A History of Sind, Volume II - A History of Sind, Volume II, Translated from Persian Books by Mīrzā Kalichbeg Fredunbeg

He was one of the Sayyeds of Muta-allawí (Matiárí) and was the son of Sayyed Lallah and was born in 944 A.H. (1537 A.D.) Heled a very austere life from his early childhood. It is said that early in the morning he used to go to the mosque, call the people to prayer and remain there engaged in repeating religious formulas, till the morning prayer was over. Then he came home, cooked his food and fed his guests and disciples. Then carrying a plough on his head and taking a pair of bullocks he went to work in his field. He returned in the afternoon and said the afternoon and evening prayers, and completing the domestic affairs of the day and feeding his fakírs, he started in the direction of Rahót and from there he came to Tattá. In the way he visited each and every mosque, filled the jars with water and did other necessary service. Swimming across the river of Sáwní he visited all the tombs on the Maklí Hill and mosques of Tattá and then he came to Pir Pathá. Thence he travelled back visiting mosques and shrines in the way, arriving at his own village just at the time of the call for morning prayer. This was his daily habit for many years. He was a great friend of Sayyed Muhammad Yúsuf Razawí of Bakhar, Makhdúm Ádam Samejah of Kaleh and Makhdúm Núh of Háláh. He acquired much spiritual knowledge from the latter and with his advice he became a permanent resident of Bulrí. He died in 1030 A.H. (1620 A.D). He had eight sons. 1. Sayyed Lallah who died in childhood. 2. Sayyed Abdur Rahím who was as pious as his father, but died in the latter’s life-time. Sayyed Jalál, named after his uncle, who was a celebrated saint. He was murdered one night by thieves, while he was coming home from Háláh, in his father’s life-time. 4. Sayyed Burhán, who too died in his father’s life-time. 5. Sayyed Lallah the second, who survived his father’s death and spent much time in travelling. 6. Sayyed Dín Muhammad, who led a retired life and ultimately became his father’s successor. 7. Sayyed Muhammad Husain, who under his father’s orders served his Fakírs. 8. Sayyed Abdul Kuddús, who died in childhood in his father’s life-time. On his death-bed Sayyed Abdul Karím appointed his son Sayyed Dín Muhammad as his successor. The latter was succeeded by his son Sayyed Abduddalíl, who again was succeeded by his son Sayyed Abdul Ghaní. The next successors were the latter’s son Sayyed Abdul Wásia, then his son Sayyed Muhammad Zamán, then his son Sayyed Mukím, then his brother Muhammad Zamán’s son Sayyed Abdul Wásia.

Sháh Abdullatíf was born at Bhaipur in the talukah of Háláh in 1102 A.H. (1689 A.D.). His ancestors Sayyed Mir Alí had come from Hirát to Hindustán in 1398 A.D., when Amír Taimúr had invaded that country. His son Haidarshah came to Sind in order to visit his brothers, who had been appointed as Governors of different provinces of Hindustán. Coming to Háláh he married a daughter of Sháh Muhammad son of Daryá Khan Háláh. After about a year and a half, Sayyed Haidar got the sad news of his father’s death and went to Hirát, leaving his wife at Háláh, where she gave birth to a son who was called Mír Alí. After about 3 years Sayyed Haidarsháh died at Hirát. Sayyed Mír Alí married and got two sons Sayyed Sharfuddín, whose descendants are called Sharafpótahs and Sayyed Ahmad, whose descendants are called Míranpótahs. They lived at Muta-allawí (Matiárí). One of the celebrated descendants of these Sayyeds was Sayyed Abdul Karím of Bulri. Sháh Abdullatíf was the son of Habíb Shah, who was the son of Abdul Kuddús Sháh, who was the son of Jamál Sháh, who was the son of Sháh Abdul Karím. Sháh Abdullatíf’s mother was a descendant of Makhdúm Arabí Dayánah, who was a celebrated saint. Sháh Abdullatíf got very little education in childhood, but being of retired habits and fond of travelling he acquired a vast amount of spiritual knowledge.

