eae ) Bo a. . er > | 
 
 b 
 
 — 
 
 Prepared by 
 The Superintendent of the Sind District _ 
 Methodist Episcopal Church 
 Karachi, India 
 
 Introduction by 
 
 Bishop Brenton Thoburn Badley 
 Resident Bishop of the Bombay Area 
 Methodist Episcopal Church 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2023 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/glimpsesalongind00thom 
 
Glimpses Along the Indus 
 
 The Unhappy Valley of Sind 
 
 Prepared by 
 The Superintendent of the Sind District 
 Methodist Episcopal Church 
 Karachi, India 
 
 Introduction by 
 Bishop Brenton Thoburn Badley 
 Resident Bishop of the Bombay Area 
 Methodist Episcopal Church 
 
Printed in the United States of America 
 
 i 
 
INTRODUCTORY WORD 
 
 By Bishop BRENTON THOBURN BADLEY, 
 Resident Bishop of the Bombay Area 
 
 Our work in the province of Sind, properly supported and 
 wisely followed up, is as secure as the future of the province 
 itself. Few parts of India are to-day making as rapid progress 
 as Sind. The development of Karachi, whose trade already is 
 approaching three times the volume of that of Madras, is one of 
 the phenomenal things in India. Wisdom prompts the Church 
 to tie up to Karachi now, and grow with it into its great future. 
 The Sukkur Barrage in upper Sind, whose plans contemplate the 
 opening up of several new canals and irrigating eight million 
 acres of land now arid, will take thirty years to carry out fully, 
 and is the greatest thing of the kind ever undertaken in India. 
 Its effect on the development of Sind, which in extent and pos- 
 sibilities is capable of supporting a population many times greater 
 than it now has, will be one of the factors in the modern India 
 that is now taking shape. 
 
 The Rev, G. B. Thompson, who is now in his third year as 
 district superintendent of Sind, is a man who has clearly realized 
 the possibilities of the situation, and is working not only with 
 energy but great practical wisdom in developing plans that may 
 be adequate for the present and safeguard the future. His is at 
 present the impossible task of trying to do on a total of two 
 hundred dollars a month for the entire current work of the prov- 
 ince what two or three times this amount should be considered 
 the absolute minimum. Even this small income is, in the present 
 emergency, contingent upon certain factors that are not assured. 
 In no part of the Bombay Area is the work of our Church in 
 greater jeopardy on account of the 55 per cent reduction in ap- 
 propriations that this Area has suffered since 1924. When to 
 this “‘cut’’ we add the 20 per cent further loss through the fall in 
 exchange in the dollar as compared with the rupee, we are left 
 with only one fourth of the income of 1924 with which to carry 
 on our work in the Area. 
 
 In this impossible situation faced by the district superintendent 
 of the Sind District, the Resident Bishop of the Area supports 
 
 3 
 
most heartily and with great solicitude the statement here 
 presented by Mr. Thompson for the information of the Church. 
 We trust that friends who would like to do something to sup- 
 port this strategic enterprise of the Kingdom in India may speed- 
 ily be found. If any in America wish to get in touch personally 
 with the Resident Bishop of the Area, they can do so during the 
 next few months by addressing him at 150 Fifth Avenue, New 
 York City. 
 
 It is said of the British general who took Sind in the wars of 
 the last century that when he had gained possession he wired 
 back the single word, ‘Peccavi’—“I have Sind’ (sinned)! We 
 cannot claim to have done this yet, but we do hold the chief 
 centers of Sind in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for 
 Him we seek to get possession of that entire province. It is for 
 this we ask your cooperation. 
 
PREFACE 
 Little Being Done 
 This booklet has grown out of a real need. No Christian 
 Church working in Sind is in a position to meet the needs as 
 they now exist. When future developments are considered along 
 with the location of Sind in relation to the countries that sur- 
 round her—Arabia and Persia to the West, Afghanistan and 
 Baluchistan to the Northwest, and other Provinces of India to 
 the North and East, with the immense gateway of the Arabian 
 Sea,—one is overwhelmed with the opportunity and at the same 
 time the smallness of what is being done to prepare to meet the 
 demands of the days that are upon us. 
 
