Shaheed Hemu Kalani

The province of Sindh has played a seminal role in the successful struggle for Pakistan and even before that in anticolonial struggles going back to the First War of Independence of 1857; as Dr Jetho Lalwani, author of Azadi Ka Parwana: Shaheed Hemu Kalani also reminds us in the opening chapter of his book, translated into English from Sindhi by Mohan Gehani to coincide with the 75th anniversary of freedom from colonial rule.

From Hoshu Sheedi and Rooplo Kolhi in the 19th century to Tejoomal of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj; Ali Ahmed Brohi, an organiser of the 1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny; Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi and GM Syed who moved the only resolution in favour of Pakistan’s creation in the 20th century, Sindhis have been intrinsic to the anti-colonial history of the Indian subcontinent.