Presented at 16th International Conference on Sindh, “Sindhi Diaspora and the Right to Self-Determination of Sindh,” July 31st, 2004, London.
Predicaments of Unity among Overseas Sindhis
Saghir Shaikh, Chairman, World Sindhi Congress
In earlier sessions, many respected leaders have illustrated the current situation in Sindh and Pakistan. We would all agree that current political situations in Pakistan are very alarming. The country is under de facto martial law, and fundamental rights of peoples are being denied. Sindhi people and peoples of other oppressed nations in Pakistan suffer from systematic exploitation—cultural, economic and political exploitation. Hundreds of political leaders, journalists, and human rights activists are languishing in jails.
I am sure all of us would agree that the fundamental need today is the unity among the Sindhis and peoples of other oppressed nations in Pakistan. Only after such unity, will we be able to challenge the status quo in Pakistan. Even to persuade the international community to lend its ears to our problems, the unity among us is essential.
Challenges involved in uniting overseas Sindhis are different from those for Sindhis in Sindh. There are approximate 3 million Sindhis living outside Sindh today. The large majority left Sindh in 1948, soon after the government sponsored riots and threats of terror. Many went to India and later to other countries of Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. However, till today India has the largest number of Sindhis outside Sindh.
Most of them have adopted their new homes as their homelands. They want to be considered citizens of India, UK, and the United States as much as they want to be known as Sindhis. Many of them are keenly interested in maintaining their Sindhi identity—i.e., the language, culture and tradition. The biggest concern of the Sindhi Diaspora is finding ways to retain their language and culture and have their kids informed about Sindhi values and traditions—also known as Sindhiat.
Some members of the Sindhi Diaspora—especially recent immigrants to countries in Europe and North America, like myself—are deeply troubled by Pakistan’s miserable situation. For us, the foremost issue is economic and political survival of Sindhi people in Sindh. These two concerns, the survival of Sindhiat and the freedom and empowerment of Sindhis, are both linked to the survival of Sindhis as a nation or Sindh as a nation-state. This requires a political arrangement in which Sindhi language and culture can prosper, an arrangement in which Sindhi cultural products can be produced and consumed unconditionally and without fear of persecution.
Uniting the Sindhis Diaspora poses peculiar challenges. Today, I will present a brief analysis of problems in uniting overseas Sindhis. My observations are mostly applicable to Sindhis in UK and North America, since these are the places with which I have first-hand experiences. However, the following analysis seems applicable to Sindhis in India too—as far as I can tell with my modest understanding of their situation.
Demographics
As I stated earlier, the majority of Sindhis outside Sindh live in India. Unfortunately, due to Pakistan’s policy of war, interaction between Sindhis in Sindh and Sindhis in India have been minimal. In addition, Sindhis in Sindh have had very little mobility because of their weak position in the global economy. In the last decade or so, it is primarily in North America and the UK that we see truly free interactions among Diaspora Sindhis belonging to different countries (Perhaps Dubai is another place). And we see the result of such interactions today. The situation is improving, thanks to the Internet and efforts of various overseas organizations and individuals. I would certainly credit my organization WSC as well as WSI. Both organizations have been actively pursuing a unity of Sindhi Diaspora communities in North America, Europe, and Asia. In this regard, we surely owe a lot to decades of efforts by those Sindhi writers, journalists, and thinkers who have been active across borders.
I believe that we need much more work in this matter. All overseas organizations, such as ASA, SANA, and other Sindhi organizations in India and East Asia, have to increase their efforts and emphasize the need for more interaction. Much responsibility falls on Indian Sindhi leadership to make this a priority in their agenda. We must demand our governments that they allow and promote free tourism, free trade, and other cultural and economic interactions.
Distortion of History
A lot of misinformation and biased history have been taught (intentionally or unintentionally) to Sindhis in Sindh as well as Sindhis in India. I would say that situation in Sindh is somewhat better, due to various thinkers and writers in Sindh. In books written by Saeen G.M. Syed, Mr. Husamudin Rashidi, Yousuf Shaheen, Agha Saleem, and many others from Sindh, one finds “alternative forms of history.” Obviously, the government-sponsored books are full of bigotry and lies. From the Indian side, we must recognize efforts by Saeen Keerat Babani, Mohan Gehani, and Saeen Malkani. These and other diasporic writers in India and Dubai also worked extensively to challenge the biased version of history.
It is not surprising that on Sindhi web sites from Sindh we hardly see one or two Hindu Sindhi names as “great personalities.” The reverse applies to Sindhi web sites from India. It is always disheartening when Sindhis from India look at my Muslim name and wonder how I could be a Sindhi and not have a Hindu name! Similarly, when some Sindhis in Sindh express a low self-esteem about their national achievements, they are obviously excluding achievements that Sindhis in other parts of the world accomplish in business, science, politics, and so on.
