Sindh Courier Report

Karachi

The historic fort Ranikot, a national heritage, also known as the Great Wall of Sindh, located in Khirthar Mountain Range in Jamshoro District, has severely been damaged by land-sliding and hill torrents during recent torrential monsoon rains.

The walls of the fort had collapsed and cracks developed at several places due to hill torrents as well as accumulation of rainwater, which couldn’t be drained out owing to faulty drainage system.

Abdul Hameed Akhund, Secretary of Endowment Fund Trust (EFT), presented a detailed report about the damages caused to the fort during a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday. He also briefed him about the restoration work done so far by the EFT.

Akhund informed the Chief Minister that some of the old parts of the Ranikot have been rehabilitated. “The walls, which the EFT had rehabilitated earlier, also sustained the damages by land-sliding during the rains,” he said, adding that the cause of damages was substandard system of drainage.

According to EFT official, the historic Ranikot fort faces threat as its foundations are not so deep.

Chief Minister Murad Shah directed the EFT official for launching forthwith rehabilitation work so that the national heritage could be saved from further damage. “Every possible measures should be taken in this regard.”

Abdul Hameed Akhund informed the Chief Minister EFT is organizing Disaster Management Conference in Karachi on October 29, to be attended by a number of heritage experts.

Murad Shah directed the EFT official to conduct a detailed survey of damages caused to Ranikot and the report should be made public. “Moreover, a Disaster Management Cell should be created especially for the heritage sites. All the stakeholders should be made part of such Cell,” Chief Minister directed.

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     All Photos Courtesy: Endowment Fund Trust 

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The encroachments have not been removed since long despite Chief Minister’s orders and are hindering the rehabilitation work of historic fort.

From Our Correspondent

Hyderabad

The Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) has offered sponsoring the scholars desirous of conducting studies for their doctoral degree on ancient Sehwan fort and the historic Sehwan town in Jamshoro district of Sindh.

Abdul Hameed Akhund, Secretary, EFT, made this offer during a meeting held here Wednesday with the Divisional administration of Hyderabad with regard to removal of encroachments in and around the Sehwan Fort and getting vacated the inside buildings occupied by the police and irrigation departments.

He informed the meeting that EFT has planned to hold an international seminar on Sehwan and Hyderabad soon after Eidul Fitr.

The EFT has been entrusted the task of rehabilitation of ancient fort. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had laid the foundation of rehabilitation project earlier in January this year and also had announced that the Sehwan Town would be declared as the ‘Protected Heritage Town’ and legislation process would be initiated for the purpose. He had agreed to a proposal of establishing Museum at the fort, for which the occupied buildings were to be vacated. He also had endorsed the idea of setting up of Trans Indus Research Institute for Cultural Studies.

Also Read: Sehwan to be declared as Protected Heritage Town 

The EFT officials had been holding meetings with Divisional Administration for removal of encroachments in and around the fort since last year but no progress could be achieved yet despite Chief Minister’s directives in January this year.

Commissioner Hyderabad Division Nadeem-u-Rehman Memon, who presided over the today’s meeting, directed the officers of police and irrigation departments to immediately vacate the buildings, and further ordered the Jamshoro district administration for removal of all other encroachments, being the great hindrance in rehabilitation work. Commissioner said that according to Heritage Act, any kind of construction within 200ft area of cultural and national heritage is strictly prohibited.

EFT Secretary informed that except the main gate of the fort, entire area has been occupied by the encroachers, which need to be removed immediately so that the rehabilitation work could be carried out smoothly. The EFT would solely bear all the expenditures of rehabilitation of the fort.

Also Read: EFT to undertake rehabilitation work of historic Sehwan Fort

He added that EFT would establish museum at the historic guest house building of the fort after getting it vacated. “None of the museums in Sindh is of world standard and we plan to setup a museum of such a standard at Sehwan Fort,” he told.

