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Larkana


Located on the right bank of River Indus, Larkana has inherited a rich culture. The great Indus Valley civilization forms part of its boundaries as the extinct city of Moenjodaro lies next to it. This district of guavas, gardens and rice has also been the birthplace of many eminent personalities of Sindh. Popularly attributed as a district of scholars and warriors, Larkana is a peaceful settlement, which has housed countless intellectuals Inhabitants of Larkana are known to have tremendous leadership qualities and have remained prominent in many spheres of life. "The people of Larkana are extraordinarily sharp, brave and brilliant," comments Anwer Shaikh of Nawabshah. "These people are calculated in their moves and despite having no penny in their pocket, can successfully portray themselves as big landlords.The Sindhi saying, Achha kapira, kheesa khaali, Mulk ja waali (good clothes, empty pockets, king of the country), explains the true character of most of the people of Larkana. Dialect, behavior and outlook of these people also differ greatly from others of Sindh.Syed Shuja Muhammad Shah of Moro further elaborates their character saying, "Nearly all waderas of Sindh are notorious but there is no match in cruelty and barbaric behavior to the waderas of Larkana."This district, which has a literacy rate of 35 per cent, with 40 per cent of males and 20 per cent females among them, and where the circulation of newspapers, books and magazines is much higher than in other districts of the province, it is unfortunate that it is still more of a hunting place for waderas. This district has witnessed a great migration from villages to the cities.This has been an outcome of the high crime rate and abuse of people at the hands of dacoits as well as the law enforcement agencies between 1983 and 1990.The social harmony and bondage of brotherhood, which was an essential characteristic of the area, has disappeared. Some of the notables whose origins trace back to Larkana, include; Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, Z.A. Bhutto, Benazir, Mir Murtaza, Shahnawaz, Hyder Bakhsh Jatoi, Sobho Gyanchandani, Ayub Khuhro, Barrister Jan Muhammad Junejo, Kazi Fazlullah, Pir Hisamuddin Shah Rashdi, Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi, Dr. Hamida Khuhro, Mumtaz Bhutto, Allama Ali Khan Abro, Jamaluddin Bukhari, Jamal Abro, Ayaz aadri, Taj Muhammad Abro and Anees Ansari from the older generation and Anwer Pirzado, Badar Abro, Kaleem Lashari, Ishtiaq Ansari, Rizwan Umrani, Razzak Mahar, Hidayat Mangi, Kehar Shoukat, Imdad Kazi, Miran, Manzoor Kohyar, Mir Muhammad Pirzado, Mehtab Akber Rashdi, Shabnam Moti, Zaib Sindhi, Shah Muhammad Pirzado, Muhammad Ali Pathan and Manthar Solangi in the more recent one. Larkana's history dates back two centuries starting with the rule of the Kalhora Dynasty (1701-1893 A.D.) It was initially given the name Chandko, following the tribe of Chandio, which settled there in the early days. The Larik people, whom settled there later, gave it the name Larkana. In the early Kalhora rule, Larkana was considered geographically very important and its soil, fertile. With the efforts of Mian Shahul Muhammad Kalhoro, the Ghaar Wah was dug in its northeast region for irrigation purposes. It also served as a trade route and connected the city to other parts of Sindh as well as to rest of the civilization through the Indus River. But when Kalhora rulers selected Khudaabad (now it is a part of Dadu district) as their new capital city, Larkana started to lose its importance. Later it reemerged as a prosperous and important city of Sindh, when the Rice Canal and Dadu Canal began flowing from its areas. A Sindhi saying portrays this new era of the city in these words, "Hujaee naano, to ghumm Larkano" (If you have a sufficient amount, then you can visit Larkana). Its first phase of progress started with the British Raj when in 1855, the Larkana Municipality was established. In 1901, it was made a district by dividing Shikarpur district into two districts viz; Larkana and Sukkur. During the annexation of Sindh in 1843 by the British, Sindh had been divided into three administrative units Karachi (129,750 square km), Hyderabad (77,400 square km) and Shikarpur (38,700 square km). Larkana was a part of Shikarpur which included (present day) Sukkur,Jacobabad and Ghotki districts and some parts of (present day) Dadu district i,e., Johi, Dadu, Kakar, Mehar and Sehwan. Hyderabad comprised the present