b) Hindus have either willingly or under duress converted to Islam. However, since the occupation of Sindh by the English in 1843 (to 1947), Hindus were afforded religious protection. Thus, relatively, Hindu population grew during that period. And this in part explains the fact that Hindus can not recall their ancestry beyond 7-9 generations. Prior to entering Sindh, these Hindus were not Sindhis (culturally).

c) Since, Hindus were recent (on a relative time scale) migrants to Sindh and acquired Sindhi character somewhat later than the earlier migrants (who had converted to Islam prior to the English occupation), their roots to the adopted homeland were sort of shallow. Which may explain their flight from Sindh which took place without much fight. Hindus in Sindh did not suffer the type of atrocities that were meted out to minorities in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal.

I am not sure about the statistics, but I do not think that a majority of Hindus fled from Sindh. We still live there, and there is at least a million hindu sindhis in Sindh.

d) There is a large Hindu population still living in Sindh. However, Hindu Sindhis have forgotten them almost completely which in my opinion is another indication of their shallow Sindhi roots. Sounds a little awkward to say, but I am a Hindu Sindhi, how can I forget myself.

2. Hindus are living as second class citizens in Sindh. A recent survey of the Karachi Telephone directory (available on the Internet) indicates that most Hindus (such as Advanis, Balanis etc) have converted to Islam. I will refrain from citing the reports from independent organizations that list the plight of Hindus in Sindh.

We have our problems, but second class citizen is a bit too strong a word. The most subjugated sections our society are Bagris, bhiils, Kolhis, Oads and other smaller communities who really are treated like second class citizens. I guess people belonging to what was called by English as 'scheduled castes' have a similar miserable life in India too.

Surveying from Telephone directory is a little bit misleading because a large number (I don't mean all, because many people have taken measures to ensure to register with the name they desire) of names in Pakistan are not registered according to Surnames. Thus for example if you want to find my brothers name in the phone book, you would probably find it in Dharamdas, not in Rajani which is his surname. Actually in our national identity cards there is no column for surname, instead there is a column for father's name. Same is the situation with our Passports. I had to specifically get my surname entered into my Passport, in order to avoid trouble in rest of the world.

3. Today, most Sindhi Hindus are unable to fluently speak their language let alone write it. In my opinion, they have ceased to be Hindus. How many of them do you think are able to make love in Sindhi? You probably mean Sindhi Hindus living outside Sindh. But this applies even to children of Sindhi muslims too, who are born and have lived all their lives outside Sindh.

4. Moen-jo-daro civilzation has had as much influence on Sindhis living today as much as the great and ancient Egyptian civilization has had its influence on the people living in Egypt today - which is not much in my opinion. Although we may feel inheritors of the Moen-jo-daro civilization but we have not "earned" that inheritance. I fully agree, let me add, Ancient Greek philosophy is as much reflected in present day Greeks, as philosophy of Lao Tzu and Confucious in present day Chinese.

5. The question whether the Sindhi population at the time of Arab invasion was Buddhist or Hindu is of academic interest only. The theories about Aryan origin outside the subcontinent in Central Asia or in Sindh are of no great consequence. They are merely conjectures. There is no solid scientific basis for these theories. I fully share your view in this regard too.

6. I believe it is important for us to think about how we can contribute to our culture and community. Can Hindus reclaim their Sindhi heritage (paranthetically, I am a pessimist on this issue)? Can Muslim Sindhis living in Sindh compete with the comptent and agressive migrants (Muhajirs) from India? Would Muhajirs over time acquire Sindhi character and thus contribute to Sindhi culture? These issues require some thought in my opinion. You are again right, the questions raised by you are very complicated and need a lot more attention and thought.

7. I am a great admirer of Shah Abdul Latif. However, I hate hero worship. Sindhis (both Hindus and Muslims) treat Shah as their patron saints. Have we ever realized what is our literary inheritance if Shah and Sami were not born in Sindh?

8. Due to hero worship, we forget to admire our contemporary writers such as Shaikh Ayaz, Anand Golani and Gordhan Mahbubani. You are right again, in my view. I think Shah Latif was a great Poet, but let us not make him such a ceiling which no one else is allowed to cross.

Sindh - My Motherland My Fatherland

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