20 Memorandum on Shikarpore, in Upper Sindh. [No. 109. 



The Hindoos carry on all the trade, while the cultivation and arti- 

 „. : ., , , zanship of almost every denomination is in the hands 



Hindoo s trade. * " 



of the Mahomedans. 

 The dress of the Hindoos of Shikarpore varies little from that of 

 Condition and man- tne same c * ass * n otner P arts °f India, except in 

 ners of Hindoos. those who are servants of the native Governments, 

 as deputies or collectors of revenue, and these invariably adopt the 

 beard of Mahomed and costume of Sindh. On their habits of life and 

 religious observances, the Hindoos of this city, as indeed throughout 

 the whole of the Mahomedan countries westward of the Indus, indulge 

 in a degree of laxity, totally at variance with the strict rules by 

 which they generally profess to be regulated ; they possess however 

 an unusual degree of influence at Shikarpore, and are too valuable 

 to the financial resourses of the country not to be permitted to 

 maintain it. 



With the exception of the Moolahs and Syudhs, few of the Maho- 

 Condition of Ma- medans of this city are either wealthy or influential, 

 homedans. The Affghan Zamindars who under that rule held 



important possessions in the vicinity, and were men of note and 

 consideration, have been gradually stripped of their rights by the 

 Talpur chiefs, although in many cases the same were guaranteed to 

 them under promise held to be sacred ; in consequence of this their 

 number has considerably decreased, and those who remain are poor, 

 and from the connections they have formed in the country have become 

 naturalized, and are no longer entitled to be called foreigners. 



The country in the immediate vicinity of Shikarpore is low, and 

 Adjacent country admits freely of irrigation from the inundations of 

 and cultivation, the river Indus by means of smaller Nullahs, or 

 water courses leading from the Sindh Canal. Cultivation is extensively 

 carried on, and the gardens of Shikarpore are rich in all the fruits 

 peculiar to the country, though mangoes ; neim, acacia, pipul, and 

 mulberry trees attain great size. The soil is a rich alluvial, and its 

 capabilities for production are no where better displayed than in the 

 Mogullee district (that in which Shikarpore is situated), owing to the 

 advantages in this respect (possessed by nearly the whole of upper 

 Sindh) being turned to due account, still comparatively speaking only a 

 limited portion of the land is brought under cultivation. Rice and 



