G. M. Syed is a personality that has been obliterated from the history text books of Pakistan. It is as if he never existed as far as Pakistan is concerned and modern generation has only a slight hint that he founded the Sindhi Nationalist party called Jeay Sindh (Long Live Sindh). “This simply makes him a traitor and should be forgotten” is an understanding prevalent among the youth of Pakistan and is a major source of ignorance that is threatening to destroy the province of Sindh itself. It is time to correct history where it needs correction.

G. M. Syed (Ghulam Murtaza Syed) was born on 17 January, 1904 in a village called “Sann” in Dadu district. He was the only male child of the Sadat family when his father, Syed Mohammed Shah Kazmi, got killed due to a family feud and his elder brother died at a young age. G. M. Syed was descendant of a famous Sindhi Sufi saint Syed Haider Shah Kazmi, of whose mosoleum G. M. Syed was Sajjada-Nasheen.

G. M. Syed was proficient in Sindhi, Urdu and English languages while he also had speaking proficiency in Persian and Arabic. He was home-tutored since he was the only male in the family but showed keen interest in politics, philosophy, history and religion. Following are his achievements until he joined Muslim League (Yes, he was its member … seriously).

1919: Became President of Local Board of his own Tehsil, later becoming Vice President of Karachi District Local Board.

1929: Became President of Karachi District Local Board

1930: Organized Hari Conference and became its Secretary

1937: Elected member of Sindh Legislative Assembly

1938: Joined All India Muslim League

In 1937 elections, All India Muslim League failed to win any seat and decided to embroil itself in the politics of the province to gain influence. The first three major personalities to join All India Muslim League were Hashim Ghazdar, Ayub Khuru and Sir Abdullah Haroon who were members of first ministry after the 1937 elections but were maneuvered out; the second ministry formed under Allah Bakhs had a pro-Congress stance and enjoyed Hindu as well as Congress support. Hashim Ghazdar, Ayub Khuhru and Sir Abdullah Haroon joined Muslim League in retaliation and were later joined by G. M. Syed and Pir Ali Mohammed Rashidi (both were instrumental in bringing down the first ministry).

The inclusion of G. M. Syed in Muslim League has been considered instrumental to the party’s success in the province because he had huge influence in landed gentry, particularly among Syeds and Pirs members of Sindh Assembly. On 8-10 October, 1938 Sindh Provincial Conference of Muslim League was held in Karachi by Sir Abdullah Haroon. The following members attended the conference:

Muslim League Center: Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan, Raja of Mehmoodabad, A.K. Fazalul Haq, Sir Saadullah Khan, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, Maulana Shaukat Ali, Sardar Aurangzeb, Nawab Ismail Khan, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman

Sindh Muslim League: Allah Bakhs Soomro, Pir Illahi Bakhs, Sir Abdullah Haroon, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, G. M. Syed, Mohammed Jamal Khan Leghari and others.

The members expressed their feelings regarding Congress and growing Hindu influence on Indian politics at the cost of Muslims and their representation. One major reason why Sindhi Muslims clicked so well with Muslim League ideals was that Sindhi Muslims, despite a majority in the province of Sindh, found themselves a small minority when Sindh was part of Bombay Presidency.

(Some facts on separation of Sindh before returning to the conference)

Summarized chronology into separation of Sindh from Bombay Presidency

(Back to the Sindh Provincial Conference of Muslim League)

The Sindh Provincial Conference of Muslim League held in Karachi on 8-10 October, 19378 was presided by M. A. Jinnah who accused Congress of attempting to destroy Muslim League and dominate Muslims by dividing them. In this conference a draft resolution was tabled by Sheikh Abdul Majid Sindhi in the Subjects Committee which reads as follows:

The Sindh Provincial Muslim League Conference considers it absolutely essential in the interest of an abiding peace of the vast Indian continent and in the interest of unhampered cultural development, the economic and social betterment and political self-determination of the two nations known as Hindus and Muslims, that India should be divided into two federations, namely the Federation of Muslims states and the Federation of non-Muslim states.

The Conference, therefore, recommends to the All India Muslim League to devise a scheme of constitution under which Muslim majority provinces, Muslim Indian states and areas inhabited by a majority of Muslims may attain full independence in the form of a federation of their own, with permission to admit any other Muslim state beyond the Indian fronttiers to join the Federation, and with such safeguards for non-Muslim minorities as may be conceded to the Muslim minorities in the non-Muslim federation of India

This was the first draft to actually demand separate state for Muslims clearly and is much specific than Lahore Resolution which is murky at best, with no clear indication of the term “states” which could either mean several countries or autonomous provinces under Indian federation. Moreover, the resolution was presented by Bengali Nationalist, Fazal-Ul-Haq, which hints that creation of East Pakistan was not part of the plan.

The text of Lahore Resolution is fully reproduced as follows for comparison.

While approving and endorsing the action taken by the Council and the Working Committee of the All India Muslim League, as indicated in their resolutions dated the 27th of August, 17th & 18th of September and 22nd of October, 1939, and the 3rd of February, 1940 on the constitutional issue, this session of the All India Muslim League emphatically reiterates that the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of India Act 1935 is totally unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of this country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.
It further records its emphatic view that while the declaration dated the 18th of October, 1939 made by the Viceroy on behalf of His Majesty’s Government is reassuring in so far as it declares that the policy and plan on which the Government of India Act, 1935, is based will be reconsidered in consultation with various parties, interests and communities in India, Muslims in India will not be satisfied unless the whole constitutional plan is reconsidered de novo and that no revised plan would be acceptable to Muslims unless it is framed with their approval and consent.
Resolved that it is the considered view of this Session of the All India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principles, viz., that geographically contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of (British) India should be grouped to constitute ‘independent states’ in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign.
That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them and in other parts of India where the Muslims are in a minority adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for them and other minorities for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them.
The Session further authorizes the Working Committee to frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic principles, providing for the assumption finally by the respective regions of all powers such as defense, external affairs, communications, customs, and such other matters as may be necessary.”

One major reason why draft resolution of Sindh Provincial Council was not acceptable to the leaders of Muslim League was that it envisioned Pakistan without Muslims from minority provinces. The resolution was rejected.

G. M. Syed was invited to a conference held by Jinnah on 8 October, 1938 with Muslim members of Sindh that decided that all Muslim members of Sindh Assembly should join Muslim League Assembly Party. Allah Bakhs Soomro’s group refused to join. The group was formed in Sindh Assembly with Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah as leader and Bandeh Ali Talpur as Deputy Leader, both of them later joining Allah Bakhs Soomro’s group at a crucial time that left Muslim League Assembly Party stranded during no-confidence motion.

On October 1, 1939 Satyagrah (civil disobedience) movement was launched by G. M. Syed along with Sir Abdullah Haroon, Ayub Khuhro, Wajid Ali Sheikh, Mohammad Hashim Ghazdar, Qazi Fazalullah and Pir Ghulam Mujaddid Sarhandi. Hundreds of Muslims had courted arrest while many had occupied Manzalgah Masjid. Riots in Sukkur resulted in the death of 151 Hindus and 14 Muslims. This resulted in Hindus agitation and they presented 21 points for Allah Bakhs ministry, that included Joint Electorates instead of separate, which he refused. Muslim League group agreed and with support from Hindu members of Sindh Assembly, Allah Bakhs ministry was dismantled. Mir Bandeh Ali formed new ministry with G. M. Syed, Ayub Khuhro and few others as ministers.

The communal tensions could not be resolved by the new ministry and G. M. Syed proposed to either group all Muslim members as a front to force some concessions out from Hindus or go to the masses, organize them and educate them so that they could eventually influence the government. Both suggestions were ignored and Maulana Azad was invited to intervene who used his influence to bring both Hindus and Muslims together and ultimately form a pact, called Azad Pact. This pact was disliked by Jinnah.

In 1940 Lahore Resolution was passed that is considered first recognition of Pakistan, but that is not true. The idea of separation was first mooted in Stockholm Conference of the Socialist International in 1917. In 1924 Maulana Hasrat Mohani presented idea of separation of sub-continent on bi-communal basis. In 1927 Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi proposed re-dsitribution of India’s boundaries into North-Western, Eastern and Southern zones. North-Western zone comprised of present day Pakistan. In 1928 Sir Agha Khan suggested ‘Association of free states’ based on religion, language, nationality and race.

On October 29, 1930 Allama Iqbal in his presidential address at Muslim League’s Allahabad session proposed idea of making a single federation of Muslim majority areas in the North-West India, within or without the British Empire. What is comical is that, despite proclaiming it as a vision that led to the creation of Pakistan in history books, it was not the first time envisioned nor was it supported by Muslim League. The proposal was termed “Chimerical” and “Impractical” by the party, a fact that has been conveniently left out from the history books.

Now G. M. Syed was strong part of Sindh Muslim League and this helped Muslim League to reach to grassroots of Sindh, among the Haris and common masses. In 1943 G. M. Syed became minister in Sindh Assembly and moved resolution in support of Pakistan:

No constitution shall be acceptable to them (Indian Muslims) that will place the Muslims under a central government dominated by another nation as in order to be able to play their part freely on their own distinct line in the order of things to come. It is necessary for them (Indian Muslims) to have independent national states of their own and hence any attempt to subject the Muslims of India under one central government is bound to result in civil war with grace and unhappy consequences.

This resolution was passed by 27 members (from 60) of which 24 were Muslim members. Thus Sindh Assembly became the first provincial assembly to support Pakistan’s cause.

On June 13, 1943 G. M. Syed was elected President of Sindh Provincial Muslim League. He was chairperson of All India Muslim League annual session held at Karachi on 24 December, 1943 where he expressed his line of thinking in the welcome address:

I welcome you all to the land of Sindhu. By Sindhu I mean that part of the Asian continent which is situated on the borders of the river Indus and its tributaries. But as time went on the name began to connote a smaller and smaller area, until now it is assigned only to that part of the land which is watered by tail end of this great river. Today again fully aware of this fact, we are moving to weld together these different parts into one harmonious while and the new proposed name, Pakistan connotes the same old Sindhu land…. From now on well-to-do Muslims of Hind should please direct their activities in the field of trade and commerce to this land, so that it may in future, become economically independent and self-supporting… If people from Gujrat and Bombay could go out to the Frontier to establish Hindu dominance there, could we, too not repose some hope in you friends? The inhabitants of this land mostly belong to the agricultural profession, and are very backward in trade and industry. Your money and experience could remove this drawback. We are prepared to afford every facility for this with a view to making your task easier”

G. M. Syed’s proposal was answered after 4 years when millions migrated to the newly created state of Pakistan and One-Unit was proclaimed after 11 years, neither happened the way G. M. Syed had envisioned. Under bliss of not knowing the future, he got re-elected as President of Sindh Muslim League in 1944 and under his Presidential terms, Muslim League’s Sindh membership grew up to 3 lakhs.

