Sindh Needs to be Seen Through a New Perspective

Since the black age of One Unit, Sindh has been the centre of persistent political and cultural movements. There was continuous movement on issues like promotion and implementation of Sindhi language, issuance of voter lists in Sindhi, teaching in Sindhi medium, etc. The anti-One Unit movement linked the political movement to a cultural agenda that allowed Sindhi nationalism, rather than being confined to provisional issues, to have a strong foundation in terms of its historical identity, cultural heritage and language. Later, Sindh‘s national rights movement played its widespread role on issues like quota in jobs as per the constitution, the release of political prisoners, hindering the construction of Kala Bagh Dam, stopping the population of unrelated personnel and nations in Sindh. Throughout this entire development, the cultural front has extraordinarily strengthened this movement. The advantage of this cultural correlation was that the element of violence could not be included in the struggle for the rights of Sindh. There were a number of weaknesses in this battle, but on the whole, all these struggles brought awareness in Sindh to the strong and deep roots, which changed the streams of thought in Sindh.

Another important benefit of this cultural cohesion was that Sindh’s national struggle began to flourish on a secular basis and left no room for religious or sectarian extremism. GM Syed, Comrade Haider Bakhsh Jatoi, Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo, Comrade Sobho Gianchandani, Rasool Bakhsh Palijo, Jam Saqi, Sheikh Ayaz and countless other personae were among the pioneers of this secular Sindh.

From the time of One Unit, for more or less half a century, these colors of struggle continued to arouse emotions in the dwellers of cities as well as villages, hamlets, and remote areas of Sindh. The following important changes took place after the 1990s, which raised concerns about the struggle for national rights:

1 – With the advent of information technology, especially mobile phones and the social media used through these phones, the traditional forms of struggle began to change and the new generation began to use new platforms to reach out to the masses.

2 – Urbanization intensified in Sindh. There was a marked increase in the migration of people from the countryside to the cities. Hyderabad, the second–largest city of Sindh, and then Karachi, from different parts of the country, witnessed a sharp increase in the proportion of Sindhi speaking population. The migration of people from the villages to small towns around the countryside also increased. One of the reasons for this was the communication revolution within Sindh (i.e. the construction of new roads, lanes and bridges at various places on the Indus River) as well as enhancement in the purchasing power of vehicles among the people and introducing new means of communication. At the same time, the lack of basic public amenities in the countryside has fueled the trend of people migrating to the cities. The old colors also changed due to the burning and new ways of life in the cities.

Large-scale operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, violent acts by various religious groups and the use of weapons and ammunition in the nationalist struggle were grounded, and the struggle for national rights and the suppression of voices in this regard were suppressed. Different tactics were used as a result, the political arena was narrowed down to those working for civil rights. The disappearance of political activists, the dumping of their tortured corpses, the mysterious killing of political leaders, and the crackdown on media outlets and civil society have led to widespread public outcry. As a result, it became difficult to continue the old methods of struggle.

For these reasons, the old methods of brawl have gradually disappeared from the scene. Important and influential political figures of Sindh also left the world after playing their respective roles in their lives. The remaining responsibilities in the ranks of the political leadership did not remain as active at the grassroots level as before. Thus a vacuum was created in terms of political leadership.

This changed scenario of Sindh became a source of frustration for the generation which had seen the traditional public methods of struggle for decades. This generation began to feel that the people’s struggle was beginning to leave Sindh and Sindh was becoming politically barren. In fact, in this changed scenario, many positive changes have taken place in Sindh; but because they differ from the traditional methods of struggle, we, instead of being influenced by them, become disillusioned. In fact, these positive changes are the result of decades of struggle, from which we must gain determination. Examples of which are as follows:

With the advent of the Sindhi language on computers and the internet as well as the launch of numerous Sindhi TV and FM radio channels, and with the introduction of hundreds of websites, a new era has entered.

Due to the influx of people from rural Sindh to urban areas, the middle and large cities of Sindh, which were previously unfamiliar to the locals, now have the foothold of the people of Sindh in businesses, jobs and civil society forums. They are no longer at all, but they are beginning to feel their own. Sindhi speakers are mobilizing at major social institutions, literary events and professional bodies in Karachi. Now Sindhi youth and professionals are also occupying important positions in those institutions, where they did not get membership even till two decades ago. Sindhi youth have started using modern technology to go abroad in large numbers for education and employment. Until just a generation ago, coming from rural areas to Hyderabad and Karachi seemed grim. Now thousands of young people from Sindh are getting education and employment in the United States, Europe, China, Malaysia and other countries all around the world.

Within Sindh, a middle class is emerging, which is slowly laying the groundwork for filling the post-partition gap. This youth is gaining a foothold in the private sector through initiatives such as doing business and setting up social welfare institutions. The empowerment of this class will rightly change the social fabric of Sindh. The trend of higher education and employment of girls in Sindhi families is slowly increasing. The mobilization of women in society will play a vital role in the social development of Sindh. This trend needs to be further strengthened.

The above changes are, rightly, the result of the awareness created as a result of the political struggle of the last fifty years. Now the political and social institutions of Sindh must play their part in accelerating this wave of change and making it more effective. At the same time, awareness of Sindh’s historical identity, culture and political rights must be continued as a matter of course. Education, skills training, jobs in the private sector, small and medium enterprises, technology and the trend of emigration for educational jobs are important elements in rebuilding the society. For which political and social institutions need to play their role for the sake of strategy and progress of different stages.

Like the rest of the world, Sindh has changed. All that is needed is for us to look at Sindh from a different perspective and with a new sight