Shikarpur Town, 1908
Shikarpur 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.
Head-quarters of the taluka of the same name in Sukkur District, Sind, Bombay, situated in 27 degree 57' N. and 68 degree 40' E., and connected by good roads and the North-Western Railway with Jacobabad, from which it is distant 26 miles south-east, with Sukkur 23 miles north-west, and Larkana 40 miles north-east. It stands in a tract of low-lying country, annually flooded by canals from the Indus, the nearest point of which river is 18 miles west. The elevation of the town is only 194 feet above sea-level. Two branches of the Sind Canal the Chhota Begari and the Rais Wah flow on either side of the town, the former to the south and the latter to the north. The soil in the immediate vicinity is very rich, and produces heavy crops of grain and fruit. Population: (1881) 42,496, (1891) 42,004, and (1901) 49,491. Hindus number 31,589, Muhammadans 17,804. The Muni- cipal Act was brought into force in 1855, since which date great sanitary improvements have been effected. Before that time, Shikar- pur was notorious for its unsightly appearance. The Stewartganj market (so called after a popular District officer) is a continuation of the old bazar, and is a commodious structure. The great covered bazar of Shikarpur is famous throughout Asia. To the east of the town are three large tanks, known as Sarwar Khan's, the Gillespie, and the Hazari tank. Broad roads and avenues to the east of the town still mark the site of the old cantonment but most of the barracks and houses are now dilapidated. Other features of interest are the European cemetery, opened in 1851; the Collector's residence, shortly to be converted into a circuit-house; a swimming bath near the Executive Engineer's house ; and the military farm buildings occupying the old police lines. The income of the municipality during the decade ending 1901 averaged Rs. 1,14,270. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 1,28,000, derived chiefly from octroi (Rs. 81,000) and conservancy taxes (Rs. 12,000) ; and the expenditure was Rs. 74,000, including Rs. 32,000 for conservancy, Rs. 18,000 for education, and Rs. 9,000 for lighting. The town contains a Subordinate Judge's court, a civil hospital, and a dispensary. The schools, including a Government high school with 330 pupils, number 16, of which 12 are for boys and 4 for girls. The boys' schools have 1,606 pupils ; and the girls' schools, of which 2 are for Muhammadans and 2 for Hindus, have 562 pupils. Besides these, there are several private schools, including an English school with 159 pupils.
The trade of Shikarpur has long been famous, under both native and British rule. The town is situated on one of the great routes from Sind to Khorasan via the Bolan Pass ; and its commerce in 1841, which in quality remains much the same to-day, was thus described by Postans :
'Shikarpur receives from Karachi, Marwar, Multan, JBahawalpur, Khairpur, and Ludhiana, European piece-goods, raw silk, ivory, cochi- neal, spices of sorts, coarse cotton cloth, kinkhabs, manufactured silk, sugar-candy, coco-nuts, metals, kirami (groceries), drugs of sorts, indigo and other dyes, opium, and saffron ; from Kachhi, Khorasan, and the north-west, raw silk (Turkestan), various kinds of fruit, madder, tur- quoises, antimony, medicinal herbs, sulphur, alum, saffron, asafoetida, gums, cochineal, and horses, The exports from Shikarpur are confined to the transmission of goods to Khorasan through the Bolan Pass, and a tolerable trade with Kachhi (Eagh, Gandava, Kotri, and Dadar). They consist of indigo (the most important), henna, metals of all kinds, country coarse and fine cloths, European piece-goods (chintzes, &c.), Multani coarse cloth, silks (manufactured), groceries and spices, raw cotton, coarse sugar, opium, hemp-seeds, shields, embroidered horse- cloths, and dry grains. The revenue of Shikarpur derivable from trade amounted in 1840 to Rs. 54,736, and other taxes and revenue from lands belonging to the town, Rs. 16,645, making a total of Rs. 71,381, which was divided among the Khairpur and Hyderabad Talpur Mirs in the proportion of three-sevenths and four-sevenths, respectively.'
Since Postans wrote, Shikarpur has lost much of its commercial impor- tance, owing to the construction of the North- Western Railway and its extension to Quetta. The enterprise of its merchants, however, renders it still a considerable entrepot. The local traders deal largely with Central Asia, where many of them pass long periods, while others travel to Bombay and all parts of India, and even to Europe or Japan. The principal manufactures are carpets and coarse cotton cloth. In the Government jail, baskets, reed chairs covered with leather, carpets, shoes, &c., are made by the prisoners.
