He was a Member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh in Pakistan for 15 years, but one fine day he submitted his resignation and decided to settle in Gujarat in India leaving everything behind.

This is the story of Ramsinh Sodho whose resignation was accepted by Pakistan’s Sindh Assembly Speaker last week. Sodha had sent his resignation by fax months before.

For last eight months, Sodho is living in Maninagar locality of small Nakhatrana town in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

Speaking to media persons in Kutch, Sodho said he had decided to settle in India fifteen years before.

Sodho said there was no threat to him in Pakistan. He said the problems related to marriage of Hindu girls in Pakistan was the main reason for his exit from Pakistan.

66-year-old lawyer and politician Sodho said he would like to do some social work in Kutch now. He was happy that the government of India recently took decision to allow Pakistani Sodha people to enter bordering districts of Banaskantha and Kutch in Gujarat. Sodho said this decision has helped about 200 Sodha families to settle down in Kutch in recent months.

Sodho first started staying with his younger son in Morbi for last twelve months, and later shifted to Nakhatrana in Kutch.

In Pakistan he was staying in Diplo, just 40 km away from the international border. Sodho was MPA( what we call MLA in India) from Mithi constituency in Sindh assembly. He started his political career in 1970. He was elected in 1979 and 1983 without contest in district council. In 1985 he was elected to Sindh assembly for the first time. Sodho was made a minister of minority affairs in 1985.

In Sindh there was a provision of five reserved seats for minority. However under this mechanism there was a condition that all the Hindus of Sindh could vote only Hindu candidates. However during Parvez Musharraf’s regime the rule was changed and Muslims were allowed to vote for Hindu candidates. Under this new mechanism Shri Sodho won the election in year 2008. Sodho’s younger son died in 2001 earth quake in Bhuj.