Further, the rehabilitation would require 5000 bricks which the Shaheed Allah Bukhsh University of Art & Design Jamshoro has promised to provide. It has also assured of providing space to establish a research laboratory, it is direly needed to conduct research on various artifacts found from different archaeological and historical sites of Sindh, Hameed Akhund told.

Briefing on history of the Sehwan Fort, Hameed Akhund said that as per historical evidences, it was built in 400 BC and was used by all the successive rulers of Sindh. When the Kalhora rulers gained their power in Sindh, the Mughal rulers used the Sehwan Fort as headquarter in 1701 AD, however later, the Kalhora rulers setup their headquarters at Khudabad and again shifted to Hyderabad. “Since then, this fort has remained neglected,” he said.

Hameed Akhund said that EFT plans to work on ancient history of Sindh and compiling of the old and modern history on scientific basis, for which it has been proposed to constitute a committee consisting of experts of Sindhi Language Authority, Sindh Culture Department and such other concerned departments.

The meeting also discussed the issues hindering the declaration of Sehwan as protected cultural heritage town. Commissioner Nadeem Memon asked the police officers and other officials present in the meeting to ensure compliance of Chief Minister’s orders in this regard.

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Hyderabad

The Hyderabad administration has planned to establish a Revenue Museum in the city with the help of Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) to preserve the old revenue record and other related items.

Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad Muhammad Abbas Baloch convened a meeting on Wednesday at his office with the officials of Endowment Fund Trust and discussed the plan in detail.

Abdul Hameed Akhund, Chairman, EFT, Additional Commissioner-I Hyderabad Syed Sajjad Haider Shah, Additional Deputy Commissioner-I Hyderabad Lal Dino Mangi, Deputy Director Board of Revenue Ali Muhammad Babar, Staff Officer Dr. Muhammad Fahad Mir and  Dr. Shahid Junejo of  Dialdas Club Hyderabad, officers of other concerned departments also attended the meeting.

Divisional Commissioner directed the concerned officers that the services of Nazar Muhammad Baloch be acquired to prepare a comprehensive draft proposal for the museum and share it to Abdul Hameed Akhund so that the committee could be formed headed by Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad.

The committee will decide where to build the museum and also prepare and submit its detailed report on the Revenue Records.

Commissioner Baloch said that the buildings like Revenue Office, Dialdas Club and Tapedari College are part of National Heritage, and the efforts should also be made to restore the other important heritage buildings and a draft plan of action should be prepared in this regard.

Later, the Divisional Commissioner along with EFT and other officers inspected various historical buildings.

On this occasion, he said that Hyderabad is a city of historical significance and there are many historical and archeological sites which are being restored in their original form. “More efforts will be made to preserve the historical heritage of Hyderabad,” he said. (PR)

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Sindh Courier Report

Hyderabad: Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad Muhammad Abbas Baloch held a meeting on Friday regarding rehabilitation and preservation of historic Sehwan Fort, which is said to be more than 2000 years old.

Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh has been assigned the responsibility of rehabilitation of the historic fort of Sehwan maintaining its originality. The EFT Secretary Abdul Hameed Akhund and other officials were present in the meeting.

Presiding over a meeting held at Camp Office Commissioner House, Baloch asked the EFT representatives to undertake the rehabilitation work in a way that the tourists and the pilgrims do not face any problem.

Commissioner also directed the Jamshoro District Administration and other concerned departments for removal of encroachments from the surroundings of historic fort of Sehwan so that its rehabilitation work could be started.

He asked the EFT officials to point out the hurdles which they might face during the restoration work. “They should also submit proposals if they have.”

Commissioner Baloch said that the Fort is our national heritage.

He further stated that the people who might be affected due to removal of encroachments would be properly compensated. He directed the concerned departments to extend their full cooperation to the EFT in restoration of Sehwan Fort.

The meeting also discussed restoration of old Tapedar College building and establishing Revenue Department’s museum in Hyderabad.

