Even a cursory look at the newspapers reporting the events that unfolded during the 1965 India-Pakistan war will suggest that the spirit of unity in Pakistan and the desire to support the armed forces was unprecedented. Karachi, always being the most vibrant and happening city of the country, played an important part in encouraging its soldiers and never letting the citizens feel dispirited even for a moment. The following are a few examples:

On Sept 15, 1965 no fewer than 600 donors from all walks of life registered themselves with the blood bank at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). This happened in the course of only a couple of days. By Sept 13 about 700 bottles of blood had already been donated by volunteers for emergency stock.

The same day (Sept 15), a third batch of doctors working at two main hospitals of the city left Karachi to serve the wounded on various war fronts in West Pakistan. Seven of them were from the JPMC and eight were the Civil Hospital’s medical practitioners. Before them, two groups of doctors had gone to war zones to extend their help to those fighting to protect their motherland.

How can Karachi’s artists act lackadaisical when it comes to matters related to national integrity? No way. On Sept 16, the celebrated painter Ahmed Pervaiz announced that he’s going to contribute 10 of his artworks to the National Defence Fund (NDF). In a statement relayed by the media he said he would hand over the paintings to the city commissioner, Syed Darbar Ali Shah, to raise funds through auction or sale.

Another artist, Prof Sheikh Ahmed, and famous dancer Madame Azoori also came up with a nice little plan. They said they would put up an art exhibition-cum-dance show to raise money for the NDF.

But perhaps the most interesting piece of information in that context comes from the world of literature. On Sept 18, a meeting held under the auspices of the Pakistan Writers’ Guild (PWG), with none other than the distinguished Urdu poet Josh Malihabadi in the chair, passed a resolution. According to the resolution, the writers and intellectuals residing in Karachi decided to form a writers’ brigade and place its services at the disposal of the Pakistani government for the country’s defence. It also authorised the PWG to enlist volunteers for the brigade. Fascinating: the word brigade and writers are seldom uttered in one breath.

The city’s minorities’ role in showing their love and affection for their country in trying times was quite inspiring. By Sept 17, more than 80 Hindus of Karachi donated Rs22,680 to the NDF. And on Sept 16, it was announced that the Vicar-General Office of the Archbishop of Karachi Rt Rev Msg RC Jaques had ordered special prayers in churches for Pakistan’s success against Indian aggression. What a noble gesture! We should mention this as often as we can.

As for what the authorities were doing all this time, well, in order to arrange civil defence training and to ensure proper functioning of all the warden posts, on Sept 14 the urban areas of the city were divided into 29 divisions under the charge of divisional wardens with additional staff for their assistance. It seemed to work well.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2015

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