The Sindhudesh Movement[1] is a separatist movement, based in Sindh, Pakistan, seeking to create a homeland for Sindhis by establishing an ethnic state called Sindhudesh (Sindhi: سنڌو ديش, lit.'Country of Sindhis'),[2][3][4] which would be either autonomous within Pakistan[5] or independent from it.[6][7]
The movement was founded by G. M. Syed, after Bangladesh's independence. He gave a new direction to Sindhi nationalism, founded the Jeay Sindh Tehreek in 1972 and presented the idea of Sindhudesh.[8][9] Sindhi nationalists sometimes claims the Kutch region of India, the Lasbela District of Balochistan, and sometimes southern Punjab.[10]
Sindhi separatists reject the parliamentary path of struggle for attaining freedom and rights.[11] No Sindhi nationalist party has been ever voted into power in Sindh at any level of government.[12][13] In recent years, several Sindhi nationalists have deserted the ideology and joined mainstream politics due to disillusionment within ranks, lack of public support, and crackdowns by law enforcement agencies.[14] Some nationalist parties and associations are banned for alleged "terrorist, anti-state and sabotage" activities by the Pakistani government.[15]
^Syed, G. M. Sindhudesh : A Study in its Separate Identity Through the Ages. G.M. Syed Academy. p. These days a pragmatic situation has become dynamically alive in Pakistan. It is the exhilarating political idea of creating a new independent state of Sindh. So the sons of the soil, in full cooperation should increase the momentum for the demand and efforts to create Sindhu Desh with the new Sindhis who have settled down in this land permanently. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2018.