Karachi City
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
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Karachi City
Population
Capital of Sind, Bombay, and head-quarters of the District and taluka of the same name, situated in 24° 51' N. and 67' 4' E., at the extreme northern end of the Indus delta, near the southern base of the Fab mountains and close to the border of Baluchistan. It is 993 miles distant from Bombay by rail, the distance in nautical miles being 483. Two routes connect the city with Lahore, by Sukkur, and by the Kotri-Rohri railway, the distance by each being about 800 miles. Population has increased rapidly : _ , . (1872) 56,753, (1881) 73,5 6o , ( lb 9i) 105,199, and (1901) 1 16,663, of whom 8,019 resided in the cantonment. Muhamma- dans number 60,003, Hindus 48,169, Christians 6,158, and Parsis 1,823.
Description
The bay of Karachi is formed by the projecting point of Manora Head, the extremity of a reef 10 miles in length, which supplies a natural barrier against the Arabian Sea. The open- _ . . ing of the bay between Manora and the opposite sanitarium of Clifton has a width of about 3 ½ miles ; but the mouth is blocked by a group of rocky islets, known as the Oyster Rocks, as well as by what was formerly the larger island of Kiamari, now part of the mainland owing to the action of sand-drifts. The harbour stretches for 5 miles northward from Manora Head to the narrows of the Layari river, and about the same distance from the old town of Karachi on the eastern shore to the extreme western point. Only a small portion of this extensive area, however, is capable of accommodating large vessels. Manora Head, the first object visible to a voyager approaching Karachi from the sea, is crowned by a lighthouse, having a fixed light 148 feet above sea-level, and visible for 20 miles around in clear weather. The point was formerly guarded by a fort, said to have been first erected in 1797 ; but this has now yielded place to a modern fortification, the port and pilot establishment, the buildings in connexion with the harbour improvements, and a portion of the Indo- European Telegraph department. Besides a library, billiard-room, and European school, Manora possesses an English church, intended for the crews of vessels frequenting the harbour. It has recently been made a cantonment, and is shortly to be constituted a military sanitarium in place of Ghizri, lately abandoned.
On the opposite side of the mouth, Kiamari forms the landing-place for all passengers and goods bound for Karachi, and has three piers. A road running along the Napier Mole, three miles long, connects the island with the city and mainland, and is traversed by the East India Tramway. The North-Western Railway also extends to Kiamari ; but instead of following the mole, it takes a more circuitous route, to the south, by the edge of a large lagoon, the waters of which are passed through the mole by a screw-pile bridge, 1,200 feet in length, erected in 1865 at a cost of about 5 lakhs, so as to allow them to flow uninter- ruptedly into the harbour as a means of scouring the channel. At the northern extremity of this bridge, and running in a westerly direction, stands the native jetty, built of stone at an expense of 4A lakhs. At the end of the mole, on the mainland side, the custom-house runs right across the road, which pierces it by five arches, thus intercepting all traffic.
Two principal thoroughfares lead from the custom-house to the Karachi cantonment, known respectively as the Bandar and the M c Leod Roads, at the junction of which stands a handsome clock- tower, the public memorial to Sir William Merewether. The oldest portion of the town is situated along the former route, close to the harbour, containing the most thickly populated quarter in Karachi. The municipality has widened and paved the streets, and effected other improvements which must conduce to the health of the inhabitants, who are chiefly Hindu and Muhammadan merchants. The Eayari, a river merely in name, as it contains water only three or four times a year, separates this quarter from the Layari suburb. On the M c Leod Road are situated the Chief Court, the Bank of Bombay, the National Bank of India, the city railway station, the general post office, the telegraph office, the Mansfield import yard, Messrs. Herman & Co.'s ironworks, and three important cotton-presses — the McLeod Road presses, owned by the Sind Press Company, capable of turning out daily 350 pressed bales of cotton ; the Tyabji presses, erected in 1865 at a cost of 2 ½ lakhs, and turning out 250 bales ; and the Albert Tresses, leased to the Sind Press Company, and turning out 390 bales. This quarter also contains the Edalji Dinsha dispensary, several schools, the Sind College, a new Hindu temple, and most of the offices belonging to European merchants. The Afghan sarai, intended for the use of caravans from Kandahar, and rebuilt by the municipality in 1873 at a cost of Kn. 20,000, covers an area of about 3 acres. Nearer to the cantonment, a number of bungalows stand on the inter- vening space, while the civil lines skirt the cantonment itself to the eastward. The military quarter, which is situated to the north and east of the city proper, consists of three portions : the depot lines, the artillery lines, and the European infantry lines. The depot lines are the oldest military portion of Karachi, and were originally intended to supply accommodation to troops passing up-country from the sea or vice versa. Here also is the arsenal. The public garden, distant about half a mile from cantonments, covers an area of 40 acres, neatly laid out with trees and shrubs, and contains an excellent zoological collection.