G. M. Syed Vs. M. A. Jinnah

G. M. Syed, being a strong nationalist, expressed priority to his province and resolve conflicts or bring changes which suit the needs of Sindhi people, particularly Muslims. Jinnah, on the other hand, was core member of All India Muslim League at the center of Indian politics and his priorities were different. The central group of Muslim League was heavily dominated by Muslims from minority central Indian states (U.P, Bihar, Assam etc) and their core policies were directly in contrast to those of Muslim majority provinces. That was a major reason why G. M. Syed developed serious disagreements with Jinnah over the course of time.

After Sukkur riots, Hindus had presented Allah Bakhs ministry with 21 points that included introduction of Joint Electorates which he refused. G. M. Syed, on the other hand, agreed and together with Hindus he forced a no-confidence motion in Sindh Assembly. Allah Bakhs could not show the required strength and his ministry was dissolved and new ministry under Mir Bandeh Ali was formed that included both Muslims and Hindus. Jinnah was not in support of this alliance but initially concurred. The problems arose when Joint Electorates were adopted through an act and that was directly against Muslim League’s policy, even though Hindus had allianced on the condition of Joint Electorates. This caused agitation in Muslim ranks and fueled communal instability that eventually led to the arrival of Maulana Azad and agreement for the Azad Pact.

Bandeh Ali’s ministry soon fell and Allah Bakhsh was brought back as premier with the help of Congress. Jinnah had a dislike for Azad Pact and in 1940 he suggested to the Sindh Assembly that all Muslim members should join Muslim League Sindh. If that doesn’t happen, all League members should resign. Allah Bakhs group refused to join and League members ignored Jinnah’s suggestion for resignation.

Because of G. M. Syed’s efforts, the resolution in support of Pakistan was passed from Sindh Assembly and under his leadership Sindh Hari Committee had joined Muslim League (providing great  access to massive Sindhi peasants that formed the bulk of Sindhi Muslim population) and Communist Part of India had endorsed the demand for a separate nation for Muslims. Because of this, Jinnah insisted in G. M. Syed’s nomination as President of Muslim League Sindh when the post was vacated and he became President in 1943, a position under which he chaired the All India Muslim League’s annual session in Karachi in the same year.

The provincial Muslim League had a strong tussle between Syed group and Mir group, the former enjoying a stronger position in the party while the latter holding the ministry. In a political clash between these blocs in 1944, the matter was referred to the Muslim League’s Working Committee for resolving. Jinnah had expressed his anger over G. M. Syed on grounds that he was causing a rift between League’s provincial ranks and was using unconstitutional methods for his personal politics.

Jinnah’s bitterness over G. M. Syed had many reasons. He was not happy with Syed’s proposed amendment to League’s working committee’s resolution on June 16, 1942 where he suggested greater understanding and cooperation between All India Muslim League and Congress. He was also not happy with the coalition Syed had formed earlier with Hindus that eventually led to the passing of Joint Electorate act. The tussle between them slowly increased and got severe when Syed’s supporter, M. H. Ghazdar, was dismissed from the Sindh’s ministry arbitrarily.

The final showdown came when in a no-confidence motion, Syed’s group defeated Ghulam Hussain’s ministry but despite defeat Ghulam Hussain managed to outmaneuver Syed and stayed in power. Jinnah reacted strongly and blamed Syed for rift in the ranks of Muslim League members, breaking party discipline, undermining the objectives of the league and shaking solidarity of Sindhi Muslims. Syed offered full cooperation and even led to more Muslim leaders to join Muslim League Sindh, including Ghulam Hussain (who did it to save his ministry). Despite late joining, Ghulam Hussain received great approval from both Jinnah and Muslim League but the person who made it all happen, G. M. Syed, had became an eye-sore for the same people.

As things heated up, in 1945 Syed disagreed with Muslim League Center’s practices and called on them to not be so authoritative as to leave provincial groups impotent to important matters and decision making. This matter escalated in the Working Committee’s meeting when Syed criticized the Central committee’s leadership and suggested them to cooperate with Congress to put joint pressure on Britishers. Jinnah refused bitterly for any concession to Congress and despite Syed group’s opposition, the powers of Central committee were increased dramatically to completely centralize Muslim League’s parliamentary machinery functioning in various provinces.

This decision had far-reaching impact on the upcoming elections. Three major factions had emerged amongst the Sindhi Mulims for Muslim League tickets. One was Syed group, one was Mir group and third was Khuhro group. On Jinnah’s advice, Syed initiated Provincial Parliamentary Board to resolved differences among warring factions and Jinnah selected board members. They were G. M. Syed, Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, M. A. Khuhro, Agha Gulam Nabi Pathan, Pir Ilahi Bakhs, Mir Ghulam Talpur and Sayed Khair Shah.  This put Syed against four ministerial groups who, despite having differences, were united against Syed. Realizing that he cannot get League tickets for his group because of serious minority position he received as a result of Jinnah’s selected of Board members, as President of Muslim League Sindh he suspended the proceedings and adjourned the meetings. Liaqat Ali Khan, Hussain Imam and Nawab Ismail immediately came to Karachi and blamed Syed for all the mess.

Of all the seats, 10 were disputed for the tickets and Central Committee decided to award three of them to Syed group. When Jinnah called members of the suspended Parliamentary Board and asked them to give in writing to uphold the verdict of high command, Syed not only refused but also renounced his membership from Working Committee of All India Muslim League and his membership from the party was suspended. He was supported by Mohammad Ali Shah, Sayed Khair Shah and Pir Bahadur Shah of Hala. They decided to contest elections independent of Muslim League, under the banner of Progressive League.

In 1946 elections, both All India Muslim League Sindh and Progressive League placed big landlords and tribal chiefs as candidates while Congress brought forward candidates belonging to middle class. It is ironic to see these big landlords and tribal chiefs being depicted as villains in history books, cinemas, movies and urban youth of today consider them biggest enemies of Pakistan while the reality is that Pakistan owes its existence to these very people. If it was up to middle class population, Pakistan would not have have formed in 1947.

Following was the result of 1946 elections in Sindh:

Muslim League = 27

Congress = 21

Progressive League = 4

Nationalist Muslims = 4

European Seats = 3

Labour = 1

The total counts come up to 60. Muslim League won 70% of Muslim seats all over Indian subcontinent, except NWFP where Congress won majority of Muslim seats and Muslim League had little to no support. In Sindh, a coalition was formed between Progressive League, Congress and Nationalist Muslims. Muslim League also tried to form coalition with Congress but it refused since it already was in alliance with Progressive League.

Congress presented a different alternative, all parties government. The idea was sound and practical, but Jinnah refused. Jinnah was not ready to give any concession to Syed Group (Progressive League) unless G. M. Syed apologize and surrender unconditionally. In fact, Jinnah was ready to form coalition with Congress but not with Syed and this stance of his had two major reasons:

1) G. M. Syed had defied Muslim League and should apologize for that

2) Muslim League is the only representative body of Muslims

This rigid stance failed all coalitions plans Muslim League Sindh had made. The minority group of Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was invited by Governor Sir Francis Mudie to form government, which remained very unstable due to constitutional deadlock and was eventually dissolved by the governor and fresh elections were scheduled in December 1946. The rivalry between Syed group and Muslim League Center had risen to a new peak and Jinnah gave its members a mission to defeat Syed group at all cost and by any means.

The Bihar massacre was used by Muslim League leadership extensively throughout Sindh to appeal to religious sentiments of Muslims. The biggest source of voter base that responded to All India Muslim League was of the Sajjada Nasheens (heads of Pir families) of the shrines that left their mentor G. M. Syed (who himself was a Sajjada Nasheen) and supported Muslim League. G. Allana was appointed election secretary who stated that Jinnah wanted all seats to be won, but especially that of G. M. Syed himself. The candidate that contested against Syed himself on Muslim League’s ticket was Mohammed Akbar Kazi and he was provided a sum of 50,000 for this purpose. Muslim League also appealed to the sentiments of Ulemas of both Sindh and Punjab, students from Aligarh University traveled extensively throughout Sindh to propagate message and garner support for Muslim League and Muslim League tickets were offered to influential landlords belonging to Syed’s group. As a result Nabi Bakhsh Soomro, Ghulam Mohammad Bhurgari, Rahim Bakhsh Soomro and Pir Ali Shah defected and joined Muslim League.

The strategy worked, the only seat the Progressive League won was of K. S. Khoso and Muslim League won 33 off 35 seats in Sindh Assembly. For this election Muslim League had used questionable methods to win that were challenged by G. M. Syed. A tribunal was formed (consisting B. P. Dalal, Rahim Bakhsh Sheikh and Feroze Ali Nana) after the creation of Pakistan to look into the matter and in light of its findings, declared Mohammed Akbar Kazi, Pir Ilahi Bakhsh and Mir Muhammad Shah disqualified for 6 years. G. M. Syed was declared winner and he joined Sindh Assembly after the creation of Pakistan.

Faiz Khoso shoots an episode with his cameraman. – Photo courtesy KTN

“I know we are expecting a guest but who is this Faiz, anyway?” The informer was asked.

“He’s coming from Hyderabad.”

“But which one of your friends is named Faiz?” The question persisted.

“Yaar he is a Khoso.”

“But… Anyway, we will see once he comes. I still don’t understand who this Faiz Khosao is.”

“Faiz Khoso from KTN TV. Tareekh Wala.”

“What?” Several  voices shrieked with great interest and bewilderment.

“Saeen Faiz Khoso Tareekh Wala. Wow! Saeen, there will be festivity at mach (fire) tonight”, said the person who was the first one to be surprised at Faiz’s name. And so, a group of young men began discussing Sindh and its history, courage and ancestry, wealth and standing, honour and esteem. Amongst these tales of history, Faiz Khoso stood tall .

This is the story of a village in Sindh where journalists, intellectuals, historians, TV hosts and most importantly, a learned honest Sindhi was about to reach the far-away destination to record his TV program.

Sindhi cable television channel KTN’s series of ‘historical’ documentary series, which had surpassed a hundred episodes and on a Sunday in May, 2012, was to be broadcasted one last time.

With the arrival of the 21st century, the media industry went through a massive transition. Pakistani media went from print media to broadcasting media and this was made possible by private cable television channels. Now, after almost a decade, news broadcasting is still a work in progress. Where Urdu and English channels came in view, so did the first Sindhi news channel named ‘KTN’.

Sindhi print journalism has a steeped history; its roots can be found at the end of nineteenth century. It further strengthened after creation of Pakistan but the initiation of Sindhi news and journalism was through daily ‘Kawish’.

