Chapter Eighth The Period of Sachal Sarmast and Sami

 Chapter Eighth

The Period of Sachal Sarmast and Sami

(Mir [Talpur] Rule 1783 to 1843 AD)

1- It has been mentioned in chapter 7 that the last years of Mughal rule and the initial part of  Kalhora period (1700 AD) that started 10 years after Shah Latif’s birth, brought new measures and horizons for Sindhi language. Makhdoom Ziauddin, Makhdoom Abul Hassan, Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim Thattvi, Shah Inayat Shaheed, Shah Inat Rizvi, Makhdoom Muhammad Moeen Thattvi and Shah Latif brought about important changes in the prevailing traditions of Sindhi and made it an everlasting language. Shah Latif’s influence on Sindh and Sindhi language remained effective in the periods after him, and it is evident on Sachal Sarmast and his contemporaries, not only in Sindh but outside Sindh on the poets and scholars of the Seraiki belt as well.

2- Like the Kalhora period, Sindhi was the medium of education in addition to Persian and Arabic in the Talpur era as well. Arabic and Persian were used for higher education and the curriculum of Sindhi language was assigned as follows:

After the first year in the religious schools when the child started reading and writing, he was first taught recitation of the Holy Quran without its translation. The teaching at that age was gradual. When he reached the age of 9 years, he was taken one step ahead to study his mother-tongue i.e. Sindhi language. And to this end they were taught the following syllabus (1):

(i) Noor Nama: This is an easy and short compiled book, which describes the history before mankind was born. This book was composed by Abdul Rehman. It is a collection of the sayings of different messengers of God and the Ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

(ii) Books and tafseers by Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim Thattvi: His books such as Faraizul Islam, Vaseeat Namo, Zibah Shikar a.k.a Rahatul Momineen, Biaaz Hashmi, Tafseer Tabarak, Tafseer Um, Zaadul Faqeer, Tehzeebul Islah, Fatehul Kalam and Hayatul Quloob were prescribed for teaching in seminaries/Madressahs.

(iii) Stories in poetry and prose: Important stories on topics like Saiful-Mulook and Laila Majnoon were also taught. The most important book in this series was Hikayatul Saliheen, which had been translated from Arabic to Sindhi by a scholar named Abdul Hakeem. The subjects in this book were biographies and sayings of famous saints of the Islamic era.

(iv) “Laadano” (Obituary): This book is about the passing away of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and is a translation of Habib Sayar, of a book written by Mian Habibullah.

(v) “Sao Masala (100 Problems): This small booklet is about how Abdul Haleem, a beggar had won a bet of answering 100 questions to marry the daughter of a king of Rome.

(vi) Mairaj Namo: This book is about the facts and happenings related with the event of MAIRAJ of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

One can infer that the system of teaching in Sindhi language continued in the times of the Talpur rulers. In this era, this language was used for religious education in schools and seminaries and whereas the children of Hindu shopkeepers and traders learnt the use of commercial language by teachers, scholars and educationists who maintained the high standards of the language through their writings and literary work which was later acquired by great poets like Shah Latif and his contemporary poets and scholars. Like Sachal Sarmast, Mian Abdul Raheem Girhoree, Mian Sarfaraz Khan Abbassi, Syed Sabit Ali Shah, Sami, Rohal, Dilpat, Bedal, Makhdoom Abdul Rauf Bhatti, Mir Hassan Ali Khan Hassan, Khalifa Nabi Buksh Qasim and Nawab Wali Muhammad Leghari etc.

In the period of the Talpur Mirs, Sindhi language also remained the medium of writing for commercial reasons and trade in addition to the day to day businesses. The Khwajas, Memons, Bhatias, Lohanas and other Hindu traders used to write their commercial letters, ledgers, accounting books, diaries etc. in scripts prevalent in their regions in addition to the Sindhi-Arabic script.

3- (a) The Talpur rule started in 1783 AD. The last years of the Kalhora rule was a difficult time for the people of Sindh. In the beginning of this era, owing to the attacks by Nadir Shah and later the fighting between Mian Ghulam Nabi Kalhora and Mian Abdul Ghani Kalhora and the attacks on Sindh by Madad Khan Pathan, the cities of Larr were destroyed and the martyrdom of Mian Sarfaraz Khan Abbassi and similar events had resulted in a state of tyranny and lawlessness in Sindh.

In the end, Kalhoras were defeated in the battle of Halani and the Talpurs became the rulers of Sindh. The Talpur rule brought back peace in the lives of the people of Sindh. The poetry of Syed Azimuddin Thattvi, a poet in the courts of Mir Fateh Ali Khan provides credence to such a claim.

(b) The Talpur rulers inherited a vast literary treasure. The fame of literary acumen, knowledge and services of the scholars of Kalhora period had crossed the frontiers and reached the Arab world, Iran, Afghanistan and the countries of the Middle East. The Late Lutfullah Badvi writes in this regard:

“In the Mirs’ era, while the Sindhi poetry progressed, Persian poetry did not lag behind. Numerous great and famous poets of Persian were born in this era which include Mir Janullah Rizvi, Syed Azeemuddin Thattvi, Mir Raziuddin ‘Fida’, Mir Hyderuddin ‘Booturab Kamil’, Mir Karam Ali Khan ‘Karam’, Mir Naseer Khan ‘Jaffery’, Nawab Wali Muhammad Khan Leghari, Shewak Ram ‘Attarad’, ‘Toofan’ Thattvi, Mirza Mazhar Syed ‘Tabatabai’, Makhdoom Abdul Wahid ‘Sevistani’, Ghulam Ali Thattvi ‘Momin’, Sahib Rai ‘Azad’, Muhammad Rajah ‘Panah’, Syed Sabir Ali Thattvi, Makhdoom Noor Muhammad ‘Noor’, Persram Thanwario (Tanwario) Mal ‘Beena’, Mirza Khusro Baig, Mir Hotik Khan Baloch and Mir Kazim Shah.” (2)

Mr. Badvi continues:

“Although the brief period of reign by the Mirs is not full of achievements in the country’s welfare and betterment, but one cannot deny the fact that their courts were always full of scholars and poets, where their skill and knowledge always prevailed. The services rendered by them in the fields of literature and education can never be forgotten. The Mirs did not just like the Persian language, they adored it. They always encouraged the progress of Persian.”

Referring to Nathan Crowe, Mr. Badvi says:

“The courts of Mirs reverberate with Persian language and schools also teach this very language.” (3)

The Mirs loved the art of poetry and because of their literary inclinations their courts had plenty of court poets of an Eastern style. A remarkable and famous poet like Syed Azeemuddin Thattvi used to live in the courtyard of Mir Fateh Ali Khan. He was the paternal uncle of Mir Ali Sher Qane. Mir Karam Ali Khan was also a good poet; he was not only a ruler but was education friendly person and his court used to brim with poets and scholars. He was a writer and poet of high stature. (4) His poetic works have been found and his pen-name was Karam. He composed poetry in the genres of ghazal, qaseeda and fard. His poetry contains the descriptions of the symbols of love (gul-o-bulbul) and stories about wines and joyful parties. Mir Murad Ali Khan became the ruler after Mir Karam Ali and he too had a great interest in Persian literature and occasionally composed poetry. (5)

4- The last period of Talpur rule was that of Mir Naseer Khan ‘Jaffery’, who spent his life in exile and house-arrest. The British conquered Sindh on 17^th February 1843 in the battle of Miani and the Mir rulers were arrested and sent to Calcutta.

Mir Naseer Khan wrote poetry while in prison and exile. He was a poet of high standard. Dr. Burns, who had come to Hyderabad for the treatment of the Mirs in the times of Mir Murad Ali Khan writes:

“The second son of Mir Murad Ali Khan, Mir Nasir Khan’s personality is more attractive among the princes. He is 25 years old. When I was going to Hyderabad, I had already heard about the qualities and scholarly acumen of Mir Nasir Khan. Considering that all the poets of the world enjoy their praise, one day I requested Mir Sahib to give me a copy of his Diwan. He accepted my request and gave me a beautiful copy of his diwan, which was decorated with gold-work; he also wrote a comment on the title. If this poetry is actually Mir Sahib’s creation, it proves his beautiful expression rather than his scholarly acumen.” (6)

5- (a) In the Mir era, while the Persian poetry was high and mighty, Sindhi poetry was also at its peak. Late Mr. Lutfullah Badvi calls this era as the golden period of Sindhi poetry. He has written:

“A lot of changes occurred in ancient poetry. The ‘do tuki’ vaee present in the period of Shah Latif, had changed, and this genre of poetry was given the name of kafi.” (7)

But after studying what has been described above, this opinion of Mr. Badvi cannot be accepted that kafi started in the period of Talpurs. Discussing the periods of Sama and Soomra rule, the opinion of Makhdoom Talibul Maula has been given as a reference.

Makhdoom Talibul Maula describes:

“Kafi is the name of a raga derived from a branch of music. The name of this genre was described by Pandit Sarang Dev in his book called Ratnakar as “Harpiamail” about 700-800 years back. The inventor of Sitar (musical instrument based on strings) Ameer Khusro (1253-1325 AD) had invented a few notes by mixing Persian and Hindi ragas to beat the royal singer Nanak Gopal.” (8)

In this context, the opinion of Dr. Abdul Jabbar Junejo carries a lot of weight. He says:

“The structure of the Ginans by Pir Shams and Sadruddin is like the kafi.” (9)

 “A few Ginans have been published and after their perusal, one can say that Pir Sadruddin was not only a preacher but a very good poet too. His poetry contains language that is sweet and has a high quality of expression. His eloquence and similes show the depth of his thoughts and his poetry is very impressive.

Ginan is a genre of ancient Sindhi poetry having a very interesting form, because bait is apparently the most prominent genre of the initial era of Sindhi poetry. The structure of Ginan is a couple of steps ahead of vaee and is also seen in kafi. Some of them are similar to the lines of bait and many are like kafi with two lines in a verse and also contain repeating rhymes which conforms more to kafi rather than vaee; albeit at places the meter is not up to the mark. Some lines are musically based on Chhand (prosody) while some on kafi. When more Ginans will become available, it will be possible to study them in more detail.” (10)

(b) Research has shown that the genre of kafi was common in the Multan region in the times of Pir Sadruddin (1290-1409 AD). Mr. Badvi did change his views later and wrote in the same book that:

“As far as kafi is concerned, the first one that we notice is Madhulal Shah Hussain, who was born in Lahore in the 12-13^th Century AD and died around 1399 AD; it is famous that he belonged to the Malamati sect and used to sing and dance. Madhulal Shah Hussain was famous for his kafis in Punjabi poetry.

