Brief History of Karachi: The Birthplace of Pakistan's Founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is believed to have started as a small fishing village named Kolachi in 1729. It attracted the attention of the colonial rulers in 1857 as a suitable site for a major port in British India. Thus began the story of Karachi which has now grown into a megacity of 14,910,352 people, as reported in the most recent 2017 Census of Pakistan.
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| Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah |
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| Sindh Madrasatul Islam in Karachi |
Karachi was built as walled city. It had two main entrances: Kharadar (sea water gate) facing the Arabian sea and Mithadar (fresh water gate) facing the Lyari river. These two neighborhoods of Karadar and Mithadar still exist as the oldest neighborhoods in Karachi. Sindh Madrasatul Islam, the Quaid-e-Azam's alma mater, is still located just east of Mithadar neighborhood. The school was founded in 1885 by Hassan Ali Effendi. It had the support of the famous Muslim reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who established MAO College in Aligarh in 1875 which later became Aligarh Muslim University. Sindh Madrasatul Islam became a college in 1943. It was elevated to a university in 2012.
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| Aerial View of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's Mausoleum |
A story in the New York Times dated June 17, 1902 reported that Karachi's population at the time was 115,000 and its port's annual trade was worth Rs. 180,000. Wheat, seeds, cotton and wool were the main exports. There has been a dramatic expansion in the port since the creation of Pakistan in 1947 when it became the capital of the newly created state. The city attracted millions of Muslims from across India, particularly New Delhi and several northern states of India. Most of the new arrivals, referred to as Mohajirs, spoke Urdu which is now the national language of Pakistan.
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| New York Times on Karachi in 1902 |
Karachi lost its status as the nation's political capital in 1960s to the newly-built city of Islamabad. However, the Quaid's city continues to be the economic, industrial and financial capital of the country. It is also home to two major ports: Karachi Port and Bin Qasim Port. A third port, Gwadar, located about 400 miles west of Karachi, has recently started operations as the nation's third major seaport. Karachi and Gwadar are connected on the land by Coastal Highway.
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Brief History of Karachi: The Birthplace of Pakistan's Founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah
News, analysis and opinions about India, Pakistan, US, Canada, Europe, Mid East, South Asia, Silicon Valley, High Technology, Economy, Politics, World
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