Shikasta Tehzeeb: Nazimabad Aur North Nazimabad — Tareekh, Shakhsiaat, Waqeyaat
By Shah Waliullah Junaidi
Shah Mohammad Hamza Research and Publication Centre
ISBN: 978-969-2343-12-1
269pp.

Shah Waliullah Junaidi is a senior journalist and researcher who has written two books about Karachi already: Karachi, Nisf Sadi Ka Qissa in 2017 and Yeh Shahrah-i-Aam Nahin in 2019. Junaidi seems to be a true lover of Karachi, the city of his birth and residence. He has ably sought, collected and collated facts about the city. Shikasta Tehzeeb: Nazimabad Aur North Nazimabad — Tareekh, Shakhsiaat, Waaqeyaat continues in the same tradition.

As its subtitle clarifies, it is a history of Karachi’s well known areas Nazimabad and North Nazimabad. The author is highly nostalgic of his time spent in Nazimabad but he has also taken pains to delve into the inception, planning and development of the locality.

Shikasta Tehzeeb is divided into 10 chapters. The first deals with the historical background of the area. In 1950, a large tract of uninhabited and arid land was acquired in the north of the city and was named after the Governor General of the time, Khawaja Nazimuddin. It is here that Nazimabad was laid out in five blocks, according to the best practices of town planning.

The author states that most of those who came to live here initially were Urdu-speaking people and were among the intelligentsia of the city. A list of luminaries who have lived in Nazimabad is presented to prove the point. It thus became a hub of literary activities, attracting like-minded citizens from other parts of Karachi.

A new book gathers in one place important and interesting information on Karachi’s first planned neighbourhoods — Nazimabad and North Nazimabad — and the people who once lived there

In Chapter Two, there is a detailed account of the infrastructure of Nazimabad. The names of roads and streets, the number and location of petrol stations and hospitals, telephone exchanges and even telephone booths and bus routes are included.

Chapter Three narrates the history of the nation through the lens of various elections. First, the Basic Democracy elections under Gen Ayub Khan and then the Ayub/Fatima Jinnah elections are considered, in both of which there were great irregularities, at least in Nazimabad.

The author then talks of the sad dismemberment of the country after the 1970 elections. The 1977 elections, which were also suspect, sparked a four-month-long civil protest, in which Nazimabad had a leading role. The unrest ended only with Gen Ziaul Haq’s martial law, during which time lashes were administered at the Eidgah Maidan in Nazimabad to those convicted by military courts.

Chapter Four has lists of famous journalists and authors who lived in Nazimabad. Chapter Five is pure nostalgia for the simplicity of the early days of Pakistan.

Chapter Six is titled ‘Yadgaar Waqeyaat’ [Memorable Events] but is basically a round-up of crimes perpetrated in Nazimabad, as reported in the newspaper Jang. At about this point, the book starts to drag, especially for a reader who has no connections with Nazimabad. Happily, however, the narrative soon becomes more interesting again.

Chapter Seven contains intricate details about each block of Nazimabad, turn by turn. The lists of the blocks’ internal streets and roads and important landmarks do not make for riveting reading. However, the chapter is also replete with fascinating human interest stories connected with the notable residents of Nazimabad.

The author states that most of those who came to live here initially were Urdu-speaking people and were among the intelligentsia of the city. A list of luminaries who have lived in Nazimabad is presented to prove the point. It thus became a hub of literary activities, attracting like-minded citizens from other parts of Karachi... there is a detailed account of the infrastructure of Nazimabad. The names of roads and streets, the number and location of petrol stations and hospitals, telephone exchanges and even telephone booths and bus routes are included.

For example, there is mention of how, in 1857, the ancestors of one resident saved the Jamia Masjid in Delhi from becoming a stable for the British cavalry and, subsequently, from being auctioned off. The film Chiragh Jalta Raha is brought up because the producer was from Nazimabad as was actress Zeba who made her debut in this film. Reshma, the Rajasthani folk singer, was introduced to the world by another native of Nazimabad. There is also an account of how the Ghalib Library was founded on the centenary of the poet, with the help of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and a bank.

An eccentric who maintains a mini cattle farm on the roof of his home, the first female graduate of Aligarh University, and the absconding Bhopat Daku are some of the other stories of Nazimabad residents included in the book.

The lists of important/famous inhabitants of Nazimabad, though comprehensive, are very difficult to wade through. They are neither alphabetised nor classified in any order. Actually, Shikasta Tehzeeb could have done with better editing in general. The paragraphing is arbitrary and often inappropriate. Repetition is ubiquitous.

There are also factual mistakes which should not have been allowed to slip through. For example, the length of the Gujjar Nala is different on different pages. Food rationing had started pre-Partition and had continued for decades thereafter, yet the author states it started in 1960. Similarly, Justice Qadeeruddin Ahmed never lived in Nazimabad but he is listed as a resident. The presence of even a few errors such as these can cast suspicion on the entire contents of the book.

Chapters Eight, Nine and Ten are about North Nazimabad, which is the more upscale neighbour of Nazimabad. The author uses the same template that he has used for the exposition of Nazimabad. The configuration of the area with minute details is presented, as are lists of important people and of heinous crimes committed there.

Once again, it is the stories of general interest that catch the eye, such as the love affair of a Pakhtun boy and an Urdu-speaking girl — which ended in the death of both — and the way the North Nazimabad hills were used to advertise Javed Jabbar’s film Beyond The Last Mountain.

The title of the book, Shikasta Tehzeeb, elucidates the point of view of the author. He laments that both Nazimabad and North Nazimabad have changed beyond recognition. The road network has been altered with the advent of flyovers and underpasses, the familiar chowrangis or crossings have disappeared, playgrounds, and parks and even service roads have been lost due to encroachments. The old dwellers of the areas have died, moved to other parts of Karachi or migrated to foreign shores. Street crimes are rife and the various mafias make the rules. The glory days of Nazimabad and North Nazimabad are long gone.

Despite this lament about bygone days, Syed Waliullah Junaidi has put together a good reference book on the history of Nazimabad and North Nazimabad. It is a worthy milestone in his quest to record the story of Karachi for posterity. The book is a good resource for future writers and researchers and the author is to be commended for his effort.

The reviewer is is a freelance writer, author of the novel The Tea Trolley and translator of Toofan Se Pehlay: Safar-i-Europe Ki Diary

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, January 14th, 2024