Geography

The district derives its name from its headquarters town, Badin. It is close to the border with India, and the city of Hyderabad. The district is part of the Lower Indus Plain formed by the alluvial deposits of the Indus River. Thus, its land is very uniform in character and it is not diversified by hills or rivers; in fact, there are no rivers or streams in the district. The climate of Badin is relatively mild. The sea breezes keep the summers relatively cool. During the monsoon period the sky is cloudy, but there is very little precipitation. The climate in summer is generally moist and humid. The cold weather in Badin starts from the beginning of November, where there is a sudden change in temperature. There are very few plants other than trees and grasses in the region.

Agriculture

Badin, on the whole is a low and flat district. Whole of the district depends for its cultivation on several canals taking off from the Indus river. The net cropped area has increased owing to constant improvement and extension of canals.

Rice is the main crop of the district and is grown wherever the level of the land permits it. The other crops grown in the district are cotton, Jawar, wheat and barley.

Industry and Trade

Being an agricultural are, the industries in Badin are agriculture based. Presently there are six large scale units engaged in the production of sugar and are providing employment to 6.000 persons. Besides these factories, there are 12 rice husking mills.

History

History of Badin related with the history of Sindh in general and with lower Sindh in particular. This area was the center of the ancient Indus Vally Civilization. Islam came into the region by 711. The areas remained under the control of the caliphate until it came under control of the Ghaznavids. In 1592, Sindh came under the direct rule of the Mughal emperors.

Population

The population of Badin district was 1136 thousand in 1998 as compared to 777 thousand in 1981. 84 percent of the population is rural. 82 percent of the urban population is Muslim, while 79.89 percent of the rural population is Muslim. The biggest minority in the district is Hindu, which is 18.85 percent of the entire population.

Mother Tongue

Sindhi is spoken by 89.82 percent of the total population in the district. Punjabi, Urdu, Saraiki are also spoken.

Literacy

The literacy ratio of the district is 24.63 percent. The male literacy ratio is nearly three times higher at 35.01 percent as compared to 12.90 percent for females in 1998. There are sharp difference in the literacy ratios by sex and area. The ratio in urban areas is more than double at 44.76 percent as compared to 20.52 percent in rural areas. In rural areas male literacy is more than three times higher at 20.66 percent compared to female literacy ratio at only 9.23 percent. It is 56.24 percent for males and 31.33 percent for females in urban areas.

Immunization

The question about immunization has been included in the 1998 population census for the first time to evaluate the vaccination program launched by the government from time to time. In all, 44.37 percent of the children below 10 years of age have been reported as vaccinated with a considerably higher percentage at 71.13 in urban areas. The percentages of those no known are quite high at 40.80 in the district, 43.34 percent in rural and 26.76 percent in the urban areas.