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This chapter examines the situation of the Parsis in Karachi, Pakistan. The situation of the Parsis is different here compared to in India and Pakistan in general because they live in an Islamic state. When the Parsis first migrated to Karachi in the 19th century they were moving within the sphere of British rule, for it is only since the arrival of the British in the Province of Sind that there has been a recorded Parsi presence in the region. The Karachi situation is of particular interest given the history of Zoroastrian persecution under Muslim rule.

This chapter discusses the various responses of the British towards Gandhi’s declaration of satyagraha against the Rowlatt Bills. British officials were initially amused at Gandhi’s efforts, but it quickly changed into confusion, annoyance, and, finally, panic. It examines the events that led to Gandhi’s arrest in April 1919. It considers the advice presented to the Viceroy regarding handling Gandhi, and then looks at the arrival of Lord Reading in April 1921. His arrival raised hopes for a brand new initiative within the political field, and he was expected to stop the movement towards anarchy and disorder. The ‘apology incident’, the Karachi trial, and the Congress–Khilafat alliance are also looked at in this chapter.

The city is humanity’s most enduring symbol of power. States and empires rise and fall, armies conquer and collapse, ideologies come and go, but the world’s great cities endure. If there is a force that can vanquish a city, it is natural, not artificial. Ancient cities that anchored early states in Southwest, South, and East Asia fell victim to climate change as deserts encroached on their hinterlands. Modern cities on low ground at the water’s edge would not survive the sea-level rise that could accompany sustained global warming. But no political upheaval or economic breakdown would end the life of a major city—not even destruction by atomic bombs. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were rebuilt because the advantages and opportunities offered by their sites and situations were unaltered by the catastrophes that struck them. Silk route terminal Chang’an morphed into Xian and Tenochtitlan became Mexico City because their locational benefits, sites, and regional networks outlasted their violent transitions. Not for nothing is Rome known as the Eternal City. With the maturation of the modern state came the notion of the “capital” city, focus of its administrative system and emblematic of its power. Cities had always dominated their hinterlands, but now their power radiated far afield. From Athens to Amsterdam and from Madrid to Moscow, these national capitals became imperial headquarters that launched colonial campaigns near and far. London was synonymous with this early wave of globalization, but Paris also lay at the heart of a global network of power and influence. In these capitals, cityscapes substantiated national achievements through elaborate palaces, columned government buildings, decorative triumphal arches, spacious parade routes, and commemorative statuary. Museums bulging with treasure attested further to the primacy of the culture, leading one observer, long ago but memorably, to designate such centers as “primate” cities (Jefferson, 1939). The trappings of this primacy reappeared in the architecture of colonial headquarters from Dakar to Delhi and from Luanda to Lima, incongruous Greco- Roman-Victorian-Iberian imprints on administrative offices, railroad stations, post offices, even prisons half a world away from Europe. More than ever before, the city in the global periphery was the locus of authority and transculturation.

Classic economic theory holds that there are three vehicles for generating wealth in an economy—capital, labour, and land. Land is fundamental, for labour cannot live without space and capital cannot be managed without offices and the infrastructure that is built upon the land. The management of land has social, political, and economic dimensions. While the post-war land reforms were driven largely by political agendas, current reforms are primarily concerned with the development of land markets. In their study of urban land markets, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pointed out that: . . . Land plays an important role as a financial asset. It is an important element in the portfolios of central and local government, nationalized industries, private companies and financial institutions. Financial markets and property markets are intimately connected. Land, especially seen from an historical perspective, is often considered from an investor’s point of view as a superior asset to the financial assets available on capital markets, mainly because of the potential of land to maintain its value over time and because of favourable tax treatment. The more capital and land markets are developed, the higher is the degree of possible substitution between land and other assets. Land and building values together can account for a substantial share of the market capitalization or many businesses and are often a prime consideration of corporate strategy. Stock market growth can be fuelled by rising prices in real estate markets when land is used as collateral for loans. Should land and prices fall in a volatile market place, a high level of dependency on land and property-based assets may carry the risk of serious financial disruptions. . . . The report went on to state that: Land policy cannot be effectively designed and pursued if governments do not understand how their land markets operate (OECD 1992). Land and property are important components in any market driven economy—their value is a measure of the wealth of any society and probably accounts for more than 20 per cent of GDP (UNECE 1996). In most countries, the biggest landowner is the state.

