O Karachi

i spent my first fourteen years in karachi. even though it has been another twenty-eight years sitting in islamabad i still consider karachi as my hometown.

karachi... i miss so much!!!

#58 by tahmed32 on March 26, 2003 9:06am PT
Banjaara #53 Interesting though that Jinnah was not comfortable in urdu himself. All his public speeches were in English.

Dont forget that Jinnah was a Sindhi Khoja, educated in England.

More ``freedom`` from the land of the pure.....

But hey, its just a few kafirs, you will not hear a peep from these people who are still openly funding these killers in their country. They are too busy explaining how USA, Israel and India are ruining the world. Talk about shameless hypocrisy...

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/25/international/asia/25KASH.html
Attack on Hindus in Kashmir May Signal Increase in Violence There
By AMY WALDMAN

EW DELHI, March 24 — When an Islamic insurgency began in Indian Kashmir in 1989, the area`s Hindus became an early target. Muslim militants directed a systematic campaign of assassinations and intimidation against Kashmiri Pandits, as the area`s Hindu Brahmins were known, and most of them were forced out of Kashmir.

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Around 40 Pandit families had fled the mountain hamlet of Nadimarg, about 35 miles south of the summer capital, Srinagar. But 11 families had stayed on, counting on the assurances of their Muslim neighbors that they would be safe.

Until early this morning, they were.

JAY.... JAY.... JAY..... why wont you answer my question `` Why are you not a happy Person??????

Lets not take it too far, my post was to tick you off little bit and in the end help you with your venom against pakistanis.
Lets not be depressed about Pakistanis anymore you have better things to do in life. GET SOME HELP!!! SAVE YOURSELF JAYeh...
___________________________________________________
To get you going again, you said ``One thing is certain, you are a pakistani, displays the charecteristic, cannot take responsibility for ones own actions.``

Hey I am not doing anythin, I was talking about saving you from the Pakistanis why dont you save yourself and be a happy person. It is not good for your health to be this hatefull. GET SOME HHELP JAYeh... leave CHOWK! go to the Pawala street or congress house (I will give you some pocket money) or something man! for Bajrang Bali`s or Deepak Chopra`s sake (whatever works for you & I hope I`ve spelled Bajrang Bali correct) get HELP.

Quoting you again``
Pardaisy, now just try and remeber your school days in pakistan, the k for kafir education, the requirement to identify hindus...``

Never, what news paper do you read. Your source of information is killing your health Jay, Get help!

and now you are upset with Nehru... are you happy with anyone in this world? I hope you are not married, are you?

Let us help you with your obsession with pakistanis. If it makes you fell better I admit on behalf of everyone that Pakistanis are scum (wink! Wink! Chowk...this wink is not for you Jay you should not be reading this) now it is time for you to admit that you have a problem and you need help.

No matter where on chowk you interact, know that I will be around the corner to help you go through this just say YES, JAYeh!

Go JAYeh!

(It almost sounds like OJ, oh well)

Banjaara #53 Interesting though that Jinnah was not comfortable in urdu himself. All his public speeches were in English. So, I suspect LA Khan may have influenced him into pushing for Urdu as the national language. It does go to LA Khan`s credit that he did not personally benefit financially from his position. And I certainly hope this story about him chastising a government official for protecting hindus is apocryphal.
I think someone needs to study exactly what happened in 1947, and who could have done what but did not to prevent attacks against hindus and sikhs in what was to become Pakistan. With the passage of time, I think the truth will gradually be lost to history.

Yes its SAD.. pre 85 Karachi even in Zia`s ERA was more tolerent.
today it belong to those who sell protection

Sorry to be joining this board so late :(
(have read up to #25)

Mr. Kazi... This is a shamelessly solipistic piece! If that was the intention, well, there could be no higher praise, eh?

For the record, and for all those lamenting the passing of the idyllic Karachi of yore... Yes, Karachi is a more violent, less tolerant city than in the pre-Zia days (by most accounts, anyway). But - BUT! - the great thing about it is its resilience. I have no figures on violent crime, but I can tell you with certainty that the pall of fear and gloom that once descended over the city (about seven-to-five years ago) has lifted. There are definite signs of things working -- be the state of municipal parks and monuments, the condition of the roads (in many areas, though not all) or the buzzing of commercial areas that once saw shutters down at 7p.m. And did I mention that the changes in police system have resulted in a tremendous drop in incidence of police harrassment, an erstwhile perennial problem for ordinary Karachiites, if not for the likes of uptown Mr. Kazi.

In fact, life may really have not changed at all for folks from the `other side of the [Clifton] bridge`. I cross the bridge daily-- metaphorically as well as literally-- to teach in the new KGS campus. Many of the kids there have never seen, let alone tasted, gola gandas, most seem to have a distaste for a cinematic experience that would probably involve sitting among lowly plebians from the other side, and will probably only have seen Empress market from the inside of their air-conditoned vehicles on the way to naani`s place in Garden West. What a pity-- to never experience the exotic (smehow) scents of the spices, the scents of fresh vegetables, fried liver fillets, jute baskets, carbolic soap bars and caron monoxide-- Could there be a more life-affirming slow-death experience! (Maybe that`s my byline for Karachi in general) :)

For those without lollipop memories, Karachi is pretty much the same (at least of late) as twenty years ago.. Bustling flea markets, ever-crowded parks and dirty streets that one soon gets accustomed to. Squalid is still not a word I`d use to describe all but the very worst of them.