Commissioner Abbas Baloch told the meeting that the court has ordered restoration of Dayaldas Club of Hyderabad in its originality while using it as marriage hall has been banned. “The encroachments from its surroundings have also been removed.”

Earlier, EFT Secretary Mr. Akhund briefed the meeting on Fort Rehabilitation Plan.

Pro-Vice Chancellor Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur and archaeologist Dr. Neelofar Shaikh, Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro Fareeduddin Mustafa and officers of Sindh Building Control Authority and others attended the meeting.

It is pertinent to mention here that international archaeologists and researchers have different opinions about the history of the fort, while there are different opinions from local researchers too.

This mysterious fort of Sehwan is called Sikander’s Fort, Kafir Fort, Old Fort or now Sehwan Fort while the locals know the place as Utti Basti.

Lieutenant Willam Edwards, an official of the British army, wrote in his book ‘Sketches in Scinde’ written more than 171 years ago that old castle, the erection of which is attributed to Alexander is perhaps the only veritable relic of Greek, which can be traced in Sindh.

William expressed dismay at the worsening castle in Sehwan, which has now turned into a mound and hardly can be guessed that there had been a castle at that site. According to him the local people call it Kafir Qila [infidel castle] presuming that a cruel king used to live in it.

As per Willam Edwards research it is said that the fort was built by Alexander the Great that is why it’s known as Alexander’s Fort too. But many researchers believe and there are other evidences to show that the fort had existed before Alexander entered in Sindh and he might have repaired it for his army requirements.

History shows that the ruler of Sehwan was King Sambus in 326 BC, and King Sambus rebelled against Sikinder. At the time of invasion of Alexander, the Great, Sehwan was called “Sevestan”. It is estimated that the fort was built about 600 BC before the time of Rai Sahasi II as Rai Sahasi died in 603 AD.

According to Archaeologist the arches of the fort and other characteristics are oriental and not Grecian. The brick-work, like that of Kalan Kot Fort in Thatta, and the name “Kafir Qila” also points to the fact that Sehwan Fort may have been built during Hindu Rule and it is an old town of pre-Islamic period.

The ancient fort lies north of the town and is a massive burnt brick structure laid in mud mortar. The core of the fortification wall is filled with puddle earth. The defensive walls are roughly rectangular in shape, with traces of machicolations (a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall). At the top of the fortification ground area there are modern structures built by Sindh Government. At the side of the Fort area, there are deep ditches dug by French Archaeological Mission.

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Panting on Walls or ‘Impulse to adorn – The art of the painted murals in western Sindh’ is a recently published book by Mr. Aziz Kingrani, a prolific writer and author of several books

Book review

By Gulsher Panhwer

Panting on walls or ‘Impulse to adorn – The art of the painted murals in western Sindh’ is a recently published book by Mr. Aziz Kingrani, a prolific writer and author of several books. Mr. Kingrani’s areas of expertise also include history and archaeology.

The paintings on the wall book has explored, discovered and documented treasure trove of exquisite painting on the walls of tombs, mausoleums, mosques, temples and graves doting length and breadth of Kachho area in western periphery of Dadu District including Qamber Shahdakot District Sindh, called Kaccho.

The Kaccho area spreads from Manchar lake in east to Dadu, Larkana, Kamabar Shahdad Kot and Sibi ( Balochistan) in north west.

The author contends that the paintings splashed on the mausoleums and graves are of Sidhyana pattern entrenched in ancient Indus civilization. The art of painting on the walls flourished during Kalhora dynastic rule in Sindh spanning from 1707 to 1883 AD. According to Author the Kalhora were indigenous rulers of Sindh who consolidated their rule by fighting wars of attrition and defense with Mughals and other local contenders of tribes. The Kalhora rule came to an abrupt end with the killing of Talpur Commanders due to conspiracy hatched by Rajo Lekhi, one of the confidential and minister in Kalhora ruling dynasty. Thus with the defeat of Kalhoras, Talpurs’ rule (1782-1843) started which ended with invading by British in 1843.

