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Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province 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 by population after Punjab. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan to the west and north-west and Punjab to the north. It shares an International border with the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east; it is also bounded by the Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of flanking the Indus River, the Thar Desert in the eastern portion of the province along the international border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western portion of the province.
The economy of Sindh is the second largest in Pakistan after the province of Punjab; its provincial capital Karachi is the most populous city in the country as well as its main financial hub. Sindh is home to a large portion of Pakistan's industrial sector and contains two of the country's busiest commercial seaports: Port Qasim and the Port of Karachi. The remainder of Sindh consists of an agriculture-based economy and produces fruits, consumer items and vegetables for other parts of the country.
Sindh is sometimes referred to as the Bab-ul Islam (), as it was one of the first regions of the Indian subcontinent to fall under Islamic rule. The province is well known for its distinct culture, which is strongly influenced by Sufism, an important marker of Sindhi identity for both Hindus and Muslims. Sindh is prominent for its history during the Bronze Age under the Indus Valley civilization, and is home to two UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites: the Makli Necropolis and Mohenjo-daro.
Southworth suggests that the name Sindhu is in turn derived from Cintu, a Dravidian word for date palm, a tree commonly found in Sindh.Southworth, Franklin. The Reconstruction of Prehistoric South Asian Language Contact (1990) p. 228Burrow, T. Dravidian Etymology Dictionary p. 227
The previous Perso-Arabic spelling Sind (سند) was discontinued in 1988 by an amendment passed in the Sindh Assembly.
During the Bronze Age, the territory of Sindh was known as Sindhu-Sauvīra, covering the lower Indus River Valley, with its southern border being the Indian Ocean and its northern border being the Punjab around Multan. The capital of Sindhu-Sauvīra was named Roruka and Vītabhaya or Vītībhaya, and corresponds to the mediaeval Aror and the modern-day Rohri. The Achaemenids conquered the region and established the satrapy of Hindush. The territory may have corresponded to the area covering the lower and central Indus River basin (present day Sindh and the southern Punjab regions of Pakistan).M. A. Dandamaev. "A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire" p 147. BRILL, 1989 Alternatively, some authors consider that Hindush may have been located in the Punjab area." Hidus could be the areas of Sindh, or Taxila and West Punjab." in These areas remained under Persian control until the invasion by Alexander.Rafi U. Samad, The Grandeur of Gandhara: The Ancient Civilization of the Swat, Peshawar, Kabul and Indus Valleys. Algora Publishing, 2011, p. 33
Alexander conquered parts of Sindh after Punjab for few years and appointed his general Peithon as governor. He constructed a harbour at the city of Regio Patalis in Sindh. Chandragupta Maurya fought Alexander's successor in the east, Seleucus I Nicator, when the latter invaded. In a peace treaty, Seleucus ceded all territories west of the Indus River and offered a marriage, including a portion of Bactria, while Chandragupta granted Seleucus 500 elephants.
Following a century of Mauryan rule which ended by 180 BC, the region came under the Indo-Greeks, followed by the Indo-Scythians, who ruled with their capital at Minnagara. Later on, Sasanian Empire rulers from the reign of Shapur I claimed control of the Sindh area in their inscriptions, known as Hind.
The local Rai dynasty emerged from Sindh and reigned for a period of 144 years, concurrent with the Huna people invasions of North India. Aror was noted to be the capital. The Brahmin dynasty of Sindh succeeded the Rai dynasty.P. 505 The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians by Henry Miers Elliot, John DowsonNicholas F. Gier, FROM MONGOLS TO MUGHALS: RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDIA 9TH-18TH CENTURIES, presented at the Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting American Academy of Religion, Gonzaga University, May 2006 [4]. Retrieved 11 December 2006. Most of the information about its existence comes from the Chach Nama, a historical account of the Chach-Brahmin dynasty.P. 164 Notes on the religious, moral, and political state of India before the Mahomedan invasion, chiefly founded on the travels of the Chinese Buddhist priest Fai Han in India, AD 399, and on the commentaries of Messrs. Remusat, Klaproth and Burnouf, Lieutenant-Colonel W.H. Sykes by Sykes, Colonel; After the empire's fall in 712, though the empire had ended, its dynasty's members administered parts of Sindh under the Umayyad Caliphate's Caliphal province of Sind.
