Umerkot

File:Birthplace of Akbar.JPG is traditionally believed to be marked by the small pavilion.]]

The city is named after a local ruler of Sindh, Umer Soomro (of Soomra dynasty) of the Umar Marvi folk tale, which also appears in Shah Jo Risalo, one of the popular tragic romances of Sindh.{{cite book|author=Shaikh Khurshid Hasan|title=Historical Forts In Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HH_fAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 2005|publisher=National Institute of Historical & Cultural Research Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University|isbn=978-969-415-069-7}}

{{Main|Sodhas of Amarkot}}

According to tradition, it was founded by a branch of the Soomra who later lost it to Sodhas in 1226. Sodhas were expelled by the Soomra in 1330 but again rose to power in 1439. In 1590, it became a part of the Mughal Empire. In 1599, Abu ’l-Ḳāsim Sulṭān, an Arghun dynasty prince drove out the Mughal commander. In 1736, Noor Mohammad Kalhoro expelled the last Sodha chief and took control of it.{{cite journal |last1=Ansari |first1=A.S Bazmee |editor1-last=Bearman |editor1-first=P.J. |title=Amarkot |journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English) |date=24 April 2012 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0581 |url=https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0581 |publisher=Brill |language=en |issn=1573-3912|url-access=subscription }} Amarkot province was ruled by the Sodha Rajput clan during the medieval period.[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/gulbadan/part10.html Part 10:..the birth of Akbar] Humayun nama by Gulbadan Begum. Rana Parshad, the Sodha Rajput ruler of Umarkot, gave refuge to Humayun, the second Mughal Emperor when he was ousted by Sher Shah Suri, and the following year Mughal Emperor, Akbar, was born here.[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/gulbadan/part10.html Part 10:..the birth of Akbar] Humayun-nama by Gulbadan Begum. Later on, Akbar brought northwestern India, including modern Pakistan, under Mughal rule.

After the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, Amarkot was captured by several regional powers, including the Persians, Afghans, Kalhora and Talpur Balochs of Sindh, Rathore Rajputs of Jodhpur and finally by the British.{{cite web| url=https://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10063/8776/thesis.pdf?sequence=1 | title=SINDH IN TRANSITION: FROM MUGHAL RULE TO BRITISH ANNEXATION, EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY TO 1843}}

Amarkot was annexed by Jodhpur State in 1779 from the Kalhora nawab of Sindh. Umerkot and its fort was traded to the British in 1843 by the Maharaja of Jodhpur in return for a Rs.10,000 reduction in the tribute imposed on Jodhpur State.{{Cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V14_192.gif|title = Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 14, page 186 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library}} The British appointed Syed Mohammad Ali governor of the province. In 1847, Rana Ratan Singh was hanged at the fort by the British, for killing Syed Mohammad Ali in a tax protest.{{Cite web |last=Hasan |first=Shazia |date=2015-04-19 |title=Umerkot: Lost in history |url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1176551 |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

After the British conquered Sindh, they made it part of the Bombay Presidency of British India. In 1858, the entire area around Tharparkar became part of the Hyderabad District. In 1860 the region was renamed Eastern Sindh Frontier, with a headquarters at Amarkot. In 1882, it was reorganized as the Thar and Parkar district, headed by a British Deputy Commissioner, with a political superintendent at Amarkot.David Ross C.I.E., The land of the five rivers and Sindh (1883), [https://books.google.com/books?id=bH4BAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33 p. 33] However, in 1906 the district headquarters moved from Amarkot to Mirpur Khas.

Rana Chandra Singh, a federal minister and the chieftain of the Hindu Sodha Thakur Rajput clan and the Amarkot Jagir, was one of the founding members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Umarkot seven times as a PPP member between 1977 and 1999, when he founded the Pakistan Hindu Party (PHP).{{cite web|title=Hindu Leader, Ex-minister Chardar Singh is Dead|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2009/August/international_August122.xml§ion=international&col=|date=3 August 2009|work=Khaleej Times|access-date=3 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608211713/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data%2Finternational%2F2009%2FAugust%2Finternational_August122.xml§ion=international&col=|archive-date=8 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\08\02\story_2-8-2009_pg12_6|title=Chieftain of Pakistani Hindu Thakurs dies |last=Guriro |first=Amar|date=2 August 2009|work=Daily Times|access-date=2 August 2009}} Currently, his politician son Rana Hamir Singh claims to be the 26th Rana of Tharparkar, Umarkot and Mithi.[https://www.dawn.com/news/1157340 Footprints: Once upon a time in Umerkot], Dawn (newspaper), 16 January 2015.[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-otherstates/Pakistans-Umerkot-gets-a-new-Hindu-ruler/article16042843.ece Pakistan's Umerkot gets a new Hindu ruler], The Hindu, 30 May 2010.

The city is well connected with the other large cities like Karachi, the provincial capital and Hyderabad.{{cite web |url=http://www.umerkot.gos.pk/ |title=District Government Umerkot |access-date=2014-02-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224191524/http://www.umerkot.gos.pk/ |archive-date=24 February 2012 |df=dmy-all }}

Umarkot has many sites of historical significance such as Akbar's birthplace, Umarkot, Umerkot Fort and Momal Ji Mari.

There is an ancient temple, Shiv Mandir, Umerkot, as well as a Kali Mata Temple, Krishna Mandir at old Amarkot and Manhar Mandir Kathwari Mandir at Rancho Line.

The city has more than 100 schools, 20 colleges, and one polytechnic college.

{{Historical populations|1951|5142|1961|5878|1972|8,381|1981|13,742|1998|35,559|2017|134,196|2023|144,558|align=center|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:{{cite web |title=Population by administrative units 1951-1998 |url=https://repository.lahoreschool.edu.pk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/13673/Administrative%20Units.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |publisher = Pakistan Bureau of Statistics}}}}

According to 2023 census, Umerkot had a population of 144,558.{{Cite web |title=Sindh (Pakistan): Urban Localities in Districts - Population Statistics, Charts and Map |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/sindh/ |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}

{{See also|Umerkot District#Religion}}

The Umarkot Shiv Mandir is one of the most ancient and sacred Hindu temples in Sindh.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1392074|access-date=18 February 2021|title=The thriving Shiva festival in Umarkot is a reminder of Sindh's Hindu heritage |date=27 February 2018 }}

• Islamkot
• Mithi
• District Government of Umerkot
• Akbar
• Tharparkar
• Umar Marvi

Umarkot Fort view3.JPG|Umerkot Fort

Umarkot museum view.JPG|Umerkot Museum

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{{Reflist|30em}}

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{{wikivoyage|Umerkot}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224191524/http://www.umerkot.gos.pk/ District government Umerkot official website (English version)]

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}

Category:Hinduism in Sindh

Category:Tehsils of Umerkot District