Seraiki people

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Seraikis / Multanis
Regions with significant populations
 Pakistan13,843,106[1]
 India56,096[2]
Languages
Seraiki
Religion
Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism
Related ethnic groups

The Seraiki people (Perso-Arabic: سرائيکی, Gurmukhi: ਸਰਾਇਕੀ) or Multani people (Perso-Arabic: ملتانی, Devanagari: मुल्तानी, Gurmukhi: ਮੁਲਤਾਨੀ) are an ethnic group from the south-eastern areas of Pakistan, especially in the area of the former princely state of Bahawalpur and the districts of Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, Sehwan, Sanghar, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Sindh, Mirpurkhas, Multan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, MuzafarGarh, Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Dera Ismail Khan, Karachi. A significant number of Seraikis also reside in India, with most concentrated in the state of Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat.[1] The Seraikis maintain that they have a separate language and culture, but their language is often viewed as a dialect of Sindhi or Punjabi. While the majority of Seraikis follow Islam, few also follow Hinduism and Sikhism.

History

Ali-Al-Kufi 700 AD also in his book(Shash nama) about Sindh says that Seraiki is a dialect of Sindhi language. Ali-Al-Kufi was considered an authority on subject of Sindh and because of this reason he was invited by the Arab rulers several times to provide useful information about Sindh and its people. He explained in detail that there is one language spoken in country Sindh and its called Sindhi. He further said that 'Sereki' is one of Sindhis three dialects.

At the time of independence of Pakistan in 1947, Muslims constituted between 90 to 75% of the population of Seraiki speaking region. While the Hindus and Sikhs constituted between 10 and 25% of the population of the regions in West Punjab, nearly all Hindus ans Sikhs migrated to India in 1947, while a substantial number remigrated later to the United Kingdom from India, among other countries. The Muslims of East Punjab were also around 45%, nearly all migrated to Pakistani Punjab and Seraiki areas. Sindh also had Hindus and Sikhs population of 10% at time of independence of Pakistan, most of them migrated to India, many of them remigrated from India to the other parts of the world.

A Seraiki campaign (struggle) grew in the 1960's with the aims of establishing language rights and stopping what was seen as exploitation and repression by the traditionally Punjabi dominated government. Seraiki land has always been very fertile, producing much of Pakistan's wheat and cotton. However little money has been invested back, thus leading to impoverishment and underdevelopment. The current Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousuf Raza Gilani, is Seraiki native, and has initiated several projects to uplift the region particularly in and around Multan.[3]

The campaign continued on into the 1970's, by which time political activists had drawn up a map of a proposed new province to be carved out of central Pakistan named Seraikistan [citation needed], including most of southern Punjab and Dera Ismail Khan in the North-West Frontier Province (this excluded Sindhi and Baloch areas, possibly because of strong nationalist movements in those regions). The movement, however, was not an independence movement, but rather a movement for the establishment of a separate province within Pakistan.

In 1977 General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq took power in a coup of Pakistan. Under his strongly centralist rule the Seraiki movement went underground. The death of General Zia in a plane crash in 1988 gave the impetus for the Seraiki movement to re-emerge. By now the aims were to have a Seraiki nationality recognised, to have official documents printed in Seraiki, a Seraiki regiment in the army, employment quotas and more Seraiki language radio and television(recently one channel is working).

File:Seraiki.jpg
Seraiki man

In 1993 moves were made to settle Biharis in Seraiki areas. This was resisted by the Seraikis and the plan was eventually shelved. Seraikis claim that they are not merely an ethnic group but a nation.

Notable Saraiki Persons

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Seraiki". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
  2. ^ Abstract of speakers’ strength of languages and mother tongues – 2001, Census of India (retrieved 19 March 2008)
  3. ^ PM’s mega uplift plan for hometown -DAWN - National; May 05, 2008

External links

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