Chapter Three Origin and Evolution of Sindhi Language

Chapter Three

Origin and Evolution of Sindhi Language

1- Like other human attributes and issues, language is also an evolutionary issue that has kept changing and acquiring a new look, because of the influence of different historic, traditional and cultural factors from the very beginning of mankind. Sindhi language has also gone through the same process.

It is not easy to form a clear cut opinion about how or when did Sindhi language begin; the linguists and archaeologists are waiting to get the final results of research conducted on the inscriptions on seals found from Harrappa and Mohen-jo-Daro. The results that have been analyzed as yet, show that Sindhi language is the indigenous language of the ancient Indus civilization and most likely it got its name Sindhi from the state named after its river Sindhu. The people of the Sindhi civilization must have been called Sindhis.

Archaeologists and historians have reached the conclusion that the people of the Indus civilization were indigenous in this valley and had not come to this region from elsewhere. In this regard, famous historian and a great linguist Dr. Mahar Abdul Haque has written in his book titled “The Soomras”:

      “The opinion that the Sindhi civilization is not indigenous, or that it is based on the civilization of people who had come from somewhere else, and that it is a borrowed type of civilization, is an obsolete idea which needs to be re-visited. That theory is now outdated and the new research has given rise to new approach that has discarded the old views. According to this view the local civilization evolved in the Indus Valley indigenously in somewhere around 7000 BC where the irrigation network also gave rise to cultivation of agricultural produce.” (1)

In an interview with daily Dawn on 4^th May 1996, a famous archaeologist and the then Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Dr. Muhammad Rafique Moghul had opined about the Indus civilization that:

      “Based on solid evidence and deliberations, I have negated this theory that the Indus civilization came from somewhere else i.e. Mesopotamia or Iran. I have proven with my research that Indus Civilization is an indigenous one, firmly rooted in the Indus Valley, and this is where it evolved, developed and was brought up. This civilization had perished in this valley.” (2)

2- (a) Material from ancient records regarding the origin and development of Sindhi language and its continuing evolution has not been found as yet, although Dr. Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch has discussed this issue at length in his book titled “A History of Sindhi language and its Literature”(3), which is very informative. Dr. Baloch has in the third edition of this book indirectly reiterated his view that it belongs to the Semitic group of languages. Dr. Baloch, says:

“It can be said on the basis of material found from Mohen-jo-Daro that the ancient language of Sindh perhaps, belonged to the Semitic group of languages which was influenced by Dravidian and later by Aryan languages. Among the Aryan group, mostly it was influenced by the Iranian and Dardic languages and still later on by the Pali dialects of Sanskrit.” (4)

This chapter of Dr. Baloch’s book contains a lot of contradictory opinions regarding the origin of Sindhi language, and it is not possible to clarify them in this book.

To conduct research on the culture and civilization of any nation, it is essential to study the history of its language in addition to the study of archaeological materials of that country. In this context if in order to study the civilization and culture of the ancient people of Sindh, a similar process to understand the evolutionary history of Sindh has to be adopted. And in order to do this the available materials of importance will have to be looked at and traced back, and as one enters the corridors of the past one can learn newer points, as most of the scholars believe that the civilization of Sindh has been, apart from a few changes, pretty much the same.

(b) Indus Valley has seen many invasions, and its history proves that despite these invasions and capturing of its territory, the people of Sindh did not relocate out of fear on a mass level, although some clans and families may have moved out to neighbouring states and countries. Majority of the population would have surrendered and accepted the new rulers and would have continued living in their own regions. This is the reason that despite the passage of thousands of years, the Indus Civilization has continued along with its language. Such evidence has been found from the excavations from Amri-jo-Daro, Kot ­Digi, Mohen-jo-Daro, Kahu-jo-Daro, Chanhu-jo-Daro, Jhukkar-jo-Daro, Thul Mir Rukun, Bhamhbore, and Brahmanabad, which have given a new paradigm to the study of this region. In this context, J. Mark Kenoyer Associate Professor of Anthropology at University of Wisconsin at Madisan, spoke on the occasion of a seminar at Karachi on the subject of Ancient Cities of Indus Valley. He said:

“People involved with agriculture started living in the Mahargarh region of Balochistan from 5000 BC to 500 BC; later from 2600 BC to 1900 BC they adopted the same civilization and religion.” (5)

            He went on to say:

“It is wrong to believe that this civilization and its cities were established by people who came from elsewhere; indeed indigenous people from here in 3300 BC to 2600 BC went and settled in the area of Harrappa. There is no evidence to suggest that this region was inhabited by a nation or clan from outside the region.” (6)

Talking about the seals found in Mohen-jo-Daro and the upper Indus Valley, he said:

“The carved inscriptions of animals on these seals prove that these pictorials and carvings represent the different regions of the Indus Civilization; for example the pictures of cows, sea horse (hippopotamus) and rhinoceros represent those clans, nations and families that had the control of the cities or were the rulers of that area.” (7)

He is of the opinion that:

“These seals were not used by the common man.” (8)

He further said:

“Fish, birds and other objects have been used as symbols, considered as signs of fertility and occupation of mankind. A bull was considered as sign of power and strength, while the Peepal tree was a sign of compassion, sympathy and cooperation. These prints can be seen on clay pottery and the utensils made of Kashi even today. These pictures and carving were made by hand in those times too.” (9)

Further he says:

“Jewelry was worn, not only for adornment, but as a following of deities and as an identity. Similar ornaments are made to this day like those made in the Indus Civilization in the Mohen-jo-Daro period.” (10)

He also said that:

“A tiger was called a lion.” (11)

Dr. Kenoyer emphasizes that the:

“Books and other materials mention about the statue of a “bearded man”, as that of a god (king priest) which is not true; it probably belongs to the chieftain of a clan or community. The back of his head is flat and it was made this way so that a special turban could fit and sit on it; and this tradition continues in certain families to this day.” (12)

Dr. Kenoyer’s research proves that the Indus valley Civilization has continued and with the passage of time and with some changes it has managed to preserve itself.

3- (a) Extensive scrutiny and study of the new materials found from the ruins and mounds, and the already existing materials have not only increased our knowledge about the Indus Civilization but have changed the previously held views. Such information has compelled the experts to review their ideas regarding the evolution of Sindhi language and Indus civilization, and have opened new avenues for research. In this context the opinion I had presented in my book titled “The Origin of Sindhi Language” in 1974, is given here for the new readers. I had written:

“Now Trumpp’s opinions are being doubted. And from the very writings of Professor Bherumal, his previously held beliefs are seen contradicting his views. A need to read Grierson with a new perspective is being felt.” (13)

            The above mentioned book also contained two paragraphs having excerpts from a speech by the then President of Pakistan (who later became Prime Minister) Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in the national Assembly, where he had talked about the language and ancient culture of the Indus Civilization, especially Sindh. The excerpts are reproduced here:

“The people of this region had a language and their own script 5000 years back. The question is not whether it was called Sindhi or Seraiki or something else; indeed the point is that these people were developed even 5000 years back. Even if they were not called Sindhis, they had a way of writing their own language, which was indigenous to the civilizations of the Indus Valley. It was one of the most educated and well established civilization that mankind has known.” (14)

The purpose of quoting these examples is to say that thousands of years before the Aryans, there was a civilization that existed here in the Indus Valley, having a rich culture, and the indigenous people of this culture spoke a language. That language was very rich and widely spoken and was also used in trade and commerce; It was a Non-Aryan language because the evidences of Aryan arrival in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent are dated around 1000 BC.

