Sindh (Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Neighbouring regions are Balochistan to the west and north, Punjab in the north and Rajasthan (India) to the east. To the south are the Arabian Sea and the Rann of Kutch.

Sindh is the third largest province geographically. Its size is about 579 km north-south and 442 km (extreme) or 281 km (average) east-west, with an area of 140,915 km� The population was about 28 million in 1994, with about half urban. Its capital is Karachi. Other towns and cities include Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Tando Adam, Tando Allahyar, Nawabshah, Larkana, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Badin. Languages spoken include Sindhi, Urdu and Rajasthani.

The province contains the southern part of the Indus River valley. In the east is the Thar Desert of India.

The main crops are cotton, rice, wheat and sugar cane, with rice the most important. Other crops include banana and mango.

History

Historically, Sindh has been a very rich region. It was here that the first urban civilization developed in 3000 BC at Mohenjo Daro. Before that also there were many small village cultures dating as far back as 7000 BC.

The Indus civilization was very urbanized, with planned cities, a drainage system, and a binary system of weights and a system of tax collection.

In 1700 BC, Aryans came to this part of the world and it was known that beyond Sindh to the east was "Deserta inconeta," or unknown desert. Alexander the Great invaded in 325 BC and conquered several cities. Alexander's armies went from here towards the west. Hence, even the Macedonian conqueror didn't go beyond Sindh in the east.

In 275 BC, the Mauryan King Ashoka became Buddhist, having his capital at Taxila near Islamabad. Sindh too was converted to Buddhism. In AD 60, Kashans came and the country became prosperous and rich in agriculture. Later in the 6th century, White huns came and the country was divded into several pieces.

In 711 Muslims entered India via Sindh and conquered the city of Daible.

The 600s saw the end of a period of sporadic Buddhist rule in the Sindh. Islamic rule was introduced in the early 8th century when Muhammad bin Qasim took the Sindh from its Hindu rulers.

In 1842-1843 British forces under General Charles Napier conquered Sindh. It is said that he sent back to the Governor General a one-word message, "Peccavi" – Latin for "I have sinned". In actual fact, this pun first appeared as a cartoon in Punch magazine. The first Aga Khan helped the British in the conquest of Sindh and was granted a pension as a result.

The province was incorporated into Pakistan in 1947.

External Links

• Images of Sindh Province (http://www.worldisround.com/articles/85445/index.html)
• Government of Sindh (http://www.sindh.gov.pk.)
• Government of Pakistan (http://www.pak.gov.pk)
• World Sindhi Institute (http://www.worldsindhi.org)
• World Sindhi Congress (http://www.worldsindhicongress.org)
• Picture Gallery of Sindh (http://www.itspakistan.net/pakistan/gallery_sindh.aspx)
• American Institute of Sindhulogy  (http://www.sindhulogy.org/index.aspx)