What is a data migration?

Data migration is the process of selecting, preparing, extracting, and transforming data and permanently transferring it from one computer storage system to another. Additionally, the validation of migrated data for completeness and the decommissioning of legacy data storage are considered part of the entire data migration process. Data migration is a key consideration for any system implementation, upgrade, or consolidation, and it is typically performed in such a way as to be as automated as possible, freeing up human resources from tedious tasks. Data migration occurs for a variety of reasons, including server or storage equipment replacements, maintenance or upgrades, application migration, website consolidation, disaster recovery, and data center relocation.

Data migration

, "nearly 40 percent of data migration projects were over time, over budget, or failed entirely." As such, to achieve an effective data migration, proper planning is critical. While the specifics of a data migration plan may vary—sometimes significantly—from project to project, the computing company IBM suggests there are three main phases to most any data migration project: planning, migration, and post-migration. Each of those phases has its own steps. During planning, dependencies and requirements are analyzed, migration scenarios get developed and tested, and a project plan that incorporates the prior information is created. During the migration phase, the plan is enacted, and during post-migration, the completeness and thoroughness of the migration is validated, documented, closed out, including any necessary decommissioning of legacy systems. For applications of moderate to high complexity, these data migration phases may be repeated several times before the new system is considered to be fully validated and deployed.

Planning: The data, applications, etc. that will be migrated are selected based on business, project, and technical requirements and dependencies. Hardware and bandwidth requirements are analyzed. Feasible migration and back-out scenarios are developed, as well as the associated tests, automation scripts, mappings, and procedures. Data cleansing and transformation requirements are also gauged for data formats to improve data quality and to eliminate redundant or obsolete information. Migration architecture is decided on and developed, any necessary software licenses are obtained, and change management processes are started.

Migration: Hardware and software requirements are validated, and migration procedures are customized as necessary. Some sort of pre-validation testing may also occur to ensure requirements and customized settings function as expected. If all is deemed well, migration begins, including the primary acts of data extraction, where data is read from the old system, and data loading, where data is written to the new system. Additional verification steps ensure the developed migration plan was enacted in full.

Post-migration: After data migration, results are subjected to data verification to determine whether data was accurately translated, is complete, and supports processes in the new system. During verification, there may be a need for a parallel run of both systems to identify areas of disparity and forestall erroneous data loss. Additional documentation and reporting of the migration project is conducted, and once the migration is validated complete, legacy systems may also be decommissioned. Migration close-out meetings will officially end the migration process.

There is a difference between data migration and data integration activities. Data migration is a project by means of which data will be moved or copied from one environment to another, and removed or decommissioned in the source. During the migration (which can take place over months or even years), data can flow in multiple directions, and there may be multiple migrations taking place simultaneously. The ETL (extract, transform, load) actions will be necessary, although the means of achieving these may not be those traditionally associated with the ETL acronym.

Data integration, by contrast, is a permanent part of the IT architecture, and is responsible for the way data flows between the various applications and data stores—and is a process rather than a project activity. Standard ETL technologies designed to supply data from operational systems to data warehouses would fit within the latter category.

Data is stored on various media in files or databases, and is generated and consumed by software applications, which in turn support business processes. The need to transfer and convert data can be driven by multiple business requirements, and the approach taken to the migration depends on those requirements. Four major migration categories are proposed on this basis.

A business may choose to rationalize the physical media to take advantage of more efficient storage technologies. This will result in having to move physical blocks of data from one tape or disk to another, often using virtualization techniques. The data format and content itself will not usually be changed in the process and can normally be achieved with minimal or no impact to the layers above.

Similarly, it may be necessary to move from one database vendor to another, or to upgrade the version of database software being used. The latter case is less likely to require a physical data migration, but this can happen with major upgrades. In these cases a physical transformation process may be required since the underlying data format can change significantly. This may or may not affect behavior in the applications layer, depending largely on whether the data manipulation language or protocol has changed. However, some modern applications are written to be almost entirely agnostic to the database technology, so a change from Sybase, MySQL, DB2 or SQL Server to Oracle should only require a testing cycle to be confident that both functional and non-functional performance has not been adversely affected.

Changing application vendor—for instance a new CRM or ERP platform—will inevitably involve substantial transformation as almost every application or suite operates on its own specific data model and also interacts with other applications and systems within the enterprise application integration environment. Furthermore, to allow the application to be sold to the widest possible market, commercial off-the-shelf packages are generally configured for each customer using metadata. Application programming interfaces (APIs) may be supplied by vendors to protect the integrity of the data they have to handle. It is also possible to script the web interfaces of vendors to automatically migrate data.

Business processes operate through a combination of human and application systems actions, often orchestrated by business process management tools. When these change they can require the movement of data from one store, database or application to another to reflect the changes to the organization and information about customers, products and operations. Examples of such migration drivers are mergers and acquisitions, business optimization, and reorganization to attack new markets or respond to competitive threat.

The first two categories of migration are usually routine operational activities that the IT department takes care of without the involvement of the rest of the business. The last two categories directly affect the operational users of processes and applications, are necessarily complex, and delivering them without significant business downtime can be challenging. A highly adaptive approach, concurrent synchronization, a business-oriented audit capability, and clear visibility of the migration for stakeholders—through a project management office or data governance team—are likely to be key requirements in such migrations.

Migration, which focuses on the digital object itself, is the act of transferring, or rewriting data from an out-of-date medium to a current medium and has for many years been considered the only viable approach to long-term preservation of digital objects. Reproducing brittle newspapers onto microfilm is an example of such migration.As a result of the disadvantages listed above, technology professionals have begun to develop alternatives to migration, such as emulation.

Data migration

Data migration

Data migration

Data migration is the process of moving, copying, and restructuring data from an existing system to the ERP system. Migration is critical to implementation success and requires significant planning. Unfortunately, since migration is one of the final activities before the production phase, it often receives insufficient attention. The following steps can structure migration planning:Often, data migration is incomplete because some of the data in the existing system is either incompatible or not needed in the new system. As such, the existing system may need to be kept as an archived database to refer back to once the new ERP system is in place.

Enterprise resource planning

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of core business processes, often in real-time and mediated by software and technology.

ERP is usually referred to as a category of business-management software — typically a suite of integrated applications—that an organization can use to collect, store, manage, and interpret data from these many business activities.

ERP provides an integrated and continuously updated view of core business processes using common databases maintained by a database management system. ERP systems track business resources—cash, raw materials, production capacity—and the status of business commitments: orders, purchase orders, and payroll. The applications that make up the system share data across various departments (manufacturing, purchasing, sales, accounting, etc.) that provide the data. ERP facilitates information flow between all business functions and manages connections to outside stakeholders.

Enterprise system software is a multibillion-dollar industry that produces components supporting a variety of business functions. IT investments have become the largest category of capital expenditure in United States-based businesses over the past decade. Though early ERP systems focused on large enterprises, smaller enterprises increasingly use ERP systems.

The ERP system integrates varied organizational systems and facilitates error-free transactions and production, thereby enhancing the organization's efficiency. However, developing an ERP system differs from traditional system development.
ERP systems run on a variety of computer hardware and network configurations, typically using a database as an information repository.

The Gartner Group first used the abbreviation ERP in the 1990s to extend upon the capabilities of material requirements planning (MRP), and the later manufacturing resource planning (MRP II), as well as computer-integrated manufacturing. Without replacing these terms, ERP came to represent a larger whole that reflected the evolution of application integration beyond manufacturing.

Not all ERP packages developed from a manufacturing core; ERP vendors variously began assembling their packages with finance-and-accounting, maintenance, and human-resource components. By the mid-1990s ERP systems addressed all core enterprise functions. Governments and non–profit organizations also began to use ERP systems.

ERP systems experienced rapid growth in the 1990s. Because of the year 2000 problem and the introduction of the euro that disrupted legacy systems, many companies took the opportunity to replace their old systems with ERP.

ERP systems initially focused on automating back office functions that did not directly affect customers and the public. Front office functions, such as customer relationship management (CRM), dealt directly with customers, or e-business systems such as e-commerce, e-government, e-telecom, and e-finance—or supplier relationship management (SRM) became integrated later, when the internet simplified communicating with external parties.

"ERP II" was coined in 2000 in an article by Gartner Publications entitled "ERP Is Dead—Long Live ERP II". It describes web–based software that provides real–time access to ERP systems to employees and partners (such as suppliers and customers). The ERP II role expands traditional ERP resource optimization and transaction processing. Rather than just manage buying, selling, etc.—ERP II leverages information in the resources under its management to help the enterprise collaborate with other enterprises.
ERP II is more flexible than the first generation ERP. Rather than confine ERP system capabilities within the organization, it goes beyond the corporate walls to interact with other systems. Enterprise application suite is an alternate name for such systems. ERP II systems are typically used to enable collaborative initiatives such as supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), and business intelligence (BI) among business partner organizations through the use of various e-business technologies.