(b) Innumerous peculiarities of the present Sindhi language have been proven to be Non-Aryan, because they are non-existent in Aryan languages. These can be studied from the later edition of my book “The Origin of Sindhi Language (15), from the booklet written by Dr. Perso Gidwani on the topic of “Similarities in Sindhi and Dravidian Languages” (16), from the essays of Mr. Sirajul Haque Memon and again from the book “The Origin and Growth of Sindhi Language”. (17)

In the above mentioned books (ref 13 and 17), I have tried to prove the point that “The most ancient signs of Sindhi language are found in the Indus civilization”. The opinion formed in the book “The Origin and Growth of Sindhi Language” is reproduced here:

 “Sindhi language belongs to the Non- Aryan group and it has deep roots in the civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro. It was not only spoken but written in this region long before the arrival of Aryans. It has some similarities with the Dravidian group of languages, and numerous words from Prakrit dialects entered after the Aryans’ arrival in the region, but its structure was hardly, if at all, influenced by the Aryan languages. If some words were taken from Aryans languages, more were given to them and that can be known only when a comparison is done between Sindhi and Aryan languages (Sanskrit and Persian).” (18)

(c) The main point worth finding out is whether it is true that the Sindhi language took its present form after dissociating from Sa nskrit, through Prakrit, Shorsani and Virachada Apabhramsha in the 11^th century. There are two aspects of this question. The first one is whether Sindhi is a branch of Sanskrit and has originated from its Virachad Apabhramsha? And the second is whether around the 11^th century Sindhi language dissociated from the Virachada Apabhramsha and took its present form. Although the answers to both these questions have been given in the book “The Origin and Growth of Sindhi Language” and “The Origin of Sindhi Language”, where an attempt has been made to prove that apart from some phonetic changes, it has remained the same as it was spoken in this region in the prime years of the civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro. In the later periods of history, under the influence of foreign invasions and with time, it has taken new words expanding its vocabulary, but has preserved its ancient phonetic, grammatical and syntactical structure. But until the language of Mohen-jo-Daro is deciphered, it will be difficult to ascertain the structure of that ancient language of the Indus Valley.

Dr. Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch writes:

“The ancient period is around the 4^th century or earlier, that can be called the ‘period of Sindhi language or languages’. Certain languages and Sindhi were definitely there but the Sindhi language that we know of, did not exist. This period was marked by the influence of Semitic, Dravidian and Aryan languages on the language of Sindh.” (19)

He further writes on the very same page:

“It can be said on the basis of material found from Mohen-jo-Daro that the ancient language of Sindh, perhaps, belonged to the Semitic group of languages which was influenced by Dravidian and later by Aryan languages. Among the Aryan group, mostly it was influenced by the Iranian and Dardic languages and still later on by the Pali dialects of Sanskrit.” (20)

(d) I think the language used in the civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro was “ancient Sindhi”, which was the mother of present Sindhi, Gujrati, Lahndi, Rajhasthani, Kathiawari, Kachhi, Haroti, Bheely, Baagree, Kashmiri, Dardi and the old Dravidian languages. I have argued and provided evidence to support my view in “The Origin of Sindhi Language” and my English book titled “The Origin and Growth of Sindhi Language”.

Archaeologists believe that “the Indus Civilization did not end at that time; in fact it continued even after the end of Harrappa and Mohen-jo-Daro and many signs and things related with that civilization can be witnessed in the present times.” (21) According to them the bullock cart of Mohen-jo-Daro is commonly used in Dadu, Larkana and Sibi districts. Similarly the toys and pottery made from clay in Hassan Wahan are very similar to those found from the excavations of the ruins of Mohen-jo-Daro. The special potter’s “chak” (wheel) used in ‘Hassan Wahan’ (22) is exactly the same as was used by potters of the Mohen-jo-Daro Civilization.

(e) The remains and statues of birds, animals, trees, plants, pottery and weapons found from the ruins of Mohen-jo-Daro, Mahargarh and Amri-jo-Daro are exactly the same as made nowadays in this area for common use. In entire Sindh the pictures, carvings and inscriptions drawn on utensils and jewelry today are similar to those found from the ruins; but it is not known as to what their names were in the ancient civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro. Dr. Asko Parpola, Semo Parpola, Dr. Fairservis and other Scandinavian, American, Russian and Indian scholars have tried to decipher the pictures and drawings inscribed on the seals by giving their readings and observations. They have assigned some values to some of these pictures and inscriptions; and if accepted, then one can say that the language spoken in the society of Mohen-jo-Daro and Harrappa was the same i.e. Saindhui (which later became ‘Sindhi’), its vocabulary is supposed to be “indigenous” and having “remnants” of the locally used language, by the grammarians of Prakriti. In other words, these words are the remains of the original and ancient language of the Indus Civilization that people have continued using in their daily lives even after thousands of years. Professor Bherumal writes about these indigenous (desi) words:

“Desi or Desaj (des = country+j = jan= giving birth) which means ‘born in this country’. These “desi” words were already customarily used in “des” (India) even before or after the arrival of Aryans, but they are not of Sanskrit origin. They are considered to have been borrowed from languages of the Kols, Santhals, Dravidians and other indigenous inhabitants.” (23)

Referring to George Shirt and John Beams, Dr. Nabi Buksh Baloch had given his views on this subject:

 “Among quite a few words of Sindhi, which are not Arabic or Persian, there are many words having no relation with Sanskrit: (for example words like “asaan” (we/us) and “aseen” (we) do not exist in Sanskrit). George Shirt has raised the question as to where has this treasure of words come into the lexicon? He thinks that these words are most definitely of a language that was there before Sanskrit. He opines that they belong to some Dravidian language. He says:

   “If all the Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian words are taken out of Sindhi, there remains a large number of words that Mr. Beams calls “desi” (indigenous) in his ‘Comparative Grammar.’

   “Such is the magnitude of these words (in Sindhi) that a complete conversation can be made using them. Where did they come from?

   “I think there is no doubt that these words are the remains of the language spoken in Sindh before the arrival of Aryans; Aryans probably forced out some tribes of Dravidian origin, who were the forefathers of Brahuis to the mountains and the rest of the citizens of Sindh were mixed in the class of the lower castes.” (24)

4- (a) Anyhow, whether these words belong to the Kols, Bheels, Santhals, Oads or the Dravidians, they are truly from the remains of the language of the indigenous people, who inhabited the Indus Valley. And they prove that the communities that inhabited the Indus Valley before the arrival of Aryans had a cultural and social heritage and also had a language.

Dr. Trumpp has mentioned about these remaining words from that ancient language in his well known book titled “A Grammar of Sindhi Language”. He thinks:

 “It is possible that this ancient language was a branch of the Tartar stock that prevailed in the entire subcontinent before the arrival of the Aryans, as there exists a large number of Non-Aryan words of this kind, which have been termed “Provincial” (desi) by the ancient grammarians of Prakrit.” (25)

The subject under discussion here is not about the origin or family of the ancient language but it is about its presence, which was there before the invasion of Aryans, where there was a magnificent civilization in the Indus Valley. And the people would have definitely used a language for their day to day matters, business, trade and commerce etc. The anthropological, archaeological and linguistic scholars’ views about its remnants have been given here.

(b) On the basis of the reports of written language found on the seals of Mohen-jo-Daro, or the deciphering of its script or study of the article by Dr. Perso Gidvani titled “Similarities in Sindhi and Dravidian Personal Names” (26), one can say that the prevalent language of the Indus Valley Civilization was ‘Sindhi’ which was divided in 11 main branches like Southern branch Saindhi, Central branch, Eastern branch, Rajasthani i.e. Apabhramsha, South Eastern branch Nagar (Gujrati), Kachhi and Kathiawari, North Eastern branch Haroti, Bangro and Baagri, Northern branch Kashmiri, Western branch Lahndi, North Western branch Dardi, Brahui branch and the origin of Proto-Dravidian branch or their parent language is Sindhi.

The researchers and scholars of Lahndi/Lahnda group of languages too claim that they are not a branch of the Aryan group, and that Sindhi and Lahnda/Lahndi are languages from the same group or origin the roots of which are present in the civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro. (27) One can read “Origin of Sindhi Language”, “The Origin and Growth of Sindhi Language” and other books and articles on this subject.

5- (a) I have copied in my above mentioned books, the values that Asko Parpola, Semo parpola and Dr. Fairservis have assigned to the pictures and inscriptions found on the seals of Mohen-jo-Daro; then I myself have assigned Sindhi values for them. I have also argued that had these scholars (Asko Parpola, Semo parpola and Dr. Fairservis) tried to learn Sindhi and Seraiki, or had known these languages, they would not have required the help of lexicons of Dravidian languages which have been lost from the Indus valley Civilization, to assign the values of the pictures and writings found on seals from the ancient civilization. Despite this, certain words, as per their deciphering and values, are prevalent and in vogue in Sindhi and Lahandi even in the present time; but these scholars consider these words to belong to Dravidian languages, and prefer to call them Dravidian words.

