Sindh
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{{Pakistan infobox
| region = Sindh
| flag = Sindh flag.gif
| map = PakistanSindh.png
| capital = Karachi
| latd = 24.52
| longd = 67.03
| pop_year = 2003
| population = 30,439,893<ref name="stat"> Official Census results 1998 - URL accessed March 4, 2006</ref>
| density = 216
| area = 140,914
| languages = Sindhi
Urdu
| status = Province
| districts = 20
| towns = 160
| unions =
| established = 1st July 1970
| governor = Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
| minister = Dr. Arbab Raheem
| legislature = Provincial Assembly
| seats = 168
| website = www.sindh.gov.pk
| website_title = Govt of Sindh
| footnotes = |
}}
Sindh (Sind) (Sindhi: سنڌ ;Urdu: سندھ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and is home to the Sindhis, Muhajirs and various other groups. Neighbouring regions are Balochistan to the west and north, Punjab in the north, Rajasthan (India) to the east and the Arabian Sea and Gujarat (India) to the south. The main languages are Sindhi and Urdu. Known by various names in the past, the name Sindh comes from the Indo-Aryans whose legends claimed that the Indus River flowed from the mouth of a lion or Sinh-ka-bab. In Sanskrit, the province was dubbed Sindhu meaning an ocean. The Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BCE) knew the region as Sinda, the Persians Abisind, the Greeks Sinthus, the Romans Sindus, the Chinese Sintow, while the Arabs dubbed it Sind.
Contents |
Geography
Sindh is located on the western corner of South Asia, bordering the Iranian plateau in the west. Geographically it is the third largest province of Pakistan, stretching about 579 km from north to south and 442 km (extreme) or 281 km (average) from east to west, with an area of 140,915 km². Sindh is bounded by the Thar Desert to the east, the Kirthar Mountains to the west, and the Arabian Sea in the south. In the centre is a fertile plain around the Indus river. The devastating floods of the river Indus are now controlled by irrigation techniques.
Karachi became capital of Sindh in 1936, in place of the traditional capitals of Hyderabad and Thatta. Other important cities include Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Larkana, Shahdadpur, Nawabshah, Shikarpur, and Khairpur.
Climate
A subtropical region, Sindh is hot in the summer and cold in winter. Temperatures frequently rise above 46°C (115°F) between May and August, and the minimum average temperature of 2°C (36°F) occurs during December and January. The annual rainfall averages about seven inches, falling mainly during July and August. The southwesterly monsoon wind begins to blow in mid-February and continues until the end of September, whereas the cool northerly wind blows during the winter months from October to January.
Sindh lies between the two monsoons - the southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean and the northeast or retreating monsoon, deflected towards it by Himalayan mountains - and escapes the influence of both. The average rainfall in Sindh is only 6 to 7 inches per year, but the loss during the two seasons is regained for the region by the Indus, in the form of inundation, caused twice a year by the spring and summer melting of Himalayan snow and by rainfall in the monsoon season. These natural patterns have changed somewhat with the construction of dams and barrages on the Indus.
Climatically, Sindh is divided in three sections - Siro (upper section centred on Jacobabad), Wicholo (middle section centred on Hyderabad), and Lar (lower section centred on Karachi). In upper Sindh, the thermal equator passes through Sindh. The highest temperature ever recorded was 53°C (127°F in 1919. The air is generally very dry. In winter frost is common.
In middle Sindh, average monsoon wind speed is 11 miles/hour in June. The temperature is lower than upper Sindh but higher than lower Sindh. Dry hot days and cool nights are summer characteristics. Maximum temperature reaches 43-44°C (110-112°F). Lower Sindh has a damper and humid maritime climate affected by the south-western winds in summer and north-eastern winds in winter and with lower rainfall than middle Sindh. The maximum temperature reaches about 35-38°C (95-100°F). In the Kirthar range at 6,000 feet and higher on the Gorakhnath and other peaks in Dadu district, temperatures near freezing have been recorded and brief snow fall is received in winters.