Developers now make more effort to integrate mobile devices with the ERP system. ERP vendors are extending ERP to these devices, along with other business applications. Technical stakes of modern ERP concern integration—hardware, applications, networking, supply chains. ERP now covers more functions and roles—including decision making, stakeholders' relationships, standardization, transparency, globalization, etc.

ERP systems typically include the following characteristics:

An ERP system covers the following common functional areas. In many ERP systems, these are called and grouped together as ERP modules:

Government resource planning (GRP) is the equivalent of an ERP for the public sector and an integrated office automation system for government bodies. The software structure, modularization, core algorithms and main interfaces do not differ from other ERPs, and ERP software suppliers manage to adapt their systems to government agencies.

Both system implementations, in private and public organizations, are adopted to improve productivity and overall business performance in organizations, but comparisons (private vs. public) of implementations shows that the main factors influencing ERP implementation success in the public sector are cultural.Most ERP systems incorporate best practices. This means the software reflects the vendor's interpretation of the most effective way to perform each business process. Systems vary in how conveniently the customer can modify these practices. In addition, best practices reduced risk by 71% compared to other software implementations.

Use of best practices eases compliance with requirements such as IFRS, Sarbanes-Oxley, or Basel II. They can also help comply with de facto industry standards, such as electronic funds transfer. This is because the procedure can be readily codified within the ERP software and replicated with confidence across multiple businesses who share that business requirement.

ERP systems connect to real–time data and transaction data in a variety of ways. These systems are typically configured by systems integrators, who bring unique knowledge on process, equipment, and vendor solutions.

Direct integration—ERP systems have connectivity (communications to plant floor equipment) as part of their product offering. This requires that the vendors offer specific support for the plant floor equipment their customers operate. ERP vendors must be experts in their own products and connectivity to other vendor products, including those of their competitors.

Database integration—ERP systems connect to plant floor data sources through staging tables in a database. Plant floor systems deposit the necessary information into the database. The ERP system reads the information in the table. The benefit of staging is that ERP vendors do not need to master the complexities of equipment integration. Connectivity becomes the responsibility of the systems integrator.

Enterprise appliance transaction modules (EATM)—These devices communicate directly with plant floor equipment and with the ERP system via methods supported by the ERP system. EATM can employ a staging table, web services, or system–specific program interfaces (APIs). An EATM offers the benefit of being an off–the–shelf solution.

Custom–integration solutions—Many system integrators offer custom solutions. These systems tend to have the highest level of initial integration cost, and can have a higher long term maintenance and reliability costs. Long term costs can be minimized through careful system testing and thorough documentation. Custom–integrated solutions typically run on workstation or server-class computers.

ERP's scope usually implies significant changes to staff work processes and practices. Generally, three types of services are available to help implement such changes—consulting, customization, and support. Implementation time depends on business size, number of modules, customization, the scope of process changes, and the readiness of the customer to take ownership for the project. Modular ERP systems can be implemented in stages. The typical project for a large enterprise takes about 14 months and requires around 150 consultants. Small projects can require months; multinational and other large implementations can take years. Customization can substantially increase implementation times.

Besides that, information processing influences various business functions e.g. some large corporations like Wal-Mart use a just in time inventory system. This reduces inventory storage and increases delivery efficiency, and requires up-to-date data. Before 2014, Walmart used a system called Inforem developed by IBM to manage replenishment.

Implementing ERP typically requires changes in existing business processes. Poor understanding of needed process changes prior to starting implementation is a main reason for project failure. The difficulties could be related to the system, business process, infrastructure, training, or lack of motivation.

It is therefore crucial that organizations thoroughly analyze business processes before they implement ERP software. Analysis can identify opportunities for process modernization. It also enables an assessment of the alignment of current processes with those provided by the ERP system. Research indicates that risk of business process mismatch is decreased by:

ERP implementation is considerably more difficult (and politically charged) in decentralized organizations, because they often have different processes, business rules, data semantics, authorization hierarchies, and decision centers. This may require migrating some business units before others, delaying implementation to work through the necessary changes for each unit, possibly reducing integration (e.g., linking via Master data management) or customizing the system to meet specific needs.

A potential disadvantage is that adopting "standard" processes can lead to a loss of competitive advantage. While this has happened, losses in one area are often offset by gains in other areas, increasing overall competitive advantage.

Configuring an ERP system is largely a matter of balancing the way the organization wants the system to work with the way it was designed to work. ERP systems typically include many settings that modify system operations. For example, an organization can select the type of inventory accounting—FIFO or LIFO—to use; whether to recognize revenue by geographical unit, product line, or distribution channel; and whether to pay for shipping costs on customer returns.

Two-tier ERP software and hardware lets companies run the equivalent of two ERP systems at once: one at the corporate level and one at the division or subsidiary level. For example, a manufacturing company could use an ERP system to manage across the organization using independent global or regional distribution, production or sales centers, and service providers to support the main company’s customers. Each independent center or subsidiary may have its own business models, workflows, and business processes.

Given the realities of globalization, enterprises continuously evaluate how to optimize their regional, divisional, and product or manufacturing strategies to support strategic goals and reduce time-to-market while increasing profitability and delivering value. With two-tier ERP, the regional distribution, production, or sales centers and service providers continue operating under their own business model—separate from the main company, using their own ERP systems. Since these smaller companies' processes and workflows are not tied to main company's processes and workflows, they can respond to local business requirements in multiple locations.

Factors that affect enterprises' adoption of two-tier ERP systems include:

ERP systems are theoretically based on industry best practices, and their makers intend that organizations deploy them "as is". ERP vendors do offer customers configuration options that let organizations incorporate their own business rules, but gaps in features often remain even after configuration is complete.

ERP customers have several options to reconcile feature gaps, each with their own pros/cons. Technical solutions include rewriting part of the delivered software, writing a homegrown module to work within the ERP system, or interfacing to an external system. These three options constitute varying degrees of system customization—with the first being the most invasive and costly to maintain. Alternatively, there are non-technical options such as changing business practices or organizational policies to better match the delivered ERP feature set. Key differences between customization and configuration include:Customization advantages include that it:

Customization disadvantages include that it may:

ERP systems can be extended with third–party software, often via vendor-supplied interfaces. Extensions offer features such as:

The most fundamental advantage of ERP is that the integration of myriad business processes saves time and expense. Management can make decisions faster and with fewer errors. Data becomes visible across the organization. Tasks that benefit from this integration include:

ERP systems centralize business data, which:
The term "postmodern ERP" was coined by Gartner in 2013, when it first appeared in the paper series "Predicts 2014". According to Gartner's definition of the postmodern ERP strategy, legacy, monolithic and highly customized ERP suites, in which all parts are heavily reliant on each other, should sooner or later be replaced by a mixture of both cloud-based and on-premises applications, which are more loosely coupled and can be easily exchanged if needed.

The basic idea is that there should still be a core ERP solution that would cover most important business functions, while other functions will be covered by specialist software solutions that merely extend the core ERP. This concept is similar to the so-called best-of-breed approach to software implementation, but it shouldn't be confused with it. While in both cases, applications that make up the whole are relatively loosely connected and quite easily interchangeable, in the case of the latter there is no ERP solution whatsoever. Instead, every business function is covered by a separate software solution.

There is, however, no golden rule as to what business functions should be part of the core ERP, and what should be covered by supplementary solutions. According to Gartner, every company must define their own postmodern ERP strategy, based on company's internal and external needs, operations and processes. For example, a company may define that the core ERP solution should cover those business processes that must stay behind the firewall, and therefore, choose to leave their core ERP on-premises. At the same time, another company may decide to host the core ERP solution in the cloud and move only a few ERP modules as supplementary solutions to on-premises.

The main benefits that companies will gain from implementing postmodern ERP strategy are speed and flexibility when reacting to unexpected changes in business processes or on the organizational level. With the majority of applications having a relatively loose connection, it is fairly easy to replace or upgrade them whenever necessary. In addition to that, following the examples above, companies can select and combine cloud-based and on-premises solutions that are most suited for their ERP needs. The downside of postmodern ERP is that it will most likely lead to an increased number of software vendors that companies will have to manage, as well as pose additional integration challenges for the central IT.


What percentage of the Pakistani population is Hindu?

Sindh also has Pakistan's highest percentage of Hindu residents, with 7.5% of Sindh's population overall, and 11.56% of Sindh's rural population, classifying itself as Hindu, and over 40% of residents in Tharparkar District identifying themselves as Hindu. The communal harmony between Sindhi Muslims and Hindus is an example of Sindh's pluralistic and tolerant Sufi culture.

