MARCH 6, 2022 F9 www.jamaica-gleaner.com ARTS&EDUCATION The Sunday Gleaner ST. THERESA PREPARATORY SCHOOL ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KINGSTON 61 1/2 DEANERY ROAD, VINEYARD TOWN REGISTER NOW LOWER RATES TOP PEP ACHIEVERS & MUCH MORE Tel: (876) 928-2643, 930-1676, Cell (Flow) 320-6533 (Digi) 854-5834 Email: sttheresaprep61@yahoo.com Website: www.sttheresaprepja.com MUCH GETS written about the ethnic and cultural diversity of India. But do you know that the Indian diaspora in Jamaica mirrors the same diversity, representing a microcosm of country and its people? One of the most prominent Indian communities that has made Jamaica their home is the Sindhis. The Sindhis were the original inhabitants of Sindh, a north-western province in undivided India. In fact, the words India, Hindi (official Indian language), Hindu have all been derived from Sindh (the land of Sindhis) and Sindhu (a river in Sindh province). Also, the world’s oldest known civilisation, the Indus valley civilisation, prospered in Sindh more than two millennia ago. As Sindh had a long coastline with natural ports, long-distance trade and commerce were in their blood. After the partition of India in 1947, the Sindhis and other communities were systematically prosecuted in the newly formed Pakistan and thus had to leave their homes overnight. They had no choice but to build back their lives from scratch when they reached India. Because of their hard-working nature and neversay-die attitude, the Sindhis eventually re-established themselves and are today one of the wealthiest communities. Their contribution to Indian industry, manufacturing, real-estate, healthcare, media, politics, retail, finance, and education is unparalleled. So is their love for poetry, music, and dance. BRANCHED OUT Having explored the world for many generations, the Sindhi community soon branched out to all parts of the world for various business opportunities. Whether it is Australia, Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and the Caribbean, there is no place in the world that does not have a Sindhi presence. As Sindhis moved around the world, they easily adapted to their new homes, creating new roots, especially in Jamaica. In Jamaica, the Sindhi immigration started as early as the 1930’s with the assistance of the local government. The Sindhis settled across the Caribbean and soon established their own businesses, bringing products and skills from the East to the West. Soon, the Sindhis made a name for themselves as serial entrepreneurs, connecting India with Jamaica. Jamaica benefited from their success with the growth of bilateral agreements between India and Jamaica, manufacturing, tourism, BPO, retail, duty-free shops, shopping malls, jewellery stores, and their contribution in many other industries. In addition to being entrepreneurs, some Sindhis became professionals in medicine, finance, education, and management. The Sindhi community has integrated with and adapted to almost seamlessly the local population, sharing their entrepreneurial skills and helping to provide many jobs across various sectors for Jamaicans. The community embraced the Jamaican culture. Some have married locally and became sons of the soil. The first Sindhi families to arrive in Jamaica almost 80 years ago were B. D. Dadlani, K. Chandiram, N..T. Vaswani, C. Chatani, and the Harjanis. Today, the Sindhi community has expanded, and names like Thakurani, Daswani, Ramchandani, Uttamchandani, Hindujas, Tewani, Mansukhani, Rochlani, Khemlani, Samtani, Mahtani, Melwani, and many more are as much Indian names as they are Jamaican names. The Jamaican society has made the Sindhis feel at home, sharing their resources and never discriminating against them. I am happy to say that there has hardly been any adverse incident in Jamaica involving the Sindhi community in the past 80 years of their presence in Jamaica. PHILANTHROPY The Sindhi community worldwide and in Jamaica are also recognised for their philanthropy. They believe in giving without acknowledgement. In Jamaica, the community members are involved with many notable charitable organisations near and far, facilitating medical camps, feeding the poor. The Jamaican Government has bestowed many Sindhis from the community with national honours and awards in recognition of their contribution to society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Sindhis have distributed free meals, medicines, and financial support to the less fortunate without any publicity or fanfare. Jamaica is their home, but India is always in their hearts. The Sindhis visit India frequently, maintain contacts with their family and friends, and also have business links with India, thus strengthening the trade relationship between India and Jamaica. They still cherish their Indian values and have preserved their Indian cultural practices. The respect for elders, a joint family system, and law-abiding nature are still alive among the Sindhi community. The community also observes the Jhulelal (Sindhi deity) and Guru Nanak Jayantis while also celebrating