Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Thar and Parkar

THAR AND PÁRKAR, or Thur and Parker, a district in the east of Sind, Bombay presidency, India, with an area of 12,729 square miles. It lies between 24 13 and 26 15 N. lat. and between 68 51 and 71 8 E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Khaipur state, on the E. by the states of Jaisalmir, Malani, and Jodhpur, on the W. by Hyderabad district, and on the S. by the Runn of Cutch. The district is divided into two portions. The western part, called the " Pat," is watered by the Eastern Nara and the Mithrau canals, which constitute the sole water-system of the district, and the presence of water has created a quantity of jungle and marsh; the other part, called the " Thar," is a desert tract of rolling sand-hills, running north-east and south-west, composed of a fine but slightly coherent sand. To the south-east of Tharis Parkar, where there are ranges of rocky hills, rising to 350 feet above the surrounding level, and open plains of stiff clay. The Parkar portion of the district contains the ruins of several old temples; one of these is a Jain temple, which contained an idol of great sanctity and repute, known under the name of Gorcha. The climate is subject to consider able extremes in temperature, being excessively hot in the summer and very cold in winter, the cold increasing as the sand-hills are approached.

The census of 1881 returned the population at 203,344 (males 112,400, females 90,944); Hindus numbered 43,755, Mohammedans 109,924, and Christians only 14. Umarkot, the birth place of Akbar, is the chief town, with a population of 2828. The chief products of the district are rice, joar, bajri, cotton, and oil seeds. It is estimated that only 45 per cent, of the arable area is under cultivation. The exports are chiefly rice, wheat, oil-seeds, cattle, goats, and sheep; the imports consist of cotton, metals, dried fruits, piece goods, sugar, and tobacco. The manufactures are chiefly blankets, camel saddles, and coarse cotton cloth. The imperial revenue in 1885-86 amounted to 44,313, of which the land supplied 32,927. Very little is known of the early history of the district. The Soda Rajputs, said to be descendants of Parmar Soda, are supposed to have come into this part of Sind about 1226, when they quickly displaced the rulers of the country, though, according to other authorities, they did not conquer the country from the Sumras, the dominant race, before the beginning of the 16th century. The local dynasty of the Sodas succumbed to the Kalhoras about 1750, since which period the district has been subject more or less to Sind. The Talpur mirs succeeded the Kalhoras, and built a number of forts to overawe the people, who were lawless and addicted to robbery. On the British conquest of Sind in 1843 the greater part of the district was made over to Cutch; and in 1856 it was wholly incorporated in the province of Sind. In 1859 a rebellion broke out, which was quickly suppressed.