Sindhi Language Authority (SLA) (Sindhi: سنڌي ٻولي جو بااختيار ادارو) is an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Youth Affairs of the Government of Sindh province in Pakistan. There is a Board of Governors to frame the policies for achieving the aims and objectives of Authority and ensure their implementation. First Board of Governors was constituted under the Chairmanship of renowned scholar and writer Dr. Nabi Bux Khan Baloch.
Since the establishment of Sindhi language authority, different scholars and writers were appointed as its Chairman, who have contributed at their best for the development and promotion of Sindhi language. The present chairperson is Prof. Dr. Fahmida Hussain.
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Sindhi is one of the major languages of Pakistan , spoken in the province of Sindh by approximately forty million people. It is one of the oldest language of the sub-continent with a rich culture, vast folklore and extensive literature.
Sindhi has extended its boundaries beyond the province of Sindh . In northern Sindh it flows over the north-west into Balochistan province, former Bahawalpur state (now in Punjab), on the west it is bounded by the mountain range separating Sindh from Balochistan.
This boundary has not been crossed by Sindhi, except in the southern part of the hilly area of Kohistan. Here in general, the language spoken is Balochi but Sindhi is also spoken by a large number of population. It is spoken as mother tongue in some parts of Balochistan. It has spread its influence still further towards the Persian Gulf in the Lasbella area of Balochistan and is spoken as a first language along with Makrani coast by a large number of people in Jadgal, Gwadar, Ormara and Pasni, and has crossed the Gulf and is spoken in Muskat, UAE and generally in the coastal region.
In the east and south-west, Sindhi has crossed the Rann of Kutch and is spoken by a large number of people in Kucch, Gujarat and the peninsula of Kathiawar in India. In the east, it has influenced the speech of the neighbouing parts of Marwar and Jaisalmir states of Rajasthan (Rajputana in India).
After the independence of Pakistan, numerous Sindhi Hindus migrated from Sindh and settled in the central and western parts of India and they speak Sindhi at home. In 2010, the estimated population of Sindhi Hindus in Ulhasnagar in India was 400,000[1]. It is also spoken by approximately 400,000 people as their first language, in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, East Africa, U.K., U.S.A. and Canada by those who have migrated from Sindh and settled there. It is also spoken in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Srilanka and in some other countries in Far-East and South East-Asia by those people who have settled there in the first quarter of the 20th century or even earlier.
Since the establishment of Sindhi Language Authority below mentioned Scholars were appointed as Chairman whereas Prof. Dr. Fahmida Hussain is the sitting Chairperson.
| S # | Name | Joining Date | Retirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. NabiBux Khan Baloch | 15-2-1991 | 6-3-1994 |
| 2 | Dr. Nawaz Ali Shouq | 6-3-1994 | 3-4-1995 |
| 3 | Dr. Nabi Bux Qazi | 3-4-1995 | 17-11-1996 |
| 4 | Mr. Mumtaz Mirza ( Additional Charge) | 17-11-1996 | 6-1-1997 |
| 5 | Mr. Amar Jalil | 7-1-1997 | 5-5-1997 |
| 6 | Mr. Abdul Hameed Memon Sindhi | 6-5-1997 | 22-7-1997 |
| 7 | Prof.Dr.Ghulam Ali Allana | 22-7-1998 | 1-8-2001 |
| 8 | Prof. Mohammad Qasim Bughio | 1-8-2001 | 15-2-2005 |
| 9 | Mr. N.D.Jatoi (Additional Charge) | 16-2-2005 | 15-9-2005 |
| 10 | Mr. Abdul Qadir Junejo | 15-9-2005 | 10-5-2008 |
| 11 | Prof. Dr. Fahmida Hussain | 28-5-2008 | Incumbent |