Holi and Diwali. As for the food, on Mondays you will still find the traditional Dal Pakwan (deep fried, crisp bread) and Sai Bhaji (a vegetarian curry) cooked in most Sindhi homes. The Sindhi community is another example of the shared cultural heritage of India and Jamaica, radiating the Jamaica national motto of “Out of Many One People”. Along with the descendants of Indian indentured workers, teachers, doctors and nurses, IT professionals and accountants, the Sindhi community shines prominently through the sociocultural rainbow that the Indian diaspora in Jamaica is. I am sure that the Sindhis will continue to enrich this land with their entrepreneurship and vision while also deepening India-Jamaica relations. To the Sindhis, I can only say that India is proud to have daughters and sons like you taking India to the world. n Rungsung Masakui is the high commissioner of India to Jamaica. Views expressed in this article are his own. Send feedback to cons.kingston@mea.gov.in. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The city of Mohenjo-daro archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan, which is a part of the Indus Valley civilisation. Sindhis trace their heritage to this civilisation. AMSTERDAM (AP) AN AMSTERDAM museum said it has cut its close links to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and UNESCO warned of damage to Ukraine’s cultural heritage as international cultural institutions stepped up their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Hermitage Amsterdam said it has long distanced itself from politics in Russia under President Vladimir Putin as it built close ties with the Hermitage, giving the Amsterdam museum “access to one of the world’s most famous art collections, which we could draw from” for exhibitions. “Russia’s recent attack on Ukraine makes keeping this distance no longer tenable,” the Dutch museum said in a statement. “Our Board and directors have decided to cut ties with the State Hermitage Museum.” It added that it hoped to eventually be able to restore ties pending peace and “changes in the future of Russia”. In another move to culturally isolate Moscow, the Swedish Academy that hands out the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature broke a long-standing practice not to make political statements and condemned the invasion. In a statement, the academy noted that its history and mission are deeply rooted in the traditions of freedom of expression, belief, and inquiry. “We therefore join the legion of our fellow academies, literary and cultural institutions, places of higher learning, defenders of a free press, human rights organisations and nation states in expressing our abhorrence of the Russian government’s unjustified attack on Ukraine and its people,” it said. The United Nations’ cultural agency, meanwhile, sounded the alarm about the damage to Ukraine’s cultural patrimony in announcing that it was working to assess Ukraine’s educational and cultural institutions and its UN-designated heritage sites. SEVEN WORLD HERITAGE SITES Ukraine is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the famous St Sophia Cathedral and related monastic buildings in the capital, Kyiv. Other sites on the UN list are located in the western city of Lviv, the Black Sea port city of Odesa, and in the second largest city of Kharkiv. All four cities have been subjected to artillery attacks and air bombardment by the invading Russian forces. “We must safeguard this cultural heritage as a testimony of the past but also as a vector of peace for the future,” said UNESCO’s director general, Audrey Azoulay. In a statement, Azoulay said the agency is coordinating efforts with Ukrainian authorities to mark as quickly as possible key historic monuments and sites across Ukraine with an internationally recognised sign for the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict. UNESCO will also organise a meeting with the country’s museum directors to help them safeguard museum collections and cultural property as the war rages on. At least seven educational institutions have been damaged in attacks over the past week, including the Karazin National University in Kharkiv on Wednesday, the statement said. In the past week, Hollywood has joined international film festivals, orchestras, art exhibits, and other cultural institutions in blacklisting Russia and promoting Ukrainian artists in a sign of solidarity. Russian Ballet Theatre, an independent ballet company dedicated to that style of dance with a multinational cast that is currently on tour in the US, renamed itself RBT Ballet Theatre and is using the slogan “We dance for peace. We stand with Ukraine.” Ukraine’s cultural heritage at risk Snow covers the city centre with a Christmas tree, St. Sophia Cathedral, foreground, and St. Michael Cathedral, background, in Kyiv, Ukraine AP PHOTOS A view of heavy damage in the residential area of Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Journey from Indus Valley to Jamaica GUEST COLUMNIST Rungsung Masakui
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