Project Details and Reports

HYDERABAD DISTRICT (Shamsabad Region)

1.  GEOGRAPHY

The district derives its name from its Headquarters town Hyderabad meaning populated by Hyder, title of Hazrat Ali. It is located between 24 – 46 degree and 26 – 06-degree north latitudes and 68 – 16 degree and 68 – 59 east longitudes. It is bounded on the north Nawabshah district. On the east by Mirpur Khas and Sanghar district, on the south by Badin district and on the west by Dadu and Thatta district.

The total area of the district is 5519 square kilometers.

1.2. Physical Features/ Topography

Hyderabad district is a part of the Lower Indus plain which is vast alluvial along the course of Indus. The Indus bifurcates district Dadu from Hyderabad stretches from 110 kilometers on the western flank of the district, and is surrounding by riverine forests. There are no mountains or hills anywhere in the district except some small hillocks. An offshoot of Kirthar limestone (middle Eocene) rang known as Ganjo Takkar. The run paroled to the river Indus for about 22 kilometers south of Hyderabad city. The highest point in these is known as Gaho, which’s about 75 meters above sea level. There are also two small hillocks on the north of Tando M. Khan town.  The hillocks are called Budhaka Takkar. The rest of the district is fertile plain with an elevation of about 50 meters above sea level.

1.3. Rivers And Streams

There is only one river flowing, the Indus, which runs the western boundary of the district. It enters Sindh rushing through the gorge between Sukkur and Rohri in the lime stone rocks, and from here it flows comparatively calmly with arms-known as eastern Nara and western Nara, and changes its direction to southeast, till it reaches Kotri. There are no lakes in the district.

1.4. Climate

The climate of the district is on the whole moderate. The months of May and June are very hot during the day with a maximum and minimum temperatures of 41 and 26 centigrade. This follows by an abrupt falls in temperature during night with pleasant breeze, which makes nights comfortable. December and January are the coldest month with maximum and minimum temperatures of 25 and 11 centigrade. Sometimes cold winds from Balochistan make the winter severe. Humidity varies highest about the end of August, which is much less in May when the air is uncomfortable dry. Fogs are common in the cold season.

The district lies in rain shadow areas. Heavily laden southwest monsoon clouds rising from the Arabian Sea, pass over this area without any shower except occasional showers in the month of July. In winter the district get some rain from the cyclonic winds blowing from the Persian Gulf.

1.5. Flora

The flora of the area depends upon soil and the amount of moisture available. Hyderabad district being on alluvial plain, therefore plants suitable for an alluvial region are found in the district. The dominant trees are babul (populus euphrafica) kandi (prosopis specigara) gad Uri (cordial latiffolia), bahan (populus eupharfica), ber (Sisyphus numularia) and several varieties of tamarisk like plai (tamarisk gallica) and jhao (tamarisk diocia). On the roadside and gardens the ber (ficus indican), the pipal (ficus religious) the siras (mumosa sirissa) the neem (azadirachta indica) and tamarind ( tamarandus indica) are met with.

Number of ornamental flowers is found in farms gardens and else where in the district are roses, jasmine, and tuberose etc.

1.6. Fauna

The existence of all forms of fauna primarily depends upon the vegetation available in the district. The constant and rapid columniation has deprived the area from vegetation, which has resulted in diminishing and/or vanishing the wild life.

At present, hyenas (hyanea hyanendac) and wolves (canis palfipes) are hardly ever seen in the rapidly contraction area of dry waste.

Among birds partridge (francolinus podocerainanes) both black and gray are common in the forest plantation. Many varieties of waterfowl like buft-backed heron (bubulcusibis), Indian reef heron (egratta golaris) and Mongolian sand plover (chariadrius mongolus) are also found. Other birds found in the district are little brown dove (streptopelia senegalensis), koel (eudynamys scolopalea) Indian scoops owl (otus backgammon) and Indian great horned owl (bubo bubo).