Demographics and Society
| Historical populations | |
|---|---|
| Census year | Population |
| 1951 | 6,047,748 |
| 1961 | 8,367,065 |
| 1972 | 14,155,909 |
| 1981 | 19,028,666 |
| 1998 | 30,439,893 |
| 2005 | estimated 35 million |
| Sindh Demographic Indicators | |
|---|---|
| Indicator | Statistic |
| Urban population | 38.75% |
| Rural population | 61.25% |
| Population growth rate | 2.80% |
| Gender ratio (male per 100 female) | 112.24 |
| Economically active population | 22.75% |
| Unemployment rate | 14.43% |
The population is approximately 35 millionTemplate:Fact while the 1998 census indicated 30.439 million, with less than half being urban dwellers, mainly found in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana. A large section of the population speak Sindhi and Urdu with other languages spoken including Siraiki, Balochi, Brahui, Punjabi, Pashto, Rajasthani and Gujarati. Urban areas of Sindh are multi-ethnic centres and sometimes highly polarised as a result.
Sindh's population is predominantly Sunni Muslim with a large Shia minority. Nearly all the Sunnis belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. The Shia predominantly belong to the Ithna 'ashariyah school of jurisprudence. There are also small but important Shia Nizari Ismaili and Shia Dawoodi Bohra communities. The province of Sindh is also home to the vast majority of Hindus in Pakistan, numbering roughly 1.2 million. Smaller groups of Christians, Parsis or Zoroastrians, Ahmadis and a tiny Jewish community (of around 200) can also be found in the province.
The Sindhis as a whole are composed of various sub-groups related to the Punjabis and Siraikis minorities as well as of Baloch origin. A small group either partially descended from or claiming descent from early Muslim settlers including Arabs, Turks, and Persians is also found in the province and are referred to as Ashraf (nobles).Template:Fact
History
Template:Main Image:Pashupati.gif In ancient times, the territory of the modern Sindh province was sometimes known as Sovira (or Souveera) and also as Sindhudesh, Sindhu being the original name for Indus river and the suffix 'desh' roughly corresponding to country or territory. The first known village settlements date as far back as 7000 BCE. Permanent settlements at Mehrgarh to the west expanded into Sindh. The original inhabitants of ancient Sindh, and other regions of Pakistan, were the aborigine tribes speaking languages related to Munda languages. The Dravidians invaded from the Iranian plateau and settled in the Indus valley around 4000 BCE. The Dravidian culture blossomed over the centuries and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization of Pakistan around 3000 BCE. The Indus Valley Civilization rivalled the contemporary civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in both size and scope numbering nearly half a million inhabitants at its height with well-planned grid cities and sewer systems. Speculation remains as to how and why the civilization declined and may have been a combination of natural disasters such as flooding and internecine conflicts. The Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of what is today Pakistan, but suddenly went into decline just prior to the invasion of Indo-European tribes from Eastern Europe. A branch of these tribes called the Indo-Aryans are believed to have founded the Vedic Civilization that existed between Sarasvati River and Ganges river around 1500 BCE and also influenced Indus Valley Civilization. This civilization helped shape subsequent cultures in South Asia. The Aryan invaders instituted the caste system to enslave the native population and the aborigine tribes. This apartheid system prohibited intermarriage and relegated the natives into low caste untouchables while elevating the status of Aryan invaders. Image:Priest King of Indus.jpg Sindh was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE, and became part of the Persian satrapy (province) of Hindush centred in the Punjab to the north. Persian speech had a tendency to replace 'S' with an 'H' resulting in 'Sindu' being pronounced and written as 'Hindu'. They introduced the Kharoshti script and links to the west in the region. Subsequently conquered by Greeks led by Alexander the Great, the region came under loose Greek control for a few decades until Alexander's death and brief Seleucid rule and then was conquered by the Mauryans led by Chandragupta in 305 BCE. Later, during the reign of the Buddhist king Ashoka the region would solidly become a