In 712, Mohammed Bin Qasim defeated the Brahmin dynasty and annexed it to the Umayyad Caliphate. This marked the beginning of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. The Habbari dynasty ruled much of Greater Sindh, as a semi-independent emirate from 854 to 1024. Beginning with the rule of 'Umar bin Abdul Aziz al-Habbari in 854, the region became semi-independent from the Abbasid Caliphate in 861, while continuing to nominally pledge allegiance to the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad.P. M. ( Nagendra Kumar Singh), Muslim Kingship in India, Anmol Publications, 1999, , pg 43-45.P. M. ( Derryl N. Maclean), Religion and society in Arab Sindh, Published by Brill, 1989, , pg 140-143. The Habbaris ruled Sindh until they were defeated by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi in 1026, who then went on to destroy the old Habbari capital of Mansura, and annex the region to the Ghaznavid, thereby ending Arab rule of Sindh.
The Soomra dynasty was a local Sindhi Muslim dynasty that ruled between early 11th century and the 14th century. Later chroniclers like Ali ibn al-Athir (c. late 12th c.) and Ibn Khaldun (c. late 14th c.) attributed the fall of Habbarids to Mahmud of Ghazni, lending credence to the argument of Hafif being the last Habbarid. The Soomras appear to have established themselves as a regional power in this power vacuum. The Ghurid dynasty and Ghaznavids continued to rule parts of Sindh, across the eleventh and early twelfth century, alongside Soomrus. The precise delineations are not yet known but Sommrus were probably centered in lower Sindh. Some of them were adherents of Isma'ilism. One of their kings Shimuddin Chamisar had submitted to Iltutmish, the Sultan of Delhi, and was allowed to continue on as a vassal.
The Sammas overthrew the Soomras soon after 1335 and established the Sindh Sultanate. The last Soomra ruler took shelter with the governor of Gujarat, under the protection of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the sultan of Delhi. Mohammad bin Tughlaq made an expedition against Sindh in 1351 and died at Sondha, possibly in an attempt to restore the Soomras. With this, the Sammas became independent. The next sultan, Firuz Shah Tughlaq attacked Sindh in 1365 and 1367, unsuccessfully, but with reinforcements from Delhi he later obtained Banbhiniyo's surrender. For a period the Sammas were therefore subject to Delhi again. Later, as the Sultanate of Delhi collapsed they became fully independent. Jam Unar was the founder of Samma dynasty mentioned by Ibn Battuta. The Samma civilization contributed significantly to the evolution of the Indo-Islamic architectural style. Thatta is famous for its necropolis, which covers 10 square km on the Makli Hill. Archnet.org: Thattah It has left its mark in Sindh with magnificent structures including the Makli Necropolis of its royals in Thatta.Population Census of Pakistan, 1972: Jacobabad They were later overthrown by the Turkic Arghun dynasty in the late 15th century.The Travels of Marco Polo - Complete (Mobi Classics) By Marco Polo, Rustichello of Pisa, Henry Yule (Translator)Bosworth, "New Islamic Dynasties," p. 329
The Talpur dynasty succeeded the Kalhoras and four branches of the dynasty were established. One ruled lower Sindh from the city of Hyderabad, another ruled over upper Sindh from the city of Khairpur, a third ruled around the eastern city of Mirpur Khas, and a fourth was based in Tando Muhammad Khan. They were ethnically Baloch people, and for most of their rule, they were subordinate to the Durrani Empire and were forced to pay tribute to them.
They ruled from 1783, until 1843, when they were in turn defeated by the British Raj at the Battle of Miani and Battle of Dubbo. The northern Khairpur branch of the Talpur dynasty, however, continued to maintain a degree of sovereignty during British rule as the princely state of Khairpur, whose ruler elected to join the new Dominion of Pakistan in October 1947 as an autonomous region, before being fully amalgamated into West Pakistan in 1955.
Later, desire for a separate administrative status for Sindh grew. At the annual session of the Indian National Congress in 1913, a Sindhi Hindu put forward the demand for Sindh's separation from the Bombay Presidency on the grounds of Sindh's unique cultural character. This reflected the desire of Sindh's predominantly Hindu commercial class to free itself from competing with the more powerful Bombay's business interests. Meanwhile, Sindhi politics was characterised in the 1920s by the growing importance of Karachi and the Khilafat Movement. A number of Sindhi pirs, descendants of Sufi saints who had proselytised in Sindh, joined the Khilafat Movement, which propagated the protection of the Ottoman Caliphate, and those pirs who did not join the movement found a decline in their following. The pirs generated huge support for the Khilafat cause in Sindh. Sindh came to be at the forefront of the Khilafat Movement.
