Sindhi Hindus

Sindhi Hindus
Total population
c. 7 million
Regions with significant populations
 India 2,772,264 - 3,810,000[1]
 Pakistan c. 2,500,000[2]
 Indonesia 10,000
 Singapore 8,800[2]
 Hong Kong 7,500[3]
Languages
Sindhi
Religion
Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Aryan peoples
Jhulelal, the Ishta Devta of the Sindhi Hindus.

Sindhi Hindus are Sindhi people that follow the Hindu religion and traditions, and originate from the Sindh region of modern Pakistan, which was previously a part of pre-partition British India.

Hinduism in Sindh

Hinduism, as in other areas of the Indian Subcontinent, was the earliest religion predominantly practiced in the Sindh region in modern-day Pakistan. The region of Sindh has historically been, and still is, home to the largest community of Hindus in Pakistan. Following the Arab Muslim conquest in the 8th century, Islam spread throughout the region and over the period of time Islam became the faith practiced by the majority of Sindhi people. The Islamic religion, coupled with traditional influences and exposure to and interaction with Hinduism, has shaped the diverse Sindhi culture.[4] Starting with Muhammad bin Qasim and Habbari dynasty, the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire ruled the region. After the partition of India in 1947, the majority of Sindhi Hindus migrated to India, and settled primarily in neighboring Gujarat and the city of Mumbai, where their population is estimated to be 3 million. There are also sizable Sindhi Hindu communities elsewhere in the world, sometimes termed, the 'Sindhi diaspora'.

Partition of India

Following the partition of India, a significant number of Sindhi Hindus left Sindh following religious-based persecution against Hindus in the province. Many initially settled in Rajasthan and in the neighbouring Kutch district of Gujarat, which bears linguistic and cultural similarities to Sindh. As per Census of India 2011, there are around 2,772,264 Sindhi speakers living in India.[5]

Naming conventions

Most Sindhi Hindu family names are a modified form of a patronymic and typically end with the suffix "-ani", which is used to denote descent from a common male ancestor. One explanation states that the -ani suffix is a Sindhi variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansh', which means 'descended from' (see: Devanshi). The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name or location of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of') are also common. A person's surname would consist of the name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'. Sindhi Hindus generally add the suffix ‘-ani’ to the name of a great grandfather and adopt the name as a family name.[6][7][8]

Notable Sindhi Hindus

See also

Sources

  • Bherumal Mahirchand Advani, "Amilan-jo-Ahwal" - published in Sindhi, 1919
  • Amilan-jo-Ahwal (1919) - translated into English in 2016 ("A History of the Amils") at sindhis

References

  1. ↑ "Census of India 2011" (PDF). Language. Check date values in: |date= (help) Ethnologue report for India Archived 18 January 2010 at WebCite
  2. 1 2 PeopleGroups.org. "PeopleGroups.org".
  3. ↑ Kesavapany, K.; Mani, A.; Ramasamy, P. (1 January 2008). "Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia". Institute of Southeast Asian Studies – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Wakabayashi, Judy; Kothari, Rita (2009). Decentering Translation Studies: India and Beyond. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 122–125. ISBN 978-9027224309.
  5. ↑ "Census of India 2011" (PDF). Language. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Sindhishaan - Whats in Name".
  7. ↑ "Sindhi Surnames".
  8. ↑ Sakhrani, Tarun (4 January 2016). "The Sindhis of Sindh And Beyond". Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 August 2016.

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