History of Sindh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| | This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007) |
| | The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. (December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. |
Sindh (Sind) (Sindhi: سنڌ) is one of the provinces of Pakistan. Sindh was home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization.
[edit] Paleolithic and Mesolithic era
Ongar is one of the most important Paleolithic site discovered in southern Sindh, few kilometers south of Hyderabad, on the right side of the Indus River. According to the aspect and surface patina of the tools, the flint assemblages can be attributed to the Early, Middle and Late (Upper) Paleolithic periods.
At Rehri, along the coast east of Karachi, Karachi University team has discovered a few Mesolithic and Late Palaeolithic sites. Most of these sites have vanished during the last twenty years. Nevertheless their discovery shed new light on the prehistory of the coastal area of Lower Sindh. Scatters of flint were found in different spots, some of which were associated with Terebralia palustris mangrove shells.
The Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites found by Karachi University team on the Mulri Hills, in front of Karachi University Campus, constitute one of the most important archaeological discoveries made in Sindh during the last fifty years. The last hunter-gatherers, who left abundant traces of their passage, repeatedly inhabited the Hills. Some twenty different spots of flint tools were discovered during the surface surveys.
[edit] Copper to the Bronze Age era
The mound of Amri is located along the right bank of the Indus River, south of Dadu. The excavations carried out by the French Archaeological Mission at the beginning of the sixties revealed a long sequence of subsequent habitation phases datable from the Copper to the Bronze Age. The typical Amri layers have been radiocarbon-dated to the second half of the fourth millennium BC and are attributed by some authors to the beginning of the Early Harappan Civilization. At least 160 settlements attributed to the Amri Culture, among them the Tharro Hills, near the village of Gujo, is one of the most famous of lower Sindh.
The site of Kot Diji, near Rohri, consists of a small mound composed of a sequence of overimposed structures and anthropogenic layers. They have been subdivided into two main complexes, the first of which belongs to the Early Harappan, Kot Diji Culture, and the second to the Mature Harappan Civilization.
The site of Lakhueen-jo-daro, near Sukkur, belongs to the Matura Harappan Civilization as indicated by the characteristics of the structural remains, material culture finds and one radiocarbon date, covers a wide area, from which a few mounds emerge. The site indicates that the origins of Sukkur are to be referred to a much older period than previously suspected.
The metropolis of Mohenjo-daro, near Larkana, is largest Indus city so far discovered in Sindh. The large-scale excavations carried out in the 1920s brought to light most of the architectural remains that are still currently visible. They are mainly of backed bricks with very well preserved buildings aligned along streets and lanes. Mohen-jo-daro is the largest Bronze Age city of the world.
Pir Shah Jurio is a Mature Indus Civilization village along the left bank of the Hub River. It consists of a small mound, which is nowadays partly covered by a cemetery. From its surface, typical potsherds and other finds were collected. This site is strictly connected with the sea, which is a few kilometers south of it. It was radiocarbon-dated to the third millennium BP, from a sample of Terebralia palustris shells.
The Indus Civilization site of Kot Bala is located in the interior of the Sonmiani Bay, along the coast of Lasbela District, Balochistan. It was partly excavated by Professor G. Dales of Berkeley University in the Seventies and never published in detail. This site is of great importance for its location close to the Arabian Sea. It is supposed to be one of the main harbors from which the Indus traders sailed their ships to the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Sindh has been known by various names in the past, the name Sindh comes from the Indo-Aryans. In Sanskrit, the province was called Sindhu meaning the river Sindh and the people living on its banks. The Assyrians (as early as the seventh century BCE) knew the region as Sinda, the Persians Hindush, the Greeks Indos, the Romans Sindus or Indus, the Chinese Sintu, while the Arabs dubbed it Sind. A legend claims that the Indus River flowed from the mouth of a lion or Sinh-ka-b
On August 14th 1947 Pakistan gained independence from foreign British colonial rule. The province of Sindh thus regained it's self rule, lost since the defeat of Sindhi Talpur Amirs in the Battle of Miani on February 17, 1843.
The first challenge faced by the Government of Sindh was the settlement of Muslim refugees. Nearly 7 million Muslims from India migrated to Pakistan while nearly equal number of Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan migrated to India. The Muslim refugees, (known as Muhajirs from India), settled mostly in urban areas of Sindh, most of them in Karachi and Hyderabad.
[edit] Education
Education in Sindh is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programs leading to graduate and advanced degrees.
The primary, middle and high schools are established in all parts of Sindh providing, Sindhi, Urdu and English medium schools.
The colleges and universities are established in major towns and cities of Sindh. They provide courses leading to (BA), (BSc) and Bachelor of Commerce / BCom/BBA degrees. The Medical colleges and Engineering colleges are also established im major cities of Sindh.
There are many Postgraduate and Research institutes in Sindh providing state-of-the-art education to Sindhi students.
[edit] Economy
Sindh has become the most industrialized and urbanized province of Pakistan. The head offices of Pakistani companies, and regional offices of international companies, are located in Sindh. The Sindhis have been in forefront of economic development of the province. The new dams and canals have irrgated many areas that were barren and Sindh produces many agricultural products for the country and for export.
The construction of multi-billion projects like Karachi Nuclear Power Plant, Port Qasim and Pakistan Steel Mills provided tens of thousands of jobs to the residents of Sindh.
[edit] Politics
The founding father of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was of Sindhi background. Khan Bahadur Muhammad Ayub Khuhro was the the first Chief Minister of Sindh, after independence of Pakistan. Pakistan's political scene continued to be dominated by Sindhi politicians like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, Muhammad Khan Junejo, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Asif Ali Zardari, Muhammad Mian Soomro, who served the nation as President, Prime Minister, Senate chairman etc. Karachi was chosen as the first capital of Pakistan and it remains now as the capital of Sindh province. In the province of Sindh, the Sindhis have always dominated the government and its various departments.
No comments:
Post a Comment