In most discussions regarding Sindhiyat that take place at my home as well as in the extended family, a common theme of " Asaan Sindhiyun mein Baddhi kane" ( We Sindhis aren't united) often comes up. To a large extent, I agree with this assertion. For example, In Delhi alone, there are n number (probably around 50) of registered Sindhi organisations/ panchayats each working in its own little circle of influence. There is hardly any collaboration between these panchayats and I see a lot of repetitive activities taking place which add little value. In Rajinder Nagar itself ( where I live), there are two prominent Sindhi organisations - Sindhu Samaj as well as Sindhi Panchayat both largely working in silos. Various efforts to unify all these panchayats have not yielded much results. I believe this is a similar story elsewhere as well. It also seems that the lack of unity amongst Sindhis is also of concern in Pakistan as well. I am reminded of a short story " The Death of Fear" written by the famous Sindhi writer, Dada Shoukat Hussain Shoro (from Sindh,Pakistan ) that I had read in Ms. Rita Kothari's book of short stories - Unbordered Memories - Sindhi Stories of Partition.* The young protagonist, Kamil, had remarked :-
.... We Sindhis lack communal pride. We lack political insight. Every Sindhi thinks only of himself. Read the newspapers, and read how Sindhis are at each other's throats. People decimate each other's families out of personal vendetta, they behead each other over trifing matters like water, How may Sindhis support each other? .................. As long as Sindhis do not kill their egotism, and get together on a single platform, we cannot achieve anything",
I think what Kamil says is absolutely correct. We Sindhis do lack communal pride. Not surprisingly, something similar is echoed by participants in an Opinion Poll that was published way back in 2002/03 in Sindhishaan magazine (India) on Unity in Sindhis. In particular, I find Ms. Sundri Parchani's comment very relevant. She says - " There is a saying 'men don't want brotherhood, they want leadership.' If only Sindhis give more importance to brotherhood, rather than wanting to be leaders, I'am sure we would be a force to reckon with as we are in the world of business - no community can surpass us.The link to the detailed poll comments is as follows:-
I do hope that this changes soon as if Sindhiyat and Sindhi identity is to remain relevant, then we need a lot more communal actions. Only when all of us work together , we can probably reverse the tide and turn it in our favor. It can begin only when we stop looking at things with a " Zero Sum Game" mindset rather celebrate each other's success. We should all try to support fellow Sindhis in whatever little way we can.
Small actions take me to this remarkable video that premiered a couple of days ago. Titled " Sikk" this is a joint collaboration between Sindhi artists from Pakistan and India to connect the new generation Sindhis to their roots, to celebrate the " common thread" that connects us - Our Mithri Sindhi Boli. My heartiest congratulations to all the collaborators on creating such an impressive musical video. Fantastic poetry by Batool Fatima. Absolutely loved it and hope to see more such collaborations in the near future. I hope all of you like it too. Please do not forget to switch on translation button ( CC button on bottom right) for English translation of the lyrics.
Muhammad Masood - Sikk ft. Mohit Lalwani, Sajid Ali, Aksha Jeswani - YouTube
I also take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy, Healthy and Colourful Holi. May Lal Saeen continue to bless us all during these difficult times.
Jai Jhulelal.
* : Link to my earlier blog post about Prof. Kothari's book is as follows:-
https://sindhi-chokro.blogspot.com/search?q=unbordered
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