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There is widespread grief and distress in the Sindhi community throughout the world, though a great deal of glee and gloating in Pakistan over the Supreme Court of India’s notice asking Government of India’s response to the Petition seeking deletion of 'Sindh' from the National Anthem of India. This notice is based on a Petition before the Supreme Court requesting deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem as Sindh is a part of Pakistan.

Although Government of India has announced that it will oppose before India’s Supreme Court, the deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem, the Sindhi community is somewhat skeptical of Government’s assurances. The fact is that Government of India could have intervened at the earlier stage before the Supreme Court finalized its notice to the Government. It failed to do so. There is speculation in some quarters as to how strongly will Government fight this battle in the Supreme Court. Will it play it down to keep Pakistan in good humor? 

Government of India has now received innumerable protests from Sindhi community. The two highly prestigious Sindhi organizations of overseas Sindhis (Internet Sindhi Resource and American Institute of Sindhulogy-AIS- )  have joined in the protest and have sent to Prime Minister of India,  a detailed memorandum on behalf of the Sindhi community abroad. The protest includes a letter from Bhagwan S. Gidwani (author of Sword of Tipu Sultan & Return of the Aryans, etc.) which makes a powerful plea against deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem on legal, constitutional, social and political considerations and even hints that if eventually Sindh is removed from the National Anthem, Sindhis may no longer respect and honor the National Anthem or stand up when the Anthem is played or sung. 

 Apart from Bhagwan Gidwani's presentation of legal and constitutional aspects, he has also expressed the view that if the National Anthem of India, authored by Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore, can be criticized for inclusion of SINDH, one might as well criticize it from the point of view that it does not speak of truncated Bengal and Punjab after Partition or that certain States and rivers in India are not mentioned in the Anthem as clearly the soulful creation of  the revered Gurudev Tagore was not intended as a handbook of Geography or a directory of place-names in India.  Gidwani stated that naturally, the Sindhi community will be forced to bring the entire matter of the contents of the National Anthem if SINDH is to be excluded on such flimsy and frivolous grounds.  However Bhagwan Gidwani has also expressed his admiration for the National Anthem as composed by its  revered  author, Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore and feels that it must remain gloriously and for ever, intact and unchanged. Summarily, Gidwani rejects the idea either of reconstructing the National Anthem or replacing it with any other Song such as Vande Mataram. 

Gidwani further points out that the need to include Sindh in the National Anthem was clearly understood and appreciated National leaders when the Constituent Assembly adopted it in 1950, long after the territory of Sindh was absorbed in Pakistan. According to him, if  the issue is properly addressed, it is impossible  to believe that the Supreme Court can ever take decision to delete Sindh from the National Anthem as such a decision would militate against the unity and integrity of the Indian nation itself.

Also, Gidwani questions the authority or jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to interfere with the decision of the Constituent Assembly, the  Parliament  and the President of India.  According to him, any such interference by the Supreme Court is not warranted by the system of the Separation of Powers enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Gidwani further insists that it  is not enough that the Notice by the Supreme Court is served only on Government of India. The Sindhi community in India and elsewhere is directly concerned. The community must therefore be given the right and opportunity to intervene before the Supreme Court and to present its case on this issue.

The Petition before the Supreme Court , according to Gidwani is  entirely inadmissible.  No damage or grievance suffered by the petitioner  or anyone in this behalf by the retention of Sindh in the National Anthem.  He holds that approach to the Supreme Court cannot be permitted simply on the basis of personal beliefs, individual theories, ‘semantics’ or a general desire to improve, abridge or enlarge the National Anthem when no hurt or harm is evidenced. If such pleas without showing hurt, harm or prejudice could be permitted, surely any atheist, purist or a seeker of ‘separation of God and Nation’ or anyone wishing to attract publicity, could, on ground of spurious and specious considerations of logical construction or otherwise,   be permitted to occupy the time of Supreme Court to seek further amendments to the National Anthem.

The view advanced by Bhagwan Gidwani, clearly is that the Supreme Court would be wasting its time to devote attention to such a petition which is patently opposed to the national will and offends against the National Anthem which has been accepted by the people of India with respect and honor for decades.

