Hyderabad is a city, district and division in the Sind
province. The city is an administrative headquarters lying on the most northern
hill of the Ganjo Takkar ridge just east of the River Indus. Being the third
largest city of Pakistan, Hyderabad is a communication center, connected by
rail with Peshawar and Karachi. Founded in 1768 on the site of the ancient town
of Nirun-Kot by Ghulam Shah Kalhora, the saintly ruler of Sind, it was named
after the prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali, also known as Haidar. It remained
the capital of Sind under the Talpur rulers who succeeded the Kalhoras till
1843 when, after the nearby battles of Miani and Dabo, it surrendered to the
British, the capital was then transferred to Karachi. Incorporated as a
municipality in 1853, it is an important commercial and industrial center. Its
economic activities include textile, sugar, cement, and hosiery mills,
manufacturing of glass, soap, ice, paper, and plastics. There are hide
tanneries and sawmills. Ornamented silks, silver-work, gold-work and lacquer
ware are also some of its exclusive products. Noteworthy antiquities include
the tombs of the Kalhora and Talpur ruler, palaces of the former amirs of Sind.
Newly developed settlements and industrial estates surround the congested old
city area. An noteworthy characteristic of this city is, badgirs
(wind-catchers) fixed to housetops to catch sea breezes during the hot summer
season. A hospital, municipal gardens, zoo, sports stadium, and several
literary societies are in the city. The University of Sind with 32 affiliated
colleges was founded in 1947 in Karachi and moved to Hyderabad in 1951, where
it lies across the Indus. Other education needs are served by numerous
government colleges, the Liaquat Medical College and specialized vocational
institutions.
Its remained the capital of the emirate of sind until the
British general Sir Charles James Napier conquered Sindh in 1843. From 1947 to
1955 Hyderabad was the capital of Sindh Province; the new capital was shifted
to Hyderabad. In 1766 the Kalhora ruler constructed a fort half a square km in
area and still stands today. In 1843 the British arrived and defeate the
Talpurs, Completing their Conquest of Sindh.
It’s also a second largest city of Sindh Province. It has
over 6 Millions populations. The city has one of the most interesting bazaar of
the country, which is known to be the longest bazaar in Asia. There are two
very well arranged ethnological museums in the city One the Sindh Museum and
the other the Institute of Sindhology Museum. Both museums present an excellent
portrait of cultural and tribal life of Sindh. The city is transit point for
the tours from Karachi to the Interior of Sindh a visit to Kalhora Monuments
close to the city gate is worth a visit, Mausoleums are beautifully decorated
with glazed tiles and frescos. There are also two forts from 18th & 19th
Century to see here.
Famous for its cool breeze and balmy nights, and known for
its Bombay Bakery Cakes, Its dellcate bangles and the paagalkhana called Giddu
Bandar, Hyderabad is Sindh’s Second largest city, a city its inhabitants claim
is the most beautiful in the world, Its spacious houses are known for their
manghan, roshandans or ventillators and it is also known as “mangham jo
shahar.”
‘The heart of Sindh’ as many call Hyderabad, was the former
capital of SIndh, ruled by the Kalhoras and Talpurs from the Pucca Qila until
the British conquest.
A nerve center of Sindhi nationalist and literary movements,
the city is now divided along on Sindhi-Mohajir lines to the extent that the
warning ethnic groups even have different hospitals and in many cases, even
their places of worship and graveyards are divided. The original old city, now
dominated by the mohajirs, seems besieged by the surrounding Sindhi suburbs. At
one time a hub of economic, educational and cultural activities, a breeding
ground of academicians, philanthropists, writers, lawyers, politicians,
journalists, actors and actresses, Hyderabad also had its industrialists, trade
unionists, political activists, bureaucrats, bankers and diplomats who made a
significant contribution to sub continental society. But this gracious city now
seems to be slowly dying, although it still produces over a couple of dozen
major and minor newspapers in both Sindhi and Urdu.
Hyderabad, once the capital of Sindh and now the third
largest city of Pakistan, is one of the oldest cities of the sub-continent. Its
history dates back to pre-Islamic times, when Ganjo Taken (barren hill), a
nearby hilly trract, was used as a place of worship. The city traces its early
history to Neroon, a Hindu ruler of the area from whom the city derived its
previous name, “Neroon Kot”.
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| Hyderabad Historical City Of Sindh, Pakistan |
