KARACHI: KURRACHEE

[Pdesousa3@cs.com]

The following article was written in February 2000 and posted on CGN Aug. 16, 2000:

KURRACHEE (OR KARACHI) by Patrick P. de Sousa
 
 Did the subject raise any eyebrows? Yes, that was the original name of 
 Karachi, my birthplace, in the Sindh Province, and considered to be the 
 cleanest city in Asia. It was in those hey days of undivided India, the 
 British Raj, where there was true respect for the law and uniform and 
 equitable application thereof. 
  
 Of course, the Britishers received their royal treatment, but that is the 
 largesse of royalty!
  
 I asked several common folks (those without any political aspirations or 
 agenda)    after partition, as to whether they thought the new "Independence" 
 had bettered their lot and received the same answer, that they would have 
 preferred a status quo, i.e., undivided India under the British, where they 
 perceived offered greater equity and fair play. 
  
 It was in my early teens that Jinnah and Nehru had each carved their niche, 
 Muslims getting what is now known as Pakistan, including Bangla Desh, 
 formerly East Pakistan, and Hindus the rest. The minorities, i.e., 
 Christians, Jews and Buddhists had to fend for themselves and were 
 assimilated within the majority infrastructure.
  
 Of course, East Pakistan (Bangla Desh) is now history, and the future is, and 
 always shall be a mystery.
  
 Karachi had a sizable Goan population. A majority of them lived in Saddar 
 (previously known as Camp) and St. Patrick's Church (now Cathedral), had a 
 magnificent marblestone Christ the King Monument which was an outstanding 
 landmark with a commanding view from across the length and breadth of that 
 prominent Clarke Street. To the right of the church was St. Joseph's Convent 
 School for girls and to the left was St. Patrick's High School for boys. Of 
 course, most of the street names have since changed.
  
 St. Patrick's High School, which was my alma mater, had an outstanding 
 reputation for being one of the best schools for boys. There was strict 
 discipline -- no sparing the rod to spoil the child. St. Lawrence's School, 
 Cincinnatus Town, in which area our house was located, then taught only up 
 through the elementary grades. There were also several other Parish schools.
  
 Goans also lived in Cant. Area near the railway station, Keamari (the sea 
 port), Manora Island, Depot Lines, Soldier Bazaar and Cincinnatus Town. The 
 Catholic Colony 1 and 2 were new developments and considered to be in the 
 outskirts of the city. After partition, the sprawling city put our Catholic 
 Colony No. 1 home in the heart of Karachi.
  
 Many streets were named after Goans, such as Britto Road, DeAbreu Road, and 
 D'Cruz Lane. Goans held top positions in the Customs, Municipality, Police 
 and Government Offices. They were also Judges, Magistrates, lawyers, doctors, 
 businessmen, and a Mayor. 
  
 The unique Goan tradition of forming Clubs flourished in Saddar, where one 
 could find clubs from most Goan villages all along one street. Here, mostly 
 men, could find a reasonable, safe and secure place to live. All these clubs 
 had a prominent altar for individual or group devotion by its Catholic 
 members. 
  
 During the feast of Christ the King, the entire Catholic community would 
 gather in St. Patrick's Church. Most Goans in the Saddar area, would light up 
 and decorate their houses along the procession route with religious symbols. 
 The exposed Blessed Sacrament was carried under an elaborate canopy and 
 people knelt in adoration as It processed. A solemn benediction at the Christ 
 the King Monument concluded this grand annual event preceded by the Act of 
 Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  
 Karachi originally had an amalgam of Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsees, 
 Amils and Jews. However, the 1947 Partition of India led to the exodus of 
 Hindus and Sikhs and the influx of Muslim refugees or panagirs as they were 
 then referred to.
  
 In front of our house, it was common place to see Hindus being disemboweled, 
 and various other atrocities were committed by both factions within their 
 respective newly acquired boundaries. Our Hindu friends pleaded with us to 
 give them religious objects, or symbols, like The Crucifix or Rosary, to 
 display on their neck-chains, and some even studied our basic prayers. 
  
 Many Goans in Karachi cooperated with or shielded their Hindu neighbors 
 during those brutal times.
  
 The cleanest city soon became a quagmire, as mass migration resulted in 
 refugees setting up tents or huts on sidewalks, and the lucky or adventurous 
 ones took over vacant evacuee properties, albeit by force, because possession 
 was considered as good as ownership. 
  
 Our house, once considered to be in the suburbs, soon became the hub center, 
 more so after Quaid-e-Azam M. A. Jinnah was buried on the hill directly 
 across our home. It also became the staging ground for demonstrations, 
 protest marches and open hostilities, where many a bloody duel was fought.
  
 Based upon reports I get from relatives and friends in Karachi, the general 
 population is quite pleased and optimistic with the present regime of General 
 Pervez Musharraf. The Chief Executive even recently visited his alma mater, 
 St. Patrick's High School, and mingled freely with the alumni, to the chagrin 
 of his bodyguards.
  
 They see a silver lining in the sky, and my only hope is that whatever is 
 best for us, may come to be. Yes, Pakistan is there to stay, and it is a 
 force to be reckoned with. Their Jawans are true Bahadurs, and there is this 
 martyr spirit or zeal (believing, as they do in One God, Allah) which gives 
 them quadrupled strength.
  
 But, in the final analysis, nothing can bring back the Karachi, or Kurrachee, 
 which I knew. There is only nostalgia that will always flourish and keep 
 those fond OLE times alive in my memory. 
  
 On our last visit to Karachi, the metamorphosis was so dramatic, that it was 
 hard to comprehend the changes from the old era to the new. Yes, men may come 
 and go, but God's Creation is there to stay.
  
 May the seeds of Catholicism sown by zealous missionaries, and Catholic Goans 
 who freely trickled down from Goa and contributed to the growth of Karachi, 
 grow and prosper through the Grace of God. The converts to Catholicism are, I 
 believe, now the primary mainstay of that heritage.
 
 Pakistan Zindabad. 

Patrick de Sousa>>