Around two decades ago, when Ali Qazi presided over the commencement of Kawish, there were more than a dozen Sindhi daily newspapers in circulation. Some boasted strong roots but gradually, aggressive reporting and modern layout made Kawish Sindh’s most popular daily.

When private TV channels went live in the country, Kawish Television Network came out with its acronym, ‘KTN’ and became the first complete news channel in the Sindhi language. Even today, its popularity remains strong. Aggressive reporting, straightforward conversation and love for Sindh are some of its unwritten basic principles.

Several years ago I met a traveller from Mumbai named Jay Prakash in Sukkur’s Sa’dhoo Bela temple. Prakesh’s parents had migrated from Hyderabad to India at the time of partition. Prakash told me that his father fought with the cable operator to be able to watch KTN channel. Now he tells me and the kids to watch this channel, and that it is a representation of Sindh. “Correct your Sindhi by listening to it.”

Jay Prakash’s father wanted KTN to improve his children’s language, but Faiz Khoso was two steps ahead of him. He was already a part of the KTN team. He was interested in history and its promotion, so he forwarded a proposal to the administration.

“At a time when no TV channel of Pakistan was airing a purely educational program; giving such a proposal required a lot of guts,” he tells Dawn.com. “But it’s the administration’s courage and appreciation that they took the risk and we were successful,” he adds, smiling.

Faiz proposed that a 50-minute documentary program be produced, covering Sindh’s cities, towns and villages. It was proposed that it also include Sindh’s history, views from historians and traditions kept alive by the elderly. The aim of the program was to revive Sindh’s forgotten heritage and discover new facets of history.

The idea was accepted after a briefing and it was decided that the first program would be on the awareness of history among the public.

“We went to bazaars, streets, educational institutions…everywhere. We asked people what they knew about history. The responses which we received were disheartening but instead of losing hope, we turned it into a victory. We started the program ‘Tareekh’ and after the first program, the response we received from the audience and Sindhi scholars was positive,” Faiz recalls.

‘Tareekh’ had its first weekly program broadcasted at 8pm on a Sunday of March, 2010. The documentary program then gained so much popularity throughout Sindh that the marketing team deemed it as a successful endeavour.

Faiz said, “These days Pakistani TV channels don’t give slots to purely educational programs, that too at primetime, it’s quite unlikely. This history documentary series changed the common perspective that the audience is not interested in educational topics and dry subjects like history.”

‘Tareekh’ was immensely successful in its two years. It was the first documentary film series to be made in Sindhi or maybe even Urdu which was focussed on one topic. Yet, one hundred episodes were broadcasted with a total airing time of around 5000 minutes. This program gained so much popularity throughout Sindh that it became my identity,” says Faiz Khooso.

Faiz was the researcher, host, script-writer and director. “Now, wherever I go in Sindh, people recognise me by this program and add ‘tareekh wala’ after my name. It makes me very happy.”

According to Faiz this series took him to far-away, dangerous places of Sindh. “At times police officials told us not to go, but we pursued. People who were branded as dangerous, greeted us affectionately. They opened their hearts and their houses for us. This is their love for their land, its history and those who present it on TV.”

Faiz Khoso says that Sindh’s greatest Sufi poet Shah Abdul Lateef Bhittai’s wife Syed Bibi was of Turkish origin. Sindh’s late historian Dr Nabi Bux Baloch had verified that Shah Bhatti’s father-in-law Mirza Mughal Baig’s grave was somewhere around Hyderabad but exactly where, nobody knew.

“Once when preparing for the program, we arrived at the Toor Ki graveyard in Tando Allayar. It was also known as Baiglaron cemetery. We presumed that Toor Ki was a distorted version of ‘Turkey’ and the word Baiglar was from ‘Baig’. This assumption is further strengthened by the fact that most Turks are buried here. Whilst reading gravestones there, we came across one and were left astounded. Our curiosity was accurate. The gravestone’s writing and year were of Shah’s time and it had the name ‘Mirza Mughal Baig’ inscribed on it. He was the same man who had the honour of being Shah’s father-in-law. We had made a historical breakthrough and several historians agreed with us,” Faiz said.

There were two cameramen involved in the filming of this series, Fahim Lodhi and Javaid Solangi.

“Initially we thought this would be an easy task but later realised that it is actually very difficult. Honestly, the more we progressed, the more enjoyable it became,” says Fahim.

Javaid Solangi agrees, “We faced obstacles but learnt a lot. Especially about our history, its understanding and learning from elders our historical evidences advanced our knowledge greatly.”

When it comes to obstacles Faiz says, “In terms of technicality, this was very difficult. We did not have access to archaic footage; it was very difficult to find old pictures of Sindh’s towns and villages. We had to narrate as well as show everything but we were able to make a hundred documentary films successfully.”

The executive director of Centre of Environment and Development, Nasir Panhwar, “Faiz’s program, possibly for the first time in Pakistan, portrayed the history of Sindh’s jungles. It showed such astonishing aspects that I was shocked. It was the history of Sindh’s jungles and environment.”

Nasir advised that KTN should make DVDs of these documentary films to make them accessible to the public.

The late historian Dr M. H. Panhwar had a multi-dimensional personality and a strong knowledge of Sindh’s history. He used to say that after Moen jo Daro, the following 2,500 years of Sindh’s history are lost and there is a need to excavate them. Our present history starts after those 2,500 years.

Unveiling history is the work of researchers and historians but surely the history Faiz wanted to uncover, understand and present; he was more successful than expected.

Within the time span of two years he has made a hundred documentary films on Sindh’s scattered history – 5,000 minutes of broadcast time and discoveries…

There lies a lot in these films.

There is a need for research institutes such as Institute of Sindhology and Sindh Archives to obtain copyright of these films and save them in their video libraries so that an important piece in Sindh’s history is available for future researchers and historians.

The author is a novelist, documentary filmmaker, columnist and author of several books.

In August 1947, my grandfather Kishinchand Bijlani was five months short of his forty-second birthday. My grandmother Devi was thirty-nine. They lived in Hyderabad, Sindh. He was a prosperous lawyer with a practice that extended across Sindh and sometimes took him to Bombay. They had six children; a seventh was on the way. Kishno, as his friends called him, was a Gandhian – they were one of the few families in the neighbourhood whose children ran about in the angan, the wide, multi-purpose courtyard of their house, playing happily with the children of the sweepers, Rajasthani women with colourful swinging skirts, mirror-work embroidered bodices, and bone bangles clattering all the way from wrist to elbow.

Of course Independence Day was a day of rejoicing for them; the vindication of decades of struggle against imperialism. But as the day approached, unfolding events carried the message that major change, not all pleasant, was on the way. How would they adapt? What did the future have in store?

Musing nostalgically thus, my facebook status on the day last year, 15 August 2011, read: “thinking of my grandparents and wondering why, when we celebrate Independence Day, we don’t also pay homage to the millions who suffered displacement and tragedy at Partition.”

In addition to a number of supportive comments and ‘likes’, I received the following private message in response: “Saaz, with all due respect, time we forgot those memories. They don’t let us go forward. It’s time we buried hate which is redundant.”

Indignant that my minor homage to my grandparents’ bravery and calm acceptance should be misinterpreted as a message of hate, I tried to think back to any instance of hatred, or even lesser negative emotion, they had ever expressed in connection with Partition. There was none.

Destiny, Patriot and Passion.

The King Umar soomro, who ruled Sindh from year 1355 A.D, was a very handsome, kind hearted and a just king.  During his rule, the people enjoyed full liberty on equality basis and were quite happy in villages, towns and cities. His capital was Umarkot where he lived in a castle. According to the Islamic traditions, the King was very cautious in his behavior. But as a man he was a lover of beauty and grace in women. Once a man named Pohg came to his Darbar(Court) to seek audience with the King. When he was granted audience, he praised the beauty of a village girl Marui in such a way that the King was very much impressed and desired to have this jewel of extra ordinary beauty in his harem. Phog told the King that Marui lived in Malir village and could be seen filling water pitcher with other girls from a well outside the village early morning every day. The King who had a passion for beauty could not wait to see the girl, so incognito; he mounted a fast camel, guided by Phog and reached the well on the outskirts of Malir village. They found the girls filling their water pitchers from the well. Phog pointed out Marui. The girls saw the strangers approaching, thought that they were thirsty and wanted to drink water so they did not panic.  An aura of brilliance surrounded Marui; King Umar Soomro lost his senses stricken by her beauty, he asked her to marry him and she refused, he then grabbed Marui, put her on his camel and brought her to his palace in Umarkot.

Fear gripped Marui to see the palace and the finery of the Maids who attended upon her. A girl accustomed to open blue skies, green pastures and sand dunes, felt herself like a bird in a cage. She kept crying, and will not stop even though, the Maids tried their best to console her. The King sent to her clothes, jewels and delicious dishes but she did not even look at these gifts and kept asking to be sent back to her village, her parents and Maroos(village people, her kith and kin) to whom she belonged. The King was informed of this alarming situation and he came himself and talked to Marui, telling her about the desperate situation she was in and the only solution was that she should consent to marry him and become his queen. In this way, she will not only rule the country but will be able to help her parents and Maroos. Nevertheless, Marui kept crying and repeating that she must be sent back to Malir.  The vehemence of her grief was so intense that the King was alarmed least she may harm herself. The King therefore left her to the Maids and returned to the palace.

Alas! The destiny had played her part for both, the king and the Marui.  Marui’s parents, villagers and the people of the kingdom knew what had happened and nobody could do anything about it.

The king kept coming and sending gifts to Marui but she refused to accept anything and wanted to go back to her Maroos. The king had to attend to the affairs of his kingdom and forgot about Marui.

The readers will be surprised as to why a King had to wait for the consent of Marui to marry him. The answer is that as a Muslim king, he was ‘The defender of the faith’ and the faith only permitted him to marry the girl with her consent. He was powerless to avert the destiny, but he had all the power to control his passion and act according to Islamic law.

Where the king’s character is praise worthy, the patriotism of Marui, a village girl, for her country, her parents and her Maroos and her fiancé is much more praise worthy. She thwarted the King’s offer and kept her honour and that of her Maroos, intact, suffering hardships imposed upon her by the King. At last, when the King after about a year remembered Marui, he visited her. He was shocked to see how weak and emaciated she had become. He was full of regret. Marui asked him to send her body to Malir to be buried there when she dies. This cut King Umar to the core of his heart and he ordered that Marui should be released immediately and sent back to Malir and to her Maroos.

