Sindh Conflict

The Sindh Conflict is an armed conflict between the Government of Pakistan and the Sindhi Nationalists who wish to create an independent state called Sindhudesh.

Background


The book Chach Nama chronicles the Chacha Dynasty's period, following the demise of the Rai Dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by Muhammad bin Qasim in the early 8th century CE, by defeating the last Hindu monarch of Sindh, Raja Dahir.

Conquered by Syrian Arabs led by Muhammad bin Qasim, Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate. The Arab province of Sindh is modern Pakistan. While the lands of modern India further east were known to the Arabs as Hind. The defeat of the Brahmin ruler Dahir was made easier due to the tension between the Buddhist majority and the ruling Brahmins' fragile base of control. The Arabs redefined the region and adopted the term budd to refer to the numerous Buddhist idols they encountered, a word that remains in use today. The city of Mansura was established as a regional capital and Arab rule lasted for nearly 3 centuries and a fusion of cultures produced much of what is today modern Sindhi society. Arab geographers, historians and travellers also sometimes called the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush, Sindh. The meaning of the word Sindhu being water (or ocean) appears to refer to the Indus river. In addition, there is a mythological belief among Muslims that four rivers had sprung from Heaven: Neel (Nile), Furat (Euphrates), Jehoon (Jaxartes) and Sehoon (Sind or in modern times the Indus).

Arab rule ended with the ascension of the indigenous Parmar Rajput Soomro dynasty. Later, in the mid-13th century the Soomros were replaced by the Muslim Rajput Samma dynasty.

Turkic invaders sent expeditions to the area from the 9th century, and part of the region loosely became part of the Ghaznavid Empire and then the Delhi Sultanate which lasted until 1524. The Mughals seized the region and their rule lasted for another two centuries, while the local Sindhi Muslim Rajput tribe, the Samma, challenged Mughal rule from their base at Thatta. The Muslim Sufi played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. Sindh, though part of larger empires, continued to enjoy certain autonomy as a loyal Muslim domain and came under the rule of the Arghun Dynasty and Turkhan or Tarkhan dynasty from 1519 to 1625. Sind became a vassal-state of the Afghan Durrani Empire by 1747. It was then ruled by Kalhora rulers and later the Baluchi Talpurs from 1783.

The British conquered Sindh in 1843. General Charles Napier is said to have reported victory to the Governor General with a one-word telegram, namely "Peccavi" – or "I have sinned" (Latin). In fact, this pun first appeared as a cartoon in Punch magazine.

The first Aga Khan helped the British in the conquest of Sindh and was granted a pension as a result. Sind was made part of British India's Bombay Presidency, and became a separate province in 1936. The British ruled the area for a century and Sindh was home to many prominent Muslim leaders including Muhammad Ali Jinnah who agitated for greater Muslim autonomy.

Following World War II, Britain withdrew from British India and Sindh voted to join Pakistan in 1947 during partition as the largely Hindu educated elites were replaced by Muslim immigrants from India. Later local Sindhis have resented the influx of Pashtun and Punjabi immigrants to Karachi. Nonetheless, traditional Sindhi families remain prominent in Pakistani politics, especially the Bhutto dynasty. In recent years Sindhi dissatisfaction has grown over issues such as the construction of large dams, perceived discrimination in military/government jobs, provincial autonomy, and overall revenue shares.

All India Muslim League branch in Sindh was established by Ghulam Muhammad Bhurgari in 1918. All India Muslim League and Congress party of Sindh held their annual sessions at the same place simultaneously and passed a similar resolution. Abdullah Haroon, who joined it in 1918 was elected the president of the province at Muslim League in 1920.

Timeline
In 1972, G. M. Syed proposed the formation of an independent nation for the Sindhis under the name Sindhudesh. He was the first nationalist politician in Pakistan to call for the independence of his land in a Pakistan divided by the liberation of Bangladesh. The movement for Sindhi language and identity led by Syed drew inspiration from the Bengali language movement. In post independence Pakistan, the machinations of the Pakistani state convinced Syed that Sindhis would be marginalised in the set up. The concept of Sindhudesh as propounded by Syed calls for the liberation and freedom of Sindhis from Punjabi-Mohajir imperialism.

With his political base largely weakened after election, Syed later advanced his position towards openly demanding separation from Pakistan and the build-up of an independent Sindhudesh in his books Heenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey (Now Pakistan Should Disintegrate) and Sindhu Desh — A Nation in Chains.

The concept of Sindhudesh is also supported by the Sindhi diaspora including Sindhis in India, most of whom had to be relocated out of Sindh after Partition, leaving behind their property as evacuee trusts under reciprocal government supervision. Pre-partition, Sindh was a relative peaceful province, with communal violence only erupting sporadically and during partition. This peace stopped after partition, with post-partition migrants to Sindh angry at the "non-co-operation" in the killing of Hindus; and communal hatred multiplied post partition.

Zulfiqar Shah wrote an article in which he provided the reasons of Sindh's freedom.

After the death of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, the Sindhudesh movement has seen an increase in popularity. Sindhi nationalists judge that Sindh has been used to the advantage of people from non-Sindhi ethnic groups, citing the dominance of Muhajir people in key areas of Sindh including Karachi, large scale migration to Sindh from other regions of Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleged Punjabi dominance in the defence sector, and an increase in Taliban migrants moving to Sindh; as well as terrorist related attacks on the region. and believe this to be the cause of recent troubles in Sindh (see Sindhi nationalism). Pro-Sindhudesh organisations such as the JSQM and World Sindhi Congress have gained a wider support base.

JSQM 'Freedom March'
The Daily Times reported that on March 23, 2012 in Karachi, Hundreds of thousands of leaders, activists and supporters of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) attended a freedom march denouncing the Pakistan Resolution and chanting pro Sindhu Desh slogans, with many rallies being present. The paper also reported that processions occurred in many other cities and towns in Sindh. JSQM Chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi expressed his desire for the Urdu-speaking community to integrate with Sindh, calling them "brethren and part of Sindhi nation".

The Sindhi nation has been waiting for the last 64 years to secure independence since Punjab has assumed all the powers of the federation, including civil bureaucracy, military and judiciary, while all the resources of Sindh have been placed at the disposal of Islamabad. Dr Safdar Sarki