2405:204:8A:B64B:0:0:97C:60B1 at 03:17, 30 August 2021

2021-08-30T03:17:29Z

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{{Short description|Ethnolinguistic group native to Sindh, Pakistan}}
{{Redirect-distinguish2|Sindhi people|the [[Sindi people]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Sindhis
| native_name = سنڌي, सिन्धी, [[File:Sindhi khudabadi.svg|38px]]
| native_name_lang = sd
| population = {{circa|40 million}}{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| regions = {{flag|Pakistan}} {{nbsp|6}} 32,923,590<ref>CCI to consider releasing census results without 5pc audit [https://www.dawn.com/news/1446487 Dawn News].</ref> {{flag|India}} {{nbsp|6}} 3,810,000<ref>{{cite web|title=Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength – 2011|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf|publisher=[[Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India]]|date=29 June 2018}}</ref>
| region3 = {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
| pop3 = 341,000
| ref3 = {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| region4 = {{flag|Malaysia}}
| pop4 = 30,500
| ref4 = {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| region5 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| pop5 = 30,000
| ref7 = {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| region8 = {{flag|Indonesia}}
| pop8 = 10,000
| region9 = {{flag|Afghanistan}}
| pop9 = 15,000 (2017)
| ref8 = {{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
| region10 = {{flag|United States}}
| pop10 = 14,700
| ref9 = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Opinion: Sindhi beyond the borders|url=http://www.afghanistantimes.af/opinion-sindhi-beyond-the-borders/|access-date=2021-07-28|website=Afghanistan Times|language=en-US}}</ref>
| region11 = {{flag|Singapore}}
| pop11 = 8,800
| ref10 = {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| region12 = {{flag|Hong Kong}}
| pop12 = 25000
| ref11 = <ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39lJz_L4MdUC|title=Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia|first1=K.|last1=Kesavapany|first2=A.|last2=Mani|first3=P.|last3=Ramasamy|date=1 January 2008|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9789812307996|via=Google Books}}</ref>
| region13 = {{flag|Oman}}
| pop13 = 700
| ref12 = {{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
| region14 = {{flag|Gibraltar}}
| pop14 = 500
| ref13 = {{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
| languages = [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] {{smaller|English, [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]] ([[Qur'anic Arabic|Arabic]]/[[Sanskrit]] as [[Liturgy|liturgical languages]]) and numerous other languages widely spoken within the [[Sindhi diaspora]]}}
| rels = '''Majority''': [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] [[Islam]] - 80% '''Minority''': {{hlist|[[File:Om.svg|15px]] [[Hinduism]] - 19.6%, [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]] [[Sikhism]]

[[File:Crucifix.svg|15px]] [[Christianity]]<ref name="Ethnologue Kashmiri">{{cite web |url = http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kas |title = Kashmiri: A language of India|publisher = Ethnologue|access-date = 2 June 2007}}</ref>}}
| related_groups = Other [[Indo-Aryan peoples]]
}}
{{Contains special characters|Sindhi}}
'''Sindhis''' ({{lang-sd|سنڌي}} ([[Arabic script|Perso-Arabic]]), सिन्धी ([[Devanagari]]), [[File:Sindhi khudabadi.svg|38px]] ([[Khudabadi script|Khudabadi]])) are an [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] [[ethno-linguistic group|ethnic group]] who speak the [[Sindhi language]] and are native to the [[Sindh]] region in Pakistan, located along the lower course of the [[Indus River]] as it flows on its journey from the Himalayas to the [[Arabian Sea]]. Modern Sindhis are descendants of the many peoples who have settled in the area from earliest times. After the [[partition of India]] in 1947, most [[Sindhi Hindus]] and Sindhi [[Sikhs]] migrated to the newly independent [[Dominion of India]] and other parts of the world. Today, ethnic Sindhis are found predominantly in Pakistan while a minority resides in India. Many Sindhis including [[Baloch people in Sindh|Balochi Sindhis]] are a [[Iranian people|Iranian]] ethnic group.<ref>https://images.dawn.com/news/1176538</ref>

