The Mosque of the Mianwals

About 26 km west of Khairpur Nathan Shah, in Dadu district, is located the historical Jamia Mosque of Garhi which is believed to have been built by Mian Nasir Muhammad Kalhoro in 1660 AD, who was known as a luminary of the Kalhora dynasty due to his popularity, preaching and piety. This mosque and seminary of Garhi became the centre and identity of the Mianwal movement in seventeenth-century Sindh. After the martyrdom of his uncle Shah Ali alias Shahal Muhammad Kalhoro in 1657, Mian Nasir Muhammad Kalhoro (d.1692) became the new leader of the Mianwal movement in 1658 and he shifted his headquarters from Fatehpur in Larkana to Garhi in Dadu. He was the celebrated spiritual as well as political ruler of the Kalhora dynasty who laid the foundation of his capital Garhi in Kachho, in the plains of Dadu district. Many people from different tribes became his disciples and with their help, Mian Nasir Muhammad Kalhoro brought all of the areas of Kachho and some parts of Kachhi district in Balochistan under his control. As a result of this, he emerged as a major religious as well as political leader and came into conflict with the tribes that were supported by the Mughals.

The_Mosque_of_the_Mianwals.pdf