Sindh

Sindh (; ; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, in the southeast of the country. Historically home to the Sindhi people, it is also locally known as "Mehran". Sindh is the third largest province of Pakistan by area, and second largest province by population after Punjab. Sindh is bordered by Balochistan province to the west, and Punjab province to the north. Sindh also borders the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to the east, and Arabian Sea to the south. Sindh's landscape consists mostly of alluvial plains flanking the Indus River, the Thar desert in the eastern portion of the province closest to the border with India, and the Kirthar Mountains in the western part of Sindh.

Sindh has Pakistan's second largest economy, while its provincial capital Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and financial hub, and hosts the headquarters of several multinational banks. Sindh is home to a large portion of Pakistan's industrial sector and contains two of Pakistan's commercial seaports, Port Bin Qasim and the Karachi Port. The remainder of Sindh has an agriculture based economy, and produces fruit, food consumer items, and vegetables for the consumption other parts of the country.

Sindh is known for its distinct culture which is strongly influenced by Sufism, an important marker of Sindhi identity for both Hindus (Sindh has Pakistan's highest percentage of Hindu residents) and Muslims in the province. Several important Sufi shrines are located throughout the province which attract millions of annual devotees.

Sindh's capital, Karachi, is Pakistan's most ethnically diverse city, with Muhajirs, or descendants of those who migrated to Pakistan from India after 1947 and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, making up the majority of the population. Karachi and other urban centres of Sindh have seen ethnic tensions between the native Sindhis and the Muhajirs boil over into violence on several occasions. Sindh is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites – the Historical Monuments at Makli, and the Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro.

The word "Sindh" is derived from the Sanskrit term "Sindhu" (literally meaning "river"), which is a reference to Indus River. The official spelling "Sind" was discontinued in 1988 by an amendment passed in Sindh Assembly.

The Greeks who conquered Sindh in 325 BC under the command of Alexander the Great rendered it as "Indós", hence the modern "Indus". The ancient Iranians referred to everything east of the river Indus as "hind".

Sindh's first known village settlements date as far back as 7000 BCE. Permanent settlements at Mehrgarh, currently in Balochistan, to the west expanded into Sindh. This culture blossomed over several millennia and gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. The Indus Valley Civilization rivalled the contemporary civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in size and scope, numbering nearly half a million inhabitants at its height with well-planned grid cities and sewer systems.

The primitive village communities in Balochistan were still struggling against a difficult highland environment, a highly cultured people were trying to assert themselves at Kot Diji. This was one of the most developed urban civilizations of the ancient world. It flourished between the 25th century BCE and 1500 BCE in the Indus valley sites of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. The people had a high standard of art and craftsmanship and a well-developed system of quasi-pictographic writing which remains un-deciphered. The remarkable ruins of the beautifully planned towns, the brick buildings of the common people, roads, public baths and the covered drainage system suggest a highly organized community.

According to some accounts, there is no evidence of large palaces or burial grounds for the elite. The grand and presumably holy site might have been the great bath, which is built upon an artificially created elevation. This indigenous civilization collapsed around 1700 BCE. The cause is hotly debated and may have been a massive earthquake, which dried up the Ghaggar River. Skeletons discovered in the ruins of Moan Jo Daro ("mount of dead") were thought to indicate that the city was suddenly attacked and the population was wiped out, but further examinations showed that the marks on the skeletons were due to erosion and not of violence.

The ancient city of Roruka, identified with modern Aror/Rohri, was capital of the Sauvira Kingdom, and finds mentioned early Buddhist literature as a major trading center. Sindh finds mention in the Hindu epic "Mahabharata" as being part of Bharatvarsha. Sindh was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC. In the late 4th century BC, Sindh was conquered by a mixed army led by Macedonian Greeks under Alexander the Great. Alexander described his encounters with these trans-Indus tribes of Sindh: "I am involved in the land of lions and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a well of steel, confronting my soldier. You have brought only one son into the world, but everyone in this land can be called an Alexander." The region remained under control of Greek satraps for only a few decades. After Alexander's death, there was a brief period of Seleucid rule, before Sindh was traded to the Mauryan Empire led by Chandragupta in 305 BC. During the rule of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Buddhist religion spread to Sindh.

Mauryan rule ended in 185 BC with the overthrow of the last king by the Shunga Dynasty. In the disorder that followed, Greek rule returned when Demetrius I of Bactria led a Greco-Bactrian invasion of India and annexed most of the northwestern lands, including Sindh. Demetrius was later defeated and killed by a usurper, but his descendants continued to rule Sindh and other lands as the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Under the reign of Menander I, many Indo-Greeks followed his example and converted to Buddhism.

In the late 2nd century BC, Scythian tribes shattered the Greco-Bactrian empire and invaded the Indo-Greek lands. Unable to take the Punjab region, they invaded South Asia through Sindh, where they became known as Indo-Scythians (later Western Satraps). By the 1st century AD, the Kushan Empire annexed Sindh. Kushans under Kanishka were great patrons of Buddhism and sponsored many building projects for local beliefs. Ahirs were also found in large numbers in Sindh. Abiria country of Abhira tribe was in southern Sindh.

The Kushan Empire was defeated in the mid 3rd century AD by the Sassanid Empire of Persia, who installed vassals known as the Kushanshahs in these far eastern territories. These rulers were defeated by the Kidarites in the late 4th century.

It then came under the Gupta Empire after dealing with the Kidarites. By the late 5th century, attacks by Hephthalite tribes known as the Indo-Hephthalites or "Hunas" (Huns) broke through the Gupta Empire's northwestern borders and overran much of northwestern India. Concurrently, Ror dynasty ruled parts of the region for several centuries.

Afterwards, Sindh came under the rule of Emperor Harshavardhan, then the Rai Dynasty around 478. The Rais were overthrown by Chachar of Alor around 632. The Brahman dynasty ruled a vast territory that stretched from Multan in the north to the Rann of Kutch, Alor was their capital.

In 712, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley, bringing South Asian societies into contact with Islam. Dahir was an unpopular Hindu king that ruled over a Buddhist majority and that Chach of Alor and his kin were regarded as usurpers of the earlier Buddhist Rai Dynasty, a view questioned by those who note the diffuse and blurred nature of Hindu and Buddhist practices in the region, especially that of the royalty to be patrons of both and those who believe that Chach may have been a Buddhist. The forces of Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir in alliance with the Hindu Jats and other regional governors.

In 711 AD, Muhammad bin Qasim led an Umayyad force of 20,000 cavalry and 5 catapults. Muhammad bin Qasim defeated the Raja Dahir, and captured the cities of Alor, Multan and Debal. Sindh became the easternmost State of the Umayyad Caliphate and was referred to as "Sind" on Arab maps, with lands further east known as "Hind". Muhammad bin Qasim built the city of Mansura as his capital; the city then produced famous historical figures such as Abu Mashar Sindhi, Abu Ata al-Sindhi, Abu Raja Sindhi and Sind ibn Ali. At the port city of Debal, most of the Bawarij embraced Islam and became known as Sindhi Sailors, who were renowned for their in navigation, geography and languages. After Bin Qasim left, the Umayyads ruled Sindh through the Habbari dynasty.

By the year 750, Debal (modern Karachi) was second only to Basra; Sindhi sailors from the port city of Debal voyaged to Basra, Bushehr, Musqat, Aden, Kilwa, Zanzibar, Sofala, Malabar, Sri Lanka and Java (where Sindhi merchants were known as the Santri). During the power struggle between the Umayyads and the Abbasids. The Habbari Dynasty became semi independent and was eliminated and Mansura was invaded by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi. Sindh then became an easternmost State of the Abbasid Caliphate ruled by the Soomro Dynasty until the Siege of Baghdad (1258). Mansura was the first capital of the Soomra Dynasty and the last of the Habbari dynasty. Muslim geographers, historians and travelers such as al-Masudi, Ibn Hawqal, Istakhri, Ahmed ibn Sahl al-Balkhi, al-Tabari, Baladhuri, Nizami, al-Biruni, Saadi Shirazi, Ibn Battutah and Katip Çelebi wrote about or visited the region, sometimes using the name "Sindh" for the entire area from the Arabian Sea to the Hindu Kush.

