#Old Karachi

[emergingkarachi]

کراچی کا ماضی

آج میں آپ کو ڈیڑھ سو برس پیچھے لے جانا چاہتا ہوں۔ آپ کو ماضی کی سیر کرانا چاہتا ہوں۔ آپ کو ویزا کی یا پاسپورٹ کی ضرورت نہیں پڑے گی۔ گزرا ہوا کل دیکھنے کے لیے آپ کو کسی قسم کا ٹکٹ خریدنے کی ضرورت نہیں ہے۔ بیتے ہوئے ادوار کی طرف ہوائی جہاز، ریل گاڑی اور بسیں نہیں جاتیں، میں آپ سے دنیا دکھانے کا وعدہ نہیں کرتا۔ ہیروشیما پر ایٹم بم گرانے کا بھیانک آنکھوں دیکھا حال میں آپ کو سنا نہیں سکتا۔ ہندوستان کے ایک جزیرہ انڈومان پر انگریزوں نے روح فنا کردینے جیسی جیل بنائی تھی۔ سمندر میں گھرے ہوئے انڈومان جیل میں سیاسی قیدیوں کو پابند سلاسل کیا جاتا تھا۔ انڈومان جیل میں آپ کو نہیں دکھائوں گا۔ میں آپ کو یہ بھی نہیں دکھائوں گا کہ شہنشاہ ہند اورنگزیب نے کس بیدردی سے اپنے تین بڑے بھائیوں کو قتل کروا دیا تھا۔ ماضی کی جھلک دکھاتے ہوئے میں اس بات پر بحث نہیں کروں گا کہ ہندو اور مسلمانوں میں پھوٹ ڈالنے کے لیے انگریز نے ریلوے پلیٹ فارم اور ریل گاڑیوں میں ہندو پانی اور مسلمان پانی، ہندو کھانے اور مسلمان کھانے کا رواج ڈالا تھا۔ میں آپ کو یہ بھی نہیں بتائوں گا کہ تب کراچی سے کلکتہ جانے کے لیے آپ کو ویزا کی ضرورت نہیں ہوتی تھی۔ آپ کو صرف ریل گاڑی کا ٹکٹ خریدنا پڑتا تھا۔ معاملہ کچھ یوں تھا کہ اگست انیس سو سینتالیس سے پہلے ہندوستان میں رہنے والے ہم سب لوگ پیدائشی طور پر ہندوستانی ہوتے تھے۔

کراچی، لاہور اور پشاور میں پیدا ہونے والے بھی پیدائشی ہندوستانی Born Indian ہوتے تھے۔ مدراس سے بمبئی آنے جانے پر روک ٹوک نہیں ہوتی تھی۔ ایسا ہوتا تھا ہمارے دور کا برصغیر، کڑھنے یا میری نسل کو برا بھلا کہنے سے زمینی حقائق بدل نہیں سکتے۔ اگست 1947ء سے پہلے ہندوستان کا بٹوارہ نہیں ہوا تھا۔ اگست 1947ء سے پہلے پاکستان عالم وجود میں نہیں آیا تھا۔ لہٰذا اگست 1947ء سے پہلے ہم سب نے ہندوستان میں جنم لیا تھا۔ تب کراچی، لاہور اور پشاور برٹش انڈیا کا حصہ تھے۔ یہ تاریخی حقیقت ہے، گھڑی ہوئی کہانی نہیں ہے۔ ہندوستان کی تاریخ میں ہمارا اہم اور بہت بڑا حصہ ہے۔ میں نے سیانوں سے سنا ہے کہ اپنے تاریخی اور ثقافتی ��صہ سے دستبردار ہونا کسی بھی لحاظ سے مناسب نہیں ہوتا۔ اس لمبی چوڑی اور نامعقول تمہید کا مطلب اور مقصد بھی یہی ہے جو ابھی ابھی میں نے آپ کے گوش گزار کیا ہے۔ میں آپ کو سیر کروانے کے لیے لے جارہا ہوں مچھیروں کی چھوٹی سی بستی کی طرف۔ یہ بستی نامعلوم صدیوں سے بحر عرب کے کنارے آباد ہے۔ اب یہ چھوٹی سی بستی ایک بہت بڑے تجارتی شہر میں بدل چکی ہے۔ 