(b) If the results of these experts are correct, and their assigned values be accepted, then one can say that the prevalent language of the ancient Indus Valley was certainly Sindhi which was the parent/mother of Sindhi, Lahandi, ancient Dravidian and other languages which in some later periods was influenced by the changes and circumstances of the languages, traditions and customs of different nations.

(c) In my book “The Origin of Sindhi language”, I have given examples and argued only about the literal and grammatical similarities between Dravidian and Sindhi, although there are other languages with similarities that include Rajasthani, Gujrati, Haroti, Baagri, Bheeli, Kachhi, Kashmiri, Dardi. My deliberations have been accepted by an Indian linguistic expert Dr. Perso Gidvani. He has written in his article:

“Sindhi scholars have with time drawn attention to certain Dravidian influence on Sindhi language. Among them especially Professor Bherumal Meharchand Advani has done so about the Dravidian influence on the Larri dialect of Sindhi in his book titled “The History of Sindhi Language” (p 125) but in this context the biggest, scholarly and the first scientific contribution has been made by Dr. Ghulam Ali Allana in the form of his book “The Origin of Sindhi Language”. In his article Dr. Allana has used powerful arguments to present a scholarly certificate.” (28)

Writing about the similarities between Sindhi and Dravidian languages, Dr. Gidvani has written:

“This article has given an account of a very important aspect of the similarities present in the personal names of Sindhi and Dravidian languages. Similarly there are other aspects where similarities are found in these languages, and to study them further, deliberations have been presented in my book “Similarities in Sindhi and Dravidian languages.” (29)

6- The Values Assigned to the Seals of Indus Valley:

It has been said earlier that Parpola brothers and Dr. Fair Servis have presented their readings of the seals of Mohen-jo-Daro and have assigned certain values to the inscription with pictures, lines, plants and trees etc. with the help of words of Dravidian languages. Those values are reproduced for the readers here. In addition to these values, customary words from the present Sindhi are included as values so that the readers may decide themselves that the same language of the Indus Valley Civilization still survives with a few changes.

In his book Dr. Fairservis has given many other alternatives, which he has assigned as values for the pictures on the seals found from the Indus Civilization, after taking them from Dravidian languages. The words are as follows:

7- Explanations by Dr. Asko Parpola and his colleague:

 Dr. Asko Parpola and his associates have given some explanations and notes in their report, some of which are given as follows:

• Astrology had a lot of importance in the civilization of the Indus Valley. The proto-Dravidians used to worship stars and planets as deities.
• Shiva was one of the deities of the Indus Civilization, who was god for the Dravidians and later was worshipped as the most important deity of Hinduism. This deity i.e. Shiva is certainly of non- Indo-European origin and a deity of the Indus Valley.
• Most of the words that define the qualities of Shiva are linguistically and grammatically of Dravidian origin.
• The “vigorous dance” of Shiva is called ‘Tandava’ in Sanskrit, which actually can be a Sindhi word “ḏaḍyo”, which is a famous and vigorous dance of the Sindhi culture.
• Bull is a universal symbol of fertility. ‘Ruder’ has been called a bull in Rig Veda. The white bull “nāndan” is one of the eternal quality of Shiva.
• The ‘çhakar’ is not the wheel of the potter but it is a part of the water-wheel (nār), which is also called “chakaru” or “chhaṭu”. Since the bull is a universal symbol of fertility and agriculture, therefore the water-wheel is also related with fertility and the bull pulls the wheel around so it should be seen in that perspective.
• ‘Magdar’ is one of the signs of Shiva that is called “khaṭvārega” in Sanskrit. “khaṭvā” means ‘khata’ or a ‘bed’ and it has come from the “khaṭ, khaṭal or khaṭolo” (bed) of the Indus Civilization which in Dravidian is called “kaṭ or kaṭal.”
• The other meaning of “mīn” is brightness; a proverb of Laṛ says “mīn thī wase”, meaning light is flashing. It is that light that signifies wealth and prosperity indicating Lakhsmi.

8- If the explanations of Dr. Asko Parpola and his associates and their decipherings are to be accepted, then one can say that the language of the Mohen-jo-Daro civilization was ancient Sindhi, the words of which have been given above as examples.

(a) Mr. Sirajul Haque Memon has cast a critical view on the deciphering of Dr. Asko Parpola and his associates in his article. Mr. Siraj writes:

“Parpola et al have assigned values of simple words on this principle; for example they have given correct values for the sign () which has a shape of a comb and gave the value as a Dravidian word “paṇtī” and its rhyming word “paṇt” for a woman. My objection is that using the same principal they should call it “phaṇī” which is also a Dravidian word; and using the same principle (with a small vowel ‘a’) making it “phaṇ”  and its meaning should be taken for a snake’s head. If the sound [ph] of phaṇī is considered of later origin, its aspiration may be omitted and it may be called “paṇī” whose homophone “paṇī” should be taken as a value for dust or soil.

I think Parpola et al have deciphered a lot of signs incorrectly. For example the sign () is of the ‘ḇiyānī’ that is used in the agricultural work of the rural Sindh, which helps in sorting the canes of grass. It is also used to lift the sticks to make a boundary wall; but Parpola et al have read it as ‘hand or forearm’ for which they think the Dravidian word is “kaī”, whereas its homophone “kaī” or “kī” has been read as “younger sister”, “a young woman”  or a “bride”. This sign in no way resembles a hand, and it clearly shows the figure of a ‘ḇiyānī’, or a bow and arrow. Mr. Wilson has thought of it as a ‘bow and arrow’ and has connected it to the Sumerian word “bān”. When I was reading Mr. Wilson’s book, instantly I thought that an arrow is also called ‘ḇān’ in Sindhi. This ‘ḇān’ may be considered by some as having come from the Sanskrit ‘bān’, as seen in the dictionary published by (Sindhi) Adabi Board; but since this word was present in Sumerian, a long time before Sanskrit it is clear that it came into Sanskrit at a later stage either directly from Sumerian or through Sindhi. I think this word is also a homophone of ‘ḇiyānū’ (pronounced as ‘ḇiyāni ‘in Laṛ: Allana) which is a very clear shape of this sign. Even more interesting is the word ‘ḇānhūn’ (slave). In ancient times the slaves used to do the agricultural work and it may well be said that those who worked with the ‘ḇiyāno’’ were called ‘ḇānhūn’ (like pate-vālo meaning peon: Allana). The slaves also used to throw arrows. So the reading of this sign should be ‘ḇānho’. Another proof of this is that in many seals this sign Y is seen within a circle or boundary, which may represent someone who is in captivity and this may reflect a slave. Let me submit here that in the Sindhi Dictionary the word ‘ḇānho’ has been shown to have been derived from the Sanskrit word ‘bāhuk’, which is certainly incorrect.

The word ‘golo’, in addition to that, has the meaning of a circle, is also used in Sindhi for a slave. Therefore the sign of an empty circle is a homophone of ‘golo’ meaning a slave or servant and this meaning is a reflection from the language of Mohen-jo-Daro.

The third objection is over the religion symbols. Parpola and others have studied the ancient the deities of Hinduism and the related stars and planets as a basis for knowing the ancient religion of the Indus. For example they have fixed the Dravidian word ‘mīn’ or ‘mīṇ’ for fish and its homophone ‘mīn’ meaning ‘tāro or sitāro’ (star). The ancient Sindhi word for fish i.e. ‘mī’ which can be seen in ‘mī+hāṇā = muhāṇā (fishermen) is already there. Greeks had called the adjoining coastal areas around Thatta as ‘mīn nagar’ or ‘mīna nzagar’ (colony of fishermen). According to Henry Cousens Thatta was called Mīnā Nagar. This Mīnā Nagar can be seen in our words like ‘māġara’ and ‘mān̤̤jar’. The ‘mīn’ part of the word is present in the Sindhi words ‘muhāṇan’ and Mīrbahars as their caste or the name of their place. The word ‘mīn’ is also present in Sindhi with a meaning of stars or bright things. One can also see the signs of this word ‘meen’ and ‘mīnākārī’ (making of jewelry) in relation to gold in Sindh.

