The province of Sindh has been designated after the river Sindh
(Indus) which literally created it and has been also its sole means of
sustenance. However, the importance of the river and close phonetical
resemblance in nomenclature would make one consider Sindhu as the probable
origin of the name of Sindh. Later phonetical changes transformed Sindhu into
Hindu in Pahlavi and into Hoddu in Hebrew. The Greeks (who conquered Sindh in
125 BC under the command of the Alexander the great) rendered it into Indos,
hence modern Indus.
The Indus valley civilization is the farthest visible outpost of
archeology in the abyss of prehistoric times. The areas constituting Pakistan
have had a historical individuality of their own and Sindh is the most
important among such areas. The prehistoric site of Kot Diji in Sindh has
furnished information of high significance for the reconstruction of a
connected story which pushes back the history of Pakistan by at least another
300 years, from about 2,500 BC. Evidence of a new element of pre-Harappan
culture has been traced here. When the primitive village communities in
Baluchistan were still struggling against a difficult highland environment, a
highly cultured people were trying to assert themselves at Kot Diji one of the
most developed urban civilization of the ancient world that flourished between
the year 25,00 BC and 1,500 BC in the Indus valley sites of Moenjodaro and
Harappa. The people were endowed with a high standard of art and craftsmanship
and well-developed system of quasi-pictographic writing which despite ceaseless
efforts still remains un-deciphered. The remarkable ruins of the beautifully
planned Moenjodaro and Harappa towns, the brick buildings of the common people,
roads, public-baths and the covered drainage system envisage the life of a
community living happily in an organized manner.
The earliest authentic history of Sindh dates from the time when
Alexander the Great abandoned his scheme of conquest towards the Ganges,
alarmed at the discontent of his soldiers. He embarked a portion of the army in
boats, floated them down the Jhelum and the Chenab, and marched the remainder
on the banks of the river till he came to the Indus. There he constructed a
fleet, which sailed along the coast towards the Persian Gulf with part of his
forces, under the command of Nearchus and Ptolemy, whilst Alexander himself
marched through Southern Baluchistan and Persia to Seistan or Susa. At that time
Sindh was in the possession of the Hindus, the last of whose rulers was Raja
Sahasi, whose race, as is reported by native historians, governed the kingdom
for over two thousand years. The Persian monarchs were probably alluded to, for
in the sixth century BC Sindh was invaded by them, They defeated and slew the
monarch in a pitched battle and plundered the province and then left. Eight
years after his accession to the Persian throne, Darius I, son of Hystaspes
extended his authority as far as the Indus. This was about 513 BC.
The Arab conquest of Sindh by Muhammad Bin Qasim in 712 AD gave
the Muslims a firm foothold on the sub-continent. The description of Hiun
Tsang, a Chinese historian, leaves no doubt that the social and economic
restrictions inherent in the caste differentiations of Hindu society had
however, gradually sapped the inner vitality of the social system and Sindh
fell without much resistance before the Muslim armies. According to Al-Idreesi,
the famous city of Al-Mansura was founded during the reign of Mansur (754-775
AD) the second Khalifa of the Abbasid dynasty. Khalifa Harun-al-Rashid (786-809
AD) was able to extend the frontiers of Sindh on its western side. For nearly
two hundred years since its conquest by Muhammad Bin Qasim, Sindh remained an
integral part of the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates. The provincial
governors were appointed directly by the central government. History has
preserved a record of some 37 of them.
The Arab rule brought Sindh within the orbit of the Islamic civilization,
Sindhi language was developed and written in the naskh script. Education became
widely diffused and Sindhi scholars attained fame in the Muslim world.
Agriculture and commerce progressed considerably. Ruins of Mansura, the
medieval Arab capital of Sindh (11 kms south east of Shahdadpur) testify to the
grandeur of the city and the development of urban life during this period.
In the 10th century, native people replaced the Arab rule in
Sindh. Samma and Soomra dynasties ruled Sindh for long. These dynasties
produced some rulers who obtained fame due to judicious dispensation and good
administration.
Sindh was partially independent and the scene of great disorders
till late in the sixteenth century when it failed into the hands of Emperor
Akbar, and for a hundred and fifty years the chiefs paid tribute, but only as
often as they were compelled to do so, to the Emperor at Delhi. Later the
Kalhora clan claiming descent from the house of Abbas and long settled in Sindh
produced religious leaders of whom Main Adam Shah attained prominence in the
16th century. His descendants continued to gather large following and this
enabled them to capture political power in the north western Sindh under the
leadership of Mian Nasir Muhammad. This happened in the 2nd half of the 17th
century. By the turn of that century, foundations of the Kalhora power were
firmly laid in the northern Sindh under the leadership of Mian Yar Mohammad.