When Sindh was under the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Arab Habbari dynasty was in control. The Umayyads appointed Aziz al Habbari as the governor of Sindh. Habbaris ruled Sindh until Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated the Habbaris in 1024. Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi viewed the Abbasid Caliphate to be the caliphs thus he removed the remaining influence of the Umayyad Caliphate in the region and Sindh fell to Abbasid control following the defeat of the Habbaris. The Abbasid Caliphate then appointed Al Khafif from Samarra; 'Soomro' means 'of Samarra' in Sindhi. The new governor of Sindh was to create a better, stronger and stable government. Once he became the governor, he allotted several key positions to his family and friends; thus Al-Khafif or Sardar Khafif Soomro formed the Rajput Soomro Dynasty in Sindh; and became its first ruler. Until the Siege of Baghdad (1258) the Soomro dynasty was the Abbasid Caliphate's functionary in Sindh, but after that it became independent.

When the Soomro dynasty lost ties with the Abbasid Caliphate after the Siege of Baghdad (1258,) the Soomra ruler Dodo-I established their rule from the shores of the Arabian Sea to the Punjab in the north and in the east to Rajasthan and in the west to Pakistani Balochistan. The Soomros were one of the first indigenous Muslim dynasties in Sindh of Parmar Rajput origin. They were the first Muslims to translate the Quran into the Sindhi language. The Sammas created a chivalrous culture in Sindh, which eventually facilitated their rule centred at Mansura. It was later abandoned due to changes in the course of the Puran River; they ruled for the next 95 years until 1351. During this period, Kutch was ruled by the Samma Dynasty, who enjoyed good relations with the Soomras in Sindh. Since the Soomro Dynasty lost its support from the Abbasid Caliphate, the Sultans of Delhi wanted a piece of Sindh. The Soomros successfully defended their kingdom for about 36 years, but their dynasties soon fell to the might of the Sultanate of Delhi's massive armies such as the Tughluks and the Khaljis.

In 1339 Jam Unar founded a Sindhi Muslim Rajput Samma Dynasty and challenged the Sultans of Delhi. He used the title of the "Sultan of Sindh". The Samma tribe reached its peak during the reign of Jam Nizamuddin II (also known by the nickname Jám Nindó). During his reign from 1461 to 1509, Nindó greatly expanded the new capital of Thatta and its Makli hills, which replaced Debal. He patronized Sindhi art, architecture and culture. The Samma had left behind a popular legacy especially in architecture, music and art. Important court figures included the famous poet Kazi Kadal, Sardar Darya Khan, Moltus Khan, Makhdoom Bilawal and the theologian Kazi Kaadan. However, Thatta was a port city; unlike garrison towns, it could not mobilize large armies against the Arghun and Tarkhan Mongol invaders, who killed many regional Sindhi Mirs and Amirs loyal to the Samma. Some parts of Sindh still remained under the Sultans of Delhi and the ruthless Arghuns and the Tarkhans sacked Thatta during the rule of Jam Ferozudin.

According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi, the Balochi migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, or alternatively, from about 1300 to about 1850. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold during this epoch and the region was uninhabitable during the winters so the Baloch people emigrated in waves to Sindh and Punjab.

In the year 1524, the few remaining Sindhi Amirs welcomed the Mughal Empire and Babur dispatched his forces to rally the Arghuns and the Tarkhans, branches of a Turkic dynasty. In the coming centuries, Sindh became a region loyal to the Mughals, a network of forts manned by cavalry and musketeers further extended Mughal power in Sindh. In 1540 a mutiny by Sher Shah Suri forced the Mughal Emperor Humayun to withdraw to Sindh, where he joined the Sindhi Emir Hussein Umrani. In 1541 Humayun married Hamida Banu Begum, who gave birth to the infant Akbar at Umarkot in the year 1542.

During the reign of Akbar the Great, Sindh produced scholars and others such as Mir Ahmed Nasrallah Thattvi, Tahir Muhammad Thattvi and Mir Ali Sir Thattvi and the Mughal chronicler Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak and his brother the poet Faizi was a descendant of a Sindhi Shaikh family from Rel, Siwistan in Sindh. Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak was the author of "Akbarnama" (an official biographical account of Akbar) and the "Ain-i-Akbari" (a detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire).

Shah Jahan carved a subah (imperial province), covering Sindh, called Thatta after its capital, out of Multan, further bordering on the Ajmer and Gujarat subahs as well as the rival Persian Safavid empire.

During the Mughal period, Sindhi literature began to flourish and historical figures such as Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sulatn-al-Aoliya Muhammad Zaman and Sachal Sarmast became prominent throughout the land. In 1603 Shah Jahan visited the State of Sindh; at Thatta he was generously welcomed by the locals after the death of his father Jahangir. Shah Jahan ordered the construction of the Shahjahan Mosque, which was completed during the early years of his rule under the supervision of Mirza Ghazi Beg. During his reign, in 1659 in the Mughal Empire, Muhammad Salih Tahtawi of Thatta created a seamless celestial globe with Arabic and Persian inscriptions using a wax casting method.

Sindh was home to very famous wealthy merchant-rulers such as Mir Bejar of Sindh, whose great wealth had attracted the close ties with the Sultan bin Ahmad of Oman.

In the year 1701, the Kalhora Nawabs were authorized in a firman by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb to administer subah Sindh.

From 1752 to 1762, Marathas collected Chauth or tributes from Sindh. Maratha power was decimated in the entire region after the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761. In 1762, Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro brought stability in Sindh, he reorganized and independently defeated the Marathas and their prominent vassal the "Rao of Kuch" in the Thar Desert and returned victoriously.

After the Sikhs annexed Multan, the Kalhora Dynasty supported counterattacks against the Sikhs and defined their borders.

In 1783 a firman which designated Mir Fateh Ali Khan Talpur as the new "Nawab of Sindh", and mediated peace particularly after the Battle of Halani and the defeat of the ruling Kalhora by the Talpur Baloch tribes.

The Talpur tribe migrated from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab to Sindh on the invitation of Kalhora to help them organize unruly Baloch tribes living in Sindh. Talpurs, who learned the Sindhi language, settled in northern Sindh. Very soon they united all the Baloch tribes of Sindh and formed a confederacy against the Kalhora Dynasty. The Talpur Baloch soon gained power, overthrowing the Kalhora after the Battle of Halani to conquer and rule Sindh and other parts of present-day Pakistan, from 1783 to 1843.
British East India Company forces led by General Charles James Napier overthrew the Talpur Baloch in 1843.

In 1802, when Mir Ghulam Ali Khan Talpur Baloch succeeded as the Talpur Nawab, internal tensions broke out in the state. As a result, the following year the Maratha Empire declared war on Sindh and Berar Subah, during which Arthur Wellesley took a leading role causing much early suspicion between the Emirs of Sindh and the British Empire. The British East India Company made its first contacts in the Sindhi port city of Thatta, which according to a report was:
"a city as large as London containing 50,000 houses which were made of stone and mortar with large verandahs some three or four stories high... the city has 3,000 looms... the textiles of Sindh were the flower of the whole produce of the East, the international commerce of Sindh gave it a place among that of Nations, Thatta has 400 schools and 4,000 Dhows at its docks, the city is guarded by well armed Sepoys".
British and Bengal Presidency forces under General Charles James Napier arrived in Sindh in the mid-19th century and conquered Sindh in February 1843. The Baloch coalition led by Talpur Balochs under Mir Nasir Khan Talpur Baloch was defeated at the Battle of Miani during which 5,000 Talpur Baloch were killed. Shortly afterwards, Hoshu Sheedi commanded another army at the Battle of Dubbo, where 5,000 Baloch were killed. The first Agha Khan helped the British in their conquest of Sindh. As result, he was granted a lifetime pension. A British journal by Thomas Postans mentions the captive Sindhi Amirs: "The Amirs as being the prisoners of 'Her Majesty'... they are maintained in strict seclusion; they are described as Broken-Hearted and Miserable men, maintaining much of the dignity of fallen greatness, and without any querulous or angry complaining at this unlivable source of sorrow, refusing to be comforted".
Within weeks, Charles Napier and his forces occupied Sindh. After 1853 the British divided Sindh into districts and later made it part of British India's Bombay Presidency.
Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi pioneered the Sindhi Muslim Hur Movement against the British Raj. He was hanged on 20March 1943 in Hyderabad, Sindh. His burial place is not known. During the British period, railways, printing presses and bridges were introduced in the province. Writers like Mirza Kalich Beg compiled and traced the literary history of Sindh.

Although Sindh had a culture of religious syncretism, communal harmony and tolerance due to Sindh's strong Sufi culture in which both Sindhi Muslims and Sindhi Hindus partook, the mostly Muslim peasantry was oppressed by the Hindu moneylending class and also by the landed Muslim elite. Sindhi Muslims eventually demanded the separation of Sindh from the Bombay Presidency, a move opposed by Sindhi Hindus. Another campaign in the early 20th century which attracted Sindhi Muslims was the Khilafat Movement, for which support had been generated by the Sufi "pirs" of Sindh. In that time period Sindh emerged at the forefront of the Khilafat cause.