The architecture of Karachi is essentially modern and Anglo-Indian. The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity is situated just outside the cantonments. It stands in a large open space, 15 acres in extent, and consists of a heavy, ungainly Italian nave, with an ugly tower, the upper portion of which has recently been removed as unsafe. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic school, formerly a church, is a fine stone building, capable of accommodating 40 boarders and 200 day- scholars. The European and Indo-European school, known as the Karachi Grammar School, founded in 1854, under the auspices of Sir Bartle Frere, then Commissioner of Sind, occupies a handsome stone structure in the depot lines. The other chief modern institutions include a Muhammadan college, the Presbyterian Church of St. Andrew, Christ Church and the Anglican Mission schools, the Napier Barracks, the Sind Club, the Empress market, the Pars! Vlrbaiji school, and the post office. The Frere Hall, a municipal building, stands near the Sind Club. It was opened in a somewhat unfinished state in October, 1865, up to which date if lakhs had been expended upon its erection. This hall, which is a comparatively good specimen of slightly adapted Venetian Gothic, contains the Karachi general library. A fine statue of the Queen-Empress Victoria, erected by public subscription in the grounds of Frere Hall, was unveiled by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in March, 1906. Government House, the residence of the Commissioner of Sind, is situated in the civil quarter, and consists of a central building with two wings, approached by five separate carriage drives. Though commodious and comfortable in its interior arrange- ments, the exterior can lay no claim to architectural beauty. It was originally built by Sir Charles Napier when governor of the province, and has now been improved and fitted with an electric light and fan installation.
The climate of Karachi, owing to the prevalence of sea-breezes during eight months of the year, is more healthy than any other in Sind. The low situation of the city, and the near neighbourhood of marsh land, render the atmosphere moist and warm ; but the heat during the hottest months cannot compare with that experienced in the interior. The mean annual temperature, calculated from data for twenty-five years ending 1901, may be stated at 65 in January, 85 in May, and 75 in November. The hottest weather occurs in April, May, and June, though September and October are also often close and sultry. The annual rainfall averages about 5 inches. The first case of plague occurred early in December of 1896, the locality attacked being the old town quarter, and nearly 3,400 persons died in the first year. The total mortality from plague until the end of March, 1904, was 19,010.
History
Karachi came into British possession in 1843. The town may be regarded as almost a creation of British rule, its extensive commerce, splendid harbour works, and numerous flourishing institutions having all sprung up since the introduc- tion of settled administration. Before 1725 no town whatever appears to have existed on the site ; but a place named Kharak, with a con- siderable commerce, is mentioned as lying on the other side of the Hab river at the confluence of the river and the sea. The entrance to Kharak harbour having become blocked with sand, a migration was made to a spot near the present head of Karachi harbour, and at that time (1729) called Kalachi Kun ; and in time, under Jam Daria Khan Jokia, trade began to centre upon the convenient harbour. Cannon brought- from Muscat protected the little fort, and the name of Karachi, supposed to be a corrupt form of Kalachi, was bestowed upon the rising village. The hopeless blocking up of Shahbandar harbour shortly afterwards drove much of its former trade and population to Karachi.
Under the Kalhora princes, the Khan of Kalat obtained a grant of the town, which he garrisoned from his own territory. Within the short period r 792-5, three Baloch armies appeared before the town: but only on the third occasion did the Talpur chief of Hyderabad, who led the Baloch troops, gain possession by force of arms. A fort was built at Manora, at the mouth of the harbour. The Talpur chiefs made considerable efforts to increase the trade of Karachi, so that in 1838 the town and suburbs had a population of 14,000, half of whom were Hindus. The houses were all flat- roofed, and built of mud, very few of them having more than one storey : each house had its badgir or wind-catcher for the purposes of ventilation. The government under the Mirs was vested in a civil and military official, the Nawab, who ruled despotically over the town and neighbourhood.
