My dear Ranjit,
Your letter of 8th Jan. 2002 is before me. Please accept my sincere appreciation for your publication 'SindhiShaan'. I have received
the first two issues; I am extremely impressed by your concern regarding Sindhi community's past, present and future. Your robust efforts to project the glorious and rich heritage of the Sindhi people is praiseworthy. Your above quoted letter shows your anxiety to explore the community's true self to make us conscious and proud of our past achievements.

Dear Ranjit, you are very lucky that in the present turn of history, when, generally speaking, our people are becoming aware of their self-pride, you have appeared on the horizon. It gives me great pleasure. If I reflect on the myriad events of the past half century, my heart is filled with multiplicity of varied emotions of sorrow, sadness, anger, excitement, success, joy, pride and fulfilment.

If I go down memory lane, I find the caravan of Sindhiyat has traversed the most trying and challenging times. We started with a sense of despair at the loss of our beautiful homeland- SINDH, and separation from our single, proud and loving people. We were saddened because we were huddled into dilapidated, broken military barracks with inhospitable surroundings, fit to be served as breeding grounds for piggery. This was a most humiliating and painful 'reward' for a civilised community, that had made a great sacrifice for the freedom of our country, and lost a very dear thing, including its dear land. Then we felt outraged as Sindhis were linguistically discriminated against, by
non-inclusion of the Sindhi language in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution.. In addition, adding insult to the injury, our own language was
tempered with. Through an illegal executive order, Devnagri scriptures sought to be imposed on Sindhi arbitrarily, without referring such a vital issue to
the academicians, or getting a popular consent of the people concerned.

Naturally it was an affront to a civilised community and an act of injustice and high-handedness. We had to fight against such step-motherly treatment from our own government of free India. This is how, popularly known as movement of Sindhiyat i.e. struggle for preservation of Sindhi language and culture began. It was led by conscious progressive writers and intellectuals who had earlier participated in the struggle for freedom of India in the 'Quit India' Andolan of 1942. Soon it became so popular that all sections of Sindhi people, the young and the old, the literate and the illiterate joined the ranks and stood like a rock. The combined strength of the community and the united action brought success in getting our language included in the 8th schedule of the Constitution, after 16 years of hard struggle. The mischievous move to change the script was also arrested through a court order. Such a victory brought a sea of change in our people. Those who had abandoned their mother tongue realised their folly. Those who had given up pride in their rich heritage and mutilated their names and surnames felt sorry and rectified their mistakes, and those who had shunned Sindhi music and other cultural activities returned to Sindhi mother's fold. Many welcome changes came to the Sindhi mind-set.

The most significant development during the last two decades has taken place is on two levels. One, the Sindhi migrants, whose number has swollen to million, overseas, are becoming conscious of the loss of their roots and are feeling pangs of a cultural vacuum and emptiness in social intercourse and collective life. The other equally important change is taking place among the new generations of Indian Sindhis who are also feeling a loss of cultural moorings and pangs of being uprooted from its own soil. Such emotions are
weighing heavily on their hearts. Among other cultural groups they feel belittled and inferior, devoid of richness and grandeur of their heritage. They have dared to question their elders about the missing links and continuity of our rich cultural tradition and history.

This new awakening has brought with it a sense of inquiry in the past and a search for the future. SindiShaan and such other efforts are a genuine urge to peep in that direction, to revive interest in our proud past. Your earnest desires to explore and find out a comprehensive definition of the concept of Sindhiyat- the essence of Sindhi culture is really ennobling.

Dear Ranjit, culture is not a static concept or a materialistic formula to be encompassed in a few sentences. It is like a living organism, ever growing and changing- absorbing something new, fresh and progressive and throwing away or discarding something that has become out moded and irrelevant. Culture goes on changing, invigorating itself and expanding its sweep and frontiers. It is a vast and variegated term, and to lock it in a definition is next to impossible.

All the material, moral and spiritual achievements and attainments of people during the course of history constitute its culture. Some are external attributes and some are intrinsic human values of perennial interest and perceptual joy, emanating from human activity and interaction, such as thought, philosophy, arts, literary treasure, entertainment and other creative engagements. At the present juncture, our prime concern should be to promote and inculcate the spirit (the essence) of Sindhiyat among our young generations. The external
attributes of our culture have undergone such a tremendous change that to harp or insist on its exterior aspects, i.e. the dress code, the food habits, the entertain-modes, life style and such other things, would appear rather odd and irrelevant to the present times.

We should insist on certain selective and essential qualities and basic things that would cover the core of our culture. Language comes first in my mind, being the most distinct attribute of a people; single most important symbol of identity of a people. Language is not only a powerful vehicle of communication and interaction among the homogeneous ethnic groups, but services as a reservoir of knowledge, philosophical thought, spiritual treasure, and all that which is of ennobling nature in human life.

Therefore, the first and foremost task is to restore to our mother tongue, the legitimate position of honour, deserved affection and unyielding dedication. Language should become our faith and religious duty. In every day life we must build around it a halo of sanctity, by making an extensive use of communication between our children, our relatives, our friends, in the neighbourhood, in the market or work places. Wherever Sindhis meet they must not violate the rule of speaking in the sweet Sindhi tongue.

Further, we have to ensure that we build up a Sindhi atmosphere inside our homes, by not only making Sindhi as a mode of inter-communication, but creating domestic surroundings that breathe Sindhiyat, through our décor and such other means of environs.. Today, to our great pain and disappointment, an average Sindhi house is bereft of Sindhi cultural atmosphere. Our drawing rooms appear virtual showcases of electronic gadgets and some nude paintings of western art hung on the walls. You will hardly find art pieces, pictures or paintings relating to Sindhi life, culture, history, or great men and women from the community. Generally, the library is missing from the Sindhi houses. If at all there is one, the Sindhi classical books are conspicuous by their absence. No replicas of rich finds from our glorious past adorn our walls to create a pure aesthetic atmosphere and give a touch of our own.

The other very outstanding aspect that deserves to be emphasised is the distinctiveness of the collective personality of our community- Sindhis have passed through hell and fire, but have remained resilient and steadfast in the face of innumerable hardships and trials. This stamina and quality of character is an integral part of Sindhiyat, that has won Sindhis respect and admiration nationally and internationally.. Individually too the Sindhi mind is
described as a rainbow of human colours- Man of liberal disposition, forward looking views ,catholic spirit, generous or charitable nature, open-minded, hard-working boldly intelligent, smart, adventurous sea-farer, and world trotting entrepreneur.

To crown it all, the spirit of Sindhiyat is as old as the flow of the sacred river Sindhu that has flowed through the ages in the Sindhu valley, and has imparted the message of Universal love, brotherhood of man and religious tolerance. These are benchmarks of Sindhi culture, that are explicitly spelt out by our Sindhi deity ODEROLAL, who has become a moving spirit and the most popular symbol of Sindhi culture. The celebrations of the day of his incarnation, "Cheti Chand'(full moon day of the Hindu month of Chetta, he was born in the year 1007 in Sewhan on the banks of the Sindhu river) all over India is the biggest festival of Sindhis. It has brought a new cultural awakening among the Sindhis and a sense of pride and solidarity among them.This should grow day by day and all around to Sindhiyat sustenance and strength .

KIRAT BABANI.