by A. G. NOORANI
IN the wake of Partition, most of those who left India for Pakistan preferred to settle in Karachi, then the new state’s capital. Not only people from the Bombay of old, even Dehlavis and Lucknawis preferred Karachi. Lahore and its Punjabis gave a culture shock. So, interestingly, did a good many from southern India. Sultan Ahmad, who became editor of Dawn, a daily founded by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was born in Kanyakumari. Former Foreign Minister Agha Shahi was educated at Presidency College, Madras (of old), and was moved, almost to tears, when he was served dosas at dinner in the home of India’s High Commissioner.
Karachi acquired colonies housing Memons, Khojas, and Bohras; others housing Muslims from northern India and a significant number from the south. It still boasts of Gujarati papers and provides Goan, Parsi, Kerala and, but of course, Mughlai cuisine which is distinct from the fare Lahore provides. Burnes Road is host to restaurants that serve nihari and paya. Here you hear Urdu in impeccable accent untainted by Punjabi influence. To be sure, it is home also to Punjabis and to a powerful community from Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa (the former North-West Frontier Province). It is truly “a subcontinent within a city.”
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