Jeejal-i AmmarR-i SindhrRi - The Mother Of Civilizations
Jeejal-i AmmarR-i SindhrRi - The Mother Of Civilizations
Nation Of Sindh - A Reality
Sindh, a nation along the lower delta of Indus River, known fondly in Sindh as Sindhu or Mehran, is one of the world's most ancient civilizations...click. It is a nation with its own history and a rich heritage...click, quite different and unique from the main body of the Indian sub-Continent, the Hind. The names "Hind" for the land mass which lies to the East of the Indus Valley, and "Sindh," shows this diversity and uniqueness of the nation of Sindh.
Sindh is isolated from the neighbouring countries by hilly and mountanous Baluchistan in the West, the Great Thar Desert in the East, and the monsoon-prone Arabian Sea in the South. This isolation makes the people of Sindh highly dependent upon the Great River Indus. It is from Sindh that the river takes its name Sindhu.
Geographically, the country of Sindh is so distinct and varied in its landscape and natural habitat. There are rivers resplendent with marine life, including sweet water fish (the famous Pallo, is the great delicacy, for locals), countless streams, canals and lakes, thick forests with magnificent fauna and plants, mountains full of rich natural resources like coal, gypsum, iron ore, green marble and chalk, deserts with oil and gas fields, and lush green valleys with rich alluvial soil producing wheat, rice, fruits and other agricultural products.
Throughout the centuries of history...click, this pure, peaceful, resourceful, hospitable and beautiful land of Sindh has been put through tests, trials and tribulations by marauding invaders, hungry and barbaric tribes, and the fanatical religious zealots and intolerable mercenaries. Sindh, a free and independent proud nation has been enslaved, torn apart, damaged and ambushed during various stages of its long history. Head of mother Sindh bleeds, it never bows. Today the lean, frail and proudmother Sindh...click is in pain under the yoke of slavery and fanaticism. Oh, Children of Sindh...click! Where art thou?
The History Of Sindhi Civilisation
The Capital Cities Of Sindh Through History
Bhitai And Historical Events
Since Bhitai's poetry...click reflects the process by which man's inner life is evolved, save for a stray line here or there, there is no direct mention of the political stirring events and incidents of historical significance that took place during his lifetime.
One such important event was that Sindh...click, which was under the suzerinity of Mughal Empire at that time, came under the rule of Kalhoras. Bhitai was a youth of 18 years when Aurangzeb, the Ruler of India, died and as a young man Latif saw saw the rise of the Kalhoras
to power. The most significant historical event was the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739, who on his return from Hindustan, attacked Sindh, imprisoned Noor Muhammad Kalhoro in the fort of Umarkote, forced his submission, and granting him pardon only after he had promissed to pay a tribute of Rupees twenty lakhs (now that was a large amount at thattime).
As a security for his payment, his three sons Murad Yar Khan, Uttar Khan, and Ghulam Shah Kalhoro were taken away as hostages to the Persian Court, returning to Sindh after seven years, following the assasination of Nadir Shah in 1747.
Nadir Shah's invasion and its consequences must have caused a great up-heavel in Sindh, but Shah Jo Risalo makes no direct allusion to it. Bhitai was fifty years old at the time of invasion.
Another such event took place in 1754 when Ahmed Shah Abdali, ruler of Afghanistan, attacked Delhi and made Sindh subject to Kabul. These events were followed by the death of Boor Muhammad Kalhoro, and the ensuing confused civil war between his three sons.
Political Events 712 : The first Arab conquests in India are made by the Muslim general
Mohammed ibn-Kasim, who crosses Makran (Baluchistan), invades the Indus
Valley, and conquers Sind.
Political Events 1236 : The Delhi slave dynasty sultan Altamsh dies after a 25-year reign in
which he has enlarged and strengthened the Muslim Empire of northern
India, has conquered the governors of Bengal and Sind, escaped
destruction by the hordes of Genghis Khan (who stopped at the Indus),
destroyed the capital (Ujjain) of the ancient Hindu kingdom of
Vikramaditya, and built the Kutb Minar tower at Delhi. He is succeeded
by his daughter Raziya (Raziy'yat-ud-din), who will rule until she is
assassinated by her Hindu followers in 1240-the first Muslim woman to
rule on the subcontinent.
Political Events 1592 : The Mughal emperor Akbar conquers Sind.
Political Events 1843 : The Battle of Hyderabad in March destroys the army of the Sind emirs.
Napier, says Punch, sends home the one-word dispatch "Peccari" ("I have
sinned," a pun that conveys his boast, "I have Sind").
The Arab And Islamic Influence In Sindh
Sindh Was Ruled By The Following Dynasties After the Arab Invasion:
The Sumra Dynasty (750 - 1350 A.D.)
The Samma Dynasty (1351 - 1521 A.D.)
The Arghun Dynasty (1521 - 1554 A.D.)
The Turkhan Dynasty (1555 - 1608 A.D.)
The Moghul Dynasty (1608 - 1701 A.D.)
The Kalhora Dynasty (1701 - 1783 A.D.)
The Talpur Dynasty (1783 - 1843 A.D.)
The British Rule (1843 - 1947 A.D.)
The Pakistani Rule(1947 A.D. Onward)
Chachnamo : The Tragedy and Travesty
The Food, Music and Instruments Of Sindh
Sindh : My Motherland My Fatherland
Makhdoom's Quest For The Truth
Makhdoom's Quality Quest