Hyderabad, Tharparkar, Sanghar and Nawabshah and Naushehro Feroz districts. While Karachi comprised present Thatta district and Kohistan and Kotri talukas, which are presently parts of Dadu district. On June 15, 1994, the Larkana Development Authority was set up, while the District Council Larkana was established in 1921 as a `District Local Board'. Now Larkana City has a population of 2_70,366 and rates 17 on the list of major cities of the country. Karachi tops the list with a population of 9,269,265 and last comes Okara with the population of 200,901. Larkana has been the hometown of two of Pakistan's prime ministers - Z.A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and also the hometown of some governors and chief ministers of the province - Ayub Khuhro, Kazi Fazzalullah, Mumtaz x Bhutto and Akhtar Ali G.Kazi. Unfortunately, none of these people in power did much to improve the condition of their hometown. It is still lacking in a modern infrastructure. Hardly any social development has taken place here and there still are many areas without electricity, basic health or education facilities, metallic roads, gas and drinking water. Now the city seems a mound of garbage with sewage water spewing all over. The District Council Larkana and Larkana Municipal Corporation defer any blame by holding the financial crisis responsible for the situation, as do the town committees and union councils of the district. It is not that Larkana has no economic achievement to its name. Development in the district first began in the period of General Ayub Khan, but it witnessed a new era of development and progress in the days of Z, A. Bhutto. That was when most of the notable institutions were set up like, The Chandka Medical College and Hospital, Rice Research Institute Dokri, Moenjodaro Cadet College, the stadium, the radio station, Technical College, Public School, Larkana Development Authority, Zulfikar AliBhutto Agriculture College at Dokri, Town Hall, Collectorate Building, Kennedy Market, Habib Bank round building, Nizamani Labour Hall, Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto Library, Intermediate and Secondary Board, Moenjodaro airport, Sambara Inn Hotel, Attack and Sukarno towers and the divisional status for Larkana, etc. Benazir Bhutto, too, had planned a circular road to the city the work for which had already begun when the government succeeding hers abandoned the scheme and also reversed the plans for the Moenjodaro International Airport and for the bridge over Indus River from Moenjodaro and Sagyoon. The proposed bridge would have connected Larkana and Dadu districts to the other four districts e.g. Khairpur Mirs, Ghotki, Naushehro Feroz and Nawabshah. Khairpur and Naushehro Feroz districts would have an access to use the Moenjodaro Airport as well. Before Partition, Larkana used to boast a number of beautiful gardens, in fact it was even given the title of the `Garden of Eden'. Some of the more famous gardens were, Karma Bag, Tajar Bag (now Jinnah Bag), Gyanchad Bag (now Zulfikar Bag), Bai jo Bag, Tualani jo Bag, Rabali Bag, Lekhraj jo Bag, Dharmia jo Bag, Thanwer jo Bag and Lahori jo Bag. Sindhi Hindus giving Larkana a healthy and luscious aura initially cultivated these. But with passage of time the maintenance of these gardens became almost non-existent and out of the initial ten only two have been preserved. Presently, the city faces a lot of social and civic problems. Roads are broken, encroachment is high and the condition and service facilities of the two main health institutes Chandka Medical College and Hospital and Shaikh Zaid Hospital is poor. The city is expanding without any planning. Development work since the last four years has come to a halt. Larkana district is one of the major rice-producing districts of Sindh, but in the last year (1999-2000) the price fell to an all-time low with the growers incurring a major loss. The high shortage of water, too, has added to the decline, as a large portion of farmland has not received water as yet. And it is believed that during the current year (2000-2001), the crop of paddy will suffer more than the previous year. The present government has recently announced Rs188 billion for various development schemes, which will include link road, health, education, and sewerage, and drinking water for the district. The present government also appears to be taking steps towards the poverty alleviation program. Hopefully, the district will benefit from these schemes and regain its lost prosperity soon.