THE%20SINDH%20STORY

Jiye Sindh
THE FATE OF SINDH was sealed in 1947. But it has been unsealing from the
very first day. Sindhi Muslims were asking for partition because other Muslims
were also doing so --- and because the Hindus were saying no. It seemed to be
such great fun. But they had never thought of the consequences of this funny
business.
It is true, the Sindhi Muslims were way behind the Hindus in education,
employment, and trade. But they were coming up all the time. Moreover, they
were 70 per cent of the population and a big majority in the Assembly --- and
what cuts deep in politics was bound, eventually, to cut deep all-round The
future of the Sindhi Muslims, therefore, was assured.
Meanwhile, in 1945 the two most respected leaders of Sindh had already
resigned from the Muslim League in disgust over Jinnah’s preference for the pro-
British reactionaries in Muslim society. One was Sheikh Abdul Majid, who had
joined the League in 1915, and edited the chief organ of Muslim opinion in Sindh,
the daily Al-Wahid, and inducted stalwarts such as Khaliquzzaman of UP and
Abdur Rab Nishtar of NWFP into the League. The other was G M. Syed who, as
president of the provincial League, had transformed it from a sleepy little feudal
outfit into a mass organization
When, therefore, Partition came, the Sindhi Muslims were not sure it was the
right thing. Mohammed Ibrahim Joyo was sure it was the wrong thing. He wrote
the book Save Sind --- from Pakistan. But it was too late. And when refugees
from Bihar poured in, and the Sindhi Hindus began to leave, they were sure it
was the wrong thing- The atmosphere in Sindh turned funereal. It was as though
the rakshasa (demon) was on the prowl and he might devour anybody and
anything any time. People spoke very little and in hushed tones. The Muslims
were heard saying that Qiamat (end of the world) seemed to be fast approaching.
Within days Jinnah’s portrait was off the Sindhi walls. When refugee Muslims
wanted to kill Hindus, Sindhi Muslims refused to cooperate. Premier Khuhro
himself went out, revolver in hand, to quell the riots. Indeed, the first dispute
between the Sindh Government and the Pakistan Government arose when, after
the sack of Karachi on 6 January, 1948, the former arrested refugee rioters and
recovered looted property from them, and the Centre sided with the rioters. The
refugees were heard saying: “The Sindhi Muslims seem to be born from the urine
of the Hindus.”
The Sindh Story; Copyright © www.panhwar.com
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