My fourth objection is that Parpola and others have ignored the evolutionary shapes of these signs. The signs, symbols, pictures and figurines of Mohen-jo-Daro did not just disappear instantly. Civilizations do not disappear like this. In this regard I came across a fantastic book titled ‘Some Survival of Harrapan Culture’ that was published by a Dravidian expert G.A. Arvamuthon, in which he compared the coins, seals and the inscriptions on them and on the tombs and graves of a later period with those found in the Indus Civilization, and proved that many of them progressed through the period of evolution up to the Budhist period and continued. Many of such shapes have also been found from the ruins of Kahu-jo-Daro near Mirpurkhas. If observed carefully, one can see that the signs and symbols found from there are evolutionary shapes of those found from Mohen-jo-Daro. So much so that the inscriptions found on the graves of ‘Chaukundi tombs’ from a much later period too are either exactly like or greatly resemble those found in Mohen-jo-Daro. Such evolutionary shapes are not only present on the signs but can also be found in the ancient manuscripts.” (30)

            On the basis of these opinions one can say that after the arrival of Aryans, the ancient language of the Mohen-jo-Daro period (Sindhi) was influenced initially by Prakrit and then by Pali and Sanskrit , and even later by Persian, Greek, Sāk, Sythian and Arabic languages. Despite that and with passage of thousands of years Sindhi language has preserved its old and indigenous phonetical, syntactical and grammatical structure; albeit a large collection of words entered the dictionary of Sindhi, that are difficult to recognise at the present.

9- (a) Links of indigenous words:

In his grammar, Dr. Caldwell has presented links of the indigenous words that entered the vocabulary of Aryan languages. They include some words that can be found in the Sindhi language with subtle changes. For example:

            (b) In a recent research published in the journal ‘Sindhi Boli’, Dr. N. A. Baloch writes:

“The third method of decipherment can be suggested: In order to decipher the Indus Script, words and phrases from the Sindhi language should be searched in the inscriptions and parts. The ‘values’, that the Sindhi language may present in this day and age, cannot show a relation with the ancient Indus civilization, and would be questionable. Similar objection can be applicable to Dravidian as well, where presence of the Dravidian words spoken and understood today is doubtful in the script of the ancient Indus Script. If some Dravidian words are considered as remnants of a language of the ancient Indus Script, then certain ancient words prevalent Sindhi may be remnants of that language as well. Historic analysis of Sindhi language has proven that certain common nouns and some proper nouns like ‘names’ used today were also used some 1275 years back, found in books from the 8th century (Fatehnama) in the written form. They can also be considered to exist two centuries before that. Present knowledge suggests the last period of Indus Civilization to be until 18 Century BC but it is quite possible to have remained for longer; and the language of ancient Indus Script may also have continued. And even if it had perished as a language, a few words must have survived in today’s Sindhi.

Anyway this is also a method through which the Indus Script may be deciphered and read, but to achieve this end we must step up our efforts and provide useful information to the researchers who want to work on this issue. We should isolate such words from the dictionaries whose structure does not show them to have come from Arabic, Persian, Dravidian, Pali and other dialects. And if there is a doubt about some of the words to be related to ancient languages like Dravidian, proto-Vedic, Munā, Sumerian or Babylonic, those may be included in a separate list of words of trade.

It is difficult to identify and separate such words but for the purpose of research and study, a temporary and brief  list of such possibly related words prevalent in modern Sindhi, is presented below which may further be researched upon.” (40)

The list of words prepared by Dr. Baloch is reproduced here; which provides evidence that even before the Vedic period, there existed a language in the Indus Valley and quite a few words of which are found in present Sindhi. For example:

(i) Words for society and kinship:

• ‘adā, ado and adyūn’: means brothers, sisters
• ‘ghoṭ’: bridegroom
• ‘nīho’: family, pedigree

(ii) Edibles, cooking:

• ‘māni’: one loaf, food, chapatti.
• ‘ḍhao’: satiated
• ‘tānḍo’: fire, burning coal

(iii)  Domestic objects:

• ‘ghaṛo’: water pot
• ‘rachhu’: utensil

(iv) Names of body parts and related to birth:

• ‘ḍhuki’: pregnant
• ‘sūā’: milk producing (animal)
• ‘jara’: placenta
• ‘tanjaṇ’: a fabric wrapped on infants to make them sleep well
• ‘ṭhūnṭh’: elbow
• ḍaūnro: Muscle of arm (biceps)
• khuṛī: heel

(v)  Residence and habitat:

• ‘vānḍha’: temporary dwelling
• ‘ḇumbho’: door of a house
• ‘loṛho’: boundary wall made of sticks and shoots
• ‘ḍhinager’: thorny shoots to make a boundary wall
• ‘kiṛī’: a hut made of sticks, leaves, cloth and pieces

(vi) Weapons for hunting, hitting and protection:

• ‘ḍūnḍaṇ’: stone
• ‘mutko’: a round stone that can be thrown afar

(vii) Animals and cattle:

• ‘ḍhago/ḍānd’: bull
• ‘mādi’: female (sheep)
• ‘gheṭo’: male sheep
• ‘pahūn’: goats
• ‘dāgho’: camel (male)
• ‘dāchī’: camel (female)
• ‘ramaṛ’: a herd of cattle
• ‘dhaṇ’: abundance  of goats and sheep

(viii)  Earth and hills:

• ‘poṭho’: straight plains
• ‘khariṛo’: hardened land (by water)
• ‘dūngar: mountain

(ix)  Agriculture:

• ‘urlo, hurlo’: trick to bring water above for irrigation
• ‘khaṛ’: ploughed land
• ‘bhunjho’: ploughed and sown land not irrigated yet
• ‘gapa’: mud, marshes

(x)  Minerals:

• ‘ḇāṭ’: alloys of metal
• ‘kuṭ’: alloys to make utensils

(xi)  Winds and rain:

• ‘gaṛo, gaṛā’: hale
• ‘khivaṇ’: lightning

(xii)  Water, fish and fisherman:

• ‘ḍhandha: lake
• ‘kuriṛo’: type of fish
• ‘jarko: type of fish
• ‘goja’: type of fish
• ‘muhāṇo’: fisherman

(xiii)  Weight and measures:

• ‘kāno’: a large weigh measure
• ‘maṇu’: mound

(xiv) Numbers of count:

• ‘barkha:’ one     
• ‘ḇa’: two

(c) Authentic evidences about the evolution of Sindhi language have been found from Chachnama and the excavations of Brahmanabad and Bhambhore but, there is rather a sort of silence in the intervening period that was broken by Arab tourists, geographers, researchers and historians who made very encouraging revelations.

The history of that period reveals that even before the advent of Islam, Sindh had commercial and trade relations with the neighbouring countries, Arabia, Baghdad, Basra, Hijaz, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Muscat and other countries of the Middle East. (41) The merchants of these countries traveled from Bandar Abbass and Basra to the coastal areas of Sindh and from here to Gujrat and its coastal belt to approach the markets of these areas. Similarly, before Islam, the merchants and traders of Lāṛ used to travel to Iran, Arabia, Balkh and Bukhara. This traffic of people from one place to the other would have influenced not only the commercial conditions of the region but it would also have influenced the language and culture leading to quite a few exchanges of words among each other. Many Sindhi words entered the Persian and Arabic vocabulary; similarly thousands of Arabic and Persian word, phrases and proverbs entered the Sindhi language.

10- The Structure of Sindhi Language before Islam:

(a) In the initial period of the Arab rule in Sindh, a lot of Arab tourists and experts of geography came to Sindh. Their travelogues contain not only written proofs about Sindhi but also give an account of the names of the scripts (writing systems) which tell us that before the advent of Islam, Sindhi was the main medium for the daily chores of life. 

It has been mentioned in the 1^st chapter that language of any nation or country is a reflection of its cultural, social and traditional history. A study of any language reveals the cultural and social values, the evolution of its thought processes and a history of its traditions and civilization. Perusal of the available material from the ruins of Bhambhore brings to light the intellectual evolution of people who lived here, their social and cultural stature, art and artistic prowess and religious inclinations, which the experts of anthropology examined and considered these people with respect and honor.