By 1936 Sindh was separated from the Bombay Presidency. Elections in 1937 resulted in local Sindhi Muslim parties winning the bulk of seats. By the mid-1940s the Muslim League gained a foothold in the province and after winning over the support of local Sufi "pirs", came to have the support of the overwhelming majority of Sindhi Muslims for its campaign to create Pakistan.

At the time of Partition, there were 1,400,000 Hindu Sindhis, dominating the province's upper middle class. There was very little communal violence in Sindh, in comparison to Punjab. Communal violence in Ajmer, India, in December 1947 led to Muslim refugees crossing over the Thar Desert to Sindh in Pakistan. This sparked riots in Hyderabad and later in Karachi, although less than 500 Hindu were killed in Sindh between 1947-48 as Sindhi Muslims largely resisted calls to turn against their Hindu neighbours. Hundreds of thousands of Sindhi Hindus fled to India. The arrival of Sindhi Hindu refugees in the Indian town of Godhra sparked the March 1948 anti-Muslim riots there which led to an emigration of Ghanchi Muslims from Godhra to Pakistan. Indian Muslims from the United Provinces, Central Provinces and Bombay continued migrating to and settling in Sindh's urban centers throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Sindh has the 2nd highest Human Development Index out of all of Pakistan's provinces at 0.628. The 2017 Census of Pakistan indicated a population of 47.9 million.

The Sindhis as a whole are composed of original descendants of an ancient population known as Sammaat, sub-groups related to the Baloch origin are found in interior Sindh and to a lesser extent Sindhis of Pashtun origins. Sindhis of Balochi origins make up about 30% of the total Sindhi population (although they speak Sindhi Saraiki as their native tongue), while Urdu-speaking Muhajirs makeup over 19% of the total population of the province while Punjabi are 10% and Pashtuns represent 7%. In August 1947, before the partition of India, the total population of Sindh was 38,87,070 out of which 28,32,000 were Muslims and 10,15,000 were Hindus

According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi, the Baloch migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age. This is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, or alternatively, from about 1300. to about 1850, although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. Professor Baloch said the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was inhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people in waves migrated and settled in Sindh and Punjab.

Islam in Sindh has a strong Sufi ethos with numerous Muslim saints and mystics, such as the Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, having lived in Sindh historically. One popular legend which highlights the strong Sufi presence in Sindh is that 125,000 Sufi saints and mystics are buried on Makli Hill near Thatta. The development of Sufism in Sindh was similar to the development of Sufism in other parts of the Muslim world. In the 16th century two Sufi tareeqat (orders) - Qadria and Naqshbandia - were introduced in Sindh. Sufism continues to play an important role in the daily lives of Sindhis.

Sindh also has Pakistan's highest percentage of Hindu residents, with 7.5% of Sindh's population overall, and 11.56% of Sindh's rural population, classifying itself as Hindu, and over 40% of residents in Tharparkar District identifying themselves as Hindu. The communal harmony between Sindhi Muslims and Hindus is an example of Sindh's pluralistic and tolerant Sufi culture.

Sindhi (Arabic script: سنڌي) is spoken by more than 30 million people (in 2017) in the province of Sindh.

Sindhi is an Indo-European language, both are linguistically considered to be the daughter languages of Sanskrit. Balochi and Seraiki have also influenced Sindhi which also accommodates substantial Persian, Turkish and Arabic words. Sindhi is written in a modified Arabic script. Today, Sindhi in Pakistan is heavily influenced by Urdu with more borrowed Perso-Arabic elements, while Sindhi in India is influenced by Hindi and borrows more elements from Sanskrit. Key dialects of Sindhi include Kutchi, Lasi, Memoni, Lari, Vicholi, Utradi, Macharia and Dukslinu (which is spoken by Sindhi Hindus).

Other languages in the province include Gujarati and Parkari Koli (sometimes called just "Parkari"); a language is spoken by only 250,000 natives of Sindh according to a 1995 estimate.

Only 7.3% of people Karachi's residents are Sindhi-speaking. Karachi is populated by Muhajirs who speak Urdu. Other immigrant communities in Karachi are Pashtuns from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjabis from Punjab and other linguistic groups from various regions of Pakistan.

Sindh is in the western corner of South Asia, bordering the Iranian plateau in the west. Geographically it is the third largest province of Pakistan, stretching about from north to south and (extreme) or (average) from east to west, with an area of of Pakistani territory. Sindh is bounded by the Thar Desert to the east, the Kirthar Mountains to the west and the Arabian Sea in the south. In the centre is a fertile plain along the Indus River.

The province is mostly arid with scant vegetation except for the irrigated Indus Valley. The dwarf palm, "Acacia Rupestris" (kher), and "Tecomella undulata" (lohirro) trees are typical of the western hill region. In the Indus valley, the "Acacia nilotica" (babul) (babbur) is the most dominant and occurs in thick forests along the Indus banks. The "Azadirachta indica" (neem) (nim), "Zizyphys vulgaris" (bir) (ber), "Tamarix orientalis" (jujuba lai) and "Capparis aphylla" (kirir) are among the more common trees.

Mango, date palms and the more recently introduced banana, guava, orange and chiku are the typical fruit-bearing trees. The coastal strip and the creeks abound in semi-aquatic and aquatic plants and the inshore Indus delta islands have forests of "Avicennia tomentosa" (timmer) and "Ceriops candolleana" (chaunir) trees. Water lilies grow in abundance in the numerous lake and ponds, particularly in the lower Sindh region.

Among the wild animals, the Sindh ibex (sareh), blackbuck, wild sheep (Urial or gadh) and wild bear are found in the western rocky range. The leopard is now rare and the Asiatic cheetah extinct. The Pirrang (large tiger cat or fishing cat) of the eastern desert region is also disappearing. Deer occur in the lower rocky plains and in the eastern region, as do the striped hyena (charakh), jackal, fox, porcupine, common gray mongoose and hedgehog. The Sindhi phekari, red lynx or Caracal cat, is found in some areas. Phartho (hog deer) and wild bear occur, particularly in the central inundation belt. There are bats, lizards and reptiles, including the cobra, lundi (viper) and the mysterious Sindh krait of the Thar region, which is supposed to suck the victim's breath in his sleep.
Some unusual sightings of Asian cheetah occurred in 2003 near the Balochistan border in Kirthar Mountains. The rare houbara bustard find Sindh's warm climate suitable to rest and mate. Unfortunately, it is hunted by locals and foreigners.

Crocodiles are rare and inhabit only the backwaters of the Indus, eastern Nara channel and Karachi backwater. Besides a large variety of marine fish, the plumbeous dolphin, the beaked dolphin, rorqual or blue whale and skates frequent the seas along the Sindh coast. The Pallo (Sable fish), a marine fish, ascends the Indus annually from February to April to spawn. The Indus river dolphin is among the most endangered species in Pakistan and is found in the part of the Indus river in northern Sindh. Hog deer and wild bear occur, particularly in the central inundation belt.

Although Sindh has a semi arid climate, through its coastal and riverine forests, its huge fresh water lakes and mountains and deserts, Sindh supports a large amount of varied wildlife. Due to the semi-arid climate of Sindh the left out forests support an average population of jackals and snakes. The national parks established by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with many organizations such as World Wide Fund for Nature and Sindh Wildlife Department support a huge variety of animals and birds. The Kirthar National Park in the Kirthar range spreads over more than 3000 km of desert, stunted tree forests and a lake. The KNP supports Sindh ibex, wild sheep (urial) and black bear along with the rare leopard. There are also occasional sightings of The Sindhi phekari, ped lynx or Caracal cat. There is a project to introduce tigers and Asian elephants too in KNP near the huge Hub Dam Lake. Between July and November when the monsoon winds blow onshore from the ocean, giant olive ridley turtles lay their eggs along the seaward side. The turtles are protected species. After the mothers lay and leave them buried under the sands the SWD and WWF officials take the eggs and protect them until they are hatched to keep them from predators.

Sindh lies in a tropical to subtropical region; it is hot in the summer and mild to warm in winter. Temperatures frequently rise above between May and August, and the minimum average temperature of occurs during December and January in the northern and higher elevated regions. The annual rainfall averages about seven inches, falling mainly during July and August. The southwest monsoon wind begins in mid-February and continues until the end of September, whereas the cool northerly wind blows during the winter months from October to January.

Sindh lies between the two monsoons—the southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean and the northeast or retreating monsoon, deflected towards it by the Himalayan mountains—and escapes the influence of both. The region's scarcity of rainfall is compensated by the inundation of the Indus twice a year, caused by the spring and summer melting of Himalayan snow and by rainfall in the monsoon season.