==History==

===Pre-historic period===
Sindh and surrounding areas contain the ruins of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley Civilization]]. There are remnants of thousand-year-old cities and structures, with a notable example in Sindh being that of [[Mohenjo-daro|Mohenjo Daro]]. Hundreds of settlements have been found spanning an area of about a hundred miles. The Indus Valley Civilisation went into decline around the year 1700 BC for reasons that are not entirely known, though its downfall was probably precipitated by an earthquake or natural event that dried up the [[Ghaggar-Hakra River|Ghaggar River]]. The [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryans]] are believed to have founded the [[Vedic period|Vedic civilisation]] that existed between the [[Sarasvati River]] and [[Ganges]] river around 1500 BC. This civilisation helped shape subsequent cultures in [[South Asia]].

===Historical period===
For several centuries in the first millennium B.C. and in the first five centuries of the first millennium A.D., western portions of Sindh, the regions on the western flank of the Indus river, were intermittently under Persian, Greek and Kushan rule,{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} first during the Achaemenid dynasty (500–300 BC) during which it made up part of the easternmost satrapies, then, by Alexander the Great, followed by the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom|Indo-Greeks]] and still later under the [[Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom|Indo-Sassanids]], as well as [[Kushan Empire|Kushans]], before the Islamic invasions between the 7th–10th century AD. Alexander the Great marched through Punjab and Sindh, down the Indus river, after his conquest of the Persian Empire.

The [[Ror dynasty]] was a power from the Indian subcontinent that ruled modern-day Sindh and Northwest India from 450 BC – 489 AD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsFarEast/IndiaSindh.htm|title=Kingdoms of South Asia – Kingdoms of the Indus / Sindh|last=Kessler|first=P L|website=www.historyfiles.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-02-15}}</ref>

Sindh was one of the earliest regions to be conquered by the Arabs and influenced by [[Islam]]<ref name="Gier">Nicholas F. Gier, ''FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES'', presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May 2006 [http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/mm.htm]</ref> after 720 AD. Before this period, it was heavily Hindu and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]]. After 632 AD, it was part of the Islamic empires of the [[Abbasid]]s and [[Umayyid]]s. [[Habbari dynasty|Habbari]], [[Soomra Dynasty|Soomra]], [[Samma Dynasty|Samma]], [[Arghun Dynasty|Arghun]] dynasties ruled [[Sindh]].

==Ethnicity and religion==
{{Sindhis}}
{{Main|Demographics of Sindh}}
[[File:Mohenjo-daro Priesterkönig.jpeg|thumb|left|200px|"The Priest King Wearing Sindhi Ajruk", {{circa|2500 BC}}, in the National Museum of Pakistan.]]
[[File:Major ethnic groups of Pakistan in 1980.jpg|thumb|Sindhi-inhabited areas of Pakistan (yellow) in the early 1980s]]
The two main tribes of Sindh are the [[Soomro (tribe)|Soomro]] — descendants of the [[Soomro Dynasty]], who ruled Sindh during 970–1351 A.D. — and the [[Samma (tribe)|Samma]] — descendants of the [[Samma Dynasty]], who ruled Sindh during 1351–1521 A.D. These tribes belong to the same bloodline. Identity in Sindh is mostly based on a common ethnicity.<ref>[https://www.scribd.com/doc/13455764/The-People-and-the-Land-of-Sindh/ The People and the land of Sindh] {{webarchive|url=https://www.webcitation.org/5wUpD1Ybn?url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/13455764/The-People-and-the-Land-of-Sindh|date=14 February 2011}}</ref>

===Sindhi Muslims===
[[File:Abida Parveen in concert at Oslo.jpg|thumb|[[Abida Parveen]] is a Pakistani singer of Sindhi descent and an exponent of [[Sufi]] music.]]

