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………. 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
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:46:06 +0000
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