This precious relic was brought to Sindh from Istanbul by one Makhdoom Abdul Baki, the son-in-law of Sheikh Nizam-u-ddin, a descendant of Hazrat Abu Bakar, who settled in Rohri and concealed it for some times until its presence was revealed in a dream to Syed Haider Shah of Rohri and Makhdoom Abdul Malik of Dahho. Since then it has been exhibited annually on 9 Zil Haj, the day on which at Mecca the principal ceremonies are celebrated in connection with the annual pilgrimage, but visitors may see it at other times also. It is kept in a small, dark adytum out of which a minster brings it reverently and lays it on a carved bedstead on which two carpets have been spread. A green robed Saiyid Superintends an attendant waves peacock’s feathers over it and the surrounding faithful cover their mouths and chants prayers or blessings in low tones. A dozen or more silken embroidered cloths are unfolded one after another, until an ark or gold, heavily jeweled is disclosed. It is gift of Mir Ali Murad of Khairpur. At this stage the operator covers his profane hand with a white silk handkerchief and then takes out of the little box, a cube of gold about three inches long studded with forteen rows of rabies, from the end of which projects the Holy Hair, about a quarter of an inch of light colour. Its appearance is greeted with a murmur of profound reverence. As the box is being unfolded again in its many coverings, some of the by standers offer their rosaries again in its many coverings, some of the by standers offer their rosaries to be rubbed against it. A building about twenty-five feet square was erected in about AH 952 ( AD 1545 ) by Mir Muhammad, the then reigning Kalhora Prince, for the special reception of a Holy Hair. Click here to see the pictures
On one of the little hills that rise out of the river bank on the south there is a level platform on which are many carved gravestones like those on the Makli Hills at Thatta, which chain ornament and panels of Arabic quotations from the Holy Quran. The whole space between the graves is paved and a flight of steps leads up to the platform from the Southside. Enameled tiled work is freely used on these tombs, most of which are dated 1018 to 1301 AH., that is between 1609 and 1883 AD. The principal grave is that of Mir Kasim one of the Sabzwari Shahids dated 1018 AD. This was probably the grave that sanctified the place, and a lamp post and lamp are placed in front of it still, and it gives the name of Than Kasim Shah to the hill. But the name of which it is more generally known is the hill of the seven virgins from the building on the southern side called Satbhain, which consist of a row of shallow rooms connected externally with coloured tiles. These cells are said to have been occupied by seven virgins, who had taken a vow never to look upon the face of man. Sir Richard Burton, however, maintains that this derivation is wrong, ignorant people having perverted Sati-na-jo-Than or seat of the Satis (i.e. celibate women) in to something which means seven. Click here to see the pictures
v Khwaja Khizir (A.S) Zinda Pir
Opposite Rohri is a small island of which about half an acre remains above water at the height of the inundation. This has been enclosed with a wall and contains a shrine to which Muslims and Hindus come together in thousands from all parts of Sindh in March and April, the Muslims to honor Khwaja Khizr and the Hindus, Jind Pir, (Jind is a corruption of Zinda; Zinda Pir means the Living Saint). Eventually the possession of the shrine became a bone of contention between Hindus and Muslims, but the matter was settled when the Hindus abandoned their claim and set up a shrine of their own to Jind Pir on the Sukkur bank of the river. The Public Works Department, under resolution No. 55-W-1 650 of 10 April 1894, sanctioned a piece of land measuring 16.50 ghuntas approximately to the Panchayat (Council) of Sukkur for the use of the Jind Pir Fakirs trust, i.e., after executing a trust deed in favour of Bhai Balo, the leader of the Fakirs at that time. According to the trust, he and his successors would receive Rs 15000 for discharging certain duties in connection with the shrine and monuments.The Muslim legend is that a Delhi merchant by the name of Shah Hussain (Saiful Muluk) was traveling down the Indus by boat with his daughter, Badu.-i-Jamal, on their way to Mecca. On their arrival in the city of Alore, Daluraj, the Hindu King, who had heard of the great beauty of Shah Hussain’s daughter, demanded her in marriage. He was refused, being told as a reason that it was impossible for the daughter of a follower of the Prophet (PBUH) to wed a Hindu. Not content with the reply, the king determined to carry her off by force; but as the girl was offering prayers to Khwaja Khizr, the saint directed her father to cut loose the boat. As soon as this was done, the course of the Indus changed and the stream began to flow towards Rohri, carrying to safety the boat and its passengers. In gratitude for this miraculous deliverance, Shah Hussain resolved to erect a shrine in honour of the saint who had thus befriended them. In answer to his prayer he was directed to carry out his purpose on a small island a little to the north of Bukkur, and here he built a mosque and a mausoleum, in honour of the saint, which in later years was enlarged by wealthy votaries who were said to have covered the door of the original tomb with sheets of silver. Unfortunately there is no trace of either of these buildings.
