1977/07/01 by Christopher Shackle · 7 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #South Asian Studies and Conflicts #Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East #South Asian Studies and Diaspora
paper · doi:10.1017/s0026749x00014190
openalex publication_date 1977/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
It may be asserted with some assurance that the very name ‘Siraiki’ will be quite unfamiliar to most readers of this article. The well-known predilection of most South Asianists for working from English sources and their concentration upon the larger Indian scene, where such sources are so much more abundant than for Pakistan, may contribute to this unfamiliarity; but it is doubtless due principally to the quite recent introduction of the term on a general scale in its homeland. In simple terms, ‘Sirāikī’ is the language of the middle Indus valley, while the ‘Sirāikī movement’ that seeks to improve its standing is based in the central part of this region, the South-West Panjab, principally in its most important cities, Multan and Bahawalpur. This article sets out to inform a wider audience about the movement which is attempting to assert the language's separate identity and to secure for it increased official recognition.