Ranikot Fort is the world’s main and biggest fort with a circumference of about 29 km or 18 miles. Since 1993, it has been on the list of unsure UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Location:
It is situated in the Kirthar Range, about 30 km southwest of Sann, in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is approximately 90 km north of Hyderabad. Fort Ranikot is located in Lakki Mountains of the Kirthar choice on the right side of the mighty River Indus at a distance of about 30 kilometers from the present day town of Sann. A mountainous ridge, Karo Takkar(Black Hill), running north to south, forms its western boundary and the ‘Lundi Hills’ forms its eastern boundary. Mohan Nai, a rain-stream enters the fort from its rarely used western ‘Mohan Gate’, where it is guarded by a small fortification, changes its name to ‘Reni’ or ‘Rani Nai’ or rain-stream and gives the fort its name. Ranikot is thus the ‘fort of a rain stream’ – Rani. It runs through it, tumbles in a string of turquoise pools to irrigate fields and leaves the fort from its most used ‘Sann Gate’ on the eastern side. It then movements about 33 kilometers more to enter the Lion River – Indus.
Structure:
Most of the twenty kilometers long wall is made of natural cliffs and barricades of mountainous rocks which at places rise as high as two thousand feet above sea level! Only about 8.25 km portions of its wall are man-made, built with yellow sandstone. This was first measured on foot by Badar Abro along with local direct Sadiq Gabol. As one enters the fort, one can find hills, valleys, streams, ditches, ponds, pools, fossils, building structure, bastions, watchtowers, ammunition depots, fortresses – all inside Ranikot, adding more to its beauty and mystery. A spring budding from an underground water source near the Mohan Gate is named as ‘Parryen jo Tarr’ (the spring of fairies).
According to a saga told by the local inhabitants, fairies come from far and wide on the Ponam Nights (full moon) to take bath at this spring near ‘Karo Jabal’! Splashing sounds of water falling on the rocks can be heard at another spring, Waggun jo Tarr or “the Crocodile Spring”, named so as crocodiles once lived there.
Bridge:
Within Ranikot, there are two more fortresses – Meeri and Shergarh, both have 5 bastions each. Meerikot takes its name from the word ‘Mir’ meaning top (for instance the peak of a hill, chief of any Baloch tribe, etc.). Both the main Ranikot and the inner Meerikot have similar entrances – bowed, angulated with a safe tortuous path. “The bridge in front of Ranikot resembles to a smaller bridge in front of a fortress in Verona, Italy” writes Ishtiaq Ansari, the writer of ‘Sindh ja koat aaein qillaa’ (Forts and Fortresses of Sindh) and a affiliate of Sindh Exploration and Adventure Society. From the military point of view, Meerikot is located at a very safe and central place in the very heart of the Ranikot with inhabited arrangements including a water-well.
Beside the Mohan Gate and the Sann Gate, there are two more gates, rather pseudo gates. One is towards the side of ancient town of Amri. This ‘gate’ is called the ‘Amri Gate’. Certainly it takes its name from the prehistoric ruins of Amri, but it must have taken this name much later than the times of Amri as the fort itself doesn’t appears to be as old as the Amri itself. In statement there is a bridge over rain stream ‘Toming Dhoro’ exiting from the fort called ‘Budhi Mori’. The breach in fort wall due to the river stream has been referred as a gate. Similarly, the Shahpir Gate to the south also appears to be a pseudo gate taking its name from a limestone rock with a rough shape of foot imprinted on it. The sacred footprint supposedly belongs to Hazrat Ali or some other religious personality and is venerated by locals. It seems to be a later breach in the fort wall instead of a formal gate because one can’t find any defender or watchtower or their remains at the site, needed to guard any proper entrance or exit points.
Mosque:
A mosque found in the fort appears to be a later alteration of a watch tower or a later construction. Scattered animal skeletons and prehistoric fossils can be found on the top of Lundi Hills. One of the three graveyards has about four hundred graves made of Chowkundi like sandstone with engraved motifs of sunflowers and peacocks. Whether we can call them as thermophilic and phytomorphic motifs is an open question. Another one appears to be a graveyard of Arabs. The third one, about a mile away from the Sann Gate, had sixteen or seventeen graves earlier but now there are only four graves. The local inhabitants call it the Roman’s graveyard.
HISTORY:
Who constructed it first and why? Is an riddle yet to be resolved by researchers. Some archaeologists attribute it to Arabs, possibly built by a Persian decent under the Abbasids by Imran Bin Musa Barmaki who was the Governor of Sindh in 836 CE. Others have not compulsory a much earlier period of construction attributing to at times the Sassanians Persians and at times to the Greeks. Despite the fact that a prehistoric site of Amri is nearby, there is no trace of any old city within the fort and the there structure has little evidence of prehistoric origins.
Archaeologists point to 17th century CE as its time of first construction but now Sindh archaeologists agree that some of the present structure was reconstructed by Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur and his brother Mir Murad Ali in 1812 CE at a cost of 1.2 million rupees (Sind Gazetteer, 677).
