MOHABAT-E SINDH SUJAGGI MARCH BY AWAMI TAHREEK

Via Kalavanti Raja

Awami Tahreek has planned to start a bestir march bannered as “Mohabat-e-Sindh Sujagi March” on 16th February 2013 and shall visit 13 districts of Sindh. Dynamic young leader of Sindh shall address in about 40 cities to make people aware and protest against: 1. Anti-Sindh Local Govt Act 2012. 2. Violation of SC’s orders on Voter List Verification 3. Corruption 4. Price-hike 5. Unemployment

Schedule of March:

16th Feb: JamShoro, Khanoth, Manjhand, Sun, Sehwan, Bhan, Dadu, Phulji, Seeta, KN.Shah, Mehar, Warah.
17th Feb: Nasirabad, Wagan, Qambar, Larkano, Rato Dero, Dakhan, Garhi Yasin, Shikarpur, Sultan Kot, Humayun, Jacobabad, Thul.
18th Feb: Tangwani, Kandhkot, Kashmor, Gudoo, Obawro, Daharki, Mathelo, Ghotki, Pano Aqil, Rohri, Sukkur, Khairpur.
19th Feb: Gambat, Ranipur, Hingorja, Kotri Kabir, Halani, Kandiaro, Bhirya, Noshahro, Moro, Shahpur, Dolatpur, Qazi Ahmed, Sakrand, Saedabad, Hala, BhitShah, Kheber, Matiari.

Sindh is changing; effects to be visible during polls: Ayaz Palijo

KARACHI: Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo has claimed that Sindh is changing and the effects of this change will be visible during the upcoming general election in the country. He feels the National Assembly should have at least 1,000 seats so that people from poor and middle class segments of society could also contest the elections.

He believes the PPP-led government may hand over charge to anyone to prolong its rule. He regrets that the government has not implemented even a single part of the Supreme Court verdict on the Karachi law and order situation.

Ayaz Latif Palijo in Awaam ki Adalat on Geo news

The interview of Ayaz Latif Palejo available at ZEM-TV is quite interesting and worth listening in terms of content, articulation by Ayaz Latif Palejo, aggressiveness of interviewer and reaction of audience.

In my view, Ayaz Latif Palejo is one of the most able Sindhi leaders unmatched by any with an astute presence of mind and the ability to articulate very difficult points with ease and in an extremely audience-friendly manner. He explains very well the ill effects of discriminatory and black SPLGA, particularly SPLGA’s current aim at dividing Sindh and dividing Pakistan in the long term. Although, I do not agree with Ayaz’s assertion that SPLGA is part of grand scheme put-together by Western powers to create a separate country consisting of Karachi, Gawadar, and other areas of Baluchistan out of present-day Pakistan. How would Baloch nationalists and MQM-wallas are going to eat from the same plate is mind boggling! I believe there is not a single Baluch leader or common man who would opt for an arrangement that make Baluch to jump from Punjabi frying pan into the MQM fire. The cruelties the Baluch are suffering now would be a chicken feed when they have to deal with MQM having seen the brutality of MQM-wallas on Baloch-Sindhi areas of Karachi. However, his explanation that argues that SPLGA creates two different systems in Sindh just appease MQM is quite convincing. He makes an excellent case that the SPLGA is a discriminatory law comparable to South Africa’s apartheid regulations. He says how come Karachi mayor will have control over fisheries around Karachi’s shoreline but not the mayor of Thatto? He correctly argues that no mayor in the world has such insane powers and mind-boggling unaccountability as allowed in the SPLGA. Elected only by few Union Council members (in case of Karachi about 40-50), removing a mayor from office is more difficult than any other office including that of the President, Chief of Joint Staff, and Prime Minister of Pakistan and elsewhere in the world. On top of of this SPLGA imposes a draconian provision that in the event that an impeachment proceeding against a mayor fails, the union council member who introduces the impeachment motion will have to resign from his/her seat. There is no where in the world where such an undemocratic law exists. He also makes a clear case that PPP’s only manifesto is to prolong its rule. They would barter away any right of Sindhi people only if they can extend their rule for three more days – these three days would mean millions of more being transferred to Lisbon and other cities of Europe.

The interviewer of the discussion was extremely aggressive, often engaging in pressing Ayaz Latif Palijo and insisting on getting the answer he wanted from Ayaz Latif Palejo. I must compliment Ayaz Latif for not loosing his cool and while smiling and telling the interviewer again and again as to why he insists on receiving a reply that he likes. Nevertheless, in the end, one could see from the face of the interviewer that although he failed to ruffle Ayaz Latif Palejo, he had an expression on his face that showed that the interviewer felt that Ayaz’s arguments were rational and would resonate with all people except the die-hard MQM-wallas and their most ardent PPP supporters.

The reaction of audience when Ayaz made points was the most surprising aspect of this interview. I was pleasantly surprised to see majority of audience rooting for Ayaz Latif. They showed their support for annulment of SPLGA with each point Ayaz made. They laughed rousingly as Ayaz would joke about the foolishness of the arguments of the proponents of SPLGA.

Indeed, I would recommend that it would be worthwhile to invest 30 minutes of your valuable time to listen to crisp and crystal clear explanation of the arguments that SPLGA is indeed a black and apartheid law, only worthy of dust bin to which it rightfully belongs. Indeed, only the narrow-minded and shallow minds can conceive such a badly written law that violates many democratic norms, without any adequate checks and balances, and discrimination unseen thus far in Pakistan.

About the writer – Mr. Khalid Hashmani is a Washington DC-based veteran human rights activist. He is the founding President of Sindhi Association of North America (SANA) and Chief coordinator of Sindhi Excellence Team (SET) that participates in advocacy activities on behalf of the people of Sindh.

PPP policies have put Sindh’s integrity at stake: AT chief Ayaz Latif Palijo

THATTO, Oct 21: Awami Tehreek (AT) staged a big public meeting near Thatto Press Club on Sunday to mobilise the masses against the Sindh People’s Local Government Act, 2012. AT chief Ayaz Latif Palijo spoke at the rally which was attended by members and supporters of its different wings, including Sindhyani Tehreek and Hindu Sujaaq Tehreek, besides a large number of AT activists.

Mr Palijo told the gathering that Sindh was passing through the most crucial phase in the history of the subcontinent as it was facing dismemberment by virtue of the newly introduced law. He asked the people of Sindh to join in the peaceful struggle launched by the Sindh Bachayo Committee (SBC) in order to wage a vigorous battle to defend the province and safeguard the legitimate rights of its people.

Mr Palijo severely criticised the Pakistan People’s Party for “betraying the political forces which had always been helping it to reach the power corridors,” and observed that the party’s so called policy of reconciliation had put Sindh’s integrity at stake while the political expediency during its tenure has earned the country a bad name.

Resistance in Sindh

After legislating over the highly controversial and popularly rejected local government bill, which according to majority population of Sindh is a virtual attempt to divide Sindh, has caused an abrupt resistance movement in the province.

Four activists have been killed so far by the police in the streets or through torture at police station. Hundreds of activists are detained. Street battles have been reported in the various towns including the Nawabshah, the hometown of president Zardari.

Almost all cities and towns are protesting every day. On October 1, 2012, whole province was on the strike, and thereafter, strike has lasted for fifth day in many towns until October 5, 20012. On October 4, thousands of the people blocked the national highway for six hours. The highway connects rest of the country with major ports of Pakistan in Karachi.

The people’s resistance started on October 1, when Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) jointly legislated over highly controversial and popularly rejected Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2012.

Read more » Links of selected news and articles on ongoing people’s resistance movement against local government act and for Right to Rule their Historical Motherland

Sindh nationalists observe strike against local govt ordinance

By: A B Arisar

UMERKOT: Strike was observed on Wednesday in different districts of Sindh, on the call of Sindh Bachayo Commitee, to protest against People’s Local Government Ordinance.

The Sindh Bachayo Committee (SBC) includes all the nationalist parties of Sindh; Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, Awami Tehreek, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Sindh United Party are part of it.

Public transport remained thin in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sanghar , Hyderabad and Tharparkar districts. Rallies were taken out by nationalists in Mithi, Naukot, Sanghar, Khipro, Mirpurkhas and other districts and its cities.

In Mithi a rally was taken out from press club to Kashmir Chowk, Ghansham Malhi of Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party led the rally, protestors also observed sit-in at Gulan je mori Naukot, Wango mor on Badin- Mithi road and blocked vehicular traffic for three hours.

“Wahdat e Sindh” Mehfil in Dubai.

Dubai based Sindhies organized a historical event of “WAHDAT E SINDH” MEHFIL in Spring Dubai last night where The well known Sindhi Singer Ustad Shafi Faqeer performed “The Best” of his Sindhi Songs.

Ustaad Shafi Faqeer performed several times in different occasions in Dubai but the event of last night was Special and unforgettable. 5 hours long Sindhi Songs, chanting and dancing audience has given such power to all Sindhies who Loves motherland Sindh. He sang the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Shaikh Ayaz, Ustad Bukhari, Akash Ansari and Kabeera till midnight and Everyone enjoyed each and every Song… Jeay Sindh Wat’n and Long live the Unity and Integrity of Sindh.

Courtesy: Sindhi e-lists/e-groups, 16 Sept. 2012.

Sindh saviours’ garlanded in Lahore

By: Khalid Hasnain

LAHORE, Sept 7: The Awami Tehrik’s Islamabad-bound ‘Muhabbat-i-Sindh train march’ reached Lahore on Friday in a bid to mobilise people against reintroduction of the Local Government System, proposed plan for establishing Zulfikarabad and alleged corruption by the PPP and the MQM in Sindh.

“These poor people have not come here for recreation but have left their homes just to save Sindh through Muhabbat-i-Sindh rally from the corrupt PPP-led coalition,” AT chief Ayaz Latif Palijo told a big gathering at the Lahore railway station. This is the first extensive public mobilisation campaign against the coalition government by any left-wing political party.

The train march was warmly greeted at all major railway stations in Punjab, including Rahim Yar Khan, Khanewal, Sahiwal and Okara.

At Lahore, scores of Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) workers led by Farooq Tariq and trade unionists and activists received the participants by hoisting their party flags. The AT workers responded to the gesture with joyous dancing to national and Sindhi songs played through an electronic music system installed by the march managers in train.

Mohabbat-e-Sindh Train March – Sept 6, 2012

PPP has surrendered again, Police, Revenue and other imp subjects will be given to MQM Mayors.

Lets join hands, Awami Tahreek and Sindhiyani Tahreek will start a Mohabbat-e-Sindh Train March on 6th Sept 2012 against Restoration of Musharaf-MQM Local Govt Ord, Zulfiqarabad, Water-Shortage, Unemployment, Crimes, Price-hike and Load-Shedding. Plz join and support.

Train March Schedule: Stop—– Arrival—— Departure-–

KARACHI CANT 08:00:00 am, LANDHI- 08:29:00– 08:31:00, JUNGSHAHI- 09:19:00– 09:21:00, JHIMPIR- 09:46:00– 09:46:00, KOTRI JN- 10:35:00– 10:37:00, HYDERABAD JN- 10:50:00– 11:00:00, TANDO ADAM JN- 11:58:00– 12:00:00 SHAHDADPUR- 12:17:00– 12:19:00, NAWABSHAH JN- 12:50:00– 12:52:00, PAD IDAN JN- 13:40:00– 13:42:00, BHIRIA ROAD- 13:55:00– 13:57:00, MAHRABPUR JN- 14:21:00– 14:23:00, SETHARJA- 14:39:00– 14:41:00, RANIPUR RIYASAT- 14:56:00– 14:58:00, GAMBAT- 15:16:00– 15:18:00, KHAIRPUR- 15:50:00– 15:52:00, ROHRI JN- 16:30:00– 16:55:00, PANO AKIL- 17:23:00– 17:25:00, GHOTKI- 17:51:00– 17:53:00, MIRPUR MATHELO- 18:20:00– 18:22:00, DAHARKI- 18:38:00– 18:40:00, SADIKABAD- 19:25:00– 19:27:00, RAHIM YAR KHAN- 19:57:00– 19:59:00, KHANPUR JN- 20:52:00– 21:00:00, LIAQUATPUR- 21:33:00– 21:35:00, DERA NAWAB SAHIB- 22:06:00– 22:08:00, SAMASATA JN- 22:50:00– 22:52:00, BAHAWALPUR- 23:07:00– 23:11:00, SHUJABAD- 00:11:00– 00:13:00, MULTAN CANT- 00:50:00– 00:58:00, KHANEWAL JN- 01:45:00– 02:10:00, CHICHAWATNI- 03:32:00– 03:34:00, SAHIWAL- 04:22:00– 04:27:00, OKARA- 04:53:00– 04:55:00, PATTOKI- 05:29:00– 05:31:00, KOT RADHA KISHN- 05:58:00– 06:00:00, RAIWIND JN- 06:40:00– 06:42:00, KOT LAKHPAT- 07:21:00– 07:23:00, LAHORE JN- 08:00:00– 08:30:00, GUJRANWALA- 09:28:00– 09:33:00, WAZIRABAD JN- 10:10:00– 10:12:00, GUJRAT- 10:28:00– 10:30:00, LALA MUSA JN- 10:35:00– 11:00:00, KHARIAN CANT- 11:13:00– 11:18:00, JHELUM- 11:40:00– 11:42:00, GUJAR KHAN- 13:10:00– 13:12:00, CHAK LALA- 14:02:00– 14:04:00, RAWALPINDI- 14:15:00– 14:40:00

Ayaz Latif Palijo comes for Lyari rally despite govt. ban

SINDH – KARACHI: Awami Tehreek (AT) leader Ayaz Latif Palijo has entered in Lyari for the party’s scheduled ‘Mohbat Sindh Rally’ despite the Sindh government’s ban over public gatherings in the province, SAMAA reported on Sunday.

Palijo managed to come at the venue of the rally. He came by a bus.

On the other hand, the government has closed the road with containers leading towards the rally venue.

Yesterday, Sindh Home Ministry issued an arrest warrant for Palijo ….

Read more » SAMAA

I fear bloodshed in Pakistan: says Ayaz Latif Palijo, President Awami Tehreek

Ayaz Latif Palijo is a Sindhi activist, lawyer, writer and a politician. He was born in Hyderabad to a Baloch mother, the women’s rights activist and artist Jeejee Zarina Baloch, and a South Asian leftist father and founder of Awami Tahreek, Rasool Bux Palijo. He is also known for his aggressive speeches and outspoken attitude towards the dictatorships and feudalism and has remained at the forefront of the movement for Peace, human rights and women’s rights in Pakistan. The language of the interview is urdu (Hindi).

Courtesy: YouTube

Mending fences: PPP cabinet body off to a bad start

By: Jan Khaskheli

SINDH – Karachi :- A Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) federal cabinet committee, which was scheduled to meet politicians, writers, intellectuals, and civil society activists in Sindh to allay growing resentment against the party, faced a number of impediments during a recent trip to Hyderabad, The News has learnt.

Contrary to the rumours, the committee did not meet with Awami Tehreek (AT) President Ayaz Latif Palijo, the man considered one of the main stakeholders in the politics of  Sindh. Palijo told The News that he demanded the committee to show its terms of reference to prove how serious they were in alleviating the grievances of the people of Sindh.

“Their seriousness can be gauged by the fact that they preferred to discuss a very important issue with a handful of civil society representatives instead of political parties,” he regretted. The committee was also boycotted by a number of writers and civil society representatives, who questioned the authority of the body. When the committee met with members of the civil society, only a handful of academics and two representatives of nongovernmental organisations were present on the occasion.

The majority of participants remained silent during the meeting, while the rest largely raised irrelevant issues such as the falling educational standards and water shortage.Veteran scholar and writer Mohammed Ibrahim Joyo, who was supposed to represent writers and the civil society, plainly refused to participate in the meeting. Similarly, the Sindhi Adabi Sangat (SAS), a literary body that claims running about 120 branches with hundreds of writers and poets, also boycotted the meeting.

“We had a number of demands to put before the committee, but we refused to attend because the organisers prohibited us from raising any controversial topic during the meeting,” SAS Secretary Dr Mushtaq Phul told The News.

A number of civil society representatives rued that the police were cracking down on nationalists. They also claimed that those, who tried to express solidarity with the victims of the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally, had been “whisked away” by the law-enforcement agencies.

Many PPP activists have also expressed their reservations over their party’s silence on the attack on the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally that left 12 people dead.

The spokesman for the Sindh United Party said his party has announced an all parties’ conference in Karachi, Sindh on May 29 in which all parties have been invited – except for the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. “They [the PPP and the MQM] are involved in the conspiracy to divide Sindh,” he maintained.

Although Sindh has traditionally been a PPP stronghold, the increasing political instability, the calls for the division of the province, the deteriorating law and order situation in the rural areas, the kidnapping and subsequent murder of political activists including Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz General Secretary Muzaffar Bhutto and the attack on the Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally have left much of Sindh disillusioned with the current leadership.

Courtesy: The News

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-111062-Mending-fences-PPP-cabinet-body-off-to-a-bad-start

Manto and Sindh – Excellent write up of Haider Nizamani, it helps to understand why Sindh is tolerant and secular society in nature.

Punjab at the time of partition in 1947.

Manto and Sindh

By Haider Nizamani

SINDH has no equivalent of Saadat Hasan Manto as a chronicler of Partition. And the absence of a Manto-like figure in Sindhi literature on that count is good news. It shows the resilience of Sindh’s tolerant culture at a time when Punjab had slipped into fratricidal mayhem.

While Amrita Pritam called out for Waris Shah to rise up from the grave to witness the blood-drenched rivers of Punjab, Sindhi woman writers such as Sundari Uttamchandani were not forced to ask Shah Latif to do the same.

The tragedy of Partition inflicted different types of pain on the Punjabi and Sindhi communities and these peculiarities shadowed and shaped post-Partition communal relations between people of different faiths who traced their roots to these regions. What Manto endured and witnessed in 1947 and afterwards, became, through his eloquent writings, simultaneously an elegy and indictment of Punjab losing its sense of humanity at the altar of religious politics. The political air in Sindh was filled with religious demagogy but it did not turn into a communal orgy.

Urdu literati and historians interested in Partition and its impact on the subcontinent have used Manto’s birth centennial, that was recently observed, to remind us of his scathing sketches of lives destroyed by Partition. Ayesha Jalal in her essay ‘He wrote what he saw — and took no sides’ published in the May issue of Herald, writes Manto “looked into the inner recesses of human nature…” to “fathom the murderous hatred that erupted with such devastating effect” …in “his own home province of Punjab at the dawn of a long-awaited freedom”.

There was no eruption of murderous hatred between Sindhi Hindus and Muslims. They did not lynch each other en masse as was the case in Punjab. The violence against Sindhi Hindus and their mass migration to India was a tragic loss scripted, orchestrated and implemented by non-Sindhis in Sindh. As result of varying trajectories of interfaith relations during the Partition period, the intelligentsia of Sindh and Punjab evolved and adopted different views towards Hindus and India.

The collective memory of the Partition days in Punjab is marked more by the stories and silence of the victims and perpetrators of violence. Even the journey towards the safer side was fraught with danger. People who survived had bitter memories of the ‘other’.

The Sindh story is not the same. Ram Jethmalani, a leading lawyer in India today and a member of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was a young advocate in Karachi in 1947. His senior partner was none other than A.K. Brohi, a right-wing Sindhi lawyer who became federal law minister during the Zia period.

Jethmalani has no compunction in saying that there was no love lost between the two because of Partition. Jethmalani stayed back in Karachi and only left for Mumbai in 1948 when Brohi told him he could not take responsibility for his safety as the demography of Karachi had changed with the arrival of migrants from the northern Indian plains. That arrival was accompanied by violence against Sindhi Hindus.

Kirat Babani, a card-carrying communist, chose to stay in Sindh after 1947 and was thrown in prison in 1948. Released 11 months on the condition of leaving Karachi within 24 hours, Kirat took up a job with Comrade Hyder Bux Jatoi, pioneer of the peasant struggle in Sindh. The administration pressured Jatoi for harbouring an atheist. Jatoi advised, much against his desire, Kirat to go to India. Even the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that groomed L.K. Advani, a native of Karachi who later became India’s deputy prime minister, acknowledges that Sindhi Muslims did not push Hindus out of the province.

An other Mohabat-e-Sindh rally shows love and peace in Larkano – Keeping Sindh intact: People of Sindh will do anything to save their motherland, says Palijo

Keeping the province intact: People of Sindh will do anything to save their motherland, says Palijo

SUKKUR: Thousands of people participated in the Mohabat-e-Sindh rally in Larkano on Friday evening to express their support for the unity of the province.

The president of the Awami Tehreek, Ayaz Latif Palijo, led the rally which started from Shaikh Zayed Morr. It progressed through Rice Canal Road, Lahori Muhalla, Qaim Shah Bukhari Road, Bunder Road and Pakistan Chowk before coming to a halt at Jinnah Bagh Chowk. People chanted slogans in favour of Sindh and lashed out at the people who were conspiring against it.

“Government officials want to know who gave permission to the Awami Tehreek to organise a rally on May 22, but I want to know who is allowing all the demonstrations in favour of a Mohajir Suba,” said Palijo while addressing the rally at Jinnah Bagh Chowk. “They are even marching towards the red zone without any difficulties.” He also responded to the statements made by Interior Minister Rehman Malik that the Awami Tehreek had not sought permission for its Karachi rally. “Rehman Malik is a liar. I wrote to the deputy commissioner and the SSP South to seek permission.” He added that “instead of ordering a probe into the killing of men and women, Malik is busy trying to find ….

Read more» The Express Tribune

Ayaz Palijo says he will take revenge of the murders, not from innocent Urdu-speaking people, but from terrorists

Karachi violence: Awami Tehreek vows to ‘avenge every drop of blood shed’

By Web Desk

KARACHI: Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo vowed to avenge ‘every single drop of blood’ shed during riots in Karachi, which erupted after gunmen opened fire on a peaceful protest rally on Tuesday. “These murders will not go unnoticed. Those shedding blood on the streets of Karachi, Sindh will be held accountable.”

Palijo announced that his party will take revenge of the murders “not from innocent Urdu-speaking people, but from the terrorists”. He added that the police left the areas as soon as firing began and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) “stood there, watching Sindhis being killed”.

He told the media that his party received text messages from a certain political party last night, threatening a repeat of the May 12 scenario during the rally today. “During our rally, containers were placed to block our entry into certain areas. But when those supporting the Mohajir province were rallying, they were even allowed to enter the red zones, and were also given juices.”

“I thank PML-N and JI who supported us in the protest,” he said and also thanked the Urdu-speaking people who joined Awami Tehreek’s protest today.

Over 10 people were killed and 23 injured in violence that erupted after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a peaceful rally organised by the Awami Tehreek and …..

Read m0re  » The Express Tribune

A shameful attack against humanity in Karachi, Indiscriminate firing on peaceful Mohabbat-e-Sindh Rally, 12 killed, 30 injured, initial reports

Karachi plunges into violence; 11 killed

KARACHI: At least 11 people were killed and more than 30 injured as violence erupted in several parts of the old city following firing on Awami Tehreek’s ‘Mohabbat Sindh’ rally, Geo News reported.

Unknown armed men opened fire on the rally when it reached old city area. Hospital sources have confirmed receiving 11 dead bodies and many injured.

A reporter and a cameraman of a private news channel were among the injured. Several shops and vehicles have also been set ablaze by the miscreants. ….

Read more » The News

More details » BBC urdu

Must watch and listen – Ayaz Latif Palijo on Challenges & Threats to Sindh

The language of of speech is Sindhi.

» YouTube

Save Sindhyat, Save Rinkal Kumari

Rinkal Kumari, a Hindu Girl, from Mirpur Mathelo Sindh Pakistan, was kidnapped on 23rd February 2012 while she was returning home from her college. After being kidnapped, she was taken to Bharchundi Shareef (a small village near Mirpur Mathelo, Sindh, Pakistan) and was put under the custody of Feudal named Mian Mithoo (Member of Assembly). The victim, Rinkal, was harrowed by Mian Mithoo to forcefully convert to Islam and then get married with Naveed Shah, a resident of the same area. Under defenseless circumstances along with physical abuse, Rinkal married Naveed Shah. Disturbed and agonized by the situation, Mr. Raj Kumar (Rinkal’s Uncle) and Rinkal’s family approached the local law enforcement to seek justice but to no avail. The Policemen, negatively influenced by Mian Mithoo, denied the rights of Rinkal’s family to lodge a complaint.After 5 hours of struggle, pleading and literal beseech, the Police finally accepted a written complaint from Rinkal’s family and issued a First Information Report (F.I.R) saying that the case will be presented at 10 am 24th February 2012 in Ghotki Local Court.

Plan Changed and the victim was taken to a different court in Mirpur Mathelo and hearing was rescheduled to 9:00am from 10:00am. These location and time changes were influenced by Mian Mithoo and Rinkal family were not informed about this change. However, knowing this information from an unknown source, Rinkal’s family reached that place early but they were blocked from entering the court premises by private gunmen (hired by Mian Mithoo) with heavy artillery as seen in the pictures and video clips on different Tv channels. In the video clip below Ayaz Latif  Palijo Protesting against forced Religion conversion The language of the Bolta Pakistan program is urdu (Hindi).

Courtesy: ARY News Tv » (Bolta Pakistan with Nusrat Javed, Mustaq Minhas and Ayaz Latif Palijo, March 06, 2012)

Awami Tehreek’s Rasool Bux Palijo turns 82

By Z Ali

Excerpts;

HYDERABAD: He’s a criminal lawyer by profession and the brains behind the Awami Tehreek – he also turned 82 on Wednesday. Rasool Bux Palijo celebrated his birthday by cutting the cake with 20,000 people …

…. He asked the nationalists to get the people of Sindh together to fight for Balochistan. “If you [the Sindhis] don’t then it will be your turn next,” he said.

According to the AT’s president Ayaz Latif Palijo, the country needs a new social contract. “The centre should only control foreign policy, defence and the central bank,” he said. “Sindh contributes 69 per cent of oil and 73 per cent of gas to the country’s net production which should be under the province’s control.” He added that the Pakistan Peoples Party was playing with the sentiments of the Sindhi people. “We don’t want a graveyard for the martyred,” he said. “We want our rights. We want a new Pakistan and a new Sindh.” ….

In his concluding speech Palijo Sr. sounded more like a teacher giving his students a lecture. He asked the people to stay alert and keep an eye on their leaders because they had become merciless and shameless.

To read complete report : The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2012

http://tribune.com.pk/story/340430/awami-tehreeks-rasool-bux-palijo-turns-82/

Shah Latif took care of two stray puppies he found

By Gul Agha

Shah Latif took care of two stray puppies he found. He named them motii (pearl) and khenuu (ball) and they accompanied him on all his travels across Sindh.

An old Sindhi Syed once visited my house. I asked him if he wanted me to keep the dogs away. No, he replied with smile: “Please let them be. They says angels stay away where the dogs are. I am an old man with many illnesses, as long as the dogs are around, I may be safe from the angels of death!”

Via – Facebook, 4 March, 20 Feb. 2012

Charged lawyers shout down Gilani, Khosa, force retreat from LBA event

By Abdul Manan

Excerpt;

LAHORE: The Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Saturday was prepared to refute allegations that the incumbent Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led coalition government did not respect all institutions. What he did not expect was that his stage, the annual dinner of the Lahore Bar Association (LBA), would be usurped by anti-government slogans from a charged lawyers community. …

…. Shortly after the announcement, Gilani vacated the podium and proceeded to exit the building. When Governor Khosa took the rostrum, the lawyers intensified their chants against him. Khosa tried his level best to deliver his speech despite the ruckus, but slogans of “Chief Tere Jaan Nisar Beshumar, Beshumar” (Chief Justice you have innumerable loyalists) forced him to cut short his speech.

The Lahore Bar Association, LBA President Shehzad Hassan Sheikh and Peoples Lawyers Forum Punjab President, Khurram Latif Khan Khosa were also present at the event.

At the end lawyers danced along with a hired dancer to melodies of Sheela Ke Jawani.

Read more » The Express Tribune

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Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice chairman (VC) Latif Afridi has backed noted lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir’s stance regarding court’s judgement in the controversial memo scandal

PBC backs Asma’s stance on memogate

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Vice chairman (VC) Latif Afridi has backed Asma Jahangir’s stance regarding court’s judgement in the controversial memo scandal, saying that the superior judiciary cannot play the role of an investigator in any matter. Talking to Daily Times, the PBC vice chairman endorsed Asma Jahangir’s stance that the Supreme Court has wrongly assumed its jurisdiction in the memo scandal. Regarding the memo probe commission, consisting of three high courts chief justices, Afridi said that ordinary litigants would face difficulties in this situation. “The nation is already divided politically, ethnically and economically… it cannot be allowed to further divide on judicial consideration,” he added. The VC hoped the judiciary would not become a source of conflict and things would proceed in accordance with the constitutional division of powers. “Pakistan needs coherence, unification and support of all the federation units and democratic forces, minus those who make hay while the sun shines,” Afirdi said. He urged the SC not to adopt dual standards, and take notice of Mansoor Ijaz’s other statement regarding the ISI director general’s visits to the Arab countries for the removal of President Asif Ali Zardari. The PBC VC urged the court to adopt the policy of judicial restraint, and refrain from entertaining political cases, as the move could make the SC prone to allegations of favouritism. On the other hand, he urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take up the Asghar Khan case. Concerning Pervaiz Musharraf’s return, he said the lawyers would agitate against the former dictator upon his arrival. hasnaat malik

Courtesy: Daily Times

‘Sindhi culture is on a ventilator’

By Mohammed Wajihuddin

Satyanand is a young patriot who just cannot tolerate the British Raj any longer. Responding to the Mahatma’s call for satyagraha, he scales up the flagpole at a government office one day and tries to pull down the Union Jack. The young revolutionary faces the wrath of the white cops, and the lathi blows he gets on his head send him into a coma.

The country subsequently gets its freedom at midnight, but, to borrow poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s famous description, the dawn, accompanied as it is by the horrors of Partition, is sooty and dark. Like millions on both sides of the Radcliffe line, Satyanand’s family gets uprooted. Still in a coma, he is brought to Mumbai where his wife and son work hard to build life anew. Forty years later, Satyanand gets his senses back. But much water has flowed under the bridge since his family left its beloved “Sindhu desh”. Sindh is now part of Pakistan, and nobody in Satyanand’s neighbourhood speaks Sindhi, his mother tongue. Few among his fellow Sindhis care to know that they trace their roots back to the basin of the mighty ancient Indus river which cradled a great civilization.

This, in sum, is the message of “Haath Na Lagaye” (“Don’t Touch Me”), a Sindhi film released last month, which articulates the collective dilemma of a community which lost more than a geographical area many summers ago. It depicts, albeit in the genre of comedy, the identity crisis Sindhis in India suffer from. Deprived of the patronage of a state, the biggest victim, as the film powerfully hammers in, is the Sindhi language and culture.

“Hindus from Sindh, after losing their land, fought bravely and prospered. But the Sindhi language in India is on a ventilator, gasping for breath,” rues T Manwani, the film’s writer-director. “We want a landless Sindhi state with a budget which will protect our language and culture.” Manwani isn’t alone in his concerns. The one-million-strong Sindhi community in Mumbai and its neighbouring Sindhi hub, Ulhasnagar, are equally pained at the erosion of the Sindhi language, culture and ethos.

“Sindhi medium schools downed shutters a decade ago. The new generation isn’t keen on learning the language,” says Subhadra Anand. As former principal of the RD National College, Anand made the learning of Sindhi mandatory for those students who came through the minority quota. However, she admits, this rule is not followed in many of the 24 educational institutions run by Hyderabad Sindh National Collegiate Board, the umbrella body of Sindhis’ educational initiative in Mumbai.

If few learn Sindhi, fewer speak it. Playwright-poet Anju Makhija, though not fluent in Sindhi herself, is acutely aware of the great cultural loss the community is witnessing. And she doesn’t blame indifferent youngsters alone. “The many moneybags in the community who have bankrolled hospitals and housing colonies must share the blame, as they seldom loosen their purse strings to promote Sindhi culture,” says Makhija, who has translated iconic Sindhi saint-poet Shah Abdul Latif into English with the help of a Sindhi scholar. “Building hospitals and colleges is good and necessary, but these rich Sindhis have done precious little to preserve Sindhi culture.”

Sindhis’ art scene is bleak also because it attracts very few buyers. “Whether you write books, stage plays, make films or cut albums in Sindhi, you are destined to lose money,” says singer Ghanshyam Bhaswani who crooned the evergreen “Itni shakti hamein dena daata…” for “Ankush”. Bhaswani, like many others, also blames the void on the lack of a Sindhi channel in India. “There are three channels in Sindhi in Pakistan, but we don’t have a single one here. How can we expect Sindhi to flourish?” he asks.

There are, however, optimists who believe that Sindhi will survive the tides of time. Baldev Matlani, head of the Sindhi department at Mumbai University, is one such. “Every year, we get 15 to 20 students for the Masters course,” says the academic who has supervised the publication of several tomes, including a history of Sindh, through his department. “Many may not know it but Sindhi is alive and kicking in literature.”

That may be a trifle over-optimistic, say community members. But if not a reality, it’s certainly a fervent wish for the future.

Courtesy » TOI

Sindh and Its Sindhiyat – By Geet Chainani, M.D.

– Sindh, the land of Sufis, the hope and ultimate destination of my quest!

The time I’ve spent in Sindh, Pakistan over the last year and a half has been life changing. It’s taught me much about the history of South Asia, the cultural heritage of Sindh,  our Sindhi brothers and sisters, the dynamics of the Muhajir- Sindhi relationship among a few things. But I believe these to be the more obvious lessons that every second generation removed Sindhi Indian American would also search for when they visit.

There’s been a deeper and much more personal journey involved for me as well: a spiritual one. I came to the land of Sufis to find myself with the hope to find my God as the grand triumph and ultimate destination of my quest.

I’ve learnt that I’m still learning and still looking. On this journey I’ve found beautiful hidden messages that I’ve read in books or inscribed on the walls of temples and Sufi durgahs:

“Vasudeva Kutumbakam”

“Ekam sat viprah bahuda vedanti.”

“Satyam amritasya putrah”

To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than bowing your head in prayer a thousand times. -Shaykh Sa’di

*

I believe not in the outer religion,

I live ever in love.

Say Amen! When love comes to you.

Love is neither with the infidels nor with the faithful.

– Sachal Sarmast

*

If you are seeking Allah,

Then keep clear of religious formalities.

Those who have seen Allah

Are away from all religions!

Those who do not see Allah here,

How will they see Him beyond?

– Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai

My time in Sindh surrounded by Sindhi Muslims has shown me the other side of Sindh’s story and another side of Sufi Islam. The stories of the Sindhi who provided their Hindu counterparts their homes to hide out in during the violence that broke out, the Muslims that bid a final farewell to their Hindu friends with tears in their eyes, the Sindhis who still hold those memories close to their hearts and feel the loss of the Sindhi Hindus as something Sindh never recovered from.

On November 7, 2011 three Hindus were killed in Shikarpur district of Sindh, Pakistan. As many of you already know, I worked in Shikarpur at the start of my time in Sindh. I still maintain close contact with my co-workers. A member of my family also sits on the board of a Hindu association of Sindh. Here’s what I must say, as it is the other side of the truth that exists.

Immediately following the killings the religious (Hindu in this case) spokesperson jumped on the bandwagon to claim religious bias as a cause of the killing.  I turned to my personal network in Shikarpur for answers: there had been an election recently in which the Hindu community had supported the ruling party which won due to the large number of Hindu votes they received. The opposing party didn’t take their loss lightly and instead decided to teach a lesson to the opposite party. The end result of which was the death of the three Sindhi Hindu of whom only one was a doctor. Religious bias was not the reason for their death, politics was. Anyone who follows politics closely shouldnt be shocked to learn of the ways in which politicians use religion as a political strategy. As they say, ” The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

What followed next was an absolute uproar within the Sindhi community and an alternate backlash against the government for their inadequate response and towards Sindh warning all Sindhis that this type of violence and is anti Sindhiyat and will not be tolerated by the residents of Sindh. They further emphasized that Sindh is the land of Sufis and believes in living in a tolerant society. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend as I was in Islamabad on official business. A young activist was kind enough to send me pictures.

Following the killings thousands of Pakistanis, both Hindu and Muslim, gathered publically across Pakistan to stand against the death of the three victims and the inaccurate message of intolerance it displayed. There was also a hunger strike that followed.

Sayings in books thousands of years old that we claim as ours aren’t good enough. It is far more necessary to put those words to action and there is no better time than now. Hate only breeds hate. History is meant to learn from not to regurgitate. It’s wrong to paint today’s canvas with yesterday’s paint. When you reach into the paint jar you may end up with dried out, useless paint. This is perhaps why they say one should not live today in the past of yesterday.

No one is saying that the sentiments of the Hindu Sindhis are wrong. Anger for being removed from motherland and from  sacred river Sindhu is justified. But another truth follows suit: there’s a time for anger and then there’s a time to let go, to change and to move on.

Tides must turn. Peace must prevail.

Only then will their be prosperity in South Asia again.

Praying for peace

Reference reading:

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=76954&Cat=2

http://www.thehansindia.info/News/Article.asp?category=1&subCategory=4&ContentId=17528

http://www.demotix.com/news/924585/civil-society-protest-against-killing-hindu-doctors

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/11/protest-against-killing-of-hindus/

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mohandas Gandhi

To find out more or to support our work in Sindh, Pakistan please visit our website at www.thelifebridge.us

Ayaz Latif Palijo in Rooplo Kolhi Day Nangar Parkar

» YouTube

Sindhis of Rajasthan – Folk Song Rano (Sindhi folktales of Thar)

» YouTube

 

SHAHEED ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO – SINDHI SPEECH

In 1969, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto addressed students at Liaquat Medical College, Jamshoro, Sindh. He was allowed to speak on the condition that he would not talk about politics. However, in his speech, he said being a political animal, he could not refrain from speaking on the subject. He said the following:

– If Shah Lateef were alive today, he would be behind the bars. For all his poetry is based on democratic ideas.

– One unit is an evil. Were Shah Bhitai alive today, he would oppose One Unit.

– A child’s education should be in his/her mother tongue. No doubt Urdu and Bengali are national languages, I feel and as a minister I tried that Sindhi children be educated in Sindh.

Via → Sindhi e-lists/ e-groups → Mohammad Ali Mahar → YouTube

Jeay Lateef, poetry in motion. Superb Sindhi song!

Courtesy: → Coke Studio, Produced by Rohail Hyatt → YouTube

Ayaz Latif Palijo with Geo Tv anchor Sana Bacha on Karachi Terrorism & Target Killings

The language of the talk show is urdu (Hindi).

Courtesy: → Geo Tv News (Lekin with Sana Bacha) → YouTube

Worth watching – very articulate talk by Ayaz Latif Palijo

The language of the press conference is urdu (Hindi).

→ YouTube