Sindh is divided into three climatic regions: Siro (the upper region, centred on Jacobabad), Wicholo (the middle region, centred on Hyderabad), and Lar (the lower region, centred on Karachi). The thermal equator passes through upper Sindh, where the air is generally very dry. Central Sindh's temperatures are generally lower than those of upper Sindh but higher than those of lower Sindh. Dry hot days and cool nights are typical during the summer. Central Sindh's maximum temperature typically reaches. Lower Sindh has a damper and humid maritime climate affected by the southwestern winds in summer and northeastern winds in winter, with lower rainfall than Central Sindh. Lower Sindh's maximum temperature reaches about. In the Kirthar range at and higher at Gorakh Hill and other peaks in Dadu District, temperatures near freezing have been recorded and brief snowfall is received in the winters.

The Provincial Assembly of Sindh is a unicameral and consists of 168 seats, of which 5% are reserved for non-Muslims and 17% for women. The provincial capital of Sindh is Karachi. The provincial government is led by Chief Minister who is directly elected by the popular and landslide votes; the Governor serves as a ceremonial representative nominated and appointed by the President of Pakistan. The administrative boss of the province who is in charge of the bureaucracy is the Chief Secretary Sindh, who is appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Most of the influential Sindhi tribes in the province are involved in Pakistan's politics.

In addition, Sindh's politics leans towards the left-wing and its political culture serves as a dominant place for the left-wing spectrum in the country. The province's trend towards the Pakistan Peoples Party and away from the Pakistan Muslim League (N) can be seen in nationwide general elections, in which, Sindh is a stronghold of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). The PML(N) has a limited support due to its centre-right agenda.

In metropolitan cities such as Karachi and Hyderabad, the MQM (another left-wing party with the support of "Muhajirs") has a considerable vote bank and support. Minor leftist parties such as People's Movement also found support in rural areas of the province.

In 2008, after the public elections, the new government decided to restore the structure of Divisions of all provinces. In Sindh after the lapse of the Local Governments Bodies term in 2010 the Divisional Commissioners system was to be restored.
In July 2011, following excessive violence in the city of Karachi and after the political split between the ruling PPP and the majority party in Sindh, the MQM and after the resignation of the MQM Governor of Sindh, PPP and the Government of Sindh decided to restore the commissionerate system in the province. As a consequence, the five divisions of Sindh were restored – namely Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Larkana with their respective districts. Subsequently, two new divisions have been added in Sindh, Banbore and Nawab Shah/Shaheed Benazirabad division.

Karachi district has been de-merged into its five original constituent districts: Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir. Recently Korangi has been upgraded to the status of sixth district of Karachi. These six districts form the Karachi Division now.

Sindh has the second largest economy in Pakistan. A 2016 study commissioned by Pakistan Ministry of Planning found that urban Sindh and northern Punjab province are the most prosperous regions in Pakistan. Its GDP per capita was $1,400 in 2010 which is 50 percent more than the rest of the nation or 35 percent more than the national average. Historically, Sindh's contribution to Pakistan's GDP has been between 30% to 32.7%. Its share in the service sector has ranged from 21% to 27.8% and in the agriculture sector from 21.4% to 27.7%. Performance wise, its best sector is the manufacturing sector, where its share has ranged from 36.7% to 46.5%.

Endowed with coastal access, Sindh is a major centre of economic activity in Pakistan and has a highly diversified economy ranging from heavy industry and finance centred in Karachi to a substantial agricultural base along the Indus. Manufacturing includes machine products, cement, plastics, and other goods.

Agriculture is very important in Sindh with cotton, rice, wheat, sugar cane, dates, bananas, and mangoes as the most important crops. The largest and finer quality of rice is produced in Larkano district.

The following is a chart of the education market of Sindh estimated by the government in 1998:
Major public and private educational institutes in Sindh include:

The rich culture, art and architectural landscape of Sindh have fascinated historians. The culture, folktales, art and music of Sindh form a mosaic of human history.

Sindh has a rich heritage of traditional handicraft that has evolved over the centuries. Perhaps the most professed exposition of Sindhi culture is in the handicrafts of Hala, a town some 30 kilometres from Hyderabad. Hala's artisans manufacture high-quality and impressively priced wooden handicrafts, textiles, paintings, handmade paper products, and blue pottery. Lacquered wood works known as Jandi, painting on wood, tiles, and pottery known as Kashi, hand weaved textiles including "khadi", "susi", and "ajraks" are synonymous with Sindhi culture preserved in Hala's handicraft.

The work of Sindhi artisans was sold in ancient markets of Damascus, Baghdad, Basra, Istanbul, Cairo and Samarkand. Referring to the lacquer work on wood locally known as Jandi, T. Posten (an English traveller who visited Sindh in the early 19th century) asserted that the articles of Hala could be compared with exquisite specimens of China. Technological improvements such as the spinning wheel (charkha) and treadle (pai-chah) in the weaver's loom were gradually introduced and the processes of designing, dyeing and printing by block were refined. The refined, lightweight, colourful, washable fabrics from Hala became a luxury for people used to the woollens and linens of the age.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the World Wildlife Fund, Pakistan, play an important role to promote the culture of Sindh. They provide training to women artisans in the interior of Sindh so they get a source of income. They promote their products under the name of "Crafts Forever". Many women in rural Sindh are skilled in the production of caps. Sindhi caps are manufactured commercially on a small scale at New Saeedabad and Hala New. These are in demand with visitors from Karachi and other places; however, these manufacturing units have a limited production capacity. Sindhi people began celebrating Sindhi Topi Day on December 6, 2009, to preserve the historical culture of Sindh by wearing Ajrak and Sindhi topi.

Tourist sites include the ruins of Mohenjo-daro near the city of Larkana, Runi Kot, Kot Deji, the Jain temples of Nangar Parker and the historic temple of Sadhu Bela, Sukkur. Islamic architecture is quite prominent in the province; its numerous mausoleums include the ancient Shahbaz Qalander mausoleum.

Hindus comprise approximately 1.85% of Pakistan's population. Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam. As of 2010, Pakistan had the fifth largest Hindu population in the world and PEW predicts that by 2050 Pakistan will have the fourth largest Hindu population in the world. However, around 5,000 Hindus migrate from Pakistan to India every year.

Hinduism in Pakistan

According to Pew Research, the Hindu population will reach 5.6 million and Hindus will constitute 2% of the Pakistan population by 2050. After Pakistan gained independence from British India on 14August 1947, 4.7 million of West Pakistan's Hindus and Sikhs moved to India as refugees.

In the 1998 Census the Hindu population was found to be 2,443,614. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where the majority of Hindu enclaves are found in Pakistan. They speak a variety of languages such as Sindhi, Seraiki, Aer, Dhatki, Gera, Goaria, Gurgula, Jandavra, Kabutra, Koli, Loarki, Marwari, Sansi, Vaghri and Gujarati.

Although small in numbers, Hinduism in Pakistan is not less complex than in other parts of the world. Many Hindus—especially in the rural areas—follow the teachings of local Sufi "pīrs" (Urdu: "spiritual guide") or adhere to the 14th-century saint Ramdevji, whose main temple is located in the Sindhi city of Thando Allah Yar. A growing number of urban Hindu youths in Pakistan associate themselves with ISKCON society. Other communities worship manifold Mother Goddesses as their clan or family patrons. A different branch, the Nanakpanth, follows the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, also known as the holy book of the Sikhs. This diversity, especially in rural Sindh, often thwarts classical definitions between Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam.

One of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Pakistan today is the shrine of Hinglaj Mata in the province of Baluchistan.

The Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu text, was believed to have been composed in the Punjab region of modern-day Pakistan (and India) on the banks of the Indus River around 1500 BCE. Various archaeological finds such as the swastika symbol, yogic postures, what appears to be like a "Pasupati" image that was found on the seals of the people of Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh, point to early influences that may have shaped Hinduism. The religious beliefs and folklore of the Indus valley people have become a major part of the Hindu faith that evolved in this part of the South Asia.
The Sindh kingdom and its rulers play an important role in the Indian epic story of the Mahabharata. In addition, a Hindu legend states that the Pakistani city of Lahore was first founded by Lava, while Kasur was founded by his twin Kusha, both of whom were the sons of Lord Rama of the Ramayana. The Gandhara kingdom of the northwest, and the legendary Gandhara peoples, are also a major part of Hindu literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Many Pakistani city names (such as Peshawar and Multan) can be traced back to Sanskrit roots.

After Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14August 1947, 4.7 million of the country's Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India. The 1998 census of Pakistan recorded less than 2.5 million Hindus. The overwhelming majority of Hindus in Pakistan are concentrated in Sindh province.