2.  HISTORY, ETHNICITY/TRIBES AND CULTURE

2.1. History

Hyderabad remained at one time the capital of Sindh and presently is the second largest city and the largest populated district of the province. Its history dates back to the pre-historic era when Ganju Takkar (Bareen Hill) was used as a place of worship. The history of the city is known since the time of Neroon, a Hindu ruler of this part of the sub-continent from whom the city had derive its pre historic name of Neroon Kot.

Under the old name of Neroon Kot the city was, in the eight century, sufficiently important to be the first object of Muhammad Bin Qasim’s invasion in lower Sindh. During that time the fort was in possession of the Buddhist Monks who immediately surrendered to the young Muslim General.

A thousands year later, Ghulam Shah, the Kalhora Chief, burst from the desert and over throw the usurping brothers. He ,in 1757, due to change in the Indus course which eroded the fort and inhabitation, ordered for construction of new fort and renamed new settlement as Hyderabad to pay respect and homage to Hazarat Ali (RA) the forth caliph. The existing fort was constructed within a record time of two months. The foundation stone carries the date 1183 AH (1769AD) with a prayer “ Oh Lord bring peace to the city”. Thenceforth the district assumes a foremost place in the history of Sindh. In the year 1783 the Kalhoro dynasty was over thrown by the Talpurs and Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur shifted the capital to Hyderabad and remodeled the town.

With the annexation of Sindh after the bloody battle at Miani (approximately 20 Kilometers from Hyderabad) by the British Government in 1848. Hyderabad was made the district headquarters and Capitan Deborni was appointed as the first Collector of the district.

2.2. Ethnicity And Tribes

The population of Hyderabad is a mixture of various heterogeneous groups and cultures. The main races are Talpur, Syed Baluchs, Somra, Mirzas, Sheikhs, Memons, Khatris, Qureshis, and Abbasis. Lots of Pushto-speaking and settlers from Punjab can be found in various parts of the district. They are mostly Kohlies, Bheels and Maighwars.

2.3. Culture, Custom And Tradition

As the population of district is heterogeneous, the interaction has developed a mosaic culture. Apart from the ceremonies like births and deaths which are followed as ritual and social duties, the changing pattern of social economy and behavioral attitude of the person have diminished the values of culture and traditions.

It is common nearly in all class of people to visit shrines of Saints, which are many in the district. These visits are even more pronounced at the time of trouble and misfortune, which reflects their faith upon them. Such type of acts of worship defines the striking cultural and religious differences among different sects.

The youth is growing up with healthy appetite for active games. The playing of team games and regular courses in physical are now part of the curriculum of the schools. Cricket, hockey and soccer are now becoming conspicuous features in urban and rural areas. In rural areas the indigenous games like cock-and-dog-fighting are favorite.

2.4. Food

The food of the poorer class is generally jawar, wheat and rice, with fish occasionally. Among the richer class, mutton poultry, rice and wheat are eaten, but the first two kinds of food are confined mostly to the Muslim section of the population. In the race producing areas of Tando Muhammad Khan sub-division, people are use to taking race at night and bread prepared from rice flour in the day. Vegetables, mutton, fish, fowls are taken according to the means of the consumer. The villagers, who seldom get mutton, use pulses an vegetables. Milk is an important item of diet at night. The staple food of those residing in the Barrage area (Hala sub-division) is wheat chapatti during day and rice and milk at night. In big towns like Hyderabad lavish foods, both continental and international have been taken. Thus pulao/ biryani, seikh kabab are taken. Tea is common among all people. All type of local and European confectioneries are taken especially on special ceremonies. Hyderabad’s rabri (evaporated milk with sugar) is famous. The use of spirit is common among Hindus. 

2.5. Dress And Ornaments

The most common and generally used dress is shalwar and a long shirt. However on festivals and special occasions this dress is of higher quality and is accompanied by waist- coat or sherwani and a jinnah cap. The western dress trouser and shirt is also common among educated persons, students and working class people in the office.

