Secularism in Sindhi Culture

Excerpted from Popati Hiranandani, History of Sindhi Literature

Chapter II "Partition of the Country and its Socio-Economic

Effects": Sind, throughout the ages had been invaded by the people from the North-West, but all these diverse races and religions that penetrated this region were somehow absorbed by and fused with the ancient Inheritors of the Mohan-jo-Daro culture. Strange phases of history have gone into the making of what is called 'Sindhi Culture' which is a composite culture that partakes the finest that is in Man's spiritual and temporal life.  This culture is strikingly distinct in its secular and humanistic content.  The inhabitants of the Indus Valley were the most peaceful people living in ancient times.  No traces of weapons or aggressive traits are found in that civilization.

"The sophistic faith of the universality of man's brotherhood that was propagated in Persia, found a fertile ground in Sind.  The faith molded the life of the people in Sind for many centuries and it became the indigenous creed that was accepted by both Muslims and Hindus of Sind... most of the works in Sindhi literature of the past reflect that spirit.  It is a proud chapter of the cultural heritage of Sindhis.

Heritage

Sindhi Sufism is a harmonious blending for the finest values of both Vedantic and Islamic cultures. The axiom of Sachal "I am neither a Hindu nor a Muslim"... Shows the dynamic tradition of the most secular philosophy of humanism which nurtured the intrinsic fabric of the mind of a Sindhi Sachal, and other poets... were blunt in their criticism of the dominant Mullahs and the orthodox fanatical Hindus. They denounced Mullahs and the Pundits [who] declared them heretics. People think Mullahs are on fast, but they are having their milk secretly

 Look at these dishonest persons

 They cannot carry themselves but they boast of carrying the sins of others!

….shah Hussain

Diin (Religion) and Kufr (unbelief) are snares for the heart

----Sachal

Though the forms of waves differ [lahiruun lakha libaasa

Water pervades them all (Parnia pasarnu hekro)

---Shah Latif [Shah Sain]

The legacy of all-embracing love for mankind has made Sindhis cosmopolitan in outlook and universal in temper. Their social structure is not ridden with prejudices of caste, color or creed. In Sind, the relations between Muslims and the Hindus were very cordial.  Both had access to the houses of each other. The evening prayer of a rustic Sindhi would invariably be "God's blessings are on Hindus, on Muslim and on the rest."

Both Sindhi Hindus and Muslims do not harbour any race conscious prejudices.  Even the descendants of Negro slaves whom the Arabs brought with them, live peacefully in Sind...

Hindus and Muslims co-existed in love and friendship for centuries. A Sindhi Hindu bows down in front of a holy Dargah [shrine] without any hesitation and Sindhi Muslim calls God Varuna Zindah Piir [The Living Saint].

Prof. Ram Panjawani's memorable story "Mohammad Gadi a waro"

(Mohammad the Carraige Driver) and Narain Bharati's story

'Dastavez' [The Dcoument] portray the communal harmony which existed between the Hindus and Muslims of Sind before partition.

A Sindhi never speaks about wars and conquests, aggressive adventures or religious crusades.  He sings devotional songs to his water god [jhule lal], dances to the rhythmic tunes of wedding songs and composes poems which express the fidelity of love and attachment to his soil.

Against this background of rich secular and human cultural tradition, the creation of Pakistan on the basis of religion, separating Sindhi Hindus and Sindhi Muslims destroying the strong secular force of love and brotherhood and in its place produced the evil of hatred. While the other provinces like Punjab and Bengal were rocked by communal passions, Sindhis both Hindus and Muslims, showed remarkable resilience and immunity from communal morass. Not only the reaction of the intellectuals but even of the Sindhi masses was quite different from that of their counterparts elsewhere in India at the advent of the Partition of the country. Sindhis on both sides of the border were the worst sufferers. In Sind, the sense of oneness based on religion, so magnificently displayed only a few days ago, markedly subsided soon after the. Partition and the Sindhi Muslim soon found that he was a refugee in his own country.  His heart filled with rebellion and anger. When Sind, as a province was merged in West Pakistan, he denounced the one unit of West Pakistan and tried to break it.

And on his side of the border, the stateless Sindhi Hindus, whose birthplace Sind was given in Toto to Pakistan, had to fight the grim struggle for survival.  The whole Sindhi Hindu community was scattered throughout the length and breadth of the subcontinent, settling wherever they could. When every other Indian was enjoying the fruits of freedom, Sindhis (after the Partition) had to migrate from their birthplace;

*Marus are banished from their Malir When the rule of cruel Umar has ended!

.. Indur Bhojwani

The change came, but it did no good, The Palace of my dreams has crumbled down It could not bear even the light touch of reality.

-- Narayan "Shyam"

*Mauri, a village beauty of Maliru was kidnapped by Umar, the king of Umarkot, and her parents, Marus were helpless.  The poet satirically expresses the idea that the Sindhis like Marus suffered under rule of Britishers. But when those rulers vacated leaving behind a reign of arson and loot, Sindhis had to flee from the land of their birth".

--Popati Hiranandani,

In History of Sindhi Literature