Editorial Viewpoint
A loss of innocence
Our recollections of Karachi are of a friendly, social city where life centered round meeting family and friends or spending time at the gymkhanas/clubs. As children, Karachi was to us like “a moveable feast.”
Bombay was more staid. You had friends and relatives but the easy congeniality was lacking. You had to dress appropriately, watch your manners, be on your best behavior. Most times, of course, children were not invited to functions or get-togethers. But in the desert surrounded city everyone was welcome.
Karachi Parsis were proud of their metropolis. They would taunt us in jest saying how much better life was in their port city. When martial law was first introduced and a “guided democracy” replaced the misguided ones, people still spoke of how military rule had instilled discipline and given short shrift to the corrupt, vulgar politicians.
As Pakistan’s economy opened up and the rupee became convertible, foreign goods flooded the market. All the new cars and gadgets were available. Hollywood movies came first to Pakistan. The Pakistani rupee outperformed the Indian one. Even domestics, employees, earned more in Pakistan than in India.
For a country that was deprived of many personnel and government institutions when partition took place 60 years ago, the achievements were commendable. Even Sri Lanka, once part of Britain’s Indian empire appeared to be faring economically better than India. While our two neighbors thrived we were still living in a socialistic quagmire hampered by government rules, corruption and economic coercion.
Times changed. The civil war in Sri Lanka weakened its economy and sapped political energy. Pakistan, without having to worry about East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh) teeming millions, still lost its sense of direction. Alternating between democratic anarchy and military dictatorships, the country sank.
Thus on a recent trip to Karachi hosted by the gregarious and generous hotelier Byram Avari, some members of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) Bombay chapter and Parsiana observed two aspects of life in Karachi.
The government officials we met including the governor of Sind, the minister in charge of trade development, the presidents and members of the Federation of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry all foresaw great economic potential for Pakistan and especially for trade between India and Pakistan.
That a small group of motley Bombay Zoroastrian entrepreneurs and professionals could meet such distinguished leaders was due to the considerable clout that Avari wields in Pakistan. But it was also to some measure because the Pakistanis were keen to reaffirm, even to a minuscule religio-commercial organization that their hearts and minds were very much with India.
Trade barriers, both sides agreed, were counterproductive. Yes there would be keen competition between them but in the long run things would work out to both countries’ advantage. Goods that cannot be exported directly go via Dubai adding 10 percent extra to the cost.
While there was apprehension amongst many Zoroastrians in India about visiting Karachi at a time when the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was to mark his homecoming to Islamabad, Karachi was quiet. We felt no ripple of the much hyped development. The Pakistani Press, print and electronic, reported the event in great detail.
So we also felt things were on the mend and soon the political situation would resolve itself.
But when we spoke to many of the local Parsis we found a measure of despair. Many wanted to migrate. People holding jobs in prestigious multinational companies, leading schools or young entrepreneurs spoke of wanting to leave for their “children’s future.”
When one couple was asked if their daughter who was studying abroad would return to Karachi they replied:...
Bombay was more staid. You had friends and relatives but the easy congeniality was lacking. You had to dress appropriately, watch your manners, be on your best behavior. Most times, of course, children were not invited to functions or get-togethers. But in the desert surrounded city everyone was welcome.
Karachi Parsis were proud of their metropolis. They would taunt us in jest saying how much better life was in their port city. When martial law was first introduced and a “guided democracy” replaced the misguided ones, people still spoke of how military rule had instilled discipline and given short shrift to the corrupt, vulgar politicians.
As Pakistan’s economy opened up and the rupee became convertible, foreign goods flooded the market. All the new cars and gadgets were available. Hollywood movies came first to Pakistan. The Pakistani rupee outperformed the Indian one. Even domestics, employees, earned more in Pakistan than in India.
For a country that was deprived of many personnel and government institutions when partition took place 60 years ago, the achievements were commendable. Even Sri Lanka, once part of Britain’s Indian empire appeared to be faring economically better than India. While our two neighbors thrived we were still living in a socialistic quagmire hampered by government rules, corruption and economic coercion.
Times changed. The civil war in Sri Lanka weakened its economy and sapped political energy. Pakistan, without having to worry about East Pakistan’s (now Bangladesh) teeming millions, still lost its sense of direction. Alternating between democratic anarchy and military dictatorships, the country sank.
Thus on a recent trip to Karachi hosted by the gregarious and generous hotelier Byram Avari, some members of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce (WZCC) Bombay chapter and Parsiana observed two aspects of life in Karachi.
The government officials we met including the governor of Sind, the minister in charge of trade development, the presidents and members of the Federation of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry all foresaw great economic potential for Pakistan and especially for trade between India and Pakistan.
That a small group of motley Bombay Zoroastrian entrepreneurs and professionals could meet such distinguished leaders was due to the considerable clout that Avari wields in Pakistan. But it was also to some measure because the Pakistanis were keen to reaffirm, even to a minuscule religio-commercial organization that their hearts and minds were very much with India.
Trade barriers, both sides agreed, were counterproductive. Yes there would be keen competition between them but in the long run things would work out to both countries’ advantage. Goods that cannot be exported directly go via Dubai adding 10 percent extra to the cost.
While there was apprehension amongst many Zoroastrians in India about visiting Karachi at a time when the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was to mark his homecoming to Islamabad, Karachi was quiet. We felt no ripple of the much hyped development. The Pakistani Press, print and electronic, reported the event in great detail.
So we also felt things were on the mend and soon the political situation would resolve itself.
But when we spoke to many of the local Parsis we found a measure of despair. Many wanted to migrate. People holding jobs in prestigious multinational companies, leading schools or young entrepreneurs spoke of wanting to leave for their “children’s future.”
When one couple was asked if their daughter who was studying abroad would return to Karachi they replied:...
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From the archive