The women also wear the national dress, shalwar and the long shirt.  Ladies with heritage from Eastern and Southern India prefer sari which is a more formal dress. Gharara and sari are also worn by the women on special ceremonies.

Ornaments though indispensable to a woman, however many of them are either out of fashion or their uses are restricted to secial ceremonies. Thus jhoomar, tika, nose-ring and necklace are generally worn in marriage ceremonies. Jewelry such as anklets (pazab) and toe-rings have gone out of fashion. Generally, women wear bangles (made up of glass or gold). Special attention, however, is given to match the color of bangles in harmony with the color of their dress.

2.6. Dwelling

In the rural areas most of the houses are made of mud walls. The poorer people live in thatched huts while big Zamindars have permanent houses of ten more than one story in which materials like girders, cement, tiles are used with modern amenities. In the big towns, people of means also live in pucca built houses. A village (Goth) generally comprise of 50 to 60 houses. The houses generally face south-west-ward to which direction cool breeze in summer blows. There is a peculiar way of getting cool breeze inside the rooms of houses with is typical of this area. A structure built of wood and mud plaster is raised at the top of the roof of wind (wind catcher). Only two directions viz., south and west are open at the top wi9th the result that cool breeze caught in the funnel is transmitted automatically through the opening into the room. This structure is called “Mangh” or “Badgir” and is a boon for the public in summer season. In the winter the opening is closed by a wooden lid.

In town there is semblance of planning of streets. The middle class people have conventional houses situated close together. The richer people live in bungalows with spacious gardens and other modern amenities.

2.7.  Occupations

Hyderabad is an industrial cum agricultural center, having the opportunities of different occupations. The occupations vary from agriculture to business, from public related sectors to their involvement in industries. Being a divisional and district headquarters, few departments of Government of Sindh are based here. This provides good proportion of persons engaged in Government and Private services. Women also assist their men-folk in the economic activity in different sectors particularly agriculture, education and health-related sectors.

2.8. Betrothal And Marriages

The marriages ceremonies in the district are similar to those in rest of the province/country. As the wedding day draws near, it is heralded by playing drums, blowing pipes/shehni. In the betrothal known as maja or wanawah the women from the bride groom’s side go to the house of bride few days before marriage and make the bride (wanawah) to sit in seclusion. She is fed on churo, an unleavened cake of wheat flour made into dough with clarified butter and mixed with brown sugar. According to Sir Richard Burton it is a bilious mess, popularly supposed to increase the delicacy of the skin. The bride, later goes through other ritual ceremonies like dyeing/ decorating hands and soles by menhdi (lawsonia incrmis) dyeing the lips with musag (walnut bark) and blackening the eyes with kajal etc. The occasion of marriage ceremony starts with the registration of marriage settlements by the by the witnesses. After acceptance from bride and bridegroom the priest/Nikah Khawn gives a sermon, reciting verses from Holy Quran and ended with prayer/good wishes.

In matrimonial affairs among the Hindus, particularly Lohanas, the proposal of marriage must come from young lady and not from the male. The first step towards the celebration of marriage is the ascertainment of a luck-day. The month of Sawan and Bhadu are propitious. When the lucky hours approaches, the bridegroom appears, attired in a wonderful façade of pasteboard decorated with flowers of color paper, or some times made entirely of silver, called a mutik, drummers, torch-bearers and men that let off fireworks. At the bride house he is received with due ceremony into the angan (court yard) over which a canopy has been erected. Where he has a bath and puts in wedding garments presented to him by the bride. The mother of the bride washes his feet with water or milk. Then he goes into the inner chamber, where the women are, and comes out leading his bride by the hand and with the corner of his shirt tied to hers. In some areas he dose not come out, but the ceremony is performed in the zenana. The couple sit on two stools, side by side, with the family or priests in front of them. The priest recite the sapta-padi and when the bride and bridegroom walk four times round the sacred fire, on which the priest have already made the hom sacrifice. The joining of hands and the circuit of the fire are the essentials of the marriage rituals (night). After it is over gifts are distributed to relations and the officiating priests. Then the bridegroom, mounting his mare again, but this time with his wife behind him in a doli, goes in joyful procession to his father’s house. Next day the father of bride gives a feast. A Hindu as a rural has only one wife, but if she remains long childless, he takes another. Divorce is unknown among them. So is remarriage of widow.

