Umerkot


Umerkot, Sindhi formerly known as Amarkot, is a city in Umerkot District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The city was the birthplace of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It is the 68th largest city of Pakistan.
The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and Punjabi are also understood by the citizens.

Etymology

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 changed after a local Ruler of Sindh Umer Soomro of the Umar Marvi story which also appears in Shah Jo Risalo and is one of the popular tragic romances from Sindh.

History

Umerkot province was ruled by Sodha Rajput clan of Hindu Rajputs from medieval times until 1947 Partition of British 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. Rana Parshad, the Sodha Rajput ruler of Umarkot, gave him refuge. 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.
Umerkot was annexed by Jodhpur State in the 18th century and its rulers were reduced to Vassals. Umerkot and its fort was later handed to the British in 1847 by the Maharaja of Jodhpur in return for reducing the tribute imposed on Jodhpur State by Rs.10,000. Due to this the Rana of Umerkot did not have much say in whether to join India or Pakistan, although he expressed his desire to join Pakistan because of his Sindhi roots. Umerkot was the only state with a Hindu majority and a Hindu King, that acceded to Pakistan. Rana Chandra Singh, a federal minister and the chieftain of the Hindu Sodha Thakur Rajput clan and the Umerkot Jagir, was one of the founder members of Pakistan Peoples Party 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. Currently, his politician son Rana Hamir Singh is the 26th Rana of Tharparkar, Umarkot and Mithi.

Points of interest

The city is well connected with the other large cities like Karachi, the provincial capital and Hyderabad.
Umarkot has many sites of historical significance such as Akbar's birthplace, Umarkot, Umerkot Fort and Momal Ji Mari.
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.

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