Even before the period of British rule, the commerce of Karachi had attained to some importance, owing to the value of the river Indus as a channel of communication. Nevertheless, the sparse population of the country, combined with the short- sighted policy of its rulers, prevented it from reaching its proper develop- ment. Under the Talpur Mirs, nil imports were subjected to a j per cent, and all exports to a z\ per cent. duty. In 1809 the customs revenue amounted to Rs. <)o,ooo ; by 1S37 it had risen to Rs. 1,74,000. In the latter year the whole trade of the port was valued at about 40 lakhs, the following being the principal items : imports — English silk, broadcloth, chintz, &c, Bengal and China raw silk, slaves, dates, sugar, ivory, copper, spices, and cotton; exports — opium, ghi, indigo, wheat, madder, wool, raisins, and salted fish. Slaves came chiefly from Muscat, and consisted of negroes or Abyssinians. Opium to the extent of 500 camel-loads came from Marwar, and was exported to the Portuguese town of Daman. Almost all the goods imported into Sind were then consumed within the province, only Rs. 1,50,000 worth being sent across the frontier.
In 1843-4, the first year of British rule, the trade of Karachi, includ- ing Keti and Sirganda, had a total value of about 1 2 lakhs, due to a decline in the opium trade, which had steadily fallen since 1837, when its value was estimated at 16 lakhs. The second year of British rule saw a rise to 23, the third to 35, and the fifth to 44 lakhs. By 1852-3 the total value had risen to 81 lakhs. In 1857-8 the exports nearl)' overtook the imports, the two standing respectively at 107 and 108 lakhs. The American Civil War gave an enormous impetus to the trade of Karachi, by the high demand for Indian cotton which it created in European markets ; and in 1863-4 the total value of the trade amounted to no less than 6 crores : namely, imports 2 and exports 4 crores. The restoration of peace in America, however, brought about a lower price for cotton in Lancashire, and the trade of Karachi gradu- ally returned to what was then considered its normal level. The total value sank to 4 crores in 1867-8, and 3 ½ crores in 1873-4; but by 1882-3 it had risen again to 7 crores, and in 1892-3 to n crores.
In 1903-4 the trade of Karachi port, exclusive of Government stores and treasure, had increased in value to 24-9 crores (of which 5-5 repre- sented coasting trade): namely, imports 9-6 crores, and exports 15-2 crores. The main cause of the growth is due to the annually increas- ing exports of wheat and other food-grains, and oilseeds, which are brought by rail from irrigated tracts of Sind and the Punjab. The following were the chief articles of foreign import, with their values, in 1903-4: apparel, 14 lakhs: cotton piece-goods, 2 crores; cotton twist and yarn, 10 lakhs; manufactures of wool, 20 lakhs; hardware and cutlery, 13 lakhs ; wines and liqueurs, 9 lakhs ; spirits. 11 lakhs ; metals, wrought and unwrought (chiefly copper, iron, and steel), 43 lakhs ; pro- visions, 19 lakhs ; sugar, 102 lakhs ; machinery and mill-work, 10 lakhs; mineral oil, 22 lakhs; and treasure, 44 lakhs. Total imports from foreign ports (including treasure), 5-9 crores.
From the United Kingdom Karachi imports cotton manufactures, railway materials, liquors, coal and coke, machinery, metals, provisions, apparel, drugs, and medicines ; from Bombay, cotton piece-goods and twist, treasure, metals, silk, sugar, tea. jute, spices, dyes, woollen manu- factures, coco-nuts, manufactured silk, liquors, fruit, and vegetables ; from the Persian Gulf, dried fruits, treasure, wool, grain, and horses ; from the coast of Makran, wool, provisions, grain, and pulses; from Calcutta, jute, grain, and pulses ; and from Russia, mineral oil.
