Abro

  Hello, everyone! Today, we are going to talk about a title that almost every student in Pakistan has heard since they were in primary school: Bab-ul-Islam—The Gateway of Islam. We have been taught that Sindh is this gateway, the threshold through which the light of monotheism finally pierced the "age of ignorance" in the Indian subcontinent. The story is legendary: in 712 CE, a brilliant teenage general named Muhammad bin Qasim arrived, defeated the "tyrant" Raja Dahir, and just like that, the doors were flung open. But let me ask you a question that might sound a bit strange: If a gateway is the first point of entry, then why do we call Sindh the gateway? You see, historical geography tells us something very different. Decades before the Umayyad soldiers ever set foot in Sindh, Arab armies had already captured the Makran coast in modern-day Balochistan. Chronologically, Makran was the first point of contact and conquest. So, why does Sindh get the heavy title...

  We often hear a single, resonant phrase used to describe the province of Sindh: the "Land of Sufis." It is a title that evokes images of spinning dervishes, the scent of rose petals at shrines, and the egalitarian echoes of the Shah jo Risalo . Politicians, scholars, artists, and journalists frequently claim that the province remained peaceful for decades solely due to the overwhelming influence of Sufi teachings. It is a comforting thought, isn’t it? A cliché repeated by Sindhis and non-Sindhis alike. But today, I invite you to look closer. We must ask ourselves: Why is Sindh uniquely labelled this way? Was it always so? Or is this identity a carefully crafted mosaic, assembled over two centuries by British officers, Hindu intellectuals, and Sindhi nationalists? To understand the Sindh of today, we must look beyond the incense and the shrines. We must confront a history where spiritual poetry meets colonial surveillance, and where the "peaceful Sufi" was of...

Hello, everyone! Today, we’ll talk about history—not just the history of kings and conquests, but the history of ideas, identities, and accommodation in South Asia. In our contemporary landscape, history has sadly become a battlefield. Across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the medieval past is frequently reimagined through the prism of modern communal polarization. There is a dominant narrative that seeks to portray the pre-colonial era as a monolithic "clash of civilizations," pitting an indigenous Hindu resistance against an encroaching Islamic imperialism. When we encounter this narrative, we often find ourselves reaching for examples of tolerance. We invoke the great Emperor Ashoka (r. 268-232 BCE), whose dhamma promoted religious harmony after the Kalinga War. Or we turn to Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605), who abolished discriminatory taxes, established sulh-i-kul (universal peace), and integrated Hindus into Mughal governance. These examples are absolutely valid and vi...

  The Tradition of Jauhar   The year is 1535 CE. The forces of Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat, surround the fort of Chittorgarh. Inside, Rani Karnavati, regent for her minor son, is engaged in final talks with around 8000 Rajput warriors. An eight-month-long siege by the Sultan has cut all essential supplies to the fort. The Rajputs are outnumbered. Defeat is imminent. For Rajput men, death is certain. For women, death is an option. Other options? Be raped or enslaved. They choose death, but death of their own choice. The Rani summons all women inside the fort and announces that the men have decided on saka – the last suicidal march to fight till death. A large pyre is prepared in the zenana compound. Donned in bridal dresses and gold jewelry, and singing hymns to Durga and Shiva, all young and adult women jump on the burning pyre. Watching large flames and black smoke, Rajput men wear saffron clothes and move to fight till the last drop of blood. With all their w...