Remarks Governor at the Release of the book Global Sindhis written by Dr Ram Jawhrani at in Raj Bhavan, Mumbai

Remarks by Shri CH. Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra at the Release of the book ‚Global Sindhis‘ written by Dr Ram Jawhrani at Conference Room, Raj Bhavan, Mumbai at 1100 hrs on Wednesday 30 November 2016

Shri Ram Jawhrani, Chairman, Gloabal Sindhi Council, Shri Mukesh Sharma, Additional Director General, Door Darshan, Shri Govind Nihalani, Shri Pahlaj Nihalani, Dr Suresh Advani, all distinguished, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon and Namaskar.

I extend a warm welcome to each one of you to Raj Bhavan.

I am pleased to associate myself with the release of the second volume of the book Global Sindhis authored by Dr Ram Jawhrani.

At the outset, I congratulate the author of the book Dr Ram Jawhrani Ji for taking great pains in interviewing some of the greatest personalities from the Sindhi community and compiling the volume.

I also wish to compliment Mukesh Sharma Ji who has made sincere efforts to promote Sindhi language and culture through Door Darshan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the history of human civilization, few communities have suffered such trauma and pain as the Sindhis did, in the aftermath of the Partition of India.

For no fault of theirs, the most peaceful Sindhis were forced to abandon their home and hearth, and had to come to this part of India literally empty-handed. However to their supreme credit, the Sindhis not only picked up the lost threads, but on the sheer strength of hard work and determination, transformed themselves into one of the most successful communities in India.

The Sindhis settled in different parts of India and wherever they went, assimilated with the local population and cultures, while also maintaining their identities and culture.

I have great admiration for the Sindhis. I consider SIndhis as pioneers of the Start Up revolution. They challenged the destiny and defined their own course through enterprise and hard work. Today the SIndhis are job givers, not job seekers.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Acharya Kripalani had made two pertinent observations about the Sindhis. He noted the fact that the Sindhis made good progress without any help from the Government. Secondly, he noted that no Sindhi after partition ever begged, he earned an honest living. That’s truly remarkable.

During the last sixty nine years since Independence, the Sindhis have made spectacular contribution to the socio-economic progress and development of India, development of Maharashtra and development of Mumbai.

Speaking for Mumbai, I will say, the socio- economic history of Mumbai, after 1947, would be incomplete without glorious references to the multifaceted contributions of the Sindhi community.

Members of the community, particularly Barrister Hotchand Advani, Principal K M Kundnani, Dr L H Hiranandani and others formed several educational institutions in Mumbai and Ulhas Nagar. Apart from serving the immediate purpose of offering employment to the displaced Sindhis, these institutions went on to emerge as top class educational institutions in Mumbai.

During the last six decades, the Sindhi minority educational institutions in Mumbai have rendered outstanding service to society and earned a place of respect in society.

The Sindhi community has given the nation some of the most prominent politicians like Jairamdas Daulatram, Acharya J B Kripalani, Lal Krishna Advani, – with whom I served as Minister of State, Home Affairs – K R Malkani and so on. It has also given the nation great personalities like Sadhu Vaswani, Dada Vaswani, Barrister Ram Jethmalani and many others. I am very happy that some of the great personalities from the Sindhi community are in our midst today.

In fact there is hardly any field which has not been touched or conquered by the Sindhis. We are truly, sincerely proud of the Sindhi community, and of each one of you.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today members of the Sindhi community have scattered all over the world. Today Sindhis have become global citizens. However, this has created a new challenge. Preserving ‘Sindhiyat’ the rich culture, traditions and most importantly the Sindhi language has become a challenge for all of us. We need the support of every member to preserve Sindhiyat.

A lot will have to be done to promote and popularize the Sindhi language, particularly among the young generation. We will have to make efforts to promote Sindhi among Non Sindhi students also. If required we should offer scholarships to students pursuing studies in Sindhi language and culture.

We will have to think how technology can help us to reach out to the new generation and promote Sindhi language and literature. Thought will have to be given to starting a global portal to connect the members of the Sindhi community settled all over the world.

Govind Nihalani Ji is in our midst today. I think, thought should be given to make a grand film on the saga of Sindhis. It will be an inspiring film for the nation, and indeed nations of the world.

Shri Ram Jawharani’s book has great academic value. In a way, it is Oral History of Sindhis recorded from a number of great personalities. I am sure, the book will be welcomed not just by members of Sindhi community and academicians, but by one and all.

Thank you