Umerkot

Umerkot
City
Amerkot Fort
Umerkot
Location of Umerkot within Sindh Province
Umerkot
Umerkot (Pakistan)
Coordinates: 25°21′47″N 69°44′33″E / 25.36306°N 69.74250°E / 25.36306; 69.74250Coordinates: 25°21′47″N 69°44′33″E / 25.36306°N 69.74250°E / 25.36306; 69.74250
Country Pakistan Pakistan
Province Sindh
District Umarkot
Metropolitan Corporation Pre-islamic Hindu-era
Time zone UTC+05:00 (PKT)
Amarkot Fort built by Amar Singh

Umerkot[lower-alpha 1] (Urdu: عُمَركوٹ‬‎, Sindhi: عمرڪوٽ‎), formerly known as Amarkot,[1] is a city in Umerkot District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The city was the birthplace of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.

Etymology

The birthplace of Akbar is traditionally believed to be marked by the small pavilion.

The city is named by its Hindu founder Maharaja Amar Singh who originally built the Amarkot Fort here. The name of the city was later Islamised after Umer of the Umar Marvi story which also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and is one of the popular tragic romances from Sindh.

History

The Amarkot province was ruled by Sodha clan of Hindu Rajputs from medieval times until 1947 Partition of India. The city held prominence during the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. Mughal Emperor Akbar was born in Amarkot 14 October 1542 when his father Humayun fled from the military defeat at the hands of Sher Shah Suri.[2] Rana Prasad, the Sodha Rajput ruler of Umarkot, gave him refuge.[3] Later on, Akbar brought northwestern India, including modern day Pakistan under Mughal rule.

Marvi of Umar Marvi love saga was kept here at Amarkot fort. Its ruler Rana Ratan Singh was hanged by the British at this fort for standing up for the rights of the Sindhis. There is persecution of the Hindus, religious intolerance and the Hindu heritage of this fort has been Islamised by the government of Pakistan.[4][5]

Rana Chandra Singh, a federal minister and the chieftain of the Hindu Sodha Thakur Rajput clan and the Umarkot jagir, was one of the founder members of Pakistan Peoples Party (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).[6][7][8] Currently, his politician son Rana Hamir Singh is the 26th Rana of Tharparkar, Umarkot and Mithi.[4][5]

Points of interest

The city is well connected with the other large cities like Karachi, the provincial capital and Hyderabad.[9]

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

There is an ancient temple, Shiv Mandir, Umerkot, as well as 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 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. One of the prominent educational institute is Knowledge Inn Coaching Academy & Pre entry Test Preparation Center Umerkot.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also spelled as Umarkot.

References

  1. ↑ Historical Forts in Pakistan
  2. ↑ Part 10:..the birth of Akbar Humayun nama by Gulbadan Begum.
  3. ↑ Part 10:..the birth of Akbar Humayun-nama by Gulbadan Begum.
  4. 1 2 Footprints: Once upon a time in Umerkot, Dawn (newspaper), 16 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 Pakistan's Umerkot gets a new Hindu ruler, The Hindu, 30 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Hindu Leader, Ex-minister Chardar Singh is Dead". Khaleej Times. 3 August 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Guriro, Amar (2 August 2009). "Chieftain of Pakistani Hindu Thakurs dies". Daily Times. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "Amarkot (Jagir)". Chiefa Coins. Archived from the original on 21 February 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2014.

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