Talismanic Wonder:
Ranikot is the most talismanic wonder of Sindh. Visible from five kilometers away its massive undulating walls twist and dip over the hills. With the circumference of more than twenty nine kilometers, its walls, built with dressed sandstone and reinforced with 45 bastions along the outer wall, of which 7 are rectangular and the remaining are round. All modified through the ages to accommodate the use of gunpowder, this perhaps makes it the largest fort in the world. Who constructed it first and why? Is an enigma yet to be resolved by researchers. Some historians attribute it to Arabs, built by Imran Bin Musa Barmaki, the Governor of Sindh in 836 A.D., some to Sassanians, and some to the Greeks or Romans and some to the Persians, and some even to the Great Wall of China! Though the prehistoric site of Amri (Aamri) is nearby, and fossils and animal skeletons are found inside the fort on the Lundi Hills, there is no trace of any old city inside the fort. The present structure doesn't appear to be 'prehistoric'. Some historians point to 17th century AD as its time of first construction but most agree that some of the present structure was constructed or reconstructed by Mir Karam Ali Khan Talpur and his brother Mir Murad Ali in 1812 AD at a cost of 1.2 million rupees (Sind Gazetteer, 677).
About thirty miles south-west of the city of Lahore, the capital of the Punjab, and on the borders of the civil districts of Gujranwala and Faisalabad (formerly called Lyallpur), stands the town of Nankana Sahib. In the 15th century, this town was called Talwandi and was surrounded by a deep and lonely Bar or raised forest tract in the centre of the Punjab (or Panjab as it was called then). The town is now girdled by a broad expanse of agriculture and vegetation, which, wears through all seasons a cheerful appearance. The jal (Salvadora Persica) predominates, except there are also found the phulahi (Acacia modest a) and the jand (Prosopis spicigera). The wild deer though not seen any longer were seen irregularly to come out startled at the travellers who uneasy the solitude of its domain, and the hare and the partridges used to cower cautiously among the thickets, deprecating molestation.
History:
Talwandi is said to have been originally built by a Hindu king called Raja Vairat. It was sacked and shattered by fire and crowbar. The Punjab was parceled out to Muslim warrior chiefs in switch over for peace by the sovereigns of Delhi (Delhi Sultanate). One of these chiefs was Rai Bhoi Bhatti, a Muslim of the Bhatti Rajput tribe. Rai Bhoi along with his son salvaged Talwandi and restored it and built a fort on the summit of the tumulus, in which he lived the secure and happy ruler of his estate with quite a lot of thousand acres of educated land, and a boundless wilderness. Nankana was subsequently known then as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi (or Rai Bhoi's Talwandi). After Rai Bhoi's death, his heritage descended to his only son Rai Bular Bhatti , who governed the land and town at the birth and for the duration of the youth of Nanak.
During Rai Bular's rule, Talwandi did not share the tumults and excitement of the outer political world. Rai Bular was a 'gentle giant', immense in stature, but quiet and private. Talwandi became a reflection of his individuality. It was a quiet place for the training of a prophet or religious teacher who was to lead his countrymen to the sacred path of truth, and disenthrall their minds from the superstitions of ages. In this retreat was born Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh belief. His birth took place on the third day of the light half of the month of Baisakh (April–May) in the year 1526 of the Vikramaditya period, corresponding to A.D. 1469.
Holy places:
Nankana Sahib being most sacred Sikh place; the position of the birth of the Sikh initiator, Guru Nanak is one of the fastest growing towns in Punjab, Pakistan. It is a fashionable place for Sikhs from all over the world. At the time of Guru Nanak's birth the town was called Rai Bhoe's Talwandi and was also referred to as Raipur. Rai Bular Bhatti was the ruler of this part and Baba Nanak's father was Rai Bular's worker. The discover qualities of Baba Nanak were first exposed by his sister Nanaki and Rai Bular Bhatti . Rai Bular gifted approx. 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land all around the city of Talwandi to Guru Nanak and the town began to be called Nankana Sahib. The town currently has nine gurdwaras as one with the Gurdwara Janam Asthan which marks the birth place of Guru Nanak Dev. Each of the gurdwaras is related with important events in Guru Nanak's life. Annually, just about 30,000 Sikh pilgrims visit the town, with about 15,000 gathering during the peak season around the birthday celebrations of Guru Nanak.
In 2006 a bus service between the Sikh consecrated city of Amritsar in India and Nankana Sahib was inaugurated by Manmohan Singh, India's Prime Minister, who himself is a Sikh.
Historical Background:
The Sikh trust was founded by Guru Nanak in the fifteenth century and his divine torch was carried on by nine gurus who followed in sequence. The concepts of Sangat, Pangat, Dharamshala (an early word for Gurdwara) and Kirtan took firm roots during this period and became important constituents of Sikhism. Congregations in Gurdwaras had played crucial roles in the religious and social affairs of the early Sikhs.
Later, they assumed wider dimensions by transforming into a religion-political organisation. The peaceful and non-political budding Sikh brotherhood was misshapen into a proud and fiercely martial nation through the baptismal.
process of Amrit-pan. After a long and continuous resistance of several decades against the tyrannies of Mughal rule, the brave Sikhs finally emerged victorious and succeeded in carving out 12 Khalsa principalities in Punjab which soon led to the creation of a unified Khalsa kingdom with Ranjit Singh at the helm.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh reconstruct the Gurdwaras prior destroyed by the Moghuls and also raised many new ones at the sacred places related with the Sikh Gurus. For the sustenance of the Mahants, Maharaja Ranjit Singh had friendly handsome landed properties too many of these Gurdwaras. The earlier Mahants were devoted Sikhs and true missionaries who did a lot for the spread of Sikhism. As the times rolled by, the Gurdwara incomes swelled enormously and the enormous money corrupted and degenerated the later-time Mahants into slack lived folks. They started treating the Gurdwara properties as if they were their personal fiefs. This changed the things for the Sikh Panth.
