Daily Times

Sindh was the most prosperous national state of the Sub-continent of India since centuries with water resources, agriculture, forests, bustling Seaports, trade and commerce, economic connectivity within its frontiers through River Indus and with the cities of Bombay, Gujrat, Ahmedabad, Banaras through the Kathiawar peninsula, and the Central Asian towns of Samarkand and Bukhara and Arab lands. Thatha and Keti Bandar were busy Seaports while both the cities of Larkana and Shikarpur the hub of trade and commerce by road and its waterways from the early eighteenth century to the fall of Sindh to British Imperialists. Hyderabad flourished as a prosperous town during the reigns of both Kalhoras and Talpurs. Karachi remained a small Seaport and a fishing town owing to a great deal its development into a beautiful capital city to the British.

The prosperity of Sindh, historically, has been a strong pull for the marauding warriors, greedy Sultans, expansionists from the Omayyad armies to the Afghan dynasties of Arghuns, Tarkhans. Sindh has always had a tolerant and liberal society. A substantial number of Muslims had taken residence along the Makran’s coastal region in the earliest years. Allama Tahir ul Qadri claims, a delegation of Sindhis had journeyed to Medina to kiss the hands of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). They returned with four pious companions of the Prophet (PBUH) for the preaching of Islam. Two of the Ashab e Karam returned to Hijaz while two companions passed away in Sindh. This is how Sindh became Bab ul Islam. Allama Sahib further adds that when the grandson of the Prophet (PBUH) was besieged in Karbala, he preferred two conditions to spare the blood of the children of the Prophet (PBUH) – either he may be allowed to return to Hijaz or travel farther to Sindh. They turned down his both conditions. It is also confirmed that Sindh had allowed a few followers of the Great Imam to take residence in Sindh. The Sindh rulers turned down demands of Damascus to extradite these followers. The Umayyads never forgave Sindh for this defiance and looked for an opportunity to punish it.

Sindh has, since centuries, been in perpetual war to preserve its independence and territorial integrity. May it be the Arabs, Afghans or British imperialists; Sindh always valiantly resisted foreign invaders. It fought heroically with Afghans and the mighty forces of Allauddin Khilji and Jalaludding Akbar. It put up a brave fight to General Napier and fell because of the treachery of its own Mir Jaffars and Sadiqs. Later, Sindhis put up a fierce resistance to the merger of their land into the Bombay Presidency. They did not rest until Sindh was separated from Bombay in 1935. No Sindhi has forgotten the guerrilla war of Ruplo Kohli from Nangarhar and Sibghatullah Rashdi (grandfather of the current Pir of Pagara) against the occupation of Sindh and the execution of these sons of the soil by the Imperialists.

Its representative governments were dismissed with a rocket speed, depriving it of its capital city, distinct political entity, culture and language and precious resources

They kept up their patriotic tradition of resisting the amalgamation of their land into One-Unit. Their valiant struggle was second to none including Bengali, Baloch and Pakhtun nationalists. The perpetual struggle of Sindhis for the preservation of the political autonomy, territorial integrity, economic and financial resources of their land is the bitter phase of our short and chequered history. Yes, Sindh has continued with its noble tradition of assimilating into its polity all the aliens and settlers showing no hesitancy in embracing its culture and language, and living as its loyal sons.

Sindhis joined Pakistan out of their own volition rather they laid the foundation of Pakistan by passing the ‘Pakistan Resolution’ authored by Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi in the All India Muslim League’s Session held at Karachi in 1938. The same resolution with minor changes was adopted in March 1940. The Sindh Legislative Assembly adopted the historic resolution of March 1943 to hammer the last nail in the body of the United India. Regrettably, Sindh was not treated well throughout the history of or country receiving blow after blow from the central governments. Its representative governments were dismissed with a rocket speed, depriving it of its capital city, distinct political entity, culture and language and precious resources; its mandate was brazenly tempered with at different times, imposing on it unrepresentative leaders like Syed Ghous Ali Shah, Jam Sadiq, Liaqat Ali Jatoi, Syed Muzaffar Shah, Arbab Ghulam Rahim and, above all, plunging it into a perpetual violent ethnic and linguistic divide by aiding, abetting and unleashing marauding thugs into its tolerant polity. When they morphed into a monstrous challenge to the state, the establishment took no time to cut them to size.

Sindh is also wary of the misdeeds of its own sons and representative rulers -read PPP. The poor people of Sindh elected them repeatedly in 1970, 1977, 1988, 1993, 2008, 2013 and 2018 in the hope that they will redress their chronic woes and address their constitutional right to education, healthcare, livelihood, social justice, economic equity and agrarian reforms, safety of life and honour, protection from the repressive and oppressive Thana culture, equality before law. They hoped, as their representatives, they will protect the precious lands and resources of their province. Their expectations from their chosen representatives turned to be mere distant dreams rather nightmares. They despairingly saw their leaders making hay when the sun shined and brazenly feathering their nests; submitting to the pressure, and colluding too with estate tycoons to auction their lands at throw-away prices; bowing to powers that may be to surrender their land’s rights to water, gas and oil and financial resources and their constitutional powers to manage the affairs of the province. The brazen incompetence, corruption and the fear of accountability has become their Achilles’ heel and diminished their courage and resilience to stand up to the injustice.

The people of Sindh have to fight on two fronts – against the Federation’s unjustified interference in their affairs, and their own coward leaders – to bring an end to their chronic sufferings.

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books