THE LAND OFOFOF THE FIVE RIVERS AND SINDH. BY DAVID ROSS, C.I.E., F.R.G.S. London 1883 Reproduced by: Sani Hussain Panhwar The land of the five rivers and Sindh; Copyright © www.panhwar.com 1 TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST HONORABLE GEORGE FREDERICK SAMUEL MARQUIS OF RIPON, K.G., P.C., G.M.S.I., G.M.I.E., VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, THESE SKETCHES OF THE PUNJAB AND SINDH ARE With His Excellency’s Most Gracious Permission DEDICATED. The land of the five rivers and Sindh; Copyright © www.panhwar.com 2 PREFACE. My object in publishing these “Sketches” is to furnish travelers passing through Sindh and the Punjab with a short historical and descriptive account of the country and places of interest between Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, and Delhi. I mainly confine my remarks to the more prominent cities and towns adjoining the railway system. Objects of antiquarian interest and the principal arts and manufactures in the different localities are briefly noticed. I have alluded to the independent adjoining States, and I have added outlines of the routes to Kashmir, the various hill sanitaria, and of the marches which may be made in the interior of the Western Himalayas. In order to give a distinct and definite idea as to the situation of the different localities mentioned, their position with reference to the various railway stations is given as far as possible. The names of the railway stations and principal places described head each article or paragraph, and in the margin are shown the minor places or objects of interest in the vicinity. A few localities in the North Western Provinces, contiguous to the Punjab railway system, are also noticed. While consulting standard authorities, I have, except in a few instances, refrained from quoting names. For I think that in a book of this description, repeated reference to works from which I derived some of my information would only confuse and distract the attention of the ordinary reader. Having enjoyed special opportunities of frequently visiting nearly all the places described, I have verified my notes without giving the different opinions of high authorities. These “Sketches” will, I trust, be read with interest by many residents in the Punjab and Sindh; and I may hope that travelers from England and distant lands, as well as those dwelling in India, will find them useful and instructive; for they invite attention to those parts of the country which, from the earliest period up to the advent of British rule, were the scenes of the greatest events in the history of India. The provinces of the Punjab and Sindh are replete with historical associations, and the entire country teems with memories of the many conquerors who have invaded India during the past two thousand years, from the time of Alexander the Great to that of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Durani. In the preparation of a book such as this, the difficulty in collecting material has been great. I have, however, been aided by a few kind friends who have furnished valuable particulars in respect to the different districts in which they reside, and have also favored me with the perusal of rare publications now out of print, as well as manuscripts of great value. DAVID ROSS. Lahore, 1882. The land of the five rivers and Sindh; Copyright © www.panhwar.com 3 THE LAND OF THE FIVE RIVERS AND SINDH. SINDH. Sindh is the Sanskrit word Sindh or Sindhu, a river, or ocean. It was applied to the river Indus, the first great body of water encountered by the Aryan invaders. Mohammedans derive the word from Sindh, brother of Hind and son of Nuh or Noah, whose descendants they allege governed the country for many centuries. Sindh, which is part of the Bombay Presidency, is bounded on the north and west by the territories of the khan of Khelat, in Beluchistan; the Punjab and the Bahawalpur State lie on the north-east; on the east are the native states in Rajputana of Jaisalmir and Jodhpur or Marwar; and on the south are the Rann of Kachh and the Arabian Sea. The province covers an area of 56,632 square miles, including the Khairpur native state; and lies between the twenty-third and twenty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and the sixty- sixth and seventy-first meridian of east longitude. It is about 360 miles in length from north to south, and 170 miles in breadth. The population amounts to about 2,400,000, or forty- one persons to the square mile. Three- fourths of the people are Mohammedans and the remainder Hindus. The Sindhi is tall and muscular, usually possesses regular features, and is of a quiet and inoffensive disposition. Sindh is a low flat country, and there is very little rainfall; but it presents many features of interest to the naturalist, both