Dissolute Activities with in Nankana:
Gurdwara Nankana Sahib was managed by Mahant Narayan Das in the in the early hours 20th century. This Gurdwara had a huge property of over 19000 acres of highly fertile land fond of to it which yielded enormous income per year. Money-power made the Mahant corrupt and him in full swing using the Gurdwara's money for wrongful deeds. The Mahant was a very desolate and wicked person who also used Gurdwara premises for immoral and highly objectionable activities. He had kept a Muslim girl as his mistress and all kinds of possible debauchery were committed within the Gurdwara premises. Dance girls were brought to the Gurdwara and dances were held and obscene songs were sung within the holy property. In 1917, he arranged a dance-show by a prostitute near the holy Gurdwara. In 1918, a retired A.A.C. officer paid a visit to the Gurdwara with his 13 years old daughter to offer prayers to the Guru. As the Rehraas was being read in the Gurdwara, a Pujari rogue was raping the minor girl in another room within the Gurdwara premises. When the father lodged a complaint with the Mahant to take action against the Pujari rogue, the Mahant simply ignored his request. In the same year, six young female devotees from Jaranwal village (Lyallpur) visited the Gurdawara on Puranmashi (full Moon) to pay their offerings at Gurdwara and they too were similarly raped.
Sikhs Nation Awakens:
All this went on before the very eyes of the Sikhs which had sent surprise waves across Punjab. The issue was effectively raised in the The Akali (Punjabi), in print from Lahore by Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri (q.v.), a true patriot and the founder-father of the Akali Movement and Shiromani Akali Dal . Lyallpuri belonged to Bohoru village close to Nankana Sahib and he personally preached against the shamelessness of the Mahant in the nearby villages and also continued to organise the Sikhs for a dynamic movement to bring reforms into the Gurdwaras.
In October 1920, a worshipper was held at Dharowal in Sheikhupura for reform in Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. The misdeeds committed within Gurdwara by Mahant were made known to the Sangat. On January 24, Shiromani Committee held a general meeting and took decision to hold a Dewan in Nankana Sahib on March 4, 5 and 6 and advise Mahant to mend his ways.
Mahant's Feedback:
Mahant was a very shrewd and sneaky person. He tried to play politics. Publicly, he wanted to leave the thought that he was very peace-loving person and anxious to settle the issues with the Panth. On February 14, Mahant held a surreptitious meeting with his associates to chalk out a secret plan to kill the Sikh leaders on March 5 at Nankana Sahib. Mahant recruited 400 hooligans including fierce Pathans paid at twenty Indian rupees per month to oppose the Sikhs. With government's help, Mahant also collected guns, pistols and other arms and bullets. He also arranged and stored fourteen tins of paraffin and further got the Gurdwara gate strengthened and the holes made in it so that he could use them for firing bullets at the Sikhs.
Mahant Narayan Das had the full help from the Mahants of other Gurdwaras in Punjab. The Bedi Jagirdars who had homeward bound Jagirs from the English Government by virtue of their past connections with Guru Nanak also supported the Mahant. Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia also maintained double standards. But Maharaja of Patiala flatly refused to back Mahant and offered him a healthy advice not to rebel against the Panth. He further advised the Mahant to create a committee of prominent Sikhs and hand over the Gurdwara charge to them. But Mahant uncared for the well-intentioned advice of Patiala Royal house. The Shiromani Committee extended request to Mahant for talks at Gurdwara Khara Sauda to resolve the issue but he did not show up at the given time. Then he offered to hold talks with the Sikh leaders in Sheikhupura on February 15, 1921, but again he disastrous to show up. Third time he promised to meet the Shiromani Committee leaders at the dwelling of Sardar Amar Singh Lyall Gazette on February 16, but once again he failed to turn up.
Nankana Sahib Bloodbath:
The Nankana Sahib Massacre refers to the grim affair during the Gurdwara Reform Movement/Akali Movement in which a peaceful batch of reformist Sikhs were subjected to a murderous assault on 20 February 1921 in the holy shrine at Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
In October 1920, a congregation was held at Dharowal, area Sheikhupura to inform the sangat of the misdeeds being dedicated inside Gurdwara Nankana Sahib. This shrine along with six others in the town had been under the control of Udasi priests ever since the time the Sikhs were driven by Mughal oppression to seek safety in remote hills and deserts. The priests not only treated the Gurdwaras as their secret properties but had also introduced practices and ceremonial which had no sanction in Sikhism.
At the meeting, it was commonly resolved that the Mahant be asked to mend his ways. When Mahant Narian Dass was asked upon to do so, he in full swing making preparations to oppose the Panth instead. He did not feel it necessary to pay heed to the suggestions of the Committee. He was the owner of the estate attached to the Gurdwara with an income of one hundred thousand rupees besides the offerings of the Gurdwara.
Almost at the same time a Sikh shrine, Gurdwara Babe di Ber, at Sialkot, was free-thinking from priestly control and taken over by the Sikhs on 5 October 1920, which marked the beginning of the Gurdwara Reform movement. Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht were occupied on 13 October 1920.
Narain Das, with the help of the Government started recruiting a private army and laying in arms. The Government was using every available weapon to make Akali movement of Gurdwara reform, a failure. Narain Das got the Gurdwara gate strengthened and got holes made in it so that bullets could be fired through them.
