Sovereignty, Modernity and Urban Space: Everyday Socio-Spatial Practices in Karachi’S Inner City Quarters
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Sovereignty, Modernity and Urban Space: Everyday Socio-Spatial Practices in Karachi’s Inner City Quarters Sarwat Viqar A Thesis In the School of Graduate Studies Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Special Individualized Program) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada July 2016 © Sarwat Viqar, 2016 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Sarwat Viqar Entitled: Sovereignty, Modernity and Urban Space: Everyday Socio-Spatial Practices in Karachi’s Inner City Quarters and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Special Individualized Program) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final Examining Committee: Chair Dr. E O’Toole External Examiner Dr. A. Keshavarzian External to Program Dr. S. De La Llata Examiner Dr. C. Belge _____________________________________ Administrative Supervisor Dr. M. Watson Thesis Supervisor Dr. W. C. Jacob Approved by: _________________________________________________ Dr. K. Schmitt, Graduate Program Director August 30, 2016 Dr. P. Wood-Adams, Dean of Graduate Studies Abstract Sovereignty, Modernity and Urban Space: Everyday Socio-Spatial Practices in Karachi’s Inner City Quarters. Sarwat Viqar, Ph. D. Concordia University, 2016. This thesis is an interdisciplinary study of the norms and forms of everyday life in the historic quarter of Karachi, Pakistan, as they relate to the sovereign imaginaries that animate the way urban subjects inhabit the space of the city. It examines the evolution of the urban form of the city and shows how historical constructions of space, empire and nation structured present formulations of political subjectivity at the micro and macro levels. Using three disciplinary lenses—history, anthropology and political science—the study captures the diverse forces and sovereignties that have shaped ideas of life and the organization of space in a complex urban environment. Based on previously unexamined archival material and ethnographic field research in the historic inner city area of Karachi, it traces the effects of historic formations of the space of the city on the lived space of the streets and neighbourhoods. It locates the politics of space that unfolds in the streets and neighbourhoods of the city in significant shifts in its colonial and postcolonial history. In doing so it brings attention to the limits of biopolitical subject formation, where the processes of making social and political worlds in common exceed the state’s attempt at discipline and subjugation. The social and political formations that were the object of this study, consist of different kinds of sovereign arrangements that attempt to rule and govern space in parallel to, and often overlapping with, state governance. These sovereign arrangements range from custom and kinship-based organizations to political and religious groups and movements that seek to establish norms around the social and spatial management of the neighbourhood. The finding of this study is that multiple sovereign iii assemblages act to both challenge and reproduce state sovereignty. These sovereignties operate in different domains – political, religious and clan-based social networks that constantly overlap and engage with the state to claim legitimacy and a share of urban resources. The most significant finding of this study is that sovereign imaginaries drawn upon by these arrangements go beyond the nation to draw upon histories and trajectories that are transregional and transcendental, bringing into question the nation-state’s sole claim to territorial sovereignty. iv Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my thesis advisor Dr. Wilson Chacko Jacob. I am extremely grateful to Professor Jacob for giving his time, energy and interest to this project and for acting as a true mentor and critic. I started this project under the supervision of Dr. Eric Shragge and I am thankful for his support and encouragement in putting together my initial thesis proposal. I also want to thank my committee members – Dr. Homa Hoodfar and Dr. Ceren Belge for providing valuable and timely critiques. Thanks to Dr. Rachel Berger for her incredible encouragement and useful advice at different stages of this thesis. I would like to acknowledge the support of my excellent employer, John Abbott College, for financial support in the form of several professional development grants as well as professional development leaves that were instrumental to my ability to finish this project. I am thankful to the School of Graduate Studies at Concordia University for a travel research grant that allowed me to conduct archival research at the British Library in London. I am grateful to my friends in Pakistan who hosted me generously and provided the love and support that were essential to my ability to carry out fieldwork in Karachi –Anita Lalani, Anila Naeem, Farida Ghaffar. To the residents of Kharadar who shared their stories and taught me