Thursday, May 22, 2008, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 15, 1429    

Book on British Raj in Sindh

Staff Reporter

Islamabad—Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan has said that Sindh is the land of Sufis, and Sindh had been able to safeguard its territorial integrity much longer than the other component units of undivided India.
He was addressing as chief guest at the ceremony held to launch a book British in Sindh: Immoral entry and exit by Khadim Hussain Soomro.
Asghar Khan described the effort by the author as enlightening people about the history of Sindh, and its relevance to the independence struggle of Pakistan.
He observed that from the times immemorial, Sindh had links with Middle East as well as Central Asia. He surmised that the people of Sindh were more tolerant towards the outsiders.
Furrukh Sohail Gendi, a scholar, said the book highlights the hidden aspects of the freedom struggle of the people of Sindh against the British Raj.
The author of the book said, the book is an attempt to view history of Sindh from a new angle different from the historians of Pakistan. He said the book is divided into three phases: The first phase covers the period 1800-1843, when the British were trying to gain control of Sindh, and finally managed to occupy it in 1843.
The second phase of the book covers the period from 1843 to 1937, when Sindh was struggling to wean it away from Bombay, as it had been made the part of it. The third phase starts from 1937 and culminates at the exit of the British from India in 1947.