Karachi: a midnight’s child

KARACHI: The dawn of freedom transformed Karachi. A true midnight’s child, Karachi was just another port city hours before it woke to take its place as a capital city of the world. As Pakistan became an indelible reality on the map, Karachi’s finest hour saw it play host to history.

Karachi, like Delhi and Bombay, had travelled into day with eyes wide open to salute sovereignty. Wrapped in a myriad flags and slogans, it presented an unprecedented picture of enthusiasm and pride. The following morning, newspapers rang out with the first rushes of history and announced the arrival of Pakistan with Viceroy Mountbatten’s acknowledgment: “May Pakistan prosper always.” The fervour reached a crescendo at Government House where Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan, the largest Muslim state of the world. Justice Sir Abdur Rashid, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, administered the oath after the secretary-general General Mohammad Ali read out the King’s Commission appointing Jinnah governor-general. A cabinet of seven ministers followed with Liaquat Ali Khan as premier. Subsequently, the stations at Lahore, Peshawer and Dacca were taken over by Radio Pakistan.

The Pakistan Constituent Assembly met later in the day and a frenzied, billowing sea of humanity chanting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ thronged the gates of the secretariat to greet Jinnah, a frail and ailing man of 76 who had carved a country out of British India. He arrived with his sister Fatima Jinnah in an open Buick, dressed in a cream sherwani and a grey cap; he received and escorted the Viceroy and the Vicereine to the assembly hall. The Royal Indian navy and the first battalion of the Royal Scots formed the guards of honour. The wild revelry closed with Jinnah and Mountbatten taking a drive through the city.

The same evening, Karachi Club threw a lavish banquet for the Quaid-i-Azam where approximately 800 covers were laid and Mr and Mrs Liaquat Ali Khan attended along with a host of other dignitaries.

Interestingly, Pakistan’s first day on the globe was marked with a definite vision for Karachi. Dawn’s issue on August 15, 1947 carried an extensive supplement on the city, which captured its journey from a fishing village to a port and then a capital. Other than momentous images of jubilant scenes outside the assembly hall, the arrival of the Quaid, the Viceroy and members of the cabinet, there were pictures of Government House, Cotton Exchange, the Municipal Corporation building, Liaquat Ali Khan’s residence, Frere Hall, Merchant navy Club Keamari, Victoria Gardens and Mohatta Palace. Tributes were paid to Bartle Frere, ‘the dreamer’, who was hailed as the city’s greatest architect and builder and the first commissioner of Sindh who left his imprint on almost all of old Karachi. M.A Khuhro, minister in charge of Sindh’s development plan, unveiled a grand masterplan for the province. Khuhro spoke of waterways, agriculture, education, health, road works and road transport and electric power. Plans were in place for the construction of hydro-electric generating stations with suitable thermal capacity standby plants to supply power to villages and towns. A 10,000 KW capacity hydro-electric generating plant was also proposed to be installed near Rohri.

Karachi was a labour of love then and is a labour of love now. Despite a traumatic, gory rebirth, it has survived well. But somewhere along its journey, it became the nation’s prodigal child that has always clung to the dream that gave it life.