Latifabad
Encyclopedia
Latifabad is a town in the southern suburb
s of the city of Hyderabad, in Sindh
, Pakistan
.
Sufi poet
, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
. It was formed as an extension to the city of Hyderabad to occupy migrants from across the border after the 1947 partition of the Sub-Continent, along with the town of Qasimabad.
The locals that occupied the town at its inception were ethnically of a mixed population but as the city experienced its worst ethnic riots between Sindhis and Mohajirs in the 1980s, the city was divided into Sindhi occupying the town of Qasimabad
and the Mohajirs settling down in Latifabad.
Serving an ethnic majority of the Mohajir community, Latifabad turned into a fertile land for the offshoots of the political party, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement later named Muttahida Qaumi Movement, to grow. With the spread of the political party's actions across the area, land in Latifabad was further divided into sectors, sub-classifying it into numbered units. For political rallies, MQM would specify areas in their sector notation rather than the numbered unit. To this date, the classification continues yet people prefer using the numbered units.
speaking people which are about 70% of the 1.5 million population. Latifabad is divided into twelve units, instead of blocks, each numbered. Each unit has its own hospital and number of schools along with residential complexes.
Other hospitals in Latifabad include the St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Majee Hospital, Bhittai Hospital and Red Crescent (Hilal-e-Ahmar) Hospital.
The Board of Intermediate Secondary Education, Hyderabad, the body of the Government administering the educational standards in the city has their headquarters housed in unit 9 in Latifabad.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of the city of Hyderabad, in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
History
Latifabad is named after the noted SindhiSindhi people
Sindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
Sufi poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
. It was formed as an extension to the city of Hyderabad to occupy migrants from across the border after the 1947 partition of the Sub-Continent, along with the town of Qasimabad.
The locals that occupied the town at its inception were ethnically of a mixed population but as the city experienced its worst ethnic riots between Sindhis and Mohajirs in the 1980s, the city was divided into Sindhi occupying the town of Qasimabad
Qasimabad (Hyderabad)
Qasimabad is a town in the western suburbs of the city of Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan.-History:Qasimabad is named after the Arab conqueror who invaded Sindh, Muhammad Bin Qasim...
and the Mohajirs settling down in Latifabad.
Serving an ethnic majority of the Mohajir community, Latifabad turned into a fertile land for the offshoots of the political party, the Mohajir Qaumi Movement later named Muttahida Qaumi Movement, to grow. With the spread of the political party's actions across the area, land in Latifabad was further divided into sectors, sub-classifying it into numbered units. For political rallies, MQM would specify areas in their sector notation rather than the numbered unit. To this date, the classification continues yet people prefer using the numbered units.
Settlement
Latifabad has a large concentration of UrduUrdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
speaking people which are about 70% of the 1.5 million population. Latifabad is divided into twelve units, instead of blocks, each numbered. Each unit has its own hospital and number of schools along with residential complexes.
Healthcare and educational services
The largest mental asylum or hospital for the mentally ill in Pakistan (some people deem it the largest in Asia) named after Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney (1812–1878), civil engineer and master constructor of Bombay, the Sir Cowasji Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry holds ground in Latifabad unit 3, commonly known to the locals as Giddu Bandar.Other hospitals in Latifabad include the St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Majee Hospital, Bhittai Hospital and Red Crescent (Hilal-e-Ahmar) Hospital.
The Board of Intermediate Secondary Education, Hyderabad, the body of the Government administering the educational standards in the city has their headquarters housed in unit 9 in Latifabad.
Other notable places
- Unit 8 has a bazaar-shopping center called Siddiqui Centre that sells clothes, shoes and bangleBangleBangles or churi are traditional ornaments worn mostly by South Asian women in India and Bangladesh, especially Hindus. It is tradition that the bride will try to wear as many small glass bangles as possible at her wedding and the honeymoon will end when the last bangle breaks...
s, product native to the city. Visitors and shoppers alike visit unit 8 before Eid to buy clothes and gifts. Units in Latifabad has its own administrative unit which works under the Hyderabad District Administration. - Mohatta House is situated in Latifabad U6D in the vicinity of the district nazim's house. It is over 100 years old
- Unit 6 also is the home to the Hyderabad Board of Education, who have built a stadium to commemorate its presence. Most of the inter-school and -collegiate tournaments are played.