 Estimated Increase of Population 
 
 Within the last 50 years Karachi has increased from 56,000 to 
 217,000 inhabitants. At the same rate of increase, the city of 
 Karachi will have well beyond 800,000 inhabitants in 1971, the 
 end of the 100 year period. Considering the new factors that 
 now enter in, it is only natural to believe that Karachi will have 
 Over (1,000,000) one million inhabitants in less than so years 
 from now, or within the life time of our children. The whole 
 of the Province will more than double within that time, if not 
 treble or quadruple, making ten to fifteen million souls in Sind. 
 
 Our Responsibility 
 
 The estimates of building costs worked out have been care- 
 fully done by the Finance Committee of the Indus River Con- 
 ference, Methodist Episcopal Church, with which the Sind Dis- 
 trict is officially connected. Furthermore the project has the 
 personal backing of the Bishop of the Area, Dr. Brenton Tho- 
 burn Badley. We here in India feel that until we have done 
 our very best to make the needs known to those who should 
 know and help, we stand liable before God and the people of 
 Sind. On the other hand we believe there are literally hundreds 
 if not thousands who will welcome the opportunity to give once 
 they are acquainted with the real facts. Hence this attempt. 
 With prayer for the Church everywhere that we all “keep the 
 Faith once delivered to the Saints,” 
 
 Iam, Faithfully yours, 
 G. B. THompson. 
 
SUKKUR 
 
 300 Miles to Karachi 
 
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 4 ee eo  * 
 wa 
 . 
 
 QYHYDERABAD 
 
 KARACHI” 
 
 Cee 6 
 
 \. L110 Miles to Harachi 
 
 RAILWAYS —--—--: 
 
 fo quod OL <—---~ 
 
“THE UNHAPPY VALLEY OF SIND” 
 
 or 
 
 “GLIMPSES ALONG THE INDUS” 
 
 The Indus Like the Mississippi River 
 
 The province of Sind is to the Indus River what the States 
 of Louisiana and Mississippi are to the “Father of Waters.” For 
 500 miles the Indus passes through the heart of Sind and dis- 
 tributes a rich deposit of silt gathered from its many sources, 
 and thus is continually making the bed of the river higher than 
 the outlying valley. A physical map of India will show that 
 the larger portion of Sind is less than 600 feet above the level 
 of the sea—well worth noting in view of the fact that the world’s 
 largest irrigation scheme is being inaugurated at Sukkur, 400 
 miles from the river’s mouth. 
 
 Persian Water Wheel. 
 7 
 
Thirsty Sands Watch the Waters Waste 
 
 Heretofore Sind has been reckoned as a part of the vast desert 
 region stretching from the heart of Africa to Central India. 
 
 The River Indus. 
 
 It is surrounded by desert to the east and the barren hills of 
 Kirthar to the west. Not being in the trade wind belt, its main 
 hope lies in the fact that the mighty Indus, from which India 
 received her name, courses through what is otherwise well named 
 the ‘Unhappy Valley of Sind.’’ However, the Indus has for 
 thousands of years been silently gathering the waters from the 
 Himalayas as well as the vast plains of the Punjab to the north, 
 and without asking any one safely delivering them in the Arabian 
 Sea. 
 
 Persian Water-wheels Prove Insufficient 
 
 The inhabitants of the “Unhappy Valley’”’ have been content 
 to cultivate mere patches of the low-lying portions where moisture 
 was easily secured by means of the famous Persian water-wheels, 
 (1) or other such devices. Recently however the modern mind, 
 wealth and machinery have been brought to bear and vast por- 
 tions of the desert are being converted into fertile fields. 
 
 8 
 
The Hope of Sind Irrigation 
 
 Whereas at present there are barely three million acres under 
 cultivation, the scheme involves the irrigation of twice as many 
 more acres. An expenditure of at least $70,000,000 covering a 
 period of 30 years will convert a vast desert into a country as 
 fertile and productive as the land of the Nile. Crowded popu- 
 lations in other regions of India will follow the call to these new 
 lands. 
 