3. IMPORTANT/HISTORICAL PLACES

3.1. Hyderabad

Hyderabad is the headquarters town of the district as well as the division, holds an old history of human civilization and culture. It falls between 25° 26¢ and 25° 27 ¢ , north latitudes and 68° 18¢  to 68° 20¢ east longitudes and covers an area of about 93 square kilometers. It is the second largest town of Sindh after Karachi

It existed much before the Arab conquest (752 A.D) under the name of Neroon Kot. Niran was the old name of the hill over which the fort was constructed. Originally the place was called Nirun Takar Jo Kot or the fort of Nirun hill. There were tanks all around the said fort, gardens and grazing grounds. The old Mehran (the Indus) river then flowed to the east of it.

At the time of the invasion of Sindh by Muhammad Bin Qasim in 752 A.D., the fort was in the possession of the Budhists, who had friendly relations with the Governor of Mesopotamia. It was surrendered to the young Arab General on his arrival after the capitulation of Debal. In the 16^th and 17^th centuries it continued only as the district headquarters under the Arghun rule who had capital of Sindh at Thatta.

The prominent building in Hyderabad are Shahbaz Building (Former one-unit Building), Niaz Stadium, Meseum, State Bank, Circuit House and different offices of Revenue Department and Government Transport (S.R.T.C), Guddu Bunder on the western side of Indus, was a ghat for Hyderabad city. It was constructed by Ghulam shah Kalhooro under the suppervivion of Guddu Mal, his royal courtesan. Hence it was called Tando Guddu. At present it is a suburb under the name of Guddu Bunder or Husainabad. Near this site, Asia’s first Psychiatric hospital was built by Sir Cowsjee Jehngir in 1864.

3.2. Tomb Of Mir

Apart from the fort, the only monument of historical interest in Hyderabad are the tombs of the Mirs. They lie on the northern extreme of the ridge on which the town of Hyderabad is built. Out of the tombs of the Mirs those to the north are fine old works, whilst the southern group of tombs are poor imitations of the modern styles. The former were built by the Kalhoras, and the latter by the Talpurs who expelled the Kalhoras from Shindh. Under Talpur rule it is not, therefore, suprising that the Kalhora tombs were allowed to go to ruin. The first tomb of all, that of Ghulam Shah Kalhora is the one that has suffered greatly due to the lack of repairs.

The other group of tomb is of the Talpurs and most of them were built after the advent of British rule. From the architectural point of view they are markedly inferior to those of the Kalhoras. The oldest of them is attributed to Karam Ali, one of the original “CHAR YAR” and side to have been built in about 1812.  In the lifetime of Mir Karam Ali it was customary for a man to build his own tomb.

3.3. Hala

Hala is at the distance of 57 kilometers  north of Hyderabad  and stands at some distance from the high way running from the Hyderabad to Rohri with which  it is connected  by two branches. The nearest railway station is Tando Adam, at the distance of 24 kilometers.  Hala is noted for its glazed pottery and weaving of Susi (trouser cloth) which gives employment.

This town is said to have been founded about a hundred years ago by Mukhdoom Mir Muhammad under the name of Murtizabad when old Hala, which is situated about two and a half kilometers to the west of it was threatened with destruction by the encroachment of the Indus. It contains two tombs one is Masjid held in much veneration. The second tomb, dated five years late, is that of Makhdoom Mir Muhammad, the saint, who is credited with the founding of new adjoining them was built twelve years after it, in A.H 1222 by Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur. A fair held here annually on the 27^th of Ziquad attracts between 5 and 66 thousand people.