Shah Abdullatíf married a daughter of Mughul Beg Mirzá and had a son, who died in infancy. The austere life which Shah Bhitáí led brought him a large number of muríds. This made the Makhdúm of Háláh, a descendant of Makhdúm Núh and the Sayyeds of Muta-allawí, jealous of him. He was therefore obliged to remove from Muta-allawí to Bhaipur, and thence to Kotrí near Háláh. Mian Núr Múhammad Kalhórah, the ruler of Sind, whose capital city was then at Khudá-ábad was not on good terms with him, but afterwards he became his muríd.

In 1144 A.H. (1731 A.D.) Sháh Abdullatíf’s father died. Soon after, he removed to a sand-hill, where he settled himself with his muríds. This was called Bhit, where he died in 1165 A.H. (1752 A.D.) on the 14th of Saffar. His shrine is visited by people from all the parts of Sind. Sháh Abdullatíf is the author of Sháh-jo-Risáló, which work shows clearly that he was a great poet as well as a great saint.

Sháh Bhitáí was succeeded on his gádi by his nephew Jamál Sháh, who then lived at Wangah Walásah. He died in 1204 A.D. (1789 A.D.).

Díwán Gidúmal was the son of Belomal, third descendant of Adiomal Sháhwání, who first came to Sind. Adiomal was an original resident of Sítpur or Hájípur, and a Khatrí (Manchund) by caste. He came to Sukkur and entered the service of Mián Ádam Sháh Kalhórah. Subsequently he removed to Shikárpur, where he married the daughter of a wealthy merchant (sowcar) of the place, by whom he had two sons. From these two sons a long line of descendants issued, many of whom are still living at Hyderabad. Díwán Gidúmal himself had no issue, but the descendants of his brothers are called Gidwánís after him. He entered the service of the Kalhórahs as a Díwán and rose to be an influential courtier and counsel of the State, When the Tálpurs succeeded the Kalhórahs, Diwán Gidúmal secured their confidence too and greatly assisted Mír Fateh Alí Khán in becoming an independent ruler of Sind by going as an Envoy to the court of the Emperors of Dehlí, but he excited some suspicion in the mind of his brother Mír Ghulám Alí Khan, and under his orders he was suddenly assaulted by a number of men armed with clubs and killed. Gidú Bandar or Gidú-jó-Tandó and Gidwání Street are still called after him.^*

He was born in 1153 A.H. (1740 A.D.) at Multán. He was the son of Madár Alí Sháh, grandson of Núr Muhammad Sháh (alias Sábút Sháh) and great grandson of Sayyed l’sá. When Nawáb Aazam Khan was coming to Sind as Súbahdár and passed through Multan, Sábit Alí Sháh entered his service and came to Sind. When the Nawáb retired and went back to his native place, Sábit Alí Sháh came to Sehwán, where he found the spiritual guide of his family living in the vicinity of Lál Sháhbaz’s shrine. Thus he became a permanent resident of Sehwán and was soon joined by his father Madár Alí Sháh and his brother Parial Sháh, and other relations. He got a preliminary education and early showed signs of an original genius as a poet. He made great advancement in Arabic and Persian literature and commenced writing marcias or elegies describing the martyrdom of the Prophet’s grandson Imám Husain and his party, and singing praises of Alí, the fourth khalíf of the Prophet.

He used to receive allowances and pensions from the Kalhórah rulers and after them from their successors the Tálpurs. Mir Karam Alí Khán was very kind to him, and under his patronage he enjoyed great respect and was safe from the enmity of the Sunní Mullás. He travelled about to other countries, visiting Karbalá and the shrines of all the Imáms, and was therefore called Karbaláí or Zawwár. He died on 27th Jamádessání 1325 A.H. (1810 A.D.) and was buried in the grave-yard of Sehwán. He has written many books, all in poetry. In one of these he has given his autobiography. Sábit Alí Sháh had two sons Imdád Alí Sháh and Ihsán Alí Sháh. The former had a son whose name is Sábit Alí Sháh, who is still living in the vicinity of the Mir’s tombs at Haidarábád and gets a pension from the British Government. He has two sons Parial Sháh and Imdád Alí Sháh.

