Sehwan Town
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sehwan Town
Head-quarters of the taluka of the same name in Larkana District, Sind, Bombay, situated in 26 26' N. and 6 7 54' E. : on a branch of the North-Western Railway, and on the main road from Kotri to Shikarpur via Larkana, 84 miles north-north- west of Kotri, and 95 miles south-south-west of Larkana - } elevation above sea-level 117 feet. Population (1901), 5,244. The river Indus, which formerly flowed close to the town, has now quite deserted it. A few miles south of Sehwan, the Lakhi hills terminate abruptly, form- ing a characteristic feature of this portion of the taluka. The Muham- madan inhabitants are for the most part engaged in fishing; the Hindus in trade.
A large section of the people are professional mendicants, supported by the offerings of pilgrims at the shrine of Lai Shahbaz. The tomb containing the remains of this saint is enclosed in a quadrangular edifice, covered with a dome and lantern, said to have been built in 1356, and having beautiful encaustic tiles with Arabic inscriptions. Mirza Jam, of the Tarkhan dynasty, built a still larger tomb to this saint, which was completed in 1639. The gate and balustrade are said to have been of hammered silver, the gift of Mir Karam All Khan, Talpur, who also crowned the domes with silver spires. The chief object, however, of antiquarian interest in Sehwan is the fort, ascribed to Alexander the Great. This is an artificial mound 80 or 90 feet high, measuring round the summit 1,500 by 800 feet, and surrounded by a broken wall.
The interior is strewn with broken pottery and tiles. The mound is evidently an artificial structure, and the remains of several towers are visible. The fortifications are now in disrepair. An old Christian graveyard below the fort contains a few tombs dating from the early part of the nine- teenth century. Sehwan is undoubtedly a place of great antiquity. Tradition asserts that the town was in existence at the time of the first Muhammadan invasion of Sind by Muhammad bin Kasim Safiki, about A.D. 711 and it is believed to be the place which submitted to his arms after the conquest of Nerankot, the modem Hyderabad.
The town was constituted a municipality in 1854, and had an average income during the decade ending 1901 of Rs. 12,200. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 14,000. The transit trade is mainly in wheat and rice; and the local commerce in cloth and grain. The manufactures comprise carpets, coarse cloth, and pottery. The art of seal-engraving, which was formerly much practised, is now extinct. The town contains a Subordinate Judge's court, a dispensary, and a middle school.
