Habib University participated in the Third International Conference on Karachi, with faculty from School of Science and Engineering and School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences reading from their findings about the city of Karachi. Representatives from the University present at the conference were Dr. Hasan Ali Khan, Assistant Professor at the School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Dr. Shah Jamal Alam, Assistant Professor, Computer Sciences at School of Science and Engineering.
Held at the Arts Council of Pakistan from 6th to 8th November 2015, the three day event held some fascinating proceedings wherein celebrated icons of Pakistan read out their pieces on themes related to Karachi. The event was attended by people across the city, who were entertained by some excellent portrayals of Karachi in forms of film, poetry, papers and other mediums.
Dr. Hasan Ali spoke on the “Baba and Bhit islands” of Karachi, and the relevance and importance of the office of the “pir”. He related to the enraptured audience the culture of the pir’s and their followers, of how they would visit the pir regularly to confess their sins. He also touched upon how this whole culture came about historically, and its entrenchment into the society, culture and history of the city.
Meanwhile, Dr. Shah Jamal Alam talked about the residential segregation within the city of Karachi, and how it can be mapped in different mediums. He showed the audience a visual representation of Karachi’s massive, diverse population, and how the residents have settled into different areas and made history there. Relating to the segregation and the factors pertaining to it, he said the people of Karachi have distinct habits, and that the history of said people can be mapped with the use of qualitative data.
To find out more about the two professor’s sessions at the Third International Conference of Karachi, click the links below:
Forgive me Pir sahib, for I have sinned
