Ghulam Murtaza Syed (17 January 1904 – 25 April 1995), known as G. M. Syed was a

Sindhi nationalist Sindhi nationalism (Sindhi language, Sindhi:) is an ideology that claims that the Sindhis, an ethnolinguistic group native to the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Sindh, form a separate nation. After Bangladesh Proclamation ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who is known for his scholarly work, later proposing ideological groundwork for separate Sindhi identity and laying the foundations of

Sindhudesh The Sindhudesh movement is a separatist movement that advocates to create a country for the Sindhi people by establishing a sovereign state called Sindhudesh (, ) in the region of Sindh. The movement was founded by G. M. Syed, after Bangladesh ...

movement. He is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern

Sindhi nationalism Sindhi nationalism ( Sindhi:) is an ideology that claims that the Sindhis, an ethnolinguistic group native to the Pakistani province of Sindh, form a separate nation. After Bangladesh became independent in 1971, G.M. Syed gave a new direction ...

. He was known as "Saeen" by his supporters. G.M Syed started his political career at the age of 16, when he organised

Khilafat A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entir ...

Conference at his hometown, Sann, on 17 March 1920. Syed was one of the earliest Sindhi politician who sought the creation of Islamic Pakistan, and became a vocal supporter of the Two-Nation Theory, advocated by the Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah; Syed's political propaganda for a purely 'Muslim-dominated state' is witnessed after the Manzilgah incident, where he wanted to cleanse Sindh of its Hindus, stating: "all Hindus shall be driven out of Sindh like the Jews from Germany". However, once the independent nation was formed, he became a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

of the state in 1948, due to differences with the country's leadership. He restated his political propaganda of ideologies which advocated for Islamic principles, secularism, Sindhi nationalism and laid the basis for

Movement. He spent approximately thirty years of his life in imprisonment and house arrests for his political views. He was entitled as the ''prisoner of conscience'' by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

in 1995. He died during his

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

on 26 April 1995. After his father's death, he grew up with his father's best family friend Rais Faqir Bux Khan Kaachhi, whom at that time, was the chief of the Kaachhi tribe, Rais Faqir Bux Khan Kaachhi was GM Syed's Ustaad and a uncle like figure to him and protected him from the enemies of GM. Syed's father. Gm syed had also mentioned Rais Faqir Bux Khan Kaachhi in his books.

Early life

Childhood: 1904–15

G. M. Syed was born to the Sadat family of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

in the town of Sann on 17 January 1904. He was an

infant In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

when his father, Syed Mohammed Shah Kazmi, was killed in a family feud on 1 November 1905. After the death of his father, Syed was the only male infant in the family, so in 1906 the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

took temporary custody of the family property through the

Court of Wards The Court of Wards and Liveries was a court established during the reign of Henry VIII in England. Its purpose was to administer a system of feudal dues; but as well as the revenue collection, the court was also responsible for wardship and ...

, giving the family a monthly

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

. He had five years of primary education, in the Sindhi, from the age of six, ending in 1915. The female elders of his family and Mother Haneefa Bibi decided to

home-school Homeschooling or home schooling (American English), also known as home education or elective home education (EHE) (British English), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted ...

him thereafter in order to safeguard him from feuding as he was the only male heir in the family. He was taught

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

at home.

Teenage: 1920–24

Syed became politically active through participation in the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces. Leaders particip ...

. He first attended Khilafat Conference held on 7th, 8th, and 9 February 1920 in

Larkana Larkana (; ) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

. He was inspired by the speeches of

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

, Abdul Bari Firangi Mahali, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi. He himself called upon the next Khilafat Conference on 17 March 1920 in his hometown Sann. Two days after this conference, his native town Sann observed a shutter-down strike in protest against the injustices of the Allied Powers against the

Ottoman Caliphate The Ottoman Caliphate () was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty, rulers of the Ottoman Empire, to be the caliphs of Islam during the Late Middle Ages, late medieval and Early Modern period, early modern era. Ottoman rulers ...

on 20 March 1920. He remained active throughout the entire Khilafat Movement afterward. He addressed the Khilafat Conference held on 26 March 1920, in Makhdoom Bilawal's

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

as the youngest speaker. He was of a short-height and stood upon a wooden chair to be visible to the audience during his speech. He met

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

on 27 April 1921 at the

Sann railway station Sann railway station (, ) is located in Pakistan. See also * Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of ...

while Mr. Gandhi was traveling from Dadu to

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Gandhi instructed him to wear

Khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

. Syed visited the office of the Collector in

on 23 June 1921 to free his lands from the custody of

but he was refused. He filed a complaint against the Collector and Mukhtiarkar on 4 December 1922, for hurdling the delivery of his lands from custody. Finally, he was awarded his lands back from the custody of Court of Wards in the year 1924, after two years of legal prosecution.