In 1951, Hindus constituted 12.9% of the Pakistani population (this includes East Pakistan, modern day Bangladesh), which made the Dominion of Pakistan the second largest Hindu-population country after India.

In the 1951 census, West Pakistan had 1.6% Hindu population, while East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) had 22.05%. By 1997, the percentage of Hindus remained stable at 1.6% in Pakistan, while it dropped to 9.2% in Bangladesh.

According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, Hindus constitute about 1.6 percent of the total population of Pakistan and about 6.6% in the Sindh province. The Pakistan Census separates Schedule Castes from the main body of Hindus who make up a further 0.25% of the national population.

Based on the 1998 Census as well as stabilization of Pakistan's Hindu population since then, Pakistan would, today, have roughly 3 million Hindus. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, there are 1.49 million Hindu voters in the country. They are mostly concentrated in Sindh where their number comes to over 1.39 million.

As per the data from the Election Commission of Pakistan, as of 2018 there were a total of 1.77 million Hindu voters (1.40 million in 2013). Hindu voters were 49% of the total in Umerkot and 46% in Tharparkar.

District with 2% or more Hindus per 1998 census,

In other districts the population of Hindus is less than 1% or none.

At the time of Pakistan's creation the 'hostage theory' had been espoused. According to this theory the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, over 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs from West Pakistan left for India, and 6.5 million Muslims chose to migrate to Pakistan. The reasons for this exodus were the heavily charged communal atmosphere in British Raj, deep distrust of each other, the brutality of violent mobs and the antagonism between the religious communities. That over 1 million people lost their lives in the bloody violence of 1947 should attest to the fear and hate that filled the hearts of millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs who left ancestral homes hastily after independence.

Many Hindus who attained great success in India, like Bollywood film stars and directors Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Ramesh Sippy, Vinod Khanna, Manoj Kumar, Yash Chopra, Balraj Sahni, Rajendra Kumar and Sunil Dutt, trace their birthplaces and ancestral homes to the towns of Pakistan. Independent India's first Test cricket captain, Lala Amarnath, hailed from Lahore; prime ministers I K Gujral and Gulzarilal Nanda are also from the part of the Punjab which became part of Pakistan.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was born near Rawalpindi, while former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani was born in Karachi. Nearly all of these individuals left their homes due to the violence and turmoil during Partition.

The Indus river is a holy river to many Hindus, and the Government of Pakistan periodically allows small groups of Hindus from India to make pilgrimage and take part in festivities in Sindh and Punjab.

The communal violence of the 1940s and the subsequent persecutions have resulted in the destruction of many Hindu temples in Pakistan, although the Hindu community and the Government of Pakistan have preserved and protected many prominent ones. Some ancient Hindu temples in Pakistan draw devotees from across faiths including Muslims. The "Hindu Gymkhana" in Karachi has tried to promote social development for Hindus in the city. One of the few temples remaining in Karachi today is the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi.

Hindus are allotted separate electorates to vote and seats in the provincial assemblies, National Assembly and the Senate. The Pakistan Hindu Panchayat, Pakistan Hindu Council and the "Pakistani Hindu Welfare Association" are the primary civic organizations that represent and organise Hindu communities on social, economic, religious and political issues in most of the country, with the exception of the Shiv Temple Society of Hazara, which especially represents community interests in the Hazara region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in addition to being the special guardians of the Shiva temple, at Chitti Gatti village, near Mansehra. There are minority commissions and for a while, a Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Government of Pakistan looked after specific issues concerning Pakistani religious minorities.

In February 2016, the Sindh Assembly approved the Hindu Marriage Bill for millions of Hindus living in Sindh. The bill paves the way for regulations on registration of marriages and divorce for Hindus and fixes the minimum marrying age for males and females at 18 years-old. In September 2016, the National Assembly of Pakistan also unanimously approved the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016. The Senate of Pakistan unanimously passed the bill in February 2017. In March 2017, the Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain passed the Hindu Marriage Bill thereby making it a law. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also mentioned that the marriage registrars will be established in areas where Hindus stay.

The Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 seats for religious minorities to be filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote. Conventionally, Hindus were allotted 4 or 5 seats.

In 1980s Zia ul-Haq introduced a system under which non-Muslims could vote for only candidates of their own religion. Seats were reserved for minorities in the national and provincial assemblies. Government officials stated that the separate electorates system is a form of affirmative action designed to ensure minority representation, and that efforts are underway to achieve a consensus among religious minorities on this issue, but critics argued that under this system Muslim candidates no longer had any incentive to pay attention to the minorities. Pakistan's separate electoral system for different religions has been described as 'political apartheid'. Hindu community leader Sudham Chand protested against the system but was murdered. In 1999, Pakistan abolished this system.
Hindus and other minorities achieved a rare political victory in 2002 with the removal of separate electorates for Muslims and non-Muslims. The separate electorate system had marginalized non-Muslims by depriving them of adequate representation in the assemblies. The Pakistan Hindu Welfare Association was active by convening a national conference on the issue in December 2000. And in 2001, Hindus, Christians, and Ahmadis successfully conducted a partial boycott of the elections, culminating in the abolishment of the separate electorate system in 2002. This allowed religious minorities to vote for mainstream seats in the National and Provincial assemblies, rather than being confined to voting for only minority seats. Despite the victory, however, Hindus still remain largely disenfranchised.

In 2006, Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla became the first Hindu woman elected to the Senate of Pakistan. Though there is reservation for women in Pakistan National Assembly, not a single seat was allotted for non-Muslim women till 2018. In 2018, Krishna Kumari Kohli, a Hindu woman became the first non-Muslim women to win a women reserved seat in Senate of Pakistan.

In 2018, Pakistan general election Mahesh Kumar Malani became first Hindu candidate who won a general seat in Pakistan National Assembly. He won the seat from Tharparkar-II and thus became the first non-Muslim to win a general seat (non-reserved)in Pakistan national assembly. In the Sindh provincial assembly election which took place along with the Pakistan National Assembly election 2018, Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Giyan Chand Essrani were elected from the Sindh provincial assembly seats. They became the first non-Muslims to win a general seat (non-reserved) in a provincial assembly election.

There are some Tamils that have been in Pakistan since early 20th century when Karachi was developed during the British Raj, as well as Sri Lankan Tamils that arrived during the Sri Lankan Civil War and these Tamils are mostly Hindus. The Madrasi Para area behind the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre is home to 100 Tamil Hindu families. The Maripata (Mariamman)Temple, which has been demolished now, was the biggest Tamil Hindu temple in Karachi. Localities such as Drigh Road and Korangi are home to small percentages of Tamil population.

The Kalasha people practice an ancient form of Hinduism mixed with animism. They are considered as a different ethnic religion people by the Pakistan government. They reside in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Kalasha Desh (the three Kalash valleys) is made up of two distinct cultural areas, the valleys of
Rumbur and Bumburet forming one, and Birir valley the other; Birir valley being the more traditional of the two.

Being a very small minority in a Muslim region, the Kalash have increasingly been targeted by some proselytising Muslims.

Nanakpanthi are Hindus,who reveres Guru Nanak,the founder of Sikhism along with Hindu gods.Today a large fraction of the Sindhi Hindus consider themselves not simply as Sikhs or Hindus, but more precisely as Nanakpanthi

Karachi's city culture allows for a secular environment, providing opportunities to Hindu minorities. Though Islamisation has impacted the country since the 1980s, the secular institutions established during British rule allow Hindus to take advantage of education, sports, cultural activities, and government services, and participate in mainstream Pakistani life.

Prominent Pakistani Hindus include Pakistani cricketers Danish Kaneria and Anil Dalpat, fashion designer Deepak Perwani, and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Rana Bhagwandas.

In 2018, Suman Bodani become the first Hindu woman to be appointed civil judge in Pakistan.

There has been historical decline of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism in the areas of Pakistan. This happened for a variety of reasons even as these religions have continued to flourish beyond the eastern frontiers of Pakistan. The region became predominantly Muslim during the rule of Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire. In general, religious conversion was a gradual process, with some converting to Islam to get rid of the caste system of Hinduism, with some converts attracted to pious Muslim saints, while others converted to Islam to gain tax relief, land grant, marriage partners, social and economic advancement, or freedom from slavery and many converted by force. The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Partition of India. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India migrated to Pakistan. Approximately 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved to India while 6.5 million Muslims settled in Pakistan.

Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data, just around 1,000 Hindu families fled to India in 2013. In May 2014, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, revealed in the National Assembly of Pakistan that around 5,000 Hindus are migrating from Pakistan to India every year.

Those Pakistani Hindus who have migrated to India allege that Hindu girls are sexually harassed in Pakistani schools, adding that Hindu students are made to read the Quran and their religious practices are mocked. The Indian government is planning to issue Aadhaar cards and PAN cards to Pakistani Hindu refugees, and simplifying the process by which they can acquire Indian citizenship.

