Sindhis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sindhi
  • سنڌي
  • सिन्धी
Arabic as liturgical languages) and numerous other languages widely spoken within the Sindhi diaspora
Religion
Majority:
Islam
Minority:
  • Balochis

Sindhis (

ethnolinguistic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the Sindh province of Pakistan. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by the southeastern part of Balochistan, the Bahawalpur region of Punjab and the Kutch region of Gujarat.[21][22] Having been isolated throughout history, unlike its neighbours, Sindhi culture has preserved its own uniqueness.[23][24]

After the

Jain minorities. Despite being geographically separated, Sindhis still maintain strong ties to each other and share similar cultural values and practices.[26][27]

Etymology

The name Sindhi is derived from the Sanskrit Sindhu, which translates as "river" or "sea body"; the Greeks used the term "Indos"[28] to refer to the Indus River and the surrounding region, which is where Sindhi is spoken.[citation needed]

The historical spelling "Sind" (from the

Sindh Assembly, and is now spelt "Sindh." Hence, the term "Sindhi" was also introduced to replace "Sindi".[citation needed
]

In the

British for Sindhis in their census records.[29][30]

Global distribution of Sindhis population

Geographic distribution

geographical definition for Sindh referred to the south of Indus and its neighboring regions.[32]

Pakistan

After the British conquest, Sindh was integrated into the Bombay province and the Khairpur state remained a British suzerain. Sindhis had almost no representation in the government of Bombay State, to the point that only after 1890 was Sindh represented for the first time with only four members representing Sindh. This token representation did not satisfy Sindhis and soon a movement began for a separate province that resulted in the formation of Sind province

in 1936.

This was also supported by Muslim League, which considered it necessary for the creation of Pakistan in future. Sindhis had contributed massively[33] to the Pakistan movement, especially by passing a Muslim state resolution in the Sindh assembly on 10 October 1938 under the condition for a self-government[34] under leaderships of GM Syed and Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah. Sindh thus became the first province of British India to openly support a Muslim state in India and later Pakistan and its creation. The movement faced fierce political resistance from Sindhi nationalists such as Allah Bux Soomro and the Indian National Congress, which were against Sindh joining Pakistan.[35]

After the breakup of Pakistan in 1971, G. M. Syed and other nationalists inspired by Bengali nationalism launched the Jeay Sindh Movement,[36] which aimed for autonomy initially but later on raised separatist demands.[37] This movement reached its peak following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, starting from 2008 and lasting until 2012 and the death of Bashir Khan Qureshi.[38]

In Pakistan as per 2017 census,[39] Sindhis are the third largest ethnic group, after Punjabis and Pashtuns and followed by Saraikis. Sindhis account for 14% of Pakistan's population with an estimated 34,250,000 people. Sufism has been an important aspect in the spiritual life of Muslim Sindhis; as a result Sufism has become a marker of identity in Sindh.[40][41]

Sindhis in Pakistan have their own province, Sindh, It also has the largest population of Hindus in Pakistan, with 93% of Pakistani Hindus residing in Sindh.[42][43]

India

Concentration of Sindhi speakers in Sindh and India

Sindhi Hindus were an economically prosperous community in urban Sindh before partition,[44] but due to fear of persecution on the basis of religion and after large scale arrival of Muslim refugees from India,[45] they migrated to India after partition. They had a hard time[46][47] in India developing their economic status with no native homeland to claim, they chose to live in states that had similarity with Sindhi culture.[48] Despite all of that they were successful in establishing themselves as one of India's richest communities,[49][50] especially through business and trade.[51][52][53] Sindhis have disinguished themselves in India,[54] from famous actors such as Ranveer Singh to veteran politicians such as L. K. Advani, all of whom had families that came from Sindh.

In India as per 2011 census,[55] Sindhis have an estimated population of 2,770,000. Unlike Sindhis in Pakistan, Indian Sindhis are scattered throughout India in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Population break up by states (Census of India 2011)
State Population (100 Thousands) % of Total
Gujarat 11.84 42.7%
Maharashtra 7.24 26.1%
Rajasthan 3.87 13.9%
Madhya Pradesh 2.45 8.8%
Chhattisgarh 0.93 3.4%
Delhi 0.31 1.1%
Uttar Pradesh 0.29 1.0%
Assam 0.20 0.7%
Karnataka 0.17 0.6%
Andhra Pradesh 0.11 0.4%

Diaspora

Today many Sindhis live outside Pakistan and India, particularly in Afghanistan, where there are an estimated 25,000 of them, largely engaged in merchant trade.[56] In addition, during the crackdown on separatist groups by Pervez Musharraf an estimated 400-500 Sindhi separatists, along with Balochis, fled to Afghanistan.[57]

Another group of Sindhis migrated to the

Ceylon, which is the now modern day country of Sri Lanka, roughly two centuries ago to engage in business and trade.[58][59][60] They came via migration from Hyderabad city of Sindh.[61] However, after partition this trend increased as Sindhi Hindus left their home province.[62] Today they are mainly concentrated around Colombo.[63]

Rich Sindhi communities can also be found in both Hong Kong[64] and Singapore.[65]

History