Bhagat Kanwar Ram

We are gathered here today to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the
martyrdom of the Sindhi saint, Bhagat Kanwar Ram. I will speak
briefly about the land he came from and the life he led -- keeping in
mind that you await the excellent program of Sufi music that will be
presented in his honor.

Sindh is a country where mysticism has flourished since ancient times.
We find reports of the "naked sophists" and their mystical beliefs in
the chronicles of historians and philosophers who accompanied
Alexandar in his invasion of Sindh. In more recent times, the term
'Sufi' has been used in Sindh for these mystics. In the tenth
century, Mansoor Hallaj journeyed from Arabia to Sindh and returned to
proclaim a pantheistic consciousness. He was crucified for blasphemy
and heresy by the orthodox Islamic scholars of Baghdad. In the poetry
of the thirteenth century persian Sufi poet Jallaludin Rumi, we find a
reference to Sindh as an abode of mystic teachers:

"Men have left their own country, their fathers and mothers, their
households and kinsmen and families, and have journeyed from Hind
to Sind, making boots of iron till they wore out to shreds, haply
to encounter a man having the fragrance of the other world. How
many men have died of this sorrow, not succeeding in encountering
such a One!"
-- Jallaludin Rumi

The universally revered spiritual guide of the modern Sindhi people is
the sufi poet Shah Latif (d. 1751). Shah Latif taught that to find
God, one must renounce all attachments -- material or emotional.
Specifically, one must stay away from religious trappings and
ideological baggage in order to journey as a seeker.

And that, asked you my friend!
then away with the formalism;
Who saw the Love, in the end
put away they, all the religions.

--Shah Latif (translation by Abdul Ghafoor Alasti)

In the transcendentalist Sufi tradition, love is the path to union with
God -- a love that knows no bounds of caste or creed but extends
universally to all sentient beings. Echoing the ancient pantheism of
Sindh, God is to be found in all that exists, and not apart from it.

Bhagat Kanwar Ram was born in a Hindu family but was one who journeyed
beyond any narrow conceptions: he did not recognize any distinction of
caste or creed. In turn, he was accepted as a saint by all Sindhis --
whether they were Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, atheists, or whatever. The
Bhagat lived as a mendicant, generously giving to the needy whatever
was offered to him. He travelled the land, singing Sufi songs of joy,
and promoting love and harmony. The sufi poetry of Shah Latif was
perpetually on the Bhagat's lips, serving as the inspiration for all
he did.

Saint Bhagat Kanwar Ram was a man who recognized no one as an enemy.
I will relate one story from his life which speaks to his magnanimity.

In those days in Sindh, it was traditional in Sindh for robbers to
send a notice to a village to inform them of an impending robbery!
This was to allow time for the village to organize and avoid certain
chaos at the time of the robbery. The robbers lived by a kind of
'code of honor' where they did not harm women or children, did not
steal personal jewelry from women, and did not steal what was needed
for dowries. This served to minimize social disruption, though no
doubt robberies still caused great deal of fear and anguish.

One day, a band of robbers sent notice to a village informing them of
the date of an impending robbery. The village head, or Mukhi, was
very alarmed and came to Saint Kanwar Ram with the news. The saint
asked the Mukhi and everyone else to have no fear, but let it be a
reminder that attachment to material objects was for naught --
everything in this world is transitory. If the robbers really wanted
all these material objects, let them have them. Saint Bhagat offered
to talk to the robbers on behalf of the villagers as the Mukhi was
very nervous.

When the robbers arrived, they were greeted by the Bhagat. The chief
of the robbers was surprised to find the Bhagat very relaxed and with
his usual warm smile. The Robber Chief was startled and asked, "Why
are you so joyous? Have you set up a police ambush?" The Bhagat
responded, "The only police I call upon is God." The Bhagat then told
them that here are the riches of the village which the villagers have
collected, not including the personal jewelry and what is set aside
for dowry. The Robber Chief responded, "Bhagat, you are very famous
for your honesty. If you say so, this must be it. We needn't waste
our time searching the village and will be on our way."

The Bhagat said, "But you are our guests. It is not our custom to
send guests away without offering them something to eat, and some
sweets to 'sweeten their mouths'. So we have prepared a feast for
you." The Robber Chief was shocked. He responded, "Bhagat! What
kind of a trap is this? Have you poisoned the food?" The Bhagat
reassured him, "If you are worried, I will have some of it myself,
then the villagers, and then you and your comrades. But really, it is
not our custom to eat before our guests have had a chance to serve
themselves." The Robber Chief then said, "Ok, we will feed a village
dog first and, if he is not sickened, we will eat first."

Bhagat Kanwar Ram was a famous musician and singer. His voice was
very melodious and ranged over a very wide scale. His recordings were
famous all over Sindh. The Robber Chief asked, "We have heard some of
your recordings. Would you mind singing some songs for us?" The
Bhagat said he would be glad to. The Bhagat sang sufi songs of love
and kindness. One of the songs he sang was by Suleyman Shah, asking
the Beloved what would please him. "Shall I be a Muslim, say my
prayers? Or shall I be a Hindu and go to a temple? Or shall I be a
dancer, expressing my devotion through the pulsating rhythms." You
will hear a rendering of this song today.

The string put the city on fire
The queens and their maids were beside themselves
Then Beejal [musician] struck the primal chord
The Raja [Rai Dyach] heard it
And the secret was out:
The Raja, Beejal and the song became one:
"Oh Beejal, come along
This head is only a guest...
Come along, and it's yours...
Music is a cosmic force
It comes with its own brilliance..."
All the suns and the moons
began to shine inside of Rai Dyach.

-- Shah Latif (translation by Prof. D. H. Butani)

The robbers were intoxicated by the music. In the Sindhi sufi
tradition, music is an expression of cosmic harmony and a path to the
divine. The Robber Chief felt repentant for his deeds and asked the
saint for forgiveness, "O Bhagat, you have always given what you have.
And we have taken what others had. And today we have not even shown
respect for a saint like you."

But the Bhagat would have none of it -- for he believed that he too
was a sinner, and moreover, he was a person who never held a grudge or
an ounce of ill-will.

Make your heart in the manner of a tree
Bear no animosity to those who chop you
Though they break you, though they grind you
The axe falls on you, whimper not
Do not feel the pain, do not remember the sorrow
Those who burn themselves and reduce to ashes
In the end, it is they on whom the light shines.

--Shah Latif (my attempt at translation)

The robbers returned all the loot. They even brought the rest they
had looted in the past and gave it to the Bhagat to distribute among
the needy.

Bhagat Kanwar Ram was a man who kept his word. I will relate an
incident from his life which illustrates this. The Bhagat promised to
sing at someone's wedding. But as he was on his way to the town the
wedding was in, he received word that his young son had died. The
Bhagat did not want to ruin someone else's happiness by not keeping
his word. He went to the wedding and sang as though nothing had
happened. He returned only to find that he had missed the last rites
for his son, consoled his wife and went into a period of mourning.

The Bhagat's time was a time of turmoil as Sindh. Sindh, the last
country to fall to the British Empire, struggled for its rights. The
British encouraged religious divisions in a policy of divide and
conquer. The Bhagat symbolized Hindu-Muslim unity. Unfortunately,
even in the land of the Sufis, there were a few fanatics. A
conspiracy was hatched to assassinate the Bhagat.

News of the conspiracy reached Bhagat. The Bhagat took it with
equanimity. As he toured through Sindh one last time, he realized his
time in this mortal world was coming to an end. In one village
someone pleaded, "Bhagat, you come here once a year. We would love it
if you could come twice." The Bhagat responded that he was sorry to
part company, but this would be his last time for him, for his time
was coming to an end.

More information reached the much loved Bhagat: some fanatics in a
particular town planned to kill him. He had given his word to visit
that town. His companions tried to dissuade the Bhagat from going.
But the Bhagat would hear none of it -- he was going to keep his word.
One of them said, "Master, it would not be wise to go". The Bhagat
responded with a couplet of Shah Latif:

Lord! Wish that I never were worldly wise
The wise see sorrows
In my simplicity
Thou bestowed blessings.
-- Shah Latif (my attempt at translation).

The Bhagat was martyred. Before his death, the Bhagat had promised to
consecrate a new cremation and burial ground. Even in his death,
Bhagat Kanwar Ram kept his word. His last rites were performed on
these grounds and this was the first ceremony on the grounds.

The conspirators failed in their desire to ignite widespread communal
riots. The Bhagat continued to symbolize the love and harmony of
Sindhi sufi traditions. Sindhis in Sindh, and everywhere else, in the
world would continue to pay homage to him. And he will be remembered
by generations to come for his generosity of spirit, belief in
personal redemption, integrity of word and universalism.

At a time when Sindhis are in a fight for their cultural and political
survival, suffering as they are from political hegemony, religious
oppression, and a denial of other fundamental human rights, when they
are separated by the effects of a major diaspora, the message of the
Bhagat continues to shine as a beacon. I am sure following the ways
of the saint, Sindh will not only endure, the Sindhis will overcome.
And Sindhis who have scattered will bring the essence of the Bhagat's
immortal message to a world that is increasingly torn by hatred and
violence.

I invite you to join me in today's tribute to Bhagat Kanwar Ram by one
of Sindh's leading musicians and singers, Ustad Mazhar Hussain.

----

Dr. Gul Agha is Professor of Computer Science at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a faculty affiliate with the
University's Program in South Asian and Middle-Eastern Studies.
Dr. Agha is one of the world's leading researchers in the field of
parallel and distributed computing. He also occassionally lectures on
Sufism and other aspects of Sindh's culture and history

