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I read and admired the report on Jagdip Chadha’s interview with Bhagwan S. Gidwani, author of "Return of the Aryans." in the India Cause of April 24. (Tagore’s Inspiration for Jana Gana Mana). It is a highly interesting interview and fully I agree with Bhagwan Gidwani`s view that `it would be the "call of the demented" to seek to delete Sindh from the National Anthem of India.

A thought strikes me that there may be some inspiration coming as an import from Pakistan to leave Sindh and Sindhu out from all literature of India. Sindh is a part of Pakistan and it appears unseemly to Pakistan that Sindh should figure prominently in India’s National Anthem even though a large number of Sindhis have settled in India since independence and the Partition of India.

If the issue of reconstructing the National Anthem with the objective of deleting Sindh from it was a single, isolated issue, there would not be the ground for this suspicion. But it is not at all a solitary incident. On the contrary, there seems to be continuous campaign to eliminate Sindh and the culture of Sindhis from the ‘dictionary’ of India. Pakistan naturally looks forward to this as Sindh was fully absorbed in Pakistan in 1947 and naturally, Pakistan resents the retention of Sindh in India’s dictionary.

Now let us look at the facts as they have clearly emerged:

Part I – The Beginning of the Mischief:

1. With the creation of Pakistan and absorption of Sindh in the territory of Pakistan in 1947, the misery of the Hindus in Sindh began and they were, immediately, faced with loot, rape and massacre or the unhappy alternative of conversion to Islam. This campaign of harassment was State-inspired. The Sindhi Hindus fled from Sindh to settle in India.

2. The Indian National Congress was against this mass exodus of Sindhi Hindus from Sindh as they felt that the Sindhi Hindus by fleeing from Sindh were reinforcing the Muslim League’s ‘Two Nation’ Theory.

3. The President of Sindh Congress, Dr. Choithram, however defied the order of the High Command of the Congress and began organizing massive movement of Sindhi Hindus to leave Sindh by every possible mode of transport. His answer to the High Command of the Congress was that not only the Muslim League but, in effect, the Congress too has fully subscribed to the ‘Two Nation’ theory or how else did the Congress agree to creation of Pakistan? As it is, the earlier repeated pleas of Dr. Choithram, the Sindh Congress President, were ignored by the Congress High Command that two districts, namely Tharparker and Khairpur, which had lager Hindu population than the Muslim population should be merged with India. But the Congress High Command paid no attention and did not even refer the matter to Lord Mountbatten or the Boundary Commission. Apparently the Congress leaders feared that it would only delay the long-awaited day of independence and their getting the power in their own hands while the Muslim League was fighting for every inch of extra territory to be merged with Pakistan and even wining and dining the staff of the Boundary Commission. It took a fight – and Dr. Choithram and his colleagues fought it well - for Sindhis who fled from Sindh in Pakistan to India to get full rights of citizenship in India.

4. In 1950, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Song “Jana Mana Gana” as the National Anthem of India. The Song includes a reference Sindh.

• When some Indian leaders became receptive to the idea of dropping reference to "Sindh" from India`s National Anthem, Dr. Choithram issued a statement, saying something on the following lines " If Sindh is deleted from the National anthem, I hope still hope that Sindhis in India will still stand respectfully when National Anthem is played, and not with Mental Reservations, though a shudder will surely pass through every Sindhi heart over this thoughtless & shameful idea. Was it not enough that our home was taken away? Etc. etc….." In those days there were possibly no Xerox or photo-copy machines, and many had to type hundreds if not thousands of letters enclosing copies of Dr. Choithram’s Statement with this veiled threat of not showing fullest respect if Sindh was dropped from national anthem. Soon, none spoke of dropping SINDH from Anthem.

Part II – The Mischief Now:

• All remained silent, then, on the question of the National Anthem of India and the reference therein to Sindh, until this year.

• This year, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice asking Government of India’s response to a Private Petition seeking deletion of `Sindh` from the National Anthem of India on the ground that 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 clearly is that Government of India could have forcefully intervened at the earlier stage before Supreme Court issued its notice to the Government. Government failed to do so. There is therefore speculation in some quarters as to how strongly will Government of India fight this battle in the Supreme Court.

• Now that India and Pakistan have started exchanging affectionate greetings to reach an amicable settlement over long standing dispute over Kashmir, many wonder: will not the Government forget about retaining Sindh in the National Anthem in order to keep Pakistan in good humor?

Part III – The Mischief Grows:

Swiftly following the fiasco of the Supreme Court’s notice to India Government asking why Sindh should not be deleted from the National Anthem, comes another assault on Sindhis. This time it is the announcement by India’s Minister of Tourism, Renuka Chowdhuri, who has declared that the River Sindhu flowing in Ladakh should be known as River Singhe. Her contention is that the local Buddhist name of the Sindhu River is Singhe River and the River is known as Sindhu River “only in Pakistan”. The Minister has, therefore, removed the word Sindhu from the Sindhu Darshan program under which a large number of Indians, particularly Sindhis, used to visit the Sindhu river in Ladakh and nearby places of pilgrimage; and renamed it as Singhe Darshan.

