Heritage: Appendix to Malkani's book (2nd ed.)

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

A REPORT ON G.M. SYED'S DELHI VISIT, July 4-17, 1987

By K. R. Malkani

Thanks to Shri Jhamatmal Wadhwani's call from Bombay on Saturday
morning, July 4, 1987, about a dozen of us, including some ladies,
were able to greet G.M. Syed, the Grand Old Man of Sindh, at Palam. He
was accompanied by his son Imdad, PA [Personal Assistant] and his
Secretary, Allar Soomar Thebo. We even managed a quick bouquet. Syed
looked pleased to be received by Sindhis. There was nobody from the
government side to receive him.

We drove him to Kanishka Hotel and introduced ourselves to him. Here
he was received as a state guest and a car was put at his disposal. He
wanted to see Badshah Khan [Leader of Red Shirts in Frontier Province
and ally of Mahatma Gandhi] as soon as possible. We rang, up Yunus'
residence and were told to come straight away, Syed was helped into
his special shoes, and then another call came, suggesting, the meeting
at 6 PM, "when AIR and TV men will also be there."  When I went to see
him in the evening, I was told by Allar that Badshah Khan had suffered
a stroke and that the Prime Minster had rushed him to All India
Medical Institute.  Syed had already gone to AIIMS and now Allar and I
also went there.  Later that evening I took them to a nice Sindhi
cultural show at Kamani Hall. He was welcomed and garlanded and he
made appropriate remarks.

The following day I contacted several editors; most of them took
special interviews and published them. I also arranged kuldip's and
BBC interviews for him. Sindh received more coverage in the Indian
Press in July 1987 than ever before or after.  AIR [All India Radio]
approached Syed Sahib for an interview to be beamed to Sindh. I was
asked to do the interviewing. I drafted 15 questions for him and he
prepared the answers, which he later read out in the studio. I
suggested to the AIR Director that he should also be interviewed in
Hindi and English for the Indian public. The Director asked me to
repeat the first five questions in English-to be broadcast by our
External Services. That AIR should broadcast his views on freedom of
Sindh and confederation of Sindh with India, was a pleasant surprise
for me.

On his second day in Delhi, Nari Thadhani held a reception
for him at his Mayfair residence. It was a top class catering, of
about sixty, attended, among others, by Ram Nao-rani, Anand
Hingorani, Sevakram, Asrani (Joint Secy, Ministry of External
Affairs). Shanti Hiranand gave beautiful Sindhi music. Everybody
introduced himself/herself at some length. Syed spoke briefly and
answered questions. It was a very y pleasant evening.

Lal Advani [currently Home Minister] came and saw Syed, who was
delighted. Two days later, on July 10, Lal brought Dandawate, Upendra,
Unnikrishnan and Dipen Goswami, leading MPs [Members of Parliament],
to see him. They suggested another meeting- with more MPs.

The following day Balkavi Vairagi, Congress MP, came to see him. They
suggested a larger MPs' audience for him. Later Balkavi told me that
Moopanar had suggested MPs seeing him in small groups. He said he
would speak to Jakhar, for a bigger meet of MPs. However, the
Presidential poll was on and I left for Nagpur, and so this bigger
MPs' meet did not materialize. Syed was sorry that there was no
photographer around when Advani came; he was also sorry, not to be
able to pay a return visit to Lal because of the latter's
preoccupation.

I took Prof. Rajendra Singh of RSS, to see him. Syed chatted with him
and presented him a copy of his 'Religion, a Reality' [available on
the web, check out www.sindhi.org].

The Freedom Fighters Organization held a special reception for him at
Vithalbhai Patel House on July 10. It was a nice big function. Here I
saw Nirmala Deshpande (who used to be Vinoba's intermediary with
Indira). She was keen to meet Syed. The following day I arranged a
special interview for her. Bahuguna came and saw him-with a
photographer!

Syed was honoured by Sindhu Samaj at Sindhu Bhavan, Rajendranagar, on
July 8. There was music by Kan Motihar, speech by Syed, questions and
answers, more music. Some people started dancing. Many offered
"Ghor". It was a delightful function, attended by about one
hundred. He was presented a silk dupatta [scarf].

I asked some Seths [business owners] of Subzi [vegetable] Mandi
[market] to see him on July 7. It was a small but warm group. Some of
them asked him if a certain 'Marhi' in Rohri had been burnt. He said
people had gone mad; one of them went and burnt the Koran in the local
masjid in his ancestral Sann. When asked what he was doing, the man
said he was lighting one more Lamp! Syed added that when refugees
attacked some Hindu shops and houses in reaction to Meerut [Ayodhya],
Sindhi youths came out and shooed the rioters away. Since then, those
properties had been repaired. The meet ended with a prayerful "palao
paayo [embrace]".