When the King’s men brought her to her parents with King’s Message that she must be treated with due respect as she was untouched by him; and that She was as chaste as when he had taken her away. Her people, even her fiancé had doubts and everybody shunned her company. She could do nothing but to cry her eyes out day and night without any result. To Check up, the King sent his men, to see whether Marui was being treated with due love and honour or not. The King’s men returned with the news that Marui was not been treated with due honour and love. The King became very angry and came to Malir, called for the village elders to decide the matter of Marui’s innocence. The village elder showed their doubts and said that the only way to prove Marui’s innocence was to take the test of fire ordeal. Marui immediately agreed to this test.  Accordingly, a long trench was dug and filled with burning coals. Marui was asked to walk from one end to the other and if no burns appear on her feet, she will be declared innocent. Without hesitating Marui walked on the burning coals from one end to the other. Her feet were examined and burns were found on her feet. It is said that King Umar Soomro also took this test there and then and no burns were found on his feet as well. Thus, both were declared innocent. Great rejoicings took place and preparation set a foot for her marriage to her fiancé Khet Sen.

There is no parallel, to the above historical act of the King Umer Soomro, in the world.

References:

1. Umar and Marvi (by Mark Naylor, Th. M.) (http://www.nbseminary.com/archives/umar-and-marvi)
2. State master Encyclopaedia – Umar Marvi (http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Umar-Marvi)
3. Shah Latif’s Patriotism in Characters of Umar and Marvi (by Khadim Hussain) (http://irfi.org/articles3/articles_4501_4600/shah%20latif%27s%20patriotismhtml.htm)
4. Shah Jo Risalo- English translation by Elsa Kazi.  (http://www.scribd.com/doc/7535206/Shah-Jo-Risalo-Elsa-Kazi)

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Arguments on national languages can be driven by emotions, but I will try to look at it as a rationalist. Hailing from Sindh, before talking about national language problem inPakistan, I would like you to revisit the history of Sindh and the formation of Pakistan.

The first settlement in Sindh was around 7000 BCE. Afterwards, its language, culture and geography evolved giving rise to Indus Valley Civilization. Current geographic Sindh is the result of thousands of years of evolution.

For thousands of years, Sindh has maintained its distinct entity, and historically has maintained Sindhi as its official language and an important identity of Sindh.

It has been ruled by, in order, Brahmans, Arabs, Soomras, Sammaaans, Arguns, Tarkhaans, Kalhoras/Mughals, Talpurs and British – sometimes by locals and sometimes by foreigners.

Whenever foreigners ruled Sindh, they imposed their language as official language and did their best to make Sindhi irrelevant. Arabs, during their reign, instead of Sindhi, imposed Arabic and used religion as a tool of cultural imperialism. But apart from acquiring some Arabic words and adopting their script, Sindhi survived and was again the official language of Sindh when it was ruled yet again by ‘locals’. Mughals and British did the same by imposing Persian and English respectively, but the final result was same. In long term, it did no harm, but just added few more words to the vast vocabulary of Sindhi. All it did was inculcate discontent and alienation towards ruling elite and a feeling of being enslaved.

This sentiment can be observed from writings of scholars and poets of the respective times. During the Mughal regime, the great sufi saint and poet of Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai said,
!جي فارسي سِکيو، گولو توءِ غُلامُ

جو ٻڌو ٻِن ڳالهينِ، سو ڪينئن چائي ڄامُ؟

اُڃيو ته آب گھُري، بکيو تان تعامُ

اي عامن سندو عامُ، خاص منجھان نه ٿيو

(شاه)

What Bhittai is saying is this: even if you learn Persian (Official Language in the era of Mughals) you will still remain a slave. You won’t get a special status or an equal one.

 In no way should the whim of “don’t learn Persian” be drawn from this couplet, as Shah Saeen himself had mastered Persian.

 When British were finally planning to transfer power to locals, Sindhi nation, like Bengalis, Punjabis, Baluchis and Pashtoons, used their right to choose and voted forPakistanat Sindh Assembly in 1943 under the leadership of Saeen GM Syed.

The Pakistan Resolution in Sindh Assembly was passed according to Lahore Resolution of 1940, which talks about independent muslim majority ‘states’ not ‘state’.
Those specific lines of Lahore Resolution are as under:

“No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.”

But right after the formation ofPakistan, power was concentrated to a certain class of gentry, and nations who voted to live together felt betrayed. Leaders like Saeen GM Sayed and Bachha Khan were sent to jail and there was no sign of even a fragile democracy for first 23 years in the land of pure.  Government has usurped our right to choose, as a nation.

During British Raj, it was law that if any foreigner is employed in Sindh, he/she will have to learn Sindhi in 6 months. AfterPakistan, the very identity of this land is being spifflicated! The very first democratic government passed the Sindhi Language bill in 1972 and made Sindhi as sole official language of Sindh. But unfortunately it invited riots, protests and unrest by post Indian partition immigrants. This ultimately led to inclusion of Urdu, along with Sindhi, as official language of Sindh. And the then Government gave 12 years to ‘Urdu Speakers’ to learn Sindhi. Those 12 years has never ended and it’s 2012.

Here is the Zulfikar Bhutto’s speech on the Sindhi language issue

Pakistan, has tremendous diversity in culture, which has evolved from the times of Indus Valley Civilization, it inherits Moen Jo Darro and Harrappa. Instead of celebrating and preserving its culture and languages, from the very beginning Rulers of Pakistan perpetuated and imposed one language, one culture, one nation, and one religion mantra. It was unnatural. Nation is made through hundreds (if not thousands) of years of geographical and cultural evolution. When we set out to live together, with the hope that with years to come, in pursuit of peace, development and prosperity our cultures will assimilate and whole humanity’s culture will become one. That is a dream that need not be IMPOSED. We need to learn to embrace diversity and celebrate it and feel no threat in its presence.

Imposition of Urdu as national language was never a good idea, when Mr. Jinnah announced it in Dhaka, the reaction and street protests of Bengali students is well recorded in history. Moreover 21^st February (the day when Bengali students were killed by Pakistani Police) is celebrated world over as international UN mother language day! This day is a disgrace world over for Pakisan’s law.

In favor of Urdu as sole national language it is argued that: It is the language of Muslims of India and Hindi is the language of Hindus of India. It is absurd and disrespectful. Are Muslim Sindhis less Muslim than Urdu speaking Muslims? Or are Pashtoons less Muslim?

They say, Urdu is the binding force for nations/ethnicities living in Pakistan and if it’s not the sole national language then how will a Pushtoon, for example, communicate with Balochi?

There is a difference between national languages and languages of communication. Right now we’re communicating in English, neither yours nor mine national language is English. Similarly Urdu/Hindi is more or less a language of communication in some areas of sub-continent. National Language status is about giving respect, it’s about freedom; it’s about giving right to nations residing inPakistanto own this country and to give them an impression that they have not been colonized by imperialistic gentry.

National language status to Urdu has never and will never act as a binding force; history has proved the action as unstable, wrong and biased towards one language. At least in this casePakistanneeds to learn fromIndia.Indiadoes not have any national language constitutionally. It does not portray an image thatIndiaspeaks Hindi only, they take pride in the fact that it is home to thousands of languages and they celebrate diversity. In general 23 languages are considered official languages that states can use; Sindhi is one of them (even though Sindhis constitute just 1% ofIndia). 15 of these languages are also inscribed on every rupee note.

Last year, Marvi Memon presented the Language Bill, which was not only overwhelmingly rejected but also Marvi Memon was labeled “anti-Pakistan agent” by one MNA. The most recent proposed bill was by MNA Yousuf Talpur, which was signed by 22 MNAs. In my opinion, the last bill by Mr. Talpur was ill-drafted and had unnecessary demands. Not all languages spoken inPakistancan be the national languages, the inclusion criteria in the National Languages Bill should be the language spoken by majority in a Province or the language specified as provincial language. And there is no need to include Persian and Arabic as national languages.

Proper policy reversal today will do a great job in strengthening the federation and will give the nations its due right.

Further Reading:

Language, Politics and Power in Pakistan: The case of Sindh and Sindhi (PDF) by Dr. Tariq Rahman, an associate professor of Linguists, Quad-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

Chronology of Sindh

HELEN OF TROY –  PRINCESS BILQEES BHAGHI SOOMRO.

PRINCESS BILQUEES SOOMRO ALIAS BHAGHI. The one and only woman in the world, for whom a decisive war was waged to defend her honour and that of her Nation and her Country Sindh.

I sifted through History books and Internet, to see whether any wars were waged over the honour of women throughout the world in East or in West. There I found only one legend of the Helen of Troy.[1] which is a mythological legend involving Greek Gods and Goddesses but it has been discovered by Barry Strauss [2] that such a war took place, which lasted for ten year. Many movies were produced in the Twentieth Century for commercial purposes of this legend.

In the East, I discovered that in the history of the Indo-Pak Sub continent, there was such a war in Sindh in the years, 1298-1300 A.D at a place “ Thar Bhanghar “ near Soomra Capital  “ Muhammed Tur “ between the Armies of Sultan Allauddin of Dehli Sultnate and the Valiant King of Sindh, Asad-al-Millat Dodo Soomro. In this battle, thousands of soldiers were martyred on either side. The superior forces of Sultan Allauddin under the command of General Zaffar Khan won the battle and Sultan Asad-al-Millat Dodo was martyred. (See The Greatest Epic Poetry Part 1 & 2) [3]

The main cause of this war and consequent war was Princess Bilqees Bhaghi, the sister of the Asad-ul-Millat Dodo Soomro the king of Sindh. Princess Bilqees Bhaghi was a very beautiful woman, pious and well versed in tactics of running an empire. The fame of her beauty had not yet spread but somehow it reached the ears of General Zaffar Khan in Thatta. He coveted her as gift for Sultan Allauddin to gain his favours. He sent his spies to the Soomra Capital of Muhammed Tur for information. On return, the spies told him that there was a rift between the two brothers, Dodo and Chanesar, as Dodo had made himself King and Chanesar stood dethroned. General Zaffar Khan found this a great opportunity to get Princess Bilqees Bhaghi and establish Sultan Allauddin’s suzerainty over the Soomra kingdom.

He therefore sent his emissaries to Sultan Chanesar and to Sultan Dodo Soomro. To Sultan Chanesar he assured him that he would reinstate him as the King of Sindh. And to Sultan Dodo he ordered him to come with royal gifts for Sultan Allauddin along with Princess Bhaghi as a bride for the Sultan.

King Dodo Soomro called for the council of ministers, elders and other dignitaries for consultation. They decided that they would not give the Princess Bilqees for Sultan Allauddin as they were Soomras and he was a Turk by caste. Therefore, it was a matter of their honour. If war is imposed on them they will fight and die rather than to give the Princess for Sultan Allauddin. They immediately started preparation for War with General Zaffar Khan.

