Karachi

The City of Lights

Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan. The city is located on the Arabian Sea north west of the mouths of the Indus River. With a population of around 11 million it is considered the 5th most populous city of the world.

Location

Karachi is located at latitude 24 N and longitude 66 E. The urban sprawl starts from the westernmost mouth of the River Indus and goes up to the mountains and hills that form the southernmost edges of the Kirthar Mountain Range. The Arabian Sea is the southern boundary of the city.

Geography

Karachi is mostly made up of flat or rolling plains with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city the Malir River (north east to center) and the Liari River (north to south). Many other smaller rivers pass through the city as well with general drainage being from the western and northern areas towards the south. The Karachi harbour is a protected bay to the south west of the city. The harbour is protected from storms by Kiamari Island, Manora Island, and Oyster Rocks, which together block the greater part of the harbour entrance in the west. The southern limit of the city is the Arabian Sea and forms a chain of beautiful sandy beaches.

Climate

Karachi is on the coast, so it has a mild climate. The level of precipitation is not high but due to the proximity to the sea the humidity level is usually quite high. The city enjoys mild winters and warm summers. The sea breeze does not let the temperatures climb as they do in the continental areas of South and Central Asia. The city also receives a tail end of the monsoon rains as well.The weather of Karachi changes like fashion.In Karachi if someone wears cotton clothes in december and hot clothes in june so no one will amazed.

History

The area that now consists of Karachi was originally a group of small villages including Kalachi-jo-Kun and the fort of Manora. Any history of Karachi prior to the 19th century is sketchy. It is said that the city called Krokola from which one of Alexander the Great's admirals sailed at the end of his conquests was the same is Karachi. When Muhammad bin Qasim came to India in the year 712 he captured the city of Debul. It has been said that Debal was the ancestral village of present day Karachi. Although this has neither been proven or disproven.

It was in 1729 that Kolachi-jo-Goth was transformed from a fishing village to a trading post when it was selected as a port for trade with Muscat and Bahrain. In the following years a fort was built and cannons brought in from Muscat were mounted on it. The fort had two doorways, one facing the sea called the Khara Darwaza or Brackish Gate and one facing the River Lyari called the Meetha Darwaza or Sweet Gate. In 1795 the city passed from the Khan of Kalat to the Talpur rulers of Sindh.

Karachi had gained in position as a major port and was hence becoming an important city. The importance of the Indus and Sindh led the British to capture the city on the 3rd of February 1839 starting an era of foreign rule and colonial subjugation that was to end in 1947. A famous quote about Karachi attributed to Charles Napier is "Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!". Napier's quote would prove prophetic, as it was during British rule that Karachi would grow as it's harbor was developed. On the 10th of September 1857 the 21st Native Infantry stationed in Karachi declared allegiance to the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar and joined the cause of the War of Independence of 1857 but they were defeated by the British who reasserted their control within a matter of days.

In 1876, the founder of Pakistan, Muhammed Ali Jinnah was born in the city, and he would later be buried there. Karachi by now was a city with railroads, churches, paved streets, courts and many commercial centers and a magnificent harbour that was built by the British. Many of these buildings were built in classical British style, and contrast with the "Mughal Gothic" of Lahore. Many of these old buildings continue to stand, and are interesting destinations for visitors.

The importance of Karachi continued to grow due to its position as a major port. A railroad connected Karachi to the rest of British India in the 1880s. In 1899 Karachi was said to be the largest Wheat exporting port in the East (Feldman 1970:57). In 1911 when the capital was shifted to Delhi Karachi became closer to being a Gateway to India. Karachi was declared the capital of the newly formed Sindh province in 1936, chosen over the traditional capital of Hyderabad.

In 1947, Karachi was made the capital of the new nation of Pakistan. At that time Karachi was a city of only 400,000 people, and it's growth accelerated due to the new status. Being the capital Karachi became the centre of the new nation and this added to its status as a cultural centre in this part of the world. Although the capital later moved to Rawalpindi and then Islamabad, Karachi remains the economic center of Pakistan, accounting for a large portion of the GNP of the nation and a large chunk of the nations white collar workers.

In the last 20 years, Karachi has continued to grow, passing the ten million mark. It is a city of diverse neighborhoods, ranging from the upscale Clifton and Defence areas to numerous slums that are home to the large numbers of migrants who have flocked to Karachi in search of opportunities.

The current economic boom in Pakistan has created a sudden growth spurt in Karachi as jobs and infrastructure projects are increasing with time.

Names Of Towns


 

Demographics

The population of Karachi according to the official census results: 1856 : 56,875


1872 : 56,753


1881 : 73,560


1891 : 105,199


1901 : 136,297


1911 : 186,771


1921 : 244,162


1931 : 300,799


1941 : 435,887


1951 : 1,068,459


1961 : 1,912,598


1972 : 3,426,310


1981 : 5,208,132


1998 : 9,269,265 (Metro. 10.2 million) Karachi's current population is estimated to be about 13 million. A much larger figure than it was in 1947 (400,000). The city's population has grown at a very enormous rate. So much so that now it is one of the largest cities in the world.

The breakup of Karachi's population is as follows: Males form 53.7% of Karachiites. 37.6% of which are under the age of 15. 4.4% are older than 50. 70.1% of Karachiites are literate. 22.1% of the city's population are migrants from other places.

According the census the linguistic breakup of the city is as follows. Urdu 48.52%; Punjabi 13.94%; Sindhi 7.22%; Pushto 11.42%; Balochi 4.34%; Seraiki 2.11%; Others 12.4%. The others include Gujarati, Brahui and Bengali.

According to the census the religious breakup of the city is as follows. Muslim 96.45%; Christian 2.42%; Hindu 0.83%; Qadiani 0.17%; Others 0.13%. The others include Parsis and Buddhists.

Transportation

The city has one international airport called the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport. An extension of this airport is the old airport, which is now used for Haj flights, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. Apart from this the city also has two other airstrips. Karachi port is not used for passenger traffic as a regular service.

Karachi is linked via railway to the rest of the country. Karachi City and Karachi Cantt are the two major junctions / railway stations of the city. Karachi also has a circular railway system that is going to be extended and made functional shortly. This will form the backbone of the city's mass transit system.

Currently the basic mode of mass transit in the city is via bus. The city is said to have nearly 10,000 busses. However, even with so many busses, they are jam packed during rush hour due to the city's growing population. The number of private vehicles plying the city are said to be more than one million, causing too much traffic on the roads and loss of time due to clogging and traffic jams.

Educational Institutions

Karachi district has the highest literacy rate in any of Pakistan's districts. The city is home to many universities and colleges. Here is a list of some of the more important ones. For a relatively complete list see : List of Karachi colleges

·                                 Karachi University (KU)

·                                 Aga Khan University (AKU)

·                                 Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw University of Engineering and Technology (NED)

·                                 Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVSAA)

·                                 National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences Karachi (NUCES)

·                                 Institute of Business Administration (IBA)

·                                 College of Business Management (CBM)

·                                 Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Technology (SZABIST)

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