Matiari District

Matiari District is a district in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Located on the left bank of the Indus River, Matiari became an independent district on 30 May 2004 during the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, when Hyderabad was divided into four districts — Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Tando [Muhammad Khan District|Tando Mohammad Khan] and Hyderabad.

Etymology

The word Matiari is derived from two Sindhi words Mat and yari, which means friendship with earthen water pots.
According to culture, the Main Bus Stop at Matiari Main Road was where a lady sat in a hut a long time ago. It is where she kept an earthen pot of water. People of Matiari would tell the bus conductor to stop at "Mat Wari Maai". This is apparently why it the district is called Matiari.

History and administration

Matiari district was carved out of Hyderabad district along with Tando Allahyar and Tando Muhammad Khan districts in 2005. Matiari district is part of the Hyderabad division. The district is administratively subdivided into three talukas:

There are 30 union councils in the district as tabulated below:

UC No.	Name	UC No.	Name	UC No.	Name	UC No	Name	UC No.	Name	UC NO.	Name
1	Matiari	6	Bau Khan Pathan	11	Oderolal Village	16	Bhanoth	21	Makhdooman Jon Landhiyoon	26	Bhaledino Kaka
2	Jiandal Kot	7	Palijani	12	Nobat Marri	17	Khandu	22	Karam Khan Nizamani	27	Sikenderabad
3	Shah Alam Ji Wasi	8	Oderolal Station	13	Sher Muhammad Thorra/Kheber	18	Fateh Muhammad Shah Ajnani	23	Shahmir Rahu	28	Zair Peer
4	Shahpur/ Arif Khatian	9	Bau Dero	14	Faqir Nooh Hothiani	19	Ajan Shah	24	Faqirabad	29	Abdul Wahid Borero
5	Tajpur	10	Sekhat	15	Muhammad Hussain Hingoro	20	Bhit Shah	25	Saeedabad Old	30	Muhammad Ramzan Unar

Demography

As of the 2023 census, Matiari district has 158,463 households and a population of 849,383. The district has a sex ratio of 102.58 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 45.88%: 56.34% for males and 35.12% for females. 266,740 are under 10 years of age. 202,673 live in urban areas.
The majority religion is Islam, with 81.67% of the population. Hinduism is 18.03% of the population. Members of other religions are largely Christians.
At the time of the 2023 census, 92.95% of the population spoke Sindhi, 2.66% Urdu and 4.42% spoke other various languages as their first language.

Notable places

The shrines of Pir Rukun-Din-Shah, Makhdoom Sarwar Nooh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sakhi Hashim Shah pir Haider shah, Muhammad Faquir Khatian and others are located in Matiari district. Miani forest and the battleground of Sir Charles Napier and Talpur rulers of Sindh and Miani jo Maidan are also situated in Matiari district.
Syed Rukun-Din-Shah also fought a battle with the Arguns dynasty with seven bilalis of sindh.
At Khuda aabad, one can find the graves and the tombs of Mughal Empires era. There is a Masjid and a well of water.
The Indus River is also there.

Agriculture

Matiari district is one of the most fertile districts of Sindh. The main crops cultivated are cotton, banana, mango, wheat, onions and sugarcane.

Politics

The elected representatives from Matiari district are

MNA Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman NA 223
MPA Makhdoom Mehboob Zaman PS 58
MPA Makhdoom Rafique Zaman PS 59
List of union councils

The following is a list of Matiari District's union councils, organised by Tehsils: