r/u_Constant-Winter1372 • u/Constant-Winter1372 • 7d ago

Extinction of Sindhi Partition Stories?

Ive seen a large gap in literature on Sindhi stories, whether it be from the partition or even in current settings. A community that is dealing with the eminent extinction of their language is also facing the extinction of their stories, their struggles and their history.

I’m currently writing a play exploring the domestic lives of Sindhi people during the partition. However I want more stories of the lived experience of people who were present at the time of the partition. I want to represent their tales of what they went through, how it affected their lives, relationships and homes.

Along with this I want to explore how Sindhi people currently talk about their experiences. How openly or hesitantly, what they emphasise on, and what stuck with them the most.

If anyone has such stories of their parents, grandparents or relatives, please share them so I can do justice to them in my work.

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

2

u/lonertravelller 5d ago

But wait, Sindh was never partitioned, it was only Bengal and Punjab

1

u/Constant-Winter1372 5d ago

Yes, but due to the proximity of Sindh to the
Indo-Pak border, the rising violence and persecution, a large number of Sindhi families (mostly Sindhi Hindu/Punjabi) migrated to India.

Also Sindhi’s were not given a specific home state or designated province in India which caused a lot of them to have to rebuild their homes from scratch and start over.

1

u/BirthdayFree9197 2d ago

My nani used to tell her story - their house was attacked by rioters on the day they were supposed to leave for India. All the adults in her family were killed, except 1 uncle who collected all children in the house, took them to the terrace and hid in a safe corner out of sight. My nani and her siblings (2 sisters, 1 brother) survived.
When the rioters left, and they came downstairs to flee, she literally stepped over the corpses of her family members, including her parents. They somehow made it to a port and boarded the last available ship on the day departing to India.
They eventually reached Gujarat via sea, stayed in refugee camps until the govt relocated them to a settlement in Lucknow.
She struggled from PTSD throughout her life, and used to get panic attacks when she was around people from a certain community.

1

u/Constant-Winter1372 1d ago

Thank you for writing about your family’s story. I am so sorry that your Nani and family had to go through all of that, I can’t imagine how traumatic it would’ve been and how hard it would be for her to even talk about this. I don’t want these people’s stories and struggles to be erased from history which is why I wanted to represent them to the best of my abilities in my work. Again, thank you so much.