Important information is available about the above quoted narration. The economic and moral history of the people of this region from the potsherds found here, contain words of the language of those times inscribed (in ink), termed proto-Nagric by Dr. F.A. Khan. (42) The writings on the shards prove that the people who lived in Bhambhore not only possessed a rich culture and traditions but they used proper language as a means of communication for the daily works etc. This spoken language was also written by them. The writings also show that they used more than one script and on that basis it can be claimed that the different clans and communities, who lived there, used their own scripts, i.e. the Lohaṇas used their own Lohaṇki or Lāṛī script while the other Hindus used Ardh Nagari script. Similarly the Malwāshahu and Malwali scripts were also used.

(b) Languages are a reflection of the life of nations and their culture and society. Those interested in Sindhi language know that the three shards found from Bhambhore contain words written in Lahāṇkī (43) or Lāṛī script. The writing on the shards is as follows:

(i) The shards found from Bhambhore have been deciphered by the author in this book; the script on the potsherd appearing in picture 10 has been read as ‘bujiri haidra’: the word written in the 1^st line is ‘bujiri’ and that in the 2^nd line is ‘haidra’. These and other words found on the potsherds are valuable remains of the written form of Sindhi language before the arrival of Islam.

(ii) Before the advent of Islam, Sindhi language was written in local scripts, which had more than one types, i.e. every community and clan had their own style of writing that script. It was the same language but was written by different people in different styles like Lohāṇas and Bhāṭiās used their own versions.

(iii) It is proven that Sindhi language was commonly used for trade and commerce and in daily life. It had a vast vocabulary of words for astronomy, astrology, mathematics, medicine and other educational activities and common things like clothes and drugs etc.

(iv) Syntactically and grammatically ‘bujiri haidra’ is a very interesting word. Having studied this word, one can say that the structure of the standard phrases were similar even before the advent of Islam.

At the time of the visits of Arab travellers, Sindhi was the language for trade and commerce. The words written on the remaining two shards provide credence to this view. In this regard an Arab tourist ‘Jahiz’ writes:

“We noticed the people of Sindh (Hind) to be way ahead in astronomy and arithmetic. They have a peculiar Sindhi (Hindi) script….” (44)

The other two writings also confirm that the people of Bhambhore were quite advanced in arithmetic, astronomy and mathematics.

(c) Study of these two shards gives a clue to the system of writing numbers. The written forms of the numbers prove that the knowledge of arithmetic was commonly practiced and people were well versed about book keeping and accounting. They were aware of the shapes of numbers; in addition they understood and were able to write the whole numbers and their fractions for measurement. The knowledge of using advanced methodology is a measure of the intelligence of a nation.

The shape in the 2^nd line of this shard is infact a short form/diminutive of a word which means ‘measure’. Such a system exists to date and is used by traders and merchants.

Letter in above shape means ‘savā hik pāu’ (meaning: quarter more than 250 grams); so the whole line will be read as ‘measure: quarter more than 250gms’. It can be assumed that in order to save their time, the shopkeepers kept a measure of quarter more than 250 gm ready in the form of a packet so that the transaction was swift.

(d) A more interesting point for mathematicians is that the people of Bhambhore were well aware of the fractions of measures; and one can say that they used to have quarter, half, three fourths and other fractions in their normal day to day life.

The shape in 3^rd line is read as ‘savā ḇa’ (meaning  two and a quarter) ; this means that the people of Bhambhore not only knew how to write numbers but fractions too and this would not be possible until one has the knowledge of these terms. That proves that they were very good at mathematics and calculations and this was mentioned by the Arab tourist ‘Jahiz’.

            (e) Similarly on the page 15 of the report on Bhambhore, the picture number 3 of the shard shows to have the writing which is read as follows:                                         

 ‘ramdarehā paṭ’; ‘pat’ means silk but what does ‘ramdarehā’ mean? This needs to be solved; perhaps it was the type of silk.

The decipherment of inscriptions on these potsherds depicts the language commonly used by the people of Bhambhore. In addition, it becomes known what type of clothes and other merchandize was commonly sold by the shopkeepers; what type of colours and styles were in common use. It provides information about the social and cultural conditions, the mental attitudes of people, their way of thinking and their traditions.

In addition to Bhambhore, such shards have been discovered from Brahmanabad (Mansoorah) with such inscriptions; and one can imagine that before Islam, Sindhi was the language in the Rai and Brahmin period as well proving that it was a rich language of those times.

(f) The word ‘bujiri haiḍra’ is a compound word of the language that was spoken in Bhambhore and grammatically it is an adjective. After a deeper analysis and grammatical scrutiny one can say that Sindhi had a similar structure for compound words even 1500 years from now. According to etymology of this standard/adjectival compound word ‘bujiri’ appears in front of the noun ‘haiḍra’, it defines the quality of the noun, i.e. the word ‘bujiri’ explains which type of ‘haiḍra’ (turmeric)? The word ‘haiḍra’ is a basic word while ‘bujiri’ is a helping (supplementary) word (meaning hairy); this word is still present in this form. Even presently the grammatical principle requires an adjective to come in front of a basic word (noun) for formation of a compound word; for example:

            Similarly in the grammatical sense, the words ‘ramdrena paṭ’ and ‘ḍhero haiḍro and nanḍho’ are worth noticing.

            (g) In this context Maulana Abdul Wahab has written:

“Some researchers have written that the word ‘jo’ (of) has not been used in the additional words copied at the time of Arab advent like ‘ḇudhrkho’, ‘arman belo’, deval bander’, and ‘kākā raj’ etc. And that the word ‘jo’ was not in use in those times. The additional words copied in the historic books were commonly in knowledge and tell us that omitting the use of ‘jo’ is better, and for brevity. It is believed that the compound should be of two words, because a compound consisting of multiple words looks inappropriate.” (45)

This formation is very common in Sindhi. Even today with hidden postpositions.

11- References of Arab Travellers:

(a) The Arab travellers had written about the ancient scripts of Sindhi language before the excavations of Bhamhbore and Brahamanbad. Jahiz was the first one who had come in 864 AD and who had mentioned the script used in Sindhi language (46). Later in 957 AD Masaudi wrote about Sindhi as follows:

“The language of Sindh is different from that of India. Sindh is closer to the Islamic states. The language of Mahā Nagar i.e. the capital of Valabhroy’s sultanate is ‘Khaṛī’. The language from that area and its surroundings is difficult.  The language of the coastal belt, ‘Chemor’, ‘Sopara’ and ‘Thāṇā’ etc. and the coastal cities is Lāṛī.” (47)

            (b) Similarly Bishari Muqadasi writes:

“Debal is a coastal town. It has about a hundred villages in its surroundings and most of the residents are Hindus. At high tide, the water from the ocean hits its walls. The residents are mostly traders and speak Arabia and Sindhi languages.” (48)

(c) Syed Sibte Hassan writes:

“Before the Arabs the script of this region was of a Hindi style. Ibn-e-Nadeem has given a sample of this script in his book ‘Alfahrast’, but in the Arab period that script became extinct and Sindhi was written in Arabic script. And gradually hundreds of words entered the Sindhi language.” (49)

12- The knowledge of Phonetics:

(a) The scripts of Sindhi used before the advent of Islam have been found. In which the scholars of that period had divided the sounds according to the phonetic values. They had classified the sounds according to the Sindhi phonetic system. Places and architecture as given below:

            According to their classification, sounds could be palatal, velar, retroflex, alveolar, labio-dental, bi-labial’, and they had classified the sounds according to their characteristics. They were well versed with sound clusters and the divisions of vowels and consonants. It has been known that these grammarians of Sindh knew about the system of voiced and voiceless sounds, aspirated and unaspirated and nasal and non-nasal sounds. The following narration is given as evidence of these qualities:

Velar sounds:                           k, kh, g, g, gh, ġ

Palatal sounds                          ch, chh, j, j, jh, j̇

Retroflex sounds                     ṭ, ṭh, ḍ, ḍ, ḍh, ṇ

Alveolar sounds                       n, r

Dental sounds                          t, th, d, dh

Bi-labial sounds                       p, ph, ḇ, b, bh, m

Fricative sounds                      v, s, sh, h

Semi-vowels                            w, y, l, ṛ

Clusters and flapped sounds   ksh, tr, dhr, gn

Vowels                                    a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, e, o, ai, au

13- Rig Vedic words (50):

In addition to the awareness about these sounds and phonetics in the written words on the potsherds found in Bhambhore and Brahamanabad, there are other words given by Vijya Krishan and other scholars included in Rig Veda. Some of the words are given below that were part of the vocabulary even before the advent of Islam. For example:

14- (a) Sindhi words in Chachnama:

Cachnama is the oldest book of history of Sindh. A detailed analysis of this book reveals that the words used in Sindh before arrival of Islam were: (51)

(a) In his article, Maulana Abdul Wahab confirms this claim when he writes:

“Some of the names of people and nations, used at the time of victory of Islam have been preserved in the historic Arabic books and are clearly seen in Chachnama etc. The dialect and the ancient structure of Sindhi language are quite evident from these words.” (52)

He further writes:

“All these words suggest that the style and structure of language at the time of Islamic victory is just like the present one. Finding the etymological record of these names shows quite a good part of the language in use. A study of Chachanama and Futūhul Baladān reveals that Sindhi was fully developed and a complete language in those times. It is incorrect to say that Sindhi language was in an evolving phase. Sindhi has been there since ancient times, and it was influenced by foreign rule but its originality still persists.” (53)

15- The condition of literature before the advent of Islam:

(a) Chinese travellers had preceded the Arabs in Sindh. They have written a lot about Sindh. The Chinese travellers especially Fa-Hien and Huen Tsang have praised the people of Sindh. Therefore keeping in view the materials written by Arab travellers, researchers and scholars in addition to the coins, seals, and other ancient objects, the history of Sindh, as well as the whole world needs to be re-written.

Two or three centuries before the arrival of Islam (712 AD), there were many scholars who mastered the fields of astronomy, mathematics, medicine, linguistics and anthropology etc who had written books that were translated into Persian in the Iranian era and later in Arabic during the Umayyad and Abbasid period.

In this context, books written on Buddhism were translated in Chinese language and significant amount of material has been discovered from the ruins of Amri, Mohen-jo-Daro, Kahu-jo-Daro, Chanhu-jo-Daro and Kot Digi containing indications regarding astronomy, mathematics etc. Later the Arab tourists too threw light on this subject that will be mentioned later.

(b) Famous researcher Al-Beruni has referred to the scholars of the 5^th and 6^th century ‘Arya Bhaṭ’ and ‘Brahm Gupt’ with great reverence. In his famous book ‘Kitabul Hind’ he has mentioned the other scholars too. Param Abhechandaṇī has written about ‘Brahm Gupt’ in his book ‘Sat Sār’ (2^nd part):

“Brahm Gupt was born in 598 AD in Bhalmāl (in the Eastern end of the Indian state Gujrat); he was a great scholar of Sanskrit and had a command on the subjects of mathematics and astronomy. He had written two books (Pustaks) in Sanskrit, the first was ‘Brahm Suphūṭ Sidhaant’ (i.e. a study of universal relationship), written in 628 AD under patronage of the Raja Veghar Mukh of ‘Chhap Once’ State and the second was ‘Khanḍa Khādyeka’ i.e. Kamaṇ Gor Padhārath’ written in 665 AD in Ujen. Ujen was, in those times, a center of scientific knowledge of ancient Bharat. Later he was given the rank of ‘gaṇat chakara-choṛāmaṇī’ (chief of mathematicians) by Bhāsker II (1114-1185).” (54)

Abechandani further says:

“Khanḍa Khādyeka is an artistic master piece work of ‘Hindū Jotash Sidhant’ (Hindu astronomy) and it contains 11 chapters. Following Aryā Bhāṭ’s ‘Ardh Ratrik Sidhant’, he introduced better methods to calculate the easy methods of length of longitude between stars.

To facilitate understanding of the principle of interpolation, Brahm Gupt has followed the principles given by Aryā Bhāṭa in the intermediate chapters of his ‘Paramāṇ Jadwala’. And to understand the central space, this principle is similar to Newton-Sterling’s interpolation equation.

Brahm Gupt left a lasting effect on scholars and mathematicians like ‘Shrīdhar’, Mahāvīr and Bāsker II. In addition, the Arab scholars used Brahm Gupt’s books like Brāhm Saphūṭ Sidhant and Khand Khadyeka to understand the Indian arithmetic, algebra and sciences like astrology. These books reached the Arab countries during the reign of the Caliph of Baghdad, Al-Mansoor, and were translated on his decree. The Arabic book ‘Sindhind’ is almost an exact translation of Brāhm Saphūṭ Sidhant. Similarly a famous Arabic book on astronomy titled ‘Arkand’ is also a literal translation of Brahm Gupt’s book Khand Khadyeka.” (55)

(c) It would be appropriate to mention at this juncture that Arab Muslims captured Sindh in 712AD, but unofficially Sindh had come under Islamic influence in 680 AD i.e. 32 years before the victory of Muhammad Bin Qasim. (56) Jahiz came to Sindh 152 years after the advent of Islam but the Islamic influence on Sindh was already there 184 years before his arrival. He has written in his travelogue:

“The people of Sindh (Hind) are way forward in the sciences of astronomy and mathematics.” (57)

This proves that the scientific subjects like astronomy, mathematics, medicine, history and literature were common in which the words of Sindhi language were used; such examples will be quoted in the next chapters.

(d) Writing about the spread of literature in Sindh before the arrival of Islam, Maulana Abdul Wahab says;

“Many scholars have written that Sindhi literature started in the period of Soomras and Samas, and that it did not exist before that. The fact is indeed contrary to this, how a basic and spiritual language could survive without a literature. The fact is that Islam is such a bright reality that after its arrival in Sindh, the people diverted their attention to the Quran and Islam and remained engrossed in it for centuries to come. This does not mean that literature and worldly material was not present. Before Islam the Rajas were so fond of literature that the Buddhist rule was given to Brahmins because of this fondness.” (58)

(e) Chachnama mentions the presence of astronomers in the court of Raja Chach and Raja Dahir who used to guide the rulers about national conditions. It said in Chachnama:

“Chach had two sons and a daughter from Queen Sūhan Devī. On each of these children’s birth, he consulted the astronomers about their destiny and upon his orders horoscopes of their stars, fate and fortunes were prepared.” (59)

            It is further said in Chachnama:

“The astronomers examined the chit and decided that his stars were lucky.” (60)

            Then it says:

“He (Dahir) went to the astronomer’s guesthouse who welcomed him on his arrival.” (61)

These examples provide proof that Sindh was rich in these sciences before the advent of Islam, although Jahiz has not named the experts of astronomy, mathematics, astrologists, physicians and grammarians but research shows that before Al-Beruni visited Sindh (1017-1031 AD), plenty of literary material had already been translated which was later studied by Al-Beruni.

• Professor Jhamatmal Bhavnāṇī feels that:

“Due to relations between south, south-west and eastern areas of Sindh with Gujrat and eastern parts of Rajasthan, the folklorists and scholars from both the countries frequently travelled each other’s areas. Chāraṇa, Bhaṭa and Jajuka (ministeral bards) etc. had relations after the era of Apabhramsha, with a large area of Sindh, Malabar, Kachh and Kaṭhiāwār were similar.” (62)

• Param Abechandanī writes in this regard:

“The love poetry and the thoughts of the saints (Jogī panth) were exchanged here through the travelling of the saints of that region. They were established through the sufi saints of ‘Bhagtī mat’ and the poems related to love and such subjects were propagated by the folklorists and the folk poets of the area. The poetry related with love and beauty was first remembered by heart by the Bhats, Charans and saints of Rajasthan for the service of the Rajas and the folklorists from the Bhāt and Chārāṇa communities. And this way they got popularity in the neighboring areas of Sindh like Bekanīr, Jodhpur and Jesalmīr. Following this, these subjects of ‘Seengar form’ of folk poetry were adopted by the folk poets of Sindh like Bhāts, Chāraṇs and Manchal fakirs. It got to its peak in the Moghul era and apparently by the end of their rule, they were popular in folk poets of other regions as well. The height of this trend was seen in the era of Miyan Noor Muhammad Kalhoro’s time. This was a period when the Sindhi and Rajasthani folk poets, not only shared their genres but improved upon them and added newer ideas in their poetry.