The following list shows the value of the exports to foreign ports in 1903-4: raw cotton, 2 ½ crores ; grain and pulses, 7 ½ crores, of which 7 ½ crores represented wheat ; hides and skins, 47 lakhs ; oilseeds, chiefly rape and til , one crore : raw wool, 52 ½ lakhs; bones, 17 lakhs. Total value of exports (including treasure), 13 ½ crores.
To the United Kingdom Karachi exports cotton, wool, wheat, seeds, skins, and bones ; to France, wheat, cotton, bones, hides, gram, gingelly, and rapeseed ; to Germany, wheat, cotton, hides, bones, and seeds ; to Japan, cotton ; to Russia, indigo and cotton ; to Bombay, Cutch, and Gujarat, cotton, grain, indigo, seeds, skins, fish-maws and shark-fins ; to Mauritius, grain and pulses ; to Persia, rice ; to Madras, rice and skins ; and to China, raw cotton.
The inland trade of Karachi includes wheat from the Punjab and the United Provinces, cotton from the Punjab, a large quantity of wool, dried fruits, and horses from Kandahar and Kalat ; while camels, bullocks, and donkeys bring in firewood, grass, ghl, palm-leaves, hides, &c, from Las Bela and Kohistan.
The harbour of Karachi during the period of the Talpur Mirs, and for the first few years after British annexation, was capable of accommo- dating only small native craft. Steamers and large ships anchored outside Manora Point, whence men and stores were conveyed in boats up the river, as far as the tide permitted, and then transferred into canoes, which carried them through a sea of liquid mud to a spot near the site of the existing custom-house. In process of time, however, it became apparent that the bar did not interpose so great an obstacle as was originally supposed, and that square-rigged vessels of a certain draught could cross it with safety. In 1854, under the Commis- sionership of Sir Bartle Frere, the Napier Mole road or causeway, connecting Karachi with the island of Kiamari, was completed, which offered additional inducements to ships for visiting the harbour.
In 1856 a scheme for improving the harbour by deepening the water on the bar was submitted for the opinion of Mr. James Walker, an eminent London engineer, who estimated the cost of works to provide an ample width of passage, with a depth of 25 feet at neap tides, at 29 lakhs. After much debate and intermissions, owing to partial failures, the principal part of the works — the Manora breakwater, 1,503 feet in length — was commenced in 1869, and completed in 1873 at a cost of 7 lakhs. It affords complete slicker to the- entrance channel (eastern) over the bar during the south-west monsoon, and, combined with other works, lias already led to the deepening at the entrance to 20 feet at low-water spring tides. The rise and fall is about 8 feet. Further progress was ensured by the creation in 1880 of a Harbour Board, for the purpose of levying shipping dues, which eventually was transformed into the Fort Trust by Act VI of 1886. Among the works carried out by the board are the Kiamari and East ( Channel groynes or stone banks, which direct and confine into one channel the tidal flow ; extensive dredging, boring, and submarine blasting operations ; the Merewether Pier, opened in 1882, to accommodate one steamer and provide facilities for trooping ; the Erskine wharf, 2,000 feet long, and the James wharf, 1,900 feet long, which can together accommodate ten large steamers and are linked for cargo purposes with the North-Western Railway by a commodious railway yard ; a special pier for oil-steamers, to serve the four bulk-oil installations at Kiamari ; and the Mansfield import yard, with warehouse accommodation for all goods landed at the wharves. In the harbour entrance, within shelter of the breakwater, there is a minimum depth of 24 ½ feet of water, which is maintained and will eventually be improved by dredging during the fair season. Further developments are under consideration, while the reclamation of a large area and the construction of two new steamer berths, with a minimum depth of 28 feet, are now being carried out.