Although Sindh had a cleaner record of communal harmony than other parts of India, the province's Muslim elite and emerging Muslim middle class demanded separation of Sindh from Bombay Presidency as a safeguard for their own interests. In this campaign, local Sindhi Muslims identified 'Hindu' with Bombay instead of Sindh. Sindhi Hindus were seen as representing the interests of Bombay instead of the majority of Sindhi Muslims. Sindhi Hindus, for the most part, opposed the separation of Sindh from Bombay. Although Sindh had a culture of religious syncretism, communal harmony and tolerance due to Sindh's strong Sufism culture in which both Sindhi Muslims and Sindhi Hindus partook,Priya Kumar & Rita Kothari (2016) Sindh, 1947 and Beyond, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 39:4, 775, both the Muslim landed elite, waderas, and the Hindu commercial elements, banias, collaborated in oppressing the predominantly Muslim peasantry of Sindh who were economically exploited. Sindhi Muslims eventually demanded the separation of Sindh from the Bombay Presidency, a move opposed by Sindhi Hindus.
In Sindh's first provincial election after its separation from Bombay in 1936, economic interests were an essential factor of politics informed by religious and cultural issues. Due to British policies, much land in Sindh was transferred from Muslim to Hindu hands over the decades. Religious tensions rose in Sindh over the Sukkur Manzilgah issue where Muslims and Hindus disputed over an abandoned mosque in proximity to an area sacred to Hindus. The Sindh Muslim League exploited the issue and agitated for the return of the mosque to Muslims. Consequentially, a thousand members of the Muslim League were imprisoned. Eventually, due to panic the government restored the mosque to Muslims. The separation of Sindh from Bombay Presidency triggered Sindhi Muslim nationalists to support the Pakistan Movement. Even while the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province were ruled by parties hostile to the Muslim League, Sindh remained loyal to Jinnah. Although the prominent Sindhi Muslim nationalist G. M. Syed left the All India Muslim League in the mid-1940s and his relationship with Jinnah never improved, the overwhelming majority of Sindhi Muslims supported the creation of Pakistan, seeing in it their deliverance. Sindhi support for the Pakistan Movement arose from the desire of the Sindhi Muslim business class to drive out their Hindu competitors. The Muslim League's rise to becoming the party with the strongest support in Sindh was in large part linked to its winning over of the religious pir families. Although the Muslim League had previously fared poorly in the 1937 elections in Sindh, when local Sindhi Muslim parties won more seats, the Muslim League's cultivation of support from local pirs in 1946 helped it gain a foothold in the province, it didn't take long for the overwhelming majority of Sindhi Muslims to campaign for the creation of Pakistan.
| +Demographic indicators | |
| Urban population | 53.97% |
| Rural population | 46.03% |
| Population growth rate | 2.57% |
| Gender ratio (male per 100 female) | 108.76 |
| Economically active population | 22.75% (old data) |
In 1941, the last census conducted prior to the partition of India, the total population of Sindh was 4,840,795 out of which 3,462,015 (71.5%) were Muslims, 1,279,530 (26.4%) were Hindus and the remaining were Tribals, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains, Jews, and Buddhists.Rahimdad Khan Molai Shedai; Janet ul Sindh; 3rd edition, 1993; Sindhi Adbi Board, Jamshoro; page no: 2.
Sindh also has Pakistan's highest percentage of Hindus overall, accounting for 8.8% of the population, roughly around 4.9 million people, and 13.3% of the province's rural population as per 2023 Pakistani census report. These numbers also include the scheduled caste population, which stands at 1.7% of the total in Sindh (or 3.1% in rural areas), and is believed to have been under-reported, with some community members instead counted under the main Hindu category. Although, Pakistan Hindu Council claimed that there are 6,842,526 Hindus living in Sindh Province covering around 14.29% of the region's population. Umerkot district in the Thar Desert is Pakistan's only Hindu-majority district. The Shri Ramapir Temple in Tandoallahyar whose annual festival is the second largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan is in Sindh. Sindh is also the only province in Pakistan to have a separate law for governing Hindu marriages.
2020 community estimates indicated the Sikh population in Sindh stood at approximately 10,000, while the 2023 census indicated a population of 5,182 Sikhs.
Karachi city is Sindh's most multiethnic city which hosts most of the province's Urdu-speaking population who form a plurality, along many other groups.