General Zaffar Khan, on receiving this reply from Sultan Dodo Soomro, became furious and with his huge army marched towards the Soomra Capital City of Muhammad Tur. As already stated above, General Zaffar Khan won the battle and Sultan Dodo Soomro was martyred. In this war General Zaffar Khan lost nearly half of his army. He put Sultan Chanesar under servialliance and proceeded to Muhammed Tur to plunder the royal riches and capture the Princess Bilqees Bhaghi and other ladies of the harems. When he reached the Palace, he was furious to find it empty and the city deserted. He immediately sent his spies in all directions to find out the where abouts of the royal harems of the house of Tur. Soon the spies returned with the news that harems were now under the protection (Saam) of Rajput Chieftain Abro Samo of Kutch. General Zaffar Khan sent an envoy to Abro Samo to surrender the Princess Bilqees Bhagi with her entourage or face the war.

Abro Samo replied that he was a Rajput and the ladies of the house of Tur were under his protection. He will face the war rather than surrender the Saams i.e the Princess and the ladies of her entourage.

On the other hand, when Sultan Chanesar saw that General Zaffar Khan was determined to follow and capture their harems, he managed to shake off the surveillance of General Zaffar Khan, collected his people and attacked the armies of General Zaffar khan. He and his people were great warriors and fought valiantly killing thousands of the enemy soldiers before they all were martyred.

General Zaffar Khan, now with a nominal army, marched to Kucth to defeat Abro Samo and capture the Princess. Here also Rajput Abro Samo proved to be a formidable foe. He and his soldiers fought so bravely that very little of the army of General Zaffar Khan was left, when Abro Samo and his army faced martyrdom.

The Princess Bilqees Bhaghi, for fear of defeat of Abro Samo in the battle, had already left for nearby mountain refuge under guard and when she heard the news of Abro Samo’s martyrdom; she fell to the ground and prayed to Almighty Allah to save their honour. A thunder was heard and mountain splited at many places and the Princess and all the ladies of the harems jumped in and with a thunder, the mountain splits closed on them. At some places, the corners of their scarves were visible. When General Zaffar Khan reached at these places and saw the corners of the scarves jutting out of the mountain crevices, he feil to the ground in grief and repentance. He realized that now there was nothing left so he decided to return to Dehli, through the desert route via Mirpur Mathelo. But he never reached his destination and died of hunger and thirst in the desert.

The difference between the two wars is as under:

Helen was married to Menelaus King of Sparta when Paris abducted her or she managed to be abducted by Paris and went with him to Troy. Therefore, the war was not to save the honour and chastity of Helen but to avenge the honour of her husband and the Spartans who had been wronged and dishonoured. Again, Helen had no scruples in marrying Paris’s brother after the death of Paris in the war. Again, after the death of Paris’s brother she went back to Menelaus her husband in Sparta. A thousand ships and thousands of soldiers died on either side for her, all in vain.

Whereas, Princess Bilquees Bhaghi was unmarried, a beautiful pious girl whose honour and chastity and the honour of the nation was at stake at the hands of the unscrupulous General Zaffar Khan, which had to be defended. In the end, General Zaffar Khan remained empty handed and the people of Sindh destroyed his remaining army marching back to Dehli through the desert of Sindh.

The conclusion is that the only war fought in the World over a woman was that, which was fought for Princess Bilqees Bhaghi Soomro, in Sindh.

REFERENCES:

1. Helen. (http://www.maicar.com/GML/Helen.html )
2. Trojan War Archaeology & History – From Helen of Troy to Homer and Schliemann. (http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/troyilium/Trojan_War_From_Helen_of_Troy_to_Homer_and_Schliemann.htm)
3. The Salient Features of the rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh [By Qamar Din M. Hayat Soomro] in Series under the same title (http://www.salientfeaturesoftheruleofsoomrodynasty.wordpress.com)

The Soomras were the founders of Thatta. They shifted their Capital in between the year 1317-1320 A.D, from “Muhammed Toor”  to Thatta also called Nangar Thatta. [http://panhwar.com/dictionary.htm] The reasons being that the River Indus which was called a, “Poorali Nadi”  which in Sindhi means, “moody river”, changed its course along the city of Arore and started flowing along the city of Rohri, Sukkur, Hyderabad, Thatta and to the Arabian Sea. In this, geological changes that took place between the years 1000-1340 A.D were also involved. The result was that the River and its Tributaries in Thar Desert went dry. The big and small cities settled on the banks of the river and its tributaries were abandoned. People migrated to the west side of the River Indus and settled down on the banks of the river and its tributaries, which then flowed full of water. Their last Capital City of “Tur” (Toor) along the banks of Indus tributary “Gungro” had to be abandoned when Gungro tributary went dry. Soomra Kings found a small settlement along the western side of the River Indus, called Thatta. They shifted their capital to Thatta in the year 1317 A.D. (website – www.Ismaili.net/html). This small town of Thatta must have became a very big city and flourished in every way with Palaces, road, building, offices, bazzars, madarsas and parks. Caravan Sari full of foreign merchants with all sorts of goods must have been available from all over the world. Thatta must have become the abode of great scholars. In the year 1351-52, the people of Samma tribe rebelled against Soomras, and with help of their Rajistani Hindu relative and supporters, attacked the Soomra Capital of Thatta and conquered it.  They relentlessly massacred Soomras and destroyed all the records of Soomra Empire from year 1000 to 1351-52. The Royal families had already left for Umarkot in Thar. The Soomra king also fled to Umerkot after the fall of Thatta . Thus, the Soomra kingdom on the west of Indus River was now the hands of Sammas.  The historians have searched in vain for those historical records and for the works of the great scholars of that time but nothing is found. Surely it cannot be said, that a nation  that ruled Sindh for more than three and half centuries, had not maintained Such records. After the shifting of Capital “Toor” to Thatta, an earth quake on the eastern side of River Indus, destroyed all the towns and cities abandoned by Soomras due to change of course by River Indus, reducing them to mounds which still exist. The Sammas rebuilt Thatta, and made it their Capital and later conquered the whole Sindh. The period of their rule was quite remarkable due to coming of great scholars whose works still exist. It is surprising that they built stone structures over the graves of their king and martyrs in the Necropolis of Makli. However, perhaps, they did not built palaces and other buildings with stones, which would have existed in the city of Thatta up to now for the tourists to see their grandeur. Their rule lasted from 1351-52 A.D to 1521 A.D.  which comes to 170 years only.

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The territorial map of the Islamic Kingdom of Soomra Dynasty is given in the website http://worldhistorymaps.info/images/East-Hem_1000ad.jpg and the year shown is 1000 A.D. From the above information, it is deduced that in the year 750 A.D, the Soomras had realized the decline of Arab power in Sindh, so they started from the eastern borders of Sindh and established their rule in small states. By the year 1000 A.D, except for Capital of Sindh they conquered whole Sindh up to Multan. In the year 1011 A.D, they got full control of Sindh on the death of last Habri ruler, the son of Ali bin Umer, (the fifth Habri king of Sindh) in the capital city of Mansura.

In the year, 1351 A.D. the Sama tribe rebelled against the Soomras and attacked their capital city of Thatta on the western side of the River Indus. Soomras were defeated and they retreated to the eastern side of River Indus to their second capital in the castle of Umerkot in Thar. Thus half of Sindh on the Eastern side of River Indus was ruled by them up to year 1439-40 A.D. vide page 288 of the Chronological Dictionary of Sind by M.H.Panhwar-website (http://panhwar.com/dictionary.htm).

In the year 1439-40 A.D, Samas attacked Umerkot and the last Soomra King Hameer  Soomro was defeated in the battled and he took refuge in Multan where the Governor received him with full honours.

Therefore, the period of the rule of Soomra Dynasty from year 1011A.D. to year 1439-40,  which comes to 429 years and is the longest period of rule by a dynasty in the Indo Pak Sub-Continent in this world and should be so recorded  in the Dynastic Rule History of the World.

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Mr. M.H.Panhwar while writing his Chronological Dictionary of Sindh, has referred to the oldest histories of Sindh, written by different Historians. He has done a great service, not only for Sindh but also for universal knowledge, by writing it in English language.

In this article, I have taken up, the Soomro Dynasty only, as a guide, to events that took place within the period of their rule which begins from the year 1011 A.D and ends in 1351-52 A.D . Particularly, I shall deal with the events that took place from year 1296-97 to 1300-1301 A.D, which pertains to the invasion of Sindh, by the armies, of Sultan Allauddin Khilji of the Sultanate of Dehli , led by General Zaffar Khan.  Sultan Kamaluddin Chanesar and Sultan Asad-al-Millat Dodo ruled Sindh at that time (1).

All the research done in this respect is prey to uncertainty as to whether the battles fought were as per the epic poetry composed orally by the then poets or as per the historic background, sifted out from the history of Sultan Allauddin Khilji of Dehli and the Soomra Kings of Sindh. Our great scholar Dr. Nabi Bukhsh Khan Baloch, through the Adabi Board of Sindh at Jamshoro, in his book “Soomran- Jo- Daur”, written in Sindhi Language, printed by the Sindhi Adabi Board in 1980 A.D., has also given different versions of the epic Dodo- Chanesar. These versions are, as per data collected by him, from every nook and corner, from the singers/performers in desert area, fertile lands, the mountains and the coastal areas of Sindh. The court poet Bhago Bhan of soomra kings was the first poet to compose the oral version of the epic poetry, in 1300-01 A.D. after the battles had ended (2).

Now if we closely go through the pages of the Chronological Dictionary of Sindh we find that Mr. M.H.Panhwar has relied upon the old history books available with him. Mostly the book “Daulat-e-Alviya” written by Maulvi Obedullah Shaik Soomro in 1929 A.D. has been quoted, and with doubts (not substantiated) as to its authenticity. However, there are such references from this book on which he has recorded no doubts. On page 276-277 he writes, that “Daulat-e-Alviya” mentions that Chanesar II was dethroned in 1296-97 A.D (here the year mentioned is 1396-97 A.D, which is a printing mistake) and Dodo became the King. The same page shows that by year 1300-01 A.D., Sultan Dodo and Chanesar had both been martyred and Sultan Zaheeruddin Bhongar II became the king of Sindh . Therefore, the historic version of the epic is undisputedly, the only correct version (3).

For Centuries, the oral versions continues being recited, sung and performed, the words and the tale kept changing slightly from mouth to mouth as per the imagination of the poet/performer.

No written epic was ever was discovered. Therefore, in 1955-56 A.D. the Sindh Adabi Board decided to collect the data from all over Sindh and get it printed. This Herculean task was  assigned to Dr.Nabi Bukhsh Khan Baloch, our great scholar, who put his heart and soul in it and finally completed the job and the book was printed in 1976(1^st.edition) by Sindhi Adabi Board @ Jamshoro Sindh, under the title “Dodo – Chanesar – 1”.

This book is therefore, based on the latest extensive and exhaustive research and at last, we now have all the versions of this, the Greatest Epic Poetry Dodo-Chanesar, recorded in writing in Sindhi Language.

