'Borders can change': Rajnath Singh says 'who knows, Sindh may return to India'

Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that although Sindh is not part of India today, borders are not permanent, and the region could “return to India” in the future.

His remarks came during an event, where he also said that Sindhi Hindus have struggled to reconcile with the partition.

Sindh, which is located along the Indus River, became part of Pakistan after the 1947 Partition. Many Sindhi Hindus migrated to India then, and the minister noted that emotional ties to the land have never faded, despite the partition.

"I'd also like to mention that Lal Krishna Advani wrote in one of his books that Sindhi Hindus, especially those of his generation, still haven't accepted the separation of Sindh from India," Singh said.

"Not just in Sindh, but throughout India, Hindus consider the Indus River sacred. Many Muslims in Sindh also believed that the water of the Indus was no less sacred than the Aab-e-Zamzam of Mecca. This is Advani ji's quote," he added.

He further said, "Today, the land of Sindh may not be a part of India, but civilisationally, Sindh will always be a part of India. And as far as land is concerned, borders can change. Who knows, tomorrow Sindh may return to India again. Our people of Sindh, who hold the Indus River sacred, will always be our own. No matter where they are, they will always be ours."

This is not the first time the Defence Minister has expressed confidence in regions under Pakistani control coming back to India. Speaking to the Indian community in Morocco in September, he had asserted that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would eventually reunify with India without armed conflict.

"PoK will be ours on its own. Demands have started being made in PoK, you must have heard sloganeering," he said at the time.