Sindhi Adabi Board
Encyclopedia
Sindhi Adabi Board is a government sponsored institution in Pakistan
for the promotion of Sindhi literature
. It was established in 1955 in Jamshoro
, Sindh
. It is under the Education Department of the Government of Sindh
.
, poetry
, lexicography
, archaeology
and original literary works. These works have included anthologies of poetry works of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
, Sachal Sarmast
, Chen Rai Sami, Khalifo Nabi Bux Laghari, Miyoon Shah Inayat, Hamal Khan Laghari, Makhdoom Talib-ul-Maula and other mystic poets of Sindh.
The Board has published translations of selected works, manuscripts and other writings from world literature into the Sindhi language
.
has been in existence for around five thousand years, through the civilizations of Moen-jo-Daro, Amri
and Bhambhore. The Vedic texts
were written by the banks of Sindhu (the River Indus) in Pakistan.
Literary relics in British museums today show Buddhist influences over early literary works. With the advent of Arabs, Sindh received the cultural impact of Islam, and the first complete translation of the Qur'an
was completed in 884 CE in Sindh.. The Soomra Dynasty
(1026 to 1351 CE) was a period of renaissance of the Sindh language in literature. Religious verse also took life in this period; Pir Sadaruddin
was a pioneer of verse who invented Ginan
as a new genre in Sindhi literature. The Sama period is known as the golden age of Sindhi verse. Qazi Kadan, Shaikh Hamad, Ishaq Aahangar and Mamooi Fakirs were the leading poets of this period.
The times of the Arghons
, the Trakhans and the Mughal Empire
(1526 to 1858) gave rise to nationalistic feelings in Sindhi literature. The verse of Makhdoom Nooh Sarwar, Lutfullah Kadri, and Shah Inayat Rizvi convey the suffering experienced by the local people throughout 250 years of occupation. The time of the Kalhora Dynasty
(1701 to 1783) is known as the summit of success of Sindhi literature. The Kalhoras were indigenous people of Sindh. Mystic poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai were the product of this period. The verse of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai not only cast long shadows in social and political directions but also revolutionized the literacy taste and standard. Sachal Sarmast, Chain Rai Sami, Bachoo Mal Lund, Hamal Faqeer Laghari were poets of this period.
Though the British were non-native, soon after settling in Sindh they took up the task of formalizing Sindhi manuscript and soon succeeded. Sindhi language was standardized and official documents were published in it. This development gave an impetus to Sindhi literature by laying down the foundation for formal publication of Sindhi writing.
Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo
served as the first secretary of the Board. The Board was registered with the Assistant Registrar of the Joint Stock Committee in Khairpur.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
for the promotion of Sindhi literature
Sindhi literature
Sindhi literature is very rich and is generally considered to be among the world's oldest. Its writers have contributed extensively in various forms of literature both in poetry and prose.- Sufi literature and poetry :...
. It was established in 1955 in Jamshoro
Jamshoro
Jamshoro is a city in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is located on the right bank of Indus River, approximately 18 kilometres north-west of the city of Hyderabad and 150 kilometres north-east from the provincial capital Karachi....
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. It is under the Education Department of the Government of Sindh
Government of Sindh
Government of Sindh is based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. سندھ is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and is home to the Sindhis, Muhajirs, Pashtuns and a whole array of other ethnic and linguistic groups. Neighbouring regions are Balochistan to the west and north, Punjab in the north and...
.
Activities
The organization has published Sindhi folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, lexicography
Lexicography
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:*Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries....
, archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and original literary works. These works have included anthologies of poetry works of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
, Sachal Sarmast
Sachal Sarmast
Sachal Sarmast was a Sufi poet from Sindh during the Kalhora era. He was born in daraza near Ranipur, Sindh. His real name was Abdul Wahab and "Sachal" was his nickname. He also used it in his own poetry. Sachu means truthful in Sindhi while Sarmast means mystic in Sindhi and Urdu...
, Chen Rai Sami, Khalifo Nabi Bux Laghari, Miyoon Shah Inayat, Hamal Khan Laghari, Makhdoom Talib-ul-Maula and other mystic poets of Sindh.
The Board has published translations of selected works, manuscripts and other writings from world literature into the Sindhi language
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
.
Background
Sindhi literatureSindhi literature
Sindhi literature is very rich and is generally considered to be among the world's oldest. Its writers have contributed extensively in various forms of literature both in poetry and prose.- Sufi literature and poetry :...
has been in existence for around five thousand years, through the civilizations of Moen-jo-Daro, Amri
Amri
Amri is the site of a Pre-Harappa fortified town which flourished from 3600 to 3300 BC.The site is located south of Mohenjo Daro on Hyderabad-Dadu Road about 110 kilometres north of Hyderabad in Sindh province of Pakistan. Situated near foothills of Kirthar Range of mountains, this was an...
and Bhambhore. The Vedic texts
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
were written by the banks of Sindhu (the River Indus) in Pakistan.
Literary relics in British museums today show Buddhist influences over early literary works. With the advent of Arabs, Sindh received the cultural impact of Islam, and the first complete translation of the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
was completed in 884 CE in Sindh.. The Soomra Dynasty
Soomra Dynasty
The Sumra dynasty , was established by Rajput Soomro tribe of Sindh. They were the first Emirs and ruled Sindh from their vibrant capital Mansura. Mansura was the largest and most wealthiest inhabited city of its time...
