KARACHI, Aug 6: At a literary sitting held by the Idara-i-Adbiyat Pakistan on Monday, known Sindhi language writer Mumtaz Mohal presented a brief history of Sindhi literature. It was nice to see young and senior writers alike of both languages — Urdu and Sindhi — sitting together presenting their verses and Ghazals to the pleasure of everyone.
At the outset, an article on sufism and the sufis of Sindh was read out by the young Mumtaz Mohal, focusing on the life of Mohammad Zaman Naqshbandi and his Dargah at Lovari Sharif. Mumtaz traced the history of Sindh from the early sixteenth century (AD), when it was a separate country. After its annexation by the Mughals, it was destined to become — for the first time — a part of India. It was oppressed by many rulers, so much so that Ahmad Shah Abdali used to extract ‘Khiaj’ even from Sindhi Muslims. Sindh was ravaged and plundered by invaders for around a thousand years. During those years, the sufis and sufi poets shared the pain and grief of the common people. As such, Sindh was always a great centre of sufism, which brought common people into the Islamic fold and influenced the Hindus as well.
In the year 1847, Sindh came under British rule, which proved beneficial for its people. During the reign of the Mughals, Persian was the court language, while Sindhi was the language of the common people. The British introduced English as the official language and Sindhi as the second language. The English were rather generous in giving Sindhi a more popular status and in the adoption of the Arabic script. With the introduction of local self government, a streamlined civil administration, a postal system and the construction of the Sukkur Dam, Sindh entered into the modern age, and this was also the era of modern Sindhi literature. Apart from translations into Sindhi mainly from the sub-continental languages, Mirza Qaleech Beg did commendable work in the compilation of Sindhi’s literary history. Shah Jo Risalo, of the great sufi saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, was published from Germany. The founding of the D.J. College and the Sindh Maddrasah were landmarks in the socio-cultural development of Sindh and also in the rise of the middle class — mainly the Hindus.
There was a great upheaval in the political, economic and cultural life of Sindh after the partition of the subcontinent. The social change was mostly welcome, but the major story of Sindh was that of the maltreatment of its people. With partition, Sindhi literature was also split into two. It was treated by the rulers as an alien language, ousted from schools, and its presence taken as inimical to the cause of Urdu. It took a long time for the ruling class to believe that the other languages were also a source of support, enrichment and inspiration to Urdu. Sindh, after its merger in the One Unit, not only lost its status, but was almost wiped out from the map. This treatment gave rise to Sindhi nationalism, led by Haider Bux Jatoi, Shaikh Ayaz and many others.
As misgovernance also hurts the cause of creative art and literature, Sindhi literature could also not develop as it should have, though there was still a long range of writers that emerged on the scene — Jamal Abro, Ayaz Qadri, Amer Jalil as progressives and Agha Salim and others of the romantic school. Overall, the message of the Sindhi writers was based on universal brotherhood and love. Siddique Memon, Fehmida Hussain and seniors like Dr G A Allana and Dr Nabi Bux Baloch gave a lot to Sindhi literature.
Noor Mohammad Pathan, Director of Adbiat in Sindh, while summing up the proceedings, disclosed that the Sindhi language and literature had made major strides in present times. Around 27 dailies from Hyderabad were being published. Apart from the Sachchal Academy and the Latif Chain at the University of Karachi, there were five Sindhi language bodies functioning smoothly.
As senior banker and poet Mohammad Yameen was the chief guest of the evening, he recited some Ghazals. Ahmad Saghir Siddiqui, Ghalib Irfan and Khayal Afaqi also read out their Ghazals. Shaukat Kamal, Naseer Soomro, Yasir and others alsopresented verses, while Perveen Javed recited her Naat and Durre Shahwar read out her published essay.—Hasan Abidi