The Hindu identify Khawaja as Jind Pir (properly Zinda Pir), i.e. the living Pir who is no other than the incarnation of the river Indus, elsewhere called Uderolal, Darya Shah, etc., to whom they burn a light. The central building with the silver doors, be it tomb, temple or cenotaph, contains a niche which is the seat of the saint and above which a slab of stone clumsily built in to the wall bears a Persian inscription which has been translated thus:
“When this court was raised, be it known that the waters of Khizr surrounded it; Khizr wrote this in pleasing verse.”
Its date is found from the Court of the High one. The words Dargah-i-Ali, give the date 341 which correspond to AD. 952. To the south-west of the shrine is a ruined brick masjid with an inscription which gives the date AH 1011 (AD 1602).
The mujawars (guardians) of Satyan-jo-Asthan and of Khwaja Khizr’s shrine were holding lands as khairat (charitable grant) before the British conquest, discharging certain holy duties around the monuments and shrines in their charge. Sir Charles Napier continued the practice. Click here to see the pictures
v Lansdowne Bridge & Ayub Bridge
A Marvel of ninetieth century engineering, the 'longest "rigid" girder bridge in the world' at that time, was begun in 1887.The Indus Valley State Railway had reached Sukkur in 1879 and the steam ferry which transported eight wagons at a time across the Indus was found to be cumbersome and time consuming. Designed by Sir Alexander Rendel, the girder work weighing a massive 3,300 tons was erected by F.E. Robertson, and Hecquet. The ferry link between Rohri and Sukkur became redundant when Lord Reay Governor of Bombay. Detutizing for Lord Lansdowne , the viceroy, inaugurated the Bridge on 25 March 1889. As summer comes early to Sukkur and the wearing of heavy European - Style Uniforms would have been uncomfortable , the opening ceremony took place early in the morning . After Lord Reay had unlocked a highly ornamental padlock (the design of J.L. Kipping, CIE, Principal of the Mayo School of Art in Lohore and father of Joseph Rudyard, the famous poet and author). Which had held shut the cumber - some iron gates guarding entry to the Bridge , the gathering walked across the Bridge and then adjourned to break-fast followed by toasts under a shaman (Berridge 1967:128) with its construction, Railway link between Lahore in the heart of the granary of British India and the Port of Karachi on the Arabian Seacoast was completed. When the great steel Ayub arch, was constructed (1960-1962) , Railway traffic was shifted to this Bridge . About a hundred feet apart, the two bridges seem like one from a distance. The Ayub arch became the world's third longest Railway arch span and the first bridge in the world to have 'the Railway desk slung on coiled wire rope suspenders'. Dr.D.D. Steinman of New York, proponent of 'vocational aesthetics' designed this graceful Bridge. Which cost about two crore rupees. The foundation stone was laid on December 9, 1960.Attribute to Pakistani, American and British engineers, it was opened by President Muhammad Ayub Khan on May 6, 1962. Click here to see the pictures
Downstream of the island of Bukkur, and separated from it by a short stretch of river, is the pretty little island of Sat, or Sadh, Belo. On it is a Hindu religious establishment found in AD 1823 by Swami Bakhandi Maharaj Udasi; the gaily-painted buildings are, however, more or less modern. The place is held in high esteem by Hindus throughout Sindh and even in India. The island, with its two inlets, Sadh Belo and Din Belo, is shown on the official map of 1893-4; in 1912 it was accurately surveyed on the orders of the Collector, Sukkur (see, his letter N.4402 of 13 February 1912) and shown to cover 629 acres.
