An article in The Daily Times from Lahore.
WASHINGTON DIARY: A fine example —Dr Manzur Ejaz
“Sindhis’ suffering continues under the PPP regime” was what the ex-president of the Sindhi Association of North America (SANA), Mr Aziz Narejo, highlighted in a press release about SANA’s 25th annual conference held in St Louis, Missouri. On completing its quarter-century of activism, SANA appeared to be one of the most mature expatriate organisations. The seminars and discussions held under the conference’s auspices were serious, timely and befitting sans unnecessary bashing of Islamabad and Punjab.
SANA has gained such a prestige that top Sindhi intellectuals and politicians are keen to be invited to its annual conference in the US. This year, Speaker of the Sindh assembly, Nisar Khoro; Vice Chancellor Sindh University, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui; founder of the Sindh Graduate Association, Dr Suleman Sheikh; MNA Umar Gul Jhakrani; and rising intellectual and activist, Zulfiqar Halepoto travelled from Sindh; in addition, several physicians, activists, artists and notable intellectuals from the US and Canada participated in the gathering. As a matter of fact, this annual gathering has gained such importance for Sindhi expatriates that families with modest incomes save the whole year to attend SANA events. This year there were 500 registrations at $70 per family.
The well-attended session was on the politics of the Pakistan People’s Party in Sindh where Speaker Nisar Khoro and Umar Gul Jhakrani were going to defend their party’s performance in the province.
Surprisingly, Zulfiqar Halepoto, who had defended the PPP at last year’s conference, reversed his opinion. From the title of his presentation — “The second betrayal” — one could expect what was to come. Mr Halepoto, doing justice to the title, proved his point from every angle: how the PPP has not fulfilled a single promise that it made during the election campaign. Mr Halepoto alleged that the PPP government in Sindh is the worst in terms of governance and has failed Sindhis on many fronts. Mr Khoro and Mr Jhakrani countered the allegations with high-pitched rhetoric and invoked the Sindhis’ love for the Bhutto family. In essence, their defence was denial and apology poorly wrapped in emotional language.
The other interesting session was on making Sindhi a national language, organised by SANA’s ex-president Aziz Narejo. In an earlier session, Dr Mithal Waqasi had laid the foundations of this theme by tracing the history of the Sindh Valley Civilisation through pre-historic periods. In his view, present-day Pakistan is a continuation of the Sindh Valley Civilization. Dr Suleman Sheikh traced the origin of the Sindhi language from the Vedic period, highlighting the historical fact that the first translation in a non-Ajmi language was done in Sindhi. Dr. Siddiqui also shed light on various other aspects of the Sindhi language.
It was also argued that every language, national or foreign, comes as a package and not just an assemblage of words. Every language brings its socio-historic perspective as well as its heroes and villains with it. In present day Pakistan, first English and then Urdu were used to demolish the indigenous history of the people and their culture of resistance created by the Sufi thinkers of Punjab and Sindh. It resulted in the presentation of invaders like Ahmad Shah Abdali and Nadir Shah as heroes. In this atmosphere emerged a culture of violence and religious extremism in the form of the Taliban and jihadis of various persuasions. Suppression of the Sufi teachings of tolerance, humanity and secular culture played an important role in creating the problems Pakistan is faced with today.
A very informative and constructive session was organised by Mr Iqbal Tareen, another ex-president of SANA, on the spread of Hepatitis B and C in Sindh. This is one of the fastest spreading diseases in Pakistan due to pollution. About forty-six percent of Pakistanis are suffering from this disease and the government is doing almost nothing to stop this epidemic. Activists from other nationalities should follow the work undertaken by Mr Tareen and his organisation.
There were also sessions on political economy moderated by Dr Sarfraz Memon and other leading intellectuals of SANA. Besides analytical sessions, the cultural programmes were quite interesting. This year, the enchanting recitation of Sindhi poetry by Dr Aijaz Turk was sorely missed. But on the whole, the Silver Jubilee gathering of SANA reflected maturity and depth that is lacking in other expat organisations. Of course the hard labour put in by its president Dr Valeed Shaikh and general secretary Dr Shabbir Shaikh was a major factor behind the success of the event.
SANA’s conventions are unique in two respects. First, it is the only community gathering that has a secular colour. People of other countries and religions, notably Sindhi Hindus, enthusiastically participate. Second, it is the only indigenous community that conducts its entire business in its mother tongue, Sindhi. SANA has presented itself as a model for the other ethnic communities of Pakistan.
The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com
The dailyTimes.com.pk
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