No reason why India cannot take back 'Sindhu': Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has said that if 'Ram Janmabhoomi' can be taken back after 500 years, there is no reason why India cannot take back ‘Sindhu’ — the Sindh province, now in Pakistan.

Of course, the remark once more raises the spectre of Akhand Bharat that created such a furore earlier this year with Nepal objecting during the inauguration of the new parliament building. Then again, it has long been the position of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the womb of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the playground of its Hindutva orientation.

According to a press statement issued by the state government late on the night of Sunday, 8 October, Adityanath said while addressing the two-day National Sindhi Convention: "After 500 years, a grand temple of Lord Ram is being constructed in Ayodhya. Ram Lalla will be seated again in his temple by the prime minister in January. If Ram Janmabhoomi can be taken back after 500 years, there is no reason why we cannot take back Sindhu."

The chief minister also shared the message and images from the convention from his official handle on the social platform X.

The chief minister suggested that the Sindhi community needs to tell the present generation about its history, saying theirs was the community that suffered the most after the Partition.

He also said that the stubbornness of a single person led to the Partition, though he stopped shy of naming names.

“When the partition of the country took place, lakhs of people were massacred. A large area of India became Pakistan. The Sindhi community suffered the most as it had to leave its motherland. Even today, we have to bear the brunt of the tragedy of Partition in the form of terrorism," said Adityanath.

He continued: "If we have to move forward on the path of the welfare of humanity, then the evil tendencies of the society will have to end. Our religious scriptures also give us the same inspiration. Be it respected Jhulelal-ji or Shri Krishna, everyone has talked about protecting the good and eliminating the evil for human welfare."

"Where there is a country, there is a religion too. And when there is religion, there is a society in which we all exist," he continued, adding that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, terrorism was on its last legs in India.

The chief minister appealed to those present to take the pledge of "nation first" to prevent the repeat of a Partition-like tragedy.

"We should be prepared to give a befitting reply to anyone who plays with the unity and integrity of the nation. The Sindhi community is an integral part of the sanatan dharma of India. The community has progressed with its efforts even in tough circumstances. It has set an example of how to reach the top from zero," he said.

With inputs from IANS