Language : Urdu & Sindhi
Phone Code : 0229
Best Time to Visit : February March

INTRODUCTION
Dadu is the headquarter of the taluka and district of that name lies in 26o – 44’ north latitude and 67o – 49’ east longitudes. It is situated on the main road leading from Sehwan to Larkana. The town possessed a Municipality, which was abolished in 1886 and later re-established. It contain a District and a Public Works Department Banglow, Deputy Commissioner Office, Resident Magistrate’s office, police Lines, Railway Dispensary which also serves the town, Veterinary Dispensary, and post Office besides other official building and rest houses.
History Of Dadu The first important fact known in the history of this region is that nearly 5,000 years ago an orderly and well established civilization existed in the valley of the Indus. This fact is based on archeological explorations, which were carried out by the Archeological Department at Moen Jo Daro during the year 1920-22. These explorations have indeed brought to light a rich wealth of historical material which enables us to form a vivid picture of the standard of civilization attained by the people living in this region, during the third millennium before Chirst.
Sehwan is one of the most ancient towns of Indus valley. Its history dates back to the second ancient belt of this valley after the ancient culture of Moen jo Daro. At the time of Maha Bharat when Brahmans were settled in this valley, they founded many towns on the bank of Indus. Sehwan occupies a first place in those old ancient towns. It is not known what its original name was in those days but at the time of the invasion of Alexander the Great, this town occupied a cardinal place and Alexander encamped here on his return march homeward. In memory of his victory he built a fort, the ruins of which are still in existence in the north of the present town.
At the time of invasion of Alexander the Great, Sehwan was called "SEVESTAN" and ruled over by Raja Mati. During the decay of Empire of Raja Mati, it was ravaged by Raja Chhach. This part of country thus ruled by Raja Chhach and his followers until Raja Dahar who was defeated at he battle of Debal in 711 A.D .by Mohammed Bin Qasim. While Sindh was subject to the Emperors at Delhi, Sehwan or Sevastan, as it was then called appears to have been generally the seat of Governor. When the Samas came in to the power, one of the first things which they did was to seize Sehwan, and when Shah Beg Arghun took the kingdom from the last of Samas he had to fight, a second battle for possession of the town. Under his son Miraz Shah Hussain the fugitive Emperor Humayun made a determined when Sindh again lost its independence and Daudpotas,
Kalhoras and Panhawar were fighting of the right bank of the Indus. Sehwan declined. The victorious Kalhoras made their capital at Khudaabad thirty-two kilometers to the north, but this capital in its turn, was superseded by Hyderabad. At the time of British conquest, this part of the country was ruled by the Talpurs (Mirs). After the battle of Miani, Sir Charles Napier took possession of the Sindh and made Karachi as his headquarter.
Administrative expediency demanded the reconstitution of the boundaries of the district in 1901 when Larkana district was created and some talukas, which were earlier part of Shikarpur district, were linked with it. The people of this part, with the passage of time and change in circumstances, could not adjust themselves of the political and administrative environment of Larkana district and they demanded their severance from it. This resulted into creation of Dadu district in 1931with its headquarters at Dadu.
Ethnicity and Tribes
The majority of the population is Muslim. They can be divided into two major groups Samats and Baloch. The Samat includes Panhwar, Solangi, Qureshi, Sheikh, Siddiqui, Qazi and others.
The Baloch includes Jamali, Khosa, Lund, Gabol and others. Hindu population is split up into two groups viz. Sanatis and Lohanas. This population is scanty now.
Geography Of Dadu The district derives its name from its headquarters town Dadu. It lies between 24 –57 and 27-27 north latitudes and 67 - 09 to 68 - 25 east longitudes. It is bounded on the north by Larkana district, on the east by Naushero Feroze, Nawabshah and Hyderabad districts, on the south by Thatta district, on south – west by Malir district and Lasbela and Khuzdar districts of Balochistan Province.The area of the district is 19070 square kilometer.

Rivers and Streams
The river Indus flow along the eastern boundary of the district. There is no other river in the district except numerous watercourses, which drain the hills and are known as Nais. The most important of them is Gaji. The other Nais are Baran, Sann and Sol.
The Mancher Lake is the biggest natural lake in Asia. When it is in full capacity it covers an area of 259 square kilometers at its maximum and when it shrinks, it covers an area of 52 square kilometers at its minimum. Apart from being storage of fish, it is also a source of water irrigating about 20,000 to 25, 000 acres of land. The other important lake is Ganero about 16 kilometers from Mehar.
Climate
The climate of the district is intensively hot in summer and cold enough in winter. The salient feature of climate is the higher difference in temperature between its southern and northern areas.The southern area, which consists of taluka Kotri, Thano Bula Khan and major part of Sehwan have moderate climate whereas Johi, Dadu, Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah talukas have extreme weather conditions. The other peculiar feature of climate is sub zero temperature in Gorakh Hill Range during winter and where mercury column remains below than 20oC even in June and July. The average annual rainfall in the district is about 120 millimeters.
Detailed data on temperature and rainfall is not available for the district. Dadu town is however, situated on the same latitude as that of Padidan town of Naushreo Feroze district.
Flora
The district is rich in flora. Mancher Lake is an ideal place having different kinds of botanicals Plants. Different kinds of grasses and other plants of low growth are considerable. The chief trees are the balm (populus euphratica), kandi (prosopis specigera), siras (mimosa sivissa), babul (accacia arabica), pipal (ficus religiosa). The natural shrubs are kal, dear, thuher and khore.
Fauna
With the exception of humbler species like jackal, wild life is almost non-existent. Hyenas and wolves are hardly ever seen. Pigs though diminished, are still found in small numbers.Manchar Lake has a variety of migratory birds coming from Siberia. Among other birds partridge both grey and black is remarkable. Common kinds of wild ducks and waterfowls can be seen during winter season.
Agriculture
All crops of Kharif and Rabi are grown in the district. Such crops are wheat, rice, cotton, sugar cane, barely, jowar, bajra, gram, sesame and tobacco.
Irrigation
The district is irrigated by Sukkur Barrage system except for small portion, which is irrigated by Kotri Barrage. There are two main canals in the district, Rice canal and Dadu canal. Besides, these the land is also irrigated by the tube wells and spill of the river Indus.
Horticulture
The growing of flowers, fruit and vegetable though not practiced on large scale and commercial scale but ample horticulture is carried out to fulfill the needs of locals of the district.
Forestry
The total area under forest in district Dadu is 217,000 hectares. The important forests are Gidarji, Gagh, Unerpur, Budhapur, Rajri, Manjhand, Amri, Abad, Kundah Khairo Dero, Bhan, Kaloo Bhori, Shah Grah Dhandan, Keti Lalya, Keti Jatoi, Kacho Sita, Kandi Baghban, Sona Bindi, Kacho Magsi, Kamal Dero, Budho Dero, Soi, Nari and Qasim Shah. The forest yields 239,000 cubic feet of timber and 78,000 cft of firewood.
Livestock
The farming of livestock is rife in Dadu district. Many tribes are involved in this business and earn livelihood through this mean. The farming of animals has greater variety and include buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep etc.

