by Govind Chandiramani, India
Lots of Sindhis write about Sindhyat from time to time in different parts of the world. They write beautifully well, show the articles to their friends, who praise them. Afterwords they forget about it. But have we gone deep enough to understand Sindhyat? For understanding it, one has to go to the most ancient records available.
1. What are the oldest monuments still existing which provide us proof of the great civilisation we had in the past? .The answer is Moen jo Daro , Mehrgarh, Kot Diji etc.
What steps have we taken to preserve it? On the google , one comes across reports of neglect and chaos in Moen jo Daro. Our 25OO B.C monument. If Mohan jo Daro is neglected like this, what about places like Kot Diji and Mehrgarh? All these ancient proofs of our civilisation should be protected.
It is very heartening to know that Tata’s Institute of Research which is highly respected all over the world, is undertaking research on Moen jo Daro to find out if the city was laid as per astronomical placements of stars at that time. They have appointed a team of 4 experts. I can send the information to anyone who is really interested.
Even for Borobudur in Indonesia and Angor Vat in Cambodia, the research has shown that there was an astronomical link with the site .
2. On the cultural front, what is the oldest proof of the existence of our culture? The answer is Sindhu-Saraswati culture. What are we doing to preserve it ? Vedas originated there .
Credit should be given to http://www.mehranmag.com for Starting a translation of our ancient Vedas & putting it on their website.
An International Conference on the Sindu-Saraswati civilization will be held at L. A. in America on the 21/22 Feb 2011. Effort should be made to give it publicity and study it in detail, right from the school. Are we doing it?
See the situation in Indonesia. Although they are Muslims, they have Ramayana or Mahabharata performed in practically every village. In many places , they start the puppet show, Wayang (Shadow dance ) at sunset and continue until sunrise. They are protective about their culture.
Their dancing is superb beyond words. Ramayana and Mahabharata once again are the themes plus their own creation : Panji Cycle.
The ancient Hindu temples complexes like Prambanan and the Budhhist Borobudur are world heritage sites and the Indonesian Government spends millions to look after them and also the other 1OO Hindu and Buddhist temples throughout Indonesia .
Gajah Mada is respected until today as the greatest administrator Indonesia ever had .The largest university Gajah Mada in Yogyakarta is named after him in. See Bridge to Indonesia in : http://www.chandiramani.com and http://www.google.com
The national emblem of the republic of Indonesia is Garuda Pancasila. It also carries the words Bhinneka Tunggal Ika which mean Unity in Diversity. The whole country of 18OOO islands remains linked through Bahasa Indonesia , which is written in Roman script . It has borrowed 75O words from Sanskrit.
Where our Sindhi language is concerned , it is a part of Sanskrit .The question of borrowing does not apply to it .
National emblem of Indonesia
Bhinneka tunggal Ika means Unity through diversity
Garuda as we know is the vehicle of Lord Vishnu
One of their bank notes has also a photo of Ganesha on it.
Sufiism entered Indonesia slowly through Gujarat traders and then through 9 mystic saints called Wali Songo. They all used puppet shows to propagate Islam and today Indonesia is 9O% Muslim.
But they are proud of their history right from day one.
Those who are really interested to know more, please visit www.chandiramani.com and click Bridge to Indonesia. Also refer to Sufiism in Indonesia on the google .
It is very easy to shoot off an article on Sindhyat but we must all join hands and go to the roots from day 1 of evolution. And this needs soul searching and deep pondering and doing something about it.
3. Today there are 5,OOO,OOO Sindhis outside Pakistan and India who have no access to Arabic or Devnagiri script. They should be provided with roman script link like Indonesians so that they stay in touch with other and are not lost to us. They all know roman script …What does it matter if we read Shah Jo Risalo in Roman script also?
In India Konkani is written in many scripts and they all coexist…
4. I have also put Sindhi Music plus dictionary of Indian Music : 16 C.D’s : Classical, and light vocal singing, Bhajans, Ghazals, instruments and drums on my website. www.chandiramani.com
So let us ponder over Sindhyat and decide firmly on how to preserve it otherwise we will surely follow the Maya and Inca civilisations.