Sindhi language media in Pakistan

Sindh, the second largest province in Pakistan, is a province of many distinctions. It is the most urbanized province with 43% of people living in urban areas, and is the province with the highest literacy rate.

indhi as a language

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan; besides this, there are many languages spoken all over the country. Sindhi, one of these languages, covers a large portion of the population. It is an older language, spoken in the time of the historical Aryans. Although time has affected the language, the changes resulted in the large number of current speakers.

Sindhi nationalists have always been curious about their language and hence have worked hard to promote it. A large number of people are found speaking many other languages such as Saraiki, Baluchi, Rajasthani, Marwari, Memoni, Gujarati, etc. in this region, but the natives or the primitives who are basically sindhi and use Sindhi language for their daily conversation are still found representing the majority of the population.

Areas including the interior of Sindh are basically the rural areas of Pakistan. The large number of publications of Sindhi language newspapers portrays the status of the people reading them. They are literate and interested in being well informed about the facts, crises or incidences happening in the city, country or in the world.(Hafiz Mushtaq Memon (PPI correspondent)Abdul Latif Zargar (PPI correspondent))

indhi as a media

Origin

Sindhi language has been used for communication for a long time. Sindhi printing began in 1848 and the first printed Sindhi book was published in 1858. Since then, the Sindhi printing has started and is still being printed. Although 1848 is the earliest recorded date of printing, some facts show that it existed before thwn as well.

(Sahafti Safar by Dr. Dad Khadim Barohi in 2004 by District Union of Journalism Press Club Jacobabad)

Causes

Sindhi language is not a new language since it did not have to struggle greatly for its popularity. But, like every other language, it has also been improved upon, so as people speaking this language can get everything they want in their own language. There are many people who speak and understand only the Sindhi language so it became essential to produce Sindhi language media.

Another reason for the promotion of Sindhi media is the affection found in the people for their language. Sindhi nationalist love and want to promote their language. They not only love their language but also their culture and thoughts. However, the main reason for the existence of Sindhi media is that Sindhis want their culture and lifestyle to present in front of the world in order to show their individual identity.(Hafiz Mushtaq Memon (PPI correspondent) and survey)

Print Media

History

Sindhi language newspapers have got a long and glorious tradition. As in other parts of the subcontinent, in Sindh also, the pioneers of journalism were the Persian language newspapers. The first Persian language newspaper was brought in the region in 1855 by Shamsul Ulema Mirza Mukhlis Ali. In 1860 Mirza Mukhlis Ali brought out another newspaper, Matlah Khurshid, published from Sukkur, the paper was bilingual. While one column was in Persian, the other column carried its Sindhi translation. Thus, this can be said to be the first Sindhi newspaper in the subcontinent. The paper proved to be immensely popular and continued publication for a period of 50 years.

The first paper exclusively in the Sindhi language was Mueen ul Islam which was brought out in 1880. This was followed by various other papers such as Sind Sudhar, Muawan Majma, Saraswati, Aftab Sind, Kher Khoah, Musafir and Al Haq. These papers were greatly instrumental in raising the consciousness of the Sindhi Muslims, making them conscious of their identity, and making them aware of the need for modern knowledge, and thus had a marked influence on the freedom struggle of the Muslims.

The second period of Sindhi Journalism which began with Al Hilal in 1901 was the golden age of the Sindhi press which saw the rise of several great newspapers. The first Sindhi daily Sind Wasi came out in 1908 and the second Hind Wasi in 1917. During this period a number of important papers were brought out which included Al Kashif, Al Ameen, Tauheed, Sitara-e-Sind and Subah Sind. This period culminated with publication of Al Waheed, the greatest Sindhi newspaper to date which was not only a newspaper but a movement and played a leading role in the establishment of Pakistan. Sheikh Abdul, Majid Sindhi,Maulana Din Mohammad Wafai, Prof. Din Mohammad Alig, Pir Ali Mohammad Rashidi and Kazi Abdur Rehman were some of the stalwarts of journalism at the time who with their pens raised the consciousness of the people and made them aware of their rights. Hilal-e-Pakistan began publication in 1946 at Hyderabad, mobilized people against British and in favor of Pakistan.

