As soon as the name of Karachi comes in the film Dhurandhar, today’s busy, modern sea-coast city emerges in the viewer’s mind, which is considered the financial capital of Pakistan. But the Karachi that is mentioned in today’s politics, cinema and popular culture has its roots in a deeper history. The era of the Mughal Empire is also an important phase of these roots. Let us know how much contribution the Mughals had in the development of Karachi? What did he give to this historical city? What was his status?
The city which we call Karachi today was different in both form and name during the Mughal period. According to historical references, this area was mainly characterized by small fishing villages, coastal settlements and nearby ports. A settlement called Kolachi jo Goth is often mentioned, which later developed into Karachi.
In the early period of Mughal rule, the main center of Sindh was not Karachi but Thatta. Thatta was a major urban and cultural center at that time, from where the administrative hold of the Mughals extended to the coastal areas. The areas around Karachi, such as the earlier port of Kharak Bandar and the smaller ports that developed in the later period, Thatta, were part of the broader geography of Sindh. Thus, if the Karachi seen in the film Dhurandhar is a huge metropolis in today’s memory, during the Mughal period it was mostly a strategically and commercially important coastal strip, which came under the Thatta-centric Mughal administration.
The settlement named Kolachi jo Goth later developed into Karachi. Photo: Pixabay
Political status of Mughals
Sindh was annexed to the Mughal Empire in the second half of the 16th century during the reign of Akbar. After this, Sindh continued to come under the Subagiri system and Mughal Subedars continued to be appointed here. To understand the status of the Mughals in the context of Karachi, it is important to remember that the real strength of Mughal power was based on the agricultural lands of Thatta, Hyderabad and the interior of Sindh.
Mughal emperor Akbar. Photo: Getty Images
Karachi and its surrounding coastal areas were important for the Mughals in monitoring maritime trade, keeping an eye on possible European attacks (especially Portuguese) and checking ships passing through the Arabian Sea. That is, the status of the Mughals in the coastal area of Karachi was mainly administrative and strategic. Here they maintained their influence through local chieftains, officials and the system of collecting port taxes.
Did the Mughals carry out major construction in Karachi?
When we talk about the contribution of the Mughals, we usually think of grand buildings like the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, Fatehpur Sikri or Shalimar Bagh. The natural question is whether any such simple, grand Mughal monument is found in Karachi also? On the basis of historical evidence, it would be more accurate to say that within the present day city of Karachi, there is no such huge, directly, emperor-sponsored Mughal monument that is instantly recognizable like the Taj Mahal or the forts of Delhi.
Most of the construction that took place during the Mughal period was scattered in the form of fortifications and small outposts, port observation posts, mosques, inns (caravanserai) and administrative buildings such as revenue/custom houses.
The possibility of such small-scale construction in the Karachi area is certainly considered, especially mosques and outposts near the ports, but they have not survived to this day in the same clear Mughal architectural style as seen in the larger cities of North India. In contrast, the wider surrounding area, such as Thatta and Makli, presents a more visible architectural heritage in the form of cemeteries, mosques and mausoleums from the Mughal influence and the later Sultanate period. The vast necropolis of Makli houses many tombs and monuments from different periods, including traces of the Mughal period. It is part of a larger cultural landscape that also included the coastal settlements of Karachi.
Karachi became a major center of Urdu speaking population.
Trade, sea routes and the role of Karachi
The importance of maritime trade was continuously increasing in the Mughal economy. Like the ports of Gujarat, Surat, Konkan and Bengal, the coastal areas of Sindh were also connected to the trade network of the Indian Ocean. The role of Karachi and its predecessor or nearby ports was mainly like this. Rice, grain, cloth and other goods from the fertile soil of Sindh would go out by sea, and in return imported goods would reach the coastal settlements. The Mughal administration used to collect revenue through port tax (Customs).
Local officials, sometimes including local zamindars or chieftains, collected these taxes on behalf of the Mughal rule. Due to the increasing activity of the Portuguese and other European powers, it was important for the Mughals to keep an eye on their coastal ports. Political control over coastal settlements like the Karachi area was part of this broader strategic thinking. Thus, although we may not find many distinctive Mughal monuments in Karachi, the area was an important link in the Mughal maritime policy and trade network.
Cultural and religious landscape
Sindh was an important center of Sufi tradition and Hindu-Muslim cultural co-existence during the Mughal era. The area around Karachi also did not remain untouched by these processes. The shrines, tombs and mosques of many Sufi saints were spread in this area. Mughal rulers often gave jagirs, grants or patronage to Sufi shrines. This deepened the influence of the Mughal period at the religious and social level. Persian, which was promoted as the official language by the Mughals, became established as the administrative and high cultural language of Sindh. Along with local Sindhi and other dialects, the roots of Urdu were also nurtured in this broader Mughal influenced landscape.
This historical background is more or less hidden behind the linguistic identity of Karachi, which became a major center of Urdu-speaking population in later eras. The Mughal period’s interests are reflected in folk architecture, the decoration of mosques, the workmanship of cemeteries and wood-stone work, although in Karachi these forms appear on a relatively small scale and in a scattered form.
The last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II. Photo: Getty Images
The decline of the Mughal Empire and the rising status of Karachi
After Aurangzeb, the Mughal power gradually weakened. In the 18th century, Sindh came under the rule of local Kalhora and then Talpur rulers. This is the time when Karachi’s status as a more prominent port and city begins to emerge. Karachi’s strategic and commercial importance increased during the time of the Talpurs, and in the 19th century, after the British took control of Karachi in 1839, the city rapidly developed into a major port and urban centre. Therefore, if we look at the history layer by layer, we find that during the Mughal period, Karachi was an important area from the coastal administrative and commercial point of view. It gradually developed during the Talpur and British periods.
When we look at this cinematic Karachi in the context of the reality of the Mughal period, a few things come to the fore. In the film, Karachi is present in today’s political and cultural sense, but in its depth there are also hidden Mughal, Sultani, Sufi and colonial layers whose glimpse, if not directly, is present in the overall identity of the city. Today, when a film brings the name of Karachi on the stage, centuries of history behind that name remains unspoken but present.
The status of the Mughals in Karachi is not directly reflected in the form of grand buildings like the Taj Mahal or a huge fort. Rather, this status was reflected in more subtle ways through the empire’s administrative hold, surveillance of maritime trade, preservation of Sufi culture, and spread of Persian-Urdu linguistic cultural traditions. Karachi, which was mainly an area of coastal settlements and ports during the Mughal period, is today in front of us as a huge metropolis. The presence of Karachi in films like Dhurandhar reminds us that cities are not just made up of current politics and border lines; They are shaped by centuries of history, regime changes, trade routes, Sufi traditions and many layers of cultural interaction.
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