Cultures of Karachi

CULTURES OF KARACHI:

Karachi is a city of Pakistan and Karachi is the largest city of the Pakistan,  Karachi is the main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the province of Sindh’s capital is Karachi. The Population of the city has an estimated population of 16,094,000 according to 2020 servey that is a 2.24% increase from 2019. Karachi is the most populous city in the country of Pakistan and  3rd largest city in terms of population by city in the world. The city credits its growth to the mixed populations of political and economic migrants and refugees from different national, linguistic, provincial, and religious origins who have largely come to settle here permanently. It is locally termed as the City of Lights for its liveliness and is also called the City of The Quaid, for not only being both the birth and death place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah the founder of Pakistan but also his home after 1947. Those who live in Karachi and those born in the city are called (Karachiites).

It is Pakistan’s centre of industry, banking, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan’s largest corporations, including those involved in clothing and textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, designing, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research.

Karachi is located on the coast of the Arabian sea and in the south of Pakistan. The Karachi’s geographic coordinates are 24°51′ N 67°02′ E. Most of the land consisted largely of flat or rolling plains, with hills on the western and Manoral Island and the Oyster Rocks. The Arabian Sea beach lines the southern coastline of the City of the Karachi.

Culture:

Karachi is a melting pot of many different cultures, traditions and flavors as many different  people immigrated with their different cultures to the city giving it a very cosmopolitan touch. Before the 1947, the city was inhabited mainly by the Sindhis, Baluchis,Gujaratis and Mekranis from the areas near the city. In 1947 Hindu population left most of the city’s, and a large number of the immigrants Mohajir’s came from India. Most of these belonged to the Urdu Speaking parts of the India. Along with them also, Memons from Gujarat and small quantities of communities from other areas arrived. After independence a steady stream of immigrants has been coming to the city from different parts of the Pakistan and made large Punjabi, Pathan, Bengali and Hazara communities to grow in Karachi. In 1971 there was a large influx of mainly Urdu Speaking people from the former of East Pakistan. In the 1980s there are a large number of Afghan refugees streamed into the city. With the blending of Middle Eastern, South Asian, Central Asian, and Western influences, there is considerable diversity in the culture, and this diversity has produced a unique cultural amalgam of its own type giving the city a status of being the international business center.

Language:
In Karachi Urdu is predominantly speaking language. Urdu speaking is dominant in the city with many other languages also spoken in the city. According to the census of 1998, the linguistic distribution of city is; Urdu 38.52%, Sindhi 27.34%, Punjabi 13.64%, Pashto 11.96%‎, Balochi 4.34%. Saraiki 2.11%, others 2.09%. The others include Gujarati, Dari, Dawoodi Bohra, Memon, Brahui, Marwari, Makrani, Kowar, Burushahki, Arabic, Bengali and Persian.

Religion:
Karachi is predominantly Muslim (Sunni 66% and Shia 34%) city with the small religious minorities. The religious break-up of the Karachi city is as follows: Muslim 96.49%; Christian 2.35%; Hindu 0.83%; Ahmadi 0.17%; and the others 0.13%. That includes Parsis and Buddhists.

Cuisine:
The important part of Karachi’s cuisine is meat.  Pulses like dal, Curries are also very popular. Of all the meats that are eaten in the Karachi, the most popular are: Goat, beef, chicken and seafood. Barbecue food is also extremely popular.   Dishes made with rice include pullao and biryani. Different kinds of breads like: Chapati, Tandoor bread, Naan, , paratha and puri are very popular. Sindhi biryani is also very popular in the city of Karachi which at times is used as a tool in talk shows over the media against Indian biryani. Sheermal and Taftaan are also very popular and are eaten by people all over the country. Across the city the Nimco is very popular.

Education:
Education in the City of Karachi is divided into five levels:

Primary level that is (Grade one to five).

Middle level that is (Grade six to eight).

High level that is (Grade nine and ten).

Intermediate level that is (Grade eleven and twelve).

University level that is(Programs leading to graduate and advanced degree).

In Karachi there are both public and private educational institutions from primary to university level and most of Pakistan’s Universities main campuses are in the City of Karachi. All the academic education institutions are the responsibility of the Provincial Governments. The Federal Government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and some financing of the research. But in most of the institutions, Sindh Board is followed.

Festivals:
Karachi is a most festive city and many religious, traditional and cultural festivities are observed across the city. Religious events such as Ramadan, Chaand raat, Eid Milad un Nabi (S.A.W.W) and Ashura are among the most prominent festivities of the city of Karachi. Many rallies and parades are carried out during the events of Milaad-un-Nabi, Ashura, Jashn-e-Baharan and Nowruz by religious leaders and the followers all across the city. Ethnic and religious minorities, like Christians, Hindus, etc. also celebrate their events, although not on as large a scale as Islamic events. The Sindh Cultural Day is also celebrated in the month of December within city. People wear traditional Sindhi Topi & Ajrak, being the popular cloth of that particular area, and gather in different areas of the city where they play music, songs, dance, attend functions where artists come and perform. Other than that, Basant (flying kites in the sky) is also celebrated privately by the family clubs in the city.

Media:
Being the Karachi is a center of international business, there were many headquarters of different channels situated in the city of Karachi. But due to some major issues and unstable situation in the city, many of the headquarters are now shifted to UAE. Among the channels of the radio, there are many channels aired across the city but FM 96 and FM 101 is the famous one in the city.