We need to emphasize more on avoiding communal essentialization of history. In South Asia, communalism has been our greatest enemy after colonialism. Sindhis can present a message of peace by creating a model ethnicity that represents Hindu-Muslims coexistence and unity.
One good way to do so is to agree upon a school curriculum that is based on people’s version of history. A set of books can be published which describes Sindhi tradition and history—not Sindhi Hindu, Sindhi Muslim, or Sindhi Sikh separate versions! I bet that despite the absence of sponsorship of the Sindhi Textbook Board, many Sindhi teachers and social reformers would love to have unbiased history books to teach in schools. They would be willing to take that task, and one would see students embracing such books with heart. These books should be made available in Sindhi, English, as well as in Hindi and Urdu.
The Politicization of Sindhiat
In my observation, too much emphasis on political aspects and political activism also brings some kind of alienation among Diaspora Sindhis. Most of them grew up and live in relatively freer societies, and perhaps the majority of them cannot imagine the extremity of state-persecution and human rights violations we Sindhis face in Pakistan. In addition, Diaspora and overseas Sindhis have not given much thought to links that may exist between the Sindhi Diaspora and political destiny of the people in Sindh. It would be great if we could delineate Sindhis’ rights movement’s expectations and their relationship to the Sindhi Diaspora. For example, I can think of three good reasons, which always attracted Sindhis living outside Sindh.
- It is essential that Diaspora Sindhis have the right to visit or live in Sindh. This is their fundamental right and should be exercisable at their will.
- The regional war in South Asia should be avoided at any cost. If united, Sindhis can bring the message of unity and collaboration to other ethnicities of South Asia.
- Unity in Sindhi Diaspora could provide a ray of hope about Sindhis’ collective political destiny in this charged environment of religious intolerance in South Asia.
I also think that we need to reach out more to both the Sindhi Diaspora and the intentional community and inform them of justifications for demanding the right of self-determination for Sindh. We must tell them that the crisis and instability in Pakistan derive from the country’s socio-political structure in the present form, in which one province, namely Punjab, has an overwhelming domination in all spheres of power. Looking at the history of so-called freedom in the last 54 years, the Pakistani establishment has adamantly maintained its dominance intact. The insistence on status quo and the refusal to negotiate even a little on sharing power have created this chaotic state. The Pakistani State (that is, the government, military, and ruling elite) is involved in all kinds of violence against its own people as well as other peoples across the borders.
We have to highlight that current strong federal structure leaves no room for negotiating a fair sharing of power and resources. That is why Sindhis are now demanding the right of self-determination. The right of self-determination was promised to all provinces in the Pakistan Resolution of 1940, under whose condition Sindh accepted to join the Federation of Pakistan. We also believe that the right of self-determination is Sindhis’ inherent and inalienable right, as per the U.N. Charter and International Convent. By virtue of this right, Sindhis should be allowed to determine their own political status and to pursue economic, social, and cultural developments.
It is true that Sindhis are frustrated with the cultural hegemony of Urdu speaking people and Punjabis. In this setup, the Sindhi language and culture have been marginalized. The current setup in Pakistan thrives on religious dogmatism and intolerance, which is against the Sufi/secular tradition of Sindhis. The survival of Pakistan is only possible if it engages itself in regional wars. We Sindhis find this engagement neither morally justifiable nor economically viable. All of these reasons make a strong case for our demand of the right of self-determination.
It is important that Diaspora Sindhi communities understand the disadvantages of such political arrangement. We need to explain thoroughly that the survival of Sindhi nation depends much on the right of self-determination, which is a means to achieve this survival.
The Socialization of Sindhiat
It is essential that we promote cultural aspects of Sindhiat: the music, language, arts, food, and other “good things” of life. We should try to show Sindhi culture’s characteristics and create an appreciation for such aspects of identity within our kids and ourselves. We should try to have joint activities that emphasize cultural aspects of our identity.
Finally, let me summarize the points I raised in today’s discussion. I believe that the unity of overseas Sindhis is a need of the time. We have made some progress, but we need a lot more work. The technology now permits us to take advantage of it. WSC members in the UK and North America maintain close communications by means of Internet. The way we function is an example of taking advantage of the current technology.
Challenges are many. I mentioned only a few in this discussion—i.e., circumventing the diffused demography; revising biased history, especially in textbooks; politicizing Sindhiat for the right of self-determination; and having Sindhiat penetrate our social lives to a greater extent.
This speech is by no means an academic paper. It is just meant to provide a motivational analysis, suggest a few ways in which we can be instrumental in uniting overseas Sindhis, and clarify the challenges we face.