Ághá (or Mír) Ibráhímsháh’s father Sayyed Abdul Hádísháh, a resident of Isphán, the capital of Persia, left that country at the time of Nadirshah’s invasion and came to Madras in India in 1150 A.H. (1737 A.D.). He was employed as State Physician by the Rájah of that place. At the request of Mían Núr Muh mmad Kalhórah, the then ruler of Sind, who was on friendly terms with the Rájah, the latter sent Sayyed Abdul Hádísháh to the Mían, who received him and entertained him with great respect. Soon the Rájah of Madras died and the Sayyed was induced to stay in Sind and accept the high posts of State Physician and Courtier jointly. After Núr Muhammad’s death and in the reign of Mían Sarafráz, Sayyed Abdul Hádísháh was joined by his son Mir Ibráhímshah, 22 years after the former had left him in his native place. Mír Ibráhímsháh succeeded his father on his death in 1193 A.H. (1779 A.D.) and continued enjoying the respect and confidence of the Kalhórah rulers. Very often he visited the court of the king of Khurásán or Kábul as an envoy on behalf of the Kalhórahs. When the Tálpurs became the rulers of Sind, Ághá (Mír) Ibráhímsháh enjoyed the same respect under them, and he assisted Mír Fateh Alí Khán a great deal as an envoy in securing the rulership of Sind. His eldest son Ághá Ismáílsháh remained as a hostage at the court of Kábul for 12 years on behalf of the Mírs. Ághá Ibráhímsháh had 8 sons, four of whom held the governorship of Shikárpur, viz., Zainulábdin Sháh for 2 years (he was also the Nawáb of Karáchi for 6 years); Tákí Sháh for 30 years; Ibráhím Sháh for 4 years; and Kázím Sháh for 13 years. The latter was killed in the battle between the Tálpurs and the Afgháns at Shikárpur.

The Ághás lived in a Tandó of theirs on the Phulelí near Haidarabad, and it is known as Ághá Ismáílsháh’s Tandó. Their descendants still live there.^*

Mirzá Khusró Beg was born in 1790 A.D. at Tiflis, the capital city of Georgia, which province was annexed to the Russian Empire in 1797, on the murder of Muhammad Sháh, the King of Persia, after a war that lasted for about five years. Mirzá Khusró Beg’s father Alkandar Khan was killed in this war, and he himself, then a boy of 7 years, was captured, along with his elder brother, by some Persian troopers and taken to the Persian camp, where his elder brother died after three days from a severe attack of fever. Hájí Muhammad Ibráhím Khán, the Commander-in-Chief of the Persian army, happening to see the sorrowing boy among the captives, and learning the cause of his sorrow, felt so much for him that he brought him to his house and began to treat him kindly and to bring him up like one of his own children. In this way Mirzá Khusró Beg spent some years at Tehrán, and then, on the death of his master, he came, with some of his relations, to Shíráz, where he got some education in a school. Untortunately his new master was imprisoned on some suspicion, under the orders of King Fateh Ali Sháh, the successor of Muhammad Shah, and Mirzá Khusró Beg was left without proper protection. About the same time Mulla Muhammad Ismáil, an envoy of the Amírs of Sind, coming to Shíráz, Mirzá Khusró Beg was entrusted to him, and he brought the young Mirzá to Haidarábád (Sind) in 1805, when he was only 15 years old. Mír Karam Alí Khán, the then ruler of Sind, took him under his patronage, and as he had no issue, he treated the young Mirzá as an adopted son. Mirzá Khusró Beg soon rose to be a confidential and influential couctier, and the keeper of the royal seal, like a prime minister. He continued in this position till the death of Mír Karam Alí Khán in 1827, after which he retired from political life and state service. Mír Murád Alí Khán, the successor of Mír Karam Alí Khán, as well as the succeeding Mírs, treated the Mirzá with marked respect, and in the days of the latter he was occasionally deputed as an ambassador to treat with the British officers. After the battle of Mianí the Mirzá was taken prisoner along with the Mírs, but subsequently the latter were taken away to Bombay, and the Mirzá was left behind to look after the harems of the Mírs, especially those of the late Mír Karam Alí Khán. At first Mirzá Khusró Beg lived in the fort of Haidarábád, like the Mírs. Later on he wanted to settle outside near the tomb of his late master, Mír Karam Alí Khán, but he was induced to leave off the idea and the walled enclosure was subsequently utilised as sadar jail by the British Government. After the British conquest Mirzá Khusró Beg with the harems of the Mírs removed from the Fort to Tando Sáindád, opposite Tando Muhammad Khán on the Gúní, where shortly after a dreadful fire broke out accidentally destroying valuable property. Then they removed to Tandó Mahmúd on the Phulelí and then, after about four years, to Tandó Thóró, about 2 miles from Haidarábád, where he continued to live up to his death in 1860 at the age of 70.^* He was buried in the vicinity of the tombs of the Mírs. He was a noble-minded, generous-hearted, truth-loving and well educated nobleman, keeping up his self-respect and honour, even after the British conquest. During his last lingering illness he was constantly visited by Sir Bartle Frere, the then Commissioner in Sind, Major Goldsmid. Colonel Lambert, Colonel Tyrwhitt and other European officers. He never entered Government service after his master Mír Karam Alí Khan’s death and would not receive any jágír even. A small jágír was subsequently given to his eldest son, then 7 years old, by H. H. Mír Núr Muhammad Khán, for his pocket money. Mirzá Khusró Beg had four sons, the eldest being Mirza Ali Muhammad Beg, who, in 1859, entered Government service, being appointed an Extra Assistant Collector. He got the title of “Khán Bahádur” as a mark of distinction. He died on 22nd January 1887 at the age of 53, after a bright career of 28 years service. His son Mirzá Kalbalí Beg is still in Government service, being a first grade Mukhtiarkar.^†

