Sindhi Language Essay

The earliest historical reference to Sindhi is in the Nātyaśāstra, a dramaturgical text that was written between 200 B.C and 200 A.D. Evidence for Sindhi as a written language dates to a Sindhi translation of the Islamic Qur’an in 883 A.D., followed a century later by a Persian translation of the ancient Indian religious epic Mahābhārata taken from a language thought to be Old Sindhi. Dating the emergence of Sindhi in the evolution of Indo-Aryan is a matter of some controversy. Various theories, ably summarized by Khubchandani (2000), trace Sindhi to the Vrācada Apabhramśa or to an earlier pre-Vedic Prakrit language. Although Trumpp (1872), in his authoritative Sindhi grammar, describes Sindhi as a more ‘pure Sanskritical’ language compared

In pre-Muslim history of the 6th century B.C. through the 1st century AD, Sindh was invaded by a succession of Achamenian, Greek, Mouryan, Scythian and Persian rulers, including Alexander the Great (329-324 B.C.). After a brief period of rule by local dynasties, the Muslim Arabs’ arrival in Sindh in 8th century had a profound effect on the region’s polity and culture. The native population of Sindh at that time was Hindus and Buddhists and advent of Arabs not only created a lot of insurgency and violence but it also introduced a new religion, a new language, a new script, new architecture and new ideologies. The influence was such that the native Sindhis gradually abandoned their earlier Saindhavi script – derived from Brahmi and adopted the Arabic script. This was the only such major region and Sanskrit-derived vernacular who did that. Islamic literature too profoundly influenced Sindhi language, literature, music and

As early as December 1948, several educationists, social and spiritual leaders as well as political leaders organized a meeting in Bombay where more than 200 delegates proposed that the language be written in the Devanagari script in the changed circumstances in which the community found itself in India. Historicity and appropriateness of the Devanagari script, as well as the use of this script before 1853, was cited as reasons for the change from the Arabic script. A resolution, supporting the change of script, was sent to the Government of India (GOI) and was accepted by the government in early 1949. The GOI directed all the concerned ministries and departments to effect the change. However, in July 1949, a number of head masters of Sindhi schools in Bombay appealed to the government not to change the script. After a protracted period of representations and counter-representations, in 1951, the government decreed that while the script for the language in India would be the Devanagari script, in schools where the pupils and their parents wanted to learn in the Arabic script, they could do