SINDH SCENARIO AND SITUATION IN KARACHI IN JULY 1947
By Dr Dur MuhammadPathan
Historical research has remained very interesting subject for our scholars but, most of them have not touched important sources to support their hypothesis. Newspaper is primary source, but, none of our Learned bodies have even compiled the comprehensive list of Newspapers,Periodicals, Journals and their editors. But you can find it on Gul Hayat website.Likewise,Governments Reports are also valuable source material on the historical research and it has not utilized to much extent. These reports and official correspondence had two objectives: When they were prepared and published for the public, the main aim was to misguide people and degrade our ideals. When they were made secret and for the official use, the true picture was dipcted properly. Let us have look at secret reporting by the then Chief Secretary of Sindh on the subject.
On 19th of July 1947, A.P.LeMesurier, Chief Secretary to Government of Sindh is sending report to the Secretary Home Department, Government of India, in which he offers his comments on the Sindh scenario with special reference to making Karachi as the capital of Pakistan.He writes:
“ It must be realized that the Sindh Government is being severely handicapped. The Provincial Government is incurring a great deal of odium on account of the measures, which it has had to take in its name on behalf of Pakistan. More ever it is already clear that certain individuals are preparing to take advantage of this opportunity. There are already signs of a revival of slogan ‘Sindh for Sindhis’. Otherwise, there is little tendency to regard Pakistan as other than fait accompli. In fact, there are even indications that the Hindu community, ‘if encouraged’, will make best of it”.
On 29th of July 1947, the Sindh Governor writes to the Viceroy of India, Mountbatten that “One result of the arrival of refugees from other provinces in Karachi and also of the expected arrival of Muslim officials from Delhi has been a great intensification of the anti-non Sindhi feeling. This feeling is sedulosly propagated by Muslim enemies of the Ministry such as G.M.Syed and, of course by the Congress press”.
