Sindh is one of the four provinces of  Pakistan and historically is  home  to  the  Sindhis.  Different   cultural  and ethnic   groups also   reside  in  Sindh including Urdu  speaking  people who migrated from India  at the   time of Independence  and  Partition  as well as  the people   migrated  from other  provinces  after  independence.  The Neighbouring regions  of Sindh are  Balochistan to the west  and  north,   Punjab to the   north,  the  border  with India to the east, and the  Arabian Sea to the  south. The  main  languages are Sindhi  and  Siraiki.  In  Sanskrit, the  province  was dubbed   Sindhu  meaning "Ocean". The  Assyrians  (as early  as the   seventh   century BCE) knew the region  as   Sinda,   the   Persians  as  Abisind,  the  Greeks   as  Sinthus  the  Romans as  Sindus,  the Chinese as Sintow while the Arabs dubbed it Sind. It is mentioned to be  a part of  Abhirrdesh  (Abhira Kingdom) in Srimad Bhagavatam.Historically it was  also known as Aparanta  Sindh was the first place where Islam spread in the Indian Subcontinent.  As a result, it is often referred to as  "Bab-al-Islam" (Gate of Islam)..

Origin of the Name
The  province  of  Sindh has been designated after the river  Sindh  (Indus)  which  literally  created  it  and  has been also  its sole   means  of   sustenance.  However   the   importance  of   the   river   and   close   phonetical resemblance in  nomenclature   would   make  one   consider   Sindhu  as the   probable   origin   of   the   name of  Sindh.   Later   phonetical   changes  transformed Sindhu  into  Hindu in    Pahlavi and  into  Hoddu in Hebrew The Greeks (who conquered Sindh in 125 BC under   the c ommand of  the Alexander the great) rendered it into Indos, hence modern Indus.

Prehistoric period
The   Indus  valley    civilization   is  the  farthest   visible  outpost  of   archeology  in  the  abyss  of  prehistoric times. The areas  constituting Pakistan have had a historical individuality of  their   own  and   Sindh is  the most important among such areas. The prehistoric  site of  Kot  Diji  in  Sindh    has   furnished   information  of   high significance  for    the   reconstruction of  a  connected  story  which  pushes back the history of  Pakistan  by  at least   another  300  years, from about  2,500  BC. Evidence of a new element of pre-Harappan culture has been traced here.  When  the  primitive  village  communities  in  Baluchistan  were  still  struggling  against a  difficult highland environment  a  highly  cultured people were trying to assert themselves at   Kot Diji  one  of  the  most developed urban civilization  of  the  ancient  world  that  flourished  between the year 2,500 BC and 1,500 BC in the Indus valley sites of  Moenjodaro and  Harappa.  The  people  were  endowed  with a  high   standard of   art and  craftsmanship and well-developed   system  of  quasi-pictographic  writing which  despite ceaseless   efforts still   remains   un-deciphered.   The   remarkable  ruins   of  the beautifully  planned  Moenjodaro  and  Harappa towns , the  brick  buildings of  the  common   people,   roads,   public-baths and  the covered  drainage  system envisage the life of a community living happily in an organized  manner.

Geography
Sindh is located on the western corner of South Asia, bordering the Iranian plateau  in the  west.  Geographically it  is the  third   largest  province  of  Pakistan  stretching  about  579  km from  north to   south   and    442  km (extreme) or 281 km (average) from east to west,  with an  area  of 54,407  square   miles  or   140,915   km of Pakistani   territory.  Sindh   is  bounded  by  the  Thar  Desert  to   the   east,  the   Kirthar   Mountains    to  the west, and the  Arabian Sea in the south. In the  center is a fertile plain around  the Indus  river. The  devastating floods  of the river Indus are now controlled by irrigation techniques. Karachi  became capital of Sindh in 1936 in place of  the  traditional  capitals of    Hyderabad   and   Thatta.    Other   important    Cities   include,    Sanghar Sukkur,   Dadu,  Shahdadkot,  Sehwan,   Mirpukhas,  Larkana,  Shikarpur,   Nawabshah, Kashmore,   Umerkot, Tharparkar,  Jacobabad,  Ghotki, Ranipur and Moro.

Districts
There are 23 districts in Sindh.
Karachi •  Larkana • Jacobabad  • Shikarpur   • Qamber Shahdakot  •  Sukkur  •  Ghutki  • Kashmor • Khairpur •Noushehro Feroz • Dadu • Nawabshah • Jamshoro  • Sanghar • Matyari • Hyderabad • Tando Muhammad Khan •Tando Allah Yaar • Badin • Thatta •  Mirpurkhas•  Umerkot • Tharparker.

Major Cities
Badin •  Dadu • Daharki •  Diplo  •  Ghotki •  Hala • Hyderabad • Jacobabad •Jamshoro  • Karachi    • Kashmore • Khairpur • Larkana •  Mirpur   Mathelo •  Mirpurkhas •  Mithi •  Nasarpur •   Nawabshah  •  Raharki  • Ratodero • Sadiq Abad • Sanghar • Sekhat • Shikarpur •  Rohri • Sukkur • Tando Jam • Tando Muhammad Khan •  Thatta •Ubaro • Umarkot,

The Sindhi Language
Sindhi  is spoken by about  15 million people in the  province   of   Sindh.  The   largest    Sindhi-speaking  city is Hyderabad  Pakistan.  It  is  an  Indo- European language, related to Urdu and  other  Indo-European  languages prevalent in the region with  substantial  Arabic,  Turkish and   Persian loan words.  In  Pakistan it  is written in a modified Arabic script.