During the reign of his son, Mian Noor Muhammad, lower Sindh with Thatta as its
capital came under the Kalhora administration (1150 A.H).
Under the banner of Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur, the Balochis
defeated the last Kalhora ruler Mian Abdul Nabi in the battle of Halani in 1782
AD. Talpur Amirs regained the parts of Sindh (Karachi, Khairpur, Sabzal Kot and
Umar Kot) which the last Kalhora chief had conceded to the neighboring rulers.
By eliminating the foreign interference, which had plagued the Kalhora rule,
and by their essentially democratic way of governance, the Talpurs were able to
take the people into confidence and thus achieved
Great many things within a short period of 60 years. They built up
an excellent system of forts and outposts guarding the frontiers, extended the
irrigation system, encouraged scholarly pursuits and educational institutions,
and promoted trade and commerce internally as well as with the neighboring
countries.
The British who came to Sindh also as traders became so powerful
in rest of the sub-continent that in 1843 Sindh lost its independence falling
prey to the British imperialistic policy. The Talpurs were defeated on the
battlefields of Miani, Dubba and Kunhera and taken prisoners. The conquerors
behaved inhumanly with the vanquished as they did with the Muslim rulers in
India. Charles Napier who commanded the troops subsequently became the first
Governor of the province of Sindh.
The British had conquered Sindh from their bases in Bombay and
Kutch and their supporters were Hindus. Therefore, Sindh was annexed to the
Bombay Presidency in 1843 and a constant policy to subdue the Muslim majority
and to lionize the Hindu minority in Sindh was followed. Trade and commerce,
Services and education became monopolies in the hands of the minority whom with
the support of the rulers wrought havoc on Muslims. Within a few years forty
percent of the Muslim land holdings passed on to the Hindu creditors. It was
after a long struggle that the cause of Sindh was supported by the Quaid-e-Azam
Mohammad Ali Jinnah when he brought in his famous 14-points the demand of
Sindh's separation from Bombay Presidency. H.H. Sir Agh Khan, G.M. Syed, Sir
Abdul Qayyum Khan (NWFP) and many other Indian Muslim leaders also played their
pivotal rule that was why the Muslims of Sindh succeeded in getting Sindh
separated from the Bombay Presidency in 1936.
Sindh is a repository of varied cultural values and has remained
the seat of civilization and meeting point of diverse cultures from times
immemorial. After Independence on August 14, 1947 with the influx of Muslims
from India, its culture has progressively assumed a new complexion. Sindh’s
cultural life has been shaped, to a large extent, by its comparative isolation
in the past from the rest of the subcontinent. A long stretch of desert to its
east and a mountainous terrain to the west served as barriers, while the
Arabian Sea in the south and the Indus in the north prevented easy access. As a
result, the people of Sindh developed their own exclusive artistic tradition.
Their arts and craft, music and literature, games and sports have retained
their original flavor. Sindh is rich in exquisite pottery, variegated glazed
tiles, lacquer-work, leather and straw products, needlework, quilts,
embroidery, hand print making and textile design. According to renowned
European historian H.T. Sorelay, Sindhis had not only contributed to literature
but also to astronomy, medicine, philosophy, dialectics and similar subjects.
Melas (fairs) and malakharas (wrestling festivals) are popular.
Falconry, horse and camel breeding and racing are characteristic pastimes.
Sindhi fishermen float earthen pots to catch the palla fish in the Indus,
bullock cart racing and cockfighting are also typical of the province.
Genuine love for fellow beings, large heartedness and hospitality
constitute the very spirit of Sindhi culture and it is the association of the
cultural elements that elevate it and keep aloft its banner among the
contemporary cultures of South-Asia. Having lived for centuries under the
changing sway of various dynasties i.e. the Arabs, Mughals, Arghuns, Turkhans
and Soomras, Sammahs, Kalhoras and Talpurs, Sindhi culture is a fusion of
multiple culture patterns. These splendor and enrichment are reflected in
Sindhi art and architecture, habits and customs. The old tombs and buildings in
Thatta, Sehwan, Hyderabad, Sukkur and the excavations at Bhambore, Brahmanabad
and Debal bear ample evidence in support of the above statement. These places
fostered in their environment, some of the best cultural values which were
handed down to the inhabitants of the adjoining areas. Today, these values form
the very foundation of Sindhi culture.
