All is not lost for the historic tombs of Chawkandi

The first national conference on Chawkandi tombs was held on Saturday by the Sindh Culture Department at the Chawkandi graveyard located 29 kilometres east of Karachi on the National Highway 5.
A national level dialogue on one of Sindh’s most beautiful heritage sites in the metropolitan that has great architectural and archaeological significance raises hope for its protection and preservation by public authorities, particularly the provincial culture department and the city’s civil administration. Sindh Culture Minister Sassui Palijo and Sindh Culture Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili were joined by leading archaeologists, historians and local communities at the site, which was aesthetically decorated.
The conference venue was elegant and the monuments were lit up to present a fascinating and enthralling view in the backdrop. Sindh Zakat & Ushr Minister Sajid Jokhio and Sindh Auqaf Minister Rafique Banbhan were the chief guests, whereas the culture minister chaired the symposium.
During the conference, experts highlighted the history of the Chawkandi tombs and said these graves were built between the 15th and 18th centuries, and the architectural techniques and designs were unique to the Islamic world of the time.
Members of the Jokhio, Burfat, Kalmati and other Baloch tribes are buried in these intricately carved graves constructed from beautiful yellow stone taken from Thatta’s Jungshahi. Shah Latif, the great Sindhi poet and saint of international repute, eulogised the tales of these tribes’ bravery in his poetry.
Dr Kaleemullah Lashari, an archaeologist, historian and career civil servant who authored ‘A Study of the Stone Carved Graves’, identified “atmospheric degradation, rapid industrialisation in the vicinity and mushroom growth of development activity around the graveyard” as the major factors responsible for the decay and degradation of the site. State Bank Museum Director Dr Asma Ibrahim, a leading archaeologist, acclaimed the efforts of Palijo and her department for arranging such an important conference on Chawkandi.
Ibrahim said Palijo was the first minister to officially visit the site and launch this campaign to restore the tombs. Punjab University Archaeology Department Chairman Dr Farzand Masih related these tombs with the monuments found in Balochistan and other parts of Sindh. Masih gave a pictorial presentation in which he compared the grave carvings with those found in the Buddhist era in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Peshawar Institute of Archaeology & Anthropology Director Prof Naseem Khan acclaimed the richness of the architectural beauty in Chawkandi, compared to those found in upcountry, and highlighted the decorative elements of the graves. Quetta Archaeology Department Director Noor Khan spoke on ‘Balochistan Graveyards Contemporary to Chawkandi’ and mentioned similarities in the graveyards in Hub, Gadani, Lasbela and Gwadar with Chawkandi. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics Research Anthropologist Zulfiqar Kalhoro focused on the “canopy of Jam Mureed”, which he called “a symbol of tribal power”.
The conference was unique in its wide variety of participation, as it was an ideal combination of politicians, technocrats, professionals, bureaucrats and local population. The experts, archaeologists and historians from all over the country and leading intellectuals, scholars, writers and poets of the province, besides other dignitaries from Karachi participated. The local communities also thronged in huge numbers along with their elders, including Jam Abdul Karim Bijar Jokhio, Sardar Luqman Khan Malkani, Sardar Ghulam Qadir Kalmati and Haji Shafi Mohammad Jamote. Palijo said the culture department is cognisant of its responsibilities and has accorded the highest priority to the protection and preservation of the cultural heritage and archaeological sites of the province, which had been devolved to them only a few months ago.