 Sind and Bengal Compared 
 
 The extent of the opportunity may be shown by the fact that 
 at present Sind, with ah area of 47,000 square miles, has only 
 three and one half million people; Bengal, in the eastern part of 
 India on the Ganges, has forty-five million people on 87,000 
 square miles. That is, Bengal has seven times as many people 
 to the square mile as Sind has. 
 
 “Sukkur in Upper Sind” 
 
 We begin at Sukkur. There we are impressed with the high 
 cliffs that are seen from the banks of the Indus. The great bridge 
 under which we pass connects India with Baluchistan, Afghan- 
 istan and Persia, from whence the western conquerors have come 
 overland in the centuries gone by. There we see the river Indus 
 (2) and the tiny boat in which we are to make our journey to 
 Karachi, a distance of over 450 miles, down the Indus to the 
 mouth and around the sea to the third port of India. 
 
 Jungle Home of American Engineers. 
 
 9 
 
American Engineers at Work 
 
 After the long introduction about the Sukkur Barrage we are 
 now prepared for the pictures which will show us how the work 
 
 High Tower nearby a Famous Moslem Tomb in Sukkur. 
 
 is progressing. Please notice first the queer little houses (3) built 
 for the American Engineers who are helping dig the big canals 
 which are to conduct the Indus waters to the vast areas of Sind. 
 By climbing up the large high tower (4) near by a famous tomb 
 of some Moslem saints, we can actually see the large machines 
 (5) at work across the Indus, the portion of the canal (6) already 
 dug, and the place where the great dam is to be placed across 
 the river. By going near we see there the kind of people (7) who 
 do the work of lifting and clearing the way for the machines 
 (8) to work. They are really the ones for whom the canals are 
 being dug and the ones whom the men of the West have come 
 to serve. 
 
 The West Sells to the East 
 
 The British people have established good government over 
 the vast areas of India, including Sind; and other nations of the 
 West are continually sending their traders to sell sewing ma- 
 chines, oil and gas for motors and lamps,:as well as clothing for 
 
 sxe) 
 
the body and books for the mind. We who have found a priceless 
 Treasure in Christ are constrained by the love within us to bring 
 the Book of the knowledge of good and evil. In order to do 
 this we come as missionaries, preach the Gospel, win others to 
 Christ, and they in turn go out and tell the Good News to all 
 who will listen. 
 
 Sukkur Headquarters Needed 
 
 There are Christians to-day in all large centers of India. We 
 have an ordained Minister at Sukkur. He has about him one 
 hundred souls who know something about Christ. They are 
 doing what they can to worship God. But as one said to the 
 Pastor recently, ‘“Where is your Church? We see the temples 
 and mosques of the Hindus and Mohammedans where they 
 worship, but where do you worship’ Before we leave Sukkur 
 on our journey to Hyderabad, may we not give encouragement 
 to the faithful ones at Sukkur, this strategic city center for the 
 Gospel of Christ, with its over 50,000 inhabitants, by pledging 
 to assist the Sukkur Headquarters with their first Church butld- 
 ing, and home for the Pastor. The Finance Committee of the 
 Indus River Conference has assisted us in estimating the cost 
 for such a plant at $8,000. When we recall that this is the center 
 
 “Bucyrus’” Machines at work excavating canal. 
 ia 
 
for all Upper Sind, where already 1,500,000 people live and where 
 many more are soon to come, we shall not hesitate to provide 
 the amount called for by the leaders of the work. The kind 
 
 Portion of Canal already dug. 
 
 of building and other. particulars we shall leave to talk of pri- 
 vately when we can get together on this matter. 
 
 Sailing Down the Indus 
 
 Let us now get into our sail boat and start on the journey of 
 250 miles to Hyderabad, which we shall reach after several days 
 of quiet sailing, and during which time we shall behold the beau- 
 ties along the Indus. The river, like the Nile, doth here and there 
 change its banks. 
 
 Probable Garden of Eden 
 
 The present garden area of Sind is to see to our right in the 
 Larkana District. There too we may see Mohenjo, the most 
 ancient village of Sind, which is now considered to be as old as 
 those of Persia, having had a mature civilization five thousand 
 years ago. 
 