It appears that this trend of poetry came to the region of Tharparker because of its shared borders with Rajasthan and the folklorists of these regions had close relationships with each other; in addition they were well versed with the Dhatki-Thari dialect making it easy for them to understand the poems in Hindi and this is how ‘Seengar form’ of poetry took its roots in the areas of Sindh.” (63)

16- (a) It has been mentioned above that the scholar Al-Beruni has provided a lot of references about the history of literature of Sindh before the arrival of Islam. Despite this fact, attempts should be made to re-explore the libraries and book-houses of Rajasthan, Gujrat, Kachh and Kathiawar and the materials from their temples and courts of Rajas. After the attack by Muhammad Bin Qasim and in the period before and after him, some Hindu Lohanas, Bhatias, Khatris and other Sindhi clans had moved out of fear to the neighboring non-Muslim states for shelter (64) and certainly they would have taken some educational and literary collections with them.

(b) The search of such materials will help us, as our revered brother Hiro Thakur had found verses of Kazi Kadan from a place of worship in Haryana. In this context the research of Dr. Muhammad Hassan can be quoted to support my view, who had written in his book titled ‘Hindi Adab ki Tareekh (History of Hindi Literature):

“The poets and folklorists of those times were courtiers of Rajas and chieftains; therefore their poetry has a touch of praise and admiration.” (65)

            He goes on to write:

“The specimens of Apabhramsha poetry like ‘Gāthās’ have been found from the 7th century AD onwards.” (66)

(c) Dr. Muhammad Hassan’s observation carries a lot of weight and if a search is made, it might perhaps find folk literature from even an earlier period. The folklorists and poets of Sindh, in the times of Rai and Brahmin dynasties, must have written praise poetry (Qasidas) as Dr. Hassan has collected a few samples of such poetry from Hemchander’s famous compilation called ‘Sadh Hemchander’, and has called them ‘Gaathas’. (67) Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji has written about Hemchander in his book. He says:

“At the end of the 10th century and beginning of the 11th century, Turks captured Punjab and became the rulers of that region. After Mahmood Ghaznavi’s offensive, this region became a part of Ghazni Empire. Therefore from the 10th to the 12th Century AD the Western-Apabhramsha dialect was at its peak, being used for normal daily life and the narration of literature.” (68)

            (d) Dr. Chatterji goes on to write:

“After Shorsani, for hundreds of years the western Apabhramsha was used in the courts of the Rajput princes after the Turk occupation in the North of India, as a rich and literary language. Examples of poetry in this language compiled by the poets of Northern India have been found. Studying these samples of poems one can say that: “Western Apabhramsha language is older than ‘Brij Bhasha’ (Hindustani) but in a way is related to it.” (69)

            Dr. Chatterji has cited a few examples of some poems in that Western Apabhramsha language from Hemchander’s book. He writes:

“Some samples of poems written in Western Apabhramsha language have been found that were recorded by Hemchander, a scholar of the Jain religion. Hemchander lived in Gujrat from 1088 to 1172 AD. The examples cited by Hemchander prove which language was spoken in that area in those times, which later took the form of Hindustani.” (70)

The examples that Dr. Chatterji took from Hemchander’s book ‘Sidh Hemchander’ have been copied word to word in the next few pages. One of them is a ‘gāthā’ which is exactly the same as that copied by Dr. Muhammad Hassan in his book ‘Hindi Adab ki Tareekh’ (History of Hindi literature). If one compares the structure and language of this ‘gāthā’, it becomes evident that it is based on the ‘Doha genre’ (two-lined verses) and the language used is the same as used in the east and south-east regions of Sindh, that can be called a mixture of the Rajasthani ‘nagar’ and Gujrati dialect “pangal’ and can be called ‘Nagar Apabhramsha’. That ‘gāthā’ says:

ڀلا هئا جو ماريا ڀيڻ مهاررو ڪنت

“bhalā huā jo mārya, bhaiṇ mahāro kant

لجيجم تو ويڻ سين جو ڀڳا گھر انت (71)

lajaijim to veṇa sen, jo bhaga ghar ant”

The same ‘gatha’ has been presented by Dr. Muhammad Hassan as:

ڀلا هئا جو ماريا، ڀيڻ مهارا ڪنتُ

“bhala hua jo marya, bhaiṇ mahara kant

لجينجم تو ويڻ سين، جو ڀڳا گھر انت (72)

lajainjam to veṇ seen, jo bhaga ghar ant”

The words used in this Gatha, apart from a few phonetic changes are still pronounced exactly this way in the southern and south-eastern parts of Sindh and areas of Thar and Parker. Its structure and subject of the poetry is almost the same as was used many centuries later by the ever green poet of Sindh i.e. Shah Abdul Latif of Bhit in Sur Kedaro of his Risalo and later by Khalifa Qasim in his works. Shah has said:

ڀڳو آءٌ نه چُئان، ماريو ته وِسهان

bhago āūn na chūvān, māryo ta vishān

ڪانڌ منهن ۾ ڌڪڙا، آءٌ سيڪيندي سونهان،

kāndha munhan mein dhakṛā, āūn sekīnde sūnhān

ته پڻ لڄ مران جي هوُنس پُٺِ ۾.

ta piṇ laja marān, jay hūnis puṭh main

Translation:

“I will not believe my beloved fled, he must have been killed

                         I will hold my head high, if he has wounds on his face

                         If he has wounds on his back, I will die of shame)

            Apart from ‘mahāro’ and ‘kant’ in the first line of the ‘Gāthā’, all the other words are used in present day Sindhi language and any Sindhi would concede that in the ‘Ḍhatki’ and ‘Parkari’ dialects of Sindhi ‘mahāro’ (mine) and ‘kant’ (kaant= kāndh= beloved/husband) words are commonly used. Shah Latif has also used the word ‘kāndh’ in the above quoted verse. Similarly the second line of the ‘Gāthā’ shows the word ‘lajenj’ where the use of its [J] (ج) is like ‘ī’. ‘J’ (ج) is also used in Gujrati and Kachhi languages. This ‘Gāthā’ has been accepted to be from the 2^nd century AD. (73) Analysis of this ‘Gāthā’ reveals that it has been written in the south-eastern dialect of the Indus Valley that was prevalent in the south and southeast of Sindh used as a means of literary expression and was locally called ‘Nāgar Apabhramsha’.

Sir Grierson believes that “Nāgar Apabhramsha was the means for literary works in Gujrat, Rajasthan and the region to its west (i.e. Sindh and the Parker region) in ancient times and was completely dominant over the literary scenario of the entire region. (74) Researchers have already proved that the South-East Sindh had political, commercial, social and literary ties with Kachh, Gujrat, Rajasthan and its western areas and the wise men and scholars of the two regions frequently visited each other.

(e) In the introduction of a book by Dr. Gangaram Garg, Dr. Murlidhar Jetly has termed Sindhi to be a branch of Nāgar Apabhramsha, he has written that:

“As far as the Middle Indo-Aryan stature is concerned, modern Sindhi shows a significant similarity with ‘Nāgar’ or ‘Shorsani Apabhramsha’, which was in those times, the main literary language of India. That time was even before the existence of new Indo-Aryan languages but we do not have any written record of that, which could assist Nāgar Apabhramsha ; as Sindhi came into being in the southern part of Indus Valley as a new Indo-Aryan language around 1000 AD.” (75)

(f) The 2^nd edition of the book “The Origin of Sindhi Language” has a detailed discussion that proves that the notion that Sindhi came into being around 1000 AD is not correct. The southern dialect of the indigenous language (Sindhi) of the Indus Valley was called as Nāgar Apabhramsha which was not only the language for daily life but had acquired the status of a scientific and literary language.

            Dr. Jetly has conceded that Nāgar Apabhramsha was a literary Apabhramsha. He has quoted examples of two poems in Nāgar Apabhrmasha, thereby has tried to show its similarity with Sindhi language. Both these ‘dohas’ (two lined verses) have been taken by him from Hemchander’s (12^th Century AD) book, which are actually two-lined verses of (seengar ras). Both are reproduced here:

            When these two verses (seengar ras) are studied it can confidently be said that both are examples of the eastern Sindhi dialect of those times, only the words have been used according to the prevailing accent.

In fact these verses belong to the Sindhi language of the Indus Valley that has been called Nāgar Apabhramsha locally.

(g) As mentioned earlier, Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji had also found a few two-lined verses (dohā) from Hemchander’s book, one of them has been given here. They too show a resemblance with Sindhi language.