Since the year 1300-01 A.D, this epic is being recited with music, almost every day in the villages, towns and festivals in rural Sindh by specialist singers in this 21^st. Century and this will go on and on till the Sindh and Sindhi people exist.

*************

REFERENCES.

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sind by M.H.Panhwar(http://panhwar.com/dictionary.html)
2. Book “Soomran- Io- Daur” by Dr. Nabi Bukhsh Khan Baloch. Printed by Sindhi  Adabi Board @ Jamshoro edition printed in 1980.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindhi Adabi Board).
3. The greatest epic poetry of Sindh. (Dodo-Chanesar) (http://thesalientfeaturesoftheruleofsoomradynasty.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/the-greatest-epic-poetry-of-sindh/)
4. Book “Dodo-Chanesar”(vol: 1&2) by Dr.Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch. Printed by Sindhi Adabi Board @ Jamshoro Sindh.

Copyright – All rights are reserved and protected

An epic poetry came to be composed in the reign of Soomra Kings of Sindh in about 1298-1300 A.D. when General Zaffar Khan of the Imperial armies of Sultan Allauddin Khilji of the Sultanate of Dehli, attacked the king Sultan Asad-al-Millat Dodo Soomro of Sindh. In this battle, the valliant King Asad-al-Millat Dodo Soomro was martyred.

Bhago Bhan, (1) the Court poet of the Soomra kings of Sindh, composed this great classic epic poetry orally, in Sindhi language. As per oral poetic traditions, poetry was transmitted to the audience and from performer to performer (singers) by oral means, as argued by Albert Lord and Milman Parry. (2)

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.

In the year 1296-97, Sultan Allauddin Khilji of the Sultanate of Dehli, commissioned his General Zaffar Khan to crush the rebellion in Sindh. General Zaffar khan came to Sindh with a huge Imperial army and crushed the rebellion in Bakhar and Sehwan. (3)

In Sehwan, he came to know that there was a rift between the Soomra brothers, Dodo and Chanesar , that Chanesar was dethroned and Dodo had become the king of Sindh.  General Zaffar Khan was an unscrupulous man and saw an opportunity to plunder and destroy the Soomra kingdom. He sent out his men to go to Soomra Capital Muhammad Tur (Toor) and assure Chanesar of his support in getting back the throne from Dodo. King kamaluddin Chanesar Soomro, though a great warrior, was simple and a gullible man. He threatened Dodo that he will go for help to king Allauddin’s armies to get the throne back from him.  Accordingly, he came to Zaffar khan in Sehwan and was welcomed and promised full help.

General Zaffar khan then sent his emissaries to King Asad-al-Millat Dodo to send tributes of royal gifts and Princess Baghi as bride for Sultan Allauddin, else he will wage a war against him and will take everything by force. (4)

King Dodo called for his Council Ministers and all Sardars (lords) for consultation. It was decided unanimously that no Soomro Princess should go to Sultan Allauddin who was a Turk by caste. They started to prepare for war against the Sultan’s hordes.

Consequently, Zaffar Khan, with Chanesar by his side, marched towards the Soomra Capital of Tur. Both the armies arrived at a place ‘ Thaar Banghar ‘ at a good distance from the Capital city of Tur. A decisive battle was fought in which thousands of Zaffar Khan’s soldiers  were killed  and on the other side the Valliant King Asad-al-Millat Dodo was martyred along with Prince Muhammed and Nangar sons of Chanesar, with their armies. (5)

General Zaffar Khan then proceeded to the capital Muhammad Tur to plunder, kill and to capture the royal Soomro ladies with Princess Baghi. Chanesar was displeased and admonished Zaffar Khan not proceed to the royal harems as they now belonged to him, as with the martyrdom of Dodo, he was the king of Sindh. Zaffar khan put him under surveillance and proceeded to the Palace. He found the Palace deserted and was enraged. In frustration, he ordered to sack the City.  He sent out his spies to find out as to where the harems had gone. In a few days, his spies came, they told him that they taken refuge in Kutch under the protection Chieftain Abro Samo.

Zaffar Khan sent his envoy to Abro Samo to surrender the “Saams” (Royal Soomra ladies of the House of Tur) else he will destroy him. Abro Samo was a great warrior and was sure of the help of neighbouring Chiefs, so he replied to Zaffar Khan that he would rather die in battle than surrender the “Saams” to him. Zaffar khan therefore ordered his remaining armies to prepare for war with Abro Samo. (6)

When chanesar found that Zaffar khan was to chase the royal harems to Kutch, he managed to confront Zaffar khan with his companions and they killed hundreds of soldiers of his army but ultimately they were martyred.

Here it will be appropriate to say that the armies of Zaffar khan had dwindled as thousands of his soldiers had lost their lives in the battles of Bakhar, Sehwan and Soomras also had killed thousands of his soldiers. Even so, he prepared for war with Abro Samo and proceeded to Kutch. Here also, a great battle was fought and Abro Samo, his son Mamut and his armies were martyred.

The “Saams” had already left for nearby mountain refuge where finding no other go, they prayed to God Almighty to save their honour. Suddenly with great thunder, tremors took place and the mountains were split at many places and the ladies jumped into these chasms and with a second thunder the chasms closed upon them. Some corners of their scarves were left out. When Zaffar Khan saw all this, he was awed and disappointed. (7)

Now with very little army, he decided to return to Mirpur Mathelo and to Dehli through the desert route.

These battles had resulted in public uprising and the patriotic people of Sindh of every caste armed themselves with whatever arms they had at hand and followed Zaffar Khan and his men, awakening the villagers on either side of this route to fight(8). Gradually food and water became scarce and his soldiers kept dying of hunger and thirst. The people massacred many soldiers  by gorilla war tactics. The result was a miserable defeat and Zaffar Khan suffered an ignominious death in the desert of Sindh.

REFERENCES.

1. Book “Soomran-jo-Daur” written by  Dr. Nabi Bux khan Baloch Printed by Sindhi Adabi board @ Jamshoro in 1980. ( http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Sindhi_Adabi_Board).
2. Epic Poetry (http://wapedia.mobi/en/Epic_poetry).
3. Chronological Dictionary of Sind-by M.H. Panhwar (http://panhwar.com/dictionary.html).
4. History of Sindh by Mohan Gehani (http://www.sindhology.org/images/books_sindhology/History%20of%20Sindh%20Page%2021%20to%20160-Mohan%20Gehani.pdf)
5. Book “Soomran-jo-Daur” written by  Dr. Nabi Bux khan Baloch Printed by Sindhi Adabi board @ Jamshoro in 1980. ( http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Sindhi_Adabi_Board).
6. Joohlay Lal – (http://www.freesindh.org/sindhstory/%22Jhoolay_Lal%22.html).
7. Book “Soomran-jo-Daur” written by  Dr. Nabi Bux khan Baloch Printed by Sindhi Adabi board @ Jamshoro in 1980. ( http://en.wikepedia.org/wiki/Sindhi_Adabi_Board).
8. Joohlay Lal – (http://www.freesindh.org/sindhstory/%22Jhoolay_Lal%22.html).

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The conception of Sufism took place in the 8th, 9th century A.D., in Muslim mystics of Persia. It was during the reign of Soomra rulers of Sindh of 12th, 13th century A.D, that Sufi mystics came to Sindh from Persia. Soomras by then had got rid of Ismaili Shias and had become Sunny Muslims. Even so, the Magic of Sufism attracted them a lot and it pacified their behavior towards mystic Sufi saints. The Soomra rulers patronized the Sufi movement by giving out lands, Jagirs to Sufis to maintain Khankahs and Dargahs(shrines).[1][2]
Even though the impact of Sufism was gradual, the people of Sindh, Muslims , Hindus and other casts of and religions, found it convenient to adapt it as they found an spiritual solace in its principles.
In Arabic “Suf” means wool. During the 8th century A.D., some Muslims mystics were seen wearing white woolen robe but in the 9th century A.D, this white woolen robe became common among the Muslim mystics, hence they were called Sufis.
Sufism is based on an unconditional love of God. Being open to love, spiritual yearning, delight and ecstasy, it is neither fear nor hope, but love that lifts us to God. [3]
Thus, the Sufis introduced masses to the loving nature of God. For Sufis it is not enough to know or will for God, but it is the final union with the beloved. It is the merging of self into the Divine Being.
The mild natured people of Sindh, readily came under the sway of these principles of Sufism. Then the arrival of the renowned Sufi saint Mohammad Usman Marvandi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh from Multan in 1273 A.D during the reign of Soomra King Tai bin Dodo (1272-73 to 1295-96), finally made Sindh a stronghold of Sufism.[4].
Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, after his arrival in Sindh, first visited all the cities and people of Sindh and then finally he settled down in the city of Sehwan and from there, he illuminated the soil and souls of Sindhi people with the light of Sufism. As a result of which, Sindh was blessed with such renowned Sufi saints as Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast and Chen Rai Sami and many others.[4]
Sindh became the place of peace, tranquility, tolerane and religious security, bringing Hindus and Muslims closer to each other by the doctrines of Sufism.
*****
SOURCES:
1. The History of Philosophy in Islam by Dr. T.J.D.E.BOER. (http://www.amazon.com/History-Philosophy-Islam-T-Boer/dp/076613078
2. First Ismaili Electronic library and database- (http://www.ismaili.net/htm/modules.php-modload&name-)
3. The History of Philosophy in Islam by Dr. T.J.D.E.BOER. (http://www.amazon.com/History-Philosophy-Islam-T-Boer/dp/076613078.)
4. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by M.H.Panhwar. 1983. (http://panhwar.com/dictionary.html)
5. Sindhi Adabi Board From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindhi_Adabi_Board)
6. “Salient Features of the Rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh”. Research Articles (Queen Zainab Tari/Golden period of Sindhi women/Renaissance etc.) by Research Scholar Qamar Din. M. Hayat Soomro. 2010. (http://salientfeaturesofsoomrodynasty.blogspot.com/)

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Princess Moomal and Soomal saw their father Raja Nand’ s intense grief over the loss of their royal treasure and consoled him , “ dear father don’t grieve over the loss as Soomal by her necromantic knowledge has found that our treasures have been  stolen by a magician. We promise you that we shall get our treasure back by enticing the magician.” Raja Nand heaved a deep sigh and sadly said, “Alas! What you two will do to entice the roaming magician, I wonder!” Moomal and Soomal said, “father, allow us freedom to do what we want to do. We have hatched a vertible plan by which we shall collect more treasure than what we have lost.”

Raja Nand of Mirpur Mathelo State, had no other go but to agree to their proposal reluctantly.

