Hyderabad, Sindh

Hyderabad pronunciation (help·info) [Haidarābād] (Urdu/Sindhi: حيدر آباد) is located in the Sindh province of Pakistan (formerly known as Neroon Kot نيرُون ڪوٽ). Formerly the capital of Sindh and known as the city of perfumes, it is now the headquarters of the district of Hyderabad. Before the creation of Pakistan, it was known as the Paris of India, for its roads used to be washed with perfume every day. The regional and political boundaries stage the city as a district.

Hyderabad is a hot and humid city in the south of the nation and has been a staging point for literary campaign and a birthplace of many poets. Rich with culture and tradition, the city is the largest bangle producer in the world and serves as a transit between the rural and the urban Sindh.

History

Hyderabad is a city of hillocks. Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro of the Kalhora Dynasty founded the city in 1768. A formal concept of the city was laid out by his son, Sarfraz Khan in 1782. The Hyderabad city was then named Neroon Kot نيرون ڪوٽ it was a small fishing village on the banks of River Indus and was called the heart of the Mehran. Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhora loved the city so much that in 1768, he ordered a fort to be built on one of the three hills of Hyderabad to house and defend his people. The fort since then is called the Pacco Qillo پڪو قلعو or the Strong fort.

After the death of the great Kalhoro, started the Talpur Rule. Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur left his capital Khudabad, the Land of God and made Hyderabad his capital in 1789. He made the Pacco Qillo his residence and also held his courts there. Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur along with his three other brothers were responsible for the affairs that persisted in the city of Hyderabad in the years of their kingdom. The four were called Char Yar, Sindhi for Four friends.

The Talpur rule lasted almost over 50 years and in 1843, Talpurs faced a greater threat. The British came face-to-face with the Talpurs at the Battle of Miani on 17th February, 1843. It is said that even in rigor mortis the Ameers (Mirs – leaders) held their swords high fighting the British. The battle ended on 24th March where the Mirs lost and the city came into the hands of the British.

The British demolished most of the buildings around to accommodate their troops and their military stores. Hyderabad lost its glory. No longer were the roads covered with perfume. In 1857, when the First War of Indian Independence raged across the sub-continent, the British held most of their regiments and ammunition in this city.

Circa 1947, just before the partition, Hyderabad had a large community of Sindhi Hindus who largely preoccupied areas of trade and commerce. There activities including responsibility of export of products that were made in Sindh and contributed significantly to the economy of Sindh. At this very moment in time, 25 percent of Sindh’s population were Hindus and were deemed the largest minority population. When the partition occurred, Hindus expected to remain in Sindh where their trade loyalties lay, latter events rendered this an impossibility. Whilst the relationship between the Hindus and Muslims in Sindh was good enough, the huge influx of Urdu-speaking Muhajirs started to pour into Hyderabad and violence erupted on the streets. The Hindus were forced to flee, leaving everything behind.

Popati Hiranandani[2][3], born 1924, a writer native to Hyderabad tells of this ordeal in her autobiography and describes that the police were merely onlookers when the violence erupted and failed to protect the Hindu community.

With Hindus occupying mostly the town of Hirabad, their buildings were ransacked and taken over by the Muhajirs. This massive influx of the people gave a boost to the population of Hyderabad and the Government proposed the creation of two more towns, namely Latifabad and Qasimabad.

The 1980s saw a black period in the history of Hyderabad as riots erupted in the city between the two major ethnic groupd, the Sindhis and the Muhajirs. Bloodshed and murder reached extremes. The Sindhis retreated to settlements in Qasimabad and the Muhajirs settled down in Latifabad but the city has never been the same again, forever divided by ethnicity

Geography and climate

Located at 25.367°N latitude and 68.367°E longitude with an elevation of 13m about sea-level, Hyderabad is located on the east bank of the Indus River and is roughly 150km away from Karachi, the capital of the province. Hyderabad is the second largest city in Sindh, eighth largest in Pakistan and 209th largest city of the world with respect to population. Its population estimates to 1,348,288 (as of 2000). Two of Pakistan’s largest highways, the Indus Highway and the National Highway join at Hyderabad.

Several towns surrounding the city include Kotri at 6.7km, Jamshoro at 8.1km, Hattri at 5km and Husri at 7.5km.

Hyderabad has an extreme climate. The days are hot and dry usually going up to extreme highs of 40°C, whilst the nights are cool and breezy. Winds that blow usually bring along clouds of dust, and people prefer staying indoors in the daytime, while the breeze that flows at night is pleasant and clean.

Education

The city being a gateway between the rural Sindh and the Greater Sindh, attracts students from the lesser developed regions of Sindh. Hyderabad has a huge number of schools, colleges and Universities.

A nerve center of Sindh 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

Universities and colleges

The University of Sindh[1] is the dominant player in educational reforms since its inception in 1947. The University of Sindh,the second oldest university of the country, was constituted under the University of Sindh Act. No. XVII of 1947 passed by the Legislative Assembly of Sindh. It was founded in Karachi and relocated to Hyderabad in 1951, only because the city was re-enacted as the capital of the province of Sindh. It has 32 colleges affiliated with it. Other universities like the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences serve the interests of a wide range of other specialized subjects. Whilst people prefer to go to this technological and medical universities in the city, universities like the Sindh Agricultural University in Tando Jam focusing primarily on agriculture and horticulture, are highly preferred as well. Other universities in the private sector include University of East and Isra University.

Most of the colleges are affiliated with the universities above but some enjoy repute built of time like the oldest being the Government Degree College now renamed Government College of Technology with its high- and secondary-school affiliations with the Government High School who celebrate alumni like Mirza Kalich Beg.

Museums and libraries

Hyderabad is home to a few museums that store the cultural heritage of this land of religious and ethnic diversity. The Institute of Sindhology Museum and the Sindh Museum are a haven for Sindhi enthusiasts in ethnological contexts. Whilst there are a few libraries in the city, most of them are in a sad state. Allama Daudpota Library near Sindh Museum in Qasimabad.

People and culture

Hyderabad is noteworthy in Sindh and Pakistan generally for its relative tolerance; members of religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians are not in as much danger there as elsewhere in the country. However, there has been a history of conflict in Hyderabad between native Sindhis and the Muhajirs, the non-Sindhi Muslim refugees who entered Sindh from post-Partition India in 1947 and who were awarded the abandoned property left by the departing Sindhi Hindus; nowadays Sindhis and Muhajirs live in relative separation, in discrete sectors of Hyderabad.A large influx of Pakhtuns and Punjabis were attracted to Hyderabad after the Indus treaty settlement. Most Punjabis mixed with the local population however most Pakhtuns are distinct and separately living near the railway station and its vicinity.

Native Sindhis mainly reside in Qasimabad, which is still developing. Qasimabad has a lot of problems with its drainage system. It has some famous areas like Naseem Nagar and Abdullah Blessing.

On the other hand Muhajirs live in Latifabad. A large number of Memons having two sects namely Diplai from Thar Parker (Sindh) and Kathiawari from Gujrat (India) live isolated from other citizens. Many Shia Ismaili colonies exist; Aminabad Colony and Mubarakh Colony, are one of the most prominent.

While Christians constitute 2% of the total population, Hyderabad is the seat of a Diocese of the Church of Pakistan and has five churches and a cathedral.

Despite its strategic location and thrifty people the city is under the shadow of Karachi and yet to make its mark economically. One reason for this is the artificial factional and sectarian isolation imposed after the riots of 90s which cleft the urban population.