یوں بھی نہیں ہے کہ ڈیڑھ سو برس پہلے مچھیروں کی چھوٹی سی بستی گمنام تھی۔ تب ٹھٹھہ معہ اپنے اطراف کے مشہور تجارتی شہر ہوا کرتا تھا۔ بیوپاری اپنا سامان ملک سے باہر بھیجتے تھے اور بیرونی ممالک سے برآمد کیا ہوا سامان اپنے ملک سندھ میں بیچا کرتے تھے۔ تاریخ کے بد خواہ بھی اعتراف کرتے ہیں کہ سندھ انگریز کے آنے سے پہلے خودمختار ملک تھا۔ سندھ کبھی بھی ہندوستان کا حصہ نہیں تھا۔ اٹھارہ سو تینتالیس میں سر چارلس نیپئر نے فتح کرنے کے بعد سندھ کو ترقی پذیر اور ترقی یافتہ دیکھنے کے لیے بمبئی یعنی ممبئی صوبے سے ملا دیا تھا ۔ اس طرح انیس سو تینتالیس میں سندھ ہندوستان کا حصہ بنا۔ یہاں مجھے ایک تاریخی بات یاد آرہی ہے بلکہ دو باتیں یاد آرہی ہیں۔ 1947ء میں تقسیم ہند کے موقع پر کسی مسلمان سیاستدان نے انگریز سے سوال نہیں اٹھایا کہ انگریز کی فتح سے پہلے سندھ ایک الگ تھلگ خودمختار ملک تھا۔ تقسیم ہند سے پہلے سندھ کبھی بھی ہندوستان کا حصہ نہیں تھا۔ کسی بھی موقع پر کسی سیاستدان نے یہ سوال انگریز سے نہیں پوچھا تھا کہ آپ لوگوں نے سندھ ایک آزاد ملک کے طور پر جنگ میں جیتا تھا، ہندوستان کے ایک حصے یا صوبہ کے طور پر نہیں۔ 

اب آپ سندھ کا بٹوارہ ہندوستان کے ایک صوبہ کے طور پر کیوں کررہے ہیں؟ آپ سندھ کو ایک آزاد ملک کی طرح آزاد کیوں نہیں کرتے؟ اسی نوعیت کی دوسری بات بھی ہمارے سیاستدانوں نے انگریز سے نہیں پوچھی تھی۔ انگریز نے مکمل طور پر جب ہندوستان پر قبضہ کر لیا تھا تب ہندوستان پر مسلمانوں کی حکومت تھی۔ یہاں سے کوچ کرتے ہوئے آپ نے ہندوستان کے ٹکڑے کیوں کر دیے؟ انڈونیشیا، ملائیشیا، سری لنکا، نیپال وغیرہ کی طرح ایک ملک کے طور پر ہندوستان کو آزاد کیوں نہیں کیا؟ اور سب سے اہم بات کہ آپ نے ہندوستان مسلمان حکمراں سے جیتا تھا، ہندوئوں سے نہیں۔ جاتے ہوئے آپ نے ہندوستان کی حکومت مسلمانوں کے حوالے کیوں نہیں کی تھی؟ ڈیڑھ سو برس بعد ایسے سوال فضول محسوس ہوتے ہیں۔ انگریز میں بے شمار اچھائیاں تھیں، بے شمار برائیاں تھیں۔ انہوں نے بھرپور طریقے سے ہندوستان پر حکومت کی تھی۔ کراچی کو ننھا منا لندن بنانے میں کوئی کسر اٹھا نہیں رکھی تھی۔ جنہوں نے 1947ء کے لگ بھگ لندن دیکھا تھا، وہ کراچی کو چھوٹا سا لندن کہتے تھے اور پھر کراچی جب ہمارے ہتھے چڑھا، ہم نے انگریز کی نمایاں نشانیاں غائب کرنا شروع کر دیں۔ 

دنیا بھر کے مشہور شہروں میں آج بھی ٹرام رواں دواں ہے۔ ہم نے ٹرام کی پٹریاں اکھاڑ دیں۔ ٹرام اور ڈبل ڈیکر بسوں کا رواج ختم کر دیا۔ مشرقی اور مغربی امتزاج کی ملی جلی عمارتوں میں ایک عمارت کا نام تھا پیلس ہوٹل، یہ انتہائی خوب صورت عمارت تھی، ہم نے گرا دی۔ ایسی کئی عمارتیں ایلفنسٹن اسٹریٹ اور وکٹوریا روڈ صدر پر شاندار انداز میں موجود ہوتی تھیں۔ ہم نے ان عالی شان عمارتوں کا ستیاناس کر دیا۔ جانوروں کے لیے شہر میں جابجا پانی کے حوض ہوا کرتے تھے، ہم نے اکھاڑ دیے۔ کراچی سے ہم نے اس کا ماضی چھین لیا ہے۔