Note: To Visit Sahd Belo a Hindu Pilgrimage Area, you need a permission from the department of Oqaf to go there. Click here to see the pictures
The minaret of Syed Nizam-ud-Din Mir Muhammad Masum Shah is the most conspicuous structure of Sukkur town. Syed Masum Shah was the governor of Mughal Emperor Akbar who appointed him as the Nawab of Sukkur. The minaret was built in about 1607 A.D. the monument, built of red brick, is more or less conical in shape, slightly off the perpendicular and surmounted by a dome to which an internal stone staircase gives an access. It is about 26 metres in circumference and has 84 steps to the top. It is about 31 metres feet in height and can be seen from miles away. This minaret is believed to have been used as a watch tower. Click here to see the pictures
The conspicuous white tomb of Adam Shah crowing a small hill to the west has no architectural attraction, but is historically interesting. Adam Shah was the first of the Lalhora who rose to notoriety. He had contrived to get a Zamindari in the pargunah of Chanduka (Larkana), but afterwards went to Multan where he gathered a great host of discipline and became a power. He was a turbulent character and getting in to conflict with the ruler, was killed and become a martyr. His disciples brought his body to Sukkur and buried it where the tomb is. Click here to see the pictures
Qadir Bakhsh-jo-Qubo is situated some sixteen miles south of Rohri in Deh Akbarpur Jagir. It covers an area of thirty-five acres and contains many ancient graves. The principal grave belongs to His Highness Mir Suhrab Khan of the Khairpur Mirs. He died on 27 Rajab AH 1280 (AD 1863) at the age of ninety. Next to it lays the grave of His Highness Mirs Rustam Khan of the Khairpur Mirs. He died in AH 1297 (AD 1870) in Poona (Pune) and his body was brought here for burial. Nearby are the graves of Mir Dost Muhammad, the second son of Mir Khan Muhammad Talpur (d. AH 1262 [AD 1846]), and of the mother of Mir Ahmed Ali Khan Talpur. To the east of the graveyard is a mosque constructed by the Talpurs.There is another mosque some two hundred feet away, constructed by the British government. Attached to this mosque is the government musafirkhana, (traveller’ lodge). Today, both the mosque and the musafirkhana are in ruins.
The tomb of Fakir Qadir Bakhsh, after whom this site is named, lies to the west of the village of the same name. Inside the tomb there are two graves, one obviously being that of Fakir Qadir Bakhsh, of whom little is known, but nothing is known about the other; it is presumed to be that of a disciple, the Fakir never having married. The tomb of Golo Shahani, the commander-in-chief of the army of Mir Suhrab Khan, is also situated here, as well as a number of other graves of the Shahanis. Golo Shahani died in battle at Shikarpur in AH 1249 (AD 1833). On the eastern side of the tomb of Fakir Qadir is the tomb of Syed Saleh Shah, of whom nothing is known, and to the west of it, a mosque which is said to have been constructed by Fakir Qadir Bakhsh himself. The village has a population of approximately 500 individuals, who live in fifty houses. Click here to see the pictures
v Arore
Prior to the invasion by the Arabs in AD 713, Sindh was ruled by a Hindu dynasty whose Capital was at Arore (or Alor, Arore, Al Rur), a large city on the bank of the river Indus, also known as the Mehran. The boundaries of this kingdom extended up to Kashmir in the north, Mekran in the south, and Kandhar in the west. Prior to this, Rai Siharas (A.D. 515-50) was the best-known king of this dynasty. The Persian army attacked Sindh in A.D 626, during the reign of Rai Siharas II, defeating his forces. The king was killed but the Persians were recalled because of an attack from the west on their domains. His successor, Rai Sahasi, was a good and wise rule.