And then, there is always the `hotel` on every street corner where one can have his fill for forty rupeees and a doodh patti to wash down the grease for six. Inflation hasn`t hit the Panwaalah kiosk and it`s possible to exercise your right to smoke wihtout paying taxes that actaully help Montana farmers grow more tobacco-- In short, one less way to kill yourself smoking.
For the ferangi-returned, new fleets of privately operated, not-too-high fared airconditioned buses are a welcome relief, though if one longs for the nostalgic thrill of a rickety beess number ride to Cifton, or a more squeezed-in experienced in a vertiable mobile art gallery, the old buses and minibuses still abound and scream on frantic roads.

AS for Mr. Kazi statement that ``Neither the city nor the people are the same``, unless he is lamenting the changing demographics, well, he seems to be quite out of touch. Then again, it may be that I am not in touch enough with the folks of his mileu to know that they have changed. From the little I do know, i think many have developed a more socially responsible bent, having lived through practical anomie in the 80s and 90s. I cannot say if such form a majority, though.

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Aisha,
Nice reading!
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re. moulabux #19,
Your first point was a good one. The latter para was a little unduly acrid, wasn`t it? I mean, one really must feel for the author too.
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re. Sobia #25,
Would like to give you my two cents on the divide later, if someone hasn`t said it already. As a prelim, I`d just like to say that it would be wrong to see either as the `real Karachi`. Some things are best left undefined. THe experience is what it`s about.

pardaisy 54,

Onething is certain, you are a pakistani, displays the charecteristic, cannot take responsibility for ones own actions.

Pardaisi, you have become a electronic jihadist because of me. You are no different from the millions pf pakistanis who have become killer jihadists because of CIA in afghanistan. Pakistan was created not by TNT and jinnah, but by the intransigence of nehru. Honour killing is because of traditional tribal practices and has nothing to do with pakistan canstitution and the leagl system that leagalises it.

Progress for a nation can come only when individuals take responsibility for their own actions.

Pardaisy, now just try and remeber your school days in pakistan, the k for kafir education, the requirement to identify hindus, well my friend that is why you are a jihadist today, jay has nothing to do with, it is final blooming of the seeds of TNT.

May be one day you also will get the regulation 72 houris, wish the best.

To patchetic
Jay Jay shivshankar..... - Kaash is kay baap nay nikal liya hota. Oh well! its too late.

This is the first time I am interacting at chowk (Before you make any sarcaastic remarks. Yes! Jay, you are the only reason that I have decided to become an ``Electronic Jihadi`` against your acidic tongue.

It is beyond me how you can function with so much hatred for Pakitanis.
I know that you are not a happy person, get some help.
You are destined for some health trouble, get help now. Please.......

I hope you will find happiness in this world soon and learn to live peacefully.
A Well Wishers.

PS- To all Chowk Interacters

Could someone please start a petition or something to save Jay from Hate and negative feelings ?

tahmed32 # 43

Mr. Mohammad Ali Jinnah on his first ever visit to East Pakistan in March 1948,addressed a huge public meeting at the Ramna Race Course ground on 19th March and declared that Urdu and urdu alone shall be the state language of Pakistan. In his address to the special convocation of the Dhaka University held on 24 March 1948, he repeated it once again. He further said, those who were opposing Urdu as the only state language were the enemies of the state. The Language riots erupted on 21st February 1952 wherein seven Bengalis were killed by the government of Mr. Nurul Amin, the Bengali Chief Minister of East Pakistan.

As far as the stories circulating in some circles in Pakistan about Liaqat Ali Khan and his blind support for the mohajirs is concerned, they are just that....stories. Mr Khuro was charged with corruption and dismissed as Chief Minister of Sindh By Governor of Sindh Hidayatullah at the orders of Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah on 26th April 1948. Liaqat Ali Khan had nothing to do with the dismissal of Mr. Khuro inspite of the story penned here by the writer.

The Evacuee Property was misused and abused without any doubt,but it was more a case of incompetence and improper planning than political motivation to create a pro-Liaqat electorate amongst the mohajirs. It might interest the readers to know that neither Liaqat Ali Khan and his family nor Hashim Raza and his family were allotted any evacuee property for their use.

Faisaluno:

``also i favour setting up of an impartial body to deal with the most shameful aspect of our history, the ethnic cleansing of hindus. given the current climate however. such suggestions will probably get me arrested for treason``

From what I know, Karachi did not suffer from large scale violence against Hindus. The Hindus left more out of fear from what was happening in Punjab rather than any happenings in Karachi.

ahmadzai:

it was all in good humour, sort of like blacks telling n*gg* jokes. i think we as pakis lack the ability to laugh at ourselves. was trying to do my part to change this. plus its no fun interacting with most hindus here because they are so highly strung.

