A group of Sindhi community groups and philanthropists from Mumbai and Dubai launched a job portal for Sindhi speakers on Sunday in Dubai.
The website, called Sindhinaukri.com, will enable young members of the community to find jobs across the world in multinational companies, especially those owned by the large Sindhi diaspora.
Sindhis are known as a business community, with a large presence not only in India, but also in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and East Asia. However, the people behind the job portal said it was a misconception that Sindhis were not interested in salaried jobs.
Asha Chand from Mumbai-based Sindhi Sangat, a cultural group and one of the promoters of the job portal, said. “Sindhis are interested in setting up a business when they are in their 40s. However, most of them will have to start with salaried jobs and get experience to start a business later in life,” said Chand.
Anil Chandirani, a businessman based in Dubai with interests in the IT industry and philanthropic projects in India, who is part of the job scheme, has a similar view. “Not everyone is able to do business. If you look across, there are a lot of Sindhis in different jobs. A lot of Sindhi-owned companies hire Sindhis. You cannot be a businessman from day one. You have to start somewhere. You can take up a job, develop skills, build capital and then create a business. Initially, young people need jobs,” said Chandirani who added that the portal will be a ‘comprehensive’ website where job prospectors in different fields can meet future employers.
The promoters of the portal feel that economic distress among Sindhi families, especially those living in small cities, has been driving many of them to change their religion in return for monetary benefits. Though there are no verified figures, there are reports that many Sindhis are converting to Christianity in Ulhasnagar, a Mumbai suburb that has a concentration of Sindhi speakers, having been established as a camp for refugees from Sindh. “There are a lot of people in Ulhasnagar who are not well-to-do and need support,” said Chand.
“A lot of Sindhis are leaving their religion in Ulhasnagar. The only reason is to come out of poverty. We thought we could facilitate these people to get jobs,” said Chandirani.
Bharatkumar Jumb, a resident of Ulhasnagar, said, “Religious conversions are happening here. Some are induced by financial help and others through psychological tricks.”
Chandnani said one of the ideas behind the portal is also to preserve their culture by connecting job seekers and employers from the community. An associated project is the inauguration of the Sindhi Language International Foundation to promote the language and teach it both off-line as well as online.