About five miles south-east of Rohri and close to the Eastern Nara supply canal is the small village of Arore or Alore, comprising a few hundred inhabitants. It stands upon part of what was the capital of Sindh more than a thousand years ago. In the description of ancient Alore given in the Chach Namah, we are told that it was a town adorned with various kinds of royal buildings, villas, gardens, fountains, streams, meadows, and trees and was situated on the bank of the river Indus. In this beautiful and splendid city, there lived a king whose name was Sahiras, son of Sahasi Rai. This king had innumerable riches and thinking was well-known in the world. The limits of his dominions extended east to the boundary of Kashmir, west to Makran, to the south to the sea-coast and Debal, and to the appointed four governors (Maliks) in his kingdom.
In the reign of Jam Fateh Khan (AD 1412/13-28) (predecessor of Jam Tughlaq Shah, son of Sikander), Alore was a parganah given to one Syed Abdul Ghias. At the time of the conquest of Sindh by the Arabs under Muhammad Bin Qasim in AD 711, Alore was the capital of Sindh and the residence of King Dahir. The Arabs made their capital at Mansurah, and Alore existed for more than two centuries as a Hindu town. It then disappeared. The legend of King Dalurai of Brahmanabad gives an account of its fate. The bricks of the ancient fort of Alore were utilized in repairing the fort walls of Bukkur when Shah Beg Arghun decided to make Bukkur his capital.
At a short distance below the hill to the south-west of the village Persian inscription of Mir Muhammad Masoom dated AH1008 (AD1599) was set up in the dried-up bed of the river to mark its ancient course. This stone has been removed and lodged in Moenjodaro Museum for safe-keeping (a similar stone has been set up by this writer at the same place). There are also the tombs of two Syeds. Shaker Ganj Shah and Khatal ud Din (or Qutb Shah); the former is said to have been a contemporary and friend of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, whose tomb is at Sehwan. There is an annual fair in his honour. There is also a fair held annually in September in honour of Kalka Mela which is attended by Hindus. Nothing is known of the origin of the fair and, save for the insignificant little village, the site is now a wilderness. Click here to see the pictures
The Sukkur Barrage, officially named the Lloyd Barrage, on the Indus about three miles below Sukkur Gorge, is the pride of Pakistan’s irrigation system. It is the largest system of its kind in the world. It is the backbone of the economy of the entire country, providing, through its network of canals, irrigation to an area of 7.63 million acres, approximately 25 percent of the total canal-irrigated area of the country. The Nara Canal, which is one of the seven canals absorbing the run-off from this barrage, is the largest in the country, carrying a discharge almost equal to that of the River Thames. Its bed width is 346 ft. --- one and a half times that of the Suez Canal. It is not a man- made Canal, but the south-western arm of the Hakro, the ‘Lost River of the Indian Desert’.
The idea of a barrage at Sukkur was first conceived by Lieutenant J.G Fife in about 1855, but a complete scheme was not made for another sixty years. Sir Arnold Musto, an engineer, was then appointed to develop the project. His plans were submitted to the Government of Bombay, and in April 1923 the Secretary of State for India sanctioned the project at an estimated cost of Rs 200 million. Work started in January 1925 and was completed by 31 December 1931. An unanimous resolution of the District Local Board was passed that the barrage be named after Sir George Lloyd, the Governor of Bombay, who had taken an active interest in the scheme.
