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New Indian Express

Jhulelal: The symbol of unity

On the banks of the River Indus in Pakistan lies the region of Sindh, named after the river, called Sindhu in Hindi. The original inhabitants of Sindh are now found in many parts of the world. Many among them, especially Hindus, migrated to India at the time of Partition. Wherever they may live, Sindhis first and foremost worship Lord Jhulelal, whose life story stands as a unique example of Hindu-Muslim unity. In Sindh, there was once a ruler named Mirkshah, a fanatic whose courtiers convinced him that the way to attain paradise after death was to convert Hindus to Islam. Mirkshah issued a royal proclamation: everyone must convert to Islam or face death. The Hindus petitioned Mirkshah for time to decide their course of action, and he agreed. They prayed on the banks of the Indus for forty days, during which they neither shaved nor wore new clothes. They prayed, fasted, and sang religious songs. On the fortieth day, a divine voice was heard: 'I shall come down as a mortal and save you from Mirkshah'. This forty-day period is still celebrated by Sindhis and is called Chaliho. The child prophesied by the divine voice was soon born, and word of his birth reached Mirkshah as well. He dispatched a minister named Ahirio to see the child firsthand. Ahirio carried with him a rose dipped in poison. Upon seeing the charming child, Ahirio offered the rose, but the child blew it away with a single breath. The flower landed at the child's feet. As Ahirio gazed at him, the child's form miraculously shifted—first into an old man, then a young man and finally a child again. Terrified, Ahirio rushed back and advised Mirkshah to wait and watch. The child was named Uderolal. When he was placed in a jhula(swing), it began to sway on its own and people began calling him Jhulelal.