Tando Kaiser

Tando Qaiser is a town in Hyderabad District, Pakistan. It is named after late 18th-century leader of Nizamani tribe in Sindh Qaiser Khan Nizamani who founded the village after his son Gulham Ali Nizamani died there whilst Qaiser, his younger brother Aloda and their retinue were moving north to their original home of Dera Ghazi Khan in Southern Punjab. Tando means fortified settlement and indicates original settlement founded by Qaiser was a militarily fortified settlement.HistoryQaiser Khan was a great-grandson of Nizamuddin Rind of Dera Ghazi Khan. Nizam Sakhi is buried in a tomb in Choti Nawab, Dera Ghazi Khan. He was a Qaiserani Rind Baluch and Nizamani is a Rind sub-tribe which is now spread over Southern Punjab and Sindh. Qaiser entered Sindh sometime around A.D. 1750 with his regiment to join the army of the then Kalhora kings of Sindh at the invitation of the Talpur tribe who were already serving the Kalhora dynasty. At the time, the Talpurs formed the major part and commanded the Kalhora army. Subsequently, around A.D. 1780, the Talpur chief Fateh Ali overthrew the Kalhora kings with the support of Qaiser and the Nizamani contingent of the army as well as the support of other Baloch chieftains.However, the alliance with the Fateh Ali did not last long and for various reasons Qaiser fell out with the Talpur chief and, therefore, decided to go back to Dera Ghazi Khan. On the way back, his son Ghulam Ali fell ill and died close to the current town of Tando Qaiser around A.D. 1790. Qaiser, then well in his 70s, was extremely saddened by the demise of his beloved son and decided to go no further and settle near to where he buried his son. Qaiser's sorrow is carved in Persian words on Ghulam Ali's grave which roughly translate as "I stand sorrowful at the death of my son". Qaiser fortified his settlement, which subsequently grew and became famous as Tando Qaiser.