Multiculturalism of DHA

How the diversity of people influenced the cultural landscape

Established in the 1950’s the DHA community grew over time. As with any Metropolis, Karachi, being the financial hub and a former Capital of Pakistan attracted people from all walks of life.

The city that never sleeps, promises jobs and lodging, something this city has always been known for, even during Colonial Times.

Essentially a fisherman’s community, the city quickly attracted the British Raj, who had their summer homes built next to the coast. Karachi’s coastline is vast and therefore people from all walks of life reside here.

DHA Karachi is in a very unique position as it has a coastline amongst other attractions. After the partition, many took residence in this part of the world, which was sparsely populated at that time.

The allure, however, was real, as more and more people shifted to the spacious bungalows here, one should not forget the allure of the seashore, which has always attracted hundreds, even when Pakistan was in the infancy stages.

As with any third world country, Pakistan’s greatest challenge was and remains population control, hence the growth of the city, which directly affected the growth of DHA. DHA Karachi built beautiful and spacious houses, state of the art roads and sidewalks, however, one problem remained. While the residents enjoyed their evening strolls along the beach or in their neighbourhoods, the neighbouring areas are what would be termed as ‘slums’, or euphemistically speaking ‘colonies’, at the peripheries.

There are eight colonies at the periphery of DHA Karachi and since it is not a walled community, the influx of the colony people is huge, who seek employment in the neighbouring areas, which works out for them as they do not have to travel long distances for employment. This is also in a way beneficial to the residents as the ‘help’ is not far off. The mindsets, however, are very different. While the residents prefer a more relaxed and a peaceful existence, the same cannot be said about the folks dwelling in colonies. The crowded spaces where they reside has different issues, lack of proper infrastructure and water, garbage is seen thrown carelessly on the roads.

The Government is also concerned about the areas or rather colonies, as they are not regulated. People from different areas of the country come to Karachi and due to the low cost of housing, take residence in such areas. Be it a natural calamity or just the allure of ‘making it big’, it is a fact that the areas are over-populated. Water, a key issue in Karachi is illegally obtained through illegal hydrants, Government officials have stated previously that they cannot determine the exact figure of illegal housing societies or slum areas in Karachi as the influx of people keeps increasing every year.

How does this co-relate to DHA? The answer is simple, as DHA Karachi is in the middle of eight such colonies, and the area is not walled, it is virtually impossible to control the movement within the Housing Society. As stated earlier there is a stark difference in the mindsets of the actual residents of DHA Karachi and their neighbouring counterparts, where one rallies for human and animal rights and for a cleaner environment, the other seems indifferent to the rising challenges of Climate Change or any sort of ‘rights’. Therein lies the problem, in the mindsets, the affluent educated people of DHA campaign for broader issues, their counterparts however, are more focused on making ‘ends meet’. It is important to note that it is human nature to focus on things that really matter, the colony dwellers have to survive, therefore self-actualization, which the DHA residents have, is missing from them.

This is the main reason that when they are hired by the residents, their civic sense is nonexistent, they cannot fathom the fact that throwing garbage on the sidewalks is wrong. That is why the once beautiful sidewalks became cluttered with garbage and other things, thrown by the ‘help’ carelessly and slowly the sidewalks withered away. The influx of people who made it big shifted to DHA, as people prefer living in DHA Karachi, for two reasons, the primary reason being security, the quality of living and the relative shorter distance from the city center, which means that living in DHA Karachi is not only convenient, it is cost effective as well.

ousuf is a resident of Phase 2, a short walk away from the DA Club, he reminisces about the ‘good old days’, “I remember when I made this 1000 square yard house, I felt a sense of achievement, I had made it big, everyone dreams of living in such an upscale area, the roads were clean, the footpaths were there, but things changed, there was a lot of social upgradation, don’t forget, Pakistan did witness prosperity, a lot of people through this social mobility bought houses here, which is great, but they lacked civic sense. In the 90s there were not many commercial areas, but you know with time things change, I am so happy that I live here, I have 5 cars, my neighbours do too, that’s what happens when everyone is busy, we won’t send our children on public transport, so it is essential that we have vehicles, everyone has multiple vehicles here. DHA Karachi, continues to improve the standards and the quality of life for the residents, I am very happy about that.”

It is important to note that the phenomenon of malls also started from this part of the country, Park Towers, opposite the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, in the 2000s was the place to be, which attracted hundreds of non-residents to this area, not to mention eating outlets and the sea. If one were to observe the volume of traffic crossing only one road, daily, one would be astonished how the roads have managed to sustain for so long. It is also important to note that even though some areas are not within the jurisdiction of DHA Karachi, majority of the commuters take the DHA Route, which adds weight to the roads overall. Heavy traffic, that is either the water tankers or other container carrying vehicles also pass this area, this traffic destroys roads and its daily movement adds burden to the carpeted roads.

In older society of DHA like Phase 2, footpaths are very present, Kamran, a resident of Phase 1 is shocked at the question, “what do you mean lack of footpaths? There are footpaths everywhere, please go and have a look. I grew up in this area, it has always had footpaths, look at Zamzama, or Muslim Commercial, the footpaths have always been present here. This area has always been pedestrian friendly. DHA is now modernizing according to international standards, but let me tell you, this has always been the case, even back when I was young, this was a safe area to play, as it is now, the only thing that has changed is the volume of cars, which has increased a 100-fold.”

Take the case of phase 2, A Market, which was recently renovated, it has attracted a huge volume of people from all across Karachi, that area, has special tiles installed for the visually impaired, benches and trees, to enjoy a cup of tea in the evening breeze and a pedestrian friendly space. Itehad and Bukhari Commercial as well have pedestrian friendly spaces and the footpaths are present in all of the renovated areas. DHA Karachi has planned a renovation keeping the international standards in mind, with sustainable green spaces and pedestrian friendly roads. Phase 8, which is still being developed is one such area, where green spaces, linear parks, cycling road spaces have not only been planned, but put into action. Seeing the recent uplifting of commercial areas, it is apparent that DHA Karachi is upgrading its look and feel to meet a more international standard, the first of its kind in Pakistan.

While things might not be close to perfect in DHA Karachi, and usually people go by word of mouth and hearsay, things are not as dismal as some would like to believe. The future and current planning of DHA Karachi shows promise, as the areas are being renovated and spaces created for people with diverse backgrounds and physical needs, it is a balance that is hard to capture, but once captured, it becomes a symbol of resilience. DHA Karachi is ready to enter the new era with a resolve of sustainable green spaces, parks and carbon free zones, where people, not traffic is encouraged. With such initiatives in place, Karachi in no time would be ‘re-termed’ the ‘city of lights’ as it once was.

Beena Khan is a journalist based in Karachi

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