confused sindhi

[Winchester]

Look Bro...lets have a Litmus Test
If you feel yourself strong enough from Inside ,Moreover, you are Tall, Brave & Fair in Complexion, then beleive it or not you're PAKISTANI. If thats not the case then definately OPTION B. suits you best

lets leave out the TALL and Fair in complexion part
this just makes us look bad

 

[Winchester]

I've never understood the South Asian obsession with our appearances. I've seen a lot of South Asians on the internet openly expressing racist sentiment eg: Indians calling Pakistanis terrorists and scum and Pakistanis calling Indians rapists, dark, short, etc.. It just reeks of the colonial mindset and suggests that we are still mentally colonised by the British to believe that fairer is better. I am quite pale, but I don't see a difference between me and anyone else, and don't understand the obsession with fairness.

Such childish nonsense just scares the South Asian diaspora away from their roots, their community and we should just rise above it instead of resorting to such pettiness. I study in a fairly multicultural high school and there are a few Indians and Pakistanis in my year, and there are smart and attractive people on both sides.



Regardless, I shall go ahead with my plans to visit Pakistan and also check out the northern areas, if I can spare the time.

Nice sentiments bro
If you do go ahead with the trip especially to the Northern Areas believe me its worth every penny
If you pass by Islamabad you can be my guest

 

[Rafi]

Bro you are Sindhi and would be welcome in your homeland, we have some problems due to the influence of extremism, but in the long run we will defeat them.

 

[DRaisinHerald]

Look Bro...lets have a Litmus Test
If you feel yourself strong enough from Inside ,Moreover, you are Tall, Brave & Fair in Complexion, then beleive it or not you're PAKISTANI. If thats not the case then definately OPTION B. suits you best

I'm ashamed people like you call yourself Pakistani. Low IQ imbecile. Kade chawlian marna band kardeya karo.

 

[DRaisinHerald]

Look OP, you're an American like millions of your brethren. Many white Americans, who are often mixed, cannot call any one country in Europe their 'homeland'; same case with the blacks (or 'African-American, for political correctness if you will). They are all proud Americans and wouldn't have it any other way. You should feel the same way too.

However, your roots lie in the Subcontinent, in the land that is called 'Sindh' (be it part of whichever political state), and you yourself are an ethnic Sindhi, therefore that is your ancestry.
But believe it or not, after having lived your entire life in the US you'd find it very hard to connect to any part of the Subcontinent, homeland or otherwise. It is very different environment.

 

[livingdead]

Welcome to pdf.
I dont understand the need of identity much, I mean we are all humans. I know because you are from an ethnic minority community in USA, you will have more acute sense of identity than others, but as you grow older, your identity is going to be 'you' not what group you belong to.

 

[KingMamba]

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?

You are Pakistani.

 

[KingMamba]

If you were born in the early 90's how can you be only 16? Surely you have to be at least around 20, if you stretch early 90's to 1994-95.

Always the detective, I think this is like the fourth time I have seen you catch someone like this. Anyway maybe for security reasons he lied about his age.

 

[KingMamba]

Look OP, you're an American like millions of your brethren. Many white Americans, who are often mixed, cannot call any one country in Europe their 'homeland'; same case with the blacks (or 'African-American, for political correctness if you will). They are all proud Americans and wouldn't have it any other way. You should feel the same way too.

However, your roots lie in the Subcontinent, in the land that is called 'Sindh' (be it part of whichever political state), and you yourself are an ethnic Sindhi, therefore that is your ancestry.
But believe it or not, after having lived your entire life in the US you'd find it very hard to connect to any part of the Subcontinent, homeland or otherwise. It is very different environment.

He might find it hard to connect but it will still always be his motherland, even if you are born here people ask where are you from originally so one should always be connected to their ancestral homeland.

 

[arj771]

Welcome to pdf.
I dont understand the need of identity much, I mean we are all humans. I know because you are from an ethnic minority community in USA, you will have more acute sense of identity than others, but as you grow older, your identity is going to be 'you' not what group you belong to.

That's true. I'd like to admit that my mini 'identity crisis' first came about when I started high school and my peers asked me about my background. I just told them that I'm Indian because that's pretty much how my parents identify themselves in public, although they ditch the term and identify themselves as 'Sindhi' when they're in the presence of other South Asians. I ended up digging one day and interrogated my nani about her past <> because I was curious about my identity, and she told me about the partition and everything else (she also identifies as Indian). When we fill out official forms, we've always ticked the "Asian Indian" box instead of the "Other Asian" box (which has Pakistani in small print next to it). So as you can see, I've had a somewhat confusing childhood. I think the effect is more profound for me because I'm just a third-gen American as opposed to my white friends who have American ancestors from like the 1800's. I wonder how my new-found knowledge will affect how I officially identify myself when I grow up. As progressive as America is, there is still a lot of emphasis on labels.