The art of paintings on walls was pioneered by Yar Muhammad Kalhoro which was continued by Talpur rulers in Sindh. The painting being an ancient and most expressive form was initiated by men in cave. The initial painting might have been used as way of communication. Later, it was carried out for decorative purpose too which also continues till date as we see expensive and elaborative paintings adorning the drawing rooms of rich people.

Apart from exquisitely capturing rare images of painting, the author has done good job by explaining almost each painting with historical background as well as the characters in each painting.

Author has touched important points. He responds to the general belief that in Islam the human and animal paintings/pictures are forbidden but in Kachho area majority of the mausoleums have lot of paintings depicting humans as well as animals.  The writer answers this question by saying that in mausoleum the human and animal images are just for decorative purpose and no human or animal image is found painted in mosques.

Furthermore the book has interesting images and mention of the legends, djinns and witches.

In Sindh, the witches were and still are believed to attack women who have recently given birth and extract their entrails. The writer has briefly given account of precautionary measures taken by superstitious people to ward off the witches by fixing pegs, wrapping legs of cot on which the woman is sleeping, with wool-made ropes and cauterizing heels of attacking witches. The theme-wise pictures include battle scenes, Hindu deities, flora and fauna, old folk culture and folk stories like Laila Majnoo, Umer Marvi and Sasui Puhnoo etc. The author seems having applied painstaking deep research and his own insights to explain most complex and some of the blurred images and characters in themes.

While explaining photos of djinns shown in horrid shape and in animal forms the author writes that they can change their form from one to other including animal forms.

Most of the mausoleums have been damaged by natural disasters like floods, heavy rains and also vandalized by irresponsible local visitors. Some irresponsible local visitors have also tampered with exquisite images by overwriting their names and scratching the part of the images. Furthermore, some misguided superstitious persons have also been digging the graves believing that a gold treasure might be buried inside the grave along with buried persons. The author laments this fact. However besides bringing largely untouched themes of paintings and documenting the vanning art, the author has preserved this treasure trove of the art for present and coming generation. The Endowment Fund Trust for preserving heritage of Sindh also deserves praise for publishing this very fine book.

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Gulsher Panhwer is a freelance writer based in Johi, district Dadu. He can be contacted at gulsherp@yahoo.com

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Commissioner, DC, EFT officers visit the Basant Hall and other historic buildings

Hyderabad: Necessary repairs and renovations of historic building of Basant Hall located in the heart of Hyderabad city are being carried out maintaining its originality under the Sindh Government’s Endowment Fund Trust.

After the completion of work it will be decided how this historical building could be made more useful for the people.

Provincial Secretary of Culture Department Ghulam Akbar Laghari, Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad Muhammad Abbas Baloch and Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad Fuad Ghaffar Soomro paid a detailed visit to Basant Hall on Sunday.

Chairman Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) Jahangir Siddiqui, Secretary EFT Hameed Akhund,  Ms. Neelofar Sheikh, Ishtiaq Ansari and other concerned officers were also present.

During a briefing, Engineer Muhammad Ali Memon of Endowment Fund Trust informed that the historical building of Basant Hall is being repaired maintaining the natural beauty of the building but alternative material was also used due to unavailability of original material and unavoidable reasons. However, efforts are being made to ensure that whatever alternative material is used should not affect the natural structure of the building. “We have been quite successful in this endeavor,” he claimed. Memon also showed pictures of the building’s past and present.

Later, at the request of Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad Muhammad Abbas Baloch and Deputy Commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro, the EFT officers visited Hyderabad’s historical Old Campus (Model School), Mulchand Dayal Das Park and Hussainabad Park and asked them to write a letter for the repair and renovation works on which the Divisional Commissioner directed DC Hyderabad to write a detailed letter to EFT regarding necessary repairs and renovation of historical buildings in Hyderabad. (PR)

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