The Sindhi community, in particular, both in India and abroad, is appalled and has viewed this mutation as yet another assault on their cultural heritage from India Government.

The American Institute of Sindhulogy (AIS) based in United States has made a strong protest against the decision of India’s Minister of Tourism. They have called on Sindhi organizations to suspend their participation in the so-called “Singhe” Darshan program. Travel and Tourist Agencies in USA have also been similarly advised.

Now, confronted by decision of the Tourism Minister, to change the name of River Sindhu to River Singhe, Sindhis feel that all these endeavors are aimed at dispossessing Sindhis of their memory, roots and heritage.
In a memorandum, Mr. Bhagwan S. Gidwani, formerly India’s Director General of Civil Aviation and Additional Director General of Tourism, expressed distress at the caliber of the Minister of Tourism who refers to Sindhu as the river known only in Pakistan. According to Gidwani, this shows the Minister’s ignorance and lack of appreciation not only of the very roots and heritage of India but of Vedic literature as well. Gidwani points out that the Songs of Rig Veda, composed from 4600 BCE echo and resound as they chant with ecstasy and delight in reverence and devotion to Sindhu River Here is one verse from Rg Veda out of many:

“. . . Sindhu’s roar rises high above the earth, right up to the heavens above . . . Sindhu leads all other rivers just as a warrior-king leads the rest of warriors . . . Rich in fine steeds is Sindhu; Rich in gold; nobly fashioned is Sindhu; rich in ample wealth is Sindhu. . .”

Clearly, Gidwani points out that for the Rig-Vedic sages, the rivers par excellence were the Sindhu and Saraswati which are mentioned repeatedly, devotionally, and glowingly in the Vedas. In fact, no other river has been mentioned in Rig Veda as often as Sindhu River itself.

Taking only this into account, Gidwani demands, how anyone can accept the assertion of the Tourism Minister that “the local Buddhist name of the River is Singhe River and the River is known as Sindhu River only in Pakistan”. Gidwani has further stated that:

• The Tourism Minister lacks the legal and constitutional right to change the name of a river from the traditional name. I doubt if she has the right to change a street name or a house number. How does she think she can change the name of a river with such historic association, on an individual whim!

• If it is not the Minister’s individual whim, she must clearly explain where the inspiration comes from;

• She should be aware that by doing so she offends the feelings of the people of the land;

• She must produce authority for so doing and all correspondence of prior consultation she had in the matter;

• She must confirm that by her action, she did not intend to fortify the petition in the Supreme Court regarding the deletion of Sindh from the National Anthem

• By her action she did not intend to negative Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore’s song Jana Gana Mana which is the basis of the National Anthem and clearly, soulfully mentions Sindh(u);

• By her action, she did not intend to offend the feelings of the all the people who trace their origin from Sindhu Valley Civilization.

• She was not influenced in respect of this action by outside elements, which for obvious reasons apparently wish to exclude ‘Sindh’ and ‘Sindhu’ from the ‘dictionary’ of India.

Bhagwan S. Gidwani firmly believes that Minister Renuka’s action is arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional as also contrary to the interests of tourism. It cannot stand the scrutiny of public opinion or a Court, where the matter must be taken if she does not readily accede to the petition of the people

On the basis of Bhagwan S. Gidwani’s views, the American Institute of Sindhulogy has requested Shri Ram Jethmalani, formerly Minister of Law and Justice, to have a legal notice issued to the Minister Renuka Chowdhuri in case she does not immediately agree to reverse her decision.

Be that as it may, there are many who believe that friendly agents of an unfriendly country are at work to persuade friendly and obliging Indian politicians to remove Sindh and Sindhis from the national ‘dictionary’ of India as it irks Pakistan that the territory that they own should be given a place of some prominence in the Indian lexicon I cannot say for certain about the means that these friendly agents adopt or if they have a well structured fifth column net-work in high Government circles of India. But the fact is that they are highly successful.

In any case, what the Indian politicians must realize is that the road to peace is not achieved through senseless and pointless appeasements and sacrifice of principles. A pat from Pakistan for such gestures from India should never be misunderstood as their genuine desire to meet us half-way. No, they will need more concessions – many more – until they have achieved all they seek - and having got it all, thereafter, they will shed tears internationally and criticize India for denying their just and legitimate rights. They know that if 18 assaults fail and the 19th assault succeeds, surely, those 18 assaults were worthwhile too.

Shabnam Trivedi

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National Anthem – Deletion of Sindh? April 12, 2005