Kharadar () is a neighbourhood in District South of Karachi, Pakistan.[ Saddar Town – Government of Karachi ] Kharadar and the adjacent communities of Mithadar and Jodia Bazaar together form what is regarded as the original core of Karachi.
Etymology
Kharadar literally means
Brackish Gate in both
Sindhi language and
Urdu language.
[ CITIES: A KARACHI BY ANY OTHER NAME by Sibtain Naqvi, Dawn Newspaper, July 30, 2017]
Location
Kharadar is located in central Karachi, near the Port of Karachi. Together with the adjacent community of
Mithadar, it forms what is regarded as the original core of Karachi, when the city was known as "Kalachi Jo Goath." The combined area of the two is approximately 35 square kilometers.
History
The neighbourhood was named after one of two gates to the old city of Karachi built in 1729
– the other being
Mithadar or "Sweet Gate," (referring to the potable, fresh water of the
Lyari River) which is now the name of the neighborhood adjacent to the northern edge of Kharadar. Both gates were torn down in 1860 after the British conquered Sindh 13 years earlier.
Economy
Kharadar, along with Mithadar, is a center for Karachi's textile industry, with several garment factories and wholesalers located in the adjacent Bolton Markets, as well as numerous textile markets along Laxmi Das Street. Kharadar has also been home to a Muslim South Indian community since the 1890s – a legacy reflected in the name of the nearby market, the Cochinwala Markets named after residents of the city of
Cochin in South India.
Demographics
Kharadar being the oldest area along with
Mithadar and
Lyari is known for its diversity and unity. It is home to people from various faiths. The area has Darya Lal Mandir of the
Hindus community, Khoja Isna Ashri Masjid of the
Shia Islam community and one of the largest Ismaili Jamat Khana, belongs to Nizari Isma'ili community.
Muslims traders originally settled in Kharadar after having moved from upper and lower Sindh as well as from
Kutch,
Kathiawar in
Gujarat in the 16th and 17th centuries – well before the
British Raj. One of the earliest Ismailis in Kharadar, Syed Ghulam Ali Shah or "Ghulmali Shah" of the Kadiwala clan, was a prominent missionary in Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar. He died in Karachi in 1792 when there were only a handful of Ismailis. Rather than being buried amongst a small community, his body was transported to Kera in Gujarat for burial. The Ismaili community in Kharadar grew rapidly following a famine in Kutch in 1820, during which 250 Ismailis families fled the area to settle in Kharadar, where they built their first house of worship in the
Kagzi Bazar ("Paper Market") in 1825.
The area housed the headquarters of the Ismaili faith in Pakistan, until they were moved north to Garden. Kharadar also has a large Memon community.
Tourism
File:Memon Masjid 4.jpg|New Memon Masjid
File:Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Birth Place Kharadar Karachi.jpg|Wazir Mansion
File:Allah Rakha Park.jpg|Allah Rakha Park
File:KPTKarachi1.jpg|Karachi Port Trust
Kharadar remains a major tourist destination in Karachi. The New Memon Masjid's Foundation-Stone was laid on 24 August 1949 By the Governor General Khuwaja Nazim UD Din.
See also
External links