Political activism

G.M Syed was the founder of Sindh Awami Mahaz, which went on to join the

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP) was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, through th ...

(National Peoples Party). Like Ibrahim Joyo, Syed blended

with

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

and

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

through the ideas of

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

and

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

. Syed Sindhi's position brought him ample opportunity to have free income through tributes, cash offerings and landed property. This lifestyle was rejected by him, subsequently he plunged into politics with enthusiasm. Politically, he evolved and traveled from Pan-Islamist to Indian nationalist and then Pakistani nationalist, having joined Muslim League; and ended with being a Sindhi nationalist.

AV School

In the early 1920s, Syed opened Anglo-Vernacular (AV) school in his village Sann, where education for certain language classes was free of cost. AV School offered combo of Sindhi education with English language. The school also offered options of Arabic, French and Persian languages. Prominent Sindhi educationist Ibrahim Joyo was also schooled at AV.

Timeline

*At the early age of fourteen years, Syed started his career as an activist. * In 1919, became Chairman of the School Board of his own

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

. He later became its president. * In 1929, was elected as a President of Karachi District Local Board. * In 1930, organized the Sindh Hari (Peasants) Conference and became its Secretary. * In 1937, was for the first time elected a member of Sindh Legislative Assembly. * In 1938, joined the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

. In 1940, he became Minister of Education in Sindh. * In 1941, became one of the members of the Central Committee of the Muslim League. * In 1943, became President of the

Sindh Muslim League The Sindh Muslim League was an integral pre-independence faction of the All-India Muslim League and later, in the post-independence period, a breakaway faction of the Muslim League led by Muhammad Ayub Khuhro, which existed from 1952 to 1954. His ...

. * In 1946, conditions compelled him to dissociate from the Muslim League, and formed a new party named the Progressive Muslim League. The same year, he was elected as leader of the Coalition Party in the Sindh Assembly. * In 1954, acted as Chairman of Sindhi Adabi Board. * In 1966, founded Bazm-e-Soofia-e Sindh. * In 1969, formed the

Sindh United Front Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. * In 1972, formed Jeay Sindh Mahaz.

Jeay Sindh movement

Syed was the architect of "Jiy-e-Sindh" movement, aimed at achieving

. He is also the author of more than 60 books, (with) subjects ranging from politics, religion, culture, literature and commentaries on famous poet

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic and poet from Pakistan, widely considered to be the ...

. For his part as a political thinker, literary figure and mystic, he dominated the political arena of pre and post-partition era for decades, while he remained in jail for 30 years. On 19 January 1992, Syed was put under house arrest, his house was declared a sub-jail. He died on 25 April 1995.

Books

Syed was the author of more than sixty books, written mainly in Sindhi, but also

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. His works are on numerous subjects, ranging from literature to politics, religion and culture. Due to his breath of knowledge, he has been described by the Dutch scholar of Isla
Oskar Verkaaik
as "in many ways a remarkably productive, original, and largely autodidact intellectual, creating his own personal interpretation of Islam out of a range of intellectual influences such as 19th-century Islamic reform, Darwinian

evolution theory Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

, 18th century

Sindhi poetry The Culture of Sindh () has its roots in the Indus Valley civilization. Sindh has been shaped by the largely desert region, the natural resources it has available, and continuous foreign influence. The Indus or Sindhu River, which passes throug ...

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, classical

German idealism German idealism is a philosophical movement that emerged in Germany in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It developed out of the work of Immanuel Kant in the 1780s and 1790s, and was closely linked both with Romanticism and the revolutionary ...

, and probably more." Some of his well-known books are: *''Janam Guzarium Jin Sein (In

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; or , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by more than 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status, as well as by 1.7 million people in India, where it is a Scheduled languages of India, schedu ...

)'' *''Dayar Dil Dastan-e- Muhabt (In

)'' *''Sindh Ja Soorma (In

)'' *''Sindh Speaks'' (English) *''Struggle for New Sindh'' (English) *''Religion and Reality'' (English) *''Shah Latif's Message'' (English) *''A Nation in Chains'' (English)

Notes

References

External links

Information about G M Syed
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Syed, G. M. 1904 births 1995 deaths Pakistani writers Sindhi politicians Pakistani scholars Pakistani Theosophists Islamic philosophers Muslim reformers Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Indian independence activists from Sind Province Pakistan Muslim League politicians Pakistani prisoners and detainees Sindhi-language writers Pakistan Movement activists from Sindh Sindh independence activists