Kalachi Research Journal Kalachi Research Journal Muhammad Qasim Sodhar cially from 712 A.D when Arabs a acked on Sindh in order to control the Bushra Qayyum Panhwar economy of Sindh. Likewise, a er this a ack, history is witnessed of many Migration to Sindh: It’s effects on Political occupants came in Sindh. However, if we avoid going through the long history Economy & Demography of Sindh of Sindh back, but just look over the history of Sindh before par on, we will also find Balouch and Punjabi migra on to Sindh. Balouch migrated to Sindh Abstract: in a huge number even la er they ruled Sindh, but there were no such ethnic
conflicts between indigenous Sindhis and Baloch immigrants, because on one This paper aims to trace a picture of Sindh a er the construc on of irriga on sources especially the construc on of Sukkur and Guddu barrages hand, they kept their own Baloch ethnic iden ty with them, and at the same r (2) r which a racted Punjabi migrants. The major focus of this ipaper is the migra- me they also accepted Sindhi iden ty. i on of Urdu speaking popula on from India a er the par ona of India, and to Balouch constructed a new ethnicity as ‘Sindhi aBalouch’ and started see how much indigenous Sindhi popula on was affecteh d economically and living with indigenous Sindhi popula on peacefully. Buth on the other hand, demographically because of these refugees emigra onC . This paper shows, Punjabis did not assimilate themselves in Sindhi society.C Balouch not only ac- whether Punjabi and Urdu speaking migrants contribu ted for the progress of i cepted and adopted Sindhi iden ty but they ownedi the interests of Sindh. But Sindh or they kept themselves aloof from the ma era of prosperity of Sindh? with the passage of me, they went beyond a construc vist approach and This paper will also deal this issue opposite in t Balouch emigrants’ case that proved themselves as sons and daughters of thet soil. But on the other hand, what were causes which restricted Urdu speakingi emigrants to assimilate in the Punjabi migrants not only kept themselvesi aloof from Sindh cause, but a Sindhi society? h huge majority of emigrant Punjabis, served theirh economic interests only. This B was a main reason which created a ri betweenB indigenous Sindhi popula on
Introduc on f and Punjabi immigrants. f : i i The Punjabi immigra on took place during Bri sh rule in Sindh. As Migra on from one area to othert remained a main cause of ethnic t Sarah Ansari writes; “Sindh’s main assets, from the Bri sh point of view, were conflicts in different countries of thea World. The ethnic issues prevailing in a two folds: what it had offer in terms of communica ons and water supply. Pales ne, Burma, and Sindh of PakistanL are examples of these ethnic ri s. The L The Bri sh, concerned to make the province pay its own way, set about trying main cause behind these ethnic conflicts is to achieve more and more eco- l to increase both, expanding thel amount of traffic, and trade, which crossed nomic benefits for a par cular ethnic community or ethno-na onality. In this u Sindh as well as the reliability uof its irriga on resources. These twin objec ves regard Tariq Rehman quo ng Tahir Amin writes; “Amin used modern theories d resulted in a spate of railwayd building and new irriga on ini a ves from the of ethnicity to explain that ethno-na onal movements are the products of the (3) b (1) end of nineteenth century.”b Due to these developments new immigrants demand for a just share in goods and services in a modern state.” (4) A were a racted which resultsA a great numbers of emigrants in Sindh. Bri sh In this regard, Sindh has been remaining a shining example, because authori es also granted land to military pensioners from the Punjab. (5) it is Sindh which has been experiencing refugees’ problem and ethnic ri s for h The Bri sh authori esh were more inclined toward Punjabis than Sin- a long me period. Sindh has been facing many invasions and a acks from a dhis, and they had aown explana on in this regard. Bri sh opinion in this case outsiders like Arabs, Tarkhan, Mughal, Argoons, and Bri sh and before and h can be perceivedh in Sarah Ansari’s words; “Punjabis tended to be seen by the also a er the par on, influx from West Punjab and India. S Bri sh as skilledS and industrious workers, who would make efficient cul va- Migra on to Sindh before the par on of India tors, in contrast to Sindhi zamindars and haris who were perceived, in Bri sh (6) As men oned in introduc on that Sindh has been facing problems of eyes, to be overwhelmingly ‘lazy’ and so essen ally unproduc ve.” Like Sin- outsiders/refugees for long me period. The history of