Shaikh Ayaz

Contemporary Sindhi Poetry is dominated by the giant figure of Shaikh Ayaz, whose distinct voice came into his own in the post-independence days. In a graceful and polished style and powerful diction, Ayaz wrote of Sindh's aspirations and predilections and soon emerged as the poetic conscience of his land. Well-versed in Western literature and equally at home in the Indo-Iranian ethos, prolific in output and with a variety of forms and themes at his command, Ayaz is the leading poet in the language.
With the imposition of One Unit abolishing the provincial entity of Sindh, began the long night of Sindhi literature when writers including Ayaz were persecuted and publications banned. As a gesture of defiance, strong feelings of nationalism took root which are a persistent feature of contemporary Sindhi literature. The MRD struggle against the Zia military dictatorship gave rise to angry, defiant and brave poems and stories. Tanveer Abbasi, Shamsher ul Haideri and Tajal Bewas are leading modern poets while Ustad Bukhari upholds the traditional mode of poetry.
A graceful style and socio-political consciousness characterise the poetry of Imdad Hussaini who came to the forefront in the '70s as did Anwer Pirzado who fused political activism with a modern consciousness in the prose-poem. Creativity and diversity characterise the poetry scene today. Sehar Imdad struck a new note.
Adal Soomro is a prolific poet, at home in several forms and so is Ayaz Gul. The clear, feminist voice of Attiya Dawood represents a new trend in Sindhi poetry. A host of new voices include Pushpa Vallabh, Mustafa Arbab, Amar Sindhu and Wasim Soomro. The work of Hassan Dars and Mazhar Leghari shows the promise of maturing into major voices.
The Sindhi short story had entered a new phase of development in the 1940s but suffered a set-back with the Partition, like the Punjabi short story as a substantial number of writers migrated across the border. From poet Narain Shyam and fiction writer Mohan Kalpana onwards, the development of Sindhi literature in India has followed a separate track. Together with Ayaz, Jamal Abro and Ghulam Rabbani Agro marked a new turn in the short story with progressive and nationalistic trends, followed closely by Najam Abbasi, Hameed Sindhi and others. A fiery new generation appeared in the 1960s taking the short story to a new and powerful phase of development with Amar Jalil, Agha Salim, Nasim Kharal, Tariq Ashraf, Ali Baba, Siraj, Ghulam Nabi Mughal and others.
An ironic view on the social scene gives an uncanny power to Amar Jaleel's work while Nasim Kharal handled the rural scene with a masterly technique. One of Agha Salim's novels unfolds the sweep of Sindh's history like a Japanese fan and the other focuses on mysticism. A painfully acute social awareness led to the depiction of the floundering and wandering of a whole generation termed The Drowning Generation by Manek whose later work documents the frustration of youth leading to the sense of being closed in by a collapsing world.
With Sameera Zarin onwards, the medium proved specially conducive to women writers like Mehtab Mehboob who opened a new area of experience. Noorul Huda Shah is generally regarded as the leading fiction writer while other important writers include Abdul Qadir Junejo and Qamar Shahbaz. The search for identity becomes the search for form in Tariq Alam Abro. Scholar and critic Fahmida Hussain has explored the relationship of literature with culture and society. Poignant and funny, Halim Brohi is the voice of Sindh laughing at itself.
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Great Sindhi poet & writer Shaikh Ayaz died on Sunday 28th December 1997 at 3 a.m. in Karachi. Sindhi Writers, Intellectuals and Politicians Rasool Bux Palijo, M. Ibrahim Joyo, Noorul Huda Shah, Dr. Qazi Khadim, Gigi Zarina Baloch, Tajal Bewas, Khairunisa Jafry, Prof. Ameer Ali Qadri, Ayaz Latif Palijo, Inayat Baloch, Mahitab Mahboob, Hasan Mujtaba, Mahitab Rashdi, Hamid Sindhi, Bedal Masroor and others have expressed profound shock and paid rich tributes to Shaikh Ayaz's literary contribution and unforgettable great poetry.
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Shaikh Ayaz - the doyen of modern Sindhi literature
SHAIKH AYAZ, who died in Karachi on Sunday, 28th December 1997, was a towering figure of Sindhi literature, known and respected nationally and by Sindhi-speaking people all over the world. He was equally acclaimed in progressive circles for his contribution to the advancement of human values. Shaikh Ayaz revolutionised almost all genres of Sindhi literature and is rightfully called the doyen of the 20th century Sindhi writers and poets.
Born in a middle class Shikarpur family on March 23, 1923, Shaikh Ayaz was a lawyer by profession. He also served as vice-chancellor of the Sindh University. But poetry was his forte. He began composing poetry as a zealous youth in 1940. This was an era of reawakening in Sindhi literature, as in the literature of other major laguagues of the subcontinent. In fact this was when Sindhi literature emerged from its early and mediaeval expressions and subjects and started responding to new cultural and social demands. A new generation of progressive writers, poets and artists came to dominate the literary scene.
Shaikh Ayaz, Abdur Razak Raaz, Dr Ayaz Qadri and Narain Shiyam were the pioneers.
Narian Shiyam laid more emphasis on Ghazal and developed it. He migrated to India after independence, where he died in 1989.
Dr Qadri had a predilection for prose and research and joined education. He died only 13 days back on 15th December 1997.
But Shaikh Ayaz was a different artist. The urge for creation was strong in him and he chose his own form, pattern and diction to express his feelings and message. His creative urge became his pathfinder. His work is spontaneous, objective and forceful. As a perceptive observer of his land and its people, he depicted their pains and sufferings, their dreams and wishes in whatever he wrote in a captivating way.
In poetry Shaikh Ayaz used a wide variety of metres and composed his verses both in traditional and modern forms. He not only revived the classical Sindhi school of poetry but infused it with new meaning.
Ayaz wrote short stories, novel, essays, poetry, travelogues, diaries and an autobiography. He portrayed the miseries of the uprooted, the sorrows of the deprived, the anguish of the desolate and the wretched conditions of the exploited who had been suffering at the hands of an unjust system for centuries. Such was the force of his poetry that during the anti-One Unit campaign one of his poems.
"Sindhri taan sir ker na deendo, sanhando ker mayar" (Is there anybody who will not sacrifice his head for Sindh, and be ashamed of it)', became the unofficial anthem of the people of Sindh. The government had to ban its broadcast from Radio Pakistan.
Shaikh Ayaz battled through his poetry against One Unit and the political and economic policies of Ayub Khan. For a number of times he was externed from the cities and towns where he was to participate in Mushairas. Three of his anthologies - Bhounr Bharee Akas (1962), Kulhe Patam Keenaro (1963) and Je Kak Kakoriya Kapri (1963) - drew sharp criticism from fundamentalists and the government proscribed them. He was even jailed for his "seditious" writings.
During the Bhutto regime, he was appointed vice-chancellor of Sindh University. For quite a long time he kept quiet. It was only after he quit as vice-chancellor that he revived his writing; but during this phase, he became more elaborate and purposive and evinced a profound commitment to humanism. In his later poetry, he spoke with an increasing force of the deprived millions of the world.
In his prose and poetry, the themes are interwoven in a superb manner giving a true picture of life. His fiction gives an idea of the psychological process of transformation through which the working classes become conscious of their destiny. His prose provides a deep study of the human struggle. Having observed the crises of society and mass struggles for liberation, Shaikh Ayaz brings to his literary creations a profound understanding of social, political and economic issues.
In poetry, he rises still higher. Richly steeped in the tradition of Shah Latif, he is free of artificiality and complexity. In fact, he is considered to be the greatest Sindhi poet after Shah Latif. The richness of his poetic expression is a treat to the reader and a great addition to the treasure-house of Pakistan's literature. He was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1995.
He also composed poetry in Urdu and two of his anthologies "Booye gul", "nala-i-dil" and "Neel kanth aur neem ke pate" were highly acclaimed.
In 1989 he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to writing. Since then he wrote profusely and expressed himself in all genres. He is survived by 46 collections of poetry, short stories, essays, diaries and the translation into Urdu of Shah jo Risalo. All have been published. Many of his poems and stories have been translated into other languages. "Ki jo beejal aakhiya" was the translation in Punjabi by Ahmad Salim while "Halqa meri zanjeer ka" was the Urdu translation of his selected poems by Fahmida Riaz.
Dr Altaf Memon, in paying his personal tributes to the great man wrote: "I am deeply saddened at the passing away of my beloved poet SHAIKH AYAZ. His poetry was so dear to me that I named my son after him. With Ayaz gone, the progressive Sindhi literature has lost a towering figure. He was by far the best Sindhi poet of this century. Some even argue that his works are the second best after Shah Abdul Latif in the entire body of Sindhi literature.
Sindhis of my generation would feel this loss personally as we were intoxicated with Sindhiyat through his poetry.
I first read a brief collection of his works "Baqaool-e- Ayaz" in 1964, when I was in 8th grade. Those were the dark days of military dictatorship in late sixties, when Ayaz stood like a rock for the rights of Sindhi people in Pakistan. He inspired Sindhi youth to stand up for their rights. He was incarcerated many times. He used to say that the poetry he wrote in the dark jail cells was the best he ever wrote. I remember obtaining secretly his first collection of poetry ("Bhaoonra Bhuray Aakas" or Sky Humming with Black Bees) from Comarade Ghulam Hussain Soomro, who was then the General Secretary of the Sindh Hari Committee under the leadership of Hyder Bux Jatoi. All books of Ayaz and other progressive writers were banned in Pakistan at that time. I was hooked to the poetry of Ayaz. I have read almost all of his books, except may be his very recent publications. He has probably written more than 50 books.
He was one of those brave writers who said what they felt. During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, he wrote a poem about famous Sindhi poet of India - Suragwasi Narain Shayam and it landed him in Jail. In my view, this poem was the statement he gave on behalf of the Sindhis about the war. This poem goes like this:
"He sangram! samhoon Aa Narayan Shayam!
Hina ja munhinja qola bi saGya, Bmola bi saGya,
Hoo kavita jo kaaka-dharni, para munhinja ranga-ratola bi saGya
DHatu bi saGyo, DHolu bi saGyo, hanou bi saGyo, hola bi saGya.
Huna tay keean bandooka KhaRNa maan! hina Khay golee keean haRNa maan!
keean haRNa maan! keean haRNa maan! keean haRNa maan!"
My translation:
"This sangram! in front is Narain Shayam!
His and mine tales are the same, promises are the same,
He is the king of poetry, but my colorful ways are also same
Land also same, beloved also same, heart also same, horrors also same
How can I point a gun to him! How can I shoot him!
How can I shoot! How can I shoot! How can I shoot!"
People like Ayaz never die, as he himself said:
"Marandaseen ta miteea maan panhnjy, juRanda kayee jama
Nawan nawan matwala einda, harnada tini je hama."
"When we die, many will blossom from our soil,
Many a new insanes will come, to do what we said."
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The President of SANA, Iqbal Tareen, paid his tributes to Shaikh Ayaz thus: "On behalf of the Sindhi Association of North America, I express our deep grief over the demise of Sindhi Nation's real hero, Shaikh Ayaz and daughter of Sindh, Sister Durreshahwar Syed.
Shaikh Ayaz was a nature's gift to the Sindhi nation. His contribution in the field of literature will always be treasured by not only the Sindhi nation but the entire world community. Although Ayaz used Sindh as his canvas, his writings transcended all cultural and geographic boundaries. He was probably the only poet who derived great ecstasy from the rough edges of his motherland. No one else but Ayaz will dare to say:
" Jit luka laghea, jit auk tapan, so des musafir muhinjo rae.
Jit sijhu phula thee nikre tho, ane aag ulla thee nikrea tho,
Jit djheehan karhahia jean karhan, so des musafir muhinjo rae.
Jit karee usa kanwattan tae,
aen verheechan jae vatun tae tha vareea ja vaskaar thyan,
so des musafir muhinjo rae".
I had personally known Ayaz since 1967. During the "Underground" days in early seventies, I had taken refuge in his house in Sukkur. Not a safe place, but who wanted to hide anyway?. It was always a great experience when being with Ayaz. During his tenure as Vice Chancellor of Sindh University, Ayaz increasingly came under fire of massive criticism by his friends and foes. This was probably the worst period of his life. A poet, a national hero, made an administrative incharge of the most volatile institution of Sindh. Ayaz lost more friends during this period than in his entire life.
But that is life. Some people are destined to live more than one life in their life span. No matter what people say about Shaikh Mubarak, Shaikh Ayaz will always be remembered as a hero who echoed from the darkest age of recent times with the beat of his poetic thunder that will last forever as a national awareness.
I hope, a day will come when death of a hero will teach us to love and cherish the living heroes of our time. Although Shaikh Ayaz has passed away, he will always live deep in the national conscience of the Sindhi nation. He is one hero who will never die."
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World Sindhi Congress expresses its deepest grief on the demise of Shaikh Ayaz, one of the greatest Sindhi poet, writer, and political activist of South Asia. Shaikh Ayaz is regarded as a genius of Sindh. He has written more than 50 books and invented and popularized numerous new poetry genres. His writings inspired the two generations of Sindh and established the incomparable example of high quality, progressive, popular and revolutionary writings.
He is the most popular poet of Sindh and almost all the contemporary singers have used his songs. He has written in Sindhi as well as Urdu. He is also regarded as the "Messenger of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai", since he is the one who popularized the Latif's poetry genre and his messages. He also translated Shah Jo Risalo in Urdu. He was a symbol of resistance, freedom, justice and peace for Sindh, South Asia and World. He was strong advocate of various liberation and peace movements around the globe and extensively wrote about them. Some of his work has been translated in Punjabi, Urdu, Persian, Tajik and English.
His poetry, as defiantly sung as it was officially suppressed, inspired a generation in its hour of trial and tribulation, and in so doing performed a miracle that seemed no less than bringing life back to what everyone had written off as a corpse. As long as the Sindhi nation lives, generations to follow will not forget Shaikh Ayaz and his contribution to Sindh's rich culture, poetry and literature.
Ayaz infused Sindh's ancient legends and myths in his poetry, and considered himself thoroughly Vedantic and Sufi. His poetry was thus in the finest Sindhi syncretic tradition, even as he experimented with new poetic forms. He spoke for peace, opposing every war of his time, and persisted in expressing his pacifist beliefs with fervor even when the military government arrested him on charges of treason and his execution seemed imminent. His romantic idealism and righteous anger was undaunted.
It will be our quest to provide translations of some of his writings and poems within these pages, and to provide some glimpse of this courageous and compassionate giant of our century whose passionate poetry became the rallying cry of an oppressed people and their quest for cultural survival.
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This is how a young daughter of Jeejal Sindh paid her tribute to the great Ayaz.
"AYAZ : WHO SHOOK OUR MINDS"
By: SASSUI PALIJO, student SINDH MEDICAL COLLEGE, KARACHI (Ph: 5847226 E-mail:pirah@cyber.net.pk)
"Today we are feeling deep anguish because the great Sindhi poet of our time, SHEIKH AYAZ died few days ago. In Sheikh Ayaz Sindhi people had found their poet, their teacher, their leader, an intellectual and an interpreter of their grief, happiness, wisdom, love and freedom.
Actually he gave the voice and expression to the silent tongues of burning hearts of Sindh. Sindhi poetry reaches its height during the period of Sheikh Ayaz and his life reflected credit on a great Sindhi. Ayaz is regarded as a great poet, perhaps the greatest after Shah Latif and Sachal.
Sheikh Ayaz has left a strong impression on his nation. No doubt he was the continuity of a rich and most civilized ancient nation which is more than five thousand years old. He helped shape the attitudes of the present day Sindh. He felt the highest aim of life is to get rid of chains of mental slavery and urge for freedom .
He wrote more than fifty books of poetry. Some of his work has also been translated in Urdu, English and German. He was an inspiration for continuous three generations. He gave the moral support and encouraged his nation through his strong, creative and zealous poems, lyrics and songs.
Infact he was a real revolutionary poet who never gave up but always faced tyranny and cruelty. Sheikh Ayaz was also sent to prison couple of times because rulers accused him of harming the government by writing that much bold and liberal poetry. He and his poetry played an important role in dissolving the one unit. His poetry gave the great strength to the people who were struggling against the one unit.
Ayaz was both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds. He taught us to resist the injustice and fight against the evils of society. He introduced unique aspect of truth, peace and passion. He created positive thoughts in youth. From Ayaz youth learned to respect, courage, love, honor, bravery and fidelity to their homeland.
He was the one who shook our minds, souls and hearts through his rebellious poetry. We are lucky that we were born during his period and learnt from him. We are proud of Sheikh Ayaz, who was the man of wisdom, messenger of love, reflection of our age and ofcourse a symbol of Sindh. Though Ayaz is not among us any more but we consider him an everlasting figure because he will still be alive in our hearts, minds, souls and memories FOREVER."
[If the younger generation of Sindhis feel the way this young daughter of Sindh feels for her motherland, her fatherland and for the great souls of her jeejal Sindh, then I am sure our Jeejal Sindh is alive and well. Ayaz is dead, long live Sindh! Oh! Mother Sindh, may you live for ever and ever.]
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Prof A.R.Nagori's Tribute to Sheikh Ayaz
THE late Shaikh Ayaz, who was a connoisseur of fine arts and a literary giant of Sindh, has left us with a treasure of Sindhi literary gems. I do not have words to describe his artistic and aesthetic qualities adequately. I observed many splendid facets of his personality during his conversation with Dr G.M. Mekhri; both persons being encyclopaedias of art and literature personified. On religion, it was unique experience listening to Shaikh Ayaz, while he would express his appreciation of the Holy Quran as translated by Professor Ahmed Ali, at various sittings held at the latter's residence.
Even a layman of letters could feel melodies in his poetry, be it ballads, anti-one-unit protest poems requiring martial tunes, or love songs invoking folk and local legends. He was closer to Tagore whom he admired the most, besides Amir Khusro, Tulsidas, Shah Latif and his contemporary Faiz. After Shah Latif, Ayaz is the most widely and fondly sung by the wanderers and fakirs in Sindh. He was truly a poet of the people.
Shaikh Ayaz was a collector of rare books and loved possession of best-sellers. I have yet to see a private collection of such a rare value. May I suggest that the Culture Department of the Government of Sindh should take steps for its preservation. The library, named after Ayaz be established without delay for public reference and research.

