Sukkur

SukkurTemplate:Efn is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 17th largest city of Pakistan by population. The city was originally founded by the Rai dynasty of Sindh. The modern city was built in the 1840s. New Sukkur was established during the British era alongside the village of Sukkur. Sukkur's hill, along with the hill on the river island of Bukkur, form what is sometimes considered the "Gate of Sindh".

Etymology

The name Sukkur is derived from the Sindhi language word sakhar meaning 'superior'.

History

The region around Sukkur had been inhabited for millennia. The ruins of Lakhan-jo-daro, located near an industrial park on the outskirts of Sukkur, date from the Mature Harappan period of the Indus Valley Civilization, between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE. It covers more than 300 hectares of area and is touted to be second largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization, just 75 kilometers away from another ancient major city of the civilization, Mohenjo Daro.

File:Temple Sadh Belo.jpg

Sukkur is home of the Hindu Sadh Belo shrine.

"Old Sukkur" was initially a small village prior to the establishment of a military garrison in 1839. Sukkur was built on a low limestone ridge on the banks of the Indus River. The city was once surrounded by groves of date palms that were traditionally believed to have grown from the discarded date-pits from Arab invaders in the 8th century.

File:Mir Masum's Minar and tomb 3.jpg

Sukkur's Shrine of Masum Shah and adjacent minaret dates from 1607.

The village of Sukkur was directly across from the larger town of Rohri, which served as a busy port along the Indus by the 1200s, and was a major trading centre for agricultural produce. An tall minaret was built at Sukkur's shrine of Mir Masum Shah in 1607.

British

File:Landsdown Bridge, Sukkur, Sindh.jpg

Completed in 1889, the Lansdowne Bridge displays elements of British military architecture.

File:Sukkur Barrage in daylight.jpg

The Sukkur Barrage, completed in 1932, forms part of one of the world's largest irrigation projects.

Modern Sukkur, or New Sukkur, was built during British rule alongside what was once a small village directly across from the historic city of Rohri. The British established a military garrison here in 1839, which was abandoned in 1845, though Sukkur continued to grow in importance as a trading center. The Sukkur Municipality was constituted in 1862.

Completed in 1889, Sukkur's Lansdowne Bridge connects the Sukkur to Rohri across the Indus, and was one of the first bridges to cross the river. The bridge made the journey between Karachi and Multan easier. The bridge was built with two large pylons rather than a series of pillars extending across the river – a cutting-edge design for such an expansive span. The bridge was also made of metal, and features an unusual design.

Sukkur Barrage (formerly called Lloyd Barrage), built under the British Raj on the Indus River, controls one of the largest irrigation systems in the world. It was designed by Sir Arnold Musto KCIE, and constructed under the overall direction of Sir Charlton Harrison between 1923 and 1932. The long barrage is made of yellow stone and steel and can water nearly 10 million acres (40,000 km²) of farmland through its seven large canals.

On the eve of the Partition of British India in 1947, Sukkur's old town was home to about 10,000 residents, while New Sukkur was home to 80,000.

Modern

After the formation of Pakistan most of the city's Hindu population migrated to India, though like much of Sindh, Sukkur did not experience the widespread rioting that occurred in Punjab and Bengal. According to the 1941 census, about 70% of the population of Sukkur was Hindu, this number decreased to 2% by the 1951 census as a result of the partition. However, less than 500 Hindus were killed in all of Sindh between 1947 and 1948 as Sindhi Muslims largely resisted calls to turn against their Hindu neighbours. Hindus did not flee Sukkur en masse until riots erupted in Karachi on 6 January 1948, which sowed fear in Sindh's Hindus despite the fact that the riots were local and related to Sikh refugees from Punjab seeking refuge in Karachi. Muslim refugees from India settled in Sukkur.

The Sindh Industrial Trading Estate in Sukkur was established in 1950. The Ayub Bridge was built in 1962, and spans the Indus River alongside the British era Landsdowne Bridge. The city suffered major flooding during the 2010 Pakistan floods which inundated large parts of the city.