Sindh dates back espe- dhis, Punjabis were also dependent more on agriculture than business and 7 8 Kalachi Research Journal Kalachi Research Journal trade etc. this was a main reason which a racted Punjabis to se le in rural in Hyderabad district and 71 percent in Sakhar. In Karachi, there were only areas of Sindh a er construc on of irriga on facili es in the region. A er the 14.28 percent speakers of Sindhi in 1951 as opposed to 58.7 percent who construc on of new barrages in Sindh, Punjabis in numbers of thousands mi- spoke Urdu as their mother tongue. Thus, Karachi overnight became a mo- grated to Sindh and the especially se led in districts of Nawabshah, hajir city.” (11) In this regard also another argument can be traced from Tariq Tharparkar, Hyderabad, Badin, Tha a and Sukkur. (7) The Punjabi influx was Rahman’s point of view that; “In the whole of Pakistan, refugees formed 9.8 resisted before and a er construc on of Sukkur Barrage in 1930 by Sindhi per cent of the popula on, but in Sindh and Khairpur state they formed 11.7 landlords who feared an invasion of Punjabi peasant proprietors. (8) per cent of the popula on.” (12)
r Before and during par on period, there were r riots on religious i i Refugee influx a er the par on: grounds going on but it was only Sindh where such kinds of riots were nomi- a nal. In spite of that a er Punjab, the larger number of refugeesa was se led in The refugee issues were not new for Sindh ath the me of par on, Sindh, which created ethnic conflicts in Sindh. (13) The hmain reasons of these but this migra on was quite different from those took place earlier. First res- C conflicts were complete alien-ness of two cultures.C In Punjab the case was erva on on this migra on is that there was no men o n of migra on from quite different where migrants came from East Punjab with same language, India to Pakistan vice versa other than between Easi t and West Punjab, in any i a culture and norms. On the other hand, in Sindh,a it was quite different than agreement or plan like 3rd June plane etc. t Punjab. There were clear cultural and social differet nces between immigrants Despite without any agreement regardingi migra on, in the a er- and host Sindhis. (14) There was also a ma eri of superiority complex in the math of Hindu-Muslim communal violence, theh exodus of Muslim popula on minds of new immigrants which also led conflictsh between indigenous popula- from UP and Bihar (Mohajirs) was forcedB to migrate to West Pakistan and on and migrants. B
se le over the evacuee property of the fSindhi Hindus who were supposed to In this regards S. Akbar Zaidi pointsf out; “For the refugees, Sindh was leave Sindh and se le in India. Although,i the large number of migrants was always a backward underdeveloped parti of the country, having nothing to do se led in Punjab, and a smaller numbert as compare to se lers in Punjab t a with the more sophis cated urban culturea which they represented. The supe- se led in Sindh. But, this migra on affected Sindh more than Punjab as Sarah rior and haughty a tude of the refugees was (and s ll is) a persistent affront Ansari argues that: “The number L of refugees arriving in Sindh was certainly (15) L to the Sindhis.” small than in the Punjab, but thel total was large rela ve to exis ng popula on l
of the province.” (9) Sindh becauseu of availability of natural resources was eco- u nomically rich. This was a maind cause which had been a racted migrants from The ba le of resources ond ethnic grounds: different areas. These migrantsb whether they are Punjabis, Pathans, Balouchs The refugees wereb more benefited in Sindh as compare to Sindhis. or Urdu speakers, all had been a racted by economic opportuni es available There were mul ple reasons behind this kind of depriva on of Sindhi popula- in Sindh. As Charles H. AKenedy points out that “They have been a racted by on. The one and most Aimportant aspect is that; Mohajirs were more educat- economic opportuni es,h both the commercial lure of Karachi and the availa- ed than indigenous Sindhis.h This can be observed in the figures of literacy rate bility of rela vely cheap land in newly irrigated areas bordering on Punjab and in earlier period of 1950s. The Urdu speaking migrants’ literacy rate was 23.4 (10) a a Balochistan.” per cent, whereas the literary rate of whole Sindh on other hand was only h (16) h RefugeesS from India changed the demographic loca on of Sindh es- 13.2 per cent. S As with some difference in numbers it is noted by Charles H. pecially its urban centers like Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas. We Kennedy that Mohajirs possessed several advantages because of their high can see a sudden demographic change in Mohammad Waseem’s analysis who literacy rate and also their previous administra ve and entrepreneurship ex- writes: “63.9 percent of refugees in Sindh lived in urban areas, 86.16 percent perience. He points out that the literacy rate of Muhajirs was 70% but on con-