Buddhist domain. Following a century of Mauryan rule which ended by 232 BCE, the region came under the Greco-Bactrians based in what is today Afghanistan and these rulers would also convert to and proliferate Buddhism in the region. The Scythians shattered the Greco-Bactrians fledgling empire and then the Tocharian Kushan Empire annexed Sindh by the 1st century CE. Though the Kushans were Zoroastrian, they were tolerant of the local Buddhist tradition and sponsored many building projects for local beliefs. The Huns and remnants of the Kushans, Scythians, and the Sassanid Persians all exercised some degree of control in Sindh until the coming of the Muslim Arabs in 711 CE. Image:Rohri Town Sukkur.jpeg
Conquered by Syrian Arabs led by Muhammad bin Qasim, Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate. The lands further east were known to the Arabs as Hind. The defeat of the Brahmin ruler Dahir was made easier due to the tension between the Buddhist majority and the ruling Brahmins' fragile base of control. The Arabs redefined the region and adopted the term budd to refer to the numerous Buddhist idols they encountered, a word that remains in use today. The city of Mansura was established as a regional capital and Arab rule lasted for nearly 3 centuries and a fusion of cultures produced much of what is today modern Sindhi society. Arab geographers, historians and travellers also sometimes called the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush, Sindh. The meaning of the word Sindhu being water (or ocean) appears to refer to the Indus river. In addition, there is a mythological belief among Muslims that four rivers had sprung from Heaven: Neel (Nile), Furat (Euphrates), Jehoon (Jaxartes) and Sehoon (Sind or in modern times the Indus).Template:Fact
Arab rule ended with the ascension of the Soomro dynasty, who were local Sindhi Muslims and who controlled the province directly and as vassals from 1058 to 1249. Turkic invaders conquered the area by 977 CE and the region loosely became part of the Ghaznavid Empire and then the Delhi Sultanate which lasted until 1524. The Mughals seized the region and their rule lasted for another two centuries, while another local Sindhi Muslim group the Samma challenged Mughal rule from their base at Thatta. The Muslim Sufi played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. Sindh, though part of larger empires, continued to enjoy certain autonomy as a loyal Muslim domain and came under the rule of the Arghun Dynasty and the Tarkhan dynasty from 1519 to 1625. Sind became a vassal-state of the Afghan Durrani Empire by 1747. It was then ruled by Kalhora rulers and later the Baluchi Talpurs <ref name="talpur">Unofficial website on the Talpurs - URL accessed March 4, 2006</ref> from 1783.
British arrived in Sindh in 19th century and conquest in it 1843. In 1843 British forces under General Charles Napier conquered Sindh. It is said that he sent back to the Governor General a one-word message, "Peccavi" – Latin for "I have sinned". In actual fact, this pun first appeared as a cartoon in Punch magazine. The first Aga Khan helped the British in the conquest of Sindh and was granted a pension as a result.Template:Fact Sind was made part of British India's Bombay Presidency, and became a separate province in 1935. The British ruled the area for a century and Sindh was home to many prominent Muslim leaders including Muhammad Ali Jinnah who agitated for greater Muslim autonomy.
Following World War II, Britain withdrew from British India and Sindh voted to join Pakistan in 1947 during partition with Muslim immigrants from India replacing the Hindu educated elites who moved to India. Later local Sindhis have resented the influx of Pashtun and Punjabi immigrants to Karachi. Nonetheless, traditional Sindhi families remain prominent in Pakistani politics, especially the Bhutto dynasty. In recent years Sindhi dissatisfaction has grown over issues such as the construction of large dams, perceived discrimination in military/government jobs, provincial autonomy, and overall revenue shares.
Administrative division
Template:Main Sindh is divided into twenty districts as shown in the following table.
Economy
Sindh is the backbone of Pakistan economy as it generates approximately 70% of the total national revenueTemplate:Fact whereas in return federal government pays back just 23% from financial divisible pool. Sindh government considers that the formula of financial resource distribution i.e. NFC award is unjust and solely population denominated.