In the meeting of Parbhandak Committee on 17 February 1921, it was decided that two jathas one led by Bhai Lachhman Singh and the other by Bhai Kartar Singh Virk (alias Jhabbar) should meet at Chander Kot on 19 February. From there they were to reach Nankana Sahib early in the morning of 20th February, to talk to the Mahant, Narain Das. Upon seeing the preparation of the Mahant, the Parbhandak Committee held a meeting on 19th February, in which it was, set on that the jathas should not be taken to Nankana Sahib on the 20th February. Bhai Kartar Singh Jhabbar was present in the meeting. He was informed about the changes and was told to inform Bhai Lachhman Singh. Bhai Kartar Singh Jhabbar immediately dispatched Bhai Waryam Singh to Chander Kot so that other jatha could be stopped.
Bhai Lachchman Singh, in accordance with the original programme had reached Chander Kot on the night of 19th February with his jatha of 150 Singhs and waited for Bhai Kartar Singh Jhabbar and his jatha.
Bhai Waryama Singh arrived with news not to lead the jatha to the Gurdwara; Bhai Lachchman Singh said to the Singhs of his jatha, “When we have started for a good cause, we should not waste time.” All members of the jatha agreed. Bhai Lachhman Singh got a undertake from the Singh’s not to strike and stay put peaceful no matter what. After that the jatha prayed for their success of their noble resolve. After the prayer, as the jatha was about to move forward, Bhai Waryam Singh arrived. He showed them the letter about the new judgment of the Committee. Bhai Tehal Singh Said, “Dear Khalsa, we have taken our resolve at the prayer (Ardaas) and cannot turn back now. It is imperitive for us to move forward.” The jatha as a whole moved forward following Bhai Tehal Singh.
Thus on the morning of 20 February 1921, the jatha of 150 Sikhs lead by Bhai Lachhman Singh entered the sacred precincts. The Mahant had got the news of their arrival at Chander Kot on the evening of 19th February. He had gathered his men at night and briefed them about their duties.
After the jatha of Singh’s had sat down, the Mahant signalled his men to carry out the prearranged plan. The Sikhs were chanting the sacred hymns when the attack started. Bullets were mercilessly rained on them from the roof of an adjoining building. Bhai Lachhman Singh was struck down sitting in attendance of the Guru Granth Sahib. Twenty-six Singhs became martyrs to those bullets in the courtyard while another sixty or so sitting inside the Darbar Sahib became targets of bullets. When the Mahant’s men saw no one moving, they came down with swords and choppers. Any Singh they found breathing was cut to pieces.
Outside the main gate, Narain Das, pistol in hand and his face quiet up, pranced up and down on horseback directing the operations and all the time shouting, “Let not a single long-haired Sikh go out alive.” Bhai Dalip Singh, a much-respected Sikh who was well known to him, came to intercede with him to stop the bloody carnage. But he killed him on the spot with a shot from his pistol. Six other Sikhs coming from outside were butchered and thrown into a potter’s kiln. Firewood and kerosene oil were brought out and a fire lighted. All the dead and injured were piled up on it to be consumed by the flames. The body of one a live Singh said to be Bhai Lachhman Singh was fastened to a tree near by and burnt alive. The total number of Sikhs killed has been variously estimated between 82 and 156.
As news reached back to Panjab, 20 pathans had been arrested, the Gurdwara had been locked and the city was handed over to Army which cordoned it to restrict any Akali movement to take over Gurdwara. Sardar Kartar Singh Jhabbar arrived with his jatha on 21st February. Commissioner, Mr. King, informed him that if he tried to enter city with his jatha army will open fire. Kartar Singh Jhabbar and his jatha of twenty two hundred Singhs did not listen to the Commissioner and kept on moving towards city. At end, Commissioner Mr. Curry handed over the keys of Gurdwara to Bhai Kartar Singh Jhabbar.
On the 22nd/23rd February, the bodies were cremated according to Sikh tradition. Charred, mutilated bodies were collected and torn limbs and pieces of flesh picked from wherever they lay in the blood stained chambers. A huge memorial service pyre was erected. Bhai Jodh Singh, in a calculated oration, advised the Sikhs to remain cool and patient and endure the catastrophe with the fortitude with which their ancestors had faced similar situations. The Sikhs, he said, had cleansed by their blood the holy precincts so long exposed to the impious influence of a corrupt regime.
An urdu newspaper called ‘Zamindara’ wrote in its editorial of 23 February 1921, “what more proof of shamelessness of muslims is required than that they have helped the Mahant. O, Shameless Muslims, isn’t the cup of your shamelessness and impudence full as yet? You used your guns and swords against those who went to Nankana Sahib to perform religious duties. You are not fit to be called Muslims. You are worse than infidels.”
Mahant, 20 Pathans and other of his group were sentenced by British. Only Mahant and couple of Pathans got death decree for this crime of more than 50 murders. (The High Court delivering on 3 March 1922, its judgement on Narain Das’s appeal, reduced his sentence to life imprisonment.)
News of the Nankana Sahib carnage shocked the country. Sir Edward Maclagan, Governor of the Punjab, visited the site on 22nd February. Mahatma Gandhi, along with Muslim leaders Shaukat ‘Ali and Muhammad ‘Ali, came on 3rd March. Princess Bamba Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, came accompanied by Sir Jogendra Singh, to offer her homage to the memory of the martyrs.
Bhambore, is the name of the city tinkles the renowned love tale of Sassi and Punnu. The passage of time has left the city in ruin but the everlasting love of Sassi and Punnu has recorded its name in all historical travel permit of the subcontinent.
