My Sindh: A journey to the beloved homeland by Shakuntala Bharvani

Author:Shakuntala Bharvani [Bharvani, Shakuntala]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: black-and-white fountain
Published: 2021-03-11T00:00:00+00:00

13. A statue for Raja Dahir the brave king of Sindh

Raja Dahirsen warded off attacks from the North-West Frontier, and died fighting to protect his country. Should Pakistan build a statue honouring him? Should India?

One day, I happened to come across an article in the magazine Aseen Sindhi: “Sindhupati Samrat Dahirsen Smarak inaugurated”. Intrigued, I read on:

Ajmer situated in the heart of the desert state of Sindh, is home to many a religious monument ... it is home to the famous dargah of the Islamic faith and Pushkar, which is barely 6 miles away and one of the holiest places of worship of Hindus. Situated here in Ajmer is the recently inaugurated monument of Sindhupati Dahirsen, which has become one of the main attractions of this desert town.

When I spoke to Bhau Jairam Rupani, editor of Aseen Sindhi, he explained to me that Raja Dahirsen’s empire had covered a large area which included Kachchh as well as towns of Rajasthan now on India’s border, and that Ajmer was indeed at its heart.

I knew a little about Raja Dahirsen, the last Hindu ruler of Sindh, and was happy to read that the monument is designed to look like a fort and display glimpses of the history of Sindh. These include the ruins of the ancient civilization of Mohen jo daro and pictures of Jhulelal, Sant Kanwar Ram, Hemu Kalani and of course Raja Dahirsen.

Soon after this, I read another bit of interesting news. A political group in Pakistan too, wished to commemorate the memory of Raja Dahirsen with a statue, but was facing strong opposition! My curiosity roused, I started reading to try and find out more about Dahirsen and why his statue was controversial.

Chachnama as a source

I first turned to the Chachnama, ostensibly the oldest history of Sindh, looking for an answer. However, the ancient text seemed to have more questions than answers! I will mention just a few here:

☐ The original was an eighth century work in Arabic, which is lost.

☐ In the thirteenth century, Ali Kufi translated the Arabic into Persian, a better-known language at the time. He referred to his work as a tarjuma – translation.

☐ In 1900, the literary doyen and noted historian Mirza Kalich Beg, translated the Persian into English.

Having come down to us over centuries and through two translations, our Chachnama is not a work that was written in the eighth century or even the thirteenth century but a work that changed and evolved through the interpretations of those who wrote it, and in the context of the world view prevalent during their time.

Richard Burton

I then looked up my copy of Richard Burton’s Sindh and the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus (1851). Burton – historian, explorer, scholar, soldier and diplomat – could not resist writing on every conceivable subject. And I was sure I would find something there. This is what he wrote:

According to the Moslem historians, a dynasty of five Rahis, who had their capital at Alor, ruled the lovely land of Sindh in ease and prosperity for about 140 years.

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