Abstract:
The Sindhis are essentially a business community who have had their roots in Sind, a region which historically experienced many changes due to its geographical position. This area was the junction of land and sea routes. According to Toynbee 1-it is through this area that cultural growth and synthesis was achieved in different parts of the world. From lower Mesopotamia skirting the southern mountain ranges of Iran and running along. The coast, the route terminated in Sind. The other important route was from the Arabian southern coast which passed from Sind. Thus Sind lay in-between the western world and the sub-continent; and it was this geographical position which determined the trading ethos of the people of the region. The river Indus and the Arabian Sea were very much a part of the socio-economic life of the Sindhis. It has determined the fact that from time immemorial, the Sindhis have left the shores of their land for far-away countries in search of commercial opportunities. There is evidence of trade links with the great contemporary civilisation of Mesopotamia and Egypt during the Indus period (3000 - 2500 BC). Over the centuries, fresh migrants have also taken advantage of the geographical situation of Sind and have continued the tradition of trade and commerce. The people of Sind have also experienced many foreign invasions and they have had to make constant adjustments to the changing environments. Sind's position as the junction of routes and its situation at the end of the sub-continent produced two kinds of trends. While in the former position it served as a rendezvous, a bridge, and a "roundabout" of cultures. In the latter it often assumed the role of "cul de sac" where the cultural movement came to a stop. However the first enabled Sind to draw on as many foreign elements and influences as possible and when the force and momentum of these influences were spent the other enabled it to come into its own, thereby allowing the local element to assimilate all the remaining foreign influences? Thus the traditional ethos of Sind made a Sindhi flexible, adaptable and liberal minded. The Sindhi society in pre-partition times was distinctly divided into Muslims and Hindus; the former comprising 76% and the latter 24% of the population. Sind was the first province to have come under the Muslim rule and hence the Islamic influence was all pervading in the region. Over the period, due to conversions and migration, the Hindu population dwindled. What remained got assimilated into an all pervading group called the Lohanas who made themselves indispensable to the Muslims. This was they escaped conversions as well as lived with dignity. Below is given the Hindu-Muslim relationship on the basis of occupational needs.