The Sindhi language has pure Sanskrit basis and is closely related
to the ancient Prakrit. Its alphabet contains fifty-two letters. The Rev. Mr.G.
Shirt of Hyderabad, one of the first Sindhi scholars, considered that the
language is probably, so far as its grammatical construction is concerned, the
purest daughter of Sanskrit. It has small sprinkling of Dravidian words, and
has in later times received large accessions to its vocabulary from Arabic and
Persian. After the advent of Islam, a number of Sindhi scholars not only wrote
books in Arabic on various aspects of Islam, but also composed poetry of a high
order in that language. During the rule of Soomras and Sammas, Sindhis produced
excellent poetry, and amongst the earliest and best-known poets we find the
name of Syed Ali and Qazi Qadan both of Thatta and their younger contemporary,
Shah Abdul Karim of Bulrhi, the great-grandfather of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai.
Qazi Qadan (870-985 A.H.) introduced Philosophy into Sindhi
poetry. He has in his poetry laid great emphasis on purity of mind and the
study of the self. In one of his verses he says, "Even if you master
thoroughly the great Arabic works Qudoori and Kafia you will only be like an
ant sitting within a well in a limited environment knowing nothing of the world
outside".
Then comes Shah Abdul Karim of Bulrhi. In 98 couplets he has
explained the intricacies of human philosophy. In one of his couplets, he says
"The best way of Living in the world is to give your heart to the beloved
and be bodily connected with fellow human beings".
Shah Latif and his contemporaries, Shah Inayat, Muhammad Moeen
Thattvi lsso Mian and Misri Shah, were also pioneers in the field of the
well-known Sindhi Kafi Lyric. Others who contributed to kafi were Qasim, Hyder
Shah, Fazil Shah, Pir Mohammad Ashraf, Assooran and Qaleech Beg. Misri Shah is
considered to be the undisputed monarch in the domain of Kafi. The term Kafi
was originally taken from Shah Abdul Latif's waie, which correspond to Ghazal.
Sachal Sarmast added glory to Kafi in his lyrics.
After the advent of Islam, a number of Sindhi scholars not only
wrote books in Arabic on various aspects of Islam, but also composed poetry of
high order in that languages. It is presumed that these scholars also wrote in
their own language. During the rule of Sumras and Sammas, Sindhis produces
excellent poetry, and amongst the earliest and best-known poets, we find the
name of Syed Ali and Qazi Qadan both of Thatta and their younger contemporary,
Shah Abdul Karim of Bulrhi, the great-grand father of Shah Abul Latif Bhitai.
Long before the British rule, under the influence of Persian
poetry, the Sindhi poets borrowed many ideas from Persian poets. There were,
however, some poets such as Mohammad Qasim, Murtaza Thattavi, Gul Mohammad Gul,
Syed Gada, Hafiz Hamid, Mir Abdul Hussain Sangi, Zaman Shash and others who, in
spite of having adopted Persian forms, derived their inspiration from the
classical Sindhi poets. Theirs works have, therefore been popular among the
masses, as well as people of more sophisticated tastes. Others, who continued
to compose in indigenous styles, using the Sindhi language in its purest from,
include Misree Shah, Mahdi Shah, and Hafiz Shah. Sahibdion Shah, Wali Mohammad
Leghari and Hammal Faqir.
Qazi Qadan (870-985 A.H.) of Sehwan was the Sindhi poet who
introduced philosophy and mysticism into Sindhi poetry. He has in his poetry
laid prate emphasis on purity of mind and the study of self. In one of his
verses he says: " Even if you master thoroughly the great Arabic works
Qudoor and Qafa you will only be like an ant sitting within a well in a limited
environment, knowing nothing of the world outside.
Kafi the Shah and his contemporaries, Shah Inayat, Muhammad Moeen
Thattvi, Isso Mian and Misri Shah, were also pioneers in the field of the
well-known Sindhi Kafi Lyric. Others who contribute to Kafi were Qasim, Hyder
Shah, Fazil Shah, Pir Mohammad Ashraf, Assooram and Qaleech Beg. Misri Shah is
considered to the undisputed monarch in the domain of Kafi. The term Kafi was
originally taken from Shah Abdul Latif's waie, which corresponds to ghazal.