sindh Golden Age

THE samma and their somara chieftains had unitedly faced the Khalji invasion. But that struggle had completely changed the balance of political forces in Sindh. The Soomras had bled profusely. At the same time the Samma courage and character had stood out bold and bright. A struggle for power between the two, therefore, had become inevitable. Since the Soomras were the established power, Delhi sided with them. Delhi had even instructed Multan and Gujerat to back the Soomras. However, the Sammas had bigger factors working in their favour.
The Soomra territorial base was in south-east Sindh; the Sammas were spread over much of the province. And the Sammas were much more numerous than the Soomras. (The 1901 census, for example, recorded 7,32,897 Sammas as against 1,02, 753 Soomras, indicating a historic disparity in numbers.)
The Sindhu had been changing its course at least since the year 1250. It was shifting westwards --- away from Alor, Brahmanabad, Amarkot, Vagahkot, and Ropah of the Soomras --- and towards the Samma towns of Sehwan and Thatta. For centuries the rock of Rohri has been quarried to carry stones down the river to the Soomra city of Amarkot for construction work. Now all that was over. Soon enough the original channel in the east --- variously known locally as Hakro (Ghaggar?) and Mehran, became smaller and smaller, until today it is reduced to a canal called the Eastern Nara. The only reminder of the Eastern Nara's great days --- when it used to pass through the Thar desert and Kutch and end up in the Arabian Sea, then known as Ratnakar --- are the sea crocodiles there. Obviously they were caught into it when the river dried up halfway and did not reach the sea.
Incidentally, the change of the river-course from ancient Alor, six miles east of Rohri, to the gorge between Rohri and Sukkur had geographic sequences with historic consequences. The rock between Sukkur and Rohri now became the rocky island of Bakhar in the Indus. The fort at Alor was now literally demolished to carry its bricks and stones to build an impregnable new fort on this spot, to stand guard on Sindh. From now on, for centuries, Thatta in the south and Bakhar in the north became -the two poles of Sindh.
This change of water course had the most devastating effect on the fortunes of the Soomras. It had a correspondingly electrifying effect on the fortunes of the Sammas. No wonder the Soomras used to pray for the day when the Hakro would again -flood in by Alor, (leaving the Sammas high and dry), when they would send to the Sammas, gifts of river products such as fish, lotus stalk, and lotus roots.
``Hek wahando Hakro, bhajandi bund Aror, Beeha Machhi ain Lor, wenda Samman Sookhri.''
However, the river maintained its westerly course. The impoverished Soomras even fell foul of the bards and minstrels, who now began to sing songs in praise of the generosity of the newly-rich Sammas. Said a typical disappointed bard of the last Soomras: ``If the rest of the world deserves half our denunciation, the Soomras deserve it whole.'' And as for the Sammas, even Shah Latif said: ``When they are angry, they still give; when they are pleased. they of course give m ore; either way, they mean very well.'' It is also possible that the Soomras, with their base in the sandy south-east bordering Marwar, were, by nature, stingy. So the ``mass media men'' of those times also preferred to salute the rising sun of the Sammas. After intermittent fighting started in 1315, the Sammas finally triumphed in 1351. When Delhi demurred, they killed Malik Rattan, the centre's governor in Sehwan. In the same year, the Sammas first set up their capital in their native town of Samui but soon after they shifted to Thatta, now flowering into a great metropolis.
All this defiance was more than Muhammed Tughlaq, the -sultan of Delhi, could take. He immediately descended on Sindh with a huge army. Elliott and Dawson report him saying: ``Would that God turn my sickness into health, so that I might subdue these people of Thatta. If God should please to take me, still this desire will remain constant in my heart.''

Sehwan
During the campaign in Sindh, Muhammed used to take exces- sive quantities of the delicious ``Pala'' fish of Sindh (from Plu, Skt. for fish. The Bengalis call it ``Hilsha'' and the Americans, ``Shad''). It is so tasty, the Sindhis have a humorous limerick about it: ``Pala is better than halva; halva has no life in it; as for Pala, you can settle down firmly and enjoy it to your heart's content'' (``Pallo seeray kha blti bhallo; seeray mein na sah, Pallo goda khoray kha''). One can only hope that the great Muhammed Tughlaq did not die of eating Pala; but die he did in Sindh. And he was buried near Thatta.
His successor, Firuz Tughlaq, could not pocket the insult to the sultan. The court historians report: ``Whenever he spoke of this place [Thatta] he used to stroke his beard and exclaim that it was a hundred thousand pities that his predecessor, Muhammed Shah Tughlaq, had failed to conquer it.''
Before long, therefore, Firuz also descended on Sindh with a huge army. But he too found it impossible to storm the city. As he raised the siege and retired to Gujerat for the time being, the Sindhi army raised the triumphant half-Persian half-Sindhi slogan: ``Baa Barqat Pir Patho, hik muo biyo tattho''(``with the grace of Saint Pattho, one died and the other retreated''. Pir Patho is believed to be the Sindhi Muslim version of Raja Gopichand. Later he became the patron-saint of the Dhedhs of Sindh.
In 1365, Firuz Shah descended on Sindh once again. This time he persuaded the Samma chief Jam Bambhriyo (Sindhi for Brahmin?) and his paternal uncle (chacha) Jam Juna to go with him to Delhi, while Bambhriyo's brother Jam Tamachi and Juna's son Jam Togachi, jointly ruled Sindh. In Delhi, Firuz Shah brain-washed Juna into going back in 1375 as governor of Thatta, leaving his brave nephew behind. In Thatta, Juna arrested Jam Tamachi, sent him away to Delhi, and began to rule Sindh as the agent of Delhi. This was more than the Sindhis could take. The respected Sheikh Hamad was heard saying: ``Juna is a fool; Oh Jam Tamachi, please come back; all Thatta is for you; God's grace is also with you.'' Another savant, Nuh, a dervish, was heard saying: ``Go and kill Jam Juna, and make Jam Tamachi king!'' Before long, Jam Tamachi was acclaimed king and Sindh now had a golden age.
During the ensuing period, Sindh and Gujerat became great friends and allies --- in their common bid to maintain independence. There were many princely inter-marriages.
The Tarikh-i-Tahiri goes ecstatic over the prosperity of Sindh in the Samma period: ``Lands hitherto barren were now carefully cultivated; there was hardly a piece of ground left untilled. Thatta became the emporium of the East. Sindh became `a second Iraq' in education and wealth. Says an old inscription of the time: `There were wells and trees everywhere.. The people were so happy, even the old became perennially youthful' (``Raiyat razi eh jihay, jo bhudha nit jawan'').
Who were these Sammas? According to Bherumal Mehr- chand, a leading social historian, they were Yadavas. After the Arab conquest of Sindh, many of them had gone and settled down in Gujerat. (Rai Diyach of Sorath was a Samma.) However, early in the fourteenth century, many of them drifted back to Sindh, partly to help the Soomras resist the Khaljis. According to H. T. Sorley, ``The Sammas were unquestionably Rajputs of the great Jadava stock and were probably the same tribe who were known to Alexander the Great as Sambos. They became Muslims not earlier than 1391, and their descendants are known as the Samejas and Jarejas of Kutch.''
This means that for at least four decades after they became the rulers of Sindh, they continued to be Hindu. When, why, and how they became Muslim, is not known; but the pull of the Muslim world in adjoining West Asia and even in northern India seems to have done it. However, Islam sat pretty light on them. Apart from formal Muslim names, they insisted on giving themselves their old traditional names. (In Thailand, to this day, whatever a citizen's religion, he can give his children names only from Sanskrit lists, maintained in the temples.)
However, all good things must come to an end. When Baber lost his native Samarkand and Bukhara, he had decided to descend on India. On way, in 1516, he first captured Kandhar (old Gandhar desh of Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas), the gateway to both Iran and India. The Arghuns, who were displaced from Kandhar, in their turn descended on Sindh in 1521. In the battle that ensued, the great Samma com- mander Darya Khan, the son of Jam Nindo (Nizamuddin), fell fighting. ln another battle, 20,000 Sindhis died fighting the Arghuns, descended from Chenghiz Khan and his tribe. They got down from their horses and tied their turban and Kamarband A significant factor in Sindhi defeat was the religious fanaticism that marked the last days of the Sammas. Makhdoom Bilawal, a scion of the royal family, represented the liberal school, patronised by Darya Khan, soldier-statesman, himself. When, however, Jam Nindo the Great was succeeded by a weak Jam Feroze, the orthodox group came up. They got Bilawal crushed in an oil press! It broke the heart of Sindh.

