Kakrala (Sindhi: ڪڪرالا) was a historical region in southern Sindh, in the coastal parts of the Indus Delta. Descriptions of its precise extent vary,[1] but it lay in the middle part of the delta,[2] comprising the present-day taluqas of Shahbandar and Jati[3] in Sujawal and Thatta districts.[4] It has been described as the region from Jati to Kharo Chan,[4] or the region between the mouths of the Wanyani and Pitti rivers.[1] This area later formed part of the pargana of Ghorabari.[2]
From about 1470 to 1760, Kakrala was also a small state,[4] whose rulers took the title of Jam and are called as either Sammas[3] or Kehars[4] (or Kīhars).[3] Their capital was at Dera, which is now in ruins near the site of Chach Jahan Khan.[4] The Jams of Kakrala built numerous tombs and chhatris for themselves and for their patron saints.[4] One of their patron saints was Aban Shah, a 16th-century Suhrawardi mystic who is buried at a place called Aban Shah Ja Takkar (where he had come to live during his lifetime), 2 km south of Chuhar Jamali in Sujawal district.[4] Another was Rajan Shah, also a Suhrawardi mystic from the same family, whose tomb is located 1 km west of Aban Shah's.[4] Both the men and women took part in the tomb-building process; for example, one woman of the Kakrala ruling family commissioned the tombs at Abro Halani near Jati.[4] Kakrala was finally annexed by the Kalhoro dynasty in 1760.[4]
Some 19th-century authors identified Kakrala with the island of Krokala in ancient Greek sources,[1][2] but this is unlikely because Krokala was probably not in or near the Indus Delta.[2]
Elliot 1867 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Haig 1894 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Akhtar 1983 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).