Location:
Sindhi is the ruins of the ancient port city of Debal from the 7th century, located near modern Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, at the base of the Indus River. The ruins are located in the region of 60 km between Dhabeji and Gharo on the N-5 National Highway. Its population was mainly Hindu with a Buddhist minority. It is largely known for the ruins of a castle destroyed by Muhammad bin Qasim during the invasion of Sindh and—on a different note—the legendary love story of Sassi Punnu.
Bhambore signifies the trading links between Arab and South Asian nations of its times. The new city of Bhambore came into being because pirates had kidnapped a ship. A plea was filed with the Arab rulers in Baghdad (then a major economic and military power) to rescue the people from the kidnapped ship. When diplomacy failed to release those people, an expedition was sent to the area under the command of Muhammad bin Qasim . With better-quality military might and planning he was able to make an amphibious landing and establish his presence here. One of the reasons cited for the success of this trip is the sorrow of the Buddhist population; it is believed they may have helped the coming invaders.
Bhambore was later abandoned due to a change in the river's course. Substantiation of earthquakes and regional invaders is also cited as an explanation for the population's movement away from the area and the crumbling of the castle. The former river delta is now a creek.
History:
The old name of Bhambore was Deibal. It is whispered to have been built by Alexander the Great in 325 BC. However, no bona fide record of the early history of Deibal is found anywhere. The only reliable sources of its history are the ruins of the city. Experts divide the history of Deibal into three periods i.e., the Scytho-Parithan Period (starting from the 1st century BC), the Hindu-Buddhist Period and the Muslim Era (ending in the 13th century AD).
The Scytho-Parithan Period coincides with the fall of Greeks and rise of Buddhism and Gandhara Civilization in ancient Taxila. The Scythians and Parthian were intruders from the west. They defeated the Greeks but could not retain their dominance for a long time. They captured Taxila and settled in many places like Bhambore. The antiquities, especially pottery, of this period show great influence of the Greek civilization. The Scytho-Parithan Period was followed by the Hindu-Buddhist Period. Bhambore became an important center of religious activities in this era. The remains of Shiva Temple suggest that Bhambore was once an important middle of Hindu civilization in Sindh. However, the city remained aloof from main political and enlightening stream until 712 A.D.
This was the time when India was indulged in gloom and unawareness. There existed political and social bedlam in the country. The mighty state of King Ashoka had broken into fragments. India was divided in small states of Kashmir, Kanuj, Asam, Nepal, Sindh, Bengal and Malwa in south, Chalukyas, Cholas and Pallavas in north and many ship states. Deibal was one of them. It was ruled by Raja Dahir.
Once it so happened that a band of sea pirates plundered a fleet of ships passing through the Indian Ocean. They captured many Muslim women as well. The ships were transport some Arab families from Ceylon to Iraq. The news reached Hajjaj bin Yousaf, the governor of Baghdad. He asked Raja Dahir to release the prisoners and castigate the pirates. Dahir showed ignorance of the incident and refused to take any action. In fact, he used to support the pirates and rebel tribes. They created disturbance in Muslim occupied areas of Makran and found refuge in Sindh. Raja even paid them for looting trade caravans and innocent citizens. Dahir's reply aroused the anger of Hajjaj. He sent Ubaidullah and then flower ail to get back the Muslim prisoners from Dahir but these expeditions failed when they had to face armed forces. Hajjaj now decided to launch a full fledge military expedition. He sent Muhammad bin Qasim along with 6000 cavalrymen, 6000 camel riders, 3000 camels loaded with baggage and five catapults.
Muhammad bin Qasim reached Makran in the spring of 712 A.D. Haroon, the governor of Makran provided him a badge of fresh soldiers. Some Jets and Meds also joined the army due to their discontentment with the Hindu rulers. Daibul was the target. The Muslim army dug trenches round the fort of Daibul and fixed their catapults. The siege continued for three days without any response from the Hindu army. A local man advised Muhammad din Qasim to pull down the red flag of the fort. Qasim used Al-Uroos, the best catapult of his armaments, to knock down the flag. The Hindus took it for a bad omen and immediately surrendered. Raja Dahir lost his life. His wife, Rani Bai, performed ritual suicide by throwing herself into fire. The Muslims passed victoriously through the city and captured the whole Sindh. Sindh became the gateway of Islam (Bab-e-Islam). Thus, Bhambore can exactly be called the birthplace of Islam in the sub-continent.
This was the beginning of the new period. The Muslims were admirable generals and rulers as well. They established a new society based on the principles of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. A large number of Hindus embraced Islam. The Arabs extended their rule over large parts of Sindh. Bhambore was given to local chiefs. However, the Muslim rule did not last long after the death of Muhammad bin Qasim. Somehow, the Muslim rule in Bhambore continued during the days of Umayyad and Abbasid line. The city disappeared in 13th century due to some indefinite reasons.
Historical Sites:
Bhambore remained unknown for a long time until General Cunningham excavated its remains for the first time in 1910s. Henry Cousins and then N. G. Majumdar from the Archaeological Survey of (British) India continued his work. However, they did not find it worthwhile to explore the site. After independence, Leslie Ad cock of the Pakistan Department of Archaeology worked for a succinct time on limited excavations. He too abandoned his work very soon. Consistent work started in 1958 for the next eight years. These excavations brought a wealth of knowledge abut the broke city.