valuable lessons about the complexity of urban life. To Dr. Nausheen Anwar, co-author and colleague, for her feedback on Chapter Four, for the many intense discussions about Karachi’s politics, as well as our adventurous sojourns around Karachi and Balochistan. To Dr. Humeira Iqtidar for hosting me in London during my archival research at the British library and for her v friendship, wise advice and moral support. To my sister Sarosh for getting caught up in the lively stories and dramas that unfolded while she helped out with the transcription of interviews. I want to thank my friends and colleagues for cheering me on and providing much- needed moral support whenever the volume of this work threatened to overwhelm me – Debbie Lunny, Dipti Gupta, Grace Lin, Rania Arabi, Tanisha Ramachandran, Marjan Radjavi, Colleen Lashuk, David Austin, Cory Legassic and Kristopher Woofter. To the city of Montreal and its wonderful cafes – Kaffein, Café Expressions, Café Art Java, Chez Fred, Shaika – that provided the main venue for the writing process, which was somehow most creative in these public settings with the rich aroma of excellently brewed espresso. And last but not least to my parents for their help in transcribing my interviews, their unconditional love and support, as well as the inspiration they provided for this research through sharing their stories of migration, living and surviving in the City of Lights – Karachi. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Notes on Translation and Transliteration ix List of Abbreviations x List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii Glossary xiv Ethnic Groups in Pakistan xvi Map of Ethnicities in Pakistan xvii Chapter One: Introduction 1 Pakistan: Territoriality and Sovereignty in the Postcolonial State 4 The Role of Islam 7 Urban Planning and Development 9 Theoretical Context 13 The Colonial Legacy in the Postcolony 13 The Urban Political Economy 17 The Urban Modern and the Postcolony: Sovereignty, Biopolitics and Governmentality 21 Violent Politics and Publics in the Postcolony 26 The Gendered Dimension of Urban Politics 33 Research Methodology: An Inter-Disciplinary Engagement 35 Summary of Chapters 39 Chapter Two: Fieldwork and Context 42 The Neighbourhoods 45 In the Field 50 Challenges/Opportunities: Reflections on Field Work 54 Conclusion 58 Chapter Three: Karachi: Historical Constructions of Place - Between Memoir and Archive 60 Planning a New City 70 Sanitation and Urban Space 77 Constructing a New Urban Subject 84 Karachi in the Memory of Local Inhabitants 95 1947 – Imagining the City Anew 101 Conclusion 103 Chapter Four: Cultural Identity, Social Norms and Jamaat Sovereignty: The Reproduction of Space in Kharadar 107 In the Field: The ‘Salt Water Gate’ (Kharadar) and ‘Sweet Water Gate’ (Mithadar) 108 Jamaats: A Localized Sovereignty 117 vii Property Management Under the Jamaats 124 Charity and Philanthropy 126 Governing the Street 128 Undoing Thresholds: Vendors and Encroachments 148 Conclusion 154 Chapter Five: Tanzeems: New Sovereignties and the Material and Discursive Terrain of Public Spaces 159 Karachi’s Postcolonial Geography – from 1947 to the present 165 MQM’s Geographies of Control 171 Gendered Performances in Public Space: Asserting Ownership, Gaining ‘Izzat’ (Respect) 173 Violence, Incivility and the “Gangwar” 190 Unemployment and ‘Timepass’ at Kakri Ground: negotiating class and ethnicity 199 Conclusion 204 Chapter Six: Negotiating Difference: Religion, Gender and Space in Kharadar 207 Religious Practice and Discourses in the Quarter 214 Managing the Saintly Presence: Shrine Sovereignty in the Dargah of Shah Doula Sabzwari Bokhari 219 The Dargah of Qadir Shah Baba: Desire, Desolation and Refuge 226 Invoking a Geography of Loss and Change 229 The Role of the State: Secularization and the ‘Urban Modern’ 235 Working out Differences 238 New Religiosities: The ‘Madani’ Brothers and ‘Madani’ Sisters of the Dawat-e-Islami 245 Conclusion 250 Chapter Seven: Conclusion 254 Bibliography 268 viii Note on Transliteration and Translation I have used the Library of Congress standard for all transliterations from Urdu to English – except for diacritical marks, which I have not used at all. All translations of original Urdu texts and interviews into English are my own. ix List of Abbreviations KMC Karachi Municipal Corporation KPK Khyber Pukhtunkhwa MNA Member of National Assembly MQM Muttahida Qaumi Movement NWFP North West Frontier Province PAC People’s Aman Committee PPP Pakistan People’s Party UC Union Council x List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Ethnic Makeup of Pakistan Figure 2. Map of Karachi Figure 3. Map of Karachi with the old city quarters highlighted Figure 4. Close-up of the neighbourhoods of Kharadar and Mithadar in the old city Figure 5. Karachi map of land use Figure 6. Map of the Bombay Presidency Figure 7. Karachi Harbour 1888-89 Figure 8. Karachi circa 1919 Figure 9. Cartoon in the Daily Jang Figure 10. Apartment buildings in Mithadar Figure 11. The neighbourhood of Mithadar Figure 12. Barriers on a street in Mithadar Figure 13.