Literature & coexistence: Intellectuals delve into history to discover seeds of ethnic divide

Learning a language should be up to the discretion of people, says Amar Jaleel.

KARACHI: If Muslims and Hindus can live together in Sindh before the partition of the Subcontinent then why cannot the Sindhi and the Urdu-speaking population do the same. It is a socio-cultural matter but the so-called politicians have made it very controversial, commented renowned Sindhi intellectual Amar Jaleel.

He was speaking at a seminar, titled ‘Dawn in the Valley of Wisdom’, organised by the Sindh Abhyas Academy of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology on Sunday evening.

Jaleel said that languages couldn’t be imposed on people. “It is a choice whether one likes to learn a language or not. A language also identifies with one’s land. Urdu has no land but it is one of the most powerful languages. I love it with my heart.”



Ghazala Rahman Rafiq, the founding director of the academy, referred to Jaleel as the “Badshah of dialogue” when she invited him on stage.

Jaleel’s focus was on answering the questions of the audience. “What is the difference between rural Sindh and urban Sindh and at what stage is Sindh today?” asked a participant. “Rural is inferred as backward but even developed countries have rural areas,” Jaleel responded. “The condition of rural areas in Sindh is, however, really pathetic.”

He said that most of the people living in urban areas did not like being affiliated with rural backgrounds because of the condition of rural Sindh. “The recent floods have exposed the situation of rural areas. It is all because of the bad governance since 1947. Rural Punjab is absolutely different from rural Sindh,” he said, adding that Sindhis in rural areas were living in miserable conditions.

He said that Hindus who migrated to India are dominating the country’s economy. He said that Sindhi Hindus were affluent, adding that their number was not more than seven million but their contribution towards the Indian economy was visible today.

Sindhi literature

“We lack creative writers,” he replied to a question regarding Sindhi writers’ contribution in the province. “They don’t write on social matters, including Pirs, Sardars and karo-kari.” He said that the writers’ impact would be noticeable when they highlighted social and political issues with courage.

Talking about the medieval Sindhi literature and folklore, GM Umrani, a famous literary figure, said that Sindhi poets highlighted the ideology of feminism years before the West raised the issue. “Shah Abdul Latif’s main characters were women, such as Sohni, Sassi and Marvi.”

Umrani said that the Kalhora period was the best period of Sindhi literature because Shah Latif came in this period. He declared the Talpur period as the worst period, saying Persian literature had affected the local literature during the time. “The British era could be called the victorious period as Sindhi alphabets were introduced in this period,” he informed.

Muneer Chandio, a young literary figure, said that the founding director of the academy had provided an opportunity to various Sindhi writers and poets to interact with students.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2013.