After the establishment of Pakistan there was a crisis in the Sindhi press as several of the leading writers and journalists migrated to India causing the closure of a number of newspapers and magazines. However the gap was soon filled and several new papers came into existence, including Naeen Sind, Mehran, Azad, Nawai Sind. The Sindhi press had to face continual crises and became the victim of repression but it continued its brave tradition of fighting for the cause of downtrodden and did not give up in spite of the forced closure of several leading newspapers including Al Waheed, Nawai Sind, Naeen Sind and Karwan(Article “the Sindhi Press in Pakistan” by Shahida Mirza)

Since then, the Sindhi press continued its journey sometimes coming up and sometimes going very down but it managed its readership very effectively. Then in1972, the Governor of Sindh, Mumtaz Bhutto passed a bill confirming Sindhi as the official language of Sindh which brought out aggression and resulted in “Lingual Fights”. Migrants were angry because Urdu was expected to lose its importance after the bill and Sindhi nationalists got angry on migrants’ anger.

In July 1976 Makhdoom Muhammad Rafique Hashmi had launched the sindhi Daily newspaper Nijat from sukkur hashmi Has developed the readership that really belonged the different categories of society.Nijat spoke the truth related public problems that hinders the Army govt of that time. so govt bend the public voice(Nijat)and sealled the newspaper. After 11 years Nijat continue its journey of truth.

This entire disturbance brought a very distinctive change that made Sindhis think about the ways of promoting their language. A new department in University of Sindh “Sindhology” was formed which not only started educating students in Sindhi but it also provided employment to Sindhi literate people. And thus, the journey for promoting Sindhi language was initiated with a new spirit. This whole situation also led to a great increment in the numbers of the readers of Sindhi papers and circulation of the paper was increased to a great extent.Then the period of Zia-ul-Haq is of great importance, it was the period of complete dictatorship, in this period Sindhi Press presents sacrifices and in return got more popularity among its readers. In 1984, as a result of MRD, journalism started changing more rapidly. Censorship was set on media, even when the papers were printed, blank columns were found as a protest against censorship. Protests were held and many journalists were arrested including a large number of Sindhi journalists. This devotion made people’s belief stronger than before on their press which was considered a very good sign for promotion of not only Sindhi press but the whole press.

News Era of Sindhi newspapers

With introduction of computer in composing, Sindhi press got a boost. First computerised newspaer was launched by left oriented group of activists and its founder Editor was Sohail Sangi. This refelected the aspirations of resistance shown by people of Sindh during MRD movement and this phase of Sindhi press is called resistance journalism. Sohail Sangi, Faqir Mohammed Lashari, Anwar Pirzado, Badar ABro are called pioneers of resistance journalism, but this started with Awami Awaz founded by So→hail Sangi.Then came the era of mushroom growth of newspapers which led to a number of publication on the desk and since then many new newspapers have started in which some are of really good standards.(Nasir Aijaz, Article “the Sindhi Press in Pakistan” by Shahida Mirza, Hafiz Mushtaq Memon (PPI correspondent), Abdul Latif Zargar (PPI correspondent))

Centers of Publication

Sindhi is spoken all over Sindh, thus Sindhi newspapers are published from many cities but the prominent names that can be listed include Hyderabad, Karachi and Sukkur. Hyderabad is known as the main center of publications as Sindhi is widely spoken there. Newspapers like Ibrat, Kawish, Khadem-e-Watan, Mehran,daily sindh etc are published from Hyderabad. Some of these papers have their branch offices in Karachi. Sukkur is also known as one of the centers reasoning the third largest city of Sindh possessing a large number of Sindhi nationalists.leading sindhi newspaper of sukkur is Nijat (Mussavir Shahid (network coordinator of PPF))

Newspapers

Newspapers cover a major part of print media and thus have been affected by all the incidents happening in the past. Besides other reasons Sindhi newspapers developed as a result of Sindhi nationalism specifically. A very long list of the names of the newspapers is found, which reflects the interest of the readers.

Characteristics of Sindhi Language Newspapers

Sindhi press has a bright history. In the initial times it used to be the same as other language newspapers but now as the time has changed, the demands have been changed, policies have also been changed. . (Mussavir Shahid (network coordinator of PPF))

Sindhi newspapers are mostly read in the interior region of the province, thus it focuses on the regional and national news rather than international news. Another characteristic of Sindhi press is that it prints more news about crimes and accidents happening all around. Other than leading newspapers, sports, fashion, education are given less importance. Papers like Daily sindh hyd,daily nijat,Awami Awaz, Ibrat, Kawish, Tameer-e-Sindh and Hilal-e-Pakistan covers all regional, national and international news providing an effective source of information to their readers. Ibrat is owned by Qazi group and is actually owned by a member of Pakistan People’s Party. This might be the reason of its bias nature towards their party. It is circulated among literate people whereas Kawish is considered an awami paper that is why is more popular.(Survey, Hafiz Mushtaq Memon (PPI correspondent) and Abdul Latif Zargar (PPI correspondent)

Other than Kawish,Tameer-e-Sindh, Ibrat and some other names, there are so many newspapers published in this language. Nai Zindagi, Parish, Udhar, Mehran, Gulful, Halar are some of the names of the newspapers of this language. Mir Pur Khas, Nawab Shah, Sanghar, Shehzad Pur, Khair Pur, Jaccobabad etc are some cities where Sindhi language magazines are demanded. Karar, Subh, Alaq, Sham, Aftab, Barsat are some of the names of the newspapers published from the rural cities of Pakistan.

