KARACHI’S rapid population growth has been a matter of concern for more than five decades for its administrators. On July 22, 1974 the provincial government announced it would conduct a survey of unauthorised colonies and slums in the city with a view to regularising them. It was decided at a meeting chaired by Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Sindh’s Revenue Minister, at his office. The Provincial Minister for Housing, Jam Sadiq Ali and the Provincial Education Minister, Pyarali Allana, attended the meeting. The survey, as per the decision taken, was to begin after the necessary staff was recruited for the purpose. In a related news story, the government formed a five-member committee to investigate into the affairs of cooperative housing societies in Karachi to find out irregularities and malpractices committed by their managing bodies.

The provincial government came under a bit of a pressure the same day when leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Shah Faridul Haq, and four other MPAs in a joint statement criticised the ban on the weekly magazine Outlook and other papers, urging it to lift the ban from all the newspapers and periodicals.

On July 24, it was reported that the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) criticised the ban on Outlook and daily Elan. A resolution passed by its executive council a few days back read: “It has always been the stand of the KUJ that freedom of expression is the basic right of the newspapers and the denial of this right makes journalism a mockery. The union feels if the government considers any writing of any newspaper objectionable it can refer it to a court of law so that the newspaper gest a chance to defend its position.”

While things were getting heavier on the political front, on July 24 a lighter, healthier event took place as the popular folk character Faqir Watayo of Sindh was discussed at a programme held at the Sindh Centre — the comedic character has been known in the province from time immemorial for humorous tales associated with him. Some important points came up during the discussion. For example, “Nobody knew when and where Watayo lived or whether any person of such a name existed at all; nor anyone could tell who created it if he were merely a fictional character. It was thought that some of the anecdotes attributed to Watayo in fact originated from Mulla Naseeruddin’s anecdotes.” But the speakers said a comparison of the two simply showed that Watayo was a specimen of Sindh’s ancient wisdom, a rational and humane character as Mulla Naseeruddin was in Turkish literature. Among those who spoke on the occasion included Abdul Qadir Junejo, Qamar Shahbaz and Amar Jaleel.

The Sindh centre became the venue for another function on July 27, this time for a variety show involving vocal and instrumental music, recitation of Sindhi poetry and a painting exhibition. Saleh Khatri exhibited his artworks that included oil paintings and wood carvings. Sultana Vaqasi and Badar Abro received a warm applause for the poems recited by them. Ahmed Ibrahim, Pir Shah and Anwar Hussain sang traditional songs while the Lasi group played instrumental music.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2024