Sachal added glory to kafi in his lyrics. After Khalifo Gul Mohammad a host
Sindhi poets contributed to the development of the ghazal. The following poets
deserve special mention: Qasim Shamsuddin Bulbul, Mir Abdul Hussain Saangi,
Bewas Lekhraj Kishanchand Aziz, Zia Fani, Farid, Fakir Abdul Rahim of Groroh
and Hafiz Mohammad Hayat.
Humour Shamsuddin Bulbul was the first poet to introduce humor in
Sindhi poetry. He can very well be compared to Akbar Allahabadi.
In this field Mohammad Hashim Mukhlis and more particularly Mirza
Qaleech Beg, the father of modern Sindhi poetry and prose have left an
indelible mark. The latter’s humor is much more polished and constructive.
" Saudai Khan" is a modest collection of his poetry dealing wit the experiences
of life and the ravages of time. The book is in two volumes, and each column
consists of homage paid to his ancestors and guide. He composed only 14 ghazals
in Urdu.
Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689-1752) perfected Sindhi poetry both in
from and in content and is reckoned as the peerless master of Sindhi verses.
The most salient feature of his poetry is Sufism, which he had presented with
dexterity in his famous work, Shah Jo Risalo. The main characteristics of Shah
Leif's poetry is that it is a ‘remarkable record of God-intoxicated man’s
longing to rise above his level of life in order to meet his Maker". He
had a command to express and interpret the joys and sorrows, hopes and
aspirations of the people of Sindh. Shah Latif's poetry depicts nature and its
manifestations in a most vivid and vivacious manner. He had composed beautiful
verses on the river Indus, the shining surface of lakes and the barren ranges
of hills. He had also versified on the behavior of the sea and the boats and boatsmen
living on the shore of the sea. He was the most prolific writer and poet of his
age. His poetry is deeply rooted in the soil of Sindh, yet it has a universal
appeal.
So great is the impact of his immortal work on Sindhi literature
that one hears its distinct echo in all the poetry produced by later
generations. From the time of shah Latif to the British conquest of Sindh,
there were a large number of Sindhi poets, such as Mohammad Zaman of Luwar,
Abdul Grohari, Sachal Sarmast, Bedil, Bekas, Sami, Pir Ali Gohar Asghar (Pir
Pagaro), Roohal Faqir, Pir Asghar Ali, Pir Ghulam Shah Rashidi and Sabit Ali
Shah Sabit, whose works a still to be found. During the days of the Sumras, the
Sammas and later on during the Kalhora and the Talpur period, Sindh was the court
languag.
Sachal Sarmast (Abdul Wahab) is another Sufi poet of distinction
who composed verses on philosophy and Sufism. He was at home in a number of
languages and composed poetical pieces in Arabic, Sindhi, Saraiki or Multani,
Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Persian. His poetry is replete with Divine Love. It is
on Monotheism, the Glorious Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace
Be Upon him). He also composed poems of high order in Urdu and Persian. The
great Sufi poets-Attar, Jami and Roomi influenced him.
Hiis Sindhi poetry encompasses a wide range of subjects and
possesses its own individuality. He perfected a great deal of old style i.e.
Abyat and Dohas greatly in vogue before hi, While Shah Latif enhanced the
standard of Sindhi to the highest level of excellence in style, diction and
subject matter, Sachal Sarmast took the lead in raising the standard and level
of kafi, ghazal and marsia in /Sindhi poetry. Unlike Shah Latif, whose
compositions are woven around local and folk themes, Sachal has touched on all
Great Sufi saints, fountains of knowledge and learning, besides the most
popular folktales of the Indus valley. The images, similes, metaphors and
allegories employed by Sachal give him a prominent place in Sindhi literature
after Shah Latif.
It was in the British period that really good prose began to be
produced. Syed Miran Mohammad Shah-I of Tikhar, Diwan Kewal Ram, Ghulam Hussain
and Akhund Latifullah are among the early prose writers. But Shamsul Ulema
Mirza Qaleech Beg can rightly be called the father of modern Sindhi prose. He
is said to have written or translated from other languages about 400 books of
poetry, novel short stories, essays etc.
"Diwan-e-Qaleech" is a collection in alphabetical order
of his poetry in Sindhi. In contains about 433 verses. Another work of
importance is his translation of Rubaiyat-e-Omar Khayyam in which he has
followed the same meter as employed in the original Persian work. This
translation has filled an important gap in Sindhi literature.
