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| Sindhi Adabi Board | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sindhi Adabi Board |
| Formation | 1955 |
| Headquarters | Jamshoro |
| Region | Sindh |
| Language | Sindhi |
| Leader title | Chairman |
Sindhi Adabi Board is a literary institution established to preserve, promote, and publish Sindhi literature, poetry, and historical manuscripts. It engages with scholars, poets, translators, and cultural activists to foster literary research, edit critical editions, and support Sindhi language revival. The Board interacts with libraries, archives, publishing houses, and universities to disseminate Sindhi heritage across Sindh, Pakistan, and the Sindhi diaspora.
The Board was founded in 1955 during a period marked by linguistic and cultural movements linked to figures such as G. M. Syed, Shaikh Ayaz, Allama I. I. Kazi, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and Jamaluddin Afghani. Early patrons included leaders from Sindh University, Jamshoro District, Hyderabad District, and institutions like Sindh Madressatul Islam and Nawabshah. Its archival efforts drew on manuscripts from collections associated with Pir Pagaro, Hazrat Bilawal Shah Noorani, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, and repositories like Quaid-e-Azam Library. The Board’s publications influenced movements connected to Awami Tehreek, Sindhi Nationalist Party, Khoja cultural networks, and diaspora communities in United Kingdom, United States, Canada, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
The Board’s stated aims mirror objectives advanced by organizations such as Pakistan Academy of Letters, National Language Authority, Punjabi Adabi Board, Pashto Academy, and Balochi Academy. Its goals include preservation of manuscripts similar to initiatives by British Library, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Institut Français, promotion of poets like Sachal Sarmast, Bulleh Shah, Mirza Kalich Beg, and Shamsheer Singh, critical editing modeled on projects at Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and collaborations with universities such as University of Karachi, University of Sindh, Lahore University of Management Sciences, and Allama Iqbal Open University. It aims to publish translations akin to works translated by Faiz Ahmed Faiz translators and to organize symposia resembling events at Heinrich Böll Foundation and UNESCO.
The Board’s governance structure resembles frameworks used by Pakistan National Council of the Arts, Sindh Culture Department, and Federal Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Leadership roles include a chairman, directors, and editorial committees comprising scholars affiliated with University of Punjab, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and research centers such as Sindhi Adabi Sangat and Institute of Sindhology. Committees coordinate with archives like National Archives of Pakistan and museums including Sindh Museum, and maintain liaison with cultural bodies such as Lok Virsa and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
The Board has produced critical editions, anthologies, and translations engaging poets and authors like Shah Abdul Karim Bulri, Ustad Bukhari, Mir Abdul Karim, Ishaq Sindhi, Agha Saleem, Ghulam Mustafa Qasmi, Sami', Attiya Dawood, and Noor Ahmed Janja. It has issued works comparable to series by Cambridge University Press and collections paralleling those of Oxford World's Classics, and has published research comparable to monographs from Oriental Institute (Chicago), Columbia University Press, and Harvard University Press. The Board’s catalog includes edited manuscripts, lexicons, and histories linked to figures such as Talib-ul-Mola, Riffat Hassan, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and traditional codices preserved alongside holdings of Sindh Archives.
Programs include seminars, conferences, workshops, and literary festivals analogous to events hosted by Edinburgh International Book Festival, Frankfurt Book Fair, Hay Festival, and regional gatherings organized by Sindhi Adabi Sangat, Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu, and Pakistan Writers' Guild. Outreach extends to schools, colleges, and institutions like Government College Hyderabad, National College of Arts, and Allama Iqbal Open University; collaborations mirror partnerships with British Council and Alliance Française. The Board has supported translation projects connecting Sindhi texts with readers via networks in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and diasporic centers in Australia and New Zealand.
Prominent personalities associated with the Board have included literary figures, editors, and scholars comparable to Shaikh Ayaz, G. M. Syed, Mirza Kalich Beg, Agha Saleem, Tanvir Naqvi, Hameed Sindhi, Faiz Muhammad, Makhdoom Muhammad Zaman, K. R. Malkani, and academics from University of Sindh and Sindh Madressatul Islam University. Affiliations extended to cultural organizers linked with Pir Pagaro, Aga Khan, Nawab of Junagadh, and activists active during periods represented by Movement for Restoration of Democracy and Language Movement.
The Board has faced disputes and critiques in the media and among intellectuals comparable to controversies experienced by Pakistan Academy of Letters and National Book Foundation. Criticisms involved debates over editorial policy, funding disputes resembling issues at Higher Education Commission, allegations of politicization similar to debates in Sindh Provincial Assembly, and disagreements regarding modernizing curricula akin to disputes around Curriculum Wing reforms. Legal and administrative challenges drew comparisons to cases involving Supreme Court of Pakistan interventions and discussions in forums like Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Category:Literary organisations based in Pakistan