Back Sindhi's Afrikaans الشعب السندي Arabic Sindhilər Azerbaijani Сіндхі Byelorussian Синдхи (етнос) Bulgarian সিন্ধি জাতি Bengali/Bangla Sindhi (Volk) German Pueblo sindi Spanish Sindhi (herria) Basque Sindhit Finnish
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|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| c. 41 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Pakistan | 39,252,262[1][2] |
| India | c. 2.9 million[a] |
| Saudi Arabia | 180,980 (2020)[6] |
| United Arab Emirates | 94,620[7] |
| United States | 50,000[8][9] |
| United Kingdom | 25,000[10] |
| Malaysia | 30,000 (2021)[3][11] |
| Afghanistan | 21,000[6] |
| Hong Kong | 20,000[12] |
| Philippines | 20,000 (1997)[3] |
| Bangladesh | 15,000[citation needed] |
| Oman | 14,700 (2020)[3] |
| Canada | 12,065[13] |
| Singapore | 11,860[14][15] |
| Indonesia | ~10,000[16] |
| Spain | 10,000[8] |
| Languages | |
| Sindhi | |
| Religion | |
Majority Islam ~94%Significant minority  Hinduism ~5%[17]Smaller minorities of:  Christianity <1% Sikhism <1% Jainism <1% | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
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| Part of a series on |
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Sindhis[b] are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history, ancestry, and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by southeastern Balochistan; the Bahawalpur region of Punjab; the Marwar region of Rajasthan; and the Kutch region of Gujarat.[19][20]
Sindhis are the third-largest ethnic group in Pakistan, after the Punjabis and Pashtuns, forming a majority in Sindh with historical communities also found in neighbouring Balochistan. They form a significant diasporic population in India, mostly partition-era migrants and their descendants. Sindhi diaspora is also present in other parts of South Asia; as well as in the Gulf states, the Western world and the Far East.[21]
Sindhis are a diverse group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. Approximately 94% are adherents of Islam, primarily the Sunni denomination with a significant population also following the Shia denomination. A large minority of approximately 5% adheres to Hinduism; with smaller groups, each constituting a population of less than 1%, adhering to Christianity, Sikhism and Jainism. The Muslim population forms a majority in Sindh; with Hindus mainly concentrated in eastern Sindh, forming a majority in Umerkot district with significant populations in other districts as well. Sindhis in India are predominantly Hindu with smaller Muslim, Christian, Sikh, and Jain minorities. Despite being geographically separated, Sindhis still maintain strong ties to each other and share similar cultural values and practices.[22][23]
Sindhis have largely been isolated throughout their history; due to which Sindhi culture has preserved its uniqueness.[24][25] Belonging to various tribes and clans, Sindhis are closely related to other Sindhic-speaking groups.
- ^ "Pakistan". 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "Pakistan's population is 207.68m, shows 2017 census result". 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2024). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (27 ed.).
- ^ "Now, class 6th & 8th students of U.P. Govt schools to learn about Sindhi deities, personalities". Hindustan Times. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Scheduled Languages in descending order of speaker's strength – 2011" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 29 June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ a b "Sindhi | Ethnologue". Ethnologue.
- ^ "Yearbook 2017-2018" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2020.
- ^ a b Haller, Dieter (June 2005). "Let it flow: Economy, spirituality and gender in the Sindhi network". Anthropological Theory. 5 (2). Sage Publications: 155. doi:10.1177/1463499605050868. ISSN 1463-4996.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". Archived from the original on 26 November 2020.
- ^ "United Kingdom". Ethnologue. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
- ^ David, Maya Khemlani (1999). "Language shift Amongst The Sindhis of Malaysia". South Pacific Journal of Psychology. 10 (1). Cambridge University Press: 61. doi:10.1017/S0257543400001012.
- ^ "Sindhi Association Hong Kong". Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Kesavapany, K.; Mani, A.; Ramasamy, P. (2008). Rising India and Indian Communities in East Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9789812307996. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ "Sindhis". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Fealy, Greg; Ricci, Ronit (2019). Contentious belonging: the place of minorities in Indonesia. ISEAS publishing. p. 215. ISBN 9789814843492.
- ^ "Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps > Sindhis". Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
- ^ Butt, Rakhio (1998). Papers on Sindhi Language & Linguistics. Institute of Sindhology, University of Sindh. ISBN 9789694050508. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023.
- ^ Siraj, Amjad. Sindhi Language. Sindhi Language Authority. ISBN 978-969-625-082-1. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
Cultural and territorial proximity has a major influence on the similarities of languages. There was a time when Sindh was a sovereign country and was a lot bigger than its present geographical boundaries. It included parts of present-day Punjab and Bahawalpur, Lasbela (Balochistan), Kachh (India) and some southern parts of present day Balochistan. That is why Sindhi has very deep relations with languages of these regions. In fact one can say that the dialects and sub- dialects of this region ie Punjabi, Multani, Seraiki, Kachhi etc are greatly influenced by Sindhi and in a way can be considered akin to it. In addition to the local languages, Sindhi is also closely related to languages of the neighbouring regions. In the pre-historic and even the historic period, for a long time India was a common social and political entity, and in this period the court languages, indigenous as well as foreign, must have influenced the regional languages.
- ^ Faiz, Asma (2021). In Search of Lost Glory: Sindhi Nationalism in Pakistan. Hurst Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78738-632-7. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023.
- ^ "The Sindh diaspora: India and the United Kingdom". UK Research and Innovation. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ David, Maya Khemlani; Abbasi, Muhammad Hassan Abbasi; Ali, Hina Muhammad (January 2022). Young Sindhi Muslims in Cultural Maintenance in the Face of Language Shift.
Despite a shift away from habitual use of Sindhi language, they have maintained their cultural values and norms.
- ^ "Excerpt: For Some Sindhi Diaspora Members, Navigating Multiple Identities Is Not a Problem". The Wire. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
- ^ "Culture". www.wwf.org.pk. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Kalhoro, Zulfiqar Ali (2018). Archaeology, Art and Religion in Sindh. Sindh: Culture Department, Government of Sindh. p. 17.
Sindh's rich cultural and religious diversity makes it unique in Pakistan. In past few decades, there has been a growing interest in the archaeology of Sindh by both local and international scholars.
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