Sindh is divided into three main geographical regions: Siro ("upper country"), aka Upper Sindh, which is above Sehwan; Vicholo ("middle country"), or Middle Sindh, from Sehwan to Hyderabad; and Lāṟu ("sloping, descending country"), or Lower Sindh, mostly consisting of the Indus Delta below Hyderabad.
Mango, date palms and the more recently introduced banana, guava, orange and chiku are the typical fruit-bearing trees. The coastal strip and the creeks abound in semi-aquatic and aquatic plants and the inshore Indus delta islands have forests of Avicennia tomentosa (timmer) and Ceriops tagal (chaunir) trees. Water lilies grow in abundance in the numerous lakes and ponds, particularly in the lower Sindh region.
Crocodiles are rare and inhabit only the backwaters of the Indus, eastern Nara channel and Karachi backwater. Besides a large variety of marine fish, the plumbeous dolphin, the beaked dolphin, rorqual or blue whale and skates frequent the seas along the Sindh coast. The Pallo (Sable fish), a marine fish, ascends the Indus annually from February to April to spawn. The Indus river dolphin is among the most endangered species in Pakistan and is found in the part of the Indus river in northern Sindh. Hog deer and wild bear occur, particularly in the central inundation belt.
Although Sindh has a semi arid climate, through its coastal and riverine forests, its huge fresh water lakes and mountains and deserts, Sindh supports a large amount of varied wildlife. Due to the semi-arid climate of Sindh the left out forests support an average population of jackals and snakes. The national parks established by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with many organizations such as World Wide Fund for Nature and Sindh Wildlife Department support a huge variety of animals and birds. The Kirthar National Park in the Kirthar range spreads over more than 3000 km2 of desert, stunted tree forests and a lake. The KNP supports Sindh ibex, wild sheep (urial) and black bear along with the rare leopard. There are also occasional sightings of The Sindhi phekari, ped lynx or Caracal cat. There is a project to introduce and too in KNP near the huge Hub Dam Lake. Between July and November when the monsoon winds blow onshore from the ocean, giant olive ridley turtles lay their eggs along the seaward side. The turtles are protected species. After the mothers lay and leave them buried under the sands the SWD and WWF officials take the eggs and protect them until they are hatched to keep them from predators.
Sindh lies between the two —the southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean and the northeast or retreating monsoon, deflected towards it by the Himalayas—and escapes the influence of both. The region's scarcity of rainfall is compensated by the inundation of the Indus twice a year, caused by the spring and summer melting of Himalayan snow and by rainfall in the monsoon season.
Sindh is divided into three climatic regions: Siro (the upper region, centred on Jacobabad), Wicholo (the middle region, centred on Hyderabad), and Lar (the lower region, centred on Karachi). The thermal equator passes through upper Sindh, where the air is generally very dry. Central Sindh's temperatures are generally lower than those of upper Sindh but higher than those of lower Sindh. Dry hot days and cool nights are typical during the summer. Central Sindh's maximum temperature typically reaches . Lower Sindh has a damper and humid maritime climate affected by the southwestern winds in summer and northeastern winds in winter, with lower rainfall than Central Sindh. Lower Sindh's maximum temperature reaches about . In the Kirthar range at and higher at Gorakh Hill and other peaks in Dadu District, temperatures near freezing have been recorded and brief snowfall is received in the winters.
| 8 | Shikarpur | Shikarpur | ||
| 9 | Jacobabad | Jacobabad | ||
| 10 | Khairpur | Khairpur | ||
| Source: Pakistan Census 2017 | ||||
| This is a list of city proper populations and does not indicate metro populations. | ||||
In addition, Sindh's politics leans towards the left-wing and its political culture serves as a dominant place for the left-wing spectrum in the country. The province's trend towards the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and away from the Pakistan Muslim League (N) can be seen in nationwide general elections, in which Sindh is a stronghold of the PPP. The PML(N) has a limited support due to its centre-right agenda.
In metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Hyderabad, the MQM (another party of the left with the support of Muhajirs) has a considerable vote bank and support. Minor leftist parties such as the Awami Tehreek also found support in rural areas of the province.
In July 2011, following excessive violence in the city of Karachi and after the political split between the ruling PPP and the majority party in Sindh, the MQM and after the resignation of the MQM Governor of Sindh, PPP and the Government of Sindh decided to restore the commissionerate system in the province. As a consequence, the five divisions of Sindh were restored – namely Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Larkana with their respective districts. Subsequently, a new division was added in Sindh, the Nawab Shah/Shaheed Benazirabad division.