Separate electorates for Hindus and Christians were established in 1985—a policy originally proposed by Islamist leader Abul A'la Maududi. Christian and Hindu leaders complained that they felt excluded from the county's political process, but the policy had strong support from Islamists. Until 1999, when former military chief Pervez Musharaf overthrew Nawaz Sharif’s government, non-Muslims had dual voting rights in the general elections that allowed them to not only vote for Muslim candidates on general seats, but also for their own non-Muslim candidates.

In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, widespread retaliatory riots erupted against Hindus. Mobs attacked scores of Hindu temples across Pakistan. Shops owned by Hindus were also attacked in Sukkur, Sindh. Hindu homes and temples were also attacked in Quetta.

In 2005, 32 Hindus were killed by firing near Nawab Akbar Bugti's residence during bloody clashes between Bugti tribesmen and paramilitary forces in Balochistan. The firing left the Hindu residential locality near Bugti's residence badly hit, though Bugti's armed tribesmen were the targets of Pakistani forces.

The rise of Taliban insurgency in Pakistan has been an influential and increasing factor in the persecution of and discrimination against religious minorities in Pakistan, such as Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, and other minorities. It is said that there is persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan.
In July 2010, around 60 members of the minority Hindu community in Karachi were attacked and evicted from their homes following an incident of a Dalit Hindu youth drinking water from a tap near an Islamic Mosque. In January 2014, a policeman standing guard outside a Hindu temple at Peshawar was gunned down. Pakistan's Supreme Court has sought a report from the government on its efforts to ensure access for the minority Hindu community to temples – the Karachi bench of the apex court was hearing applications against the alleged denial of access to the members of the minority community.

According to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute report, "Associated with the insistence on the Ideology of Pakistan has been an essential component of hate against India and the Hindus. For the upholders of the Ideology of Pakistan, the existence of Pakistan is defined only in relation to Hindus, and hence the Hindus have to be painted as negatively as possible". A 2005 report by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, a non-profit organization in Pakistan, found that Pakistan Studies textbooks in Pakistan have been used to articulate the hatred that Pakistani policy-makers have attempted to inculcate towards the Hindus. "Vituperative animosities legitimise military and autocratic rule, nurturing a siege mentality. Pakistan Studies textbooks are an active site to represent India as a hostile neighbour", the report stated. 'The story of Pakistan’s past is intentionally written to be distinct from, and often in direct contrast with, interpretations of history found in India. From the government-issued textbooks, students are taught that Hindus are backward and superstitious.' Further the report stated "Textbooks reflect intentional obfuscation."

According to Pew Research, the Hindu population will reach 5.6 million and Hindus will constitute 2% of the Pakistan population by 2050. After Pakistan gained independence from British India on 14August 1947, 4.7 million of West Pakistan's Hindus and Sikhs moved to India as refugees.

Hinduism in Pakistan

Hindus comprise approximately 1.85% of Pakistan's population. Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam. As of 2010, Pakistan had the fifth largest Hindu population in the world and PEW predicts that by 2050 Pakistan will have the fourth largest Hindu population in the world. However, around 5,000 Hindus migrate from Pakistan to India every year.

In the 1998 Census the Hindu population was found to be 2,443,614. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are mostly concentrated in Sindh, where the majority of Hindu enclaves are found in Pakistan. They speak a variety of languages such as Sindhi, Seraiki, Aer, Dhatki, Gera, Goaria, Gurgula, Jandavra, Kabutra, Koli, Loarki, Marwari, Sansi, Vaghri and Gujarati.

One of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Pakistan today is the shrine of Hinglaj Mata in the province of Baluchistan.

After Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14August 1947, 4.7 million of the country's Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India. The 1998 census of Pakistan recorded less than 2.5 million Hindus. The overwhelming majority of Hindus in Pakistan are concentrated in Sindh province.

In 1951, Hindus constituted 12.9% of the Pakistani population (this includes East Pakistan, modern day Bangladesh), which made the Dominion of Pakistan the second largest Hindu-population country after India.

In the 1951 census, West Pakistan had 1.6% Hindu population, while East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh) had 22.05%. By 1997, the percentage of Hindus remained stable at 1.6% in Pakistan, while it dropped to 9.2% in Bangladesh.

According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, Hindus constitute about 1.6 percent of the total population of Pakistan and about 6.6% in the Sindh province. The Pakistan Census separates Schedule Castes from the main body of Hindus who make up a further 0.25% of the national population.

Based on the 1998 Census as well as stabilization of Pakistan's Hindu population since then, Pakistan would, today, have roughly 3 million Hindus. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, there are 1.49 million Hindu voters in the country. They are mostly concentrated in Sindh where their number comes to over 1.39 million.

As per the data from the Election Commission of Pakistan, as of 2018 there were a total of 1.77 million Hindu voters (1.40 million in 2013). Hindu voters were 49% of the total in Umerkot and 46% in Tharparkar.

District with 2% or more Hindus per 1998 census,

In other districts the population of Hindus is less than 1% or none.

At the time of Pakistan's creation the 'hostage theory' had been espoused. According to this theory the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be".

Many Hindus who attained great success in India, like Bollywood film stars and directors Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Ramesh Sippy, Vinod Khanna, Manoj Kumar, Yash Chopra, Balraj Sahni, Rajendra Kumar and Sunil Dutt, trace their birthplaces and ancestral homes to the towns of Pakistan. Independent India's first Test cricket captain, Lala Amarnath, hailed from Lahore; prime ministers I K Gujral and Gulzarilal Nanda are also from the part of the Punjab which became part of Pakistan.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was born near Rawalpindi, while former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani was born in Karachi. Nearly all of these individuals left their homes due to the violence and turmoil during Partition.

The Indus river is a holy river to many Hindus, and the Government of Pakistan periodically allows small groups of Hindus from India to make pilgrimage and take part in festivities in Sindh and Punjab.

The Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 seats for religious minorities to be filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote. Conventionally, Hindus were allotted 4 or 5 seats.

In 2006, Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla became the first Hindu woman elected to the Senate of Pakistan. Though there is reservation for women in Pakistan National Assembly, not a single seat was allotted for non-Muslim women till 2018. In 2018, Krishna Kumari Kohli, a Hindu woman became the first non-Muslim women to win a women reserved seat in Senate of Pakistan.

The Kalasha people practice an ancient form of Hinduism mixed with animism. They are considered as a different ethnic religion people by the Pakistan government. They reside in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Kalasha Desh (the three Kalash valleys) is made up of two distinct cultural areas, the valleys of
Rumbur and Bumburet forming one, and Birir valley the other; Birir valley being the more traditional of the two.

Being a very small minority in a Muslim region, the Kalash have increasingly been targeted by some proselytising Muslims.

Nanakpanthi are Hindus,who reveres Guru Nanak,the founder of Sikhism along with Hindu gods.Today a large fraction of the Sindhi Hindus consider themselves not simply as Sikhs or Hindus, but more precisely as Nanakpanthi

Karachi's city culture allows for a secular environment, providing opportunities to Hindu minorities. Though Islamisation has impacted the country since the 1980s, the secular institutions established during British rule allow Hindus to take advantage of education, sports, cultural activities, and government services, and participate in mainstream Pakistani life.

Prominent Pakistani Hindus include Pakistani cricketers Danish Kaneria and Anil Dalpat, fashion designer Deepak Perwani, and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Rana Bhagwandas.

In 2018, Suman Bodani become the first Hindu woman to be appointed civil judge in Pakistan.

Some Hindus in Pakistan feel that they are treated as second-class citizens and many have continued to migrate to India. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data, just around 1,000 Hindu families fled to India in 2013. In May 2014, a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, revealed in the National Assembly of Pakistan that around 5,000 Hindus are migrating from Pakistan to India every year.

Those Pakistani Hindus who have migrated to India allege that Hindu girls are sexually harassed in Pakistani schools, adding that Hindu students are made to read the Quran and their religious practices are mocked. The Indian government is planning to issue Aadhaar cards and PAN cards to Pakistani Hindu refugees, and simplifying the process by which they can acquire Indian citizenship.

In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, widespread retaliatory riots erupted against Hindus. Mobs attacked scores of Hindu temples across Pakistan. Shops owned by Hindus were also attacked in Sukkur, Sindh. Hindu homes and temples were also attacked in Quetta.

In 2005, 32 Hindus were killed by firing near Nawab Akbar Bugti's residence during bloody clashes between Bugti tribesmen and paramilitary forces in Balochistan. The firing left the Hindu residential locality near Bugti's residence badly hit, though Bugti's armed tribesmen were the targets of Pakistani forces.