After Madhulal comes the name of Bulhay Shah, who holds a very high position in Punjabi poetry. He was born in a village near Qusoor around 1680 AD and died in 1750 AD.  Most of his poetry consists of kafis.” (11)

Mr. Badvi writes further:

“Syed Bulhay Shah is a predecessor of Sachal Sarmast. Rohal Sufi was his great contemporary whose collection of kafis has also become available.” (12)

Mr. Badvi continues:

“Having decided the time zone, one can endeavour to say that kafi is a genre which has come from Punjab. The spiritual relations between Sindh and Punjab are very old. A large number of disciples of Shaikhul Shiyukh Hazrat Bahauddin Zikria Multani and his lineage reside in Sindh. The followers of the saints of Uch Shareef (Jilani and Bukhari) and Sultan Bahu also lived here in large numbers (and still do); the tomb of Hazrat Mian Mir used to be a place of pilgrimage for people of Sehwan. All these shrines of saints regularly received pilgrims from Sindh; and surely on the basis of these relations kafi must have reached Sindh.” (13)

(c) One has to clarify at this juncture that in the literary history of Sindh and Punjab, while kafi has been considered as a raga of music, it is also a genre of literature of Sindh and Punjab. Research has established that kafi is a genre of Sindhi, Seraiki and Punjabi poetry which has been present in the subcontinent before the arrival of Ameer Khusro (1253-1325 AD). And to support this claim, the writings of Syed Lutf Ali Shah Manzoor Naqvi, Makhdoom Muhammad Zaman Talibul Maula and Mushtaq Jaffery are available. Mr. Talibul Maula has written with reference to the book ‘Sindh main Urdu’ and taking the help of Shaikh Farid Bakhri’s book called ‘Zakheera Alkhawaneen’, he says:

“We have found that in the 11^th Century, a famous Urdu poet lived in Sindh. His name was Syed Muhammad Fazil Bakhri, who was the younger brother of Syed Masoom Bakhri, the writer of Tareekh-e-Masoomi; his poetry became quite famous.

It is written in Zakheera Alkhawaneen:

"شعر برزبان سندی از قسم کافی بکمال می گفت و مقبولیت داشتہ" (14)

Makhdoom Talibul Maula’s views can be seen in previous pages. (see ref: 8)

Mr. Talibul Maula further opines that:

“Ameer Khusro invented another raga from Harpiamail and named it as ‘Rag kafi’ which means ‘full or complete’.

“The use of ‘Raag kafi’ was already established in Sindh and in the 11^th Century AD, Shaikh Laad Jiyo migrated from Sindh to settle in Burhanpur (India). He had expertise in Sindhi music. kafi Rag had become quite popular in Sindh, and he used to sing with such a pensive and melodious voice that the listeners used to sway and go in a trance.” (15)

Abdul Majeed Bhatti, the author of ‘Kafiaan Shah Hussain’ has claimed that Shah Hussain was the first sufi poet who wrote kafi and based them on ragas. (16) Writing in the chapter on Indian music, Abul Fazal, the author of ‘Aaina e Akbari’  has called kafi as a raga from Sindh. He writes:

و آنچ در سند گویند کافی نام بود

در وسیان افسون مھرو محبت (17)

(d) Mysticism came to Multan and ancient Sindh from the Middle East, Hirat and Kandhar, the vanguard of which was Laal Shahbaz Qalander. (18) He had a great effect on Sindh and its scholars and saints as has been mentioned earlier in the text. All these saints and scholars were poets too, and therefore the language used in the poetry shows an influence of mysticism in it. They used words, phrases and quotes usually used in mysticism, thereby adding these words to the vocabulary of Sindhi language.

6- (a) A new era of mysticism started in the period of Mir rule. Sachal Sarmast was a representative poet and saint of this period. Sachal was deeply inspired by the philosophy of Mansoor Halaaj. He (Sachal) defined the principles of Vehdatul Vujood (Unity of Existence) through Sindhi language. The poetry of Sachal is full of very fine details of mysticism. Mr. Lutfullah Badvi has written:

“As a scholar who defines mysticism, he has described the facts about negation and positivism (نفي-اثبات) finite and infinite (فنا-بقا), abstract and individual (تجريد-تفريد) Hama’oost and vehdatul vujood, recitation and thought in a very impressive manner.” (19)

(b) Sachal Sarmast was a big poet of the Talpur era. He expressed his thoughts and views through kafi, doheero, bait, jhoolaṇ, ghazal and raikht and described the various subjects of human psychology and the thoughts of various sections of the society for which he used Sindhi, Seraiki and other languages.

Shah Latif and Sachal Sarmast are the voices coming from the hearts of the people of their own periods. One finds that people who lived in those times were very close to them. The people of Shah Latif’s time used to sing his baits and vaees in their areas and people of Sachal’s times sang his poetry in Sindh as well as in Seraiki belt of Punjab, Rajasthan and areas of Balochistan.

(c) Sachal Sarmast also depicted the conditions of the people of his times. His poetry also encompasses the social conditions and classes of his time in his language: for example kings and rulers, rich, poor and destitutes, mirs and pirs, clerics, mullahs, pandits and brahmans, traders and merchants, farmers and laborers, wanderers and jogis, blacksmith and goldsmiths, weavers, cobblers, shepherds, strong and weak, Kohistani, Kharai, Larri, riders etc. He has presented these vocations in his poetry as under:

چئو ميان عشقا ڪيئن، تون سوين سيل بنائين ٿو

يا تون آهين ذات ديوانو، جو ڪيڏا ٺاهَه ٺاهين ٿو،

ڪاٿئين مُلان، قاضي تون، ڪاٿئين سيد سڏائين ٿو،

ڪاٿئين شيخ برهمڻ، ڪاٿائين ٻانگ ٻُڌائين ٿو. (الخ)

chao miya ashqa kiyan, toon sawen sala banain tho,

ya toon ahin zaat deewano, jo keda ṭhaaha ṭhaheen tho,

kathayeen mulan, qazi toon, kathain syed sadayeen tho,

kathayeen Sheikh Brahmaṇ, kathayeen banga budhayeen tho (alkh)

Second example:

هت ڏسان  ڏوٿيڙن جون، ويٺي واٽڙيون،

هت پون پهنوارن تي، مٺيون ماٽڙيون،

ياد اُتي جون مون پيون، ڇوهيون ڇاٽڙيون،

توڙي چار ڪُنڊان لوئيءَ جون، هت ڦاڪين ڦاٽڙيون.

hit disaan dothiyaṛan joon, weṭhe watṛyoon,

hit pawan pahnwaran te, miṭhyoon matṛyoon,

yaad ute joon moon khe payoon, chhohyoon chhatṛyoon,

toṛe chaar kundan loyi-a joon, hit phakin phatṛiyoon

Or this example:

ڪانگل ڏج سنيهڙا، مان ويراڳڻ آهيان،

اوهان ٻاجھون آءٌ گھڻيري، محلن ۾ مُسجان،

قسمت قيد الماءُ جي، ايرادي آهيان،

چانور ڇا چُورما، آڇن نت نوان

ڏؤنرا، پُسيون ڏيهه جا، ساريُون هت رُئان. (الخ)

kangal dij sinehaṛa, maan weragaṇ ahyan

awhan bajhoon aaun ghaṇeri, mahlan men musjan,

qismat qaid almau je, aeradee ahean,

chanwar chha choorma, aachhan nat nawan,

daunra, pusyoon deha ja, saryoon hit ruan

(d) He has depicted the milieu of the fishermen’s society in these words:

ڪُڙهيون جن ڪنڌ تي، سي ٿيا لڳي ڀال ڀلا،

دمڙي تن نه دست ۾، هُئا ٺهريل ڪينَ ٺلها،

اڄ ميئن جي گھر مالَ جا، ٿيا ٿَم ٿلا،

پر هيڙي اکڙين ۾ ڪاجا مِي ڪلا،

ڪينجھر گھمن لاڏ ڪيُون، ڪَيون رَسَ رلا،

اگلا جي سگلا، سستي نانَوَ سڃاڻبا.

kuṛhyoon jin kandha te, se thya lagi bhaala bhala,

damṛi tin na dast me, hua ṭhahryal keen ṭhalha,

aj meean je ghara maal ja, thya tham thala,

para heṛi akhṛyun men kaja mee kala

keenjhar ghuman laada kayoon, kayoon rasa rala

agla je sagla, saste nanwa sunjaṇba.

Sachal Sarmast used thousands of new words of various circumstances, some of which are as under:

dhago (ڌاڳو), maṇyo (مڻيون), daam (دام), dothiyaṛan (ڏوٿيڙين), watṛyoon (واٽڙيون), panhwar (پنهوار), matṛiyoon (ماٽڙيون), chhohyoon (ڇوهيون), chhaatdyoon (ڇاٽريون), looyi (لوئي), khinviṇyoon (کنوڻيون), jhangeen (جھانگين), thareleen (ٿاريلين), dothin (ڏوٿين), saṇeeha (ساڻيهه), marooaṛa (ماروئڙا), kangal (ڪانگل), saneehaṛa (سنهيڙا), weragaṇ (ويراڳڻ), chanwar (چانور), choorma (چورما), daunra (ڏؤنرا), pusyoon (پُسيون), jhaka (جھَڪَ), chhapar (ڇپر), goran (گورَن), doongar (ڏونگر), damṛi (دمڙي), keenjhar (ڪينجھر), agla sagla (اگلا سگلا), munha mera (منهن ميرا), munha buchhṛa (منهن بڇڙا), suhaag (سهاڳ), goondar (گوندر), ganeera (گنيرا), kuṛhyoon (ڪُڙهيون), kojhyoon (ڪوجھيون), chhichhee (ڇڇي), chhata (ڇَٽَ), ranga karyoon (رنگ ڪاريون), munhan na mocharyoon (مُنهن نه موچاريون), kharyoon (کاريون), dhoṇi (ڌوڻي), dhyan (ڌيان), adhot (اَڌوت), gurgum (گُرگُم), godaṛya (گودڙيا), garooṛi (گروڙي), ashnan (اَشنان), ganga (گنگا), jamna (جمنا), jogi (جوڳي), jataoon (جٽائون), chimta badhaṇ (چمٽا ٻڌڻ), kishta (ڪشتا), poorab (پورب), weragi (ويراڳي), bhogi (ڀوڳي), tiyagaṇ (تياڳڻ), sami (سامي), kafni (ڪفني), mashaal (مشعل), kundal (ڪُنڊل), jogesar (جوڳيسر) & wanjhalyoon (ونجھليون) etc.

In the following example, one can see how he has tried to depict the environment in Sur Sasui:

توڙي جھَڪَ جھڪي ڪئي جھولـــي،

ٻــــي تــــان ٻــــولي هــــڏ نــــه ٻولــــي،

ڦيريون ڏئــــي، ڀريــــنءَ کــــي ڦولــــي،

ڇــــوهــــون ڀــــاڻ ڇپــــر کــــي ڇولــــي،

گــــورن رَنــــد ڏســــي سِــــرُ گھولــــي،

ڳــــڙ ڳــــڙ ڳــــوڙهــــا ڳاڙيــــو ڳولــــي،

ڏونــــگــــر ڏرڙ ڏکــــــــوئــــي ڏولــــي،

قــــــــادر شــــــــــــال قريــــبــــن ڪــــولي،

ڪــــنــدو گــــام ٽڪــــر کئــــون ٽــاري.

toṛe jhaka jhaki kayi jholi,

be taan boli had na boli

phairyoon daye, bhareen-a khe phole

chhohoon bhaaṇ chhapar khe chhole,

goran rand disi sur ghole,

gaṛ gaṛ goṛha gaṛyo gole

doongar daraṛ dukhoye dole,

qaadir shaal qareeban kole,

kando gaam tukar kanyon tare.

Like Shah Latif, Sachal Sarmast also used many words used in the families of wanderers and jogis in his poetry, for example: dhooṇi (ڌوڻي ), dyan (ڌيان), adhoot (اڌوت), gur-gum (گُر-گُم), godaṛya  (گودڙيا), garooṛi (گروڙي), ashnan (اشنان), ganga jamna (گنگا جمنا), jogi (جوڳي), jataoon (جٽائون), chimta badhaṇ (چمٽا ٻڌڻ), kishta (ڪشتا), poorab (پورب), weragi (ويراڳي), bhogi (ڀوڳي), bhagi (ڀاڳي), tiyagaṇ (تياڳڻ), kafni (ڪفني), mashaal (مشعل), kundal (ڪُنڊل), jogesar (جوڳيسر) & wanjhalyoon (ونجھليون).

(1)  ڪُنڊل ڪنن ۾ وجھي، خان ڇڏي خاني،

جوڳيسر جاني، راويءَ طرف روي هليو.

kundala kanan men wijhi, khan chhade khani,

jogesar jaani, ravi-a taraf rawi halyo

(2) جوڳي زلفن وارو، سو سامي مون تان ڪِينَ

ڳل ڪئي ڪفني  دست پهوڙا، مشعل منجھه موچارو

انگ ڀڀوت بنائي آيو، بيک پئي وڻجارو،

ٻئي لباس ڪو رانجھو ايندو، ڇڏي تخت هزارو،

سبب انهيءَ کئون ڪين سڃاتم، ماريو مُئيءَ لَئه وارو،

”سچو“ سڃاتو ته رانجھو آهي، جڏهن جمال پسائين سارو.

jogi zulfun waro, so saami moon taan keena

gal kai kafni dast pahoṛa, mashaal manjh mocharo

ang bhabhoot banaye aayo, bekha payi waṇjaro,

biye libas ko ranjho eendo, chhade takht hazaro,

sabab unhai-a khaun keena sunjatam, maryo mui-a laye waro,

“sacho” sunjato ta ranjho aahe, jadenh jamal pasayeen saro.

7- (a) It is peculiar of Eastern and local poets to use a woman as the lover, and share their thoughts through a feminine voice. From Pir Shams and later Pir Sadruddin to Shah Karim Bulrai, Shah Latif, Shah Inayat Rizvi, Lutfullah Lakho, Sachal Sarmast, Sami, Rohal Faqeer and Talibul Maula they have all presented themselves as a lover in the form of a woman where in addition to praying for the beloved, they beseech, urge and plead as well.

Sachal Sarmast has also taken this path to express his mysticism. He has also expressed through a woman as the desiring one and has used the words, phrases, proverbs, and prayers brimming with humility, modesty, low-profile and extreme humbleness. He has expressed the desire of meeting and unison with the beloved as a woman; sending prayers, requests and pleas. And to express such human feelings, he has used his own language. He has also used the female folk characters like Sasui, Marvi, Noori, Leela, Sohni and Moomal to show his love and affection for the beloved. For example:

1. تون تان صاحب سپرين، هيءَ ڏوهارڻ ڏڏ.

toon taan sahib supreen, hee-a doharaṇ dad

2. صورت وارا سپرين، آءٌ نماڻي ڇاهيان؟

soorata wara supreen, aaun nimaṇi chhahyan?

3. دوست اوهانجڙي آهيان، ميان!

سائينءَ لڳ سڃاڻين.

تون تان صاحب سپرين، ميان، هيءَ نار نماڻي!

ڳچيءَ پائي ڪپڙو، ميان الا، زور ڪرينس زاري.

dost awhanjaṛi aahyan, miyan!

saeen-a lag sunjaṇeen.

toon taan sahib supreen, miyan, hee-a naar nimaṇi!

gichi-a paye kapdo, miyan ala, zor kareens zaari

4. پرين نه ڇڏج ٻئي پار، ساريو تنهنجون ڳالهيون، رُئان آءٌ ذار،

اڱڻ آسروند جي، والي ايندين ڪهڙي وار،

آهين جنهين تون آسرو، سا ويچاري نه وسار،

نماڻيءَ جي نجھري، آءُ گھڙي هڪ گذار.

pirīn na chhadij biye pār, saryo tunhjūn gālhyūn, ruān āun zār,

angaṇ aasrond je, wali eenden kahṛe waar,

ahin jinhen toon asro, sa wechari na wisar

nimaṇi-a je nijahre, aau ghaṛi guzar.

(b) Like Shah Latif, Sachal Faqeer has also presented woman as a symbol in his poetry in Sindhi, Seraiki and other languages to show her qualities and cultural values like, love, sacrifice, consistence, bravery, courage, modesty and humbleness; for example:

هيءَ نماڻي وو، ور وڪاڻي وو!

نال نباهي نيجو.

hee-a nimaṇi wo, war wikaaṇi wo!

naal nibahe nejo.

(c) Sachal Sarmast has used numerous new words, phrases, formations, similes, metaphors and other poetical figures and genres in his language. He has used many Persian and Arabic words and phrases in his vocabulary. Like:

آءُ ادا سالڪ، سهي ڪر، تون طلسمات کي

ڀڃ دوئي تا ڪل پويئي، دور ڪر درجات کي

سِر اهو سارو سڻائج، ڪن نه ڏي ڪرامات کي (الخ)

aau ada salik sahi kar, toon tilsimaat khe

bhanj doi taa kala paweyi, door kar darjaat khe

sir uho saaro suṇaij, kana na de karamat khe

Similarly in his kafis he used karamat, sifaat, maujoodaat, maslehaat, taáat, aza’laaat, asbaat, hidayat, zalaalat, tajreed, tafreed and numerous other words that had not been used by Shah Latif and his other contemporaries.

8- (a) The language used by Sachal Faqeer is of Utradi (of Uttar/upper Sindh) dialect. Some typical words from his collection are reproduced here as examples:

khaun (کؤن) = khan (کان  ) (from)

jaade (جاڏي) = jedan (جيڏانهن)  (where)

dahoon (ڏهون) = daanh (ڏانهن)   (to)

maun (مؤن) =manjhan (منجھان)  (in)

taade (تاڏي) =tedaanh (تيڏانهن)  (there)

kaade (ڪاڏي) =  keedanh (ڪيڏانهن)  (where?)

raahan (راهان) = raahon (راهون)  (ways)

khabran (خبران) = khabroon (خبرون)  (news)

(b) Khanbahadur Memon writes in this regard: (20)

“The language used by Sachal in his poetry is Sindhi used in the northern part of Sindh.” For example:

(1)  اوهان ٻاجھؤن دلبر سائين، آهيون اُداسي آسي.

awhan bajhaun dilbar saeen, aahyo udasi aasi.

(2) مران يا نابر ناهيان، پنهنجي ڪَڍَ قطارج ميان.

maran ya naabir nahyan, penhje kaḍha qatarij miyan

(3) ڪاٿئين ٻڍڙو پير ٿيو، ڪاٿئين ٻولي ٻار.

kathayeen buḍhṛo peer thyo, kathayeen boli baar.

(4) اڄ هوتن ريءَ هت هاڻ، ٻيا ڪير لهن مون ساران.

aj hotan ree-a hit haaṇ, biya ker lahan moon saran.

(5) مون کي رات رسيون، ڏيهه ڏاڏاڻيون خبران.

moon khe raat rasyun, deha dadaṇyoon khabran

(6) زور ڇڏيون زاريون، ٿو تماچي تن کي ڪري.

zora chhadyoon zaryoon, tho tamachi tin khe kare.

(7) سي اڄ ٻڌيون وتن سر تي، چاهه منجھان چيڙ

se aj badhyoon watan sir ate, chaha manjhan chaiṛa

(8) جن لءِ روز نهريم راهان، موليٰ سي محب ملاءِ

jin laye roz nahryam raahan, maula se muhib milaye. (21)

The words like baajhaoon, assee, kadh, kaathaeen, saraan, payoon, khabraan, raahaan and budhiyoon are commonly used in the dialect of the upper Sindh. Similarly some of the phrases used by Sachal Sarmast are reproduced here as examples:

aaryoon khaṇaṇ (آريون کڻڻ), saloon ḍhakaṇ (سالون ڍڪڻ), gheṛa gheṛaṇ (گھيڙ گھڙڻ), chimta badhaṇ (چمٽا ٻڌڻ), poptyoon pataiṇ (پوپٽيون پٽائڻ), faal wijhaṇ (فال وجھڻ) akha wijhaṇ (اکا وجھڻ) sinehaṛa mokilaṇ (سنهيڙا موڪلڻ)

Dr. Abdul Majeed Memon writes:

“Sachal’s poetry clearly shows the northern (Uttar) idiom. Giving examples he says that adding a suffix aan at the end of a melodious phrase makes it in the plural form. In Larri dialect, the suffix oon is added; e.g.:

جن لءِ روز نهاريم راهان، موليٰ سي محب ملايا“

jin laye roz nahryam raahan, maula se muhib milaye.

(d) Numerous compound words have been used in the language of Sachal e.g. munh mera (منهن ميرا), munh buchhṛa (منهن بڇڙا), sar pata (سر پَٽَ), ranga karioon (رنگ ڪاريون), munh na mocharyoon (منهن نه موچاريون), gur gum (گُر گُم) and munh-ang bhabhut (منهن-انگ ڀڀوت) etc.

(e) Nearly all the examples of poetical figures (sanaya badaya) can be seen in Sachal’s poetry. Like:

(1) حاضر ناظر تون، باطن ظاهر تون، تنهنجو هُل هنگامو هي

hazir nazir toon, batin zahir toon, tunhinjo hul hangamo he.

(2) تنهنجي حسن ماريا، سوريءَ سنڀاريا، انهيءَ ڳالهه ڳاريا، هزارين هزار

اهي يار آيا، نيزن جي نوايا، نيئي سر سلايا، تنهن جو اگھار

tunhije husna marya, soori-a sanbharya, inhai-a galh garya, hazaren hazar

uhe yaar aya, nezan je nawaya, neyi sir sulaya, tunhjo aghaar.

In this regard, Dr. Abdul Karim Sandeelo has said:

“We cannot deny the fact that the strange words and phrases used by a poet in his poetry must have been in accordance with the conditions and customary use of those times. No poet will use concocted words; instead he will use meaningful words that would be the beauty of his poetry.” (22)

Dr. Atta Muhammad Hami writes:

“An in-depth study of the poetry of Sachal Sarmast reveals that he had command over the language. The way he chooses his words, their structure, format and the vigour and power of his speech vouch for the strength of his poetry. The proverbs, sayings and idioms will be according to the day to day usage.” (23)

These examples prove that in this era Sindhi language had acquired all the standard linguistic qualities.

9- (a) In the Kalhora period, many Seraiki speaking tribes migrated and settled in Sindh. Their language, i.e. Seraiki left a significant influence on the language of the Upper Sindh which gradually affected the standard Sindhi used for education and teaching. Seraiki started being spoken in the Upper Sindh, and its influence on Sachal Sarmast and other poets of Upper Sindh is quite obvious. Dr. Nawaz Ali Shauq believes that:

“In his (Sachal’s) Seraiki poetry, one can see the commonly spoken language and idioms abundantly.” (24)

It has been said earlier that in the Talpur and Kalhora periods, Seraiki was also spoken in Sindh, because the language of the rulers was also Seraiki. Therefore Seraiki had a significant influence on Sindhi language, the evidence of which can be easily seen in the poetry of Sachal Sarmast and other poets of Upper Sindh. Dr. Ayaz Qadri has also written in this regard that:

“In Sachal’s times, the rulers of the Khairpur State and numerous tribes of Sindh spoke in Seraiki. It was the mother-tongue of the Talpurs, therefore the people of Khairpur State were influenced by Seraiki. Moreover Sindh had very old relations with Multan and various singers and saints used to visit Sindh frequently who were liked by the people for their singing. Due to the influence of the Mir rulers, the relations with Multan and the visits by the singers, Seraiki poetry and songs had become very popular in Khairpur and surrounding areas, and it also affected Sachal Faqeer.” (25)

(b) Dr. Memon Abdul Majeed Sindhi also believes that Seraiki language had a great influence on Sachal Sarmast. He writes:

“Sachal Sarmast was aware of Punjabi and Seraiki poetry as well as Sindhi. One can find metaphorical verses based on the romantic stories of Punjab like Heer Ranjha in his Punjabi and Seraiki poetry. The Punjabi poets have composed the story of Heer Ranjha as a serial, whereas following the tradition of Sindhi poetry Sachal Sarmast has taken a allegorical and symbolic line. For example, in Seraiki the sound of ‘r’ is changed to ‘l’, Sachal has also done so:

(1) ڪٿي گداگر گدائي والا، ڪٿي شهنشاهه،

kithe gadagar gadai wala, kithe shahnshah

(2) سَندِيَوَ سار سنڀال، يار مون کي آهي، منهنجا ميان!

sandiyawa saara sanbhal, yaar moon khe aahe, munhinja miyaan!

(3) سچو صدقي تن تئون، جند جنهين هت گھولي“

sacho sadqe tin taun, jin jinhen hit gholi(26)

Dr. Memon futher writes:

“Sachal Sarmast has used Seraiki words abundantly in his poetry; like:

(1) ٻيو ڄاڻڻ محض گناهه، هر ڪنهن صورت آپ الله.

biyo janaṇ mahz gunah, har kenh soorat aap Allah.

(2) حال ڀائي اچي سي ٿيا، جن تان چيٽڪ لايو.

haal bhai ache se thya, jin taan chetak layo.

(3) ڏوڙا طالع مون ٿين، جڏهن سچو نانوَ سڏيندا.

dooṛa talai moon theen, jadenh sacho nanwa sadeenda.

In the above examples, aap, chaitak and dorra are words of Seraiki language.” (27)

10- (a) Researchers and experts believe that “Persian language strengthened its foothold in Sindh in the times of the Arab rule” (28), but Dr. Haru Sadarangani feels that:

“Persian language came to Sindh in the times of Mahmood Ghaznavi (998-1031 AD).” (29)

The Arab scholars believe that signs of Persian language have been found in Sindh in the ancient times; although during the regime of Mahmood Ghaznavi it progressed phenomenally. The famous Arab scholar Bishari Muqadassi (985 AD) writes:

“Most of the people in Multan are Arabs; and they are able to understand Persian as well.” (30)

The references given by Arab travellers also confirm that a famous physician of Sindh called Pandit Manik in the Abbassi period was a great scholar of Arabic, Sanskrit, Persian and Sindhi. He used to translate Sindhi and Sanskrit books on medicine into Arabic and Persian languages. (31)

This proves that the signs of presence of Persian language in Sindh were found from 200 years before Mahmood Ghaznavi. Moreover, Iran was a neighboring country whose language was Persian which had great relations with Sindh due to trade and commerce between the two states by road and by sea.

(b) In the Soomra period (1010-1351) around 1186 AD, the northern parts of Sindh were (administratively) under Multan and Uch (32), and the government by Multan was also under the influence by Delhi. The language for official communication in Delhi then was Persian. Therefore one can certainly say that the official communication in the Upper Sindh must have been in Persian. In this regard, Dr. Haru Sadarangani believes that:

“During the Soomra rule in the 13^th Century AD, numerous Persian scholars and saints migrated to Sindh, some of whom wrote poetry in Persian language. Some examples of this poetry by Ali Bin Hamid Koofi, a contemporary of Norruddin Koofi and the author of Chachanama are available. This saint had migrated to Sindh in 1216 AD. Similarly some examples of Persian poetry by Laal Shahbaz Qalandar are also available.” (33)

The coins of the Soomra period have names of Soomra rulers written in Ardhnagric script, but it appears that the official language in the Soomra period was Persian.

(c) Dr. Baloch has written in this regard that:

“200 years before the Sama rule, Persian had started showing its presence, due to the status of the official language of the provincial governors and for commercial use.” (34)

Dr. Baloch continues:

“At the time of gaining power by the Sama rulers, the neighboring states of Sindh, Gujrat and Multan were directly under the control of Delhi and the governors there were carefully watching the political revolution in Sindh i.e the uprising of the Samas and the downfall of Soomra rulers. Ainul Mulk Mahroo, the governor of Multan was watching with suspicion the high-headedness of the Sama chief Jaam Baanbhino and was encouraging the last Soomra ruler Hameer son of Dodo. At the same time he was warning Jaam Baanbhino, his supporters and aides through written communiqués. He also wrote letters to some chiefs and powerful men in Sindh and this communication was in Persian language. This was an ancient type of Persian language used by the governor of the federal government of Delhi and the powerful Sama and other chiefs of Sindh. An authentic record of such communications is still available.” (35)

Similarly a manuscript written in Persian language from the initial years of Sama rule is also available that is very old, which has been copied in the book called “Laar ji Adabi ain Saqafati Tareekh” (A Literary and Cultural History of Larr). (36) This manuscript belongs to initial period of the Sama rule.

Dr. Baloch holds the following opinion regarding this manuscript:

“This manuscript is still available and is the oldest one available from the initial period of Sama rulers, which is written in Persian instead of Arabic. It is clear from this manuscript that from the period of Sama rule onwards, Persian was used for the official communication and records; and that Persian language entered the arena of the state as the official language.” (37)

Syed Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi has written in Makli Nama as:

“The plaque on the tomb of Shaikh Turabi near Gujjo has the name of Allauddin Jam Joono carved on it with the year 872 AH (1467 AD).” (38)

The ruler of the Sama period Jam Nindo (RIP 1508 AD/914 AH) was a great scholar who had promoted education. Similarly the other scholars and authors of Persian language in the Sama rule were as under:

• Kazi Kadan (1465-1551 AD)
• Shaikh Issa Langoti
• Makhdoom Bilawal (martyred 1523 AD)
• Kazi Shaikh Muhammad Uchi
• Maulana Ziauddin Rahoothi
• Muhammad Muslihuddin Larri
• Syed Murad Ali Shah Sheerazi (1407-1487 AD)

viii- Syed Ali Sheerazi (1486-1522 AD)

Research has shown that in the Arghun and Tarkhan period (1521-1555 AD) Shukur Illahi, Mazindani, Mirak Sabzwari and Hussaini Saadaat migrated from Kandahar, Shiraz and Hirat to settle in Thatta. (39)

Arghun ruler Mirza Shah Hassan (1555 AD/962 AH) was also a poet and used the pen-name of Sipahi. Mirza Jani Baig (1599 AD/1008 AH) was a poet too with the pen-name Halimi. Similarly Mirza Ghazi Baig (1621 AD/1021 AH) was a poet and his pen-name was Waqari. And amongst the aristocrats Ameer Abul Qasim Beglar (author of Beglar Nama), Mulla Abdul Hakeem ‘Atta’ and others were poets and writers of Persian language.