Keenjhar Lake
After the Samma defeat, Kazi Kadan, Sammas' governor of Bakhar --- soldier, statesman, scholar, and Sufi saint --- intervened and made the Arghun take-over as peaceful and orderly as possible. Shah Beg Arghun took over Sindh --- under the general tutelage of the Mughals. This pressure from the north pushed and extinguished the Hindu chiefs in lower Sindh, who had maintained their independence all through. Sindh was reminded of its ancient saying: ``ever and anon, our dear little Sindh, you will be menaced from Kandhar side'' (``Jadahin Kadahin Sindhuri, tokhay Kandharan Jokho'').
The happy Samma rule was marked by the very happy romance of Jam Tamachi. One day he was hunting on the Keenjhar lake (near Thatta) when his eye fell on a poor fisher-girl called Gandri (literally ``gandi'', dirty). He promptly renamed her Noori (light). He took her to the palace, made her his chief Queen, exempted her fisherfolk from all taxes --- and then lived happily ever after. The incident is reminiscent of King Shantanu, the grandfather of the Kauravas, falling in love with Satyawati, a fishergirl.
However, the greatest romance of the Samma period was that of Sasui-Punhu. Sasui was born in a Brahmin family. Finding from her horoscope that she was destined to marry an alien, her father put her in a wooden box and let it float down the river. A washerman at Bhambhor took out the box. Since he was childless, he adopted her. And because of her beauty, the child was named Sasui (Sindhi for ``Shashi'', the moon). When -she grew up, reports of her beauty spread far and wide. Punhu, the merchant-prince of Kech-Mekran in Baluchistan, came to Bhambhor. It was mutual love at first sight. Punhu refused to go back home or do any more trading; he married Sasui and became a washerman himself. Punhu's father was furious. He sent his other sons, who drugged Punhu and took him away while Sasui was asleep. When Sasui woke up and discovered what had happened, she left home barefoot there and then.

Bhambhor
On the long dreary way, a goatherd viewed her with a leery eye. Sasui prayed to mother earth to protect her honour, whereupon the earth split open and took in Sasui. Later when Punhu recovered consciousness, he broke loose from his brothers, started to move back to Bhambhor, and on the way learned of Sasui's end. It is believed that the earth reopened for him at the same spot --- to unite him with Sasui even in death, with only an onion peel between them.
Sasui's lamentations in Shah's poetry would move any Sindhi to tears. They leave the Gopis' search for Krishna in the woods of Vrindavan far behind. Wailed Sasui: ``I am neither a Sammi nor a Soomri. I am a girl of Brahmins who read the scriptures. I will find my Punhu and be his washerwoman .. They ask me to ply the charkha. I ply it, but not one thread comes out. What does come, is tears of blood, which wet all the charkha ..... Oh trees, don't you grow taller. And oh ye mountains, don't rise any higher. Let my eyes dry, so that I can see Punhu's footprints. Today I will dye my garments geruva. I want to become a yogini. For Punhu, I will wear the yogi's `Kundhals' (ear-rings) in my ears .... It is not a walk like other walks. I feel like screaming, but then they'll think I'm crazy .... Men may blame me for my love. But so what? True lovers don't mind breaking on the rocks . . . Oh you sun, you are setting before I've met my Lord; Okay, go and tell him that I died on the way .... Oh you mountain, you should console the love-lorn --- and not hurt their feet! .... And then both, Sasui and the mountain wept together for Punhu. Even animals collapsed to hear their hearty wa.l .... Those who die for the Lord, they have the Lord in their lap .... Sasui's sorrows continued only so long as she thought she was separate from Punhu. The moment she realised that Sasui and Punhu were one, all her sorrows were over.''
Such were the literary and cultural heights attained by Sindh in the days of the Sammas. Two centuries later, Shah Latif was still singing their praises in `Sur Bilawal': ``When Alauddin came astride his furious elephants, Jam Abro tied his shield and the whole field shone with sabres. The Sammas came to the rescue of damsels in distress --- and then all was well . . . Oh Jam Lakha, I am an ugly Oda. I have built this cottage under your benign protection. You will defend our defenceless selves. It seems God Himself made Jam Jakhro with His own hands; there seemed to have been just so much clay to make one Jakhro.. ``

Jhoolay Lal

``Jhoolay Lal''
WHEN Mahmud Ghazni was returning from his sack of Somnath early in A.D. 1017 he had decided to take the Sindh route. Here, however, the Jats gave him so much hell that later the same year he had led a special expedition to punish the Sindhis. The `religious' reason for the expedition was that Mahmud was a Sunni, attached to the Khalifa in Baghdad, and the Muslims in Sindh were inclined towards the Karmatian Shia rulers of Egypt, who had even carried away the black stone of Kaaba. The Karmatians in India were half-Hindu; they looked upon Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed and fourth Khalifa, as the tenth avatar of Vishnu!
Obviously, Mahmud's effort was not particularly successful. The contemporary writers do not even mention it. The later flattering historians, however, claim that Mahmud defeated the Sindhis in a titanic river fight in which his 1400 boats allegedly worsted the Sindhis' 4000 boats. These historians also claim that Mahmud's horoscope was identical with that of Prophet Mohammed. Which, in turn, could be quite an embarrassment for the latter!
However, historians dispute the victory claim. They point out that Mahmud's was a land army and never an amphibious force. They also point out that Mahmud had never before used boats --- and that so many boats were never found even in all the Sindh- Punjab rivers put together.
Mahmud's fans claim that the underwater spikes attached to his boats had pierced and overturned the Sindhi boats. Historians ask: how could Mahmud'5 spiked boats overturn the Sindhi. boats, without themselves overturning in the process!
But Mahmud did seem to have succeeded in carrying away many Sindhis as slaves. Today, they are known as ``Sintis'' among the sixty lakh Gypsies now in Europe.
Students of history, however, do note three points: Mahmud,. who had invaded India seventeen times between A.D. 1000 and 1026, did not repeat the exercise after his Sindh adventure,. though he had ruled for another five years. Secondly, the Karmatians survive today as Ismaili Khojas --- who, till 1937, were governed by the Hindu civil law --- having produced in modern. Sindh, important leaders such as Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Aga Khan. Thirdly, Mahmud's attack had ended the Arab presence in Sindh and it was followed by the local Rajput clan of Soomras emerging as sovereign rulers of Sindh.
The first big Soomra name early in the eleventh century was that of Dalurai. In folklore, Dalurai was a bad man who required every new bride to spend the first night with him. God, it is believed, visited His wrath on him and destroyed ``Dalurai ji Nagari''. Nobody knows for sure what was this Dalurai's capital. But the local people point to every major pile of ruins in Sindh as ``Dalurai ji Nagari''!
It is possible that Dalurai did indulge in ``First-Night-with-the- King'', an old anthropological custom surviving in some mediaeval societies. (Till modern times the bridegrooms of certain castes in Kerala looked upon the bride's bleeding caused by the tearing of the hymen as ``violence'', and engaged professionals to do the ``dirty bloody job'' for them!) Very probably the public opprobrium represents a later, higher morality. For while a couple of early sources --- known to be hostile to the Soomras, and close to their rivals, the Sahtas of Sahiti, Central Sindh --- denounce Dalurai for this practice, many other sources praise him as a great and just king.
Interestingly enough, the Alor and the Brahmanabad ruins, hundreds of miles apart, are both supposed to be ``Dalurai ji Nagari''. But it is now known that Brahmanabad was destroyed in an earthquake in 962, about fifty years before Dalurai; and Alor was ruined only by the shift of the river course, almost three hundred years later!
History is something more than a chronicle of events; it is also an expression of hopes and fears of the people. The story of ``Dalurai ji Nagari'' is people's way of rejecting a lower morality and fostering a higher morality in men's minds.
The Soomras ruled Sindh for almost three hundred years --- until A.D. 1315. But, who were they? Some Muslim writers are inclined to think that there was at least some Arab blood in them. But scholars have no doubt that, like the Jareja Rajputs, they were Parmars. According to the Tarikh-e-Tahiri, the Soomras were Hindus. According to H.T. Sorley, the Soomras did become Muslim, but nobody knows when. They were like the Jareja Rajputs, he says, ``of whom the Rao himself once averred that out of 2,000 Jarejas, there were not three who knew what their religion was''. Obviously, the Soomras were Hindus with some Muslim influence, who later became nominal Muslims while retaining their Hindu culture.
At this distance in time it is no use going into the rise and fall of dozens of Soomra kings --- from Rajpal and Bhoongar and Dodo to Hamir and Nangar and Chanesar. There even was a Nehro Dodo, who saluted the commanders of Alauddin Khalji's invading force with his left hand, by way of Sindh's defiance of the Khaljis. But more revealing than the chronicles of kings are the epics of men which throw a flood of light on the life and culture of a society. As Arnold Toynbee puts it in his Study of History: ``History, like the drama and the novel, grew out of mythology, a primitive form of apprehension and expression in which --- as in fairy tales listened to by children or in dreams dreamt by sophisticated adults --- the line between fact and fiction is left undrawn. It has, for example, been said of the Iliad that anyone who starts reading it as history will find that it is full of fiction but, equally, anyone who starts reading it as fiction will find that it is full of history.'' The same is true of the tales of Sindh which combine history with story to produce literature that reflects life intensely and reflects it whole.
The oldest extent tale of Sindh is the Rai Diyach, with its locale in lower Sindh and Saurashtra. The Samma Rajputs of Sindh had migrated to Saurashtra (``Sorath'' in Sindhi) after the Arab invasion. In the first decade of the eleventh century, Rai Dewas (or Diyach), belonging to the Chuda tribe of the Sammas, was ruling in Girnar, Junagadh. His sister gave birth to a male child who, the astrologers said, would slay his maternal uncle. The mother asked her maid to dispose of the unlucky child, but the latter was so charmed by the baby's looks that she put him in a box and let it float down the river. The box was picked up by a charan (minstrel) in the territory of King Anirai and the child was named Bijal. Bijal grew up to be a great singer. At this stage, Sorath, the daughter of potter Ratna, in Girnar, was engaged to Anirai. When the marriage procession was on way, Rai Diyach intercepted it, carried away Sorath, and married her.
Anirai was furious over this humiliation. He announced a big platter of precious stones for whoever would avenge his insult and bring Rai Diyach's head. Bijal's wife, who was sure her husband could achieve anything with his bewitching voice, accepted the jewellery on promise of doing the needful. She persuaded Bijal to go and sing in front of the palace of Rai Diyach --- and when the king would ask him for ``any favour'', to ask for his head. That was exactly how it worked out. The king chivalrously agreed to offer his head and said: ``If I had a hundred thousand heads, I'd cut them one by for every song of yours.'' Shah Abdul Latif [Shrine], the Mahakavi of Sindh, has made the story immortal in his ``Sur Sorath''. It makes four great points: justice must be done; fate is inevitable; women have a fatal weakness for finery; and Music has more power over men than anything else.
Another incident of the same period is the story of Lila- Chanesar. Chanesar was the Soomra ruler of Devalkot near Thatta. He was happily married to Lila. Kounroo, the daughter of Rai Khangar, the Solanki ruler of Lakhpat, fell in love with Chanesar, but she could not seduce him. Thereupon Kounroo hit upon an idea. She dressed up as a maid servant and joined Lila's service. After some time she offered Lila a rare necklace, if only she would let her spend one night with Chanesar. In a fit of weakness for a rare piece of jewellery --- and hoping that Chanesar in his cups would not be able to distinguish Kounroo from Lila --- Lila agreed. But Chanesar found it out, rejected Lila for good, and married Kounroo. The story highlights women's weakness for gold --- and for gadgets of all kinds. It also empha- sizes that the Lord --- whether he be temporal or spiritual --- can not be trifled with.
Shah in his Sur Lila-Chanesar tells Lila: ``What you thought was a necklace, became a stone round your neck.'' Lila says: ``Oh God, one should never be too smart; the smart ones come to grief.'' Shah ends with this advice to Lila: ``Oh Lila, weep no more; get up and sweep your yard, and go and sacrifice your own self, your father and your grandfather at the altar of your Lord.''
However, the Sindhi epic of the period par excellence is the Umar Marui. Marui is a village belle, engaged to her kinsman, Khetsen. When the Soomra ruler Umar of Umarkot or Amarkot comes to know of her beauty, he abducts her, confines her in his fort, and invites her to marry him. Marui declines. She refuses to take any rich foods or wear any finery. She would not even oil or comb her hair. She is afraid her kinsfolk have given her up, thinking she may not like to give up the palace for the sand-dunes of the Thar desert. However, she manages to send word to her people. She then tells Umar she would like to go out for a stroll. That makes Umar think she is relaxing and relenting in her rejection of him. She then goes out and is rescued and taken home among joyous scenes.
Marui reminds us of Sita in her confinement in Lanka. Interestingly enough, both Ravana and Umar, old villians, were gentlemen enough; they did not force their will on their captive beauties.
Marui is very emphatic that she is a poor girl, in love with her desert land; that she is already engaged and will not marry any other man --- for love or money or both. Her love of her poor land and poor people almost makes us wish to go and live in a blooming desert. Her pining for her desert-home has elicited some of the most patriotic poetry in Sindhi literature.
Says Shah's Marui: ``I wish I had not been born; or if I were born, l wish I had died there and then, rather than face this ignominy.... Oh Umar, don't make a laughing stock of me by making this poor girl wear those silks of yours. We are poor but we don't change our life-partners for gold. O Umar, when I die, send my body to my land [watan], where it will then come back to life....''
The Umar Marui is one long paean of patriotism. Even more, it is a plea for swadharma --- for y our own life values and life style. The Umar Marui is an abiding source of inspiration for the Sindhi nationalists today.
However, the long and memorable Soomra rule is enshrined most in the historic contest of Dodo and Chanesar. When Bhungar Rao died towards the end of the thirteenth century, the court elders had decided to crown Dodo, his younger and brighter son by his regular wife, and not Chanesar, his elder son, by an iron- smith girl. Neither half-brother was keen on the pugg (pugree, turban or crown); and Dodo even said that he would be a titular sovereign and Chanesar would be the real ruler. But even so, the formal crowning of the younger brother infuriated Chanesar's mother and wife --- even as Kekayi and Manthura had been enraged by Rama's succession --- who provoked him to seek the aid of Alauddin Khalji in Delhi. What followed was a titanic struggle between Sindh and the Khaljis in 1296--1300. A huge army descended on Sindh via Gujerat. The army was so huge, say the Sindhi bards, that ``they drank the Sabarmati dry''.
The Khaljis now not only wanted to replace Dodo by Chanesar; they also wanted Bhagi, Bhungar Rao's daughter by a third (regular) wife, for Alauddin. However, the Soomras would not agree to either demand. Rejecting the idea of a matrimonial alliance, they said: ``Tu Turk asee Soomra, ahri jor na jugai'' (``You are a Turk and we are Soomras; such a union will not be right''). In the fight that ensued, both sides suffered heavily. Dodo's son Bhungar Jr. and even Chanesar s son Nangar ``Nehro'', fought heroically for Dodo --- and fell. Sabar Abro, a Samma chief on the Soomra side, killed Alauddin's son Syed Ghazi Salar. When Dodo was speared and raised high, he told Chanesar standing by: ``Even now I am above you!''
Meanwhile the Khalji attack on his own land and people had induced second thoughts in Chanesar. He now began to hate Alauddin for his excesses against Sindh. He is believed to have died fighting Alauddin.
The most important aspect of this episode is that in Sindh it became a people's war. Even peasants, shepherds, cowherds, bards, faqirs, fishermen, potters and weavers joined the fray. They all said: The sword is our plough.''
The Soomra ladies secretly left for the safety of Samma protection in Kutch, and Alauddin found the palace deserted. He left Sindh disgusted and disappointed.
To this day songs are sung in praise of the heroism of the Soomras and the beauty and purity of their womenfolk. Dodo's martyrdom is still observed with an annual fair in the month of Chaitra. Three-hundred-year-old ballads, still sung in Sindh, go on like this:
``Sindh is the life-breath of the Soomras.... Their Vagahkot is God's own fort; may it not suffer the slightest indignity. Oh Dodo, glory unto your mother who gave you birth. The warriors of Sindh are fighting the enemy. Oh God, give them victory....Let there always be peace and prosperity in this auspicious land....''
The Soomras gave us, even in the twentieth century, Allah Bux Soomro, the prime minister of Sindh, who resisted partition till his dying day. And dearest to the hearts of the Sindhi people are two holy figures of the Soomra times --- Jhoolay Lal and Lal Shahbaz (Red King-falcon).
Lal Shahbaz Qalandar's ShrineLal Shahbaz ``Qalandar'' [Shrine] was born Pir Usman Shah in Marwand, now Afghanistan, in 1143. He came and settled down in Sehwan, famous for its ancient Shiva temple. He is the first well-known Muslim to have preached love and tolerance in Sindh. He, therefore, became an instant hit with the Muslims and the Hindus alike. He was called Shahbaz because he was believed to have turned himself into a falcon to pick up his friend Sheikh Farid Shukur Ganj from the gallows of the fanatics. He was called ``Lal'' (red) for the red robe which he wore all his life. Lal Shahbaz is the first important Sufi saint in Sindh. The Hindus regarded him as the incarnation of Bhartihari, the saintly brother of King Vikramaditya, who is believed to have worshipped Shiva at the spot where Lal Shahbaz's shrine stands today.
The other holy figure is that of Jhoolay Lal, also known as Udero Lal, Amar Lal or Lal Sain. In the tenth century when Arabs were declining and the Soomras were coming up, Mirkh Shah, the fanatical ruler of Thatta, ordered the Hindus to embrace lslam. The bewildered people collected en masse on the banks of the Sindhu and prayed to Varuna Devata for a saviour. Legcnd has it that a handsome young man emerged from the river on a charger, showed many miracles and saved the people from cultural genocide. He is shown in Nasarpur --- where he is believed to have been born to Rattan Rao Luhana and his wife Devaki---as a baby in a silver swing(jhoola or peengho) --- just like Lord Krishna in his childhood. Elsewhere he is shown with a flowing white beard, like Guru Nanak, but seated on the river- fruit, fish. But he was obviously a great youth leader who saved the Sindhi Hindus a thousand years ago. To this day temples are built in his honour and panjaras (five-line verses) are sung to his greater glory. And in recent years Roona Laila has made Jhoolay Lal --- and Mast Qalandar --- household names in Hindustan and Pakistan alike, with her lilting ``O Lal, Meri Pat Rakhiyo Sada Jhoolay Lalan....'' Rendered in English, it reads:
OH LORD of Sindh, Jhoolay Lal, and Sire of Sehwan, the red- robed Cod-intoxicated Qalandar, glory unto you! May I always have your benign protection.
YOUR SHRINE is always lighted with four lamps; and here I come to light a fifth lamp in ycur honour.
LET YOUR heroic name ring out in Hind and Sindh; let the gong ring loud for your glory.
OH LORD, may you prevail every time, everywhere. In the name of Ali, I pray to you to help my boat cross (the river of life) in safety.

