Sindhology
Encyclopedia
History of Sindh
Sindh is one of the provinces of Pakistan. Sindh was home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization.-Paleolithic and Mesolithic era:...
, society
Sindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
, culture, and 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 :...
of 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...
, a province of Pakistan
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...
. The subject was first brought into the academic circles with the establishment of the Institute of Sindhology
Institute of Sindhology
Institute of Sindhology is one of the major resource on history of Sindh. It was the first research institution of its discipline that brought Sindhology to the forefront of international research. Sindhology is referred to as the knowledge about Sindh...
at Sindh University in 1964. Since then, it has developed into a discipline that covers the aspects of history and archaeology from the Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
to the modern Sindhi society. The subject has also received wider attention at international levels. An academic or expert who specialises in Sindhology is called a Sindhologist.
History
The term Sindhology to denote a subject of knowledge about Sindh was first coined in 1964 with the establishment of the Institute of Sindhology. The objective at the time was to promote the study and broader research on Sindh, and develop a repository of archives, books, manuscripts, and research papers. Another wider objective was to promote the knowledge about Sindh in various other nationalLanguages of Pakistan
Languages of Pakistan include two official languages: Urdu, which is also Pakistan's national language and lingua franca, and English. Additionally, Pakistan has four major provincial languages: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Farsi and Balochi, as well as three major regional languages: Saraiki, Hindko...
and regional languages of Pakistan, as well as international languages such as Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
.
The subject was actually developed on the patterns of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
and Indology
Indology
Indology is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent , and as such is a subset of Asian studies....
. The study area encompassed the multidisciplinary research about the land that has been shaped by the 5000 years old Indus Valley Civilization as well as the Indus river
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
(locally known as Sindhu Darya). This enables the scope of the study to cover the antiquities, relics, culture, traditions, and literature with unique forms of music, art, and poetry that has prevailed in both the ancient and modern Sindh.
Prominent Sindhologists
The first major attempt to bring together the leading Sindhologists was an international seminar 'Sindh Through the Centuries' held in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in Spring 1975 under the auspices 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...
. Some of the prominent names in Sindhology include:
- Dr. Nabi Bux Khan Baloch
- Hassam-ud-Din RashidiHassam-ud-Din RashidiPir Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi was a Pakistani historian and scholar.Born in 1911 near Nusrat Station, Ratodero Taluka, Larkana District, he was the son of Muhammad Hamid Shah Rashidi and the younger brother of Pir Ali Muhammad Rashidi...
- Ahmad Hasan DaniAhmad Hasan DaniProfessor Ahmad Hasan Dani FRAS, SI, HI , was a Pakistani intellectual, archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology and history. He introduced archaeology as a discipline in higher education in Pakistan and Bangladesh...
- Annemarie SchimmelAnnemarie SchimmelAnnemarie Schimmel, SI, HI, was a well known and very influential German Orientalist and scholar, who wrote extensively on Islam and Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992.-Early life:...
- Allama I. I. KaziAllama I. I. KaziAllama Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi , was a scholar, philosopher, jurist, and educationist. He is considered to be a founder of the University of Sindh at its present location at Jamshoro. Many remarkable works for Sindhi Art, literature, mysticism, education and history are attributed to him...
- Asko Parpola
- Ghulam Ali AllanaGhulam Ali AllanaGhulam Ali Allana was friend and biographer of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan. He was an English language Pakistani poet and also a councillor and friend to Fatima Jinnah, Muhammad Ali Jinnah's sister....
- Jean-François JarrigeJean-François JarrigeJean-François Jarrige is a French archaeologist specializing in South Asian archaeology and Sindhology. He holds a doctorate from the University of Paris in oriental archaeology. He has carried out the excavations in Baluchistan, Mehrgarh and Pirak. In 2004, he became the director of the Musée...
- J.E. van Lohuizen
- Knez Lambrick
- Muhammad Usman DiplaiMuhammad Usman DiplaiMuhammad Usman Diplai, popularly known as Diplai , was a figure of Sindhi literature and journalism. He was awarded Pride of Performance for his works by President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf on 23 March 2004.He was born at Diplo to a middle class family...
- Shoukat Hussain Shoro
- Syed Gulam Mustafa Shah
- Yu. V. Gankovsky
- Dr. Umair Chachar
See also
- Institute of SindhologyInstitute of SindhologyInstitute of Sindhology is one of the major resource on history of Sindh. It was the first research institution of its discipline that brought Sindhology to the forefront of international research. Sindhology is referred to as the knowledge about Sindh...
- University of SindhUniversity of SindhThe University of Sindh informally known as Sindh University is the second oldest university in Pakistan accredited by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan....
- Sindhi literatureSindhi literatureSindhi 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 :...
- Sindhi Adabi BoardSindhi Adabi BoardSindhi 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.-Activities:...
- JamshoroJamshoroJamshoro 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....