 

[dil_dil]

I have always maintained that the biggest loser of Partition was the Sindhi Hindu (non Muslim) community as they lost all of their homeland to an Islamic republic. There should have been a partition of Sindh like Punjab and Bengal and Sindhi non Muslims should have had their part of Sindh in India.

Sindhi hindus were given Kutch region. Anyway even now there are only couple of million sindhi hindus so imagine back then.

 

[Dalit]

look it is quite simple.

Most people calling themselves Pakistanis in Pakistan all have Indian origin. So does your parents and grand parents.

If you define your identity = ethnicity, nationality, residence, religion and culture in your case it will be - Sindhi, American, American, Hindu, American. Your grand parents' culture is different from yours.

A typical Pakistani in Lahore will by that definition be Punjabi, Pakistani, Pakistani, Muslim, Lahori. Notice, the cultural diversity within Pakistan is so vast that there is no such thing as Pakistani culture whereas the similarity between a current day Texan and somebody Wisconsin outweigh their differences - hence Lahori, not Pakistani.

Thank you stars for it by the way.

I don't find a Pakthun or Baloch very Indian. In fact, they are not Indian in any aspect. Historically, culturally, ethnically etc. There might be some similarities between some Pakistani regions that border India, but that's all. Pakistan is compromised of so many ethnicities that calling it "India" is just plain ridiculous. Pakistan is a melting pot of so many ethnicities and races. It's a very fascinating country.

 

[suresh1773]

In India you will gain no respect. You will be treated as an outsider who doesn't belong. Thats how Hindus were treated who went there from Pakistan. This is not a joke. You can test it yourself. You will be treated as an outsider. And yes. You will be considered a part of the Pakistani community despite your faith. We even have Hindu army recruits. Do you happen to know a man named Dinesh who is now in the army?

Stop this Nonsense,
Every year thousands of Sindhi Hindus migrate from Sindh,Pakistan to India due to the terrible law & order situation in Sindh. There r reports that many Hindu girls had been kidnapped & forcibly converted. Infact the Hindu Population in Pakistan is fast declining,not only that even Sikhs from Peshawar are also migrating to India. In the last few months many Sikh businessman & shop keepers have been shot dead.
In Pakistan everything is heavily Islamizied whether it is trade,commerce,Maths,History,next in line is Islamic Banking. Mullahs demand religious column in Pass ports.
Lastly I have been to Europe & Canada,I have come across Pakistanis who will pass like Indians.

PS: There is a thriving Sindhi community in my home town Mumbai. U will find Sindhis in all fields whether it is Bollywood,Politics, Some of the prominent & famous Sindhis r Actor Govinda Ahuja,Kitu Gidwani,Asrani,Hiten Tejwani,Atab Shivdasani,Mrs Sadhana,Lal Krishna Advani

 

[SarthakGanguly]

I have always maintained that the biggest loser of Partition was the Sindhi Hindu (non Muslim) community as they lost all of their homeland to an Islamic republic. There should have been a partition of Sindh like Punjab and Bengal and Sindhi non Muslims should have had their part of Sindh in India.

Nothing is permanent. It was a mistake. It is still possible to partition Sindh some opportune moment in the future. Difficult, may be, but not impossible.

 

[Dalit]

What say you? I saw you just one day on the forum and then you disappeared. We need a Hindu Pakistani worldview on this forum to make the forum a representative of the entire Pakistani community, including Pakistani Hindus. I would love to see you back on the forum.

Yes, I'm a Pakistani Hindu and my take on the issue is similar to yours and other Pakistani brothers/sisters. As you have correctly pointed out, our founding fathers made sacrifices for our beloved Pakistan. We didn't get our motherland for free. Our grandfathers and great grandfathers shed their tears and blood for this soil. We did this because we needed our own home. A home which wouldn't discriminate and treat others as second class citizens. Our founding fathers made no distinction in race, colour or creed. The abundant speeches of our beloved and respected Quaid are a well-documented testimony of this fact. In short, Pakistan was created for a very noble cause. Pakistan is supposed to be a democratic Islamic state that tolerates all its inhabitants. At the same time, Pakistan is meant to be a progressive and a developed state which is supposed to cater for its citizens. That's my take on Pakistan as a Pakistani Hindu. I firmly believe in this Pakistan. We will struggle till our last breath to achieve this goal.