summary of the history Of Sindh until 1947

BC 6000 : Indus Valley - Neolithic settlements.
BC 5000 : Farming, pottery and beads developed.
BC 4000 : Potter’s wheel and bow drill invented.
BC 3500 : Growth of pottery.
BC 3000 : Amri civilization and its ruins.
BC 3100-850 : Sindhi language evolved over a period of 2400 years.
BC 2500 : Kani Kot ruins - civilization .
BC 2300 : Mohen-jo-daro civilization .
BC 1500 : Sehwan (Sivistan) was important center of Shiva cult.
BC 810 : Egyptian Emperor Sume Rames attacked Sindh.
BC 566-490 : Huns ruled Sindh.
BC 519 : Sindh annexed to Persian Achaemenian Empire ruled by King Darius for about 125 years.
BC 326-325 : Alexander the "Great" stormed through the Indus Valley, met resistance in Sindh and was injured in Multan.
BC 313 : Buddhism was popularised in Sindh during emperor Ashoka’s period.
AD 280-500 : Persian rule.
AD 550-711 : i) Rai Sahiras and his son Rai Sahasi ruled Sindh and formed Rai Dynasty. (ii) Chach succeeded the Rai and founded Brahman Dynasty. (iii) Raja Dahar (Chach’s son) took over from Chander (Chach’s brother). Raja Dahar ruled Sindh for several years until the invasion of Arabs, when he was martyred.
AD 711-1026 : Sindh was invaded by a 17-year old Arab General, Muhammad Bin Qasim, establishing the Arab rule for next 305 years.
AD 1026-1350 : Soomro Dynasty ruled Sindh for 300 years.
AD 1054 : Soomras faced ruinous invasion by Mahmood Ghaznavi and Allauddin Khilji.
AD 1351 : The rise of the Samma Dynasty in Sindh. "Jams of Lasbella or currently known as the Alianis".
AD 1521-1554 : Arghun Rule was established in Sindh by Shah Beg. He was a descendant of Changez Khan.
AD 1554-1591 : General Mirza Isa Beg found Tarkhan Dynasty in Sindh (Turks in origin) after the death of Shah Hassan Arghun.
AD 1555 : Portuguese sacked Thatta, a bustling metropolis of Sindh.
AD 1591-1700 : Shanshah Akbar, the Ruler of Hindustan, annexed Sindh, and ruled Sindh by appointing his governors. (40 Governors were appointed during the 81 years of rule.).
AD 1701-1782 : Kalhoras ruled Sindh for 85 years. Twelve Kalhora rulers ruled during this time. This period is known as the golden period of Sindhi literature. Poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast, and Sami are among the prominent poets of Sindh.
AD 1782-1843 : Talpurs ruled Sindh for 61 years. The country was divided into three states - Hyderabad State, Khairpur State and the State of Mirpur Khas.
AD 1843 : Talpur rulers of Sindh and Baluchistan were defeated by the British under Sir Charles Napier.
AD 1847 : Sindh was made part of Bombay Presidency by the British.
AD 1851 : Sindhi language was declared official language of Sindh.
AD 1853 : Final and refined version of Sindhi script was adopted by the British throughout Sindh and Bombay, which still exist in Sindh today.
AD 1908 : Barrister Ghulam M. Bhurgri and Harchandrai Vishindas demanded independence of Sindh from Bombay.
AD 1936 : Sindh regained independence from Bombay Presidency.
AD 1947 : India achieved independence from British rule after a long struggle and great sacrifices. Sindh became part of newly created Islamic State of Pakistan. Riots and violence erupted in Sindh. A massive exodus of Hindu Sindhis resulted. More than 1.1 million Sindhis migrated to India.
Sindh was ruled by the following dynasties after the Arab invasion : The Sumra Dynasty (750 [1026?] - 1350 A.D.) The Samma Dynasty (1351 - 1521 A.D.) The Arghun Dynasty (1521 - 1554 A.D.) The Turkhan Dynasty (1555 - 1608 A.D.) The Moghul Dynasty (1608 - 1701 A.D.) The Kalhora Dynasty (1701 - 1783 A.D.) The Talpur Dynasty (1783 - 1843 A.D.) The British Rule (1843 - 1947 A.D.) The Pakistani Rule (1947 A.D. - ?)

THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND OF SIND

The land of Sind has a hoary past with some of the most striking episodes in history having occurred in its bosom. It has given a slightly different variation of its name to our neighbouring country and to the religious majority of its inhabitants. Both the words India and Hindu are derived from Sindhu, which, in Persian became Hind and Hindu (the letter H substituted for S) and in Greek and Roman, Ind (the letter S of Sind having being dropped). The meaning of the word Sindhu is water, referring to the great river. There is an old belief among Muslims that four rivers had sprung from Heaven: Neel (Nile), Furat (Euphrates), Jehoon (Juxartes) and Sehoon (Sind).The Aryans called the whole of Pakistan, Kashmir and East Afghanistan as Sapta Sindhu -- the land of seven rivers. In Rigveda it is referred to as Sapta Sindhva, while India is named Bharat Varsa (the land of the sons of Bharat, a legendary Emperor).1 Thus, even for the Aryans there were two countries in this sub-continent: Sapta Sindhva and Bharat Varsa. The Assyrians in the 7th century B.C. knew the north-western part of the sub-continent as Sinda. However, when India began to be called Hind by Persians and Arabs, and Ind by Greeks and Romans, the local people continued to call their land, Sind. This distinction continued for centuries. Arab geographers, historians and travellers also called the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the range of Kashmir mountains Sind.3 As such, there were always two countries in the sub-continent -- Sind and Hind. The present Pakistan (including Kashmir and a major portion of Afghanistan) constituting one country, and India, another.As regards the composition of the population of Sind Province (before Partition) the two main stocks that inhabit Sind are related to, and common, one with the Punjab and another with Baluchistan. The majority stock is that of Rajputs and Jats who are the descendants of Sakas, Kushans and Huns who also constitute the majority of the population the Punjab. During Kalhora rule a number of Jat tribes such as the Sials, Joyas and Khawars came from the Punjab and settled in Sind. They are called Sirai i.e., men from the north and speak Siraiki language.Two main Rajput tribes of Sind are: the Samma, a branch of the Yadav Rajputs who inhabit the eastern and lower Sind and Bahawalpur; and the Sumra who, according to the 1907 edition of the Gazetteer are a branch of the Parwar Rajputs. Among others are the Bhuttos, Bhattis, Lakha, Sahetas, Lohanas, Mohano, Dahars, Indhar, Chachar, Dhareja, Rathors, Dakhan, Langah etc.4 The Mohano tribe is spread over Makran, Sind and southern Punjab. They are also identified with the 'Mallah' of the Punjab and both have in common a sub-section called Manjari. All these, old Sindhi tribes are known under the common nomenclature of Sammat.The smaller stock is that of Baluchi tribes setlled in various parts of Sind mostly during the last five hundred years or so Since they were martial people and ruled over Sind for some time before the arrival of the British, they acquired vast lands in the province with the result that a large number of present-day Sindhi landlords are of Baluch origin. According to the 1941 census, which was the last one held before Partition Baluchis formed 23% of the total Muslim population of Sind. Among the Baluchi tribes inhabiting Sind are the Rind, Dombki, Jakhrani, Leghari, Lashari, Chandio, Karmati, Korai, Jatoi, Burdi, Khosa, Jamali, Umrani, Bugti, Marri, Mazari, Talpur, Brohi, Nizamani, Buledhi, Karrani, Bozdar, Nukharni, Magsi etc. These tribes are spread over Baluchistan, Sind and the south-western districts of the Punjab.Yet a third stock of Sindhi population comprises of the descendants of Muslim conquerors, administrators and missionaries who were mostly Arabs, Persians, Turks or Mughals. They are a small minority settled in cities and towns but so deeply absorbed and blended with the other components of the population that all the three together have evolved a distinct language and culture. Of this third element Arabs have contributed most to the development of Sindhi language and literature and to the advancement of its intellectual and cultural activities.Since the early history of Sind is intimately related to the history of the Punjab and other provinces of Pakistan it need not be dealt with at length. Only a brief account shall be attempted here, without mentioning the Indus Valley civilization which will be discussed some other time.Dawn of history reveals an Aryan dynasty in power in Sind. In the Mahabharata (12th or 13th century B.C.) Jayadrath, King of Sind appears as a partisan of Panduas against their cousins Kauruas. Next historical mention of Sind is found about 575 B.C. during the time of Achaemenian dynasty. The Iranian General, Skylax, explored Indus in a flotilla equipped near Peshawar, conquered the Indus Valley and annexed it to the Empire of Darius the Great. The conquered province of the Punjab and Sind was considered the richest and the most populous satrapy of the Empire and was required to pay the enormous tribute of fully a million sterling. Next historical record is that of Alexander's invasion in 326 B.C. A tribe called Mausikanos whose capital is usually identified with Alor (Rohri) is said to have submitted. According to Greek historians the territories of this chief were the most flourishing of all that the Greeks had seen. A few centuries later Roman historians have mentioned Sind as a rich country. Patala in lower Sind was known to them as an emporium of trade.Alexandrian period was followed by that of the Mauryas (3rd century BC) whose fall brought in Graeco-Bactrians (2nd century B.C.). They ruled over the whole of Pakistan with their capital at Taxila. Their coins are still found in the old towns of Sind. The Graeco-Bactrian period was followed by that of the Scythian (Saka) invasion in the first century BC. "They settled here in such large numbers that Sind became known as Indo-Scythia and to this day a large proportion of the population is certainly Scythian."5 Two Scythian tribes, the Jats and Meds, are mentioned as having invaded the Punjab and Sind. Some of the present day Mohanas of Sind and Baluchistan call themselves Med. "In 60 AD Sind was occupied by Scythians, ruled perhaps from far away Taxila."6The first century A.D. witnessed the arrival of the Kushans who, along with the Scythians (Sakas) and later Parthians, ruled over Afghanistan and Pakistan for about four centuries from Peshawar. The next great holocaust occurred in the 5th century A.D. with the Hun invasion which surpassed all previous records in its intensity and vastness. Their invasion ushered in the Rajput era which lasted till the 7th century A.D. in Sind (80 years before the arrival of Mohd. Bin Qasim); till the end of 10th century AD in the Punjab and NWFP (upto the arrival of Mahmud Ghaznavi) and till the end of 12th century in northern India when Mohammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj in 1192 A.D.Before lmaduddin Mohammad Bin Qasim's arrival here, Rajputs were the ruling race in Sind and in the rest of northern India. The last Rajput ruler of Sind was Raja Sahasi II whose dominions extended up to Kashmir. He was a contemporary of Prophet Mohammad and professed Buddhism as did his father Siharus. The rule of Raja Sahasi II ended in 632 A.D. the year Prophet Mohammad died. He was succeeded by his Brahmin chamberlain, Chach, who had become a favourite of Sahasi's wife. Chach ruled over Sind for about 68 years from 632-700 A.D. His son Dahir was the ruler when Mohammad Bin Qasim arrived here in 711 A.D.The line of rulership before Islam runs thus: Siharus, Sahasi II, Chach, Dahir. The first two were Buddhist Rajputs and the last two Hindu Brahmins. The new Brahmin rulers were extremely hostile towards the Buddhists who were in substantial numbers in Sind at that time and they had ruthlessly suppressed the Jats and Meds who formed the bulk of the peasantry. Humiliating conditions were imposed on the Jats depriving them of many civil rights. "When Chach, the Brahmim chamberlain who usurped the throne of Rajput King Sahasi II went to Brahmanabad, he enjoined upon the Jats and Lohanas not to carry swords, avoid velvet or silken cloth, ride horses without saddles and walk about bare-headed and bare-footed."7 It was because of this background that Mohammad Bin Qasim received cooperation from the Buddhists as well as the Jats and Meds during his campaign in Sind. Among others who did not oppose Mohammad Bin Qasim's advance and made peace with him was the Bhutto tribe.8 In fact he was hailed as deliverer by several sections of local population. The humble position of the Buddhists in Sind seeking support from outside can be read in the Chach Nama."Mohammad Bin Qasim's work was facilitated by the treachery of certain Buddhist priests and renegade chiefs who deserted their sovereign and joined the invader. With the assistance of some of these traitors, Mohammad crossed the vast sheet of water separating his army from that of Dahir and gave battle to the ruler near Raor (712 A.D.). Dahir was defeated and killed."9THE JATS OF SINDBefore commencing a review of the Muslim period of Sind's history, we shall speak briefly of the Jats of Sind (Pakistan) who were known all over Iran and the Middle East for their sturdy constitution and industrious nature. They have a colourful history and an adventurous past.The author of Mujmaul Tawarikh has quoted an extinct Sanskrit work according to which the original inhabitants of Sind were Jats and Meds. Early Arab writers on Sind also say that Jats and Meds were important tribes in their time. Ibn Khurdabah mentions 'zutts' as guarding the route between Kirman and Mansura while Ibn Haukal writes: "Between Mansura and Makran the waters from the Mehran form lakes and the inhabitants of the country are the south Asian races called Zutt. The Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang who visited this region in the 7th century A.D. also mentioned Jats."The Jats claim to be included in the 36 royal Rajput tribes. Some of them state that their forefathers came from Ghazni. But it is generally accepted that they are the descendants of the ancient Getae, or Jeutchi, from Scythia. Some authorities consider that they entered the sub-continent some time in 1500 BC and are the same as the Jattikas mentioned in the Mahabharata, and also identical with the Jatti of Pliny and Ptolemy. Their original home was on the Oxus."10 According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the Jats of the lower Indus comprise both Jats and Rajputs, and the same rule applies to Las-Bela where descendants of former ruling races like the Sumra and the Samma of Sind and the Langah of Multan are found. At the time of the first appearance of the Arabs they found the whole of Makran in possession of Jats (Zutts).According to a 'Hadis', Hazrat Abdulla Bin Masood, a companion Prophet saw some strangers with the Prophet and said that their features and physique were like those of Jats.11 This means that Jats we in Arabia even during the Prophet's time. Hazrat Imam Bukhari (d. 875 A.D. - 256 A.H.) writing about the period of the Companions in his book "Al adab al Mufarrad" has stated that once when Hazrat Aisha (Prophet's wife) fell ill, her nephews brought a Jat doctor for her treatment. We hear of them next when the Arab armies clashed with the Persian forces which comprised of Jat soldiers as well. The Persian Command Hurmuz used Jat soldiers against Khalid Bin Walid in the battle of 'salasal' of 634 A.D. (12 hijri). This vvas the first time that Jats were captured by the Arabs. They put forward certain conditions for joining the Arab armies which were accepted, and on embracing Islam they were associated with different Arab tribes.12 This event proves that the first group of Pakistanis to accept Islam were Jats who did it as early as 12 hijri (634 A.D.) in the time of Hazrat Omar.The Persian King Yazdjard had also sought the help of the Sind ruler who sent Jat soldiers and elephants which were used against the Arabs in the battle of Qadisia. According to Tibri, Hazrat Ali had employed Jats to guard Basra treasury during the battle of Jamal. "Jats were the guards of the Baitul Maal at al-Basra during the time of Hazrat Osman and Hazrat Ali."13 Amir Muawiya had settled them on the Syrian border to fight against the Romans. It is said that 4,000 Jats of Sind joined Mohammad Bin Qasim's army and fought against Raja Dahir. Sindhi Jats henceforth began to be regularly recruited in the Muslim armies."Some of the Zutt deserters from the Persian army were transplanted in 670 A.D. by Caliph Muawiya from Basrah to Antioch. When the Arabs conquered Sind, another batch of Zutts whom the conquerors had uprooted from their native pastures seem to have been sent to Syria by Hajjaj (691-713 A.D.) and eventually sent on by the Caliph Walid 1(707-15 AD) to join the previous batch of Zutt deportees at Antioch whence some, again, were sent on by the Caliph Yazid II (720-24 A.D.) to Massisah in Cicilia…. But the bulk of Hajjaj's deportees from Sind seem to have been settled in Iraq. In the reign of Abbasid Caliph Mansur (813-33 A.D.) they broke into a rebellion which it took him and his successor Mutasim 833-42 AD), the best part of 20 years to quell….. Whether there had or had not been a voluntary immigration as well as a compulsory deportation of Zutt to Iraq from Sind, we may take it that in the course of the first two centuries of Arab rule, manpower from western subcontinent (i.e., Pakistan) had it in one way or another been pouring into a south-western Asia that, on the eve of the Arab conquest, had been depopulated by the two last and most devastating of the Romano-Persian wars."14This statement of Tonybee is revealing in that it shows the close relations Pakistan had with the Middle East. Sindhis began to settle in areas as far away as Iraq and Syria which were depopulated by wars between the Persians and the Romans.The origin of European gypsies is also traced to Sindhi Jats. Harun-ur-Rashid had recruited Jats to reinforce Cilician fortress. When the Romans descended on Ayn Zarbah in 855 A.D. they carried off into East Roman territory the Jats together with their women, children and buffaloes. This detachment of the Jats was the advance guard of the gypsies of Europe.15 They continued to pour into Europe in small batches at various stages subsequently.THE ARAB PERIODTurning to the history of Sind, it may be divided into seven periods: (1) Pre-Muslim; (2) Arab Rule; (3) Middle Ages from Mahmud Ghaznavi to the establishment of Mughal Rule; (4) Mughal Period; (5) Kalhora period; (6) The Talpur Period; and (7) The British Period. We shall deal with briefly discussing only certain salient features of each period.We have already spoken of the Indus Valley Civilization and the pre-historic period in an earlier chapter. Between the fall of the Mauryan Empire and the arrival of the Arabs i.e., roughly 200 B.C. to 700 A.D., a span of 900 years, Sind and other parts of Pakistan experienced wave after wave of hordes from Central Asia settling down in these regions. The Bactrians, Sakas, Kushans, the Pahlavas and the Huns etc., came, conquered and settled here. From these stocks, mingled with indigenous blood, ultimately emerged the new Kshatrya ruling class of Hindus later called Rajputs and the peasant class of Jats and Gujjars. 