Former MNA Marvi Memon on Tuesday announced the launch of a forum called Historians Without Borders Sindh Pakistan Chapter (HWBSPC) to empower Sindh’s historical identity narrative.
This she announced while addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club. “We abide by the overall declaration on the establishment of the ‘International Network of Historians without Borders’ presented for adoption at the final session of the conference of May 2016 in Helsinki, she recalled.
Ms Marvi said the mission of HWBSPC is to create an inclusive forum which has a singular goal: Sindh’s Historical Identity Narrative Empowerment (SHINE). She said: “This will be done through international best practices like the following: Wanting to promote and deepen the general understanding of Sindh’s history. Calling on historians and intellectuals to defuse conflicts by sharing knowledge about history.”
The former MNA said: “Concerned about how insufficient historical knowledge and understanding lead people to the misuse of historical narratives and impede their ability to see into the future. Emphasizing the need for concentrated efforts to counteract the misuse of history. This is especially relevant in the current international world disorder and the need for unity in Pakistan on Sindh’s history and thus its future.”
Marvi said: ‘Accurate historical narratives of nations shape the foundational base and thus their future destiny, through which robust states can be built and can survive. “Historical mistruths destroy the unity of nations. Unfortunately, the work that should have been carried out by political parties and policymakers to fix the historical narrative of Sindh to ensure Pakistan’s strengthening has not been done to date.”
“I am pleased and proud to say that it is finally in safe hands and will be done by a talented team that is intellectually genuine to the cause. This forum will be showcased in history as the one that empowered truthful narratives. It will enhance the role of Sindh in the national narrative and increase Pakistan’s GDP by giving the people of Sindh the motivation that they are sons and daughters of a glorious 5000-year civilization and deserve equitable rights to contribute to a glorious future.’
Some of the forum’s objectives will be to create unity within Pakistan through the correct historical narrative of Sindh and thus Pakistan: To be proud of Sindh’s 5000-year-old history and to mirror its past glory to an even more prosperous future for Sindh. To appreciate that we wish to create confidence-building measures to resolve narratives with all Pakistanis and countries interested in the history of Sindh.
To appreciate that we are joined by one guiding belief despite our various personal associations. Shah Abdul Lateef Bhittai is our North Star: ‘Alam sub abaad karai’. And we value his teachings of tolerance, peaceful co-existence, humanitarianism, women empowerment, and economic inclusion throughout the history of Sindh.
To appreciate that we will defend, with facts, figures, and literature, the misinformation spread throughout history about Sindh, so that future generations live dignified and prosperous lives connected to the soil of Sindh, Pakistan.
To appreciate that we believe all those who live in, were born in, or have an emotional connection to Sindh, including Sindhi diaspora, are Sindhis irrespective of their mother tongue, ethnicity, or religion, and have full rights to the forum’s output of correct historical narratives on Sindh.
To appreciate that we believe in the amalgamation through historical narrative into Sindh’s 5000-year rich heritage, culture, literature, and language. To ensure fake narratives on Sindh’s history do not prevail, so that Sindh’s actual history is preserved, and Pakistan’s unity is not compromised.
To ensure rural urban divide and inequalities are minimized and historically prove that Sindh’s past glory was due to its unification of the economies of industrial and agriculture Sindh. To ensure Sindh integrity and borders are not changed as a province, with Karachi as its capital, and historically prove how moving the capital of Pakistan from Karachi diminished Sindh’s role.
To ensure that historical sites, heritage, wildlife, environment, culture, folklore, poetry, and literature of Sindh are taken care of by Sindh and Sindh takes ownership and gives accountability to SIndhis for their preservation with constitutionally allocated budgets. To ensure that the historical names of Sindh’s historical heritage are restored.
To ensure anti-Sindh profiling and stereotyping in the media and the entertainment industry stop, because this is a campaign which is damaging. To note that Sindhi nationalism is a concept which is part of the labelling construct which is counterproductive. All those respecting amalgamation, history and rights of Sindh are Sindhis irrespective of language, ethnicity, religion; They are not separatists with foreign or any other agendas.
To understand the Concept of who were sons/daughters of soil versus who were invaders at different points of Sindh’s 5000-year-old history. To be clarified and not to be confused or glorified for religious or political reasons. And to correct the wrong narratives on the birth locations of Sindh and Pakistan’s leaders and heroes like Quaid-e-Azam..
To ensure that the historical narratives need to be accessible to scholars, students, researchers, policymakers, and the common man from all walks of life, both in Pakistan and internationally. To note that languages of every region and province must be given national language status including Sindhi. The Sindhi language is a historical asset not a threat.
It will accomplish the above by promoting Sindh’s correct historical narrative by organizing conferences (online, in Sindh, and internationally), conventions, and dialogues on historical facts versus myths. It will collaborate with historians, academia, government, and civil society domestically and internationally.
The Chairperson of the forum is Marvi Memon and the founding members are as follows: Aamir Latif Siddiqui, Aamir Raza Memon, Abubakr Sheikh, Aziz Memon, Barrister Shahid Soomro, Agha Iftekhar, Dr Sorath Sindhu, Ghazi Salauddin, Inam Sheikh, Junaid Ansari, Mohsin Babbar, Muhammad Kashif, Naseer Memon, Noor Memon, Perah Mangi, Qazi Asif, Shahab Usto, Shahzad Ghias Sheikh, Shams Jafrani, Shumsuddin Sheikh, Suhail Latif Memon, Suraya Manzoor, Yasra Akhund.