Inaugural

Volume - 12 : Issue - 2

Published : April - June 2013

Group : From the Editor's Desk

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SINDHIS IN POLITICS

Dear friends,

  • We must have our rightful share of MP’s at the centre and MLA’s and MLC’s at the state level, by means of reserved seats.

  • We must encourage youth to participate in National and State level Politics

  • Only by our presence in Politics can the problems of our community be alleviated

  • Our community has been short-changed for too long and we need to act NOW!

How many times have we heard and read such rhetorical exhortations from our self proclaimed community leaders?

And what are the demands, that need to be fulfilled?

  • Tableau representing the community at the Republic Day Parade

  • 24 hour Sindhi channel

  • Sindhu Bhawans and Academies in States and Union Territories

  • Financial support to NGO’s to preserve and promote Sindhi language, culture and heritage; and a cacophony of such like demands

Now the moot question is do we need to be in politics to achieve all this? On one hand we glorify our community by enumerating the number of schools, colleges, hospitals and philanthropic institutions we have established. We proudly claim to contribute 24% of IT revenue of the country, own 25% of the country’s properties, contribute 20% to the GDP. Why then do we need to stretch out our hands for seeking dole.

The problem lies within ourselves. Our demands, if granted will only lead to a plethora of unresolvable issues –

  • Which organisation or individual will decide on the presentation of Tableau?

  • Who will run and control the Sindhi channel

  • Who will run the Sindhi Bhawans and Academies and what will be the activities?

Our inherent competitive spirit for power and glory will make it well nigh impossible to arrive at an acceptable solution, as has been witnessed on several occasions in the past.

Also considering the deplorable moral fibre of many of the present day politicians and the prevalent corruption in the political system is it really desirable to push our youth in that direction?

To my mind we first need to put our own house in order.

So what do you say – SINDHIS IN POLITICS? TO BE OR NOT TO BE!

Ranjit Butani