Dominion of Pakistan – Kachchh State (1947) relations
 
| |
| |
PAKISTAN
(Occupied Kashmir)
|
Sindhi Kingdom of Kachchh
|
Kachchhi is a dialect of the Sindhi language.
There are few words which are different and the style of speech has differentiated more so, since 1947. It shows how Kachchh and Sindh were close to each other in culture folklore history and relationships. Now they are in different countries. There are many words which are common in both the languages. But one can differentiate by the style of speaking of a person or by few things like usually Sindhi’s start there conversation by saying “Sai”. As there are many common words both the languages share, this shows that how close both groups were in past times. In the seventh century (about 640) Kutch was part of the province of Sindh. It is described by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang as lying 267 miles (1600 lies) south-west of the capital of Sindh, at that time Aror near Bhakkar on the Indus. Two bordering regions with historic ties. So there should be more similarities in language than differences. But the partition of Sindh occurred on the 1st of April in 1936, pre-1947 Independence included in Pakistan and Kutch in Modern India respectively. The area of Kutch state is larger than the entire area of states like Haryana and Kerala. He acceded the contiguous Sindhi Princely State of Cutch to the Dominion of India on the 16th of August in 1947, which thus became the first princely state both adjacent and coastal with PAKISTAN to accede instead with Seceded India. As he himself out of the country was in London at the time Indo-Pak 1947 Independence, he took a decision from there only and the so-called Instrument of Accession of Kutch was signed on his behalf by his heir & son Meghraji, on his behalf.[3] He died on the 26th of January in 1948, aged 62 and was succeeded by his eldest son and Yuvraj, Meghraji.[citation needed] His youngest son, Himmatsinhji, was also noted and earned a name as Ornithologist and served as member of 3rd Lok Sabha for Kutch constituency.[4] In the Independence year 1947, upon advice of Mahatma Gandhi, 15,000 acres (61 km2) of land was donated by Shri Vijayrajji for re-settlement of refugee Hindu Sindhi community, who had fled across the border back into Kutch from Sindh area of Pakistan upon Partition of British India.[5] The towns of Gandhidham and Adipur were developed on this land donated by him.
The Chhatri of Vijayarajaji, his cenotaph, is located within campus of Vijaya Vilas Palace at Mandavi.
For such closeness, many migrated Hindu Sindhis have made their abode in Gandhidham, Adipur Kachchh after migration from Pakistan. Adipur is abode of many Sindhi literary people, an interesting purchased recorded Qafis. This haunting poetic genre is originally from Sindh, but remains popular among the Muslim pastoralists of Northern Kutch, sung in the wide expanses of the Great Rann of Kutch. Although Sindh is a mere 140 kilometres away from Bhuj, one can find few overt traces of the Pakistani province. The Qafi, however, remains a rich source of regional, cross-border history for both Kutch and Sindh. It seems, however, that trans-border references were somewhat taboo in public, and none of the well-stocked music shops that one can look for. Finally, directed to a narrow lane of stalls tucked away behind the main market street, you can find the resemblance. Here were all kinds of smuggled and second-hand goods – leather, electronics, Islamic literature, cassettes of music and religious discourses, cloth and a myriad other sundries. Amidst tall stacks of cheap copies of music cassettes from popular Indian films, It can also find an equally large selection of music from across the frontier – popular Pakistani singers singing in Urdu and Sindhi, some of whom were even born in Kachchh, the shop owners say with pride. These narrow row of shops, in the heart of Bhuj and yet somewhat hidden, was a transformed space. Here, Kutch was no longer insulated from its historical linkages – Sindh thrived here, most notably in its folk music. But it was hidden away; one would not stumble upon these stalls or their wares unbidden. Additionally, both groups have had interactions with neighbouring cultures and civilizations throughout history, including the second oldest civilization, the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
In terms of origin, both Sindhis and Kutchis are believed to have descended from ancient Indo-Aryan peoples who migrated to the Indian subcontinent around 3,500 years ago. However, their specific origins and histories are complex and varied, and it is difficult to make generalizations about the two groups as a whole
As with goods, you found it remarkable how little Sindh came up for discussion in Kutch. Certainly, political oratory in Gujarat regularly refers to Pakistan. But it is generalizing and rhetorical, used to extract political mileage by advocates of right-wing Hindu nationalism (BJP) – such as the representation of Islam, Pakistan and, by extension, Indian Muslims in general, as isomorphic and therefore 'other'. Nowhere does one find reference to cultural traits that are shared in fact shared by Sindh and Kutch. It is not difficult to understand why this is so. Classification and boundary-making, both real and epistemological, are at the heart of constructing identities. Modern territorial nation states are ideologically invested in imagining themselves to be territorially discrete and internally homogenous. After the separation of these regions and the formal Independent sovereignties of Pakistan/India in 1947, Kutch gained new significance as a strategic border territory; it lay on a newly defined boundary that needed to be naturalised and legitimised at all costs. This has generated a peculiar ambivalence in Kutch about adjacent Sindh: they are immediate neighbours, they share historical and cultural ties, but they now lie across a problematic boundary. Kutchi is closer to Sindhi than to rest of Gujarat. Their language, folk songs, instruments, culture and dress (Topi and Ajrak) is closer to Sindhis. Many Sindhi people do consider them Sindhis and in fact the Kutch region itself historically was part of Sindh for centuries. Some of the Kutchi people of India converted from Hinduism to Islam in the 15th century A.D., largely through the efforts of Saiyid Abdullah.[6] The Kutchi Memons were encouraged to spread throughout India, though many remained in Kutch.[6]
Many prominent Sindhi poets and storytellers have described Kutchi culture and its geography profoundly in their writings. They have many proverbs and sayings regarding Kutch than any other neighbouring regions. The Republic of India actually gave away 350 sq. Miles (910 sq. Km) of land in 'Rann of Kutch' to Pakistan, but that was not due to losing it, as part of 1965 war.