9 10 Kalachi Research Journal Kalachi Research Journal trary Sindhis’ literacy rate was only 10%. (17) payment of compensa on.” (22) The ba le over gaining more and more resources was going on espe- It was because of central government’s superiority that any govern- cially between Sindhi landlords and immigrants. The powerful Sindhi landlords ment official, who spoke against the separa on of Karachi from Sindh, was wanted to gain as much benefits of property le by Sindhi Hindus. (18) But on dismissed or faced serious consequences. The then Sindh Chief Minister Ayub the other hand central government was taking efforts to rehabilitate these Khuhro resisted against this plan, was overthrown, and was replaced by Pir refugees and also allot that property le by Hindus to these migrants. The Illahi Baksh who was fully inclined towards Jinnah. The then central govern- ment has been alleged yet that the main purpose behind making Karachi a central government seemed not interested in resolving ma ers of Sindhi peo- ple, because it was not only case of Sindhi landlord onlyr but Sindhi haris capital of Pakistan was to se le influx and also to snatchr the economic (peasants) and other oppressed classes as well. It can be ianalyzed a er the strength of the city from provincial government. A er makingi Karachi the construc on of Gudu and Sukkur Barrages as Mohammada Waseem shows a capital of Pakistan and declara on of state of emergencya in Punjab on 27 Au- clear picture of central government’s unjust with indigenoush popula on of gust due to tensions created in Punjab camps, Pakistanh government rese led Sindh. refugees in Sindh doubled in number. (23) Now the government of Pakistan did C not feel need to convince Sindh government before Crese ling refugees in Ka- He writes; “The land ques on was another major source of Sindhi i rachi because now Karachi was the capital of Pakistian. na onalist sen ment. Out of the land brought aunder cul va on by Ghulam a Mohammad, Guddu and Sakhar Barrages,1.48 tmillion, 0.64 million and 0.28 t i i million acres respec vely, ex-military officers and bureaucrats among others- Conclusion: mostly Punjabi but also mohajir-s were allo edh .87 million, 0.32 million and h In the light of above debate, it can be concluded that Sindh has been 0.13 million acres in that order.” (19) B B facing migrants’ problems since Arab invasion of Sindh. But it is reality that f f Because of a rac ve literacy ratei of Muhajirs, in 1950s, Sindhi edu- many originally Arab, Mughal, Syed andi Balouch popula on assimilated them- cated class started to emerge. This condi ont created compe on in jobs be- selves in Sindhi society. But on the othert hand, Punjabi, Pathan and especially (20) tween Urdu speaking popula on anda indigenous Sindhis. Urdu speaking popula ons’ assimila ona seem far away to become a reality. L As this paper mainly focused onL Punjabi and Urdu speaking migra on to
Separa on of Karachi from thel Province: Sindh, in this regard, Punjabi migra onl seems that was not concerned with u permanent interests of Sindh.u The military of Bri sh India mainly consisted of In 1948, the central government of Pakistan proposed to make Kara- Punjabi soldiers, who were granted fer le lands of Sindh in Bri sh period and chi a permanent capital of thed country. Karachi was an economic hub of Sindh a er the par on as well, theyd were just enjoying luxuries, but they did not even before the par on especiallyb Karachi port was being used in export and try to assimilate themselvesb in Sindhi society. import. Another importance of Karachi was Sindhi Hindus’ interest in this city A The case of UrduA speaking migra on from India was different. Alt- that established trading roots and made it a business hub of Sindh. Despite of hough, no doubt in both sides i.e. India and Pakistan riots on religious grounds Sindhi poli cians’ resistanceh over the ma er of making Karachi the capital of h were going on, so migra on was inevitable. But the problem arises here that Pakistan, on 22 May,a it was announced by Jinnah who was in favour of greater a no one plan or other document advocated the migra on from both countries centraliza on, toh make Karachi a permanent capital of Pakistan. (21) Sarah An- h except East and West Punjab. The influx from India a er par on did not con- sari highlights this