Indus RiverIndus RiverThe Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
- Indus Valley CivilizationIndus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
- Separatist movements of PakistanSeparatist movements of PakistanThere are various separatist movements of Pakistan. Several parties based on ethnic lines exist though only two, the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz and Balochistan Liberation Front are of much significance....
- RevolutionRevolutionA revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...