This chapter examines the use of cinema to promote an agenda of a common national identity and cohesiveness among Karachi's ethnically diverse population. Focusing on the 1960s, it argues that Karachi had gained some distance from partition by that decade, and that the ethnic-and Islam-based politics of today has still not overwhelmed the city's social life. The chapter begins with an overview of the religious facet of Muslim nationalism in Pakistan before turning to a discussion of urban planning in Karachi and Pakistan's cultural politics, along with the linguistic and cultural diversity underlying the claims of Muslim nationalism. It then looks at the cinema-going habits of the family of Zeenat Hassam, a journalist and author based in Karachi, by offering a reading of the film, Behen Bhai (1968). Within the context of Behen Bhai, the chapter discusses the social changes that Karachi (and Pakistan) witnessed during the postpartition years as well as the question of national unity during the rule of the military strong man Ayub Khan.

This chapter addresses student violence at the University of Karachi, between 1979 and 1989. During this decade there was a spectacular rise in student violence at the university, from fistfights to gunfights, to “political” assassinations, and culminating in a massacre. On one occasion, this violence spilled over from the campuses and acquired an international dimension: when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) airplane was hijacked in March 1981 by Salamullah Tipu. During the second half of the 1980s, it also spread through the city of Karachi, fuelling larger social and political conflicts. The chapter then considers two different aspects of the dynamics of conflict escalation: that of intensification, which concerns the magnitude of the violence in terms of casualties; and that of expansion, which concerns the amplitude of the violence in spatial terms.

This chapter focuses on the broader social consequences of drone strikes in Pakistan. It examines the population displacement effects of U.S. drone strikes and Pakistani government military operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Area. The combined effects of drone strikes and government military attacks have driven people from their homes, forcing many Pashtuns to move from Northern Pakistan to cities in the south, especially Karachi. The result has been a shift in population and an increase in tensions between Pashtuns and other ethnic groups in the southern part of the country. The consequences of this displacement include increased militancy and social strife in Karachi and a rising incidence of terrorist bombings in the country. The chapter widens the discussion of human rights impacts beyond the right to life to encompass the principle of a “right to home,” also known as the right to remain.

This chapter demonstrates how processes of gentrification in Karachi, Pakistan, are linked to networks with differing spatial reaches. Not only are those behind an emerging historic preservation movement in Karachi trained in the West, the money and design ideas behind the proposed large scale developments on Karachi’s coast are from Dubai based companies. Most importantly, redevelopment plans have been shelved due to civil society resistance to gentrification, demonstrating that anti-gentrification resistance can be successful in the Global South.

This chapter explores how traders in Karachi shape their subjectivity to determine their spot and futures trading. Focusing on the experience of an owner of a money-changing shop with the pseudonym Aamir, it reflects on the notion of aspiration as oriented toward the future and shows that the shaping of subjectivity depends on cultural milieu. It explains how Aamir consciously cultivates his subjectivity in order to determine its course through spiritual exercises taught by a Sufi master who has transformed the way Aamir see himself and his relationship with money. It argues that Aamir's trading practices are fused with the spiritual exercise of zikr and considers how orienting the attention to breathing/aspiring as a way of living in the present becomes an ambivalent exercise.

The Press was quick to respond to the creation of the state of Pakistan, sending a delegate to assess the political stability and potential market of the new country. Despite the geographical, economic, political, and logistical difficulties, the Press decided to establish a branch, the first foreign publishing company to do so, and hoped to earn the appreciation of the Pakistani government as well as gain an early foothold in the market. The Karachi branch was established in 1951, followed by a depot in Dhaka and a second branch in Lahore, giving OUP a presence in the capitals of East and West Pakistan and in the seat of federal government. Initially the branch imported Oxford educational books for secondary school and university students, and acted as agent for British and American. Later, the branch concentrated on publishing and printing textbooks and some academic titles for local school and universities.

