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Sunday, November 03, 2013
First international conference on ‘Understanding Karachi’Staff Report
KARACHI: The first Karachi Conference, aimed to celebrate Karachi’s cultural mosaic was held at the Arts Council Pakistan, Karachi, on Saturday.
The Karachi Conference Foundation (TKCF), established by a group of professionals, scholars and activists from the metropolis in 2011, arranged the first comprehensive programme on the 3rd most densely populated city of the world.
The event was marked by notables like architect and urban planner Arif Hasan, who has several books like ‘Understanding Karachi’ to his credit and countless research papers dedicated to the migration and evolution of the metropolis.
The members of the Foundation have been engaged in undertaking and disseminating research on the archaeology, history, culture, built environment, socio-economic and socio-political conditions of this city.
The event is the first milestone in the journey towards a progressive discourse led by relevant scholars, activists and institutions.
In his opening session, and ‘’History, Identity and Politics’ Arif Hasan shared his vast understanding of the city that has a population of over 18 million, and is the fastest growing megalopolis in the world. His focus was on “The Development of Colonial and Post-Colonial Era Karachi”. It is city that has over 10 percent of the country’s total population and over 22 percent of its urban population.
Sustaining 32 percent of the country’s industrial establishment, the city generates 15 percent of the national GDP, 25 percent of Federal revenues and a whopping 62 percent of income tax. It is the capital of Sindh and home to 30 percent of the province’s population. The city that started as a small fortified trading post in 1729, is now a sprawling and diverse, fast and frenetic mega city.
Other scholars including Dr Asma Ibrahim, who is also the president of TKCF, followed Hasan’s informative session. Dr Asma is a senior archaeologist and Museologist. She spoke about ‘Early Karachi’, along with Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, with their focus on ‘Prehistoric Karachi’ and ‘Cup-marks in Gadap, Karachi’, respectively. Dr Asma’s paper discussed the rich heritage, with its archaeological remains stretching back to the Palaeolithic period.
She explained to the audience that though a lot of research has been conducted on prehistoric Karachi, most of it has been carried out in an unscientific way and has not been published or documented, the way it deserves to be.
“What many conferences lack in Pakistan are the important links each subject has with another, especially in the field of science,” she said. While Dr Ibrahim lamented the scarcity of important data and information in terms of Stone Age, Dr Kalhoro, a Research Anthropologist at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad, called the cup-marks/cupules, hemispherical petroglyphs pounded into horizontal, inclined and rock surfaces in Gadap as “prehistoric art”. He informed that this art is found on each and every continent.
Each session was absolutely informative for the attendees who belonged to all walks of life. It was especially enlightening for students studying social sciences, as well as those who are studying architecture and other disciplines of art.
Following ‘Early Karachi’ was ‘History, Identity & Politics’, chaired by Dr Hamida Khuhro, with presentations from Dr Kaleemullah Lashari on ‘Early History of Karachi’, Arif Hasan ‘The Development of Colonial and Post-Colonial Era Karachi’, Gul Hasan Kalmatti ‘Karachi Ke Yahudi’, Dr Michel Boivin ‘Shaping A New Karachi with the Merchants: Memons, Khojas, Bohras, & the Dynamics of Colonial Urbanisation’.
Another session on ‘Building the Cosmopolitan Metropolis’, chaired by Yasmeen Cheema followed.
The presentations were given by Dr Noman Ahmed on ‘Sensitising Students about the Built Environment: CED Studio in Two Architecture Schools in Karachi’, Sibtain Naqvi ‘The Onslaught of Populism’, Dr Nelofer Halai ‘Teacher Education in Karachi: The Private-Public Divide Persists’ and Dr Sohail Agha ‘Inequities in Access to Maternal Health Services in Karachi’.
Following was a presentation by Mashud Rizvi of the “Karachi Youth Initiative” ( a movement working for under-risk children of the city’s marginalized areas including Korangi, Lyari, Orangi and Keamari, etc. Alumni of the programme were also present at the conference.
Day one proceedings ended after a sensational dance performance by Sheema Kermani of Tehreek e Niswan. Since the conference is about celebrating Karachi, her feat was in relevance with the city’s law and order situation.
Kermani’s performance began with a group choreography on Faiz’s poem, dedicated to the resilience of the miniature Pakistan ( Karachi ( which ended with Hum Dekhenge, in hope that a day will come when we would witness a peaceful “City of Lights”. She appeared to be in her own element while combining the magic of Faiz’s poetry with her movements.
She danced, lost in the verses of Faiz and the audience, too, appeared to be lost in her presentation.
Day two holds more information for anyone who wants to understand this city of lights, marred by the current law and order situation.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk