Guest Info
Saaz Aggarwal is a writer and artist based in Pune, India. Her body of writing includes biographies, translations, critical reviews and humour columns. Her books are in university libraries worldwide, and much of her research contribution to Sindhi studies is easily accessible online.
About the Show
The Sindhi community played a significant role during the partition of India in 1947. Sindh is a historically and culturally rich region located in present-day Pakistan. Before the partition, it was part of British India.
Prior to the partition, Sindh had a sizable Hindu population. However, as the demand for a separate Muslim state, Pakistan, grew stronger, many Hindus feared for their safety and decided to migrate to India. The Sindhi Hindu community faced significant challenges during this time, as they had to leave behind their homes, businesses, and ancestral lands.
With another exciting episode this week, Rajan Nazran and the writer Saaz Aggarwal take us to the stories that created ripples through her ten years of research work into the Sindhi diaspora.
Through a captivating conversation, Saaz Aggarwal explains the rich cultural history of the Sindhi community and how it has been affected by the partition. She also gives insights into what identity meant to her. The memoirs she collected take us on a journey that might have perished under the layers of history if not documented.
As the conversation ends, Saaz Aggarwal talks about how with statues put down, history has been constantly tried to erase. The biggest story we know is that so much violence, murder and rape, kidnapping and abduction occurred during the partition because these stories always make the headlines. But we don’t know the stories of compassion and community harmony.
The partition of India significantly impacted the Sindhi community, leading to migration, displacement, and changes in their social, cultural, and religious dynamics. The Sindhi community’s identity today is a complex blend of their Sindhi heritage, regional affiliation, and religious identity, shaped by their experiences before and after the partition
Listen to this eye-opening conversation to learn the intriguing and unforeseen history of Sindh’s society and culture following the partition of 1947.
Produced by Global Indian Series for the Global Indian Network.
Script by Rajan Nazran
original idea: Rajan Nazran
Introduction music: (credit: https://freesound.org/people/N0IZ)
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