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Running head: Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi1
Effect of ethnic discrimination on the urban development of Karachi
Syeda Masoom Sakina Rizvi
NUST, School of Art, Design and Architecture
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi2
Abstract
After the Partition in 1947, the city of Karachi faced a major change in the ethnic demographics
of the city; forcing it to morph to cater for the onset of refugees that had made their way into the
country. This paper shall study how the prejudices against these immigrants had affected their
right to the city, and how the deep rooted and previously existing social structure kept the
immigrants from fully becoming part of the city. The paper shall study how the immigrants,
muhajirs, responded to the compromise of their right to the city and how it has affected the social
and urban development of the city of Karachi and how these prejudices took form spatially.
Keywords: muhajirs, ethnicity, prejudices, discrimination, Karachi, development
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi3
Effect of ethnic discrimination on the urban development of Karachi
The partition of 1947 brought about major changes in the ethnic demographics of
Pakistan, affecting the area of Sindh in particular. From the total population of Pakistan, 48%
were those who had migrated from India. This mass migration caused a massive change in the
socio-political situation of Pakistan (specifically Sindh as will be explored in this paper); with
the complete collapse of the previously existing societal constructs (based on culture, caste, and
nativity of the people). The change in the socio-political situation was a direct result of the
migration, and can be observed from the change in demographics within the city of Karachi: the
city went from having 61.2% of its residents as Sindhi natives in 1941, to having only 8.6% of
them in 1951. The population of the Urdu speakers went from 6.3% of the total population of
that area in 1941 to 50% in 1951 (Hasan & Mohib, 2010, refer to Fig. 1).
The Muhajir Identity
The migration that took place across the Indo-Pak border in 1947 came with many obstacles, one
of them being the identity of the people that migrated there. Pakistan, although based on the
ideology of unity solely on the basis of religion, was home to multiple areas each having their
own cultural and historical identity. In a land where culture and identity and roots affected your
place in society, the 48% of the population that had migrated suddenly faced the issue of their
own identity. These people however, eventually became an identity on their own: the muhajirs.
These were the people who held no cultural or historical attachments to the newfoundland, and
hence were instantly faced with the discrimination that came with the lack of belonging. In a
country where ethnicity and the land that you belonged to defined your identity and right to the
land and city, the muhajirs had little rights and place in the societal system of the new nation.
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi4
Despite agreeing that muhajirs are scattered all across Pakistan, the area most densely
populated by them is Sindh, more specifically Karachi, Hyderabad and neighbouring areas.
The muhajirs were highly educated and literate people, and though discriminated against
they were undeniably the part of the upper crest of the society at the time and it was no surprise
that they had majority in the civil services and jobs as well.
The Socio-Political situation
The major discriminating factor between the Sindhis and the muhajirs was the lack of
connectivity between the people and the soil. It was a source of insecurity (on the side of the
muhajirs) and distrust (on the side of the natives of that soil). The majority of the muhajir
population being highly educated resulted in them quickly becoming one of the ruling elites of
the nation, causing even more distrust and prejudices to rise among the natives and the muhajirs.
As the only uniting factor between the muhajirs and the locals was the religion, the
muhajirs political stance backed the states’ attempts at creating a national identity that did not
take into concern the ethnic sentiments of the people.
With the regime of Ayub Khan, and the replacement of the capital from Karachi to
Islamabad, the muhajirs saw a loss in their elite power. Some took the political situation of the
time and concluded that the muhajirs had been exploited (as they made a large percentage of the
civil work force) and started their own political movements and parties (MQM). This further
increased the gap between the natives and muhajirs as the muhajirs came together as a separate
identity and ethnicity. This gave rise to further discrimination and prejudices among the people.
The city of Karachi
The city of Karachi hosts people of multiple ethnicities over a smaller, more
condensed area, including Hindus, Sindhis, Muhajirs, Balochis and Pashtuns. After the partition,
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi5
Karachi, having experienced a population increase of 161% during the 1941-51 period (Hasan &
Mohib, 2010), faced a major change in the distribution of and development of the city and its
residents. These settlements were condensed around water supply areas and train tracks, and
dotted around pre-existing commercial centres. Although efforts were made in the 1960s to have
the settlements regularised and some of the residents relocated, the effects weren't as long
lasting. Orangi town is one of the largest informal divisions in Karachi and has a population of
around 2.5 million people, a significant population living in kachi abadis.