Both Princesses prepared for a journey to a place named Ludano, near about Jesalmir where a stream of water named Nai Kak was flowing. Here, with their slender means they built a small palace and named it Kak palace. In front of the palace in a large area, a maze was built and after it, the waters of the stream were diverted to uneven heights, to fall with a great deafening roar, looking very dangerous to cross, for fear of being drowned. Beyond this dangerous stream, in the woods, wild, ferocious animals were installed which let out blood curdling roars and howls, which created fear of being killed.  Inside the palace, in the entrance hall, Princess Soomal placed seven beds out of which six beds were hollow with ditches below, full of sharp irons to kill the person who sits and falls in when the beds collapse.

When all this was completed, a call was sent out far and wide, to all Princes, wealthy men and merchants, to come to Kak palace and try their luck to reach the most beautiful Princess  Moomal and who so ever succeeds, she will marry him.

After this call, many Princes, wealthy men and merchants, came to kak, loaded with gifts and bounties to marry the Princess Moomal . Outside the gate entrance of the wall surrounding the area, a big drum was placed and when a suitor beat the drum, Princess Soomal’s maid Natir appeared at the gate and enquired about his name and the wealth he had brought with him for Princess Moomal. Then she went back and informed the Princesses about it. After the permission granted, Princess Moomal will come to the balcony of the palace to show herself to the suitor.  Natir, then went to the gate, lead the suitor, through the Maze and at some place she cleverly vanished.

So, some suitors, were deprived of their wealth, lost in the Maze, some lost courage at the roaring waters of the stream, some caught the fright of the ferocious animals and some who reached the palace and fell into the ditches, were deprived of their wealth by Princess Soomal’s men.  In no time, lots of treasures were accumulated and sent to Raja Nand by his daughters.

One day King Hamir Soomro of Sindh, with his three minsters, Dunver Bhatti, Senhero Dhamachani and Rano Mendho were hunting for deer in the woods, when they saw a hermit approaching them. After exchange of greetings, they enquired from him about his forlorn condition. He told them that he was a very rich man and he had set out to marry the most beautiful Princess Moomal at Kak and when he saw the Princess, he lost his senses and in spite of his best efforts, he could not reach her Palace and marry her. He was deprived of the valuable gifts; he had brought for the Princess, by her men and was thrown out of the Palace walls. His love and passion for the Princess has reduced him to this condition.

The king and his minister were surprised and became curios to see the Princess.  Therefore, they started, on a journey of about two hundred miles from Umerkot to Luhano in Mirpur Mathelo. When they reached Kak, they camped outside the Kak Palace. First of all the King Hamir Soomro beat the drum and met Natir. She was told to announce the King’s arrival to Princess Moomal. She ran back to the Palace and informed the Princesses about the King and his companions. She was directed to welcome them and should see that no harm comes to them and are treated with due honour.

Natir went to the gate, welcomed the King and lead him through the maze and as usual, at some point she vanished. The King roamed about the lanes of the maze many times to find the way to the Palace but every time he ended at the entrance gate.  The King’s ministers, Dunver Bhatti and Senhiro Dhamachani then tried their luck but failed to reach the Palace. When Natir came to lead the last minister Rano Mendhro, she was struck by his handsome appearance and gait. She led him through the maze and tried to escape but Rano grabbed her and led her to the roaring waters. He stopped and being suspicious, he dipped his cane in the water and found it shallow. With Natir he crossed the waters, saw the roaring and howling ferocious animal and found that these were dummies mechanically operated to create fear. He now came to the Palace, entered the hall and found seven beds ready to sit. He thought why the seven beds!  So, he pressed his cane on the first one and it collapsed in the ditch below. And so did the five others. The sixth bed, he found it solid,  he sat on it and ordered Natir to go and bring Princess Moomal.

When Princess Moomal with Princess Soomal and her entourage came, and saw the handsome Rano, she instantly fell in love with him and same thing happened to Rano Mendho.

Rano Mendhro sent a messenger to inform the King and his companions about his success. They were pleased and jealous at the same time an awaited his return. After two three days when he came to them, he was welcomed, but King Hamir requested him that he wanted to meet the Princess Moomal.  Therefore, he was invited to the Palace. When he saw the beauty and grace of Moomal, he became intensely jealous of Mendhro and ordered him to return to Umerkot immediately.

After some time, when Rano Mendhro reurnted to Umekot and met the King , he was arrested and put into the Prison.

Days went by and when Rano did not return to Kak, Moomal became forlorn and lamented for her beloved.  For Princess Soomal, her grief became unbearable, so to console  Moomal, she dressed  herself  with Rano Mendhro’s dress and used sleep with Moomal at night.

Rano Mendhro’s sister,who was one of the queens of King Hamir Soomro, pleaded with the king for her brother and got him released from the Prison, with promise that he will not go to meet the Princess Moomal.  Rano Mendhro had a very fast running she camel, so he lost no time to reach Kak at night to meet his beloved Moomal. He entered the Palace, went into the bedroom, he saw that his beloved Moomal was sleeping with a man. He curbed his anger at Moomal’s fraility, left his cane at the bedside, left the Palace and returned to Umerkot. He was very hurt and heartbroken and decided never to go to Kak again.

When in the morning Moomal and Soomal saw Rano’s cane by the bedside, they knew that Rano had come and saw them sleeping together, thinking that his Moomal was sleeping with a man. Thus, the destiny played its part, to separate the lovers from each other. It was a very tragic misunderstanding that came between the lovers. All the efforts made by Princess Moomal  for Rano’s return to her, failed. Her grief and waiting for Rano was so great that she was emaciated and her beauty waned, but her hope sustained her.  Days after days passed but Rano did not return to her. When she could not bear Rano’s separation, any more, she decided to end her life at the pyre.

On the other hand, Rano could not forget his beloved Moomal and his heart pined for her. When he heard about Moomal’s decision to end her life at the pyre, he relented, mounted his camel, reached Kak Palace and the lovers were united, never, never to separate again.

…………………….

Sources:

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by M.H.Panhwar. 1983.(http://panhwar.com/dictionary.htm)
2. Tarekh-e-Registan(Part -1) by Raichand Harijan 2005.
3. Rambling on.(http://deevan.blogspot.com/search?q=Moomal+Rano)
4. Tarekh-e-Sindh  by AllamaSyed Sulleman Nadvi. 1947(http://en.wikipedia.org/wki/Syed Sulleman Nadv ).
5. The Salient Features of the Rule of Soomra Dynasty n Sindh Reasearch Articles by Research Scholar Qamar Din .M. Hayat Soomro (http://salientfeaturesofsoomrodynasty.blogspot.com/).
6. Shah Jo Risalo/Moomal Rano………Fayaz Burio (http://wwwfayazburiro.com/shah/21.html)

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The stranger, who had succumbed to her beauty, saw the stoic determination behind the girl’s words and lost all propriety, grabbed the girl and mounted her on his camel and rode off into the desert of Thar with his companion. The girl kept yelling for help and with her fists kept beating the rider, but all in vain.

The other girl leaving her water pitcher unfilled from the well ran fast to the village and told the people how the stranger had taken away Marui.

Marui’s father Palini accompanied by Khet Sen, other relatives and some people of the village, followed the footsteps of the camels. They walked through the desert and at last they sighted a Castle and found that the footsteps went in through the Castle gates. They went in and discreetly enquired about the camel riders from the people and were told that the camels had gone in the direction of the gates of the royal palace.

On the way to the palace, they met Phog, a farmer working in the lands of Palini and he said to Palini, “you had refused my offer to marry your daughter Marui, but now she is in the palace of the King Umar Soomro who will now marry her. Go back to your village quietly least harm may come to you from the King’s men.”

Marui’s father and the villagers did not argue with Phog and returned to the village. When all the villagers heard that The King Umar Soomro had taken Marui away, they were very much afraid and many thought it better to leave their village and seek a safer place to live.

So, Pogh had taken his revenge from Palini for refusing his offer to marry Marui to him. It was he who had come to Umerkot and when granted audience with King Umer Soomro, he had described the beauty of Marui so eloquently that the king was surprised, that such a jewel of a girl existed in his domain and that also near his Capital Umerkot. The King was curious to see the girl and warned Phog that if the girl’s beauty failed to impress him, he shall have to face the consequences. So at night they mounted the camels, reached Malir and brought Marui to Umerkot as narrated above.

Marui was given a royal bedchamber and the chambermaids were directed for her comfort in all respects.

Marui was very perturbed and kept wailing, for her parents and her people and for her village Malir. The king came every night with costly dresses rare jewels and implored Marui to accept the gifts and consent to marry him as now this palace was her only home. Marui neither accepted the dresses nor the jewels but remained in her dress with her coarse loee (shawl) covering her head saying, “I will not dishonor this loee as it was given to me by my parents.” She kept telling King Umer Soomro, “O! Umer I belong to my parents, my betrothed Khet Sen and my people and will not disgrace myself by accepting your fineries”.

Time fled and Marui remained adamant in refusing to marry the King. The king became very angry and put her into prison in shackles. Even in Prison Marui pined for Malir and her Maroos and kept praying to God and Umer for her release from Prison and for her return to Malir.

At last, King Umer relented that he had done a great injustice to Marui by holding her against her will. He acted immediately and told Marui that he is sending his messenger to her parents to come and take her home. She was released from prison and brought to the Palace.

Her parents though afraid, came, were met with due honour and Marui was handed over to them. But they were admonished to see that no harm comes to her.

Thus, Marui reached Malir and her Maroos. But her betrothed was suspicious thinking as to how she could be chaste after remaining with the King for nearly a year. Consequently, he, the villagers, and the village girls kept a distance from her. This hurt Mari very much.

When the King heard about it, he came with his guards who surrounded the village and called for the village elders to settle the matter. He told the villagers on oath that Marui was as chaste as she was on the day he had taken her away. But if they still don’t believe him, he will undergo any test to defend his honour. Here Marui came out before the King and told him that it was her honour at stake so she will take the test. All present agreed to this and a ‘fire walk’ was proposed to prove her chastity.

Wood was collected and ignited and the fire roared. When all wood was burned and the burning red-hot coals appeared, Marui was asked to walk over the coals from one end to the other. She prayed to God and quietly walked over the coals from one side to the other. Praise be to God, neither burn marks were found on her feet nor her clothes took fire. Thus, she was absolved. The King Umer Soomro also followed her through the fire to absolve himself and he also remained unscathed.

Great celebration took place after which the King Umar Soomro returned to Umerkot.