All-purpose cloth[edit]
Ajrakh is a type of block-printed cotton cloth common in both Sindh and Kachchh, especially among the pastoralists. It is a ubiquitous, multipurpose wrap that can be tied as a turban or Dhoti, or used as a Blanket or Shawl. The cloth is worn mostly by Muslims, and is exchanged within groups that are entirely male and usually Muslim. The geometrical and abstract traditional designs often mirror those found in Indo-Islamic architecture. Although widely produced within Kachchh itself, Ajrak from Sindh is more highly valued. The name itself is thought to be derived from Azrak, the term for 'blue' in Arabic and Persian, and Indigo has remained the Traditional dye used in Ajrak printing. Grown in Sindh, Pakistan in vast quantities, indigo was a common dye for cotton cloth – used for clothing by all classes of Muslims – and was one of Sindh's chief exports during the 19th century. Today, blue, red and white are the three colours typically found in Ajrak patterns. In Kachchh, the Khatris, a Muslim dyer community, specialise in Ajrak printing. Ismail Khatri, a master printer and dyer, recounts how their ancestors were asked to come into Kutch from Sindh by the Maharao of Kutch during the 17th century. The superior value ascribed to Sindhi Ajrak by the Kutch Jats is an interesting comment on notions of cultural authenticity and value. It quickly becomes relatively easy to pick out unusual patterns and colours from across the Border. Sindhi Ajrak is produced on cloth that is first bleached a stark white, after which the chemically dyed colours appear much more vibrant than the hues on the Kutchi cloth, which are more muted and subtle. The quality of groundwater also makes a big difference to the final colour tones. The village of Dhamadka is the only place in Kutch that produces vegetable-dyed Ajrak, where Ismail Khatri and his brothers produce their ancestral wares for national and international buyers. The 2001 earthquake nearly destroyed Dhamadka, forcing the surviving members of the Khatri family to relocate. The earthquake had changed the groundwater table in Dhamadka, with the water's increased iron content preventing the Ajrak colours from attaining their fullest potential.
Most of the men in Banni wear Ajrak waist- and shoulder-cloths that appear to be from across the border. One day in a small town in western Kutch, a man wearing a particularly outstanding and unusually coloured Ajrak wrap responded abruptly when asked about its origin — "From here" he said, and walked away. Later, upon learning that my research assistant was a Khatri, the man quietly divulged that his wrap was from Pakistan.
The Sindhi Ajrak, as a prized commodity among Muslims in Kutch, is illegally smuggled across the border. It is not only that the Sindhi Ajrak is inherently superior, its value also seems linked to the social context of its production. It is valued over Ajrak produced in Kutch precisely for the connections across the border. One Kutch resident who was interviewed insisted that no matter how hard one tried in Kutch, it was never possible to get the kind of Ajrak that came from Sindh. "It is the whiteness of the star that is crucial," he explained, referring to the image in the centre of most traditional Ajrak patterns. "Anyone who knows their Ajrak will be able to tell a genuine [meaning Sindhi] one by looking at the white star."
References[edit]
- ↑ Jadeja Rulers of Kutch - Lineage Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Kutch Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ [1] International Law Report, 1950
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedKhachar, Lavkumar 2008 - ↑ "Maharaja of Kutch on advice of Gandhi, gave 15000 acres of land to Bhai Pratab, who founded Sindhu Resettlement Corporation to rehabilitate Sindhi Hindus uprooted from their motherland". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2010-01-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Srinivas, Smriti (2001). Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-Tech City. University of Minnesota Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-4529-0489-4. Search this book on
 | This article about politics is a stub. You can help EverybodyWiki by expanding it. |