امر جلیل

بشکریہ روزنامہ جنگ

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[postcard-from-the-past]

Date sellers from Karachi, Pakistan

British vintage postcard, mailed in 1924 to Vire, France

[retropakistan]

Hotel Metropole : Karachi

A 1960s shot of Karachi’s famous Hotel Metropole that was famous for its night clubs and bars. The hotel today is being torn down and turned into a shopping and office complex. Half of it has already been turned into a ‘wedding garden.’ Behind it was the Palace Cinema that was extremely popular with college and university students. The cinema was torn down in the 1980s and has since been operating as a ‘marriage hall.’

Courtesy : Also Pakistan - V (Dawn News)

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A post shared by retropakistan (@retropakistani)

[sillydonutfestivalgoop]

Yes

[firoz857]

Indian breakfast in Old Karachi | Cafe siraj | Pakistani food

Join us on an Indian breakfast tour in Old Karachi as we taste the best dishes at Cafe Siraj. From delicious parathas to mouth-watering kulfi, this is a must-try spot for any foodie visiting Pakistan. Come hungry and ready to indulge in some authentic Pakistani cuisine!

Join us as we explore Old Karachi and try some delicious Indian breakfast at Cafe Siraj. With its vibrant atmosphere and mouth-watering dishes, this is a must-visit spot for anyone looking for authentic Pakistani food! Come along and join me on this food adventure in the heart of Karachi.

Join us on a delicious journey through Old Karachi, Pakistan as we try out an authentic Indian breakfast at Cafe Siraj! From dosas to parathas, this breakfast spread will leave your mouth watering and your stomach satisfied. Watch as we explore the bustling streets of Old Karachi and taste some delicious Pakistani food!

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[manibolly]

He was a family friend.

RIP Zia Mohyeddin (20.6.1931 - 13.2.2023)

"It would be foolish of me to say that my acting career began on the stage in a play, written by my father, at the age of 11. A lot of people who act as schoolboys become lawyers or accountants or insurance agents. But something happened to me during that first experience. I lost all sense of time and space. It was as though I had lost my sense of recognition. The people I had been rehearsing with were strangers whom I had never seen before. As for the actual setting, it appeared to be a space in another world, a dream. And although I spoke my lines, it was quite some time before I realized that it was I who was speaking."

[mariacallous]

Nighat Dad grew up in a conservative family in Jhang, in Pakistan’s Punjab province. The threat of early marriage hung over her childhood like a cloud. But despite their traditional values, Dad’s parents were determined that all their children get an education, and they moved the family to Karachi so she could complete her bachelor’s degree. “I never really thought I would work, because I was never taught that we could work and be independent,” she says. “We always needed permission to do anything.”

Dad thought a master’s in law might delay the inevitable betrothal, but soon after she completed the course, she found out her parents had arranged a marriage for her. She didn’t mind her new life of domestic chores in a household she describes as “lower-middle class”—that is, until the abuse started. “That’s when my legal education reminded me that this was wrong,” she says. “Our laws, our constitution, everything protects me, so why was I facing this? Why was I tolerating it?”

With her family’s backing, Dad left her husband and filed for divorce. But after years of domestic violence and abuse and with no experience of working, she struggled with a lack of confidence. “I had no idea that women who are divorced and have a child face such difficulties in a society like ours,” she says. When her ex-husband filed a custody case for their 2-month-old baby, Dad wasn’t sure how she would pay for a lawyer. That’s when her father reminded her that she was a lawyer too.

Dad used her degree to win custody of her only child. In the process, she realized how many women in Pakistan were facing years of violence and systemic injustice. But the thing that bothered her most was the digital divide.

Before her marriage, Dad’s family never allowed her access to her own cell phone, and when she finally did get one, her husband would use it as a surveillance tool—keeping track of who she called and who was texting her. She had an escape tool in her hand, but she couldn’t use it. “Going through that by myself made me realize how quickly technology is evolving, and how it’s creating virtual spaces for marginalized communities that might not have access to physical ones,” she says. “Facing those restrictions made me understand just how crucial it is to challenge societal norms and structures around women's access to technology and the internet, so they can use it as freely as men.”