However, with the changing socio-political dynamics of the nation, and just the area of
Karachi, we see a change in the development as well.
The muhajirs being treated as outsiders, they were made to feel like they had little right to
the city despite the fact that most of the workforce at the time was from the muhajir community.
Their right to the city would be compromised and they would not be freely allowed to take part
in civil activities, due to this we see them forming a community within themselves and there we
saw the growing support for political parties and movements such as the MQM.
Spatial manifestations and effects of the prejudice on Karachi
1958-68
During this period, the muhajirs were shifted from the informal settlements to small
townships on the peripheries of the city, a 20 km radius from the city centre. However, as the
work force had to travel long distances, there was an increase in the infrastructure and transport
issues and gave rise to even more conflicts among the people. For example, an instance arose
when muhajirs who worked in factories as labourers and did not own cars or personal vehicular
transports. As compensation they were provided with a public transport system (a specific
example being Orangi Town). However, the public transport had limited routes to the city, and as
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Karachi was a city prone to strikes and hartals, these routes would most often be closed resulting
in these workers being unable to work and earn for their families. Hence, as people were unable
to work, they were hindered from their abilities to work and improve their own living conditions.
These were signs of prejudices, discrimination which kept the muhajirs from being able to work
and earn their rights. This, therefore, limited their right to the city and made them feel even more
as an outsider in the nation.
1988 – onwards
Due to the rising unrest as a result of the exploited ethnic differences between the
muhajirs and the natives, the was an increase in violent activities, targeted killings and strikes
and street violence that the development of that area became stunted as the industries shifted to
other parts of the country for urban development. Due to this, there was little to no urban and
housing development within the city and due to the rural urban migrations Karachi saw an
increase in the kachi abadis and inner-city slums.
Conclusion
As the muhajirs had been previously situated away from the city centre to the outskirts,
they were more educationally abled, had higher employment rates and lied in the upper crest of
the Pakistani society, hence they were able to form a community and society of their own that
was independent of those that they had come from. The Muhajirs had faced social desertification
and discrimination from the locals since the days of partition, and hence after developing
societies of their own they in turn decertified the natives. The settlements they occupied became
high income settlements, with facilities that included educational institutes, shopping areas,
sports facilities, etc. They did not feel the need to go out of the city anymore for work, and hence
the connection between the two townships within the city of Karachi weakened and we now see
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi7
a clear ethnic, border line to where the two areas begin to differentiate. The muhajirs have now
made their own community, and have restricted the rights to that community to the locals that
had previously discriminated against them and suppressed their right to the city.
These communities now are self-sufficient and independent of the previous township that
they were related to. Such towns and areas include Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Defence Housing
Authority, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and many more.
Ethnic discrimination effects on karachi8
References
Abbas, M. (2017) Urdu-speaking to Muhajir Politics
Ahmed, B. (2018) Karachi and ethnic politics; a historical perspective. Centre For Strategic and
Contemporary Research.
Ghosh, P. (2001). The Changing Discourse of the Muhajirs. India International Centre Quarterly,
28(3), 57-68. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23005560
Hasan, A. and Mohib, M. (2010). Pakistan - The case of Karachi.
Iqbal, M. T (2014). Mohajirs in historical perspective. The Nation.
Kennedy, C. (1991). The Politics of Ethnicity in Sindh. Asian Survey, 31(10), 938-955.
doi:10.2307/2645065
Khalique, H. (2008). The crisis of Mohajir Identity. The News International.
Khan, F. R., & Manzoor, F. (2018). The Mohajir Identity in Pakistan: The Natives’ Perspective.
International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(4), 14.
Mohajir History. Retrieved from https://mohajirhistory.wordpress.com/history/
Paracha, N. F (2010). Conflicted Karachi. Dawn News.
Paracha, N. F (2014). The evolution of Mohajir politics and identity. Dawn News.
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Appendix.
Fig.1 Fig. 2
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