Geography

The small Eocene limestone outcropping upon which Sukkur was founded is the most significant land deformation on the vast plains along the Indus Valley in Sindh and Punjab. The outcropping is part of the "Jacobabad-Khairpur High" and Rohri Hills. The outcropping, along with the similar outcropping on Bukkar Island are sometimes referred to as the "Sukkur Gorge," and has historically served as the traditional northern boundary of Sindh.

File:Sukkur Pakistan Haddid - panoramio.jpg

Date palms in Sukkur.

Climate

Sukkur has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), characterised by extremely hot and hazy summers with mild and foggy winters. Sukkur is known for its extremely hot summers, and was described as the hottest city in British India. Wind speed is low throughout the year, and sunshine is abundant. Summer temperatures regularly surpass . Dry heat is experienced starting April to early June until the Monsoon season starts to arrive. Monsoons in Sukkur are not very wet, but bring high dew points, resulting in high heat indices. Monsoons recede by September, but it is not until late October that the short lived autumn season is experienced before the onset of the region's cool winters. The average annual rainfall of Sukkur is Template:Cvt and mainly occurs in the monsoon season. The highest annual rainfall ever is Template:Cvt, recorded in 2022 and the lowest annual rainfall ever is 0 mm in 1941.

Demography

Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad. The population of Sukkur is 551,357 according to the 2023 Census of Pakistan. Around 74 % of the population speaks Sindhi natively, while 18.7% of the population speaks Urdu natively.

Languages

Roughly 96% population of the city is Muslim, while the remaining 4% comprise other minorities, overwhelmingly Hindus.

Religious groups in Sukkur City (1881−2023)

Religious group	1881		1891		1901		1911		1921		1931		1941		2017		2023
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam File:Star and Crescent.svg	14,118		11,866		11,386		13,253		16,329		27,642		18,152		486,710		544,308
Hinduism File:Om.svgTemplate:Efn	12,838		16,945		19,313		21,392		25,368		38,890		46,467		18,645		21,322
Christianity File:Christian cross.svg	383		423		339		163		302		525		353		2,176		3,095
Zoroastrianism File:Faravahar.svg	50		54		54		74		101		111		53		—	—	0
Judaism File:Star of David.svg	0		14		13		0		0		8		8		—	—	—	—
Jainism File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg	0		0		0		3		9		0		0		—	—	—	—
Buddhism File:Dharma Wheel (2).svg	0		0		0		0		0		0		0		—	—	—	—
Sikhism File:Khanda.svg	—	—	—	—	—	—	409		650		2,094		1,433		—	—	225
Ahmadiyya File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya 1-2.svg	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13		12
Others	0		0		211		0		0		7		0		486		190
Total population	27,389		29,302		31,316		35,294		42,759		69,277		66,466		508,030		569,152
1881–1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Sukkur, which included Sukkur Municipality. 2017–2023: Urban populations of New Sukkur Taluka and Sukkur City Taluka.

Economy

Sukkur's economy is largely reliant upon the agricultural produce from northern Sindh's farms, and serves as a trading and processing center for agricultural goods.

Sukkur's economy relies heavily on agriculture and related processing, but also features industrial activity. The Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) Sukkur, established in 1963, covers approximately 1,060 acres and hosts over 100 units, primarily agro-based industries such as cotton ginning, vegetable oil and ghee mills, flour mills, biscuits (e.g., Continental Biscuits/LU), and beverages (e.g., PepsiCo). A smaller Small Industries Estate (SIE) spans 110 acres. These estates support manufacturing, employment, and trade in northern Sindh. The city also once had a bustling shipbuilding industry.

Sukkur is well-connected to the rest of Pakistan by road and rail, which in turn has attracted new industries such as chemical manufacturing, metalworking, and cement manufacturing.

