The first immigrant Sindhis lived in urban areas like Penang. There are only about 1300 Sindhis or about 200 families in Malaysia.
Shivani Supramani
PETALING JAYA
Nestled in multicultural Malaysia is a tiny minority community known as the Sindhis.
A fifth generation Sindhi, Datuk Pishu Murli Hassaram said Malaysian Sindhis originated from the Sind province in Pakistan which, before the India-Pakistan partition, was part of India.
“Most Sindhis left during the partitioning of India, which took place in 1947. However, Sindhis were already prevalent in Malaysia as far back as 1860.
“There are currently about five million of us worldwide. However, in Malaysia there are only about 1300 of us or about 200 families,” he told the Sun.
Studies have also shown that Sindhis are not only found in Malaysia, but in several other parts of the world such as Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
As for religious practices, Pishu noted that they are similar to most Indians, who worship Lord Krishna, and Sikhs as many of them also practice Sikhism.
“In particular, we worship a patron saint called Jhulelal, a Hindu water god, who is Varun Dev’s incarnation. Our new year, Cheti Chand, which is set to be celebrated on April 2, is a commemoration of Jhulelal,” he said.
The celebration of the New Year usually falls at the end of March or early April, which marks the arrival of spring and the harvest season.
The festive season is celebrated with a feast and procession to offer “Akho”, which is rice milk with flour, at the riverbanks.
“The Sindhi community also wear new clothes and greet one another on this day through cultural dances.
“Those celebrating the New Year gather at the Shree Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Kuala Lumpur and the Sri Krishna Kunj Bihari Mandir temple in Penang.
“Those celebrating in Kuala Lumpur often celebrate with a small procession which will follow after prayers at the temple,” said Sindhi Association of Malaysia deputy president Sunil Vaswani.
On whether there are prominent Sindhis in Malaysia, Pishu listed a few such as former Globe Silk Store owner, Tan Sri Kishu Jethanand, the Valiram Brothers, himself and the Sindhi Association of Malaysia president.
“The first immigrant Sindhis lived in urban areas like Penang.
“The first-generation Sindhis owned shops or businesses and even houses (generally shop houses) in areas such as Bishop Street in Penang and Batu Road (now Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman) in Kuala Lumpur. Now they have branched out to many other professions such as law,” Pishu said.
It was also noted that the Sindhi Association of Malaysia (SAM) holds regular monthly religious functions to celebrate Chand or the new moon.
Pishu noted that SAM also organizes a number of social and cultural functions throughout the year.
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Courtesy: The Sun Daily (Published on March 30, 2022)