(1026 to 1351 CE) was a period of renaissance of the Sindh language in literature. Religious verse also took life in this period; Pir Sadaruddin
Pir Sadardin
Pir Sadardin or Pir Sadruddin was a fourteenth century Ismaili Da'i and is regarded as the founder of the Khoja Ismaili sect, also called Satpanth...
was a pioneer of verse who invented Ginan
Ginans
The Ginans are a vast corpus of devotional literature in the form of lyrics and hymns worshiping and praising God, and has been the living tradition of Nizari Ismailis particularly from South Asia. The word is Hindustani, and derived from the Sanskrit word jñāna...
as a new genre in Sindhi literature. The Sama period is known as the golden age of Sindhi verse. Qazi Kadan, Shaikh Hamad, Ishaq Aahangar and Mamooi Fakirs were the leading poets of this period.
The times of the Arghons
Arghons
The Arghons are a small community of descendants of immigrants from Yarkand and Kashmir that have intermingled with the local Ladakhi community, residing mainly in Leh and Kargil towns of Ladakh in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in India...
, the Trakhans and the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
(1526 to 1858) gave rise to nationalistic feelings in Sindhi literature. The verse of Makhdoom Nooh Sarwar, Lutfullah Kadri, and Shah Inayat Rizvi convey the suffering experienced by the local people throughout 250 years of occupation. The time of the Kalhora Dynasty
Kalhora Dynasty
Kalhora Dynasty or Kalhoro Dynasty ; ruled Sindh and other parts of present day Pakistan. This dynasty was founded by Kalhora tribe that ruled Sindh from 1701 to 1783...
(1701 to 1783) is known as the summit of success of Sindhi literature. The Kalhoras were indigenous people of Sindh. Mystic poets like Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai were the product of this period. The verse of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai not only cast long shadows in social and political directions but also revolutionized the literacy taste and standard. Sachal Sarmast, Chain Rai Sami, Bachoo Mal Lund, Hamal Faqeer Laghari were poets of this period.
Though the British were non-native, soon after settling in Sindh they took up the task of formalizing Sindhi manuscript and soon succeeded. Sindhi language was standardized and official documents were published in it. This development gave an impetus to Sindhi literature by laying down the foundation for formal publication of Sindhi writing.
Creation of the Board
It was at this point that think-tanks in Sindh realized the dire need of an organisation which could initiate, supervise and promote the publication of material in Sindhi language. The Federal Advisory Board was created to fill the need in August 1940. In September 1950 a more powerful executive committee was constituted, and in March 1955 the Sindhi Adabi Board was brought into being.Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo
Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo
Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo son of Muhammad Khan was born on August 12, 1915, in village Abad near Laki, Kotri, Dadu, now in Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. He is a great scholar of the 21st century....
served as the first secretary of the Board. The Board was registered with the Assistant Registrar of the Joint Stock Committee in Khairpur.
Chronological list of the chairmen of the board
- Mohammad Ayub Khuhro (Chief Minister Sindh), December 1951 – March 1955
- Allah Baksh Sarshar UqailiAllah Baksh Sarshar Uqaili-Early life, education:Allah Baksh was born on January 21 in 1907 in the city of Karachi. After his matriculation, Allah Bux went to the D.J Science College earning a B.A. with Honors...
, March 1955-September 1961 - Niaz Ahmed Commissioner Hyderabad Sindh, September 1961-November 1961
- Makhdoom Mohammad Zaman Talib-ul-mola, November 1961-July 1977
- Allama Ghulam Mustafa Qasmi, October 1977-January 1989
- Makhdoom Mohammad Zaman Talib-ul-mola, January 1989-April 1992
- Abdul Jabbar Junejo, March 1993-October 1994
- Hussain Shah Rashidi, October 1994-November 1996
- Abdul Hameed Akhoond (Acting), December 1996
- Muhammad Ibrahim JoyoMuhammad Ibrahim JoyoMuhammad Ibrahim Joyo son of Muhammad Khan was born on August 12, 1915, in village Abad near Laki, Kotri, Dadu, now in Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan. He is a great scholar of the 21st century....
, December 1996-July 2002 - Irfanullah Khan MarwatIrfanullah Khan MarwatIrfanullah Khan Marwat is a Pakistani politician. He has served as a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh and a Provincial Minister in Sindh, Pakistan. Irfanullah Khan Marwat has held numerous portfolios in the Sindh Government since 1989 including transport, health, home, education and...
(Minister of Education), September 2003-June 2004 - Mazhar-ul-Haq Siddiqi (Acting), June 2004-July 2004
- Hamida KhuhroHamida KhuhroDr. Hamida Khuhro is a politician, writer, professor and historian from Pakistan. She has twice served as Sindh's Minister for Education.-Family and Education:Khuhro is the daughter of Muhammad Ayub Khuhro, a former Chief Minister of Sindh...
(Minister of Education), July 2004-June 2006 - Madad Ali Sindhi (Press Secretary to Chief Minister), June 2006–present