Industry
The district has many industrial units at Kotri and Nooriabad, like textile, tobacco, detergent, cement etc. The Dadu sugar mill at Piaro Goth is providing employment opportunities to locals to some extent.
Mining
The district is rich in mines. The Kirthar Range is a great source of lime, limestone, gravel, salt, sand and marble. These mines are found in talukas of Sehwan, Kotri and Thano Bula Khan. The coal obtained from Lakhra Coal mines is fulfilling national needs. Apart from that, reservoirs of gas and petroleum have been explored in Sehwan, Johi and Thanno Bula Khan talukas. The district gets substantial revenue from these mines.
Trade
The district has trade, which has roots in agriculture. The trade of wheat, rice, cotton, sugar-cane is carried out mainly from Johi, Meher and Khairpur Nathan Shah talukas. The fish obtained from Manchar Lake and other source is also sent commercially to the various parts of the province.
Communication
The district headquarter is connected with its taluka headquarters through metalloid and un-metalloid roads. There are about 5945 kilometers of metalloid and 568 kilometers of un- metalloid roads in the district. A new bridge has been completed over river Indus connecting with Moro, Naushehro Feroze and Nawabshah. Apart from that, work on Indus highway from Jamshoro to Sehwan has been completed. This highway is made on modern engineering techniques and is conspicuous of its quality and standard. The district is also connected by railways. Pakistan Railway line passes through this district from Bholahri to Radhan station. The district is well provided with post and telegraph offices besides telephone facilities.
Culture of Dadu
Culture, Custom and Tradition
The dimension of the district is very complicated in terms of variety of culture. Custom and tradition because of variation in geographical features .The district is the largest in area and have different physical features; thus very part which varies in its physical feature is diversified in numerous culture background. The resident of the Kotri, Thano Bula Khan and Sehwan have different dialects and have tribal system, having roots in Balochi culture. They even have few trends of dress and clothing which has the origin of Laur and Thar. The majority of population of talukas of Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah speak Siraiki whereas Johi’s population mostly speak Balochi and Siraiki and have identical customs. Thus district has cultural roots in Laar, Uttar and Balochistan and is a blend of colorful cultural heritage.
Food
One part of district Dadu differ from other due to its divers geography thus various kind of food is consumed. The residents of rice producing belt mostly consume rise, wheat, butter, curd, milk and vegetable .The people residing beside Kirther range consume milt, jowar, peas and dairy product. The population, which resides in towns, take spicy food made of mutton, vegetable and pulses.
Dress and ornaments
The dress of men and women vary according to the season. Men wear thick or thin cotton clothes in summer and woolen clothes in winter season. Some of them wear caps or turban. They also wear chaster in winter. Women always wear loose shirts and Shalwars in summer. The educated class of people of this district wear clothes markably of different style and different colour. Males wear pants of cotton shirts and Shalwar in summer and silken shirts and Shalwar in winter. The common dress among the poor class in rural areas as well as in urban area is of simple nature. The Muslim female population in urban as well as in rural areas wear Burkas which is an essential part of dress. The burkas are worn occasionally when the women move outside. Generally pardah does not exist in rural areas among hari and labour classes. The women living in primitive conditions take Chadri/chaddar (sheet of cloth) for purpose of pardha. On festivals, all the classes of people wear dress of superior cloth according to the requirement of the season and according to their standard of living and means.
Women of highly educated classes wear saris and Ghararas of punjabi pattern.
The dress pattern in Hindu society differs slightly. Hindu orthodox ladies wear Pare instead of trousers and long shirts with mirror work on them. In other Hindu classes, people wear the same dress as described in Muslim society.
Children’s dress also varies according to circumstances. Commonly the boys wear trousers, shirts and caps and the girls wear trousers, shirts and dopattas. They wear socks and chappls as well. The dress worn on ceremonies is more impressive and of batter quality.
The golden as well as silver ornaments are being used by women according to their ranks on societies. Women of poor class of people use silver ornaments whereas women of the rich families use golden ornaments. The types of ornaments generally worn in the district are necklace, bangles, ear-ring, nose-ring and pazeb, generally of silver.
Historical Places of Dadu
Amri , Dadu , Khudabad, Kotri , Manchar Lake , Sehwan