Umar Kot By Aziz Sanghur

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• published: 17 Mar 2011
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The ancient Umerkot Fort was built by Rana Amar Singh in 1020. The fort is located the middle of Umarkot city in Sindh Pakistan. Formerly known as Amarkot, it was the capital of Greater Sindh Province, including some parts of present Rajasthan state of India. Another significant story relating to Umarkot is that of Umar Marvi. Marvi was a young Thari girl abducted by Umar, then-ruler, who wanted to marry because of her beauty. Upon her refusal she was being imprisoned in the historic Umer Kot Fort for many years until her ultimate release. Because of her courage, Marvi is an ideal for the local people. The fort is roughly rectangular in plan measuring 292m x 228m. The fortification wall, 3m in width, gives a tapered look both on the exterior and interior. It has four semi-circular bastions at the corners. At present one of the bastions has completely vanished while still another reduced to shambles. The walls and bastions have burnt-brick facing with the filling of sun-dried bricks or simple mud and earth. The main gate, also known as Shahi darwaza, is situated roughly in the middle of the eastern wall. In plan, it is a crooked type of entrance, with an arched opening and a couple of bastions, all built in sand stone. The parapet, which seems to be of later period, is built in burnt-bricks and has musketry holes. The bastions are also provided with machicolations for pouring hot water or molten lead or oil on the advancing army frying to force their way through the entrance. Such machicolations are also found provided in the brick-wall around the fort. Close to one of the bastions, on the bricks making the facing of the Gate there seem impressions of hoofs of a horse, locally attributed to those of Rai Rattan Singh's, which had tried to cross over when its master was about to be hanged in the fort by the British. Near the northern entrance there is a brick-built pond-like depression, which opens to an arched-shaped tunnel made to discharge the water collected inside the fort. A chhatri-like structure in sang-e-khattu, yellow sand stone, supported on eight pillars, stands in northwestern side of the fort, near the above-mentioned drain. Here in the shape of a cross is the grave of Herbert Edward Watson, Ex-Deputy Commissioner of Thar and Parkar. There are three inscriptions in English: "H.E. Watson Sindh Commission: for many years Deputy Commissioner of this district, born 23rd November 1846, died 26th February 1894. This memorial was erected by the subordinate officials and zamindar of Thar and Parkar in Remembrance of his good qualities and in token of their affection for him." "In loving memory of Herbert Edward Watson, Deputy Commissioner Thar and Parkar. Died Feb, 27th 1894 aged 47." "Well done thou good and faithful servant Entre thou into the ion of the God." There are some other buildings, though not of any historical or architectural consequence, in the fort. Near to the northwestern gate are some residential quarters for the staff of the Umerkot Museum. In the southeastern portion are the buildings housing provincial government offices while on the other side in the northeastern corner is the newly built, 'gymkhana'. On the western side of this building is the new museum building. The old museum, lying immediately west of it, is set in a single hall of considerable dimensions. It was inaugurated in 1968. Still serving well the scholars and general visitors alike it was conceived keeping in view the importance of Umerkot as birth-place of Emperor Akbar the Great. On display are some of the rare manuscripts, framin, specimens of calligraphy, miniature paintings, coins and armory. Some cannon balls and stone carvings retrieved from random excavations in the fort are displayed in the open outside the museum.