Sindhi

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Sindhi

Sindhi is the name of the community that occupies Sind (or Sindh) in Pakistan with an estimated population of 20 million people. Sind is located in the southern part of Pakistan. It shares a border with India on the east, while the province of Baluchistan is to its west and north and the Punjab is to the northeast. There are three particular geographic parts to Sind: mountains, desert, and river. Most of the cities are situated along the Indus River. The word "Sindhi" as well as "Sind" come from another word "Sindhu," which is the old name of the Indus. The Sindhis speak a language named after themselves: Sindhi. The language is Indo-Aryan, but has elements of Persian and Arabic. Several dialects exist: Vicholi, Siraiki, Thareli, and Lari.

Most Sindhis are Muslims who belong to the Sunni sect. Their religious rituals follow those set out by the Qurʿan. However, the Sindhis diverge from orthodox Islam by worshiping Muslim saints, a trait that probably developed due to the influence of Hinduism in Sindhi history. One particularly revered saint is Lal Shabhaz Qalander, who was a Sufi mystic in the thirteenth century. The anniversary of his death is a major holiday that is celebrated with a festival featuring singers, musicians, and dancers.

The Sindhis have a strong cultural heritage, with a folk literature and poetry that dates back to the fourteenth century if not earlier. One famous Sindhi poet is Shah Abdul Latik, whose best-known work is Shah Jo Risalo, widely recited throughout the area. There are several historical sites, including Mohenjo Daro, Amri, and Kot Diji, that show the cultural legacy left by the culturally advanced Harappan civilization that flourished in Punjab and Sind in the third millennium BCE. Although there are those who do not believe there is much connection between the Harappan culture and today's Sind culture, others have shown that certain items, such as a bullock cart or a musical instrument, have not changed significantly since the days of the Harappans.

Today, agriculture is the main source of income for the Sindhis. They grow wheat, millet, maize, rice, cotton, and oilseeds. They also grow bananas, mangoes, and dates. Because there is little rain in this area, the Sindhis rely heavily on irrigation for their water. The main source of water is the Indus River, which has three irrigation dams on it. Other economic activities include herding camels, goats, and sheep in the areas away from the Indus River, and fishing catfish, shad, pomfret, and shrimp in the Indus River and on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

Industrial activity takes place mostly in Karachi. Karachi is the provincial capital of Sind and also the largest city in Pakistan. It has a population of more than 9 million people. Because Karachi is the commercial and industrial center of Pakistan, it lends considerable status to Sind. Karachi has industrial plants that manufacture cotton, sugar, cement, steel, and cars. Unfortunately, Karachi has seen the development of squatter populations as people migrate from the rural areas, drawn by the lure of the city and the promise of the riches they believe it contains. This migration reduces the agricultural labor force, which has an adverse effect on the economy. The Sindhis suffer from the standard ills of an agricultural society within the developing countries: a low standard of living, overpopulation, and lack of education.

In addition to the economic problems the Sindhis face, they have to deal with ethnic and political concerns within Pakistan. The Sindhis perceive the Punjabis' power as threatening to their identity. Therefore, they have resisted efforts to supplant the Sindhi language with Urdu in schools. This ethnic divisiveness between Sindhis and the Urdu-speaking muhajirs (Muslims who fled their homeland in India and settled in the Sind following the partition of the subcontinent upon independence from Great Britain) has resulted in several violent clashes.