LARKANA: Leaving the riddle of on whose side Darya Khan Abro fought in the battle of Garilo town during the reign of Din Mohammad Kalhoro (1692-1699) to historians, the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh has rehabilitated the valiant general’s tomb before it crumbles away.

“The objective of preserving the tomb is to save old historical structures and keep alive historical links,” said Ishtiaque Ansari, regional coordinator of EFT.

The tomb houses the graves of Darya Khan and his father Jamal Khan and is encircled by lush green fields dotted with straw-made huts of nomads.

Zohaib Kamariyo (Abro) who holds a Master’s degree in English and is an old dweller of Garilo said that he and convinced the EFT to preserve the tomb.

“The tomb is part of a graveyard which is spreads over half a kilometre,” said Kamariyo.

Mohammad Urs, a watchman appointed by the EFT to look after the tomb, is disturbed by existence of a pond of stagnant water and a brick kiln near the tomb.

The pond would cause waterloggedness and salinity over the years which would pose a permanent threat to the tomb, he said.

Badar Abro, a traveler and author of many books on historical structures, said that if Darya Khan were against Kalhoros, how could they have allowed building of his tomb, which carried all hallmarks of the signature architecture of that era. In most likelihood, Darya Khan had fought against Mughals who were enemies of Kalhoros, he said.

Sagar Abro, president of the World Sufi Organisation, said that according to Tuhfatul Karaam, a famous book on history of Sindh authored by Mir Ali Sher Qane, Darya Khan laid down his life fighting against Mughals.

The EFT had done its job to save the tomb from crumbling away but the core job of maintaining it in the days to come and saving it from the onslaught of weather, encroachment, waterloggedness and salinity rested with the government departments, said Mr Ansari.

Remains of a battlefield in the shape of an old graveyard near Samtia village and Takhit Wah, closely situated to Garilo, can be seen till this day.

A cursory research on the internet about Darya Khan comes up with following details. In 1695 CE, Mughal governors of Multan, Bakhar Sarkar and Siwistan Sarkar (Sehwan) objected to the Mianwal movement launched by Kalhoros to snatch power Mughal emirs and accused them of fomenting trouble.

They conducted a series of attacks on the dairas (circles) of the Mianwal leaders but all the attacks failed and it led to the battle of Garilo town in Dokri taluka in 1699 CE.

Feroze Faqir Virar led the Kalhoro forces while Amir Jehan Khan headed the Mughal armies. In the long run, the Kalhoros emerged triumphant and Jehan along with Darya Khan died on the battlefield.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2016