Magazines

Sindhi magazines have also been very popular medium among their readers. Not too many names of magazines are found in this language. All sorts of magazines including general interest, educational, fashion are found in this language. Children are also entertained through the special edition published for them.

Aarsee

After separation from Awami Awaz, renowned journalist Sohail Sangi launched Weekly Aarsee (The mirorr) Sindhi magazine from Karachi. It was first news magazine in Sindhi. It became popular so much so English magazine Newsline carried a story on this new experience in Sindhi journalism. The team included Ajiz Jamali, Zahid Mirani, Rahim Bux Burq. Due to bold stand and financial constraints its publication was closed down.

AFFAIR

"AFFAIR" is the largest circulating Sindhi news Magazine, Mr. Dr.Ali Ahmed Rind, a known Intellectual, political activist, writer and journalist of Sindhi and English press, is editor to this largest circulating Sindhi news Magazine.He was also working with LATimes and The News. Mr Hamsafar Gadehi, a veteran journalist of Karachi and a writer, is Deputy Editor to this fortnightly Sindhi news Magazine. As well as, Mr Hussain Mansoor, a known researcher, related to global researching organization,Global Development Network as researcher and one of the most influential investigative reporter of Sindh as well as Pakistan, was also Assistant editor to this news magazine.Many Sindhi journalists acknowledge that "AFFAIR" is the one of most circulating Sindhi magazine in Sindh. Mr. Fayaz Abbasi is its Marketing Manager, Mr Hameed Sabzoi is Production Manager, former Writer Activist Mujeeb Machhi is Circulation Manager of this largest circulating Sindhi news magazine. Mr. Noor-u-Din Sarki, a well known legislator, is legel adviser to this magazine. It is also claimed by the owners of AFFAIR that it is just like Time magazine in Sindhi Press.

Other Magazines

Ibrat magazine, published by the Qazi group, is of great importance as it can be called the Akhbar-e-jahan of Sindhi Language. It comprises many segments from politics to entertainment. Poetry, fashion, interviews of the celebrities, tourist guide, horoscopes, long term stories, and religious guidance is found in it. It is a complete family magazine.Another magazine named Sindh Review published from Karachi is also working remarkably. It is a monthly magazine which tries to cover the current issues if the world mainly. It is also providing information about international media (movies, dramas, singers, etc). Interviews of media celebrities are also found in this magazine. Three to four pages are set for the readers’ comments which show the involvement of its readers.Many other magazines are being published approximately from every city of Sindh. Khushbo is one of those magazines which is being published from Hyderabad.(Irfan Abbasi (editor of sindh review) and survey)

Readership

The progressive situation of the Sindhi press represents the popularity of it among people. As, preferring regional or national news is included in polices of Sindhi press, this leads to an enormous change in the number of the readers. News that are given less importance or sometimes even neglected is found in these papers.Another reason for its popularity is the Sindhi nationalism Sindhis love their regional language and thus enjoy reading the papers in the same language.People living in interior of the Sindh province mainly look forward to these newspapers or magazines. The Sindhi nationalist living in urban areas also prefers Sindhi paper for two reasons that are language and regional news. Because of the second reason, people, who actually are not Sindhi but can understand it, also prefer Sindhi papers.The readers of the Sindhi papers are widely spread all over the province and really appreciate them. It is their appreciation which is leading Sindhi media towards great success.(Survey)

Electronic media

History

Sindhi electronic media does not have a long history; it has its starting in the70s of the last century. Initially 25 minutes were set for telecasting regional program in regional language i.e. Sindhi language program in Sindh, Punjabi language program in Punjab and so on. The programs were telecasted on Pakistan Television in early evening time. A very long time passed with the same situation then there came another channel named PTV national where only regional programs were telecasted and then time came when the monopoly of PTV ended and the private channels came into existence. KTN is considered as the first private channel of Sindhi language. After this SindTV and Kashish have also chased the way.(Nasir Aijaz, Sajjad Suhag (marketing manager )karim rajpar (news director of Sindh TV ).