 Sehwan Sight Beautiful 
 But we must not tarry here at Mohenjo, but pass to Sehwan, 
 where the river winds its way through the valley, resembling 
 the sight to be seen from the Fort in Shrinagar of the unexcelled 
 12 
 
valley of Kashmir. In order to get the best effect of this view 
 let us visit the old Fort of Sehwan high and lifted up, thus com- 
 
 manding the view of 
 the whole valley. 
 Sehwan is of interest 
 to the Moslems whose 
 noted Sufi Saint, Lal 
 Shahbaz (red falcon), 
 lies’ buried in the 
 famous, (9) tomb 
 known by his name. 
 It is visited yearly by 
 tens of thousands of 
 pilgrims. 
 
 Passing Other Boats 
 But lest we delay 
 too long in reaching 
 our destination, we 
 Sra erestm cour 
 journey, trusting the 
 gales may be favorable 
 
 A Cooly Woman and her baby. 
 
 A Typical Sindhi of the Frontier—known 
 as a “Shikarpuri”’ 
 
 for sailing. We pass many 
 such boats and some much 
 larger, carrying grain, wood 
 and other provisions to the 
 towns along the way. Now 
 we have arrived at Gidu 
 Bunder, from whence we 
 shall go by tonga, if the 
 Missionary does not meet 
 us with his Ford Car. I 
 think I see him waiting for 
 us, hence we shall soon be 
 on our way to Hyderabad, 
 the ancient capital of Sind. 
 
 Glimpses of Hyderabad 
 
 As our time is short and 
 the journey by sea in a sail 
 boat is long, let us have a 
 run round the city and 
 
resume our journey. 
 Hyderabad has one out- 
 standing characteristic 
 of its own. As we 
 approach the city we 
 see on the top of the 
 well built brick build- 
 ings, many upstanding 
 shafts erected (10) for 
 the purpose of catching 
 the breeze which comes 
 from the sea over one 
 hundred miles away. 
 We also see the Fort 
 built by the Amirs of 
 Sind (11) centuries ago 
 but remaining solid to 
 this days Themtagge 
 railway station is to ac- 
 commodate the people 
 who come from railways 
 running in five direc- 
 tions. (12) Then, as we 
 return toward our boat, 
 we pass one of the big 
 Tomb of Lal Shahbaz, the famous Sufi notes High School buildings 
 
 of Zehawan. (13) which looks like a 
 Church from the outside. It was built for a reformed Hindu 
 sect which has greatly benefited by the education received from 
 the Western people, but who have yet to learn and accept Christ 
 as their personal Saviour. It is for this very reason we are com- 
 pelled to continue teaching by precept and example all we know 
 Christ to mean to us. 
 
 Hyderabad Center, Essential 
 
 On the way to our boat we may see the land which has been 
 recently given over to the Methodist Episcopal Mission on which 
 to build the first Mission house as a center for our work in this 
 great city of nearly 100,000 souls. The Officer in charge has 
 believed us when we said that we are planning to assist the many 
 Christians who are coming to this region as the Irrigation Scheme 
 
 14 
 
Shafts on houses in Hyderabad built to catch breeze and ventilate rooms below. 
 
 develops. In the center of a residential community we have 
 25 acres of land. Our Finance Committee have estimated the 
 cost for the buildings desired at $15,000. They have taken into 
 
 Fort built by Rulers in 18th Century. 
 15 
 
Hyderabad Railway Station. 
 
 consideration the Christian community of 500 persons already 
 there, and also the fact that Hyderabad is the second city of 
 importance in Sind, being the center for another million and a 
 half of people. We simply must erect these buildings for the 
 Hyderabadis, for they hold the key to the Leadership of Sind. 
 
 High School Building at Hyderabad, Sind. 
 16 
 
Tatta Visited by Alexander, the Greek 
 
 It will be pleasant sailing down the river from Gidu Bunder 
 as we shall see more fertile fields; watch the solitary fishermen 
 
 The Dayaram Jethmal Sind College, a private institution aided by government. 
 
 riding in the midst of the river on top of large inverted vessels 
 of pumpkins in order to catch the fish from the great river. We 
 shall only make one halt as we pass, that being at Tatta, which 
 was really the first port of importance on the Indus. Alexander 
 and his satraps halted there in the Fourth Century B. C., when 
 he made his famous visit to the Punjab and returned to Greece, 
 but not without having left influences which live to this day. 
 Tatta, however, has lost its importance now to Karachi, and we 
 shall hasten on as we wish to spend some time in this growing city. 
 