In 1847-8 the number of vessels which entered the harbour was 891, all native craft, with a total burden of 30,509 tons. In 1903-4, 384 vessels (of which 174 were steam-vessels) entered Karachi harbour with cargoes from foreign ports: gross tonnage, 301,109 tons. In the same year 515 vessels (of which 344 were steam-vessels) cleared with cargoes for foreign ports; gross tonnage, 720,919 tons. From the ports on the coasts of India and Burma 1,311 vessels entered Karachi laden with cargoes ; tonnage, 567,436 tons. For the ports on the coasts of India and Burma 1,177 vessels left Karachi laden with cargoes; tonnage, 392,463 tons. The affairs of the port are managed by the Karachi Port Trust, the income of which in 1903-4 was about 19 lakhs and the expenditure 13 lakhs. During the three years ending 1904-5, the average income expanded to more than 2 1 lakhs and the expenditure to 15 ½ lakhs. The surplus is devoted to paying off the debt of 66 lakhs, which has now been reduced to 58 ½ lakhs. The principal steam- ship lines are the Ellerman, Wilson, Strick, Hansa, Austrian Lloyd, British India, and Bombay Steam Navigation Company.
The Karachi municipality was established in 1852, and had an income during the decade ending 1901 of about 12 lakhs. In 1903-4 the income was 15 lakhs and the expenditure 14 lakhs. The chief heads of municipal revenue are : octroi (10 lakhs, excluding refunds of 6 lakhs), tax on houses and lands (Rs. 53,000), and rents (Rs. 27,000) ; and the chief items of expenditure are administration and collection charges (7 lakhs), water-supply and drainage (Rs. 62,000), conservancy (Rs. 1,50,000), hospital and dispensary (Rs. 15,000), public works (Rs. 1,63,000), and education (Rs. 49,000). The management of the cantonment is in the hands of a committee, which had an income and expenditure of about Rs. 18,500 in 1903-4. The normal strength of the Karachi garrison is 1,300, and of the volunteer forces 800.
The difficulty of water-supply long formed one of the chief drawbacks to Karachi, most of the wells being too brackish for drinking purposes. Formerly the supply was mainly derived from wells tapping a subter- ranean bed of the Layari. The inhabitants of Kiamari, and the ship- ping in the harbour, obtained water from carts, which brought it up from 'camp 1 .' For the purposes of ice manufacture, water was for- merly imported by rail from Kotri. A scheme for constructing an underground aqueduct, 18 miles in length, from the Malir river at a cost of 5 lakhs was completed in 1882, and Karachi is now in possession of a pure water-supply. The capital outlay on this under- taking, including pipes for distributing the water to the city, Kiamari, and the cantonment, amounted to 17 lakhs; and the annual charges are 3 lakhs, of which Rs. 32,600 represents maintenance charges.
Education
Education is carried on by the Sind College, the Government high school, Anglo-vernacular schools, the Government vernacular school, and several female and other minor establishments. The total number of boys' schools is 48, with a daily attendance of 6,239, and of girls' schools 20, with an attendance of 1,861. The Dayaram Jethmal Sind Arts College was established in 1887. It is attended by 120 scholars, some of whom are accommo- dated in a hostel attached to it. A law class prepares students for the first LL.B. The Narayan Jagannath high school prepares students for the matriculation and school final examination. It is managed by Government, and Rs. 1 0,000 is annually contributed from Provincial revenues. Among the special schools may be mentioned the Muham- madan high school (Madrasat-ul-Islam), the normal class for the training of mistresses, and the engineering class. Newspapers or periodicals published at Karachi include four English (the Sind Gazette, the Sind Times, the Phoenix, and the Karachi Chronicle) and four native (in Sindl, Gujarati, and Persian).
Medical
The city possesses a civil hospital, a Dufferin hospital for females, and four dispensaries. These institutions afforded relief in 1904 to 70,155 persons, of whom 1,543 were in-patients treated in the civil hospital. The Dufferin hospital, 1 The portion of Karachi comprising the Sadr bazar, civil line-;. &c, is locally known a-; 'cam]).' as opposed to the old town proper and Kiamari. built by Mr. Edaljl Dinsha in 1 901, treated 10,017 patients in 11)04, of whom 206 were in-patients. A sick hospital, now called the military hospital, was established in 1869, in connexion with the cantonment, and in 1901 the cantonment hospital was opened in the Preedy quarter of the city. Adjacent to the barracks is a third hospital, known as the followers' hospital, where camp servants are treated.
[A. F. Baillie, Kurrachee, Past, Present and Future (1890) ; Official Compendium of Military Information regarding Karachi (Bombay, 1896); Karachi Harbour Works (Bombay, 1867); An Account of the Port of Karachi (Karachi, 1892).]