In 2012, Dad established the Digital Rights Foundation, an NGO that aims to address the digital divide and fight online abuse of women and other gender minorities in Pakistan. She began by helping women who reached out to the organization, providing advice on digital safety and emotional and mental support. In 2016—the same year Pakistan finally passed legislation against online crimes—Dad and her team launched a cyber-harassment helpline. Since 2016, it has addressed more than 16,000 complaints from across the country. “Sometimes, the police would give our phone numbers to victims seeking reliable help,” she says.

The DRF’s in-house legal team offers pro bono advice and helps women file and follow-up complaints against their abusers. “In many cases, we were successful in actually getting the perpetrator arrested and taken to trial,” Dad says. In October 2021, the DRF’s legal team helped journalist Asma Shirazi win a landmark case in the Islamabad High Court against broadcaster ARY News, after she became the target of a coordinated troll campaign which was exacerbated by a false story aired on the channel.

“If an organization like the DRF had existed when I was facing my own issues, I would have felt so much more supported—knowing there was someone to guide me legally and help me navigate the complexities,” she says. “My abuse started with surveillance, and if I had someone to talk to back then, I might have avoided the deep depression that followed. I might not have ended up in such a miserable situation.”

Today, Dad and the DRF are helping to steer global conversations about tech policy reform. She recently joined the United Nations’ AI Advisory Board, and was a founder member of Meta’s Oversight Board, which acts as an independent platform for people to appeal decisions made by the social media giant. “The emerging tech space is mostly driven by big Western companies and governments, leaving out civil society NGOs from the Global South,” she says. “This puts us far behind in global AI governance, always playing catch-up in a fast-moving world. If we’re not part of the conversation, the gap just keeps widening. It’s about reminding the powerful that they can’t win this race alone—they have a responsibility to include the rest of the world, especially those without the same resources.”

[molkolsdal]

Old Karachi

Mobeen Ansari

[ofyorkshire]

I am extremely soft about how BJ hunches forward to shield Clare and shushes her. It's not a thing that's brought up in the films, but she's in her early 20s here and BJ had just turned 16 a month ago, yet he consistently and unquestioningly takes the caretaker role. He protects her and keeps her calm enough to escape the Karachi Social Club shooting, he does his best to keep her morale up while they're hiding out, tends to her through her quickly crumbling mental health, and actively tries to find ways to get them out of their bleak situation. All before he's even 18 years old. And he keeps fighting to 25, when things finally end and he can finally rest.

Particularly, though, I can't look at that third screencap and not see shades of who BJ was implied to be when he was still under Rev. Laws' roof. Again, the films don't touch on it, but the novels suggest that while BJ did not have close or even very good relationships with the other abused neighborhood boys, he still was willing to take punishment for their disobedience. So I don't think that it's a huge leap to say that he probably looked after and comforted them as well, and... doesn't that body language kind of look like someone consoling a frightened child? Maybe. I could be looking too deeply at small gestures--there are only so many ways to shush someone, after all--but the thought still twists at my heart.

BJ cares so much for so many people. It's a shame that his compassion was what usually ended up getting him hurt.

[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[postcard-from-the-past]

Coach in Karachi, Pakistan

Pakistani vintage postcard, mailed in 1955 to France

[indigosabyss]

so the MCU Red Daggers:

a) based all over the world, but seem to be centered in South Asia. b) trying to stop a dimension from pouring into their own through spacetime even tho c) they seem to have only normal weapons and tech, though some may be a little advanced and also d) despite their fight against the Noor dimension, they have no problem working with people who use Noor powers/tech or have Noor ancestry.

Also since the Red Daggers Kareem introduces her to (im assuming the teens at the bonfire were other Red Daggers tho that's conjecture) are p young, and also the way that they knew the Clandestine Ayesha had the bangle but weren't aware that it had since been handed to Sana - the one who actually was in Karachi - implies they had a pretty big base in India and might still have it.

Where am I going with all this?? So. You know who would be the perfect fit. For a young South Asian kid with spacetime powers that the Red Daggers would want on their side bc he basically let's them warp all over the world with less than a thought???

QURESHI GUPTA.

The man. The myth. The legend. The twelve year old whose name I absolutely fucking hate bc it's a family name not a given name but it finally makes sense it's bc his parents weren't from EARTH-

Anyways skipping away to write fics where the Red Daggers are dealing with the ripple effects of all the jump points leaving the Noor unstable and giving a random kid powers and Kamran empathizing with him even as he uncovers a conspiracy about the Noor dimension and it's escapees-

[mariammagsi]

The scent of old paper is the ideal perfume for the bibliophiles soul.

Location: Frere Hall, Karachi

© Mariam Magsi 2024