16 The most outstanding aspect of this pre-Muslim period is that Sind was intimately connected with the rest of Pakistan and not with India. It had either independent kingdoms or kingdoms in common with Pakistan.Several reasons are ascribed to the Arab desire to conquer Makran 17 and Sind. Firstly, Sindhi Rajas had helped the Persians in their wars against the Arabs. Sindhi forces participated in the battles of Nehawand, ‘Salasal’, Qadisia and Makran and fought against the Arabs. Secondly, when after the conquest of Persia by the Arabs some of their rebel chiefs began to seek refuge in Sind, its Raja refused to surrender them to the Caliphs inspite of repeated requests. Thirdly, since Arab traders were being constantly harassed by pirates from the Makran and Sind coasts, a foot-hold in these areas considered necessary to safeguard Arab maritime interests.The first naval expedition undertaken by the Arabs in this ocean was during Hazrat Omar's caliphate in 636 A.D. - 15 A.H. under the command of Osman bin Abi'Aas, the Governor of Bahrain and Oman. He attacked Thana, a port near modern Bombay. A little later he sent another naval expedition to Debal in Sind under the command of his brother Mughira. Raja Chach was the ruler of Sind at that time and his kingdom was well defended. Mughira was defeated by the Raja's forces and killed in action.During Hazrat Omar's caliphate the Governor of Iraq also sent an expedition by land to Makran under the command of Rabi Bin Ziad Haris. Though Makran was conquered but the victory was short-lived, as the locals recaptured the country. Makran was, however, permanently conquered during the last days of Hazrat Omar's caliphate in 642 AD - 43 AH. under the command of Hakam Taglabi. Hazrat Osman, the third Caliph had sent Hakim bin Jabala to Sind in 650 A.D. to collect information. Before him Sahar-al-Abdi had visited Sind for the same purpose in 643 A.D. during Hazrat Omar's last days.18 The next Arab general to enter Pakistan by land was Muhlib bin Sufra who came through the Khyber Pass in 665 A.D. -65 A.H.The real story, however, begins with Hajjaj Bin Yusuf who was Governor of Iraq. The story of Arab merchants returning from Ceylon to Basra having been looted by Sindhi pirates is well-known. It is related that some of the women who were being carried away by the pirates implored Hajjaj to rescue them.Hajjaj took serious notice of the incident and wrote to Dahir, the ruler of Sind, for the release of captives as well as the goods which were being sent to the caliphate as presents by the ruler of Ceylon. Not receiving a favourable reply, Hajjaj, with the permission of Caliph Walid, sent a force to Debal under the command of Abdulla bin Nabhan. This force was annihilated by Dahir's army and its commander killed in battle. (According to Dr. Daud Pota the tomb of Abdullah Shah at Clifton in Karachi is of this General, Abdulla bin Nabhan).l9 Again, Hajjaj sent a bigger expedition to Debal, to oppose which Dahir sent his son Jaisia with a fairly large contingent. For the second time Arabs were defeated and their commander Badil bin Tuhfa killed in action at Debal. (According to the British historian Eliot, Karachi and the island of Manora constituted the city of Debal).Hajjaj was infuriated and perturbed at the developments. Having realised that the ruler of Sind was a powerful monarch, he started making large-scale preparations and took personal interest in the mattersince the issue had now become one of prestige. The selection of a commander for this expeditionary force had also to be made with due care keeping in view all the aspects of the problem. Hajjaj's choice fell on the young 20 year old (according to some 17) Mohammad Bin Qasim. The army and its Commander were given rigorous training for over one year in the desert of southern Iran which had similar climatic conditions to those of Sind. Through intelligence reports, all the strong and weak points of the enemy and details of their weapons and defences were collected, studied, and the Arab army equipped accordingly. Hajjaj bin Yusuf went through through the minutest details and after thorough study of the maps of Sind, guided Mohammad Bin Qasim on the strategy to be followed. Not content with this, Hajjaj made arrangements to convey his messages and orders to Mohammad Bin Qasim from Basra to any point in Sind within a week. Orders were that Mohammad Bin Qasim should not attack any city or fort or engage his forces in any large-scale battle with the enemy without getting orders from Basra. Even instructions concerning the day and time of attack and weapons to be used in a particular place or battle were sent by Hajjaj.This time Arab armies triumphed and the triumph proved permanent. I shall not go into details which are available in all histories and mention only a few points which have not been high-lighted.MOHAMMAD BIN QASIM'S RULEAs mentioned elsewhere, Sind had a large Buddhist population at this time but the ruler, Dahir, was a Brahmin. It is said that the Buddhists been receiving constant information from their co-religionists in Afghanistan and Turkistan about the extremely liberal treatment meted out to them by the Arab conquerors of those regions. In view of these reports, the Buddhist population of Sind decided to extend full cooperation to Mohammad Bin Qasim and even acclaimed him as liberator from Brahmin tyranny. Several principalities in Sind were ruled by Buddhist Rajas. The Buddhist ruler of Nerun (Hyderabad) had secret correspondence with Mohammad Bin Qasim. Similarly, Bajhra and Kaka Kolak, Buddhist Rajas of Sewastan, allied themselves with Mohammad Bin Qasim.20 On similar grounds, Jats also joined the Arabs against Dahir.Secondly, it is generally believed that Mohammad Bin Qasim conquered areas only up to Multan. No, he conquered almost the entire Pakistan which then formed part of the Kingdom of Sind. According to Chach Nama, after conquering Aror (near Rohri), Mohammad Bin Qasim advanced towards Bhatia, an old fort on Beas which was under the command of Chach's nephew. After conquering Bhatia the Arabs laid siege to Iskandla on river Ravi and took it. Chach Nama further states that Mohammad Bin Qasim proceeded to the boundary of Kashmir called Panj Mahiyat, at the upper course of Jhelum just after it debouches into the plains.21 "With a force of 6,000 Mohainmad Bin Qasim, a youth of 20, conquered and reorganised the whole of the country from the mouth of Indus to the borders of Kashmir, a distance of 800 miles in three years 712-15 A.D.22"Waihind (neat Attock) which was one of the oldest cities of the sub-continent was included in the kingdom of Sind."23 "Mohammad Bin Qasim made Multan the base for further inroads and garrisoned Brahmanpur, on the Jhelum, the modern Shorkot, Ajtabad and Karor; and afterwards with 50,000 men marched via Dipalpur to the foot of the Himalayas near Jelhum."24It is recognised by all historians that Mohammad Bin Qasim's rule was most liberal and his treatment of non-Muslims extremely just and fair. He not only appointed Hindus to senior administrative posts but left small Hindu principalities undisturbed. Brahmins had become so loyal to him that they used to go from village to village and urge people to support the Arab regime. When Mohammad Bin Qasim was recalled from Sind by the Caliph in very unhappy circumstances, the Hindus and Buddhist of Sind wept over his departure; and when he died they erected a statue in his memory and worshipped it for a long time. Mohammad Bin Qasim’s two sons had a distinguished career. Arnroo became Governor of Sind and Qasim was Governor of Basra for fifteen years.25But the early Arab period is not one of peace and tranquility. With the recall of Mohammad Bin Qasim the province returned to chaos and confusion. After a few years of anarchy governor Junaid restored normalcy. A short while later, due to bad administration, chaos prevailed again. Conditions were so critical that the next governor, Hakam bin Awanah established a new city called 'Mahfooza' (place of safety) in 732 A.D. - 113 A.H. where all the Muslims collected for safety. Later on, after restoring order and reorganising most of the Province, Hakam’s general Amroo (the son of Mohammad Bin Qasim) built another city 'Mansoora' (victory) near Shahdadpur in 737 A.D. - 119 AH. which became the capital of the Arab kingdom. Because of these unsettled conditions Sind had to be conquered again and again."In Sind the recall of Mohammad Bin Qasim was followed by a Hindu reaction which almost wiped out the results of the first victories. When Hakam bin Awanah was appointed Governor of Sind, he found that the natives had rebelled and apostasized. He built two cities, Mahfuzah and Mansurah in the north and south of Sind, to provide places of security for Muslims.'' 26From the departure of Mohammad Bin Qasim in 715 A.D. to the fall of the Umayyad caliphate in 750 A.D., a period of 35 years, Sind had nine governors. They were Habib Bin Mohlab, Amro Bin Muslim Bahili, Bilal Bin Ahwaz, Junaid Bin Abdur Rehman Marri, Tamim Bin Zaid Atbi, Hakam Bin Awanah Qalbi, Amroo Bin Mohainmad Bin Qasim, Yazid Bin Arrar and Mansur Bin Jamhur Qalbi. During this period "Governor Junaid again conquered all the territory up to Beas and Ravi in the north-east, Kashmir in the north, Arabian ocean in the south, Malwa in the south-east and Makran in the west."27Umayyad caliphate was replaced by that of the Abbasids in 750 AD, Sind became part of the Abbasid dominions. It remained under Baghdad’s control during the Abbasid Caliphs Saffa, Mansoor, Hadi, Haroon, Mamoon, Mutasim, Wasiq and Mutawakkil. In the reign of the last mentioned Caliph, the Governor of Sind, Umar Hibari, became practically independent owing nominal allegience to the Caliph. Earlier, during the caliphate of Mamoon-ur-Rashid, Sind Governor Bashar Ibn-e-Dawood had revolted and withheld the payment of revenues, but the revolt was quelled judiciously. It may be of interest to note that the postal and intelligence services of Sind were directly controlled by the Caliphs.The man who governed Sind (then covering major portion of present day Pakistan) for the longest period was Dawood bin Yazid bin Hatim who died in 821 A.D. Two members of the famous Baramaka family of Abbasid Prime Ministers ruled over Sind as Governors during this period. One was Musa Barmakh and the other his son Omar Barmakh. The Barmakh family were said to be originally Kashmiri Buddhists who had migrated to Balkh (now in northern Afghanistan) and after accepting Islam, went to Baghdad where several members of the family had distinguished career. Two of them, Yahya and Jafar, became Prime Ministers of Haroon-ur-Rashid. (The word Barmakh is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘par mukh’ meaning sardar).During the 105 years of Abbasid period when Sind formed part of their dominions (750-855 A.D.) thirty-one Governors were appointed. The Hibari dynasty which had become independent lasted from 855 A.D. to 1010 A.D. i.e., till the annexation of Sind by Mahmud Ghaznavi. It was the last Arab government. One of its rulers Abdulla bin Omar Hibari (d. 893 AD) ruled for about 30 years and made great contribution to the cultural and economic development of the province. It was during the Hibari period that Sind severed its relations with the caliphate; and it was during this period that two separate states emerged in Sind: one had its capital at Mansura and the other at Multan. In addition, several small Hindu states had also sprung up. It was again during the Hibari rule that the Fatimid Caliph Obidullah-aI-Mahdi sent the first Ismaili missionary, Haishan, to Sind.MISSIONARY WORKSind being the eastern-most province of the Umayyad, and then of the Abassid Caliphates with loose control from the centre, its political as well as religious life was highly perturbed. In the political field due to internecine quarrels, Muslim governments in the area were divided into two sections: The upper region had Multan as its capital and the capital of the lower region was Mansura near Shahdadpur. Sind also became an arena of religious acrimonies because of the large number of Ismaili missionaries who visited this country and the herectics who took refuge here. The first Ismaili missionary to visit Sind was Haisham who came to Sind in 877 A.D. - 270 A.H. He was sent by the founder of