After that in the Mughal period (1555-1700 AD) and then in the Kalhora period Makhdoom Muhammad Moeen Thattvi, Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim Thattvi, Ghulam Ali ‘Madah’ (1733 AD/1145 AH), Mir Ali Sher Qane (1727-1789 AD/1140-1203 AH) and Mir Muhammad Jalal Thattvi and others were great poets, historians and writers of Persian language.

Although Persian was the official language in the Kalhora period but the Sindhi language had its reach to the common people in addition to the courts of the rulers. Kalhora rulers promoted art and literature; Prince Mian Sarfaraz Khan Abbassi was himself a very good poet of Sindhi and Persian languages. Examples from a famous madah in Sindhi was given in chapter 7; it has been claimed about this madah that by the penultimate years of the Kalhora rule, Sindhi had left Persian language behind and it possessed all the qualities and properties to compete with Arabic and Persian languages.

11- (a) In the Kalhora period, Sindhi poetry had absorbed the meters of uroozi poetry; the verses of Sachal Sarmast can be presented as evidence for such a claim. The uroozi poetry progressed further in the Talpur regime. Most of the poetry of this era is of the uroozi type Among the famous Sindhi poets of this period are Akhund Abdul Rauf Bhatti, Rohal Faqeer, Syed Sabit Ali Shah, Pir Ali Gohar Shah ‘Asghar’, Mulla Owais, Sahibdino Faqeer Farooqui, Muhammad Arif ‘Sanat’, Khalifa Gul Muhammad ‘Gul’, Mir Hassan Ali Khan Hassan, Mir Naseer Khan ‘Jaffri’, Khalifa Nabi Buksh ‘Qasim’ and others who had command over poetry.

(b) The influence of uroozi poetry is apparent in Sindhi poetry with all its qualities. Sindhi poetry was producing various genres. Thousands of words, phrases, proverbs, idioms and sayings of Arabic and Persian commonly started being used in Sindhi which greatly increased its vocabulary.

(c) Like the madah, the genre of marsia is also a proof of the modernity of language in the Mir period. Although the kedaro (poetry related to martyrdom) of Shah Latif and Mian Ahsan Usmani are from the initial days of this type of poetry, but Syed Sabit Ali Shah is considered as the first remarkable poet of this genre in Sindhi language in the subcontinent. In addition to the marsia, Syed Sabit Ali Shah wrote noha, salam and munaqba on the meter of uroozi poetry, which can be claimed as proofs of the progress of Sindhi language.

12- Syed Sabit Ali Shah used appropriate and adequate Persian words in his marsias composed in Persian meters which changed the façade of Sindhi language. For example:

بزم عالي جو مقرب، خاص محفل جو نديم،

بازيابِ حضرتِ مختيار با عزو علا،

اُن جي لطف و مڪرمت جو سر تي سايو ٿيو جڏهن

رزق آسائش فراغت حال حاصل ٿيو عطا

جمله اسبابِ معيشت قوت اولاد و عيال

دولتِ سرڪار هر صورت فراوان فيض ٿيا.

bazm e ali jo muqarab e khaas, mehfil jo dost

baazyab e hazrat e mukhtyar ba azo aala

una je lutf o mukarimat jo sir ate sayo thyo jadenh

rizq asaish faraġhat e haal hasil hasil thyo ata

jumla asbab e maeeshat quat e aulad o ayaal

doulat e sarkaar har surat farawan faiz thya.

In addition to using the zer-izafat (possessive diacritical mark), the words of Persian language were considered essential to be used in all the genres of uroozi poetry.

(d) In his war poems, Syed Sabit Ali Shah took help of Persian similes and metaphors to express the bravery of his heroes. To express pain and misery he used imagery already highly established in Sindhi poetry.

Sabit Ali Shah composed some of his marsias on the meter of ghazal, while some on the pattern of rubaaee. He used different meters and structure of romantic poetry in his verses with the result that the uroozi poetry of Sindhi language was able to compete in every aspect with Persian and Urdu poetry of those times.

(e) In the Mir period, Sachal Sarmast, Syed Sabit Ali Shah and their contemporaries not only used the words, phrases and proverbs of Persian, but also used the zer-izafat (possessive diacritical marks) other forms and poetical figures of Persian language thereby making the poetry of his own language more colorful.

13- (a) In addition to Sachal Sarmast and Syed Sabit Ali Shah there were many other famous poets in the Mir period who expended the Sindhi language through their sufistic poetry. Some of them were Sadiq Faqeer Soomro, Sami, Murad Faqir of Kandree, Pir Muhammad Ashraf of Kamaro, Dilpat Sufi, Khalifo Nabi Buksh; and among the folk poets there were the likes of Hafeez Tevnoo, Khalifa Haji Abdullah of Karhio Ghanvar and Juman Charan etc. From among these poets Sadiq Faqeer Soomro (also Sadiq Shah) was one of the finest poets of the Mir period. His collection ‘Sadiq Faqeer jo Risalo’ is also famous. His poetry is full of sufistic thought and wisdom having concept of oneness of existence.

(b) A great saintly poet of this period and a resident of Shikarpur, Bhai Chaen Rai Lund, became famous with the title of Sami. He died in the initial days of the British rule and lived his entire life through the Mir period. Sami composed poetry in salok form with the subject of vedant and spiritual quality of sufis influenced by Islamic Sufism; therefore Sami has also described the oneness of God Almighty. Dr. Abdul Majeed Sindhi thinks that:

“There are many common elements between Islamic values and vedant, therefore some researchers believe that vedant has influenced Islamic ideals.” (40)

For expression of his Vedantic philosophy, Sami has used Hindi words like kaam, kirodh, lobhe, moh, ahankaar, jogesar, jagat vidya, avidya, sansaar, ved, ishnaan, narain, verag, bhagat, satgur, anbhaee, jote, ramta ram, kalpat etc. For example:

سامي چئي ستت، جپي وٺج جڳديش کي،

موٽي ايندءِ ڪينڪي، اهڙو هٿ وقت،

ڄاڻي جوٺ جڳت کي، ڪر پتيءَ جان پست،

پوءِ رئندين رت، اکين مان عاجز ٿي.

saami chaye sitat, jape waṭhij jagdesh khe

moti indai kinaki, ahṛo hath waqt,

jaṇe joṭh jagat khe, kar pati-a jaan past,

poye ruanden rat, akhyun maan aajiz thi

-

ڪايا ۽ مايا، ڪوڙي سڀ ڪلپت جي،

جئين ڦوٽو جل ۾، درخت جي ڇايا،

جيڪي جڳ آيا، سي سامي رهيا ڪينڪي.

kaya ain maya, kooṛi sabh kalapt ji

jian photo jal men, darakht jee chhaya

jeke jaga aaya, se sami rahya kinaki.

Sami used these and such other saloks to teach the principles of vedant.

(c) (i) Saint Sami paved a new way in Sindhi society and literature by spreading his message of mysticism. He poured the colors of Islamic mysticism into the teaching of vedant thereby introduced a new tradition, something that Sindhi literature and people have always been proud of. Sami has mentioned the unfaithfulness of this world as:

مُکَ مان رام چئِي، سانت نه اچي جِيءَ کي،

ان پاڻيءَ جي نانءَ سان، بک، اُڃ ڪينَ لهي،

ننگر پهچي ڪونه ڪو، بنا، پنڌ ڪئي،

گَرگُم رهت رهي، ته سکي ٿئي سنسار ۾.

mukha maan raam chayee, saant na achi jee-a khe,

ina paaṇi-a je naan-a saan, bukha, unja kian lahe,

nangar puhchi ko na ko, bina, pandh kaye,

gurgum rahit rahe, ta sukhi thiye sansar men.

(ii) Sami has also used countless Arabic and Persian words to express his sufistic ideals; for example: muhabatee, salaah, siddiqui, aib, sawaab, sabr, mard, malah, ajaaib, aql, saalik, rooh, raazi, noormahal, haq, haasil, wehdat etc. It means that by this period, the Arabic and Persian words were also used in the Hindu society.

For example:

فارسي ۽ هندي، سنت چون ٿا ڳالهه هڪ،

سمجھي ڪو سامي چوي، ٻيائيءَ بِنا ٻندي،

چڙهي انڀيءَ اَڇ تي، وٺي راهَه رندِي،

پائي گيان گندي، سمهي سکپت سيج تي.

farsi ain hindi, santa chawan tha gaalh hik,

samjhe ko saami chawe, biyaee bina bandi,

chaṛhi anbhi-a achha te, waṭhi raha randi,

paye giyan gandi, sumhi sukhpat saij te.

And at another place, he says:

عجائب عقل، سالڪ ڏنو سڪ مان،

سمجھي روح راضي ٿيو، ڇڏي هنگامو هُل،

چڙهي نور محل ۾، ڪيائين حق حاصل،

وحدت ۾ واصل، پرچي ٿيو پريم سان.

ajaib aqal, salik dino sika man,

samjhi rooh razi thio, chhade hangamo hul,

chaṛhi noor mahal men, kayaeen haq hasil,

wahdat men wasil, parchi thio prem saan.

(iii) Such examples of language also prove that there was a great treasure of words in Sindhi for expression of the points of Sufism and Islamic preaching, and preaching of vedant, bhagtee mat, Buddhist and Jain religions.

(vi) Sami has also considered this world as finite. He considered wealth as a treacherous thing and called it an illusion. He preached to abstain from the worldly sins to lead a pious life. Lutfullah Badvi writes:

“Such poetry is true poetry with a message and such a poet deserves to be called a thinker. The poetry of Sami stands high due to his ideals and concepts. His language is so eloquent and mature that he uses Arabic and Persian words along with Hindi and Sanskrit words in the same way. Since he composed Saloks, he had no whims about the usage of language.” (41)

(v) Sami has written poems in the dialect of Upper Sindh. His saloks contain a lot of poetical figures, similes, metaphors and alliterations. He has used a lot of idioms as well; for example:

bhandar bharaṇ (ڀنڊار ڀرڻ), akhin khan pare na thyaṇ (اکين کان پري نه ٿيڻ), diyo baraṇ (ڏيوٻارڻ), hath rakhaṇ (هٿ رکڻ), biyaee-a khe ban diyaṇ (ٻيائيءَ کي ٻن ڏيڻ), sodayee huaṇ (سودائي هئڻ), rang rachaṇ (رنگ رچڻ), paaṇ jalayeṇ (پاڻ جلائڻ) and per purjhe payeṇ (پير پُرجھي پائڻ).

The following saloks by Sami are presented here as examples where he has used kanval, unal pakhee, vinjni and khastooree etc. as similes:

 (1) رهن منجهه جهان، سدا ليپ ڪنول جان.

rahan manjh jahan, sada lep kanwal jaan.

(2) رهن اليپ ڪنول جان، سامي سجاني.

rahan alep kanwal jaan, sami sajani.

(3) نڀ جان نيارو رهي، بديهي ديهه ۾.

nabh jaan nyaro rahe, bidehi deha men.

(4) اندر ٻاهر نُڀ جان، ڀڳوت هڪ پاسي.

andar bahar nubh jaan, bhagwat hik pase.

 (5) جيئن پکين ۾ هڪڙو، انل آڪاسي.

jiyan pakhin men hikṛo, anal aakasi.

(6) جيئن انل پکي، اسٿت رهي آڪاس ۾.

jiyan anal pakhi, asithat rahe aakas men.

 (7) گرمک جي گادي، انل جان آڪاس ۾.

gurmukh ji gaadi, anal jaan aakas men.

(8) اڻ هوندي ڀولي، وڌو جيءُ ڀرم ۾،

جيئن کستوري ناڀ ۾، مرگھه ٻاهر ڳولي،

اوِديا پٽ کولي، سامي ڏسي ڪينڪي.

aṇ hoonde bholi, widho jee-u bharam men,

jiyan khastoori naabha men, margh bahar goli,

avidya pata khole, saami disi keenaki.

(9) جيئن وڃڻيءَ ۾ واءُ، تيئن ساکي پسي سڀ ۾.

jiyan wijṇi-a men wau, teenyan saakhi pase sabh men.         

14- (a) Khalifo Nabi Buksh ‘Qasim’ is also known as a great poet of the Mir period. He was born in 1776 AD, who spent his entire life in the Mir era and saw the initial 20 years of the British rule before his death in 1863 AD.

Khalifo Sahib has been accepted as a great classical poet of Sindhi language. He was also a matchless poet of Seraiki language. (42) This splendid poet showed his love for Sindh and Sindhi language through his poetry and for the expression of this love, he brought change in the subject of Sur Kedaro. He sang praise of those martyrs in his own Kedaro, who were killed in the battle between Talpur rulers and Shah Shuja the Emperor of Afghanistan which took place in 1834 at “Khariri ground” near Old Sukkur. (43) It was the martyrdom of these soldiers of Sindh that impressed him to write the Kedaro. He has painted the colors of patriotism and nationalism in his poetry. This Sur can be called the foundation of Sindhi nationalist poetry. (44) For example, he describes the bravery of the fighters of the motherland in these lines:

ڪونڌر قلعي جا ڪوڏيا، نُونڌَ نچندا پَسُ،

ڇڏي تن ترس، پلٽيو شاهه پٺاڻ تي.

koondhar qile ja kodiya, noondha nachanda pasu,

chhade tin tars, paltio shah paṭhaṇ te.

He says at another place:

هلو مَلهو مانجھيا، ويرين وٺو ويرُ،

جيئڻ ٿورا ڏينهڙا، پوءِ ڳڻبا پير،

ٿيندو سڏ سوير، صبح شهيدن کي.

halo malho manjhya, werin waṭho weru,

jiyaṇ thora dinhaṛa, poye gaṇba pair,

thindo sadu sawer, subah shaheedan khe.

Similarly have a look at these verses:

هڻ ڪٽاري ڪات، ويري ويرم نه سهي،

مڇڻ ڪا مصلحات، ڪانئر وجھيئي ڪَن تي.

haṇ kataari kat, weri weram na sahe,

machhaṇ ka maslihaat, kaainr wijhaie kana te.

Khalifa Sahib has not only appreciated the bravery, courage and prowess of the men of Sindh but like Shah Latif, he has described the emotions of women in similar words. For example:

جي تون ڀڄي آئين، ته اوڏو مون مَ اَچُ

تو ڳل ڏيان ٻانهڙي، ڪُرَ کي لايا ڪچ،

مون سُهائي سچ، ڪوڙيون ڪانڌن ڪوڏيون.

Je toon bhaji ayen, ta odo moon ma achu,

too gal diyan banhaṛi, kura khe laya kuch,

moon suhaye sach, kooṛyoon kandhan kodyoon.

These examples prove that till the period of Mirs, Sindhi language was fully enriched with its matchless qualities and contained nationalistic emotions. In this way the patriotism and nationalism sung by Shah Latif through his verses were furthered by Khalifa Sahib.

15- In the Talpur period, Khalifa Mahmood Nizamani (1846-1766 AD/1180-1263 AH) not only compiled the epic story of Laila Majnoon in Sindhi poetry, but his book in prose called Majma-ul-Fayoozat contains an idiom of Sindhi prose; for example:

ڏڏو ڪجي، ڏيڪر ڪجي، هو نه ڀڄي ته پاڻ اُٿي ڀڄجي

dado kaje, dekar kaje, ho na bhaje ta paṇa uthi bhajije (45)

16- (a) Perhaps some colleagues might claim that the pronominal suffixes in Sindhi language are due to an influence of Persian but that is certainly not true. Pronominal suffixes are indigenous grammatical qualities of Sindhi language already discussed in detail in books like “Sindhi Boli jo Bun Bunyaad” (The Origin of Sindhi Language), “Sindhi Mualim” and “Sindhi Linguaphone” where it has been proved that these are original and indigenous qualities of Sindhi language. (46)

(b) The use of zair izafat (possessive diacritical marks) was considered as a parameter of command on literature in the Mir period, therefore numerous compound words started being commonly used in Sindhi language where this grammatical genre was used. For example:

quwat e aulad (قوتِ اولاد),quwat e jaan (قوتِ جان), bihisht e samar (بهشتِ ثمر), doulat e sarkaar (دولتِ سرڪار), iqbal e tawajah (اقبالِ توجهه), bazm e aali (بزمِ عالي) and bazm e sukha (بزم سُخن).

(c) Some examples of the influence of Persian on Sindhi language during its political, educational and literary voyage during the periods ranging from the Sama rule to the British rule are given below to see the stages that Sindhi language went through during its progress:

• Verb: In Sindhi, according to its grammatical principles the suffix aṇ (اڻ) or iṇ (اِڻ) is added at the end of Persian imperative to derive Sindhi infinitive. For example:

• Noun: Many Sindhi nouns have been formed by adding the suffix ‘sh’ (ش) at the end of many Persian imperatives; like:

• Similarly many participles of Persian started being used in Sindhi in their own form; for example gufta, deeda, daanista, aazmooda, nishista, khorda, aamada, shuneeda etc. (with a slight change of adding ‘o’ at the end replacing ‘a’).
• Many indigenous words from Arabic and Persian languages were used by Sachal Sarmast, Syed Sabit Ali Shah and their contemporaries in their poetry; for example: bazm, muqrab, baazyaab, azz-o-alla, makramat, faraghat

(d) Poets used such words of Arabic and Persian where ‘w’ (و) was used in the middle as a connecting letter; like:

lutf-o-makramat, aulad-o-ayaal, naseem-o-sehr, roz-o-shab, nashist-o-barkhast, subh-o-shaam, bar-o-behar,aamd-o-raft, guft-o-shuneed, gul-o-bulbul, sham-o-sehr, mah-o-siaah, sufaid-o-siaah etc.

(e) Similarly the middle ‘ba’ (به) also started being used in words commonly; like:

vaqt-ba-vaqt, darja-ba-darja, saal-ba-saal, dar-ba-dar, roo-ba-roo, qadam-ba-qadam, roz-ba-roz, dam-ba-dam, seena-ba-seena etc.

19- (a) As has been mentioned earlier, the Kalhora rulers were literary-minded, therefore in addition to Persian language and literature, Sindhi language also got a chance to progress. Persian was the official language of that era but Sindhi was the commonly spoken language. In the Upper Sindh up to Shikarpur and Bakhar, Persian language was given importance due to the educational, political, social and literary relations with Iran; therefore it had a positive influence on Sindhi in addition to enrichment of its vocabulary. Further the grammatical and syntactical formations and their structure also had an effect on Sindhi. This effect increased significantly during the period of the Mirs. The prefixes and suffixes used in Persian language for forming words, the diacritical marks, the way to form words to name the towns and cities, idioms, proverbs and sayings entered in Sindhi language, in either their original form or as translations. The Iranian culture and traditions also affected the Sindhi society and culture, its architecture, art, skills and daily life thereby becoming a source of progress of Sindhi language.

(b) Owing to the above mentioned influences of the Persian language, numerous towns and cities were named on the rules of word formation of Persian language i.e. the names of these villages and towns are a proof of the phonetic structure of Sindhi language. And these names were given long before even the Kalhora period, as has been mentioned in chapter 7. For example:

(i) Names of villages/towns according to Persian scheme:

(ii) Names of people:

(iii) Titles:

Madar-e-Millat (mother of the nation), Sardar Bahadur (brave chief), Khan Bahadur.

(c) Numerous words used in offices and administration entered the Sindhi language, like:

(d) Similes of Persian language: Due to the continuous influence of Persian, thousands of similes and metaphors started being used in Sindhi; like:

mahlaqa, mahwash, parivash, mahtaab, mahrukh, mahjabeen, dilafroze, mahafroze, noorafroze, noorulhuda, deedavar, sarfaraz and dilnasheen etc.

(e) Persian prefixes and suffixed that entered Sindhi: Numerous prefixes and suffixes of Persian and Arabic languages entered the Sindhi words during the Mir and Kalhora periods; like:

(f) Compound words formed by joining Arabic, Persian and abstract Sindhi words:

Some of the examples of these compound words from the Kalhora and Mir period are given here:

Saindad (سائينداد) (name), Khudadad (خدا داد) (name), Khuda dost (خدا دوست) (God-friendly), Sain Bukhsh (سائين بخش) (gifted by God), sangtarash (سنگتراش) (sculptor), kasheegar (ڪاشيگر) (artistic tile maker), naazboo (نازبُو) ( a fragrance), jildsaaz (جلدساز) (book binder), bazu band (بازوبند) (arm band), jildband () (seam of a bound book), kamarband () (belt), kamarkash () (corset), kafankash (جلدبند) (one who prepares shrouds), gola andaaz (گوله انداز) (bomber), khaaskheli (خاصخيلي) (special servant), maah geer (ماهه گير) (seaman), dastgeer (دستگير), but parast (بت پرست) (idol worshipper), but kahnu (بت خانو) (idol house), but shikan (بت شڪن) (idol breaker), ġhala farosh (غله فروش) (grocer), palang paṛo (پلنگ پاڙو), aatish parast (آتش پرست) (fire worshipper), Sultanabad (سلطان آباد) (name of city), kafgeer (ڪفگير) (spoon), borchee khanu (بورچي خانو) (kitchen), ġhusl khanu (غسل خانو) (bathroom), baadger (بادگير) (vent), roshandaan (روشندان) (ventillater/window), Alamgir (عالمگير) ( a name), Adam khor (آدم خور) (man eater/carnivore), dil avez (دل آويز) (lovely), nazar andaaz (نظرانداز) (ignore) etc.

(g) Names of people:

Fateh Chand (فتحچند), Alam Chand (عالمچند), Sahib Chand (صاحب چند), Mahar Chand (مهر چند), Khoob Chand (خوبچند), Lal Chand (لالچند), Khan Chand (خانچند), Gulab Raye (گلاب راءِ), Awatraye (آوتراءِ), Sahib Raye (صاحب راءِ), Hashmat Raye (حشمتراءِ), Dolat Raye (دولتراءِ), Salamat Raye (سلامت راءِ), Qeemat Raye (قيمت راءِ), Fateh Sing (فتح سنگ), Sahib Singh (صاحب سنگ), Lal Singh (لال سنگ), Wilayat Raye (ولايتراءِ), Khush Haal Das (خوشحالداس), Dolat Ram (دولت رام), Fatehyab Ali (فتحياب علي), Dost Muhammad (دوست محمد), Wataṇ Mal (وطڻ مل), Maha Dev (مهاديو), Maharaj (مهاراج), Gurbakhshaṇi (گربخشاڻي), Wazeeraṇi (وزيراڻي), Rohal (روحل), Allah Dino (الله ڏنو), Raam Rakhyo (رام رکيو).

(h) Names of vocations and related people:

Funnon lateefa (فنونِ لطيفه) (fine arts), sangtarash (سنگتراش) (sculptor), sangtarashi (سنگتراشي) (to make sculptures), Kaashgeer (ڪاشيگر) (ceramic pottery maker), Kasheegeeri (ڪاشيگري) (art of ceramics), kamangar, fan-e-zebaish (فنِ زيبائش) (art of make-up), jildsaaz (جلد ساز) (book binder), jildsazi (جلد سازي) (book binding), mahigeer (ماهه گير) (fisherman), mahigeeri (ماهگيري) (fishing), but sazi (بت سازي) (making idols), gorekash (گورڪش) (cemetery keeper), gorekan (گورڪن) (one who buries people), kafansozi (ڪفن سوزي) (shroud-maker), zar dozi (زردوزي) (golden embroidery), banddoq saaz (بندوق ساز) (arms dealer) etc.

(i) Dr. Abdul Jabbar Junejo has, in his book titled “Sindhi Shairi tay Farsi Shairi jo Asar” (The influence of Persian poetry on Sindhi poetry) has given a few chains of words from Persian language used in Sindhi since the period of Kalhoro rulers (47) like:

(j) Persian idioms in Sindhi:

A companionship for 800 years between Sindhi and Persian caused countless Persian proverbs, sayings and idioms to enter Sindhi language. They are now a part of the vocabulary and language. Some of them are exactly the same as they appear in Persian and are used in Sindhi society while some have become absorbed in their translated form into Sindhi language. For example:

(k) Similarly some proverbs of Persian started being used in Sindhi society; for example:

awal khuwesh baad darwesh (اول خويش بعد درويش )

aah e ġhareeban qahr e khudai (آه غريبان قهر خدائي)

yak tandrusti hazaar naimat (يک تندرستي هزار نعمت)

yak anaar sou beemar (يک انار سؤ بيمار)

panj angusht barabar neest (پنج انگشت برابر نيست)

hanooz dili door ast (هنوز دلي دور است)

yak na shud do shud (يک نه شد دو شد)

juwenda payenda  (جوينده پاينده)

(l) Translations of some Persian proverbs were used in the Sindhi society; some of which are as under:

Prof. Ayaz Qadri has written that:

“The poets of Sindh seem to be fond of Persian language. They used Persian idioms, proverbs, quotations and sayings in their poetry with fluency to express their feelings; for example:

رام جڏهن ٿئي گلبند، تنهن جي تڏهن اچان ڪتب

تو سان هجان ري من موهن، سينہ به سينہ لب به لب (سانگي)

raam jadenh thiye gulband, tenh je tadenh achaan kutub

to saan hujaan re man mohan, seena ba seena lab ba lab

ٻن ڪمن مان ته هڪڙو دلبر

دل دهي يا دل ستاني ڪر (سانگي)

bin kaman maan ta hikṛo dilbar

dil dahi ya dil satani kar

Similarly Dr. Qadir has also stated the quotes used in poetry such as:

تنهنجو دل افروز جوڀن شهر سارو ٿو ڪري

سچ چيو ڪنهن آفتاب آهي دليلِ آفتاب (فقير) (48)

tunhinjo dil afroz jobhan shahar saaro tho kare

sach chayo kenh aftab aahe daleel-e-aftaab

18- It was mentioned above that in the Kalhora period, many tribes who spoke Seraiki language had migrated to Sindh. This resulted in an influence of Seraiki on Sindhi language too, especially its Upper Sindh dialect. The phonetics and grammatical structure of Seraiki affected the grammar and syntax of Sindhi language; a detailed discussion on this has been presented in the book titled “Sindhi Boli jo Abhiaas” (49) with examples. Some of these examples are as under:

• Phonetic influence:
• In the Upper Sindh dialect, especially towards Sukkur and Obavro, there are sounds like ‘ṭ’, ‘ṭr’, ‘ḍ’ and ‘ḍr’ and among them ‘ṭ’ and ‘ḍ’ are sounds also found in the Kacchi dialect but are pronounced as ‘tar’and ‘dar’.

It should be kept in mind that the sounds ‘ṭr’ and ‘ḍr’ in Sindhi language are not ued as separate phonetic letters. But since this is a different subject, it needs to be discussed in detail.

(ii) The sounds l and r are usually exchanged and vice versa, also b and w do the same. For example:

(b) Influnce on Grammar:

(i) In the Upper Sindhi dialect, plural numbers of feminine nouns follow the Seraiki rule. Which shows long relations of these two languages. For example:

(ii) In Seraiki language suffixes like vaal or vaala are added to make subject while in Sindhi similar suffix vaaro is added; like:

(iii) The scheme of phrases and compound nouns:

The people from the Seraiki areas who came to settle in Sindh named their new dwellings and villages according to the grammatical conformations of Seraiki language. Some of such names are given below as examples and they clearly show that these names are not in accordance with the syntax of Sindhi language. For example:

(c)  Adjectives:

(i) The table of 2 taught in the text books of Sindhi language called ‘bikkay jo khorro’ is also called doon jo khorro. The numbers used in this table are exactly like those of Seraiki language. For example:

(d) Names of people:

            (e)  Proverbs and quotes:

A detailed study of Sindhi language reveals that hundreds of sayings and proverbs of Seraiki are used in it. They have now become a part of Sindhi language. (50) Some of them are customarily used in Sindhi in the same form and some are used as translated versions but have gradually taken a permanent place in Sindhi language. For example:

• Translated proverbs:

(ii) Seraiki proverb used in their original form in Sindhi:

apṇa maal hai rosoon bhi khasoon bhi (اپڻا مال هي روسُون ڀي کاسُون ڀي)

apṇa maal hai roisaan bhi khaisaan bhi (اپڻا مال هي روئسان ڀي کائسان ڀي)

apṇe ghot ta nasha thive ee (اپڻي گھوٽ ته نشا ٿيوِئي)

be sharmi di seri kanoon, saag sirnah da chokha (بي شرمي دي سيري ڪَنون، ساڳ سرنهن دا چوکا)

bili shair paṛhaya, phir bili kun shair khawaṇ aya (ٻلي شير پڙهايا، ڦر ٻلي ڪون کاوڻ آيا)

parsi ghoṛe chaṛhsi (پارسي گھوڙي چاڙهسي)

aapṇa arza, doonhan dee chuġhli (آپڻا عرض، ڏونهان دي چغلي)

teda so meda aur meda so heen heen (تيڏا سو ميڏا اور ميڏا سو هين هين)

dekh mori da toda (ڏيک موري دا توڏا)

dekh yaran di phairi (ڏيک ياران دي ڦيري)

maau teri kin meri (ماءُ تيري ڪِن ميري)

marwan maut malookan shikaar (مروان موت ملوڪان شڪار)

uṭhaan meenhan da keeha mela, aoo charan pata, aoo charan bela

(اُٺان مينهان دا ڪيها ميلا اُو چَرَن پَٽ، اُو چَرَن ٻيلا)

anban boor, kala lan laaha (انبان ٻورُ، ڪلالان لاها)

zalan dhawaṇ, mardan khawaṇ (زالان ڌاوڻ، مردان کاوڻ)

sach marchan kooṛ guṛ per paisa zaal gur (سچ مرچان ڪوڙُ ڳُڙ پير پئسان زال گُر)

sunja aashiq bhetoo di aachar (سُڃا عاشق ڀيٽوُ دي آچار)

sheenh na dekhya dekh balaṛa, chor na dekhya dekh sonara (شينهن نه ڏيکيا ڏيک ٻلاڙا، چور نه ڏيکيا ڏيک سونارا)

dil da qisa dil jane, kya jane qazi (دل دا قصا دل جاني، ڪيا جاني قاضي)

kooṛe kitaboon wichoon, kujh na thiyeseen (ڪوڙي ڪتابون وِچون، ڪجهه نه ٿيسين)

marsan marsan, dabh na charsan (مرسان مرسان، ڊڀ نه چرسان)

na tedi sut, na meri kapah (، نه تيڏا سُٽ نه ميري ڪپاهه)

marwesun marwesun par sindh na desun (مر ويسون مرويسون پر سنڌ نه ڏيسون)

haṛ hala, munh kala (هڙهالا، منهن ڪالا)

19- As a result one can say that in the Talpur period, Sindhi language had achieved a very high standard:

• The Talpur rule started in 1783 AD and ended in 1843 AD. Sindhi language made a lot of progress in this period.
• This era also saw a progress in the vehdatul vujood (oneness of God) concept of Sufism, and Sachal Sarmast presented the concepts related to Mansoor Halaaj through his poetry.
• Kafi and bait progressed a lot in this era. The kafi of Sachal Sarmast became famous in Punjab, Balochistan and Rajasthan. The strength and colorfulness of the language increased in
• Sindhi language not only saw the beginning of uroozi poetry but the genres of rubaee, ghazal, musadas, mathnavi and mukhamas started in this period. Ghazal and rubaee flourished immensely. There were many poets of ghazal but the important ones among them were Sachal Sarmast, Khalifa Karam Ali Shikarpuri, Mir Naseer Khan and Mir Hassan Ali Khan ‘Hassan’. And marsia, musadas, rubaee, mathnavi and salaam were also important genres of poetry and Syed Sabit Ali Shah was a remarkable poet of this era.
• This era also marked the progress of folk literature. The compilations of epic stories also progressed. In this regard the stories of Moomal Rano by Hafeez Tevnoo and Laila Majnoon by Khalifa Mahmmod Nizamani carry a significant status in Sindhi as epic stories.
• The genres of folk literature like maulood, madah, manajat, muajza and munaqba progressed a lot in this era. In this context, Fateh Faqeer, Khalifa Karamullah, Pir Muhammad Ashraf and Mulla Sahibdino wrote mauloods and in the other genres poets like Sadruddin Charan, Hamal Khan Leghari and Akhund Muhammad Bachal are very important names.
• Marsia is also an important genre of this era, which was initiated in Sindhi language. Syed Sabit Ali Shah was a remarkable poet of this genre of poetry.
• There are matchless examples of war poetry in this era. Khalifa Nabi Bukhsh ‘ Qasim’ wrote Kedaro, Syed Hyder Shah wrote the ‘ Jangnamo’ and the ‘ marsias’ of Syed Sabit Ali Shah are brilliant examples of patriotism and nationalism in Sindhi language.
• Khalifa Nabi Bukhsh ‘Qasim’ was the first poet of Sindhi language who wrote Sur Kedaro as an expression of his nationalist views. His Kedaro is rich with praise of the brave men of Sindh and their patriotism.
• This era shows signs of mysticism in addition to the vedanti The saloks of Sami are an eternal proof of that trend. In addition to Sami, people like Dilpat and Guru Aasra Daas also preached mysticism.
• In addition to the recognized genres like bait, kafi, salok and folk poems, this era saw the progress of other genres like teeh-akhree, jhoolno, raikhta and gharoli that are considered very important genres. It was Sachal Sarmast who composed jhoolno, raikhta and
• The poetry of this era was greatly influenced by Arabic, Persian and Seraiki. These languages not only affected the vocabulary of Sindhi language but had a very significant effect on Sindh phonetics, grammar and syntax.
• This era also shows brilliant examples of sayings and proverbs in Sindhi prose in addition to the words like kabaro, bahagunan ja bol, hundiyoon, beejak, roznamcha, poetic prose and others, that prove of the progress of Sindhi language.

References

• Burton R. F., ‘Sind and Races that inhabit the Valley of Indus’. 1851, p 89
• Lutfullah Badvi: ‘Tazkira Lutfi’, part II, Hyderabad, H. Ahmad brothers, 1967-68, pp 55
• Ibid pp 62-63
• Ibid pp 68
• Ibid pp 73
• Alexander Burns: ‘Visit to the Court of Sindh’. Pp 75
• Lutfullah Badvi: ‘ Tazkira Lutfi’, part II, Hyderabad, H. Ahmad brothers, 1967-68, pp 122
• Makhddom Muhammad Zaman Talibul Maula; Bazme Talibul Maula. Hala 1962
• Abdul Jabbar Junejo: ‘ Sindhi Adab ji Mukhtasir Tareekh’, Hyderabad, Zeb Adabi Markaz, 1983, pp 47 & 58
• Ibid
• Lutfullah Badvi: ‘ Tazkira Lutfi’, part II, Hyderabad, H. Ahmad brothers, 1967-68, pp 125
• Ibid
• Ibid
• Manzoor Naqvi, Lutf Ali Shah: ‘Kafi’, Article in Nain Zindagi, June 1953.
• Makhddom Muhammad Zaman Talibul Maula; Bazme Talibul Maula. Hala 1962
• Abdul Majeed Bhatti: ‘Kafiaan Shah Hussain’.
• Taj Joyo: Unpublished article;  ‘ Manthaar Faqeer jo Kalaam’, pp 1
• Lutfullah Badvi: ‘ Tazkira Lutfi’, part II, Hyderabad, H. Ahmad brothers, 1967-68, pp 125
• Ibid pp 127
• Muhammad Siddique Memon, Khanbahadur: ‘Sindhi Adab ji Tareekh’, part I, reference given, pp 341
• Memon, Abdul Majeed Sindhi: ‘Sindh Aad ji Mukhtasir Tareekh’; pp 36
• Sandeelo, Abdul Karim Dr.: Article; ‘Sachal jay Kalaam ja Kay Anokhaa lafz’, Sarmast 5, Khairpur, Sachal Sarmast yaadgar Committee, 1985, pp 45
• Atta Muhammad Hami Dr: Article; ‘Neenh ja Naara’, A compiled translation of Persian Mathnavis of Sachal Sarmast, Karachi, Kafi Publications, 1983, pp 68
• Nawaz Ali Shauq, Dr: article; ‘Sachal Sarmast ji Seraiki Shairi’, Sarmast 5, Sachal Sarmast Yaadgar Committee, 1985, pp 68
• Ayaz Qadri, Dr: Article, Sarmast 5, Ref given 1985
• Memon Abdul Majeed Sindhi, Dr: Article; ‘Shah ain Sachal’, Quarterly Mehran, 1988/4, pp 67
• Ibid
• Sadarangani, H.I.Dr: ‘Persian Poets of Sindh’, Hyderabad, Sindh, Sindhi Adabi Board, 1956, Introduction, pp xi
• Ibid
• Bishari Al-Muqadasi: ‘Ahsanul taqaseem fi Maarfa’, Urdu translation, ‘Hindustan Arbon ki Nazar main’, vol I, Azamgarh, pp 341
• Ibn Asseea, ibid
• Zafar Nadvi: Tarrkh Sindh’, Azamgarh, p 296
• Sadarangani H.I,Dr: Introduction, p, x
• Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch Dr: ‘Sindhi Boli ain Adab ji ji Tareekh’, part III, pp 172
• Ibid, pp 172-173
• Allana, Ghulam Ali Dr: ‘ Larr ji Adabi anin Saqafati Tareekh’,Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1979, pp 93
• Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch Dr: reference pp 175, pl see margin same page
• Syed Hisamuddin Rashdi: ‘Maklinama’, ref given, pp 106
• Ali Sher Qane: ‘Tuhfatul Ikram’, 1957, pp 482, 494, 496, 520.
• Memon Abdul Majedd Sindhi Dr: ‘ Sindhi Boli ji tanqeedi abhaias’, Kandiaro, Roshni publication, 1996, pp 516
• Lutfullah Badvi: ‘Tazkira Lutfi’, Vol III, pp 338, 339
• Memon Abdul Majedd Sindhi Dr: ‘Sindhi Boli ji tanqeedi abhaias’, Kandiaro, Roshni publication, 1996,pp 520
• Ibid pp 510, 511
• Ibid pp 511
• Muhammad Siddique Memon, Khanbahadur: “ Sindhi Adab ji Tareekh’ part II, Hyderabad, 1951, Preface, pp 1
• Allana, Ghulam Ali, Dr: ‘Sindhi Boli jo Bun Bunyaad’, 1st edition, Hyderabad, Zeb Adabi Markaz, 1974, pp 82-84----- and also see ibid ‘Sindhi Mualim’, jamshoro, Sindhi Adabi Board.
• Abdul Jabbar Junejo: ‘Sindhi Shairi aty Farsi Shairi jo Asar’, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology
• Ayaz Qadri Dr: ‘Sindhi Ghazal ji Ausar’, Part I, Jamshoro, Institute of Sindhology, 1983. Pp 68
• Allana, Ghulam Ali Dr: ‘Sindhi Boli joAbhiaas’, Jamshoro, reference given pp 354
• Kevalram Shahani: ‘Gul Shakar’, Hyderabad, Sindhi Adabi Board, 1978, pp 16

Also see:

Ramnani,P.B: ‘New Model Sindhi Grammar’, 2nd ed. Hyderabad, Rama pak book depot.