THE effects of the debilitating war had not yet completely subsided. It had affected all kinds of things, as an armed conflict does, living or non-living. For example, on Jan 8, 1972 this newspaper published a bit of a sad news item according to which, chrysanthemums of the season had wilted because of the war.

The seventh annual chrysanthemum show — the most popular winter feature of Karachi — had to be cancelled, dampening the horticulturists’ enthusiasm. Cared and cultivated for all 12 months of the year, the lovely flowering plants could not ‘flaunt’ their beauty this time around. Still, the gardens were abloom with other winter flowers. The season had just begun and the riotous colours of phlocks, petunias, carnations and asters were making the winter vibrant.

Staying with the subject of the impact of a war, on Jan 3 it was announced that the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) had started a programme of imparting military training to women in order to form a second line of defence in coping with any national emergency. In that regard, the association had secured the services of the personnel from Mujahid Force and a few retired military men to train girls studying at various APWA institutions. Already, 250 students had registered themselves for the course.

As these measures were taken, life was, bit by bit, coming back to normal. On Jan 3, the reopening of the Karachi University (KU) after a month’s closure coincided with the rounding off of a six-day work camp organised by the Social Work Department and the Boys Scouts Association. The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr Mahmud Husain, gave away the certificates to participants of the leadership training session.

The student community was in the news for a couple of more reasons that week. On Jan 5, it was reported that the students of the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology had sent cables to the President of Pakistan and Governor of Sindh seeking their help in solving their problems. It was done after a meeting of the pupils was held under the Direct Action Committee demanding laboratory facilities, removal of the [then] acting principal of the college and reduction of fee etc. The notice boards of the college were plastered with placards and stickers with the demands written on them, which were subsequently removed by the college authorities.

And on Jan 8, Karachi’s students paid homage to the martyrs of January 1953 Movement at a dozen events arranged throughout the city to observe Shaheed Day. The programmes were held to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the students’ movement when a dozen of them were killed by the police on Jan 8, 1953. In that connection, a traditional general body meeting was held at D J Science College sponsored by the National Students Federation (NSF) in which the leaders of the young lot reaffirmed their determination to continue their struggle until all their demands were met.

Amidst this non-stop hullabaloo, came a faintly reassuring piece of information. On Jan 7, a study revealed that the crime graph in Karachi showed a slight downward trend in 1971, but there was quite an increase in the number of crimes such as murders, burglaries and theft compared to the statistics of 1970. In 1971, the police recorded 10,092 cases as against 10,131 during the corresponding period of 1970.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2022