The barrage comprises sixty-six spans, each sixty feet wide and each divided into three sections by the two divided wall on its upstream. The right pocket, the left pocket, and the main weir have five, seven, and fifty-four spans respectively. The central section is further divided into six bays of nine spans each. These bays are separated from each other by abutment piers that are twenty-five feet thick and ninety-seven feet long. An ordinary pier is ten feet wide and seventy-seven feet long. Abutment pier number 32, which is one hundred and ninety feet long, has eight pipes for indicating uplift pressures. The weir bays have upstream floor at Reduced Level (R.L) 176.0 with no crest, and the downstream floor slopes to R.L 172.39 in a gradient of in 70 up to the of the flexible talus. There is a lower bridge with a sixteen-foot roadway enabling vehicles to drive between the two banks. The bridge is just under a mile in length. Masonry walls joined to the abutment of the barrage on either bank enclose the main regulators of the various canals. Thirty two thousand laborers worked year-round on the project. In addition, a total of seven thousand men were employed daily to work on the large, medium, and small-size machines. Primitive methods, including bullocks drawing a metal-edged board scoop, were used side by side with huge machines each excavating seventy-four tons of earth per minute. The total amount of earthwork done came to 569 crore (5,690,000,000) cubic feet, of which 312 crore cubic feet were excavated by machines and the rest by human labour.
There are four off-take canals on the left bank
| Canal | Gross command area (in acres) | Length (in miles) |
|
Rohri canal |
2,956,518 |
10.00 |
|
Eastern Nara |
2,176,494 |
24.00 |
|
Khairpur Feeder East |
531,110 |
10.00 |
|
Khairpur Feeder West |
409,121 |
2.40 |
There are three off-take canals on the right bank
|
Canal |
Gross command area (in acres) |
Length (in miles) |
|
Northwestern |
1,027,085 |
36.1 |
|
Rice |
547,480 |
81.7 |
|
Dadu |
597,464 |
131.1 |
On Wednesday, 13 January 1932, His Excellency the Viceroy of India graced the opening ceremony. Activities began at 10.50 a.m. with the Viceroy’s tour of the barrage and the left bank canals, after which the Viceroy threw the switch operating the regulator gates and declared the canals open. At noon, a special lunch was served at the residence of the superintending engineer of Northern Sindh Circle.
On 9 April of that year a memorable dinner was held at the Karachi Club, given on behalf of the people of Sindh to celebrate the successful completion of the Lloyd (Sukkur) Barrage and canals. Two elaborate menus were served, including one vegetarian, but the most striking feature was the table plan: the top table represented the Barrage, and five offshoots represented the Nara, Rohri, Dadu, Rice, and Northwestern Canals. Opposite each ‘canal’ sat its engineer-in-charge, while the guests of honor, six Charlton Harrison and Sir A.K. Musto, the legendary executive engineer, sat in the middle of the ‘barrage'. The Golden Jubilee was celebrated in some style on 30 and 31 March 1982, with a lunch, a dinner, and speeches. The guest of honor was the Governor of Sindh-for whom the throne of the ex-ruler of Khairpur State was specially sent for-and Sir Arnold Musto’s two daughters attended as guests of the Provincial Government. At about the same time, it became apparent that the gates of Sukkur Barrage had lost their utility , and a project involving Rs: 482 million was planned to replace fifty-five of the sixty-six gates, to be launched in fiscal year 1986-7, and completed by 1992. Besides the replacement of the barrage gates, the central ‘leaves’ of the gates of the canal head regulators were also to be replaced. The upper and bottom leaves of the gates did not need replacement. The British Government, which had funded the barrage in 1932, agreed to provide a foreign exchange component for the financing of the replacement work. These gate and the central system were to be designed and fabricated in the United Kingdom, by an agency which had agreed to provide the necessary materials, but the fabrication of the gates was to be carried our in Pakistan using expertise acquired from the UK. In the event, work on the project did not start until 1990, by which time the cost had risen to Rs: 612 million, but it was completed in 1993.
Note: 33 thirty-three regulator gates in the range of Rohri and thirty-three regulator gate in the range of Sukkur District. Click here to see the pictures