 Karachi Nearest Europe 
 
 We must needs pass out the main mouth of the Indus and 
 turn to our right where we find Karachi, 50 miles away, surround- 
 ing the beautiful and magnificent harbor at Kiamari. There 
 ships come from Boston, London and many other ports far and 
 near. The fact is Karachi is nearest to Europe, being 200 miles 
 nearer than Bombay, and as a port now ranks third in importance 
 in India, only Bombay and Calcutta exceeding her in the amounts 
 of Imports and Exports handled. 
 
 17 
 
Methodist Center 5, Garden Road 
 
 We live at 5, Garden Road, five miles away from the Port and 
 as the Church car, the famous kind usually used by Mission- 
 aries, is available, we shall ride through the city on our way home. 
 
 The American Consulate 
 
 Being Americans you will be interested in passing the Amer- 
 ican Consulate (14) where the greatest of courtesy and assistance 
 is given to any needing the services of “Uncle Sam’s’”’ Repre- 
 sentative in these parts. However, we shall call and see him 
 later, as we shall need to get our Passports recorded. 
 
 Sind College 
 
 The building to our left is the D. J. Sind College (15) with an 
 enrollment of over 800 students in the Arts and Engineering 
 Departments. 
 
 The City 
 
 We go across to the main road of the city from whence we see 
 the Meriwether Tower (16) in the far distance along Bunder 
 
 Bunder Road, the Main Street of Karachi, showing several methods of travel 
 while an ordinary dust-storm is in progress. 
 
 18 
 
Road. Just beyond is the street scene (17 A and B) which is 
 typical of the city in any day in the year. 
 
 One of Karachi’s crowded streets where the races of men 
 pass and trade. 
 
 Indian Christians 
 
 Not far from there live the two Punjabi gentlemen (18) who 
 are seen standing on either side of our Indian Pastor, himself a 
 Punjabi. He has supervision over nearly 1,000 Christians and is 
 really doing a remarkable work for them. They look forward 
 to building an Indian Church of their own. They are already 
 supporting their Pastor. 
 
 Clifton by the Sea 
 
 From here we drive to Clifton (19) by the Sea, and enjoy the 
 view which inspires many a weary toiler who escapes there at 
 
 19 
 
eventime from the dust and the noise of Karachi and the struggle 
 of the 220,000 souls he leaves behind. 
 
 Land Given for School 
 
 On our way out we shall see the site proposed for the erection 
 of our main plant in Karachi. It is a site of 20 acres given out- 
 right by the city authorities, provided 
 we spend $30,000 in erecting the 
 Boarding School which our Christian 
 parents for many years have been 
 yearning for. The Conference au- 
 thorities have sanctioned this as the 
 first urgent need and will allow us 
 a Hatrt of Karathi City to begin building as soon as the first 
 
 any day in the year. $10,000 is in hand. 
 
 School: An Imperative Need 
 
 It is hardly necessary to state more than that there is no well 
 organized Methodist school under 600 miles from Karachi, and 
 with a growing Christian community of about 2,000 in our own 
 care at present, such a school is urgently needed for the training 
 of Christian youths in Sind. 
 
 Professor Harrington’s Conviction 
 
 The fact is, excepting the one property (20) belonging to the 
 English community of our Church in Karachi, we have as yet 
 no real home in Sind. Professor Harrington of the Lucknow 
 Christian College was right, when, after visiting the city of 
 Karachi recently, he said voluntarily, “The Methodist Episcopal 
 Church should look well to taking. advantage of the unusual 
 opportunity afforded us here. We may well let other places 
 wait, but we shall pay very dearly if we allow this city to develop 
 and expand until it will be difficult to secure the kind of place 
 we should have here. In my conviction, now is the time to 
 enter Karachi. We should have a plant here that will be worthy 
 of our Church in years to come.”’ So say all who know the facts. 
 