The connection between the [[Indus Valley]] and [[Islam]] was established by the initial Muslim missions. According to Derryl N. Maclean, a link between Sindh and Muslims during the Caliphate of Ali can be traced to Hakim ibn Jabalah al-Abdi, a [[Companions of the Prophet|companion of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad]], who traveled across Sind to [[Makran]] in the year 649AD and presented a report on the area to the Caliph. He supported [[Ali]], and died in the [[Battle of the Camel]] alongside Sindhi [[Jats]].<ref>M. Ishaq, "Hakim Bin Jabala - An Heroic Personality of Early Islam", Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, pp. 145-50, (April 1955).</ref> He was also a poet and few couplets of his poem in praise of Ali ibn Abu Talib have survived, as reported in Chachnama:<ref>Derryl N. Maclean," '''Religion and Society in Arab Sind'''", p. 126, BRILL, (1989) {{ISBN|90-04-08551-3}}.</ref>

{{Quote|text=({{lang-ar|

ليس الرزيه بالدينار نفقدة

ان الرزيه فقد العلم والحكم

وأن أشرف من اودي الزمان به

أهل العفاف و أهل الجود والكريم
<ref>چچ نامہ، سندھی ادبی بورڈ، صفحہ 102، جامشورو، (2018)</ref>
}}

"Oh Ali, owing to your alliance (with the prophet) you are true of high birth, and your example is great, and you are wise and excellent, and your advent has made your age an age of generosity and kindness and brotherly love".<ref>Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg, "The Chachnama", p. 43, The Commissioner's Press, Karachi (1900).</ref> |sign=|source=|title=}}

During the reign of Ali, many Jats came under the influence of Islam.<ref>Ibn Athir, Vol. 3, pp. 45–46, 381, as cited in: S. A. N. Rezavi, "'''The Shia Muslims'''", in History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization, Vol. 2, Part. 2: "Religious Movements and Institutions in Medieval India", Chapter 13, Oxford University Press (2006).</ref> Harith ibn Murrah Al-abdi and Sayfi ibn Fil' al-Shaybani, both officers of Ali's army, attacked Sindhi bandits and chased them to Al-Qiqan (present-day [[Quetta]]) in the year 658.<ref>Ibn Sa'd, 8:346. The raid is noted by Baâdhurî, "fatooh al-Baldan" p. 432, and Ibn Khayyât, Ta'rîkh, 1:173, 183–84, as cited in: Derryl N. Maclean," '''Religion and Society in Arab Sind'''", p. 126, BRILL, (1989) {{ISBN|90-04-08551-3}}.</ref> Sayfi was one of the seven partisans of Ali who were beheaded alongside [[Hujr ibn 'Adi|Hujr ibn Adi al-Kindi]]<ref>Tabarî, 2:129, 143, 147, as cited in: Derryl N. Maclean," '''Religion and Society in Arab Sind'''", p. 126, Brill, (1989) {{ISBN|90-04-08551-3}}.</ref> in 660AD, near Damascus.

In 712 A.D., Sindh was incorporated into the [[Caliphate]], the Islamic Empire, and became the ‘Arabian gateway’ into India (later to become known as ''Bab-ul-Islam'', the gate of Islam).

Sindh produced many Muslim scholars early on, "men whose influence extended to [[Iraq]] where the people thought highly of their learning", in particular in [[hadith]],<ref>Mazheruddin Siddiqui, "Muslim culture in Pakistan and India" in [[Kenneth W. Morgan]], ''Islam, the Straight Path: Islam Interpreted by Muslims'', Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1987, p. 299</ref> with the likes of poet Abu al- 'Ata Sindhi (d. 159) or hadith and [[fiqh]] scholar [[Abu Mashar Sindhi]] (d. 160), among many others, and they're also those who translated scientific texts from [[Sanskrit]] into Arabic, for instance, the [[Zij al-Sindhind]] in astronomy.<ref>Ahmed Abdulla, ''The historical background of Pakistan and its people'', Tanzeem Publishers, 1973, p. 109</ref>

The majority of Muslim Sindhis follow the [[Sunni]] [[Hanafi]] [[fiqh]] with a minority being [[Shia]] [[Ithna 'ashariyah]]. [[Sufism]] has left a deep impact on Sindhi Muslims and this is visible through the numerous [[Dargah|Sufi shrines]] which dot the landscape of Sindh.