Mirzá Muhammad Bákar was a Georgian by birth, having been born at Tiflis. In the war that ensued between Persia and Russia, like so many other Georgians, Mirzá Muhammad Bákar and his brother were taken prisoners, after their father had first killed with his own hands the female members of his family and then was killed himself fighting sword in hand. Soon the two brothers were separated by their captors and Mirzá Muhammad Bákar was brought to Shiráz where he got some education. About the same time some of the envoys of Mir Murád Alí Khán, coming to Persia, they manoged to get his possession and brought him to Sind when he was about 15 years old. He was greatly consoled to see his countryman Mirzá Khusró Beg already in Sind, particularly when the latter assured him that he was the brother he had lost (or like him), and for whom he was still sorrowing. He soon rose under the patronage of Mir Murád Ali Khán to be a favourite courtier. He died on 28th Shawwál 1273 A.H. (1856 A.D.) at the age of 55. He left five sons, Mirza Band Alí Beg, Mirza Muhib Alí Beg, Mirza Nawáz Alí Beg, Mirzá Sher Alí Beg and Mirza Lutíf Alí Beg. The eldest, Mirza Band Ali Beg, died in 1869 at the age of 48.^*

Mirzá Fredún Beg (whose original name was Sydney, for he belonged to a Christian family) was born in 1814 A.D. at Sakaz, near Tiflis, the capital of Georgia. When Nádir Shah’s successor Muhammad Khán invaded Georgia, Mirzá Fredún Beg’s father with his band of frontier tribesmen fought on the side of Heracleus, the ruler of Georgia. In the bloody battle of Tiflis, Heracleus was defeated and about 15,000 persons were captured and brought to Persia. Mirzá Fredún Beg’s father with his wife and two sons, John and Sydney, were among the captives. Soon after, a Russian army coming to Georgia to help Heracleus’ son Gurgín Khán, Muhammad Khán again invaded Georgia, and defeated the Russians and Georgians at the battle of Urus. During this latter confusion, Mirzá Fredún Beg’s father, with his eldest son John, managed to escape and join Gurgín Khán and they were killed in the battle. His wife fearing disgrace, consequent on her husband’s treacherous escape, committed suicide by poison, leaving behind her younger son Sydney, named Fredún Beg by the Persians, who was hardly 10 years old then. An influential Sayyed of Tabríz named Murtazá Sháh took the boy under his protection and brought him to Tabríz, and then to Isphán, where he learnt the Koran and some Persian books. About this time one of H. H. Mír Karam Alí Khan’s ambassadors coming to the court of Fateh Alí Sháh, the Sháh of Persia, and happening to see the boy and like him, took him away for the Mír, who was very fond of Georgian boys, having already adopted Mirzá Khusró Beg as his son, who too had come to Sind from Georgia under similar circumstances. Mirza Fredun Beg lived with Mirzá Khusró Beg, who married him to one of his own daughters and thenceforth they lived together as members of the same family. Mirzá Fredún Beg died on 21st January 1871, leaving seven sons and two daughters. The writer is his third son.^*