Sources:

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by M.H. Panhwar. 1983. (http://panhwar.com/dictionary.htm)
2. “Tareekh-e-Sindh (History of Sindh). By Allama Syed Sulleman Nadvi. 1947. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syed_Sulaiman_Nadvi)
3. “Salient Features of the Rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh”. Research Articles (Queen Zainab Tari/Golden period of Sindhi women/Renaissance etc.) by Research Scholar Qamar Din. M. Hayat Soomro. 2009. (http://salientfeaturesofsoomrodynasty.blogspot.com/)
4. Shah Abdul Latif’s Patriotism in the characters of Umar and Marvi (http://www.bukisa.com/articles/73922_shah-abdul-latifs-patriotism-in-the-characters-of-umar-and-marvi)
5. Umar and Marvi (http://www.nbseminary.com/archives/umar-and-marvi)

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It so happened that Raja of a neighboring State of Cutch, named Rai Khanghar had a beautiful daughter named Kaunro. She prized her beauty with rare jewels. Once her father gave her a Naulakha Haar (necklace worth nine lacs of rupees). It was studded with such sparkling jewels that when Kaunro adorned herself with it and went into a dark room, the room was illuminated with its brilliance.

Princess Kaunro was engaged to her kinsman Itmadi . He had sister named Jamuni who was kaunro’s lady in waiting. Once Jamuni in a playful mood teased the princess saying , what worth is her beauty and jewels if she had no husband like the handsome king Chanesar. Kaunro was stung to the heart and determined to become the Queen of king Chanesar, come what may. She was so possessed by her wish and determination that she told the Queen mother about it and with the permission of her father, they hatched a plan and dressed as saudagars (merchants , they reached the capital city Debal Bunder (port).

There, they approached the Grand Vazier (minister) Jakhro who was said to be a friend and favorite of King Chanesar, and implored him to plead for them to King Chanesar. Jakhro told them that Chanesar will not prefer Kaunro to Leela but they kept imploring him so much so that Jakhro to the king about them. King Chanesar replied to him that no other woman was a match to Lila.

Kaunro and her mother were very much distressed and tried to get an access to the Palace. After great efforts, they were able to have an audience with Queen Leela. They told her that they had come to her in the hope that she will take Kaunro as a lady’s maid. Leela was impressed by their bearing and good manners and permitted Kaunro to remain in the Palace as a companion to her.

In no time Kaunro gained confidence of Queen Leela and taking a chance one day, she displayed her necklace to the Queen. Leela was wonder struck by the sparkling jewels in the necklace and could not help but to request Kaunro to give her the necklace at any price. Crafty Kaunro told her that the price was a night in bed with King Chanesar. As if bewitched by the magic of the jewels, the Queen succumbed to Kaunro’s desire.

The destiny and the satan played their part.

One night when King Chanesar came to bed, he found Kaunro sitting on his bed. He was surprised at her audacity and ordered her to remove herself from his sight. But she told him about her deal with the Queen. He was shocked and enraged at Leela, wondering how Leela could have agreed to such a proposal to get the necklace. He immediately ordered Leela to leave the Palace and never show up before him.

Though he made Kaunro his Queen but Chanesar kept pinning for Leela’s love which was embedded in his heart.

When Lila came to her senses, she in her repentance tried in every way for reconciliation with her beloved Chanesar but to no avail. She came to her parents and lived in heartrending grief and sorrow. Seeing her condition, God took pity on her and a chance came by for her. The Grand Vazier Jakhro came to her one day and told her that he has fallen in love with a girl of her village and wants to marry her. She agreed to help him on condition that he will bring King Chanesar to attend his marriage ceremony. Jakhro agreed and all arrangements were made when the time came.

With all fanfare and grandeur, King Chanesar arrived with marriage procession. After the solemnization of the marriage, refreshment and entertainment began with songs and dances. Leela veiled herself and joined the singers. She sang so pathetically in her sad sweet voice riling the lover for his faithlessness causing grief and misery to his beloved, that Chanesar was touched to the heart and told the singing girl to unveil he face to him to see whether she was as beautiful and sad as her enchanting voice.

Leela unveiled her face and stood humbly before her King. Chanesar was so surprised that he stood up, his heart thumping and his eyes tender with his love for Leela. Silence prevailed for a short while. Then Chanesar cried out, “Leela. Oh! Leela, my love, come to me, sacrifice everything, take your place in the Palace and no more shall you suffer the pangs of separation ever again.”

Sources:

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by M.H. Panhwar. 1983. (http://panhwar.com/dictionary.htm)
2. “Tareekh-e-Sindh (History of Sindh). By Allama Syed Sulleman Nadvi. 1947. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syed_Sulaiman_Nadvi)
3. “Salient Features of the Rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh”. Research Articles (Queen Zainab Tari/Golden period of Sindhi women/Renaissance etc.) by Research Scholar Qamar Din. M. Hayat Soomro. 2009. (http://salientfeaturesofsoomrodynasty.blogspot.com/)
4. “Soomras”( http://yangtze.cs.uiuc.edu/~jamali/sindh/story/node9.html)
5. “The Song of the Necklace” by Tirithdas Hotchand 1961.(http://openlibrary.org/b/OL275978M/Shah_Abdul_Latif)
6. Lila-Chanesar Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiLa_Chanesar).

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The Arabs and the Soomras had the temperament of desert people and were great warriors.

The Arabs conquered Sindh in 711-712 A.D. from Hindu Rajas and established the rule of Sharia of Islam, throughout Sindh. A vast majority of Sindhis who were idol worshippers, embraced Islam and those who chose to follow the religion of their forefathers, were allowed to do so but according to Sharia, they had to pay Jazia which was a tax for their protection etc.

Many Rajput clans who became muslims, intermarried their sons and daughters in Arab families. The women of these families, along with their muslim names, called their children with local Sindhi names also.

The Arabs ruled Sindh from A.D. 711 TO 1011 A.D. Their rule was well established. They had built their Capital City and named it Mansoora. They built mosques, Madarsas, Qazi Court for rendering justice, Army Garrisons, Roads and Caravanserais etc. They built Sea Ports and improved agricultural system. The foreign and local trades flourished.

However gradually their hold on Sindh became weaker and weaker due to the intrigues of cunning Hindu tribes to get rid of the Arabs and stop the flow of grains, cattle and other commodities to Arabia.

Ultimately Sardar Khafif Soomro, a great warrior tookover Sindh from the last Habari Arab ruler son of Ali bin Umar in 1011 A.D. And became the first undisputed king of Soomra Dynasty of Sindh.

The system of government already established by Arabs remained intact except that the Soomra kings had realised that the people of other religions i.e .Hindus, Budhists, Jains and the people of other cults needed relaxation as minorities. So as a compromise, some local customs and names were adopted for smooth governance. The decisions of their Panchaits (system of justice) and similarly the decisions taken by Jirgas of Muslim tribes were respected and accepted.

These efforts brought peace and tranquillity among the populace.

For the women, it was their golden period as they enjoyed all the rights under Islamic Sharia and were revered as mothers, daughters, sisters and housewives. The women of the Royal families were educated especially in Arabic, Sindhi and in local dialects. They were trained to rule and fight in wars to defend their Country. Even the common women were sturdy and brave, helped the warriors in the battle and treated the wounded. They excelled in Arts and Crafts. The government protected their property, trade and merchandise. They were bestowed with the highest honours when we find that the Princess Zainab Tari was made the first ever- Muslim Queen of Soomra Dynasty of Sindh, when her father King Asamuddin Daula Dodo-I retired from kingship to live a pious peaceful life.

Queen Zainab Tari Soomro ruled Sindh wisely and bravely as an independent Sovereign queen for 10 years without any interruption. In the subsequent period also, there were Soomra Queens who held the reins of the Kingdom for short periods and they ruled with the assistance of their kinsmen and the council Ministers.

The Sindhi women were undaunted, brave and patriotic. They maintained their high moral standards. They stood side by side with men in every walk of life and never shrank from their duties and sacrificed their lives for their families and their Country.

Since those times, Sindhi women have never enjoyed such freedom, power and reverence under the rule of any subsequent ruling Dynasty of Sindh, even up to this most civilised 21st Century they do not have the absolute independent equality with men in Sindh and elsewhere in the Islamic World.

In the History of Sindh, the period of the Islamic Kingdom of Soomra Dynasty, was, therefore the Golden period for the women of Sindh.

References

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by M.H.Panhwar. 1983.
2. An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of Sindh (1351 – 1011 A.D.) BY M.H Panhwar.
3. “Salient Features of the rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh”. Research articles (Queen Zainab Tari / Golden Period of Sindhi Women / Renaissance etc.) by Research Scholar Qamar Din M. Hayat Soomro. 2009.
4. “Tareekh-e-Sindh” (History of Sindh). By Allama Syed Sulleman Nadvi 1947.

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King Dodo-I ruled Sindh for 15 years. During this period of his rule a son was born to him whom he named Shahabuddin Sanghar. While Sanghar Soomro was still a minor, Dodo-I abdicated the throne in the year 1092 A.D, in favour of his daughter Zainab Tari, to live a retired life.

Since the Prince, Shahabuddin Sanghar was a minor, the Council of Ministers and Sardars, unanimously followed the wishes of their Monarch and crowned Sanghar’s sister Princess Zainab Tari as the sovereign Queen of Sindh.

Queen Zainab Tari was a very brave and a wise queen. Her diplomacy was so successful that during her reign, neither any foreign armies invaded Sindh nor any internal conspiracies took place. Prosperity, peace and tranquillity prevailed throughout her domain.

The Capital city Thari expanded and prospered and being near the sea, trade with foreign countries flourished under her ten- yearlong rule. .

Under her tutelage, her brother, Shahabuddin Sanghar grew up to be a fine youth excelled in the art of warfare etc. and became competent to rule the kingdom. Therefore after the tenth year of her rule, under rule of succession, she declared, Sanghar as the king of Sindh. Consequently, Sanghar was crowned as the Sovereign King of Sindh and Queen Tari retired to lead a family life.

Since the ancient times the Sindh was ruled by Hindu Rajas (kings) and later by the Persians and Greek invaders from the North and later by the Arabs. Then the Sindhi rulers of Soomra Dynasty succeeded the Arabs and ruled their country for 500 hundred year? Then the Sindhi rulers of Sama Dynasty succeeded them and they ruled for about 200 years.

Except Queen Tari Soomro, no other queen ever ruled Sindh as an absolute ruler. Therefore, she has the distinction of being the first and the last Sindhi Queen from ancient to present times. This also proves that women were treated with honour, respect and dignity and were raised to the highest position as per sharia in this Islamic Kingdom of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh.

REFERENCES:

1. Chronological Dictionary of Sindh by H.M.Panhwar. 1983.
2. An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of Sindh (1351- 1011 A.D.). By H.M.Panwhar.
3. “Tareekh-e-Sindh” (History of Sindh). By Allama Syed Sulleman Nadvi. 1947.
4. “Salient Features of the Rule of Soomra Dynasty in Sindh”. Research Articles(Queen Zainab Tari/Golden period of Sindhi women/Renaissance etc.) by Research Scholar Qamar Din. M. Hayat Soomro. 2009.

Copyright – All rights are reserved and protected