Sindhi Muslim culture is highly influenced by [[Sufi]] doctrines and principles.<ref>Ansari, Sarah FD. ''Sufi saints and state power: the pirs of Sind, 1843–1947''. No. 50. Cambridge University Press, 1992.</ref> Some of the popular cultural icons are [[Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai]], [[Lal Shahbaz Qalandar]], [[Jhulelal (Sufism)|Jhulelal]] and [[Sachal Sarmast]].

<gallery>
File:Tomb of Bhittai.jpeg|Grand mausoleum of [[Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai]] built by [[Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro]] on 1762.
File:PK Thatta asv2020-02 img04 Shah Jahan Mosque.jpg|Interior of the [[Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta]], built during the rule of the [[Mughal Empire]].
Image:Abdul-Majid_Bhurgri_AKU.jpg|thumb|[[Abdul-Majid Bhurgri]] is pioneer of Sindhi Computing
</gallery>

===Sindhi Hindus===
{{ Main|Sindhi Hindus|Hinduism in Sindh Province|Sindhis in India}}

[[Hinduism]] along with [[Buddhism]] was the predominant religion in Sindh before the Arab Islamic conquest.<ref name="MacLean"/> The Chinese Buddhist monk [[Xuanzang]], who visited the region in the years 630–644, said that Buddhism dominated, but also noted that it was declining.<ref>Shu Hikosaka, G. John Samuel, Can̲ārttanam Pārttacārati (ed.), ''Buddhist themes in modern Indian literature'', Inst. of Asian Studies, 1992, p. 268</ref> While Buddhism declined and ultimately disappeared after Arab conquest mainly due to conversion of almost entire Buddhist population to Islam, Hinduism managed to survive through the Muslim rule until before the partition of India as a significant minority. Derryl Maclean explains what he calls "the persistence of Hinduism" on the basis of "the radical dissimilarity between the socio-economic bases of Hinduism and Buddhism in Sind" : Buddhism in this region was mainly urban and mercantile while Hinduism was rural and non-mercantile, thus the Arabs, themselves urban and mercantile, attracted and converted the Buddhist classes, but for the rural and non-mercantile parts, only interested by the taxes, they promoted a more decentralized authority and appointed [[Brahmins]] for the task, who often just continued the roles they had in the previous Hindu rule.<ref name="MacLean">{{cite book|last=MacLean|first=Derryl L.|year=1989|title=Religion and Society in Arab Sind|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-040-8551-0|pages=12–14, 77–78}}</ref>

According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, Hindus constituted about 8% of the total population of Sindh province.<ref name="Pakistan Census Data">{{cite web|title=Pakistan Census Data|url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/other/yearbook2011/Population/16-16.pdf}}</ref> Most of them live in urban areas such as [[Karachi]], [[Hyderabad, Sindh|Hyderabad]], [[Sukkur]] and [[Mirpur Khas]]. Hyderabad is the largest centre of Sindhi Hindus in Pakistan, with 100,000–150,000 living there.<ref name="Pakistan Census Data"/> The ratio of Hindus was higher before the [[Partition of India|independence]] of Pakistan in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|title=Partition and the 'other' Sindhi|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/224030-Partition-and-the-other-Sindhi}}</ref>

{{Cquote|Before 1947 however, other than a few Gujarati speaking [[Parsees]] ([[Zorastrians]]) living in Karachi, virtually all the inhabitants were Sindhis, whether Muslim or Hindu at the time of Pakistan's [[Partition of India|independence]], 75% of the population were Muslims and almost all the remaining 25% were Hindus.<ref>''The foreign policy of Pakistan: ethnic impacts on diplomacy, 1971–1994'', by Mehtab Ali Shah, published in 1997 by I B Tauris and Co Ltd, London PAGE 46</ref>}}

Hindus in Sindh were concentrated in the cities before the [[Partition of India|creation]] of Pakistan in 1947, during which many migrated to India according to [[Ahmad Hassan Dani]]. Hindus were also spread over Sindh province. [[Dhatki language|Thari]] (a dialect of Sindhi) is spoken in Sindh in Pakistan and Rajasthan in India.