issue, she writes: “Many Sindhis felt that they had been S tribute in be ermentS of Sindh, but on contrary it proved as economical and ‘the ones who had given refuge to the central government… this child who geographical threat for Sindhi popula on. On the one hand, Karachi was sepa- had not legs {Sic} to stand on, no chair to sit and no papers to write’, and here rated from Sindh, and on the other hand, Sindhis became a minority in their were the central authori es annexing their capital without any concern or own city Karachi. Because of this ba le over resources between Sindhis and 11 12 Kalachi Research Journal Kalachi Research Journal Urdu speakers, a clear cleavage was drawn between indigenous popula on 10. Charles H. Kennedy, “The Poli cs of Ethnicity in Sindh”. Asian Survey, Vol. 31, No. and migrants. 10 (Oct., 1991)P939. 11. Mohammad Waseem, “Ethnic Conflict in Pakistan: The Case of MQM”. The Paki- No doubt, new migrants were mostly educated and experienced in stan Development Review, Vol. 35, No. 4, Papers and Proceedings PART II Twel h bureaucracy but at the same me, they along with Punjabis were assured Annual General Mee ng of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists Is- more benefits than other ethno-na onali es. The idea behind this was simply lamabad, December 14-16, 1996 (Winter 1996)P620. that Urdu speaking popula on played leading role in making of Pakistan so 12. Tariq Rahman, Language and Poli cs in Pakistan. Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2003.P110-11. they were to be given more rights and benefits. In this case, we can take an example of Liaquat Ali Khan then Prime Minister of Pakistan who was also 13. Adeel Khan, “Pakistan's Sindhi Ethnic Na onalism: Migra on, Marginaliza on, r and the Threat of "Indianiza on". Asian Survey, Vol. 42, No. 2r (March/April 2002) Urdu speaking. Even Liaquat Ali Khan had no electoral cons tuency,i in spite of P218. i that, he was made a Prime Minister of Pakistan. Migra ona to Sindh especially 14. S. Akbar Zaidi, “Sindhi vsMohajir in Pakistan: Contradic on,a Conflict, Compro- its main city Karachi also seen in this context that Liaquath Ali Khan wanted to mise.” Economic and Poli cal Weekly, Vol. 26, No. 20 (Mayh 18, 1991) P1295. create an electoral cons tuency in Karachi where fromC he would have elected 15. Ibid. C himself in future. 16. Tariq Rahman, Language and Poli cs in Pakistan. Karachi, Oxford University Press, i 2003.P112. i However, in both cases viz. Punjabi as wella as Urdu speaking migra- a on, not only caused demographic changes in Sindht especially its main urban 17. Charles H. Kennedy, “The Poli cs of Ethnicity in tSindh”. Asian Survey, Vol. 31, No. i 10 (Oct., 1991)P942. i centers, but at the same me, more importantly economic changes also took 18. Sarah Ansari, Life a er Par on Migra on, Community and Strife in Sindh 1947- place. On the one hand, millions of acres of hfer le lands of Sindh were given h 1962. Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2005. P99. to re red military personnel of Punjab. OnB the other hand, industries and B 19. Mohammad Waseem, “Ethnic Conflict in Pakistan: The Case of MQM”. The Paki- other proper es le by indigenous Sindhif Hindus were occupied by migrants stan Development Review, Vol. 35, No. 4,f Papers and Proceedings PART II Twel h from India. Likewise, main urban centersi of Sindh like Karachi, Hyderabad and Annual General Mee ng of the Pakistani Society of Development Economists Is- t lamabad, December 14-16, 1996 (Wintert 1996)P622-23. Sukkur came under control of these amigrants. These were main causes which a resulted ri s and skirmishes between Sindhis and Urdu speaking migrants. 20. Dr. Mubark Ali, Sindh Khomoshi Ki Awaz. Lahore, Fic on House, 1994.P267.
L 21. Sarah Ansari, Life a er Par on LMigra on, Community and Strife in Sindh 1947- 1962. Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2005. P62. References: l l 22. Ibid, 63. 1. Tariq Rehman, “Language, Poweru and Ideology”. Economic and Poli cal Weekly, u Vol. 37, No. 44/45 (Nov. 2-15,d 2002) P 4556. 23. Ibid, 66. d 2. Dr. Mubark Ali, Sindh Khomoshib Ki Awaz. Lahore, Fic on House, 1994.P266. b 3. Sarah Ansari, Life a erA Par on Migra on, Community and Strife in Sindh 1947- A 1962. Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2005.P23. 4. Ibid. h h 5. Ibid, 31. a a 6. Ibid, 31-32. h h 7. Mahmud Mirza,S Aaj Ka Sindh. Lahore, Progressive Publishers, 1987. P29. S 8. Sarah Ansari, Life a er Par on Migra on, Community and Strife in Sindh 1947- 1962. Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2005.P32. 9. Ibid, 74.
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