Sindhi Diaspora & the Future of Sindh

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

Am I a Sindhi?
Sindhi Diaspora & the Future of Sindh

By Deepak Mirchandani

    The World Sindhi Institute (WSI), the Washington-based human
    rights organization that advocates for the rights of the Sindhis
    of Sindh, recently hosted a program in Toronto, Canada. The Sindhi
    Seminar & Celebration attracted over 400 attendees and took place
    on June 5th, 2004, at the Grand Taj Banquet and Conventional
    Center in Toronto.

    A panel of speakers was invited to discuss various issues relating
    to Sindh. Deepak Mirchandani, a member of SCAT, was one of the
    panelists at this seminar. Following is an excerpt of his
    presentation during this seminar.


Am I a Sindhi?

I was not born in Sindh
I have never been to Sindh
My wife has never been to Sindh
But the simple answer to the question is:
Yes, I am a Sindhi -- and a proud one at that.

How would you define a Sindhi? Is a Sindhi a person who was born in
Sindh, grew up in Sindh, and was educated in Sindh?

Yes.. But a Sindhi is also many, many other people who are physically
separate from their ancestral land, but spiritually forever connected
to it. Sindhis come in all different forms -- we are citizens of the
world, entrepreneurs, risk takers, with good souls and Sufi
intentions.

Why am I a proud Sindhi?

It is impossible not to be, since I come from one of the oldest
civilizations in the world.

My roots are from a place that is rich in culture. My roots are from a
place where the people are kind, gentle, and compassionate.
A Sindhi is not a warrior; a Sindhi is not an aggressor. That may be
both our greatest strength, and our downfall too.

I am part of the global Sindhi diaspora. My parents were both born in
the great city of Hyderabad. My Father grew up in Hyderabad, and my
Mother grew up in Sukkur. So yes, I have Sindh in my veins.

In the dark days of 1947, when history was crumbling right before his
eyes, when politicians from both sides of the great divide were
chasing dreams of personal glory, my Father, a young man of 21,
decided not to participate in the mayhem surrounding him. Instead, he
chose to seek greener pastures, and boarded a ship bound for Kuwait in
the Persian Gulf. At the time, the logic and rationale dictated that
all this mayhem would subside in a few months, and then, after making
a bit of money, he would return to his homeland. 57 years later, many
a Sindhi Sufis are still waiting for the day when they can return to
their homeland.

And so, two countries were formed. My Father was called into the
British Administrative Office in Kuwait. He was told, “Sir, you have a
choice. Since you are from Sindh, you can become a Pakistani
citizen. Since you are a Hindu, you are entitled to Indian
citizenship. Our recommendation is that you become an Indian citizen,
since you will not be welcomed back to Sindh.”

This is how we lost our identity. I was born in Kuwait to “Indian”
parents, so by default, I became an Indian citizen.

There are, in total, 4 million Hindu Sindhis worldwide. Three million
live in India, and one million are scattered throughout the
world. These statistics do not include Hindu Sindhis who live in
Sindh. What is the commonality amongst these one million Sindhis
scattered around the globe? The commonality is that we belong to a
civilization that is rich in culture, rich in tradition, rich in
language.

When Hindu Sindhis fled to India, they were regarded foreigners, or
`refugees'.  They could barely speak the national language, Hindi, and
they were unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of their adopted
land.  The mission of our elders was to assimilate. To blend in. Not
to be regarded as outsiders. Sindhis all over India put aside their
pride, their traditions, and began assimilating.

The goal was to learn the local dialect, and to speak it with
fluency. Knowledge of the Sindhi language was not of paramount
importance.

I recall my parents playing Master Chander records on the
gramophone. I recall my parents being nostalgic about their homes, and
their childhood memories. I recall my parents speaking of DJ Sindh
College, about Sadh Bela, about Tilak Chari. I remember them speaking
of Sindh with a glint in their eye.

And I scoffed at them. They seemed to talk about this mystic place,
this utopia, which only seemed to exist in their imagination. But I am
a bit older now, and it is true - somewhere along the way, my parents
instilled in me a sense of pride about my roots, a sense of pride
about my language, a sense of pride about Sindhi cuisine. And I am
eternally grateful to them for instilling these values in me.

Now, 57 years after Partition, I still think of Sindh as this mystical
place, almost with a false romanticized version of utopia. The
question is, "What happens next?"  What happens to diaspora Sindhis?
What happens to our language? And how can we ensure that we pass on
this legacy of our rich culture, heritage, and language to future
generations?

With the advent of the internet, and the world truly becoming a global
village, it is my belief that my generation should take it upon
themselves not only to educate themselves about Sindh, but in fact to
impart knowledge of Sindh to our peers and future generations.

This pool of diaspora Sindhis, people with a passion for everything
Sindhi, are scattered all over the globe. This pool of humanity is
passionate about Sindh, but ignorant about Sindh. We need to keep the
passion strong, and we need to pass on this passion to future
generations, and instill in them a sense of pride about Sindh, a sense
of pride about its history, a sense of pride about its culture, and a
sense of pride about its language.

Sindhis of Sindh have a lot to share with diaspora Sindhis. They can
share their knowledge of our homeland, they can share their passion
about our homeland, and they can educate us about the history and
culture of our homeland.

What do we have in common here? We all belong to one of the oldest
civilizations known to mankind. We all come from the banks of the
Sindhu River. We all share a common cultural background. We all are
extremely proud of our heritage.

The Change came,
But it did no good
The palace of my dreams
Has crumbled
It could not bear
Even the light touch of reality.
    (Narayan Shyam)

Jeay Sindh

***************************

Deepak Mirchandani, a nomadic Sindhi, has called Toronto, Canada, his
home for the last fourteen years. Though he was born many years after
Partition and has never visited Sindh, Mirchandani has a developed
passion for and expertise in Sindhi history, culture, and language. He
has traced his own family ancestry back eleven generations to the city
of Hyderabad, Sindh. He has been involved with the Sindhi Cultural
Association of Toronto for many years, and was the President from
2000-2002.