Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, talking about the significance of Indus River, recalled veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani's words and said, "Tomorrow, Sindh may return to India."
Addressing an event in Delhi, Singh said, "Advani ji wrote in one of his books that Sindhi Hindus, especially those of his generation, still haven't accepted the matter of separation of Sindh from India."
"Not just in Sindh, but throughout India, Hindus considered the Indus River (Sindhu in Hindi) sacred. Many Muslims in Sindh also believed that the water of the Indus was no less sacred than the Aab-e-Zamzam (holiest of the waters) of Mecca, the defence minister said.
"This is Advani ji's quote. Today, the land of Sindh may not be a part of India, but civilisationally, Sindh will always be a part of India," Singh said. Saying borders can change, the defence minister added, "Who knows, tomorrow Sindh may return to India. 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."
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The Sindh province became a part of Pakistan after partition. The defence minister mentioned that a large segment of the Indus River went to the Pakistani side during partition, and the entire Sindh province is in Pakistan.
"But, this does not mean that for us the importance of Sindhu, Sindh and Sindhi has lessened. It still holds the same importance as thousands of years ago," he added. Singh asserted that "even today people sing with pride, '...Punjab, Sindh, Gujarat, Maratha', and they will continue to sing, and forever sing it, and sing it till we exist".