Nichola Khan provides the introduction to this book, by bringing into conversation some prominent figures, each of whom has been engaged with issues related to violence in Karachi for at least one decade, some many more. The collection addresses some perennial global, national, and city crises which have precipitated waves of violence in Karachi, and it highlights an increase in critical voices and commentary alongside a greater willingness by publishers to take on the controversies these phenomena entail. First, it combines the diverse specialist insights, generated over time, of key academics, publishers, journalists, activists, and writers; thereby it differs from the usual academic “study” of a “type” of violence, group, or political party in the city. A second focus is on personal and professional engagement, and on ways each dimension might inform the other. Third, the book brings these aspects to a public engagement agenda, encouraging a shift outwards from the purely academic realm towards the creation of wider publics and counterpublics engaged in cultural and political commentary, and collective collaborations for change.

This chapter deals with the history of the emergence, development, triumph and present-day challenges of Deobandi madrasa teaching and of the politicisation of Sunni identity in Iran’s Baluch society, against the socioeconomic backgrounds reconstructed in the volume’s previous sections. It relates, notably, the origins of the Sarbaz nexus. It explores the centrality of the Sarbaz oasis in early modern Iranian Baluchistan; its connexions with the Baluch transnational labour emigration; British and Iranian support to Deobandi teaching during the Interwar period, as a bulwark against Soviet influence and communist ideology; the decisive role played after WWII by intermediary agents in Karachi and Pakistani Baluchistan for the propagation of Deobandi teaching in Iranian territory; and the special connexion of the Sarbazi nexus of ulama with the Isma‘ilzayi tribe and its allies in Baluch society.

This chapter explores in some detail the complex political dynamics of the Karachi Congress in 1931, held following the Gandhi–Irwin Pact and in the immediate aftermath of Bhagat Singh’s execution. The chapter charts the crisis in Congress and revolutionary politics that the executions sparked, and the difficult position that this put Gandhi in, resulting in the Bhagat Singh Resolution — an ambiguous statement which both admired Bhagat Singh and condemned his violence — alienating nationalist opinion that was largely sympathetic to the revolutionaries. The chapter closely analyses various narratives and rumours that were current at the time about Gandhi’s failure to secure clemency for the three revolutionaries on death row, emphasising the role of the British expatriate community — particularly in Lahore — in pressuring for the executions to be carried out.

This chapter examines the Karachi Trial of Mohamed Ali, who, along with his younger brother Shaukat, was a powerful spokesperson of north India’s Muslim intelligentsia during the colonial rule and was often lionized by Urdu biographers as the Mujahid-e Azam or the Ahrar-ul Islam. It first reflects on Mohamed Ali’s passion for Islam and commitment to Indian Muslims before discussing his shift from liberalism to conservatism. It then considers his imprisonment and his writing projects while serving time in prison, along with his subsequent release. It describes Ali’s arrest leading up to the Karachi Trial. The chapter offers the readers a glimpse of the life of this Muslim interlocutor, critical study about whom has been eschewed for long.

Following a period of war and political upheaval, the area served by OUP Pakistan was divided into Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1971. OUP Bangladesh struggled to recover from the war, and, with the Press in the midst of financial difficulties, the branch was closed in 1975. OUP Pakistan also struggled to rebuild after losing much of its territory and the devaluation of the rupee. The branch stabilized and began a period of significant growth, diversifying the list by exploiting markets for English-language textbooks and introducing Pakistani editions of imported scholarly monographs and trade titles. The branch increasingly published local writers in Urdu and titles focused on the history, society, and culture of Pakistan. The chapter considers the responses of OUP Pakistan to political and economic conditions, changes to government educational policy, and the rise of domestic book piracy.