 "(File) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. PTI")
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that while the Sindh region is not part of India today, it remains deeply connected to the country through civilisational and cultural ties — and could even return to India someday.
Speaking at an event, Singh said the province of Sindh, located along the Indus River, went to Pakistan after the 1947 Partition, forcing large numbers of Sindhi Hindus to migrate to India. The region shares a border with Gujarat and Rajasthan.
Quoting former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, who was born in Sindh, Singh said Sindhi Hindus of that generation had never emotionally accepted the separation of Sindh from India because of their reverence for the Indus River.
“I’d like to recall Advani ji’s words — that Sindhi Hindus, especially those of his generation, still haven’t accepted Sindh’s separation from India,” Singh said. “For Hindus across India, the Indus River has always been sacred. Many Muslims in Sindh also believed that the Indus was no less holy than the Aab-e-Zamzam of Mecca.”
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View AllSingh added that the cultural bond between India and Sindh remains intact. “Today, the land of Sindh may not be part of India, but civilisationally, it will always belong to us. As far as territory is concerned, borders can change. Who knows — tomorrow, Sindh may return to India again. The people of Sindh, who hold the Indus River sacred, will always be our own.”
He also praised the Sindhi community in India, saying they rebuilt their lives from scratch after the trauma of Partition and have since made significant contributions to India’s economic and social development.
Singh had made similar remarks last month in Morocco while addressing the Indian community there. He said growing discontent in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could eventually lead to its merger with India without any military action.
“PoK will be ours on its own,” he said. “Demands have already begun. You must have heard the sloganeering.” Recalling his address to the Indian Army in Kashmir five years ago, Singh added: “I had said then that we will not need to attack PoK. It is anyway ours — and one day, PoK itself will say, ‘Main bhi Bharat hoon’. That day will come.”