LAST month, the Makli Hill necropolis of Thatta was to have hosted the annual award giving ceremony of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS). The main purpose of holding the function in Thatta was to focus national attention on the dilapidated condition of the monuments located in one of the oldest historical sites of Pakistan. Unfortunately the function, could not be held there because of a road accident on the Karachi-Thatta highway in which the APNS President was injured.
Still, media practitioners who were able to visit Thatta for the preparatory arrangements were deeply distressed by the catastrophic decay of architectural treasures at Makli Hill due to atrocious neglect and complete absence of any preservation programme. Thatta is a district of Sindh with incomparable tourist lures such as the Makli Hill mausoleums, Shahjahan Mosque, ruins of the port city of Daibal at Bhambhore, and lovely lakes of Haleji and Keenjhar.
It has been a major tourist attraction for the people of Karachi who could conveniently make a day long trip to one or more tourist sites. But the tourism trade is on a serious decline because on one hand the sites are ill kept, and on the other even the modest catering and lodging facilities that were previously available on these sites are now either shut down or in disarray. Electricity and telephone services in Daibal are non-existent and the PTDC motel is the lair of stray dogs and narcotic addicts. Worst among these is situation of the Great Necropolis of Makli belonging to the 14th to 18th century.
During my visit to Makli in early April, it was heartbreaking to see the monuments and historic graves crumbling, a large number of them having already turned into piles of bricks. The necropolis, once a popular tourist spot, presented the sight of a desolate abandoned locale. Makli Hill restaurant, the only tourist eatery in town has long since closed for business. My companion and guide, former Municipal Councillor and a senior local journalist Hafiz Mushtaq Memon informed me that the Makli rest house where tourists could stay overnight is permanently occupied by unauthorized officials while its telephone and electricity, heavily misused with bills unpaid, were cut off.
These facts were brought to the notice of current DCO Thatta Mohammad Usman Panhwar. He had assured that restoration of the tourist attractions of Thatta district was on his priority list. He said the effort in this regard would be two pronged, to preserve and restore the grandeur of the monuments and to repair and restart shutoff tourist facilities in Makli, Haleji, Bhambore and Keenjhar lake.
The Makli graveyard, which is one of the largest and oldest in the East, is situated over an area of about 15 square kilometres. This means that to make a worthwhile round of the monuments one has to walk quite a lot, a herculean task in view of the harshly scorching temperatures of Thatta, about 45 degrees even in April. Private cars are not allowed inside, despite existence of gravel driveways in the graveyard. For the officials and the VIPs, there is, however, a little known backdoor where chowkidars jump to salute and open the gate so that they can tour the monuments in the luxury of their cars.
Thatta is ninety-eight kilometres (60 miles) east of Karachi, on the National Highway, just west of the Indus River and the Arabian Sea coast. Its history stretches back 2000 years. But today, it is now a mere vestige of its former greatness as 16th-century capital of the Samma dynasty in Lower Sind. The Samma period is important because inspite of the wars, huge amounts were spent on building the mausoleums, mosques and khanqahs. The richness of the tombs reflects the creativity of the artists, engineers, builders and artisans who were patornized by the rulers.
At Makli Hill, there are not merely the tombs of the rulers but also the mausoleums of saints and sufis; a blend of religion and politics. Since the 14th century, four Muslim dynasties have ruled Sindh from Thatta. It also remained the capital city of Sindh during the Mughal period, and the Makli Hill became the graveyard of the rulers, saints, noblemen and noblewomen. Its importance declined after the downfall of the Mughals, when, during the Kalhoros and the Talpurs, the capital shifted from Thatta to other places.
Thatta has a very rich heritage of Muslim architecture of the 16th and 17th century. It is believed that this was the place where Alexander the Great rested his legions after their long march. The Makli Hill near Thatta is the one of largest graveyards of the East, spread over 15.5sq. kms, having millions of graves, countless mausoleums of kings, princes, ministers, governors, saints, poets, writers and commoners. The necropolis of Makli presents an impressive array of various monumental buildings, mosques, madrasas, domes, arches and gateways designed in several architectural styles.
The masterpieces of stone carvings over the gravestones and mausoleums identify different eras and dynasties. There are monuments of Summa period (14th to 16th centuries), the Tarkhan and Arghun period (16th century),and the Moghul period (16th to 18th centuries). The main stone used in the construction of these monuments are; marble and granites which last for generations.
The largest and the most impressive monument at Makli is the tomb of Isa Khan Tarkhan who died in 1644. Isa Khan had constructed this tomb in his lifetime. After completion of that tomb, Isa Khan is reported to have cut off the hands of the craftsmen, so that no one else could engage them to copy the same monument again. Other better preserved monuments are, the tombs of Mirza Jani Beg, Mirza Tugral Beg and Diwan Shurfa Khan.
Mir Sher Ali Qani (died 1788), has recorded and documented the history of the Makli Hill in his book Makli Nama. A number of European travellers who visited Makli have also recorded their impressions. But the best description which is most relevant even today comes from Richard Burton, who in his book Unhappy Valley, writes: “Behind it is an infinite variety of mausoleums and sepulchres, many reduced to ruins by the earthquake’s shock, many crumbling to decay beneath the touch of time; a few, but very few,preserved by the pious hands of descendants and disciples.”
This exactly is the description which aptly fits the situation today. Only things have turned worst. A few Dargahs of saints are well maintained, largely visited by their disciples, but a vast variety other peerless tombs and mausoleums are simply crumbling, brick by brick unable to face the vagaries of time. One can only hope that some day, and soon before it is too late, authorities would hear the call of Makli Hill necropolis and other nearby historical sites.
LAST month, the Makli Hill necropolis of Thatta was to have hosted the annual award giving ceremony of All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS). The main purpose of holding the function in Thatta was to focus national attention on the dilapidated condition of the monuments located in one of the oldest historical sites of Pakistan. Unfortunately the function, could not be held there because of a road accident on the Karachi-Thatta highway in which the APNS President was injured.