Karachi district has been de-merged into its five original constituent districts: Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir District. Recently Korangi has been upgraded to the status of the sixth district of Karachi. These six districts form the Karachi Division now. In 2020, the Kemari District was created after splitting Karachi West District. Currently the Sindh government is planning to divide the Tharparkar district into Tharparkar and Chhachro districts.
| 1 | Badin District | Badin | 6,470 | 1,804,516 | 279 | Hyderabad |
| 2 | Dadu District | Dadu | 8,034 | 1,550,266 | 193 | Hyderabad |
| 3 | Ghotki District | Ghotki | 6,506 | 1,647,239 | 253 | Sukkur Division |
| 4 | Hyderabad | Hyderabad | 1,022 | 2,201,079 | 2,155 | Hyderabad |
| 5 | Jacobabad | Jacobabad | 2,771 | 1,006,297 | 363 | Larkana Division |
| 6 | Jamshoro | Jamshoro | 11,250 | 993,142 | 88 | Hyderabad |
| 7 | Karachi Central | Karachi | 62 | 2,972,639 | 48,336 | Karachi Division |
| 8 | Kashmore (formerly Kandhkot) | Kashmore | 2,551 | 1,089,169 | 427 | Larkana Division |
| 9 | Khairpur | Khairpur | 15,925 | 2,405,523 | 151 | Sukkur Division |
| 10 | Larkana District | Larkana | 1,906 | 1,524,391 | 800 | Larkana Division |
| 11 | Matiari District | Matiari | 1,459 | 769,349 | 527 | Hyderabad |
| 12 | Mirpur Khas | Mirpur Khas | 3,319 | 1,505,876 | 454 | Mirpur Khas |
| 13 | Naushahro Feroze | Naushahro Feroze | 2,027 | 1,612,373 | 369 | Shaheed Benazir Abad |
| 14 | Shaheed Benazirabad (formerly Nawabshah) | Nawabshah | 4,618 | 1,612,847 | 349 | Shaheed Benazir Abad |
| 15 | Qambar Shahdadkot | Qambar | 5,599 | 1,341,042 | 240 | Larkana Division |
| 16 | Sanghar District | Sanghar | 10,259 | 2,057,057 | 200 | Shaheed Benazir Abad |
| 17 | Shikarpur | Shikarpur | 2,577 | 1,231,481 | 478 | Larkana Division |
| 18 | Sukkur District | Sukkur | 5,216 | 1,487,903 | 285 | Sukkur Division |
| 19 | Tando Allahyar | Tando Allahyar | 1,573 | 836,887 | 532 | Hyderabad |
| 20 | Tando Muhammad Khan | Tando Muhammad Khan | 1,814 | 677,228 | 373 | Hyderabad |
| 21 | Tharparkar | Mithi | 19,808 | 1,649,661 | 83 | Mirpur Khas |
| 22 | Thatta District | Thatta | 7,705 | 979,817 | 127 | Hyderabad |
| 23 | Umerkot District | Umerkot | 5,503 | 1,073,146 | 195 | Mirpur Khas |
| 24 (22) | Sujawal District | Sujawal | 8,699 | 781,967 | 90 | Hyderabad |
| 25 (7) | Karachi East | Karachi | 165 | 2,909,921 | 17,625 | Karachi Division |
| 26 (7) | Karachi South | Karachi | 85 | 1,791,751 | 21,079 | Karachi Division |
| 27 (7) | Karachi West | Karachi | 630 | 3,914,757 | 6,212 | Karachi Division |
| 28 (7) | Korangi District | Korangi Town | 95 | 2,457,019 | 25,918 | Karachi Division |
| 29 (7) | Malir District | Malir Town | 2,635 | 2,008,901 | 762 | Karachi Division |
| 30 (7) | Kemari District | Karachi | N/A | Karachi Division |
| 60.77 |
| 37.5% |
| 45.29% |
| 54.57% |
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan, play an important role to promote the culture of Sindh. They provide training to women artisans in Sindh so they get a source of income. They promote their products under the name of "Crafts Forever". Many women in rural Sindh are skilled in the production of caps. Sindhi caps are manufactured commercially on a small scale at New Saeedabad and Hala New. Sindhi people began celebrating Sindhi Topi Day on 6 December 2009, to preserve the historical culture of Sindh by wearing Ajrak and Sindhi topi.
there is 90million only.
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