Sindhi is an ancient language, over seventy percent of the Sindhi words are Sanskrit. The fact that Sindhi is mostly written in the Arabic script, gives some people the impression that it is a Persio-Arabic tongue. Professor E. Trumpp in his monumental `Sindhi Alphabet and Grammar' (1812) writes: "Sindhi is a pure Sanskritical language, more free from foreign elements than any of the North Indian vernaculars."
The Rev. Mr.G. Shirt of Hyderabad, one of the first Sindhi scholars, considered that the language is probably, so far as its grammatical construction is concerned, the purest daughter of Sanskrit. It has small sprinkling of Dravidian words, and has in later times received large accessions to its vocabulary from Arabic and Persian.
Sindhi is a very sweet and melodious language. Writes Dr. Annemarie Schimmel, Harvard professor of Islamics, and versatile linguist: "Since every word in Sindhi ends in a vowel, the sound is very musical."
Sindhi is a very rich language with a vast vocabulary; this has made it a favourite of many writers and so a lot of literature and poetry has been written in Sindhi. Writes K. R. Malkani in "THE SINDH STORY": 'The Sindhi language and literature reflect the rich variety and quality of Sindhi life and thought. Sindhi has 125 names for as many varieties of fish. From Hyderabad to the sea, a distance of less than one hundred miles, the Sindhu river has half a dozen names --- Sahu, Sita, Mograh, Popat, Bano, and Hajamiro --- to reflect its many moods. The camel has a score of names, to indicate its age, colour, gait and character.'
It is the language of Saints and Rishis of ancient Sindh. It has been the inspiration for Sindhi art, music, literature, culture and the way of life. Many great poets and literatis have been profoundly inspired by the beauty of Sindhi language.
The treasures of the ancient Sindhi Literature, of the immortal Sufi poet-saints: "Shah", "Sachal", "Sami" , or the Saints of Modern India: Sadhu T.L.Vaswani, Dada J.P.Vaswani, sung in sweet, melodious, rhythmic Sindhi tunes, fills the hearts and souls of the listeners with sheer rapture, joy and ecstasy.
Dada J.P.Vaswani says: The Sindhis dont have a land, nation or state to call their own. They are a scattered community, spread all over India, and in most countries of the world. If there is one thing that will help us to retain our identity, it is our language. Unfortunately Sindhis have neglected their mother tongue, and if we dont use the language, we will lose it. Language is the root of our community. Language is the Soul of our community. If the soul goes away, how long will can the community last?
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