SOAS Centre for the Study of Pakistan: Seminar Series 2011-12

Sindhi Nationalism: Colonial Past and Postcolonial Present Dr Sarah Ansari

Event summary by Mahwash Bhimjee (SOAS Masters, Development Studies)

Dr Sarah Ansari on her talk on Sindhi Nationalism traced the origins of Sindhi nationalism from the early days of colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent all the way to present day Sindh in Pakistan. During her talk she exposed the intricacies of, and set off to dispel myths about Sindhi nationalism. She introduced the audience to the peculiarities of Sindhi nationalism and its relationship with Indian identity, both Hindu and Muslim.

During the first part of her talk Ansari spoke about the impact of British rule on Nationalism in Sindh. She gave the audience an alternative view of Sindh, talking about Sindh’s journey before, during and after partition. Sindh played an important role during the British Raj since it was an integral trade route across the country through to India. For this reason the province experienced major structural changes in attempts to increase its profitability via trade. It was said that Sindh’s people as well as its rivers were ‘tamed’ by the British. Ansari held that Sindh maintained a cleaner record compared to other provinces in issues of communalism, yet resentment arose amongst the people due to the artificial separation of the province by the British in 1936. A move such as this gave rise to issues of employment of people living in Sindh in relation to whether they were Sindhi or not.

The latter part of the talk was more concerned with Sindh’s post-colonial and its present day condition. Interesting facts on Sindh’s assemblies, parliamentary and demographic representation were shared. Eventually it was learnt that once the mass influx of refugees entered issues stemmed based on insecurities and cultural rivalries rose where Sindhi’s felt threated by new migrants. Ansari highlighted how Sindhi nationalism rejected the Urdu- ization of the province, and the new Pakistani nationalism that arose after partition. Sindh’s particular brand of nationalism was one that distinguished itself ethnically from other provinces in Pakistan, especially Punjab, yet held an Islamic character that dissociated it from its Hindu roots and even its Hindu people.

The professor spoke about how Sindh was resistant to refugees from other parts of the country as it was afraid of being robbed of its identity and its resources. The roots of the Sindhi nationalist movement arose from such a fear and continue to plague the province even today as various political parties fight for representation, as do Sindhis vs. non-Sindhis. Ansari talked in detail about the Sindhi nationalist movement, its aims and its successes. She pointed out how Jeay Sindh’s political agenda was both radical and progressive, calling for things such as the removal of gender and class inequality, but at the same time it continued to be an exclude the Hindus in Sindh.

After listening to the rather insightful talk, one feels that in order to achieve its goals, nationalism has to embrace all its members fully without the exclusion of certain categories of people. Looking at Sindh today one can see that ethnicism is highly rampant and thus Sindhi nationalism’s effects have been limited.