Speaking at a provincial autonomy seminar in the metropolis, former chief justice of Sindh High Court Mr Wajihuddin Ahmed proposed that a new city which replicated pre-partition colonial Karachi should be built near Port Qasim for the settlement of old Sindhis "and those Hindus who had migrated to India and wanted to return to their native land".
Creating a new city which looks just like Saddar Town is a wonderful idea, but to make it the preserve of old Sindhis and repatriated Hindu Sindhis is to propose an exclusivity which has dangerous socio-political implications. Nostalgia is fine but if it creates a "them" and "us" divide between old Sindhis and the people who settled in Karachi after partition, it is bound to unleash serious ill-will, strife and cause bloodshed. Karachi can well do without a new brand of socio-political unrest.
"Old Sindhi" and "new Sindhi" are the latest catch-phrases in the province. In chronologic order the term "new Sindhi" appeared first. It seems to have been coined by the offspring of Mohajirs, who were born in Pakistan and who have no emotional or nostalgic link to the places of origin of their ancestors, the partition refugees. At least three generations of born Pakistani Mohajirs live in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and other cities of Sindh. Except for Karachi, and to some extent Hyderabad, the born Pakistani Mohajirs cannot be distinguished from old Sindhis.
To these people the term "Mohajir" has become simply a reference to their ancestry, just like the terms "Punjabi", "Pathan". However in the 1970s, after the creation of Bangladesh the term "Mohajir" acquired a harmful ethnic and political colour fuelled by fear that the settlers would be sidelined and their economic progress stunted. The declaration of Sindhi as the official language of the province led to riots. The nationalisation of industry was a body blow to the Mohajir business class. There was also anger that Mohajir patriotism and loyalty to Pakistan was doubted.
Thus the Pakistani born Mohajirs were not allowed to see themselves as anything but Mohajirs. The quota system in government jobs and professional education led to violent reaction in the student community of Karachi. It was humiliating for them to be denied jobs and seats in colleges because their parents or grandparents had come from undivided India. At every turn they were asked to produce citizenship papers to establish their bonafides. The worst hit were medical students while those studying engineering and business administration were no better off.
Things reached such a pass that these youth finally created a political party called MQM in the 1980s which unleashed a terrible reprisal, the major victims of which were Mohajirs themselves. But that the majority of born Pakistani Mohajirs, as well as their elders did not subscribe to this politics of violence, ultimately cajoled the MQM leadership to alter the name of the party from Mohajir Quami Movement to Muttahida Quami Mahaz.
The die-hards in the party split as they wished to retain the Mohajir identity of the party; they retain the old name and they are the ones who still raise the old "jiye Mohajir" slogan.
The attempts at reconciliation as well as the fact that the born Pakistani Mohajirs see themselves as nothing but Sindhis led to the coining of the term "new Sindhi". The phrase has gained in popularity but it seems to have rekindled anti-Mohajir sentiments. As in the early days of Pakistan, today the people who were Sindhis before 1947 think the phrase is merely a disguise, that "new Sindhis" are merely wolves in sheep's clothing. There is no cure for paranoia, and a separate city for old Sindhis will not solve the problem either.
Will anybody care to explain how many years it takes for a person to become a genuine native? Take the case of Quaid-i-Azam. His father was a settler from Cutch. He was born in Karachi and went to school at the Sindh Madressah. As a Barrister he preferred Bombay (Mumbai now) where he prospered. When he died in 1948 he was 72-years old. His story is no different from the Hindu merchant class which hailed mostly from Gujarat and Maharashtra who came to Karachi. All these people, including, of course, Muhammad Ali Jinnah were old Sindhis.
So why is it that those who migrated in 1947 and their offspring are still not naturalised? After all, the Mohajirs have been in this city over sixty years.
The phrase "old Sindhi" was coined as a counterpoise to "new Sindhi" to create a separatist distinction between people who were here before and post-1947. In short, Mohajirs are condemned to remain Mohajirs no matter what they may do to merge in. It is an irony that those who left Sindh in 1947 to settle in independent India are to be espoused as legitimate Sindhis with a right to resettle in the province. Why? Hasan't sixty years of Indian citizenship made them Indian? Ethnically they may not have changed but surely politically they are Indians.
Since the 1980s we have witnessed an upsurge in Sindhi nationalism on both sides of the border. Very successful Sindhi conferences have been organised in India as well as in the UK and USA where there is a significant large community of "old" Sindhis. As a cultural revival the Sindhi nationalism is to be admired, but its political nuances must be nipped. Sindhis are not the only people who are rediscovering their roots but any idea which leads to or has the potential of causing divisions or disrupting existing political entities is to be abhorred.
The seminar on provincial autonomy held in Karachi on June 7, 2008 was coloured with nationalism rather than patriotism. It is not only pre-1947 Sindhis who have a right to live and work in this province nor can they see themselves as a privileged section of Sindhi society. The idea of a separate town for old Sindhis near Port Qasim is an attempt to drive a wedge between old and new Sindhis. The colonial heritage of the city is not for old Sindhis exclusively. The new Sindhis have sentimental attachment to Saddar Town as-well---where else did they live when they migrated?
If a city exclusively for old Sindhis is created, it is likely to be no better than a Red Indian preservation. The demand for such a city seems to indicate that old Sindhis view themselves as a deprived class and new Sindhis, or Mohajirs as usurpers. The cultures, especially the linguistic literary and musical culture of old and new Sindhis is equally rich and equally strong in its influence on the people. I do not see old Sindhis abhorring a qawali any more than I see new Sindhis unmoved by the kafi recitals.
Many old Sindhis measure Sindhiness by language. "Why can't you speak Sindhi?" they ask Karachiites. Unfortunately it is only the Karachiites among Mohajirs who cannot speak Sindhi, but the fault is that of Sindh government and cultural bodies. They have failed to comprehend that Sindhis is not heared in Karachi so one is unable to pick it up by ear as Mohajirs living in other Sindh cities have done.
In Karachi you will have to teach the language, but little concerted effort has been made in this regard. Making Sindhi compulsory in secondary schools is not a solution. The language needs to be introduced at the primary level and gradually year-by-year to secondary level.
At the same time those who have finished schooling also need to learn Sindhi. What effort has been made to do so? Virtually nothing except a ragged banner put up at the Sindhi book shop near the secretariat about five years ago which announced that Sindhi language classes would be held. I enrolled, and was told by the shopkeeper that classes would being as soon as there were more students. He took my contact number and promised to call up. He has not in the past five years. Did the Sindh government thinks one banner was sufficient to inform this city of teaming millions?
May be I am becoming paranoid, as it seems to me that the old Sindhis are deliberately trying to retain a separate identity for themselves. If Karachiits become Sindhis speakers their cause is largely lost, because Sindhi and Mohajir distinction is based purely on language issue.
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