 20 
 
Labor and Sacrifice Bring Achievement 
 
 The journey has been somewhat long and difficult at times, 
 but worth while because we have seen the making of a new nation, 
 as we have been close to the people and the places where that 
 nation is being made. What those in olden times thought to 
 be the ‘‘Unhappy Valley of Sind,” we who believe God and 
 have faith in the possibilities of the people of this great Province, 
 know to be man’s day of redemption from sin and wrong in a 
 land where labor and sacrifice bring achievement. 
 
 The Effect of the “Cut” on Work in Sind 
 
 All fields of Mission work have suffered much of late because 
 of decreased gifts for their up-keep. Sind has suffered more 
 than most places. The whole of its gifts, less ten per cent, have 
 heretofore been received from one Donor. For reasons which 
 he could not control all his gifts ceased with the end of 1925. 
 Hence the whole of the evangelistic work, including five Ordained 
 Preachers and fifteen other workers, has been seriously affected. 
 Five hundred Christian children will be without religious teach- 
 ing from a qualified source unless relief is given shortly. 
 
 A 
 
 An Indian Pastor and two of his Laymen of Karachi. 
 
 22 
 
Clifton, Karachi’s Famous.Seaside Drive and Promenade. 
 
 I ncouragement to Go Forward 
 
 The following statement shows pledges that have been made 
 and amount yet needed to carry on necessary work in Sind dur- 
 ing 1926: 
 
 The Board of Foreign 
 
 VLSSIONS Sean $700 equal 17.5% of budget 
 The Indian Church 
 
 through Pastors... 1,100 equal 27.5% of budget 
 Friends whose names 
 
 are withheld...... 600 equal 15.0% of budget 
 Urgently needed for 
 
 work and unpro- 
 
 vided for in 1926.. 1,600 equal 40.0% of budget 
 
 PLEDGED 
 
 Total ics sence $4,000 equal 100.0% 
 
 Anyone who could have seen the spirit and loyalty shown by 
 the Indian Preachers in Charge in facing the debt due the people 
 of India, would not hold back any funds available for the work 
 of the Lord. We on the field are conscious of doing our best 
 to carry the work forward for the glory of the Master whom we 
 serve. We are praying that those who love the same Christ 
 
 22 
 
in America, and have money belonging to Him may be willing, 
 having seen the need in India, to ‘“‘open their treasures and pre- 
 sent unto Him gold and frankincense and myrrh.” 
 
 America Will Not Fail India 
 
 America will not fail India because India loves Christ. If 
 any one fact is more encouraging in India to-day than any other, 
 it is, India has turned to Christ. Christ has the love of India, 
 and it cannot be long until He will claim outward loyalty and 
 devotion of this great mystic people in increasing numbers. In 
 the consciousness of this fact we go forward encouraged that 
 the Church at Home, knowing this, will bring their gifts and 
 lay at the feet of the Master for His service. 
 
 A Final Question 
 
 Nothing succeeds like success. Nothing helps to success like 
 understanding. India is a long way from America. But India is 
 concrete and real when truly seen. The Superintendent of the 
 Sind District will write to any one who will write to him about 
 the work in Sind. He will give the best kind of information 
 available to persons interested in supporting a Pastor, Teacher, 
 
 ae oS] 
 West View of the Methodist Episcopal Church Building of Karachi, 
 23 
 
Bible woman, Colporteur or student. The cost for each for 
 one year is $300, $200, $100, $150 and $50 respectively. Simply 
 write and let us know what you are willing to give for God's 
 work in Sind, and a reply will be sent on receipt of each gift or 
 inquiry. 
 
 Summary of Needs in order of Urgency are as follows: 
 
 Le) Current: work 102 Oc oie eae eer ee $1,600 
 “A ROE here xc ere eee Gaia Aa a2 5,000 
 
 ome Karachitochoo! Planter wee. eee 30,000 
 a. Hyderabad Central Plant (ir. mtn eter 2 eee 15,000 
 peeoukkur Churchjand | Centenie. a eaee caus ere 8,000 
 s. District Motor and Up-keep, one year........ 2,000 
 $61,600 
 
 All of the above items have been sanctioned by the Committee 
 on the field as essential. They represent needs which, when met, 
 will bring large dividends to the Kingdom of Christ. 
 
 24