Available channels

Kawish Television Network KTN (Kawish Team Network) started in September, 2002 by Ali Qazi. It is the first private channel of this language. It is the one who broke the monopoly of PTV and received great success among its viewers. SindhTV started its journey two years after KTN that is, in October 2004. Another channel named Kashish was started as a part of KTN network. It is basically a music channel which telecasts music videos round the clock. The existence of Kashish has made the investors think to work on more specified fields in this language as news channels, or some related to sports etc. A very distinctive quality of these channels is that the private productions are not really working for the programs in Sindhi language, thus self production is preferred which is giving the media a better chance to show what exactly they want.(Survey, Sajjad Suhag (marketing manager) Altaf Memon (news director of SindhTV)).

Available programming

As soon as the specific channels have started, a variety of programs are able to be telecasted in this language. They possess a complete range of programs including news, talk shows, religious programs, dramas, songs and many more. Special programs for children are also presented.Mostly dramas, that are shown, are based on the routine life of the people. They usually portray the lives of the Sindhi people especially who are living in the interior. Problems, lifestyles, demands every thing is given importance.On Kawish Television Network (KTN TV) a number of dramas including Zangiron, Dunya dardun gi, Har shakhs kahani aahe, Rang bhomi, Rishtan ji kahani, Fasla, Wanodni and talk shows like Diyo and Music on demand (musical program) are telecasted. It is a 24 hour channel, in the evening new episodes are presented whereas in the afternoon theere is re telecast. Currently a new show titled "Kuch Reh Jeewiyal Pall" is being loved by the audiences and is proving to be a hit show. This show is an Indian show dubbed in Sindhi and its popularity proves peoples liking towards high-quality Indian made television content. It airs on KTN at 9:20pm from Wednesday to Sunday. This show completed 100 episodes on Friday 4th May 2007.

Zalim, jar, khushbo are the popular dramas of SindhTV. Public demand and your choice are favourite musical programs. Kashish is very valued among its viewers because no other channel can be compared with it. As 90s were the period of booming of Urdu language music, now in the same way many new singers with new and different Sindhi songs are coming up. Babloo bablee, what do you know, your choice, and popat post man are the names of some of the programs telecasted on Kashish.A very outstanding advantage of all these Sindhi channels is that a large number of new talents is coming towards this field and they are getting great opportunities for expressing themselves in a much better way. Some of the Sindhi artists, who have earned the fame in Urdu language media, are also appreciated on this media. (Survey,Sajjad Suhag (marketing manager) Habib Jatoi (news director of sindh TV))

Viewership

As the readers are found all over the province, the viewers are also the same people but as the television is not available at every place so the number of viewers is a bit lesser than the number of readers.Not only people who are Sindhi watch these channels, other than Sindhis are found watching it as well. Main reason for the attraction is, it displays the culture with all its goods and bads. Number of commercials is a bit lesser than the other channels which are leading to the increase in the number of the viewers. As any other channel the Sindhi channels contain entertainment for every age group, so people do not have to change the channels for anything they want.(Survey)

Sindhi media has its origin back in 1848. In the initial times the demands were not specifically for the Sindhi language but soon after the establishment of Pakistan the preference of the Sindhi media was reasoned of the language. For electronic media we do not have to go very far it started in the late years of the last century. Both print and electronic made great progress in their ways and became successful to own a large number of audiences through the great spirit and hard work of the people working for this specific media.

References

* "In Asia and the Pacific the community press is alive" by CAPPI
* "Sahafti Safar by Dr. Dad Khadim Barohi in 2004" by District Union of Journalism Press Club Jacobabad
* "The Sindhi Press in Pakistan" by Shahida Mirza
* Sindhi newspapers
* Sindhi magazines
* Mussavir Shahid (network coordinator of PPF)
* Hafiz Mushtaq Memon (PPI correspondent)
* Abdul Latif Zargar (PPI correspondent)
* Nasir Aijaz
* Irfan Abbasi (editor of Sindh review)
* Sajjad Suhag (marketing manager)
* Habib Jatoi (news director of Sindh TV)
* Tofique Rahman Tago (news editor Daily Nijat)
* Survey reports based upon the opinion of viewers and readers of Sindhi language television and newspapers.
* Atif Shaikh (Manager Marketing of Daily Tameer-e-Sindh)

External links

* http://www.gdnet.org/middle.php?oid=189&zone=researcher&action=researcher&researcher=2643
* http://www.sindhhyd.comAbdul Hussain Mendhro Senior Journalist & District Corresondent NNI-Thatta