{{Cquote|The Cities and towns of Sindh were dominated by the Hindus. In 1941, for example, Hindus were 64% of the total urban population.<ref>Proceedings of the First Congress of Pakistan History & Culture held at the University of Islamabad, April 1973, Volume 1, University of Islamabad Press, 1975</ref>}}

===Emigration===
{{Main|Sindhi diaspora}}
The Sindhi diaspora emigrated from India and Pakistan is significant. Emigration from the Sindh began before and after the 19th century, with many Sindhis settling in Europe, and also a large Sindhi population [[Middle East|Middle Eastern states]] such as the [[United Arab Emirates]] and the [[Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]].

==Culture==
{{Main|Sindhi poetry|Sindhi music|Sindhi literature|Sindhi cuisine|Sindhi Cultural Day}}

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=18em|

* [[Sindhis in India]]
*[[Sandhai Muslims]]
* [[List of Sindhi people]]
* [[Sindhi names]]
* [[Sindhi Pathan]]
* [[Sindhi Baloch]]
* [[Sindhi Memon]]
* [[Sindhi language media in Pakistan]]
* [[Sindhi-language media]]
* [[List of Sindhi-language newspapers]]
* [[Sindhi Language Authority]]
* [[Sindhi folk tales]]
* [[Sindhi folklore]]
* [[Sindhi music]]
* [[Sindhi poetry]]
* [[List of Sindhi singers]]
* [[List of Sindhi festivals]]
* [[Sindhi culture]]
* [[Sindhi biryani]]
* [[Sindhi cap]]
* [[Sindhi Cultural Day]]
* [[Sindhi cinema]]
* [[Sindhi cuisine]]
* [[Romanisation of Sindhi]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* Bherumal Mahirchand Advani, '''"Amilan-jo-Ahwal" – published in Sindhi, 1919'''
* '''Amilan-jo-Ahwal (1919) – translated into English in 2016 ("A History of the Amils")''' at [http://www.saibaba-fund.org/sindhis.html sindhis]

==External links==
* [http://www.thesindhuworld.com Virtual Home of Global Sindhi Community Everything about Sindhis]
{{Commons category|Sindhi people}}
* [http://sabsindhi.com/database/Mainpage SabSindhi-All About Sindhis, Music, Books, Magazines, People, Dictionary, Calendar, Keyboard]
* [http://www.SindhiSangat.com Sindhi Sangat: promoting & preserving the Sindhi heritage, culture and language.]
* [http://www.SindhiJagat.com Sindhi Jagat: All India Sindhi Consolidating Centre.]
* [http://www.dalsabzi.com/books/sindhi_surnames/sindhi_surnames.htm Sindhi Surnames Origin – Trace your roots]
* [http://www.thesindhi.com www.thesindhi.com]
* [http://www.worldsindhicongress.org www.worldsindhicongress.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100711065104/http://www.sanalist.org/sana/newsite/ Sindhi Association of North America]
* [http://www.sindhiassociationofeurope.org.uk/home/ Sindhi Association of Europe]

{{Ethnic groups in Pakistan}}
{{Sindh topics}}
{{Sindhi nationalism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sindhi People}}
[[Category:Sindhi people| ]]
[[Category:Sindhi tribes|Sindhi tribes]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]

Sindhis - Revision history

2405:204:8A:B64B:0:0:97C:60B1 at 03:17, 30 August 2021