SA Site Cover: Pillar of Victory by Sirat Gohar

I feel elated at the opportunity to write about a monument, that I first time saw

some fifteen years ago, while traveling by road to Shikarpur city from my

village. Conspicuous from the roadside the site is in Lakhi town. I still

remember, it was a standing structure of red bricks, built on a high

artificial mound and at first glance, I felt as if I was experiencing the past

from my window. I hadn’t even had the chance to collect my thoughts

before the van conductor yelled, ‘Lakhi Lakhi . . . Halli acho Lakhi

wara …,’ and the van stopped. Intrigued and confused by the expression

of fascination on my face, the passenger next to me asked me what I was

looking at. Perplexed I replied, “Hnmm…chaa” (which means “what?”

in Sindhi). He said plainly, this is ‘Lakhi Munaro’ and then there was

silence . . .

The monument or the site is known by various names such as,

‘Lakhi Munaro,’‘Lakhi Minar’ and ‘Lakhi Thul’ (this term was

suggested by Dr. Fatah) .The Sindhi word ‘Thul’ is used for ‘Pillar’ or

‘Column’. Lakhi Thul,’ therefore, means ‘Lakhi Pillar’ or the ‘Pillar

of Lakhi’. It is also known as ‘Lakhi Waaro Maaro’ which means the

‘Lakhi [Battle’s] victory symbol,’ due to its association with the Battle

of Lakhi (A.G. Daudpoto, personal communication, August 26, 2018).

Of all its different names the popular term for this site however, is

‘Lakhi Munaro.’ 'Munaro’ is a Sindhi word that is basically a

Sindhised form of the Urdu word ‘Minar’ which means ‘Minaret.’

The Battle of Lakhi

The Battle of Lakhi (1602 CE) was fought between the Daudpotras

(an Abbasid clan) and Mahers – the then rulers of Lakhi area.

According to the historical account ,‘Gulshan-e-Abbasia,’

Molvi Noor Muhammad writes that, “The conflict between the two

ethnic groups had arisen on account of chopping off of the tails and

ears of the horses of Daudpotras’ Ameers by the people of Karim

Dino Mehar-the then chief of Mehars.” After a long bloody fight,

the Daudpotras won the battle and established their rule over the

Mehar territory. It was then, that they erected a monument there,

as a symbol of power and so that they may be remembered in

posterity.

Foundation of Shikarpur City

In 1617, Ameer Bahadur Daudpotra laid the foundation of the

Shikarpur city, fifteen years after the victory in the Battle of Lakhi.

It was primarily built as the capital city of Daudpotra territory. The

previous year, a programme was organised on the Fourth Centenary

(400 years) Celebration of Shikarpur to mark its foundations and to pay

tribute to founders and other Shikarpurians.

Current State of the Monument

(The following is an account of the author’s own observations

and interactions with the local population)

A few years ago, the Lakhi pillar was rehabilitated by the Town Committee

of Lakhi, district Shikarpur, Sindh. Unfortunately, the conservation and

rehabilitation of the monument was done by unskilled local workers,

who had no idea about archaeological conservation. As a result,this historic

monument now looks like a new building.

Both Kalhora and Daudpotra Abbasid Architecture in Sindh consist of mosques,

tombs, forts, fortresses, towers. The Lakhi Pillar is one of its kind in Sindh, of the

Daudpotra Abbasid Architectural style, which tells the story of the Daudpotra

conquest of the region.