The PM met Syed. I asked him how the meeting went. He said he had
spoken for one hour but Rajiv did not utter one word. It is not clear
whether Rajiv does not know anything about the Sindh problem or he
didn't want to commit himself to anything. He said Rajiv was late from
his meeting with Opposition leaders. He was very tired. Syed suggested
meeting him some other time, but Rajiv said he'd be alright after he
had washed his eyes. And so the meeting, continued.

The Bar Association of the Supreme Court invited him. About one
hundred lawyers attended. They presented him a nice sandal-wood
garland, which I persuaded Syed to take home.

When I returned from Nagpur and called on him on 16th morning, I found
Narendra Kumar of Vikas publications with him. He had come to invite
him to do a book on Sindh - following 2 Vikas books by Wali Khan, then
in the press. Syed suggested that his latest book in Sindhi, "Pakistan
Should Now Break Up" should be translated in English and
published. Narendra said it was only a pamphlet. I suggested that
somebody should read all his books (52 written; only 35 of these
published - some of them proscribed) and then collate, edit and
produce an old- new book. Syed said I should do this. His secretary
said they'll consult Kirat Babani and let me know. There that matter
rested.

The following day he was leaving. I invited him to dinner. We were
about fifteen. Nana Deshmukh also attended. Here we presented him a
shawl.  The following day we saw him off. We were three-Acharya
Bhagvandev, Chaturvedi, MP, convener of AICC's Foreign Cell, asked by
the PM to see him off, and myself.

On July 16, he asked for Mira and Kabir songs in Arabic script. I was
not able be get them. I hope he got them in Bombay. He also wanted
Nimano Faqir's compilation of Sachal (Baroda). I could not arrange
that either.

I asked him if he would like to have Ramayana and Mababharat, and he
said he already had them.

One day I must have said 'Hari Om' etc. He asked me what 'Hari'
meant. I told him it was a name of 'Krishna', since 'haran' meant 'to
steal', and child Krishna had stolen butter. He asked for other names
of Krishna and I told him some. On another occasion he asked Nanaji
how many names Krishna had and he was told he had one thousand names.

More than once I heard him say he believed in life after death. I
asked him how he reconciled that with the concept of 'Qiamat' and he
said there were many cycles of life and death before Qiamat.

He had brought 3 tapes of Sindhi patriotic songs. Nari got several
copies of these made, which Syed gave to AIR, Shanti Hiranand, myself
and some others.

Anand Hingorani said to him in good humour : "I have come to
protest. You had moved the resolution in favour of Partition in the
Sindh Assembly. You are responsible for our leaving Sind." Syed said:
"I plead guilty. But even a murderer gets only 20 years; I have
already suffered 22 years."

I met him morning and evening and put him many questions.

In the beginning, Syed used to say he was against democracy. He said
this because, democratically, Punjabis out-numbered all others in
Pakistan. I told him his opposition to "democracy" will be
misunderstood. I suggested to him that he should say that Freedom (of
Sindh) must come first; only then there can be true democracy. He did
not oppose 'democracy', as such, after that.

Here are some of the other questions I put him - and his answers:

Q. Why did you leave the Congress and join the Muslim League?

A.  We expected the Congress to help us enact laws to protect the
peasantry. When Congress did not help us, we felt frustrated and
joined the League. (The expectation was unrealistic because most of
the MLAs [Members of Legislative Assembly] , both Hindu and Muslim,
were Zamindars.)

Q.  Why did you leave the League ?

A.  Even when I was in the League, I had maintained relations with
Congress leaders. When Congress adopted the Quit India resolution,
Jinnah called a meeting of the League Working, Committee. Here
Jinnah moved a resolution, saying that the 'Quit India resolution
was directed against Muslims, and not against the British. I spoke
against this resolution, and so did some others but Jinnah said he
had given word to the British, never to come to terms with the
Congress. Therefore, this resolution must be adopted. While other
critics fell silent, I insisted on my vote of dissent being
recorded. It is still there. I began to feel more and more that Jinnah
was serving British interests and not Muslim interests.  I, therefore,
left the League in 1945.

Q. Was Khuhro responsible for the murder of Allah Bux? In Gandhiji's
'Complete Works', there are references to Khuhro being defended by
Bhulabhai Desai.

A. Is that so? Can you give me those references? (The same were given
to Syed). Actually Allah Bux and Bhagat Kanwar Ram and Pamnani were
all murdered by Janu Jalbani, a fanatical follower of the Pir of
Bhirchundi. The Pir had converted some Hindu boys. At the instance of
some people, these converts were taken out in procession in
Sukkur. The Hindus of Sukkur resented this, and beat up the son of
Bhirchundi. The Pir's followers took this as an insult to the Pir and
these murders followed.

Q. Why are you more opposed to Bhutto than to Zia?

A. When a Bhutto is in power, people get a false sense of power and
democracy. Actually it is Punjabis who move the strings of Bhutto or
his daughter. When, on the other hand, a Zia is in power, people see
it as a Punjabi, and an Army-man, in power. I consider veiled Punjabi
rule more dangerous than an open one, because it hides facts and
deceives the people.  I am interested in change of system-from a
centralized Pakistan to a confederal one-and not just a change of
rulers-from Zia to Benazir.