in regard to plants and animal life; and its geological formation has recently attracted much attention. The monotonous aspect of the country is relieved by the Kohistan range of mountains, formed of limestone and sandstone, in the western portions of the Karachi Collectorate; and there are some fine ranges of hills, called the Ganjo, in the Haidarabad Collectorate, and the Makli Hills near Tatta. The great mountain barrier dividing Sindh and Beluchistan, known as the Khirthar or Hala range, attains a height of 7,000 feet. Rising near one of its desolate peaks in the Mehar district, the river Hab flows through a valley of this range—the only perennial stream in Sindh, excepting the Indus. The Laki, a low range of hills, suddenly terminates on the bank of the Indus, near Sehwan, at an elevation of 600 feet; and appears to be the result of volcanic action, as evinced by the number of hot sulphurous springs in the vicinity. Marine shells are found in great abundance. The land of the five rivers and Sindh; Copyright © www.panhwar.com 4 The soil of Sindh consists chiefly of rich alluvial deposit brought down by the Indus; and, where annually flooded, produces two crops, sometimes more, in a year; but this is only when within the influence of the “spils” from the river. Beyond this limit, the soil changes into a barren drifting sand. It is also largely impregnated with saltpetre and salt; an abundant supply of the latter being produced by the simplest modes of evaporation. The upper part of Sindh is very hot, rising to 165° and 170° in the sun. The average temperature is from 110° to 120° in the summer; and during the cold season, from November to February, 60°. At night the freezing-point is often attained. Sindh may be considered a rainless country. Sometimes for two and even three years together no rain falls. At other seasons the rainfall amounts to thirty-six inches in forty-eight hours; and on one occasion the torrents of water swept away nearly one-third of the railway embankments and bridges. Two yearly crops, the rabi —vernal— the kharif —autumnal—are produced; in some of the districts an additional and distinct crop is added, sown in May and reaped in July. The produce of Sindh may be roughly classified as follows: grains, pulses, oil-seeds, gourds, dye-plants, tobacco, drugs, fruits, cotton, and sugar. In regard to wild animals, the tiger is found in the jungles of Upper Sindh; the gurkhar (wild ass) in the southern part of the Thar and Parkar districts ; while the hyaena, wolf, jackal, wild boar, antelope, hog, deer, hare, and porcupine are common all over the province. Among birds, the eagle, vulture, falcon, flamingo, pelican, stork, crane, and Egyptian ibis or sirus are plentiful. Besides these there are the ubara (or bustard), known also as the tilur , keenly sought after by sportsmen, grouse, quail, snipe, partridge, duck, teal, and geese. Many varieties of parrots abound. Sindh enjoys an unenviable pre-eminence in its variety of snakes, which are both numerous and deadly. Among the most venomous are the khapir (Echis carinata) and black cobra— called by the Sindhis kala nag . The khapir is considered the most dangerous, and the cobra, it is said, cannot withstand its poison. The munier and lundi , non-venomous snakes, are very common, and generally kept by snake- charmers. Sindh is the natural home of the camel, which is bred in great numbers. It is the dromedary, or the one-humped species, and possesses great powers of endurance. Buffaloes, bullocks, sheep, and goats abound. The milk of the buffalo converted into ghi —clarified butter—is a most important article of consumption and commerce. The horse, mule, and ass are plentiful, but very inferior in size and strength, although hardy and capable of enduring great fatigue. The indigenous trees consist chiefly of babul (Acacia arabica), bahan (Populus euphratica), and kandi (Prosopis spicigera). The date, palm, oleander, and tamarind also flourish on the banks of the Indus. In the forests are also found the tali (Dalbergia sissoo), the iron-wood tree (Tecoma The land of the five rivers and Sindh; Copyright © www.panhwar.com 5 undulata], nim (Melia azadirach ), the pipal (Ficus religiosa), the ber (Zizyphus jujuba), the leafless kirar (Capparis aphylla). Two kinds of tamarisk are found—the jhao (T. orientalis) and the lai (T. indicd). The shores of the delta abound with mangrove thickets. The Sindhi language has a pure Sanskrit basis, and is closely related to the ancient Prakrit . Its structure is most complicated, and difficult to learn. The alphabet contains fifty-two letters. The Rev. Mr. G. Shirt, of Haidarabad, one of the first Sindhi scholars, considers that the language is probably, so far as its grammatical construction is concerned, the purest daughter of Sanskrit to be found.