Stature:
The present site of the town consists of a bastion. It is 610 meters in length and 365 meters in breadth. Once, the town was classified within the boundaries of the citadel. However, the growth of population caused the town to expand north and eastwards outside the citadel. The deep trenches laid inside the citadel reveal three different periods of history i.e. the Scytho-Parithan, Hindu-Buddhist and the Muslim Period. The earliest period appears in the pieces of pottery recovered from the position. These pieces are exact imitation of Greek pottery. The second period is reflected in ruined temples. The most chief of them is Shiva Temple, which is made of mud-bricks. Traces of Muslim Period can be seen on stone sculptures, ceramic works, terra cotta specimens and inscriptions in proto-Nagri style.
Once, the town had a self-protective wall made of boulders and blocks of limestone. It was supported by circular bastions at regular intervals. There were many gateways in the wall as well. One of them opened at the waterside. Remains of an waterfront and broad steps point out the city being a port in past. Inside the citadel, there are remains of a mosque. This was, undoubtedly, the first mosque of the subcontinent. The features of the mosque resemble the Jamia' Mosque of Kufa built in 670 A.D.
Others antiquities improved from the site are shell and ivory objects, pendants in terra cotta and semi-precious stones, iron objects, pottery and Kufic inscription of the Muslim era. These matter clearly show that Bhambore was a modern city of its time. Human skeletons, rubble of buildings and layers of ashy charcoal and stones indicate some natural calamity or war that destroyed the city forever in the 13th century. Most in all probability, it was during the invasions of King Jalal Uddin Khawarizm Shah of Afghanistan that the city was demolished ceaselessly. Today, a little museum preserves coins, pottery and other objects recovered from the site.
Nothing can endure the way of time. The city has vanished but the never-ending lovers of Bhambore will always remind us of this land of love.
Legend of Sassi Punnu:
Sassi was the daughter of King Adam Khan of Bhambore. At her birth, the astrologers predicted that she was a curse for the noble family's prestige. The king ordered that the child be put in a wooden chest with a 'taweez' (amulet) tied on her neck and thrown into the river Chenab. The chest was seen buoyant by Atta, a poor washer man. The washer man believed that the child was a blessing from God and took her home and adopted her as his child. Many years passed by and the king did not have another child. He strong-willed to marry again. He had heard the tales of the beauty of Sassi so he summoned her to the palace.
Sassi was still exhausting the amulet, which the queen mother had put in the region of her neck. The king recognized his daughter immediately on seeing the amulet. The pent-up sufferings of the parents flowed into tears. They wanted their lost child to return to the palace and bring joy and brightness to their lives. However, Sassi refused and preferred to live in the house where she had grown up.
Sassi did not go to the fort but the king presented her with abundant gifts, lands and gardens where she could breed and blossom like a flower. As all the rare things of the world were within her reach, she wanted to acquire knowledge and sent for cultured teachers and scholars. She made sincere efforts to increase her knowledge. During this time, she heard about the trader from Gajni, who had a garden with a gravestone, the inner portion of which was enriched with exquisite paintings. When Sassi visited the place to offer her tributes and admire the rich art, she instantly fell in love with a painting, which was a masterpiece of heavenly creation. This was the portrait of Prince Punnu, the son of King Ali Hoot of Kech.
Pir (Saint) Lal Shahbaaz Qalandar was born as Syed Muhammad Usman in 1177 Marwand, Iran. His Father Syed Ibrahim Kabiruudin was a dervish and his mother had a royal lineage. From a very young age boy Usman showed a deep religious inclination. He became a Hafiz (One who has memorized The Holy Koran) by age of seven. He got himself initiated into Qalandria sect of Sufism. ‘Qalandar’ are Sufi who live in indigence and are peripatetic. As a Qalandar he roamed throughout Middle East and came to Sindh.
He befriends three other Sufi saints and henceforth the quartet is known as ‘Chaar Yaar’ (four friends). They became the pioneers of 13th century Sufi association. The other three friends were Baba Farid Shakar Ganj of Pakpattan [1174-1266] (popularly known as Baba Farid); Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch- Bahawalpur[1196-1294]andBahauddin Zakaria of Multan [1170-1267].
He reached Sehwanthe settle of learning and customs in Sindh. Sehwan is one of the oldest cities in Sindh. During the reign of Guptas, Sehwan was the capital of a Buddhist ruler who was brother of Chandragupta II (also Known as Vikrmaditya), the third of the Gupta dynasty in the 4th century AD.
As per the legends, the fakirs in Sehwan sent him a bowl of milk filled to the brim indicating that there was no room for anything more. But surprisingly, he returned the bowl with a beautiful flower buoyant on the top. This legend spread far and wide by the time of his death in 1274, after living a good span for 97 years. In Sehwan he lived at the outskirt of city inside a tree trunk for 6 years. He spread his teachings and preached religious tolerance between Hindus and Muslims.
What is the meaning of world Lal?
He was called ‘Lal’ (red) because of his red attire, ‘Shahbaaz’ due to his gracious and divine spirit that soared like a falcon higher and higher in the limitless heavens. Also it is said that he saved his friend Farid Shakar Ganj from the gallows by becoming a falcon. ‘Qalandar’ since he belongs to Qalandria order of Sufism and was saintly, exalted and intoxicated with love for eternal being of God.
The Hindus regarded him as the incarnation of Bhartihari, the saintly brother of King Vikramaditya (Whether this Vikrmaditya was same as Chandragupta II, I am not clear), who is believed to have worshipped Shiva at the venue where Lal Shahbaz's shrine is to be found with.
