Umul Banin - Tando Wali Mohammad

History of Tando Wali Mohammad = 660 words

Group-08

Umul Banin - Investigative Report

Roll No 108

Political aspects:

After independence of Pakistan, the Sindhi Hindus expected to remain in Sindh but they were compelled to migrate in India. The properties of Sindhi Hindus were given to Muhajir. The muhajir were given land mostly in the area Tando Wali Mohammad. At that time Pakistan Muslim league was governing sindh but when the political party named as Pakistan’s People’s Party made by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, it took the government in Sindh. In Tando Wali Mohammed there always has been the government of PPP. As there were Muhajirs who also lived in this area there were also the candidates of MQM who compete in elections but every time PPP won the elections due to the majority of sindhi’s. The current members of national assembly and provincial assemblies in this area are from Pakistan Peoples Party. In the past governments two ministers also belonged to this area. One of the most prominent faces of Peoples Party Sindh, Moula Buksh Chandio is a Member of Parliament from this area.

Despite of Pakistan Peoples Party’s over whelming majority in this area there are no such development projects to mention. The roads are very narrow due to which the business is affected badly. The area is heavily crowded in day time. Especially near the channel bridge, Nawabshah bus stop is often jammed with traffic. Two heavy vehicles cannot cross side by side in this area. Traffic jams are very common in this area. People often face delay in reaching their destinations due to the traffic despite reaching about 50 people die in traffic incidents including no way for ambulance or emergency exits, fights, accidents and waiting in sun-heat many accidents occur in this area due to traffic jams.

Area of Silawats:

There is a well known area in Tando Wali Mohammad known as Silawat para. Silawats are Marwaris from Rajasthan and the name means stone masons or sangtarash. Over two centuries ago the community spread from Rajasthan and migrated to Karachi and Hyderabad. This particular community according to senior residents, currently has nearly 400 homes with 5000 inhabitants. All the old work on yellow stone in Sindh has been done by Silawat’s. Like Makli, the high court, the old assembly and Ismaili Jamat Khana which was built in yellow and pink stones was reconstructed in the 1970’s in white with touches of gold paint. The area in which these people have been living for centuries now has been described by its residents as safe and secure, where you would find most of the people sitting outside on charpai all day long, regardless of their gender but usually belonging to an older age group. Ladies of Silawat’s used to gather outside their entrances. They are a strictly endogenous community, practicing mainly parallel cousin marriages. They don’t allow to marry outside their community. There is a lack of space and the area is polluted. The community is growing population and since moving out is not an option for them. Reasons varying from lack of finances to association with the area. The ultimate solution has been to eradicate the old buildings and build higher. This new solution had absolutely no link with the culture, identity or even with the area. Currently, there are three types of trends that can be seen in this area. First is people who have always lived here and don’t want to move as their sentiments are attached to the houses. Second is people who are stuck in between as they have shifted in their new houses but still return back to their old houses because of their ancestors or any other reasons. Third is the new generation as many of them have even gone to abroad for their studies and some of them don’t want to come back. In Sindh, although the community still speaks Marwari but mostly Silawats now also speak Urdu, Sindhi and English. There is also a school in the area of Silawats named Roshan Tara Silawat School.