Celebrating Sindh day

The result of an unnecessary attack on the president's choice of topi on a state visit to Kabul last year, ‘Sindhi topi-ajrak day’ celebrated its first anniversary this year. It shows that pride in one's culture, history and roots is important.

Whilst celebrating, I thought of what it meant to be Sindhi. Our topi and our ajrak are just the tip of the iceberg. What is most Sindhi to me is the struggle for justice against subjugation as described by Shah Abdul Latif Sain, especially in Sur Marvi. What is Sindhi is my rich mother tongue. What is Sindhi is the Sufi culture, Bhit Shah, Mai Bhaggee, Allan Faqeer and peace-loving people. The sight of my sea, my palla fish, my Kirthar mountains, my Umerkot, my Malir, my Thar desert, my Indus, my katcho. The sounds and smells of my Indus civilisation — a civilisation not exclusive to Sindh as it has the capacity to welcome all from Skardu down to Kotri.

I have been brought up in an environment where we have taken great pride in our national roots. But at no point has this pride made us xenophobic or less Pakistani. It is my firm belief that pride in each nation's diversity is what will eventually make Pakistan a better, all-encompassing nation-state. There is no need to deny these roots to create that sense of ‘Pakistaniat’. This can be done by emphasising the beauty of each province. Perhaps this is what motivates me to spend equal time struggling against injustices in all regions of Pakistan rather than the one I was born in. My maroora are everywhere. They are present from Karoonjhar to Keti Bunder. But they also exist from Shishkat to Nowshera to Gwadar to Balakot to Sheikhupura to Bahawalpur. The injustices people there are subjugated to motivate me to work hard for them.

Unfortunately, wherever I see provincial pride, I also see a sense of superiority. We are born equal and there is no need to hate others due to differences in colour of skin or birthplace. Each provincial culture is as grand as the other.

As I sat in front of a fire at Nausheroferoz at a ‘mach katcheri’, I thought of my rich roots and felt great peace and pride. But my next thought was about the injustices my people were committing against each other, from raping women to raping our national resources. Some of the very men who talked proudly about Sindh day had committed crimes against their people. The sense of hatred that some Sindhi political elements were trying to build against other provinces and towards Pakistan's concept was so distasteful that I felt sickened. Every Sindhi town I drove through the next day had put up flags preaching hatred against my one flag of Pakistan. All for the sake of a misplaced sense of nationalism.

My Sindhi culture preaches unity and respect for other cultures. Whether the topi is Sindhi, Baloch, Pathan, Punjabi, Kashmiri or from Gilgit-Baltistan, it is beautiful. And all these topis put together make Pakistan beautiful.

Perhaps my sense of national pride can best be described by the following sur of Shah Sain:

Sain sadain kareen mathai Sindh sukaar, Dost mitha dildaar, Alam sub abaad karai — My Lord, bring prosperity to Sindh, but along with Sindh, bring prosperity to all of the universe.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2010.