LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:6 June 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

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         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
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         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Investigating Interfaith Harmony and Religious Tolerance through Text Messages: A Case Study of Sindhi Hindus and Sindhi Muslims in Sindh, Pakistan

Ameer Ali and Prof. Maya Khemlani David

Abstract

Sindh, a province of Pakistan, was a seat of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization during the third millennium BC as shown by Mohen-jo-Daro excavations (Mukherjee 2020). The people of this land known as Sindhis have followed and practiced religious harmony and peace since ancient times. There were times when both Hindus and Buddhists lived in peace and harmony with each other in Sindh. When Islam came into Sindh in 712, many Sindhis embraced it and lived peacefully with the Hindus and Buddhists. This long tradition of peaceful coexistence created a syncretic culture among the Sindhis who rejected the religious communalism prevalent in the subcontinent. Even during the partition of India and Pakistan, Sindh was relatively free of inter-communal violence as compared to Bengal, Punjab, and other regions (Bhavnani 2014). This syncretic culture of religious tolerance and interfaith harmony has conquered communal bias in Sindh even after the partition of the sub-continent in 1947. Today, Sindhi Hindus constitute 7.5% of almost total 48 million population of Sindh and appear to be living peacefully with people of different faiths. In the era of sophisticated technology, values of harmony and coexistence have been further reinvigorated through WhatsApp, text, and Facebook messages to wish each other by Sindhi Hindus and Sindhi Muslims during their respective religious festivals. This study explores how interfaith harmony and religious tolerance among Muslim and Hindu Sindhis are formed through text messages which they exchange to wish each other during their religious festivals. Data were collected through text documentation of the messages which were exchanged among the Sindhis through smartphones, notepads, and laptops. Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence (DRS) model (2016) was used to analyze the data. DRS incorporates a study of the way of life and experience from the way members of a community live it. Netnography, an online research method, originating in ethnography is used to understand the social interaction among an ethnic community having different faiths, who used digital communication. The results of the study show that interfaith harmony and religious tolerance are transmitted based on traditional values of mutual respect between Sindhi Muslims and Hindus using sophisticated digital instruments.

Keywords: Interfaith, harmony, Sindhi, religious, tolerance, Muslims, Hindus.

Introduction

Sindh, a province of Pakistan, was a seat of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization during the third millennium BC as shown by Mohen-jo-Daro excavations (Mukherjee 2020). “Sindh properly rendered “Sindhu” is primarily the indigenous name of the river known in the western world as “Indus”” (Solangi, Laghari, and Kabooro 2017, 114) and the “Indus Valley Civilization represents the glorious past of Sindh” (Solangi, Laghari, and Kabooro 2017, 115). Mohenjo-Daro, was the capital of Sindh during the third millennium BC and the residents of Mohen-jo-Daro used to worship goddess, Shiva, and other deities (Solangi, Laghari, and Kabooro 2017). Persian invasions, Aryan arrivals, Greek, Arab, and British invasions of Sindh brought different faiths and religions to the region, however, the different cultures and faiths enriched Sindh’s norms and values (Syed 2010).

Before the Arab conquest of Sindh in 712, there were many religions and sects in Sindh. In this regard, Mumtaz Hussain Pathan (1978, 93) reported that there were Buddhists who practiced Buddhism, and there were Hindus who worshiped their deities in Sindh. Speaking on the religion of the pre-Arab conquest of Sindh, Jafarey (discussed in Hamida Khuro 1993) writes that their religion was not monotheistic and focused on truthfulness and righteousness and that their gods and goddesses represented noble qualities, such as love, kindness, tenderness, strength, beneficence, helpfulness, and friendliness (Khuro 1993). Even after the advent of new faiths and cultural influences, the people of Sindh have tried their best to save and maintain their culture of harmony and peace (Syed 2010).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Ameer Ali
Postgraduate Researcher (M.Phil.)
University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
ameer7037@gmail.com

Maya Khemlani David
Honorary Professor
Asia-Europe Institute
University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
mayadavid@yahoo.com
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