Gidwani adds that if the Supreme Court were erroneously to arrogate to itself the right to “reconstruct” the National Anthem, obviously, the issue cannot end with the mere deletion of Sindh. This exercise in futility will have to be pursued with greater and more ambitious games of how to “reconstruct” the National Anthem to fit all that the creation of Pakistan brought about. How should we refer to truncated provinces of Bengal and Punjab? Do we re-designate them as “Bengal without Bangla Desh” and “Punjab but without what was surrendered to Pakistan”? Then there is also the question of certain territories of India and even rivers that flow in India, which do not find a mention in the National Anthem. Do we put them in the revised national Anthem? Indeed the effort would then be a soulless geographical directory or an encyclopedia  instead of a soulful National Anthem that Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore created and the people of India accepted. And who will be in charge of creating such a geographical directory to replace the present National Anthem? The Supreme Court?   Nowhere in the world has this task been performed by its courts and the Supreme Court of India would be the first to attempt it – and I cannot believe that the highest legal body in India would engage in such an act of lawlessness.

Gidwani also warns that these are only his Preliminary Objections to the Petition as he will go later  into the merits of the case  at appropriate stage. The merits of the case, along with these Preliminary Objections, will need to be dealt with ably and effectively by the Sindhi community, which has to be given an opportunity to deal with them.  What is necessary to point out now is that the Supreme Court, in entertaining the Petition to delete Sindh from the National anthem, will be ignoring history and constitutionality along with the inherent rights of Sindhi community. More so, it will be ignoring the sacrifice of Sindhis in the cause of India’s freedom in 1947 and the glorious role played by Sindhis right from the dawn of history even prior to 8,000 BCE when the ancient order of Sanatanah and Sanatana Dharma were formed prior to 8,000 BCE leading to the roots of Hinduism, and later when on the banks of our rivers of Sindh – Sindhu & Saraswati, - the Vedas were composed and OM mantra was first uttered – and Sindhis were in forefront in the formation of Bharat Varsha – and later Arya Varsha.. Also note please that Sindh was amongst the home ground and cradle-grounds of Aryans of Bharat Varsha when they moved out to distant lands such as Iran, Sumeria, Egypt, Russian lands & Scythia, Lithuania, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Greece and Germany, and finally returned to their hometown and heritage of Sindh and the rest of Bharat Varsha. We are the survivors and inheritors of that glorious heritage and tradition. And to contemplate the removal of ‘Sindh’ from the National Anthem would amount to robbing us, our children and their children to whom this legacy left to us by our ancestors, rightfully belongs.

Gidwani goes on to reiterate that Creation and continuance of Pakistan is ordained neither by heavenly forces nor by a rational historical process. Pakistan came about simply as the result of Indian leadership growing old and weary and worried that they will not be able to secure power for themselves in their own lifetime. Those leaders had at one time sacrificed much, remaining true to Gandhian ideals, but in the end they betrayed Gandhiji, their own ideals, and could tolerate no more delays in protracted negotiations; and quickly they agreed to partition the country, so that power comes into their hands for themselves and for benefit of their own children. Sacrificing Sindh and Sindhis meant nothing to them.   Everyone realizes that the “Two Nation Theory” on which Pakistan was founded was false and frivolous, and has been eroded by realities on the ground. Reconstruction of National Anthem to exclude Sindh would add enormous insult to a continuing injury to which Sindhis have been unduly subjected. Accordingly, it  is essential that the Prime Minister must ensure that Government of India intervenes in the matter effectively to present objections to the validity of the petition on legal, constitutional, political and other grounds to show that deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem is unwarranted and will, in fact, militate against unity and harmony in India, apart from hurting the sentiments of Sindhis in India and elsewhere.

Bhagwan Gidwani further states that it would be the “call of the demented”  to seek to delete Sindh from the National Anthem. His final warning is that  it must be understood clearly and without any doubt and ambiguity, that Sindhis will not react kindly to any attempt to so “reconstruct” the National Anthem in order to exclude Sindh. His apprehension is that Sindhis may lose respect for , and fail to honor,  National Anthem if SINDH is excluded from it and may not even stand up when the National Anthem is sung or played.

Shabnam Trivedi

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