New Hala was built about 1800 A.D by one Makhdum Mir Muhammad, because old Hala, which is only three kilometers away, was at that time, threatened by the river Indus. Among the antiquities of Hala are tombs and a Masjid. These shrines are in honor of a reputed Muslim saint known as Makhdum Nuh.

A fair held twice in a year in March and October when people in thousands  come from all parts of Sindh  to pay homage to Pir .

Besides numerous Government buildings, it has municipality, established in 1960.

Hala is famous for the manufacture of glazed pottery.

3.4. Bhit Shah

This is a small village in Hala taluka about 6 kilometers east of Hala, and is regarded as scared by Sindhis because of the tomb of Shah Abdul Latif, the great poet and Sufi saint,who lived taught Islamic Idealogy  and died there. Near it are tomkbs of two Pirs, dated 1231 and 1218 A.D An annual fair is held in the month of safar (Islamic month ) which lasts for three days, and attracts thousands  of people. Fancy articles and sundry goods are sold. Since independence Sindhi Adabi Conference is held every year, during the fair festival. A beautiful rest house has been constructed at Bhit Shah for Government oofficials. A cultural Center is also being set up here.

4. POPULATION SIZE, GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION

4.1. Population Size and Growth

The population of Hyderabad district, is 2891 thousands in 1998 as compared to 2059 thousands in 1981 recording an increase of 40.43 percent over the last 17 yaers i.e. 1981-1998. Overall the population of the district has gone up by about 4.5 times during the last 47 years.i.e. 1951-1998.

The area of the district is 5519 square kilometers yielding a population density of 523.92 persons per square kilometers in 1998 which has increased from 373.08 in 1981.

4.2. Rural/Urban Distribution

The rural population s 1422 thousands which is 49.19 percent of the total population of the district. The average annual growth rate of rural population during 1981-98 is 1.27 percent which has come down from 2.79 percent during 1972-81. It was substantially high at 5.96 percent during 1961-72.

The urban population of the district is 1469 thousands which is 50.81 persent of the total district population. The urban population has increased at an average annual growth rate of 2.85 percent durin 1981-1998. There are 13 urban localities in the district.

5. RELIGION

The population of the district is mainly Muslim, who constitute 87.08 percent of the total population.  Muslims reside  93.75 percent in urban areas and 80.19 percent in rural areas. Among minorities, Hindu (Jati) are predominant showing their presence at 11.51 percent, mostly settled in rural areas at 18.39 percent as compared to only 4.85 percent urban areas. The other minorities are showing an insignificant percentage.

6.  MOTHER TONGUE

Sindhi is the main mother tongue; which is spoken by 59.60 percent of the total population of the district. It varies significantly for rural and urban areas by 92.19 percent for rural areas as compared to only 28.06 percent in urban areas. Urdu is the second major language spoken by 29.61 percent of the district population. It also varies for rural and urban areas at 56.48 percent in urban areas in comparison to quite insignificant percentage of 1.85 in rural areas. Punjabi is spoken by 4.02 percent, who are mostly concentrated in urban areas at 6.28 percent.

7.  LITERACY AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

7.1. Literacy

The literacy ratio of the district is 44.25 percent in 1998 showing a good increase from 28.66 percent in 1981. The rural and urban areas reflect the same trend.

Table: Literacy ratio by sex and rural/urban areas-1998

7.2. Educational Attainment

The percentage of educated persons is 43.71 of the population aged 10 years and above, including those below primary. The remaining 56.29 percent either have attained no educational level or never attended any educational institution.

A large variation exists in the ratios of educated persons in rural and urban areas as well as for males and females. The overall male percentage of educated persons is 52.15 as com[pared to female at 34.38. If we compare rural and urban areas the percentage of educated persons in urban areas are significantly higher both for males and female specially in case of female the magnitude is much higher.

Table: Percentage of educated persons by sex and rural/urban areas 1998