The cultural wasteland’s romance for the past

Karachi: Once rich in cultural, sports and literary activities Lyari, at present, suffers because it has never been high on the list of the government’s priorities. Intellectuals from Lyari claim that the literacy ratio here used to be a far more than what it is at present. This is because earlier merit was the only criteria, which has now been replaced by “bias and favouritism.”

On the other hand, not a single new school has been built in the area as per the population increase, which is now more than 0.7 million, spreading over 1,800 acres. Earlier, there were 14 schools teaching Gujrati alone which have almost closed. Now the condition of education has deteriorated to such an extent that in some cases a single school building has to accommodate students from about eight other schools, which results in a lower standard of education.

Reminiscing about the high standard of education and the talent of students, Abdul Rauf Baloch, once a member of the national team of boxers, recalls that in 1969, the renowned poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, asked a creative student to write a short play and stage it at Sir Abdullah Haroon College, where Faiz himself was the Principal.

The students belonging to Lyari prepared a comedy play of 15-minutes duration and performed the very next day, surprising Mahmood A Haroon, Faiz and other writers and philanthropists of the time. Since then, Faiz realised that there was an abundance of talent hidden in the streets of Lyari.

Baloch, who was brought up and educated in Lyari schools, believes that the government authorities and those sitting in the offices of civic bodies never recognise the talent of Lyari in the fields of education, sports, art and culture. “We have schools established long before the partition of sub-continent in 1947. The area produced talented youth but unfortunately due to a lack of recognition by the concerned authorities this ability is going downward,” Baloch lamented.

For instance, he said, Dr Taj (Mohammed) received a PhD from Bulgaria in Electricity but when he returned, the Pakistani government refused to recognise his certificate and forced the gentlemen to run a milk shop in the neighbourhood. After two years the Brunei government offered him a teaching position in a university and since then he has been there.

Defending the literacy ratio of Lyari in the past the activists say some of the libraries have editions of an Urdu daily Al-Baloch which goes back to 1913, the newspaper was launched from Lyari by a few Balochi journalists. Hafiz Mohammed Siddique Memon, who has been residing in Khadda for the last 30 years, says that his father-in-law and many other relatives studied in the Khadda Maderssa, established over 100 years ago by Moulvi Sadiq Khadewaro.

Lyari has also played a strong part in the struggle for independence, where famous historical figures such as Moulvi Sadiq and Moulana Ubaidullah Sindhi employed Lyari’s Khadda Madressa to mobilise activists against British rulers. The Khadda Maddressa has long been the centre of politics, it has played host to famous political figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited the college to attend Congress Executive Body meetings.

Being arch rivals of the British rule, Ulema such as Moulvi Sadiq and Moulana Ubaidullah preferred to teach Islamic education in Sindhi and Persian languages and opposed teaching in English. However, Sir Abdullah Haroon bridged this gap by establishing a school and college with modern education in the same neighbourhood. The area has also produced world renowned sportsmen and artists who represent the country’s culture and ideals to the world.

Once a centre of poetic gatherings Lyariites have now lost interest even in their age old libraries. At present the Lyari people are facing difficulties to restore their glorious past.By Jan Khakheli, Source The News International