Call for providing due rights to Sindh’s indigenous people

At a book launch ceremony on Sunday, renowned trade union activists, political workers and academicians unanimously urged the government to implement the United Nations’ Declaration on Indigenous People by providing the local communities of Sindh their fundamental rights.

The book, authored by Kishor Kumar, highlighted the plight of native communities and was jointly launched by the Indigenous Communities Council, Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler), Oad Rajput Welfare Association among others.

Some of the indigenous communities identified in the book included Bheel, Meghwar, Kolhi, Bagri, Jogi, Oad as well as the fishermen community.

Piler’s executive director, Karamat Ali, speaking of how indigenous people of Sindh had been deprived of their rights, stated that Sindhis had been converted into a minority in their own province owing to the after partition migration as well as internal migration from other provinces.

He pointed out that according to the 1951 census out of eight major cities of Sindh, six had already been converted into non-Sindhi majority cities since most of Sindh’s population before the partition comprised Hindus who migrated to India. 

He demanded to make laws to ensure the Sindhi population’s maximum participation in the government.

“Everywhere in the world there is a process of naturalisation, but people coming from other countries or provinces get their votes registered within a short period of time in Sindh,” he said while commenting on how easy it was for migrants to obtain the province’s identity cards. 

Ali further mentioned that there were over 700 Sindhi medium schools in the city alone at the time of partition, but the federal government closed them down, especially during Ayub Khan’s martial law. “Sindh University, previously located in Karachi was shifted to Jamshoro.”

Former chairperson of the Department of Criminology at the University of Karachi, Prof Dr Fateh Burfat, said the indigenous population living in Karachi’s centuries old villages were still deprived of basic civic facilities, despite development in other areas of the city.

There were no educational or health facilities in these villages, he said, adding, that all fishermen communities were also living in similar conditions. “Only education can change lives of the indigenous people,” Prof Burfat observed. 

Speaking about his book, author Kishor Kumar said the indigenous communities of Sindh were living likes nomads since they had not been given any right.

Kumar said it took him three years to complete his book that included an extensive research on the living conditions of Sindh’s indigenous communities, and could serve as a reference material for fellow researchers.

Other speakers included singer and activist Jawad Ahmed, Sindh Labour Solidarity Committee convener Habibuddin Junaidi, Aurat Foundation Director Mahnaz Rahman, senior journalists GN Mughal and Younus Mahar.