#49 by faisaluno on March 25, 2003 11:35am PT. ``yet these people constructed something akin to a suburb of virginia amidst the squalor that is south asia (i.e. islamabad). and dont forget about the billion dollar motorway that was built by a democratically elected punjabi prime minister to reduce his commuting time to his home in lahore. what was the economic rationale behind these behemoths, who signed for these projects and who ended up bearing the cost for these and other colossal follies? ``

Like they say in a democracy people get the government they deserve. Right or wrong, the governments were elected by the people of this country. If the decisions of these governments were wrong, then the people need to take them to task.

As far as the quota system is concerned, I personally think that it is a political bogey. It can be abolished tomorrow and will make no difference to anybody.

As far as the non-merit seats are concerned, similar seats do exist in the US as well. A number of students are admitted on the basis of sports and other extra curricular activities.

Talking about rural folks receiving better deals, I suggest that you go out of the comfort of living in the city and go and see how more than 80% of the population of Pakistan lives. No clean drinking water, broken down streets, no sewerage or running water. No schools or hospitals. It is the same in every province.

If we talk about qota systems in the professional colleges like NED and Dow, it actually discriminates in favour of persons with Karachi domicile (I being one of these persons). When people talk of admissions on open merit, they forget one thing that it is all Karachi open merit, or in other words merit only for students with Karachi domicile. Now if admissions were to be opened up on say all Sindh or all Pakistan merit basis, rest assured that the number of students from Karachi who get admission to professional colleges would be much lower than what it is now.

pakfin:

so immigrants got some plots in golimar. big deal considering the price they paid and all that they achieved for the people who reside in the land that is now known as pak. in comparison, what have our rulers done since independence? and yet these people constructed something akin to a suburb of virginia amidst the squalor that is south asia (i.e. islamabad). and dont forget about the billion dollar motorway that was built by a democratically elected punjabi prime minister to reduce his commuting time to his home in lahore. what was the economic rationale behind these behemoths, who signed for these projects and who ended up bearing the cost for these and other colossal follies?

lets also look at quota system. kind of strange that only thing our assemblies agree upon is the extension of quota system and the suppression of results of census. why do do you think this is the case? lets also look at stats you quote for ned. according to your own mumbers, 15% of seats in ned are non-merit based. what do you think would happen in the u.s. if for example state universities operated on these principles. actually we dont need to think because u.s. supreme has said that quotas are unconstitutional. and surely our non-urban folks have been received a better deal than blacks have received at the hands of white folks in the u.s.

are also you are not seriously suggesting that quota system ends up discriminating in favour of karachites? at iba, which is a merit based institution that has an entrance exam, there is virtually no presence of students from outside karachi and lahore. other institutions have also started to rely on entrance exams because of poor standards of most local boards.

also strange that we should be talking about quotas at institutions like ned. if you recall, it was a sindhi feudal who ruined the country by nationalizing private institutions, the only things that worked in pakistan. this had a particularly adverse effect on karachites because of their domination of the private sector. bhutto’s government also fanned the flames of ethnic nationalism by passing the sindhi language bill in 1972. given all this, it is not surprising to see that karachites did not vote for bhutto in any great numbers. and karachites deserted religious parties once mqm became a viable political source. your claim that karachi is more conservative than peshawar is actually pretty funny especially in the light of recent developments.

also i favour setting up of an impartial body to deal with the most shameful aspect of our history, the ethnic cleansing of hindus. given the current climate however. such suggestions will probably get me arrested for treason.

adnan_rafiq @ # 35:

Very beautifully written from one who has a positive frame of mind. Faisaluno (# 37), you need to note this.

Talking about stories of partition, another bone of contention is evacue property. The two provinces that saw most of the migration were Sindh where the bulk of the refugees settled and Punjab where refugees from East Punjab landed.

After partition, the government of Pakistan under Liaaqat Ali Khan set up the Evacue Property Trust headed by Syed Hashim Raza. The function of this trust was to take over all evacue property or the property left behind by Hindus and Sikhs and reallot it to refugees from India. There being one key difference in the Land Revenue Laws of Sindh and Punjab, the results of this were very different between the two provinces. Under the Punjab Land Revenue Code, no person can own agricultural land in Punjab until he/she has been a resident of that area for a prescribed period (my guess is two or three years). Under this clause, the evacuee land resumed by the government was held by the revenue department and the alloted to the locals. On the other hand the Evacue Property Trust in Sindh alloted evacuee land to the migrants, based on two witnesses who gave a written statement that the same person owned a certain area of land in India and left it behind. Therefore, several immigrants filed claims supported by two other immigrants and got land for free in Sindh. Another issue that came up was that a lot of the land resumed by the Evacue Property Trust was actually owned by small Muslim farmers, who had borrowed from the Hindu banyas and had left the title documents of their land with these money lenders. The government considered this land to be owned by the Hindus, since the original landowners were unable to pay back the loans. This became another cause of resentment between the locals and the immigrants.