Location:
The town of Sehwan is 300 Kilometres’ about five hours drive from Karachi on Indus Highway, which forks right of Super Highway just before Hyderabad at Jamshoro past University of Sindh. The city is known for its patron saint Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA) who lived here in 13th century AD. Now, his Mazar (tomb) stands there. It is beautiful and amazing, but it is new. Government of Pakistan pulled down the primeval tomb to build this new one. The main reason was space. The old tomb arrangement was too small for such a giant crowd.
It is possible that the name Sehwan originates from "Siwistan" or "Seevistan", the empire of Raja Dahir which even extended to Punjab under the name "Shivi".It was momentous enough during the 8th century to be conquered by Muhammad bin Qasim in 711 CE, and two centuries later by Mahmud of Ghazni. An abortive attempt was made by the Mughal sovereign Humayun to take into custody it on his way to Umarkot but it finally fell to his son Akbar.
Temple:
There is a temple nearby which belonged to a Hindu Raja and was naked recently. It provides a good outlook of the town from the top. Therefore, the places where Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA) stayed, prayed, performed miracles are all preserved to this day. Don't think that government of Pakistan has done whatever thing for them. It is the love of all people who cherish the recollections of great saint that endures and that has led to all this preservations.
Festivals:
Ashura 9 and 10 Moharram 1st Month of Islamic calendar (it varies according to moon sightings in Pakistan). The shia community mourn in the memory of the family of the Prophet Mohammad PBUH. The devotes torture their bodies to get a feel of the vast pain the family of the holy prophet had due to the cruelty of the Yazid (A Muslim wanting to be the Muslim political leader then).The major festival however is rather colourful and devoid of blood splitting. It is the Urs Sharif of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (RA), and like Moharram, the dates vary due to moon. Check out with PTDC information center when you are in Pakistan. And they will guide you.
Battle of Shewan:
The Battle of Shewan was a military appointment between Coalition forces and Taliban insurgents that took place on August 8, 2008, near the village of Shewan in Farah Province, Afghanistan
On the 8th of August 2008, two squads of U.S. Marines from Golf Company, 2d platoon, 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, one 81 mm mortar side, an unidentified element from 1st scouting Battalion, three squads of Afghan National Police led by Police Sergeant Major Hadji-Kadadoud, one U.S. Army PMT Advisor Sergeant First Class, and a DynCorp advisor, were ambushed by approximately 200-250 Taliban guerrilla fighters armed with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades(RPG), and 81 mm mortars. After fifteen hours of combat the Marines prevailed, driving the Taliban into the mountains.
Song:
O laal meri, pat rakhio bala jhoole laalan, Sindri da Sehvan da, sakhi Shabaaz kalandar, Dama dam mast kalandar, Ali dam dam de andar
(O red Robed,Jhulelal,The sire of Sehwan in Sindh,My friend Shahbaaz Qalandar,You are in my every breath,And every breath is as strong as Ali,Please have your benign protection on me.)
Chaar charaag tere baran hamesha, Panjwa mein baaran aayi bala jhoole laalan Sindri da Sehvan da, sakhi Shabaaz Qalandar, Dama dam mast Qalandar, Ali dam dam de andar (O sire of Sehwan in Sindh,Jhulelal,My friend Shahbaaz Qalandar,Your shrine is always lighted with four lamps, And here I come to light a fifth lampYou are in my every breath,And every breath is as strong as Ali,)
Sehwan sharif dian unchiya galiyan heth waghey daryao bala jhulelanSindri da sehvan da sakhi Shabaaz Qalandar, Dama dam mast QalandarAli dam dam de andar (O sire of Sehwan in Sindh,Jhulelal,friend Shahbaaz QalandarYour abode Shewan sharif has lofty roads,And river flows beneath itYou are in my every breath,And every breath is as strong as Ali)
The army is everywhere! Even out here, in this remote, lakeside picnic spot 125 kilometers north of Karachi, there’s no on the run them. In this case though, they have done something positive for the community. And it has nothing to do with power or politics. They have developed a new, cheerful, small resort, with four well furnished warm one-room cottages with attached modern bathrooms, and a large dinning hall cum TV lounge. The thatched roofs of these cottages blend seamlessly with the nearby fishermen’s village on Keenjhar Lake, and is a welcome adding up to the dilapidated, well designed but hopelessly managed Keenjhar Lake Recreational Complex (KLRC) which is under the supervision of Sindh Tourism Development Corporation. The army cottages are called Desert Hawks Resort, even if the name makes no reference to the huge body of water right under its feet.
History:
It was a great relief for the caged and isolated inhabitants of the mega-city of Karachi, where going out of town for a short overnight stay is an alien concept (unless, of course, you can afford to fly to Islamabad or Dubai).
Back then, when KLRC was inaugurated, it looked like a promising beginning of a chain of weekend resorts a couple of hours drive from Karachi. sMiserably, it degenerated into a derelict concrete structure with broken windowpanes and stray dogs. Part of the reason for the decay was the political unrest during the late 80s and early 90s, accompanied by rampant highway robberies and kidnappings throughout the Sindh province. The other part of the explanation is the typical management style with which government services are run.
The Desert Hawks Resort is more gifted and safe. With some self-sponsored security activities, the vast Keenjhar Lake, which is a valuable source of fresh water for Karachi, offers a truly peaceful and relaxing weekend sojourn away from busy Karachi. Efforts are being made to restore the lakeside ‘cabanas’, as they are called, and the restaurant building which is part of the complex. The banks of the lake have been reinforced, and motorboats, as well as colourful paddleboats have been introduced to make the place more lively and interesting.
During winter months the lake attracts several species of wandering birds. Although hunting is barred officially, it is quite common. I found the method of hunting rather cruel. Fast motorboats take the hunters profound into the lake, close to the mini islets around which flocks of birds assemble. Then as soon as the boats sneak near enough to the birds, pointed stones are hurled at them, which wound or kill some. The ‘casualties’ are then collected by the hunting party and brought to the shore. Some of these hunted birds are sold in the nearby Thatta village.
Location:
At an attitude of over 5,000 ft (5,866 ft to be exact), it is to be found in Dadu district, a few hours drive from Karachi. Benazir Bhutto took a helicopter ride to this cool plateau dotted with wild olive trees when she was prime minister, to invest the Gorakh Hills Development Plan. Typically, the event amounted to nothing more than copy on the Khabarnama for the politicians and the bureaucrats.
The Multan Fort was built on a detached, rather, high mound of earth separated from the city by the bed of an old branch of the river Ravi. There is no Fort now as it was destroyed by the British Garrison which was stationed there for a long time but the entire site is known as the Fort. The Fort site now looks as a part of the city because instead of the river it is now separated by a road which looks more like a bazaar and remains crowded throughout the day. Nobody knows when Multan Fort came into being but it was there and it was admired and desired by kings and emperors throughout centuries'.
It was considered as one of the best forts of the sub-continent from the defense as well as architectural points of view. When it was intact its circuit was 6,800 feet or, say, about one and a half mile. It had 46 bastions including two flanking towers at each of the four gates named as the De, the Sakhi. The Hareri and the Khizri Gate.
Khizri Gate:
The Khizri Gate was called so because it led directly to the river which was considered to be under the protection of the saint Khawaja Khizer. Description of the Multan Fort as recorded by John Dun top, who visited the city and the Fort on the eve of the British occupation in 1849 is reproduced below: "The Fort stands on the highest part of the mound on which the town is built it is an ancient formed by a hexagonal wall from forty to seventy feet high, the longest side of which faces the north-west and extends for 600 yards, and which isolates it from the town. A ditch twenty-five feet deep and forty feet wide is on the fort side of the wall, behind which is a glacis exhibiting a face of some eighteen feet high, and so thick as to present an almost impregnable rocky mound. Within the fort, and on a very considerable elevation, stands the citadel, in itself of very great strength. The walls are flanked by thirty towers, and enclose numerous houses, mosques, a Hindu temple of high antiquity, and a Khan's palace, the beauty of which was severely damaged by the battering it got from the guns of Ranjeet Singh in 1818. This fortification is said to be more regular in construction than any other laid down by native engineers. Mr. Vans Agnew-the unfortunate political agent whose murder, with that of his companion, Lieutenant Anderson, gave rise to the recent hostilities to the British Resident at Lahore, that he had seen many forts in India, but one that could compare with Multan the ramparts of which bristled with eighty pieces of ordnance”. A correspondent of Bombay Times, who also visited the Multan Fort around the same time recorded: "The Fortress was filled with stores to profusion. I think Multan is the beau ideal of a Buneca's Fort, or rather fortified shop: Never perhaps in India have such depots existed of merchandise and arms, amalgamated as they with avarice. Here opium, indigo, salt, sulfur, and every known drug, are heaped in endless profusion-there apparently ancient in the bowels of the earth disclose their huge hoards of wheat and rice; here stacks of leather ghee vessels, brimming with the grease, fill the puck a receptacles below ground. The silk and shawls reveal in darkness, bales rise on bales, here some mammoth chest discovering glittering scabbards of gold and gems-there reveals tiers of copper canisters crammed with gold Mohurs: My pen cannot describe the variety of wealth displayed to the inquisitive eyes". Once this was the position of the Multan Fort but during the British occupation everything was lost an finished forever. With the passage of time the British stronghold over India grew stronger and stronger.
History:
Multan Fort was built on a mound separating it form the city by the old bed of river Ravi. There is no Fort now as it was destroyed by the British Garrison which was stationed ,there for a long time, but the entire site is known as the Fort .The walls of the fort were built by Murad Baksh, the son of the Shah Jahan, when he was the viceroy of Multan in the early 17th, century. The Fort site now looks as a part of the city, because instead of the river it is now separated by a road which looks more like a bazaar and remains crowded throughout the day.
The Fort stands on the highest part of the mound on which the town is built, it is an ancient structure formed by a hexagonal wall from forty to seventy feet high, the longest side of which faces the north-west and extends for 600 yards, and which isolates it from the town. Within the fort, and on a very considerable elevation, stands the citadel, in itself of very great strength. The walls are flanked by thirty towers, and enclose numerous houses, mosques, a Hindu temple of high antiquity, and a khan’ s palace the beauty of which was severely damaged by the bettering it got from the guns of Ranjeet Sing in 1818.
Structure:
When intact, its circumference was 6,600 ft. having 46 bastions, including two towers at each of the four gates i.e., Delhi Gate, Khizri Gate, Sikhi Gate and Rehri Gate. The fort was ravaged by the British to avenge the murder of one Mr. Agnew in 1848. At present it is survived by some parts of the old rampart and bastions besides the shrines of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakaria and Shah Rukn-e-Alam, an obelisk in memory of Agnew and a Hindu temple.
