Sindhi separatists reject theparliamentary path of struggle for attaining freedom and rights.[11] No Sindhi nationalist party has been ever voted into power in Sindh at any level of government.[12][13] In recent years, several Sindhi nationalists have deserted the ideology and joined mainstream politics due to disillusionment within ranks, lack of public support, and crackdowns by law enforcement agencies.[14] Some nationalist parties and associations are banned for alleged "terrorist, anti-state and sabotage" activities by the Pakistani government.[15]
In 1972 G. M. Syed proposed the formation of an independent nation for the Sindhis under the nameSindhudesh. He was the first nationalist politician in Pakistan to call for the independence of Sindh in a Pakistan.[9] The movement for Sindhi language and identity led by Syed drew inspiration from theBengalilanguage movement.[17] In post independence Pakistan, the strategy followed by the Pakistani state led Syed to come to a conclusion that the Sindhis would not be given due importance in the country.[9]
With his political base largely weakened after election, Syed later advanced his position towards openly demandingseparation from Pakistan and the build-up of an independent Sindhudesh in his booksHeenyar Pakistan khey tuttan khappey (Now Pakistan Should Disintegrate) andSindhu Desh — A Nation in Chains.[18]
After the assassination of former Prime Minister of Pakistan,Benazir Bhutto, ethnic unrest arose. Sindhi nationalists judged the country was being used to the advantage of people from non-Sindhi ethnic groups, alleged Punjabi dominance in the defence sector.[19] and believe this to be the cause of recent troubles in Sindh (seeSindhi nationalism).[20]
Sindhis in India,[21] most of whom had to be relocated out of Sindh after Partition, leaving behind their property as evacuee trusts under reciprocal government supervision.[citation needed] After the Partition of India, the majority of the minorityHindus andSikhs in Pakistan migrated to India, while theMuslim migrants from India settled down in Pakistan. Approximately 10 million Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India, while nearly an equal number of Muslims migrated to newly created Pakistan from India. Hindu Sindhis were expected to stay inSindh following the partition, as there were good relations between Hindu and Muslim Sindhis. At the time of partition there were 1,400,000 Hindu Sindhis, though most were concentrated in cities such asHyderabad,Karachi,Shikarpur, andSukkur.[22][23][24]
The concept of Sindhudesh is often also supported by Indian Sindhis[citation needed] most of whom want to return to their native homeland Sindh while retaining their lives in India.[22][25] Suggestions for a Sindhi political party in India as an ethnic empowerment movement[26] for the largest minority group inGujarat andMaharashtra included proposals of separatism and a higher degree of autonomy for theSindhi community in India.[citation needed] Proposed by prominent individuals participating in theChetichand celebration within the Sindhi community inAhmedabad such as the Chief Minister at the time,Shri Narendra Modi (later14th Prime minister of India).[27]Narendra Modi, in his speech gave an example of the Jewish acquisition of Jerusalem and suggested "If those who dream have strength, everything is possible"[27] The Gandhian carnival at Delhi's doorsteps won pan-Indian support for Sindhudesh.[28]
The concept of Sindhudesh is also supported by some in theSindhi diaspora[citation needed] includingSindhis in India,[29][30] most of whom had to be relocated out of Sindh after Partition,[31] 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.[citation needed] 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.[32][33] according to aSindhi nationalist organisation "The only backdrop for Sindhudesh movement has been the absence of national capitalist because of the migration of Sindhi Hindus from Sindh to India after partition. That’s why Sindhudesh Movement has been lacking economic, political and diplomatic means to start mass uprising against the decades of slavery, humiliation and oppression. Therefore, the independence of Sindh and establishment of secular republic of Sindhudesh is the need of the history and key to regional peace."[34][35][24]
Population break up by states (Census of India 2011)
TheSindhu Desh Liberation Army or SDLA is an active militant group based in the Sindh province of Pakistan. A series of minor blasts[36] took place on railway lines — the attacks carried out between November 2010, and February 2011 were claimed by the SDLA, who left pamphlets on the scene that mentioned “atrocities” being carried out against Sindh and promising to continue their “struggle” till Sindh was granted “freedom”.[37] The attacks were condemned by fellow Sindhi nationalists such as DrQadir Magsi of theJeay Sindh Tarraqi Passand Party, who warned of negative consequences from violence.[36][38]
Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz was a “merger/integration” of all the nationalist factions of Jeay Sindh or Sindhudesh movement which was functioning separately before the demise of veteran Sindhi nationalist ideologueGM Syed.Bashir Khan Qureshi was first chairman of party till his death and one of the most popular leader of Sindhudesh movement, widely regarded as hero of Sindh[40]
JSMM is one of the major[41][42]separatist political party in Sindh, Pakistan, that believes in the separation of Sindhudesh from Pakistan. Founded in the year 2000, by the veteran Sindhi nationalists belonging to the Sindhudesh movement who leftJSQM.[43] The founder and the current Chairman of partyShafi Muhammad Burfat is living in exile inGermany underpolitical asylum.[44]
Jeay Sindh Students’ Federation is the student wing of various separatist organizations struggling for the freedom of Sindhudesh following the ideology ofG. M. Syed, founded in 1969. JSSF was a nationalist outfit which emerged fromAnti-Unitary System Struggle in the late 1960s and later joined G. M. Syed in his ideology of a separate homeland forSindhis in 1972. Since then, it has been working as the students’ front of the Jeay Sindh or Sindhudesh movement.[45]
A new left wing party for a politically, culturally, economically and geographically independent Sindh was formed in December 2011. It wants to see Sindh as it was in 1843 before the British conquered it and opposes the development ofZulfikarabad, referring to it as anew Israel.[46]
^Syed, G. M.Sindhudesh : A Study in its Separate Identity Through the Ages. G.M. Syed Academy. p. These days a pragmatic situation has become dynamically alive in Pakistan. It is the exhilarating political idea of creating a new independent state of Sindh. So the sons of the soil, in full cooperation should increase the momentum for the demand and efforts to create Sindhu Desh with the new Sindhis who have settled down in this land permanently.Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved13 May 2018.
