It's my first time on this forum and I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but anyway..
My grandparents were Hindu Sindhis from pre-partition British India, and they remained in Sindh after the partition, but they emigrated to the US a few years later citing violence towards the Hindus and an unstable environment. My mother was born in the States, and she married a guy (my father) from the Sindhi community. I was born in the early 90's in an English speaking household. My parents are proficient in Sindhi, but I never really picked it up because of the environment (you'd be hard-pressed to find any Sindhi speakers in the U.S.) and my lack of interest in the language.
I've started taking a keen interest in my heritage as of late, but the thing is that I realised that I don't really have a 'homeland'. My family's from Sindh, but they were ostracised in the years after the partition and made to leave. I guess I have more in common with India than with Pakistan because I happen to speak Hindi well, but I have no relatives in India or any other connection to the country. I don't identify with Pakistan either for obvious reasons (my grandparents went through a lot at the hands of its people... and besides, isn't Islam an integral part of the Pakistani identity? How/where do I fit in?). I don't really know how to classify myself and I know it doesn't really matter in the 21st century, but I'm kind of in the midst of an identity crisis. so yeah. any people in my position? I'd love to hear from you guys. Like if I were to visit Pakistan someday, would I be considered a part of the community despite my faith? If I were to visit India, would I be considered Indian or the Indian equivalent to a muhajir but from Pakistan?
My grandparents were Hindu Sindhis from pre-partition British India, and they remained in Sindh after the partition, but they emigrated to the US a few years later citing violence towards the Hindus and an unstable environment. My mother was born in the States, and she married a guy (my father) from the Sindhi community. I was born in the early 90's in an English speaking household. My parents are proficient in Sindhi, but I never really picked it up because of the environment (you'd be hard-pressed to find any Sindhi speakers in the U.S.) and my lack of interest in the language.
I've started taking a keen interest in my heritage as of late, but the thing is that I realised that I don't really have a 'homeland'. My family's from Sindh, but they were ostracised in the years after the partition and made to leave. I guess I have more in common with India than with Pakistan because I happen to speak Hindi well, but I have no relatives in India or any other connection to the country. I don't identify with Pakistan either for obvious reasons (my grandparents went through a lot at the hands of its people... and besides, isn't Islam an integral part of the Pakistani identity? How/where do I fit in?). I don't really know how to classify myself and I know it doesn't really matter in the 21st century, but I'm kind of in the midst of an identity crisis. so yeah. any people in my position? I'd love to hear from you guys. Like if I were to visit Pakistan someday, would I be considered a part of the community despite my faith? If I were to visit India, would I be considered Indian or the Indian equivalent to a muhajir but from Pakistan?