Agriculture

Sukkur had a large fertile and cultivable land area. During kharif, rice, bajra, cotton, tomatoes and peas are cultivated, whereas during rabi, the main crops are wheat, barley, graham and melons. Sukkur is famous world over for its dates. Sukkur also has a large Riveraine forest along the course of the Indus. These tropical forests are found within the protective embankments on either side of the Indus. During 1997–98, the total area under forests was Template:Cvt which yielded of timber and of firewood besides other mine products.

Transportation

Road

The city is connected to Multan by M-5 motorway, with onwards motorway connections to Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar. Sukkur will also be connected to Hyderabad by the M-6 motorway, with onwards connections to Karachi via the M-9 motorway. The M-5 is ready whereas the M-6 is being built as part of the wider China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Rail

Sukkur railway station serves as the city's main rail station. Passenger services are provided exclusively by Pakistan Railways. The city's station is serviced by the Jaffar Express that runs between Rawalpindi and Quetta, the Sukkur Express that runs between Karachi and Jacobabad, and the Akbar Express that runs between Quetta and Peshawar.

Air

Sukkur Airport, located 8 km outside of the city, is served by Pakistan International Airlines, with direct flights to Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.

Administration

The city of Sukkur is the capital of Sukkur Division and Sukkur District. Sukkur District has four Tehsils (Talukas) and many Union Councils. Sukkur is home to one of three circuit benches of the Sindh High Court.

Education

File:Sukkur IBA University - academic block I (2).jpg

The Sukkur IBA University is one of Pakistan's business schools.

The Sukkur IBA University (previously Sukkur Institute of Business Administration or Sukkur IBA) is a business school founded in 1994. The institute is ranked 3rd among the five independent business schools of Pakistan included in the Higher Education Commission Pakistan Business School Ranking 2013.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University is the public sector University exclusively for women. Established on 50 Acre of land at the Rohri Bypass N-5 National Highway

The Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College is a constituent College of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University.

The Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design and Heritages is established near Sukkur at Rohri bypass N-5 National Highway. The university is offering the graduate, postgraduate an advance studies in the field of architecture, textile design, photography, interior design, civil engineering, communication design, ceramics and other disciplines.

Islamia Science College Sukkur was founded by the Syed Hasan Mian Advocate and he remained the Chief Patron of the college till his death, Syed Hasan Mian advocate with the help of Noble families of Sukkur founded 25 Schools and Vocational centers in Sukkur. He was the General Sec of All India Muslim League and close associate of Founder of Pakistan Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Ziauddin University Sukkur Campus

Notable people

• Mir Muhammad Masum Nami (d. 1606), born to Shaikh-ul-Islam of Bhakkar of that time. He authored Tarikh-i-Masumi (aka Tarikh-i-Sind), a book on history of the Sindh province from the start of Muhammad Bin Qasim's arrival in Sindh to the beginning of 17th century. Mufradat-i-Nami was book written on medicine by him. He wrote a Diwan of poetry and versified the translation of legend of Sassi Pannu.
• Hemu Kalani,  Indian revolutionary
• Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Khan Mahar
• Syed Nasir Hussain Shah
• Abdul Hafeez Pirzada
• Syed Khurshid Shah, Leader of Opposition for National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018
• Islam Ud Din Shaikh, Member of Senate of Pakistan since March 2015
• Nouman Islam Shaikh, Member National Assembly of Pakistan, NA-207 (Sukkur-II), NA-198 (Sukkur-cum-Shikarpur-I)
• Dr Sana Ramchand Gulwani, first female Hindu civil servant from Pakistan Administrative Service

See also

• Alor and Arora
• Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College
• List of educational institutions in Sukkur
• Sukkur IBA University
• Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women University
• Aror University of Art, Architecture, Design and Heritages

External links

• Template:Wikivoyage inline
• Sukkur
• Ghulam Muhammad Maher Medical College, Sukkur
• ADB Report on Sukkur Barrage 2001
• An Overview of the History and Impacts of the Water Issue in Pakistan Template:Webarchive
• Pakistan Floods Situation Report, 26 July 2005