Sindhis

This article is about the socio-ethnic group of South Asia. For other uses, see Sindhi.
Not to be confused with the Sindi people.
Sindhi
سنڌي / सिन्धी /
Total population
(c. 40 million approx)
Regions with significant populations
 Pakistan 35,700,000[1]
 India 3,810,000[2]
 United Arab Emirates 341,000[3]
 Malaysia 30,500[4]
 United Kingdom 30,000[5]
 Afghanistan 19,500[6]
 Canada 11,500[7]
 Indonesia 10,000
 United States 9,800[8]
 Singapore 8,800[9]
 Hong Kong 7,500[10]
 Oman 700[11]
Languages
Sindhi
Religion
Islam, Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Al-Lawatia • Balochis • Punjabis • Saraikis • Memonis • Marwaris • Gujaratis

Sindhis (Sindhi: سنڌي‎ (Perso-Arabic), सिन्धी (Devanagari), (Khudabadi)) are a Sindhi-speaking ethnic group native to the Sindh province of Pakistan.

Sindhi culture is highly influenced by Sufi doctrines and principles. Some of the popular cultural icons are Raja Dahir, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Jhulelal, Sachal Sarmast and Shambumal Tulsiani.

After independence of Pakistan in 1947, most Hindu and Sikh Sindhis migrated to India and other parts of the world. According to 1998 census of Pakistan, Hindus constituted about 6.5% of the total population of Sindh province.[12] Sindhi Hindus believe in tenets of Sikhism but are predominantly Sahajdhari. As a result, this group can be regarded as concurrently following Hinduism and Sikhism. Most of them live in urban areas like Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Mirpur Khas. Hyderabad is the largest centre of Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan with 100,000-150,000 people.[12]

Sindhi is spoken in India, especially in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is spoken in Ulhasnagar, near Mumbai, which is the largest Sindhi Hindu dominant region in India. Sindhi is also spoken as a minority language in other countries where communities of Sindhis can be found.

History

Pre-historic period

Vintage group photo of Indian Sindhi people

The original inhabitants of ancient Sindh were believed to be aboriginal tribes speaking languages of the Indus Valley Civilization around 3300 BC. Moen-jo-Daro is the symbol of Indus Valley Civilization in World.

The Indus Valley Civilization went into decline around the year 1700 BC for reasons that are not entirely known, though its downfall was probably precipitated by a massive earthquake or natural event that dried up the Ghaggar River. The Indo-Aryans are believed to have founded the Vedic civilization that existed between the Sarasvati River and Ganges river around 1500 BC. This civilization helped shape subsequent cultures in South Asia.

For several centuries in the first millennium B.C. and in the first five centuries of the first millennium A.D., western portions of Sindh, the regions on the western flank of the Indus river, were intermittently under Persian, Greek, and Kushan rule, first during the Achaemenid dynasty (500-300 BC) during which it made up part of the easternmost satrapies, then, by Alexander the Great, followed by the Indo-Greeks, and still later under the Indo-Sassanids, as well as Kushans, before the Islamic invasions between the 7th-10th century AD. Alexander the Great marched through Punjab and Sindh, down the Indus river, after his conquest of the Persian Empire.

Historical period

Because of its location at one of the more western edges of South Asia, Sindh was one of the earliest regions to be influenced by Islam after 632 AD. Before this period, it was heavily Hindu, and Buddhist. After 632 AD, it was part of the Islamic empires of the Abbasids and Umayyids. Fundamentalist rulers played a pivotal role in forcibly converting millions of native Sindhis to Islam.[13] Habbari, Soomra, Samma, Arghun dynasties ruled Sindh.

Ethnicity/religion

Part of a series on
Sindhis

Main article: Demographics of Sindh
"The Priest King Wearing Sindhi Ajruk", c. 2500 BC, in the National Museum of Pakistan.

The region received its name, Sindh, from the River Sindhu (Indus). The people living in the region are referred to as Sindhi. The terms Hindi and Hindu are derived from the word Sindh and Sindhu, as the ancient Persians pronounced "s" as "h" (e.g., sarasvati as hrauvati). In the same way, Persians called the people of this region as Hindhi people, their language as Hindhi language and the region as Hindh, the name which is used for this region since ancient times, and later for the whole northern part of the Indian sub-continent today. India is also known as Hindustan.

The two main and highest ranked tribes of Sindh are the Soomro — descendants of the Soomro Dynasty, who ruled Sindh during 970-1351 A.D. — and the Samma — descendants of the Samma Dynasty, who ruled Sindh during 1351-1521 A.D. These tribes belong to the same blood line. Among other Sindhi Rajputs are the Bhachos, Bhuttos, Bhattis, Bhanbhro, Mahendros, Buriros, Lakha, Sahetas, Lohanas, Mohano, Dahars, Indhar, Chachar, Dhareja, Rathores, Dakhan, Langah, etc. The Sindhi-Sipahi of Rajasthan and the Sandhai Muslims of Gujarat are communities of Sindhi Rajputs settled in India. Closely related to the Sindhi Rajputs are the Jats of Sindh, who are found mainly in the Indus delta region. However, tribes are of little importance in Sindh as compared to in Punjab and Balochistan. Identity is mostly based on a common ethnicity.