Music the patronage of music in Sindh started wit the advent of
Muslims. In 72AD; when the famous Arab General Muhammad Bin Qasim was engaged
in his conquest of Sindh, the Sammas of Central Sindh gave him a rousing
reception. Headed by musicians, playing the Dhol-and-Shahnai,
"Orchestra", and skilled dancers giving their performances, they came
to greet Muhammad Bin Qasim, who echoed the whole show. The grandeur of the
musical performance and the big crowd impressed a lieutenant of Muhammad to
such an extent that he suggested to the General that their army should pray to
God that such a powerful tribe had been subjugated so easily. Muhammad who had
a good sense of humor". The Dhol-and-Shahnai performance whish has been
the traditional " Orchestra" of Sindh, before and since 8th century
AD. Is most popular throughout the province even today.
Interest in the classical ‘Hindustani’ as well as the indigenous
music in Sindh reached its height in 16th century during the reign of the
Turkhan rulers, Mirza Jani Beg and his son Mirza Ghazi Beg. Both the father and
the son were great patrons of poets like the famous Talib Amuli and others, and
of numerous musicians who invented new musical forms, naghams, and a variety of
tunes. Both the rulers were accomplished musicians themselves. Their capital
Thatta was the rendezvous.
LOCATION AND AREA
Pakistan consists of
four provinces. Its second largest province is known as Sindh with its
capital in Karachi, which is not only the most populous metropolis of the
country, but also, a commercial hub.
The province of Sindh
has two gigantic seaports and both are located in Karachi. The biggest
international airport of Pakistan is also situated in Karachi and is widely
known as Qaid-e-Azam International airport.
The Province of Sindh
forms the lower Indus basin and lies between 23 to 35 Degree and 28-30, north
latitude and 66-42 and 71-1-degree east longitude. It is about 579 kms in
length from north to south and nearly 442 kms in its extreme breadth (281 kms
average). It covers 1,40,915 square kms and is about as large as England.
Sindh is also proud of
having acquired fame as Bab-ul-Islam (Gateway to Islam in the Indo-Pakistan
subcontinent). At the time of the independence from the British occupation in
August 1947, the population of Sindh was estimated at 5.5 million. Today, after
the passage of fifty years the population of the province stands around 40
million souls, a half of whom now live in the urban centres like Hyderabad,
Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Tando Adam, Nawabshah, Larkana, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Badin
and other smaller towns. It is basically an agrarian province. The Indus is by
far the most important river of the province. The classical name of the river
was Sindhu (Sanskrit for an ocean) and Sindh province was created and sustained
by the river, without which it would have been a desert. Its length is about
2,880 kilometers and nearly a third of that (about 944 Kms) traverses the
province. The striking resemblance of Sindh to Egypt was noticed long before
the existence in it of a comparable great prehistoric civilization
was even suspected; the idiosyncrasy of its people when compared with Indians,
is very marked. There is an ancient saying "Just as Egypt is the gift of
Nile, Sindh is the gift of the Indus".
Owing to its prevalent
aridity and the absence of the monsoons, the climate of Sindh ranks among the
hottest and is most variable. The average temperature of the summer months is
35 degrees centigrade and those of inter months 16. But the thermometer
frequently rises in summer to 45 and occasionally to 50.In the northern part of
Sindh the extremes of temperature are strongly marked. Jacobabad boasts of the
highest temperature yet recorded at a Pakistani meteorological station i.e.52
degrees centigrade in June 1919. Sehwan is another hot place while Hyderabad is
on the average pleasant due to cool breeze.
Cotton, rice, wheat
and sugarcane are the main crops produced in Sindh. Rice is by far the most
important crop cultivated here. It is the only crop that can be grown in the
annually inundated lands within the delta of the Indus and a larger quantity
and much finer quality is produced in the Larkana district. In Jacobabad,
Sukkur, Badin, Thatta and Dadu, also, a great quantity of rice is cultivated.
Cotton is produced mainly in Sanghar, Nawabshah, and Hyderabad, Sugarcane is
another important crop which is chiefly grown in the Ghulam Mohammad Barrage
zone in South. Sindh is proud of its bananas and mangoes also.
The waters around
Karachi are rich with seafood and are considered to be some of the best fishing
spots in the world. Surmai, pomphret, lobsters, shrimps, sharks, dolphins,
crocodiles and other aquatic life especially Pallas exists in plenty in the sea
as well as in the sweet waters of the Indus, Manchar, Keenjhar, Haleji and
other lakes.