the Fatimid caliphate, Obaidullah-al-Mahdi. Among other prominent Ismaili missionaries to visit Sind were Hazrat Abdullah (1067 A.D.), Pir Sadruddin (1430 AD), his son Kabiruddin, his brother Tajuddin and Syed Yusufuddin, all of whom gained considerable following in Pakistan. Pir Sadruddin had his grand lodge in Sind and it was he who conferred on the new converts the title of Khwaja (Khoja), meaning honourable. According to Dr. Arnold a number of Ismaili missionaries were sent to Sind from the famous "Alamut" fort which was the headquarter of Hasan Bin Sabbah who lived in the late 11th and early 12th century A.D.28 Abdullah-al-Ashtar Alvi, a great grandson of Hazrat Ali was among those who had religious differences with the Caliph, was considered a heretic and took refuge here. Because of sheltering him, the Governor of Sind, Omar bin Hafs was transferred to North Africa by the Caliph. Hazrat Abdullah Ashtar's tomb at Clifton on the sea-shore near Karachi is still visited by devotees.A large number of Sunni missionaries also visited Sind during the Arab period. The Omayyed Caliph Hazrat Omar bin Abdul Aziz is said to have sent a number of them who were successful in converting several Sindhi landlords. The Abbasid Caliph Mahdi also sent some missionaries who converted a number of Rajas and prominent Hindus up to Peshawar. Mohammad Alfi who came with Mohammad Bin Qasim and was among the most successful missionaries, later became adviser to the Raja of Kashmir and settled there.As already stated, during the major portion of Arab rule, Sind and southern Punjab were rent by political as well as religious rivalries. Since every development in the Middle East had its direct impact on this region, the Fatimid-Abbasid political rivalry with its religious manifestation in the Ismaili-Sunni controversy, found its full echo here, particularly in the 10th century A.D. (early 4th century hijri). Ismaili, or according to some, Carmathian rulers were installed in the upper region whose capital was Multan. It is related that the Fatimid Caliph Imam Abdul Aziz Billah had sent a misionary Jalam bin Shaiban from Cairo to Multan with a sizeable army in 372 hijri (985 A.D.) to establish Ismaili rule which he did, and himself became head of the state. At this time the rulers of Makran and Mansura were also Ismailis. The Sumra family of Sind which had accepted Ismaili Islam owed allegience to the Fatimid Caliphs of Cairo, sent them presents and zakat and read their name in Friday 'Khutba'. After the fall of the Fatimids, Sindhi Ismailis attached themselves to the Mustali branch of the Ismailis who were functioning from Yemen. (Members of the 'Mustali’ branch are called Bohris in the sub-continent). The history of this period is so confused that it is difficult to state with any certainty as to when and how long Ismaili and Carmathian rulers held sway at Mansura and Multan. There were frequent changes accompanied by enlargement or shrinkag of territories. Ferishta speaks of Shaikh Hamid Lodhi as the first ruler of Multan converted to Carmathian faith. Haig says that Multan was seized by Abdullah, the Carmathian, about 287 hijri (900 A.D.). Ibn-e-Haukal visited in 367 hijri but does not mention the Ismailis and says that the rulers of Multan and Mansura recognised the authority of Baghdad. Al Maqdasi visited Multan in 375 hijri and wrote that the people of Multan were Shias, presents were sent to the Fatimids of Egypt and Ismailis were claiming an increasing number of converts. Al Beruni writing about the 424 hijri says "the rise of the Carmathians preceded our time by almost 100 years i.e., in 324 hijri." Whatever the fortunes of the rulers, there is some ground to believe that Ismaili form of Shiaism continued to be dominant in Sind and southern Punjab for a considerable time."Propaganda under the Fatimid 'Dawat' in the subcontinent is traced back to the time of Fatimid Caliph al Mustansir. Ismailis had indeed been sent to the subcontinent at a much earlier date. Their field of labour was in Sind, in a district of Multan. Their chief dai was in correspondence with Caliph Muizz (953) and the community had not only increased in numbers, but it had attained power in Multan during his Imamate. The community recognised the Fatimids as Imams but the initiative in Sind may have been taken by the Carmathians. Later history links Multan and Sind with the Nizarian Dawat"29"Ivanow describes the Ismaili population in south Asia as the most ancient and interesting. Sons of Mohammad Ibn Ismail had sought refuge in Qandahar, then a part of Sind. Sind early became a dist. or Jazira, of the Ismaili 'dawat'. During the Imamats of Al Muizz (953) its chief dai was in direct communication with the Imam." 30SIND'S PROGRESS UNDER ARABSHowever, in spite of political chaos and religious confusion, Sind made great progress in the literary and economic fields during this period. Sindhi scholars and doctors made a mark not only in their own country but in the entire Muslim world. Mathematicians and philosophers from Sind visited Baghdad in large numbers and made outstanding contribution to the promotion of learning among the Arabs. Several physicians were called from Sind for the treatment of Caliphs among whom were Ganga and Manka who treated Haroon-ur-Rashid. The latter was a member of Bait-ul-Hikmat of Haroon-ur-Rashid. Another Sindhi doctor who made a mark in the Muslim world was a newly converted Muslim, Saleh bin Bhahla (Bhalla).Among the notable Sindhi ulema were: Maulana Islami who hailed from Debal, accepted Islam during Mohammad Bin Qasim's days and was sent by him as envoy to Raja Dahir for negotiations. Abu Maashar Sindhi was Muslim world's noted scholar of 'seerat and 'fiqh'. He lived at Medina for a number of years and later shifted to Baghdad where he died. He was so much respected that on his death Caliph Mehdi led the funeral prayers. His son Abu Abdul Malik was also an eminent scholar and had settled down in Baghdad. Hafiz Abu Mohammad Khalaf bin Saalem who was a ‘hadees’ scholar had migrated from Sind to Iraq where he attained fame. Abu Nasr Fateh Bin Abdulla Sindhi was known for his proficiency in ‘hadees,’ 'fiqh' and Ilm-e-Kalaam. He wrote 'Tafseer' in Sindhi and rendered Islamic teachings in such beautiful and forceful Sindhi verse that it gained immense popularity both among Hindus and Muslims. Another ‘aalim’ Ishaque Sindhi, was among the most revered muftis of the Abbasid period. Imam Auzai of Sind was considered an authority on religion in the Muslim world. Mohammad bin Ali Shwarib, the Qazi of Mansura and his son Ali bin Mohammad bin Ali Shwarib were also renowned scholars.Among the Sindhis who earned eminence in the Muslim world as Arabic poets during this period were Abul Ata Sindhi, Haroon bin Abdulla Multani, Abu Mohammad Mansuri who hailed from Mansura, Mansoor Hindi, Musa bin Yakub, Saqafi, Abu Zila Sindhi, Kashajam bin Sindhi bin Shahak etc. Sindhi bin Sadqa was a 'Katib', a writer as well as a poet. Some of them wrote in Sindhi as well as in Arabic. It is said that at the request of a Sindhi Raja, Mahrook, who embraced Islam, the Quran was translated into Sindhi during the reign of Abdulla bin Omar Hibari. Due to the patronage extended by early Abbasid Caliphs and their Baramaka Prime Ministers, a number of Sindhi Pandits and Veds went to Baghdad and engaged themselves in scientific and literary pursuits. They translated a number of Sanskrit books on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, medicine, literature and ethics into Arabic. Prominent among them were Bhalla, Manka, Bazeegar (Bajaikar), Falbar Ful (Kalap Rai Kal), Ibne Dahan, Saleh bin Bhalla, Bakhar, Raja, Makka, Daher, Anko, Arikal, Andi, Jabbhar, etc. Some of these Pandits taught the Arabs, numerals.31In about 780 A.D. - 154 A.H. when a deputation of Sindhi Pandits visited Baghdad, they carried with them a Sanskrit work known as 'Siddhanat’ which, after translation in Arabic, became known as AI-Sindh-Hind. Sindhi accountants were also popular in the Arab world. According to Jahez (d. 874 A.D. - 255 A.H.) all the 'Sarrafs' (money-changers) in Iraq were Sindhi treasurers. They were proficient in accounting and exchange business and were also honest and loyal servants.The Arab rulers of Sind-Multan were extremely liberal, spoke Sindhi and treated their subjects well. They never encroached upon the religious liberties of the Hindus and Buddhists and appointed them to positions of responsibility. Mohammad Bin Qasim had appointed Sisakar, the Prime Minister of Raja Dahir, his own Prime Minister, and Kiska, another Hindu, his Revenue Minister. The entire history of Sind under the Arabs is replete with instances of Hindus holding positions of great responsibility and honour. Three per cent of the country's revenues were given to Brahmins as stipends. When some of the district administrators informed the Government that they were experiencing shortage of cows and bulls which were needed for agricuiture and transport, Government prohibited cow slaughter.In the economic field also Sind made considerable progress. Agriculture received great impetus with foodgrains being exported tothe Middle East. A number of new varieties of fruits were cultivated among which the bananas of Sind were extremely popular in the neighboring countries. Camphor, neel, banana, coconut, dates, sugarcane, lemons, mangoes, almonds, nuts, wheat and rice are mentioned by almost all visitors as grown in plenty in Sind. Bishari Maqdasi writes that there were innumerable gardens in Sind and the trees were tall and luxuriant. The whole city of Mansura was covered with almond and nut trees.The cities established by the Arabs "flourished as great centres of trade and learning. A busy trade grew up and the merchants of different nationalities carried Indian goods through Sind to Turkistan and Khurasan imported horses into Sind."32 Debal, Nairun Kot, Sehwan, Khuzdar, Aror, Multan and Mansura were flourishing commercial centres. Arabs had more trade with this country than with Gujrat, Malabar and Bengal. A large proportion of merchandise was transported from the Punjab by rivers. 700-800 maunds of goods were sewn in jute cloth, put in leather bags oiled from outside to prevent water penetrating and put in the rivers. 33"On account of their favourable geographical position the ports of Sind played a vital role, even before the Arab invasion, in the commercial intercourse between the countries to the west (Iran, South Arabia, Ethiopia) and to the east of the Indus delta, as well as in the export of commodities manufactured in Sind itself. This role gained momentum after Islam had reached Sind. The author of Hudud al'Alam mentions that there were plenty of merchants in Sind, stressing that many a citizen of the coastal areas were engaged in sea trade. The cities of Daibul and Mansura were major trade centres of Lower Sind at the turn of the first and second millennia. In the first centuries of the second millennium, Thatta came in the fore as another major economic and political centre of the country: in the opinion of some scholars, the city in its prime had a population of 280,000."34 Leather and leather goods industry also made great progress during this period. The coloured and soft leather of Sind was known all over the world markets as Al-Sindhi. According to 'Muruj-uz-Zahab', the shoes of Mansura were very popular in Iran and the Arab world. Imam Hanbal relates that a large number of shoes were imported from Mansura into Baghdad where they were in great demand among the royal family and the gentry. But, he remarks, they were very showy.Arabs also took keen interest in animal husbandry. They improved several breeds of camels, horses, cows, bulls and buffaloes. Sindhi buffaloes were so popular that Arabs used to carry them to their home towns when returning from Sind.Building of cities and construction of roads and houses was a hobby with the Arabs. They built several new cities such as Mahfooza (in 732 A.D), Mansura (737 A.D.), Baiza (835 A.D.), Jundrore near Multan (in 854 AD) and several others. They also improved and expanded the existing cities by constructing satellite towns. A bridge called "Sukkar-al-Maid" was built over the Indus near Sukkur.A number of Arab tribes of Quraish, Kalb, Tameem, Saqeef, Harris, Ael-e-Utba, Aal-e-Jareema and Asad, and several prominent families of Yemen and Hejaz had settled in Sind. Masudi (915 A.D. - 302 A.H.) writes that he met many descendants of Hazrat Ali in Mansura who were in the line of Omar bin Ali and Mohammad Bin Ali. He also mentions that there was fertility and opulence here and people were healthy. Some authorities have expressed the view that the wife of Hazrat Imam Hussain, who other of Hazrat Imam Zainul Abdin from whom the line of Hussaini Syeds is traced, was not a Perstan as is generally believed, but a Sindhi lady of noble family."35Bishari writes that the people of Multan were prosperous, they did not drink wine and their women did not use cosmetics. Both Arabic and Sindhi were spoken. Regarding Mansura he states that the people were very well-read, courteous and religious. The city had a large number of scholars and the general standard of morals and intelligence was high. Mansura remained the capital of Sind from 737 A.D. - 120 A.H to 1026 A.D. - 416 A.H. for about 300 years till its conquest by Mahmud Ghaznavi. In late 3rd century Hijri when Multan became the capital of the northern kingdom, Mansura remained the capital of only the south i i.e., modern Sind. It survived till the Tughlaq period in the 14th century A.D. when it disappeared due to change in the course of river Indus.As during the time of Darius when Sind constituted the 20th Satrapy of the Achaemenian Empire and considered an extremely rich province, so also during the Arab rule Sind was regarded a prosperous part of the Caliphate and paid a million dirham per annum as revenue to the Government at Baghdad.