Muslim Arabs have possibly contributed the most to the development of the modern Sindhi language and literature and to the advancement of its intellectual and cultural activities.

Another group of people who are largely overlooked in any discussions about groups and culture of Sindh are the Haris, whose name is derived from the term "Harijan."[14] The majority of Haris are nominally Muslims while practicing what is generally known as folk Hindu beliefs all over rural Pakistan like head tonsuring and sacred thread ceremonies.

Nearly 1.4 million Muslims (Muhajirs) migrated from India and settled in Sindh after the creation of Pakistan, populating mostly urban centers of the province. They spoke Urdu and Gujarati as well as other languages that reflect their regions of origin.[15]

Sindhi Muslims

Abida Parveen is a Pakistani singer of Sindhi descent and one of the foremost exponents of Sufi music.

With Sindh’s stable prosperity and its strategic geographical possession, it is not surprising that it was subject to successive conquests by foreign empires. In 712 A.D., Sindh was incorporated into the Caliphate, the Islamic Empire, and became the ‘Arabian gateway’ into India (later to become known as Bab-ul-Islam, the gate of Islam).

Muslim Sindhis tend to follow the Sunni Hanafi fiqh with a substantial minority of Shia Ithna 'ashariyah. The Sufism has made a deep impact on Sindhi Muslims and Sufi shrines dot the landscape of Sindh.

Sindhi Hindus

Read also Sindhis in India

Sindh is home to some Hindus. The ratio of Hindus was higher before the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Many Hindus are migrating to India and other parts of the world; they are regarded as a minority in decline.

“ Before 1947 however, other than a few Gujarati speaking Parsees (Zorastrians) living in Karachi, virtually all the inhabitants were Sindhis, whether Muslim or Hindu at the time of Pakistan's independence, 75% of the population were Muslims and almost all the remaining 25% were Hindus.[16] ”

Hindus in Sindh were concentrated in the cities before the independence of Pakistan in 1947, during which many migrated to India according to Ahmad Hassan Dani. In reality, Hindus were spread over Sindh province. Thari (a dialect of Sindhi) is spoken in Sindh in Pakistan and Rajasthan in India.

“ The Cities and towns of Sindh were dominated by the Hindus. In 1941, for example, Hindus were 64% of the total urban population.[17] ”

Emigration

Main article: Sindhi diaspora

The Sindhi diaspora emigrated from India and Sindh is significant. Emigration from the Sindh began before and after the 19th century, with many Sindhis settling in Europe, USA and Canada with a large Sindhi population Middle Eastern states such as UAE, KSA. A wave of emigration began in 1947 to India after the partition.

Culture

Sindhi names

Main article: Sindhi names

Muslim Sindhi tend to have traditional Muslim first names, sometimes with localized variations. Sindhi have castes according to their work and mostly of their belonging places and their forefathers. Sindhi speaking Baloch have tribal names which came to Sindh in majority after Talpur and British invasions.

Sindhi tend to have surnames that end in '-ani' (a variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansha', which means 'descended from'). The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name or location of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of') are also common. A person's surname would consist of the name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'.

Notable Sindhis

Main article: List of Sindhi people

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Ethnologue report for India Archived 18 January 2010 at WebCite
  3. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=12252#topmenu
  4. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=18260#topmenu
  5. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=682#topmenu
  6. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=24016#topmenu
  7. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=47435#topmenu
  8. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=43625#topmenu
  9. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=10720#topmenu
  10. ↑ Rising India and indian communities in East Asia - By K. Kesavapany, A. Mani, Palanisamy Ramasamy, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
  11. ↑ http://www.peoplegroups.org/explore/GroupDetails.aspx?peid=11891#topmenu
  12. 1 2 "Pakistan Census Data" (PDF).
  13. ↑ Nicholas F. Gier, FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES, presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May 2006
  14. ↑ "Refugee Review Tribunal" (PDF). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  15. ↑ The People and the land of Sindh Archived 14 February 2011 at WebCite
  16. ↑ The foreign policy of Pakistan: ethnic impacts on diplomacy, 1971-1994, by Mehtab Ali Shah, published in 1997 by I B Tauris and Co Ltd, London PAGE 46
  17. ↑ Proceedings of the First Congress of Pakistan History & Culture held at the University of Islamabad, April 1973, Volume 1, University of Islamabad Press, 1975

External links

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