Within the last 45
years, three irrigation barrages have been constructed across the Indus in the
province. The command areas of the three barrages are: Sukkur barrage 3.12
million hectares, Kotri barrage 1.12 million hectares, and Guddu barrage 1.172
million hectares.
The province of Sindh
had traditionally been rich in wildlife heritage. Its Kirthar National Park,
about 70 k.m. of North West of Karachi, is enlisted on World Heritage. Other
side at Haleji Lake and Thar area are also of paramount importance.
Though chiefly an
agricultural and pastoral province, Sindh has a reputation for textiles,
pottery, leatherwork, carpets etc. The craftsmanship of the people of Sindh
began during the period of Moenjodaro civilization. Their polished ornaments
and articles of apparel made out of muslin and wooden lacquer work have won the
praise in and outside the country.
Geographically
speaking the word "Sindh" denotes the lower half of he Indus Valley from
Bhakkar down to the sea and from the Kirthar in the west to the desert of Thar
in the east. These geographical boundaries loosely form the basis of cultural,
ethnic, linguistic and political frontiers of Sindh. Generally speaking the
above-mentioned frontiers agree with the geographical boundaries but in some
cases they over-step them. This is particularly noticeable in respect of the
languages. In the north Landha and in the east Rajhastani co-mingle with
Sindhi. Ethnically the Sindhi society has been cosmopolitan in its composition.
Its ethnic groups range from the descendants of the ancient Aryans, the
Secthians, the Arabs, the Turks, the Persians, the Rajputs and the Baluchis.
Politically speaking
it is difficult to draw exact frontiers of Sindh as they have suffered constant
changes in the course of history. However, references made by the Greeks and
the Arab historians enable one to determine with some measure of precision the
frontiers of Sindh which existed at the time when these records were written.
The Greek accounts of Alexander’s expedition show Sindh divided into several
states. The northern most was Alor, while Kachh-Gandava and the Arabi (the
Purali) formed the boundary on the west. The description of Oritoe shows Mukran
as a separate kingdom. Later Hiue Tsiang mentioned Cutch as a part of Sindh and
described Multan as part of a separate kingdom. In the reign of Chach (last
half of 7 century AD) the frontiers of Sindh extended upto Kashmir.
PRESENT DAY BOUNDARIES
Sindh is bounded on
north by Baluchistan and the Punjab, on the east by Rajisthan (India), on the
south by the Runn of Kutch and the Arabian Sea and on the West by Lasbela and
Kalat districts of the province of Baluchistan.
SINDH THROUGH THE CURRENT CENTURY.
Before the World War II when the grip of the British colonial
rulers was still very strong and there were hardly any signs that the foreign
occupants will leave the Indian sub-continent, it was the Sindhi leadership
which rose against the imperialists and launched a multi-faceted freedom
movement. On the one hand Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi launched a militant
revolt, called "Hur Movement", against them and on the other a
peaceful Pan-Islamist campaign paved the way for the independence of Sindh from
the yoke of the Bombay Presidency. The people of Sindh also taook active part
in Khilafat Movement and other such movements launched by the people of the
Sub-continent. In fact, certain historians believe that the movement for the
separation of Sindh laid the foundation stone throughout the sub-continent for
a greater homeland for the Muslims of India. This campaign for the separation
of Sindh succeeded in 1936 and provided impetus to the Muslim league which was
again led by a democratic statesman from Sindh widely known as Quaid-e-Azam
Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It also want to the credit of Sindh province that its
Provincial Assembly first ever resolved in favour of Pakistan. Although Jinnah
could not survive long after the inception of Pakistan, yet he strongly spelled
out broader democratic and human principles to be followed by his successors in
the newly created state of Pakistan. Although, soon after his death the reigns
of the county were usurped by the vested interests and in the coming years the
people of Pakistan had to undergo longer spells of sufferings.
Today the province of Sindh is an amalgam of various
sub-continental and middle-eastern cultures. It was specially after the
independence that millions of Indian Muslims from the minority province
migrated to Sindh and made it their permanent home. The amalgamation of their
culture into the rich Sindhi traditions has progressively assumed a new
complexion. Both the communities of Sindhi and Urdu-Speaking inhabitants of
Sindh have, during the last half-century, shared their values and traditions,
literature and Language, entered into inter-marriages and lived in harmony for
the progress of their motherland.
