Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the

Rajasthani languages Rajasthani ( Devanagari: ) refers to a group of Indo-Aryan languages and dialects spoken primarily in the state of Rajasthan and adjacent areas of Haryana, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh in India. There are also speakers in the Pakistani provin ...

of the

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...

family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

are also understood by the citizens.

Etymology

The name of the city is named after a local Ruler of Sindh Umer Soomro of the Umar Marvi story which also appears in '' Shah Jo Risalo'' and is one of the popular tragic romances from Sindh. However, the myth of Umer Marvi is believed to have been made up to islamise the history of Amarkot which was named after its original founder, Amar Singh.

History

Amarkot province was ruled by the Sodha Rajput clan of Hindu

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

s during the medieval time period. Rana Parshad, the Sodha Rajput ruler of Umarkot, gave refuge to

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Norther ...

, the second Mughal Emperor when he was ousted by

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

, and next Mughal Emperor, Akbar was born here. Later on, Akbar brought northwestern India, including modern day Pakistan under Mughal rule. After the disintegration of the Mughal empire, Amarkot was captured by several regional powers including the Perisans, Afghans, Kalhora and Talpura Baloche's of Sindh, Rathore Rajputs of Jodhpur and finally by the British.https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/8776/thesis.pdf?sequence=1 Amarkot was annexed by

Jodhpur State Kingdom of Marwar, also known as the Jodhpur State under the British, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1226 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a m ...

in 1779 from the Kalhora Nawab of Sindh Umerkot and its fort was later handed to the British in 1843 by the Maharaja of Jodhpur in return for reducing the tribute imposed on

by Rs.10,000. The British appointed Syed Mohammad Ali as the Governor of the province. In 1847, Rana Ratan Singh was hanged at the fort by the British, for killing Syed Mohammad Ali, in a tax protest. After the British conquered Sindh, it was later made part of the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. In 1858, the entire area around Tharparkar became part of the Hyderabad Division, and in 1860 the region was renamed as Eastern Sindh Frontier, with its headquarters at Amarkot. In 1882, it was reorganized as the Thar and Parkar district, headed by a British Deputy Commissioner, with a political superintendent at Amarkot. However, in 1906 the district headquarters was moved from Amarkot to

Mirpur Khas Mirpur Khas ( Sindhi and ; ''meaning "Town of the most-high Mirs"'') is the capital city of the Mirpur Khas District and Mirpur Khas Division in the Sindh province, Pakistan. Mirpur Khas is the 16th largest city in Sindh province and the 80th ...

Rana Chandra Singh Rana Chandra Singh (1931 – 1 August 2009), also known as Rana Chandar Singh, was a Pakistani politician and a federal minister. He was one of the founding members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and was elected to the National Assembly of ...

, a federal minister and the chieftain of the Hindu Sodha

Thakur Thakur may refer to: * Thakur (title), a feudal title and surname used by erstwhile nobility of India * Thakar (tribe), an Adivasi tribe of Maharashtra, India * Thakur village, a residential locality in Mumbai, India * Thakur Anoop Singh (born 198 ...

clan and the

Amarkot Jagir Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and ...

, was one of the founder members of

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP) and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Umarkot, seven times with PPP between 1977 and 1999, when he founded the Pakistan Hindu Party (PHP). Currently, his politician son

Rana Hamir Singh Rana Hamir Singh is the 26th Rana of Amarkot and a Pakistani politician who has been member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh.Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histor ...

of Tharparkar, Umarkot and Mithi.Footprints: Once upon a time in Umerkot

Dawn (newspaper) ''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English language, English-language newspaper that was launched in British Raj, British India in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and also serves as the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the ...

, 16 January 2015.Pakistan's Umerkot gets a new Hindu ruler
The Hindu, 30 May 2010.

Points of interest

The city is well connected with the other large cities like

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

, the provincial capital and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. Umarkot has many sites of historical significance such as Akbar's birthplace,

Umarkot Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and ...

, Umerkot Fort and Momal Ji Mari. There is an ancient temple,

Shiv Mandir, Umerkot Umarkot Shiv Mandir (), also known as Amarkot Shiv Mandir, is a Hindu temple situated in Umerkot District, near Rana Jaageer Goth, in Sindh Province of Pakistan. This temple is perhaps the oldest in Sindh. The temple is one of the most sacred ...

, as well as a Kali Mata Temple, Krishna Mandir at old Amarkot and Manhar Mandir Kathwari Mandir at Rancho Line.

Folklore

The story of Umar Marvi is that Marvi was a young Thari girl belongs to a village near Umerkot called

Bhalwa The Greater Noakhali region predominantly includes the districts of Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur in Bangladesh, though it has historically also included Bhola, Mirsarai, Sandwip and some southern parts of Tripura in India and southern Comilla ...

she was abducted by then-ruler, Umar, who wanted to marry her because of her beauty. Upon her refusal, she was imprisoned in the historic Umerkot Fort for several years. Because of her courage, Marvi is regarded as a symbol of love for one's soil and homeland.

Education

The city has more than 100 schools, 20 colleges, and one polytechnic college.

Religions

The Umarkot Shiv Mandir is one of the most ancient and sacred Hindu temples in

Gallery

Umarkot Fort view3.JPG, Umerkot Fort Umarkot museum view.JPG, Umerkot Museum

Notes

References

External links

District government Umerkot official website (English version)
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Hinduism in Sindh