Sindh is a major centre of economic activity in Pakistan and has a highly diversified economy ranging from heavy industry and finance centred in and around Karachi to a substantial agricultural base along the Indus. Pakistan's rapidly growing information technology sector (IT) is also centred in Karachi and manufacturing includes machine products, cement, plastics, and various other goods.
Agriculture is very important in Sindh with cotton, rice, wheat, sugar cane, bananas and mangoes as the most important crops.
Vegetation
The province is mostly arid with scant vegetation except for the irrigated Indus Valley. The dwarf Palm, Acacia Rupestris (Kher), and Tecoma Undulata (Lohirro) trees are typical of the western hill region. In the Indus valley, the Acacia Nilotica (Babul) is the most dominant and occurs in thick forests along the Indus banks. The Azadirachta Indica (Neem), Zizyphys vulgaris (Bir), Tamarix Orientalis (Jujuba Lai) and Capparis Aphylla (Kirirr) are among the more common trees.
Mango, Date Palms, and the more recently introduced Banana, Guava, Orange, and Chiku are the typical fruit-bearing trees. The coastal strip and the creeks abound in semi-aquatic and aquatic plants, and the inshore Indus deltaic islands have forests of Avicennia Tomentosa (Timmer) and Ceriops Candolleana (Chaunir) trees. Water Lilies grow in abundance in the numerous lake and ponds, particularly in the lower Sindh region.
Wildlife
Among the wild animals, the Sindh Ibex (Sareh), Wild Sheep (Urial or gadh) and Black Bear are found in the western rocky range, where the Leopard is now rare. The Pirrang (large tiger cat or fishing Cat) of the eastern desert region is also disappearing. Deer occur in the lower rocky plains and in the eastern region, as do the Striped Hyena (Charakh), Jackal, Fox, Porcupine, common gray Mongoose, and Hedgehog. The Sindhi phekari, Ped Lynx or Caracal Cat, is found in some areas.
Phartho (hog deer) and wild bear occur particularly in the central inundation belt. There are a variety of bats, lizards, and reptiles, including the cobra, lundi (viper), and the mysterious Sindh krait of the Thar region, which is supposed to suck the victim's breath in his sleep. Crocodiles are rare and inhabit only the backwaters of the Indus and the Eastern Nara channel. Besides a large variety of marine fish, the plumbeous dolphin, the beaked dolphin, rorqual, or blue whale, and a variety of skates frequent the seas along the Sind coast. The Pallo (sable fish), though a marine fish, ascends the Indus annually from February to April to spawn.
Education
Education in the province is widespread and the province has a high literacy rate compared to other parts of Pakistan, mainly due to the importance of Karachi. The major academic institutions of Sindh include the Aga Khan University, University of Karachi, Sindh University, Institute of Business Administration (Karachi), Dow University of Health Sciences, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (Jamshoro), Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Quaid e Azam University, Latif University (Khairpur), Chandka Medical College, D.J. Sindh Government Science College, and the Indus Valley Institute of Art and Architecture.
Art and culture
Major attractions
Image:Indusvalleyexcavation.jpg Sindh has numerous tourist sites with the most prominent being the ruins of Mohenjo-daro near the city of Larkana. Islamic architecture is quite prominent in the province with the Jama Masjid in Thatta built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan and numerous mausoleums dot the province including the very old Shahbaz Qalander mausoleum dedicated to the Iranian-born Sufi and the beautiful mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah known as the Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi.
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Famous people
There are many famous people from Sindh including the following:
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Historical Personalities |
Pre-Independence (pre-1947)
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Post-Independence (post-1947) |
Entertainment |
Sports |
References
<references/>
See also
External links
- Official/Historic
- Official Government of Sindh website
- World Sindhi Congress
- Sindh Website
- The Sindhi Nation's Story
- The Royal Talpurs of Sindh
Other
Template:Territorial Capitals in Pakistanca:Sindh cs:Sind de:Sindh et:Sindh es:Sind fr:Sind ko:신드 주 hi:सिंध nl:Sindh pl:Sindh sd:सिन्ध sv:Sindh ur:سندھ