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 Hyderabad is a city, district, and division in the Sind province. The city is an administrative
headquarters and it lies on the most northerly hill of the Ganjo Takkar
ridge, just east of the Indus
River. The third
largest city in Pakistan,
it is a communications center, connected by rail with Peshawar
and Karachi
and with Indian railways via the border towns of Khokhrapar and Munabao.
Founded in 1768 on the site of the ancient town of Nirun-Kot by Ghulam Shah
Kalhora, the saintly ruler of Sind, it was named after the prophet Mohammed's
son-in-law, Ali, also known as Haydar. It remained the capital of Sind under
the Talpur rulers, who succeeded the Kalhoras, till 1843 when, after the
nearby battles of Miani and Dabo, it surrendered to the British and the capital
was transferred to Karachi.
Incorporated as a municipality in 1853, it is an important commercial and
industrial center. Economic activities include textile, sugar, cement, and
hosiery mills, manufacture of glass, soap, ice, paper, and plastics. 'There
are hide tanneries and sawmills. Ornamented silks, silver-work and gold-work,
and lacquerware are also produced. Noteworthy antiquities include the  tombs
of the Kalhora and Talpur ruler, palaces of the former amirs of Sind, and a for (built 1782). Newly developed
settlements and industrial estates surround the congested old city area.
Characteristic of the city is badgirs (wind-catchers) fixed to housetops to
catch sea breezes during the hot season. A hospital, municipal gardens, zoo,
sports stadium, and several literary societies are in the city. The Ghulam
Mohammed (Kotri_ Barrage, including a lock to facilitate river traffic,
provides flood control. The University
of Sind with 32 affiliated colleges,
founded in 1947 in Karachi and moved to Hyderabad in 1951, lies across the Indus.
Other education needs are served by numerous government colleges, the Liaqat Medical College,
and specialized vocational institutions.
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