Sewan Sharif

Location
Sehwan (Sindhi:
, Urdu: )
(Sehwan Sharif) is a
historic city located in
Jamshoro District of
Sindh province in
Pakistan. Sehwan
stands on the west
bank of the Indus, 80
miles (130km) north-
west of Hyderabad
(which is on the
History
The name Sehwan originates from
"Siwistan" or "Seevistan", the kingdom
of Raja Dahir which extended to the
Punjab.It was conquered by
Muhammad bin Qasim in 711, and two
centuries later by Mahmud of Ghazni. An
abortive attempt was made by the
Mughal emperor Humayun to capture it
on his way to Umarkot but it finally fell
to his son Akbar. Before this, it was the
capital of the Thatta Kingdom under Juni
Bek.
Histrory
Sehwan was once a major centre for
Shaivism, and the hereditary guardian of
the tomb is still a Hindu. It is told that there
was a Shiva lingam right there in the shrine
until the 1970s. Some Hindus are said to
consider Lal Shahbaz an incarnation of a
fourth century Sanskrit poet turned
Shaivaite ascetic, others call him Jhule Lal,
the god of the Indus. All these Hindu
legends and beliefs have come together
with the faith of the Muslims to create a
truly extraordinary place.
 Popularity

The city is known for

its Sufi patron saint
Lal Shahbaz
Qalandar who lived
there in the 13th
century.
Lal Shahbaz was a
Sufi saint who is
buried in Sehwan
Sharif.
 Damadam mast Qalandar is a cry of rebellion
Sehwan is different than
against established orders

other shrines of Pakistan,

such as the Data Ganj
Bakhsh in Lahore, Bari
Imam in Islamabad, and
the Suhrawardi sufis in
Multan,
Sehwan is rebellious and
raging.
Sehwan is Laal the red
of resistance.
Sehwan is Shahbaz a
soaring falcon with secrets
in its heart and no fixed
abode.
Charity
The Shrine of Lal
Shahbaz Qalandar
attracts hundreds
of thousands of
visitors every year
and a large
number of people
are served free
meals.
 Manchar Lake
Another famous
place is the
inverted city, which
may be the Debal
Bandar of Raja
Dahir. Manchar
Lake, the largest
freshwater lake in
Pakistan, is a short
distance from
Sehwan Sharif.
 A Symbol of Unity
When Shias and Sunnis pray
in the same vicinity and a
red alam flutters on the top
of the shrine that belongs to
a man named Usman, one
cannot tell that we are in a
country plagued by sectarian
tensions. When Suhrawardis,
Ismailis, and Shivaites claim
the Qalandar to be one of
their own, one cannot tell
that we are living in an
extremely polarised society.
THANKS