(i) First Example:

Meaning:

(Who does not love life, and who does not desire for wealth,

When he got hold of both, he threw away the gold)

(ii) Second example:

Meaning:

(If he is not coming to your house, why be sad

One who breaks his promise, cannot be my beloved)

(iii) Third example:

Meaning:

(We are few while enemies are many, says a coward

Confused look towards the sky and many people lie like that)

(iv) Fourth example:

(Meaning: if a son is born what good that is, if he died why is it bad

It is like someone occupying the father’s land)

The language used in these verses is very similar to that used by Ismaili dāī Pir Satgur Noor in the 11^th century.

This shows that the custom of (gāthā, dohā and shringār ras) verses in Sindhi continued in the Soomra period. The singers and folk poets of Laṛ, Thar and Parker sang praise of the bravery and brotherhood of the chiefs of their tribes.

It is therefore incorrect to say that Sindh language came into being from the 11^th century AD.

References

• Abdul Haque, Mahar, Dr., 1992, The Soomras, Multan: Beacon Books, p:43
• Mughul M. Rafiq, Dr., May 4, 1996, Interview published in daily Dawn (English) Karachi,
• Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch, Dr. 1990, History of Sindhi Language and Literature, IIIrd edition, Jamshoro: Pakistan Study Center, Sindh University, pp. 1,2,3,4 and 33.
• Kenyour J. Mark, June 3, 1977, Ancient Cities of Indus Valley, a lecture, Daily Dawn, Karachi: Tuesday.
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr., 1974, The Origin of Sindhi Language, Hyderabad: Zaib Adabi Markaz.
• Bhutto, Zulfiqar Ali, Shaheed, 1972, Speech in National Assembly, Islamabad.
• Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr., 2000, The Origin of Sindhi Language, 2nd edition, Sindhika Academy, Karachi.
• Gidwani, Parso, Dr. Similarities in Sindhi and Dravidian Languages
• Allana, Ghulam Ali, Dr., Origin and Growth of Sindhi Languages, Jamshoro: Institute of Sindhology.
• Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr., 2002, The Origin of Sindhi Language, reference no 13.
• Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch, Dr., Ref no 3, p:1
• Ibid, p:1
• Abdul Haq Mahar, see ref no 1,2 and 5-12
• Ibid
• Bherumal, Advani, 1956, History of Sindhi Language, Hyderabad: Sindhi Adabi Board, pp:176 & 177
• Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch, Dr. see ref no 3, pp. 6,7,11 and 13
• Trumpp, E, Dr., 1872, The Grammar of Sindhi Language, Leping F.A. Brokhams, Introduction, pp:I & II
• Gidwani Parso, 1994, The Similarities in Sindhki and Dravidian Personal Names and Menghwar Names, Article, Sindhi Adab Risalo, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 12th edition, pp:49-57
• Allana, Ghulam Ali,Dr. See ref no 13
• Gidwani, Parso,Dr: see ref no 26
• Ibid
• Sirajul Haque Memon, 1983, Article, Hilal-e-Pakistan monthly edition, September 1983, pp.7-11
• Pischell, R., ‘Camparative Grammar of the Prakrit Languages’, Delhi, Motilal Banarasidas, 1965, p.7.
• Caldwell, R., Dr., ‘A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Language’, Introduction Trubner Co: Ludgate Hill, London, 1875, pp.48 & 458.
• Ibid, p. 460.
• Ibid, p. 461.
• Ibid, p. 464
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Ibid, p. 11 & 46.
• Ibid, p. 464
• Nabi Baksh Baloch, Dr., Article, ‘Sindhu Tehzeeb ji Sindhu Likhat ji Bhanja’, “Sindhi Boli”, Issue No. 2, Edition 4, April, May, June, 1994, pp. 7-3.
• Qazi Athar Mubarakpuri, ‘Arab-o-Hind Ahad e Risalat Men’, Nadvatul Musanafin, Jame Masjid Delhi- 6, 1965, pp. 19-33.
• Khan, F.A., Bhambhore Excavations, revised edition, Department of Archaeology, Government of Pakistan, Karachi, 1963, pp. 29 & 30.
• Alana Ghulam Ali, Dr., ‘Sindhi Sooratkhati’, Hyderabad, Sindhi Language Authority, 1979, pp. 32 & 33.
• Jahiz, ‘Risalatal Fakharulsodan Alalbaidan’, urdu translation, ‘Hindustan Arbon Ki Nazar Men’, Part I, Azam Garh, Darul Musanafin, 1960, p.72.
• Abdul Wahab Chachar, ‘Sindhi Boli-a jo Irtiqa’, Article, Monthly Shariyat, February 1985, p. 23.
• Jahiz, Ibid, p. 72.
• Abul Hassan Masaoodi, ‘Muravajul Zahab o Muavinul Jouhar’, urdu translation, ‘Hindustan Arbon Ki Nazar Men’, 1^st Edition, pp. 288-289.
• Bashari Muqadasi, ‘Ahsanul Taqaseem Fi Muarafat’, see. Ibid, pp. 358-386.
• Sibte Hassan, ‘ Pakistan Men Tehzeeb Ki Irtiqa’, 5^th Edition, p. 67.
• Vijaya Krishna brothers, ‘Literary History of India’, Omle Co: Inc, New York, p. 5. Also see: Chandra Chakraverty, ‘Racial History of India’, Vijaya Krishna Brothers, Calcutta, pp. 170-225.
• Ali Kufi, ‘Fateh Nama Sindh Urf Chachnamo’, translated by Makhdoom Ameer Ahmed, interpretated by Dr. Nabi Baksh Khan Baloch, Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, 1954, pages are mentioned in context.
• Abdul Wahab Chachar, Ibid, Monthly Shariyat, February 1958, p. 22.
• Ibid, p. 22.
• Parab Abechandani, ‘Sat Saar’, Part-2, New Delhi, 1992, pp. 85 & 86.
• Sachau, C. Dr., ‘Al-Beruni’s India’, Vol. II, Lahore, Govt. of Pakistan, 1962, p. 350.
• Jahiz, ‘Risalatal Fakharulsodan Alalbaidan’, ref. is mentioned, pp. 7-4.
• Abdul Wahab Chachar, Monthly Shariyat, Sukkur, November 1981, p. 17.
• Ali Kufi, ‘Fateh Nama Sindh Urf Chachnamo’, translated by Ameer Ahmed, interpretated by Dr. Nabi Baksh khan Baloch, Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, First Edition, 1954, p. 40.
• Ibid, p. 47.
• Ibid, p. 76.
• Jhatmal Bhavnani, ‘Dhola Maru’, Bombay, India, Sahitya Mala, 1956, p. 77.
• Param Abechandani, ref. is given, pp. 55-56.
• Thadhani, T. S., article: “The Lohamas’, J.S.H.S., Vol. VIII, No. 3, January, 1948, p. 166.
• Muhammad Hassan, Dr., ‘Hindi Adab Ki Tareekh’, Aligarh, Anjuman Taraqi-e Urdu, 1955, p. 17.
• Ibid, pp. 16 & 17.
• Ibid, p. 17.
• Chatterji, S. K., Dr., ‘Indo-Aryan and Hindi’, Gujrat Vernacular Society, Ahmedabad, 1942, pp. 164-165.
• Chatterji, S. K., Dr., Op. Cit. p. 169.
• Ibid, pp. 164-165.
• Ref: 68, p. 165.
• Ref: 71.
• Muhammad Hassan, Dr., ‘Hindi Adab Ki Tareekh’, p. 36.
• Grierson, G., Sir, ‘Lingusitic Survey of India’, Vol. I, Part I, 1927, P. 124.
• Ganga Ram Garg, International Encyclopedia of Indian Literature, Vol. VIII (Sindhi), a brief survey, written by Dr. Murlidhar Jetley, New Delhi, Mittal Publication, 1991, p. ix.

* Dr. Hiremath writes: There are references to nau-nagaras (boat-dwellings) or cities on the boats. This presupposes a class of people who were expert fishermen and sailors of the Indus Valley working on these boats. It was rather a sizeable community with Shambhav as their leader. They had many fortresses and huge ship dwellings. (Hiremath P:83).

Shambhu has been a famous deity of Sindh, it is possible that names like Sanbhulal, Sanbhumal and Sanbhu are given in his following.