Q.  Why, you think, Zia let you come?

A.  I do not know. When I was ailing last year, Badshah. Khan had come
to see me in Sann. When, therefore, he fell ill, I wanted to come and
see him. I wrote to the Government of Pakistan. They took 20 days to
reply to my application. I had not expected an okay, and I was
pleasantly surprised. One reason could be that they expect me to speak
out here-and they plan to punish me for that when I return to
Sindh. Fact, however, is that I speak more in Sindh than I do
here. Another reason could be that they have nothing against me. What
t say, I say publicly, and I have been saying it for years.  I am a
man of non-violence. Sindhi youths are impatient. They think I am
weak. But I know that if there is a physical confrontation, we will be
crushed. Gen. Tikka Khan is saying that they want Sindh, and not
Sindhis. Nasrullah is another Punjabi fantatic. Ex-Air Marshal Asghar
speaks the same language.

Q. Zia called on you when you broke your leg.

A.  Yes, he did-in Karachi. And he said he will call on me in my
native Sann also. But he has not. And you know why? Half a dozen
Punjabi women demonstrated outside his residence,-urging him not to
see an "enemy of Pakistan like O.M. Syed." Such is the power of public
opinion. That is why I want Sindhis in Delhi etc. to demonstrate
against Pakistan embassy, when they harass us. That will create world
opinion agai nst Pakistan-and encourage Sindhi nationalists in their
struggle.

Syed Saheb also recollected an interesting experience with Gandhi. It
was sometime in 1945. Gandhiji was staying in Bhangi [sanitation
workers] Colony. Syed, Maula Bux and Bhurgri Jr. went to see him early
in the morning. Gandhiji had already had his prayer etc. Maula Bux
said they wanted to speak to him all alone. Gandhiji said, "There will
be nobody else here, except God. "

After the talk, Bhurgri went to see Jinnah, who had been a dear friend
of his father-who had been Congress General Secretary, when Dr. Annie.
Besant was Congress President-and whom he addressed as 'Uncle'.  He
found the outer gate locked. From inside, he was greeted by a barking
dog. When he told the durban [gatekeeper] that Jinnah was his 'Chacha'
[uncle], he was told that Chacha or no Chacha, he could not see him,
as he had no appointment. Syed said, Bhurgri came back and said:
"'Kafir' Gandhi had taken his bath and said his 'namaz' (prayer), but
'Momen [believer]' Uncle Jinnah was still asleep, with only his dog to
greet you."

Syed was a Sufi; but [sic] he was also very much of a
Theosophist. Many of his friends were members of Theosophical Lodge,
Karachi. They included Jethmal Parsram, Jamshed [Karachi's Zorastrian
Mayor in 1940s], Tahilramani, PM Advani (of Karachi's School for the
Blind). One of his frequent callers in Delhi was Ann (full name,
Anandamai Advani) daughter of PM Advani, working with Tourism
Department. He told her jocularly that her father and he were both
fond of Ruki, who eventually married PM. When asked why he failed, he
said it was too bad, he was already married.  Syed had particularly
fond memories of Jethi Sipahimalani. He had prepared a book on her
life and collected her letters to him. It is yet to be published. He
told me a few anecdotes of Jethi

1.  "One day Jethi, Jethrnal, Abdul Majid and I were sitting
together. In the arcument that followed, I was cornered. Jethi turned
to me and said 'you are surrounded by three Jethas', (Jeshtha, big
one). Sheikh Abdul Majid's original name was Jethanand!

2.  "On another occasion I happened to shed tears over something. And
Jethi said: "Syeds are a weepy lot". I said "How?" And quick came the
retort: "Don't you beat your breasts every year, crying Ya Ali! Ya
Hussain!"

3.  "On a third occasion, many of us were sitting with Khuhro, then CM
[Chief Minister of Sindh].  We were all taking tea, but Jethi did not
touch anything.  When Khuhro asked her why, she said she could not
forget that he had been accused of murdering Allah Bux.  Khuhro told
her that even Allah Bux's son and brother met him and dined with
him. Jethi told her, min could be hard-hearted; they could be 'Dodo
Chanesars' (who had betrayed Sindh to Allauddin Khilji); but not she!

"He said Jethi had written to him, not to leave Sindh out of disgust,
and come over to India. "Sentimentality", she wrote, "won't do. We
have no 'izzat' [dignity] here."  Syed said that when Partition was
announced, [Congress leader and one time Congress Party President]
Kripalani had come to Sindh. "We were all sitting in Bhai Pratap's
house. Abdul Majid wondered what had gone wrong. And Kripalani said we
had unleashed forces that we could not control."

[concluded]