This week 50 years ago: Karachi back as capital of Sindh.

Byline: Peerzada Salman

IT was a momentous week for Sindh. From the mid-1950s to 1970 Karachi did not function as capital of Sindh because of the One Unit system that the then rulers had come up with. But all of that reversed when on July 1, 1970 West Pakistan was dissolved and Karachi was back to being the Sindh capital. On June 30, in the evening, illuminations at Sindh Madressah, where the Quaid-i-Azam had studied, and on some other buildings, greeted the revival of Sindh with Karachi as its capital. However, according to a Dawn report, there were no scenes of jubilation in the city on the realisation of one of the major popular demands. Political parties and private organisations had not planned anything and officially there was no fanfare or flourish of trumpets. Apart from Sindh Madressah, the buildings that were lit up were Jinnah Courts, the Sindh Muslim College and the Sindh Muslim Law College.

Things were changing rapidly as per the renewed set-up, though. On July 1, Radio Pakistan Karachi's new half-hour daily Sindhi programme was launched with Sindhi music. It began with the very first couplet of Shah Abdul Latif's Risalo from a hamd. Also, the entire police force in the newly created province was now to be called the Sindh police. This was announced by Inspector General of Police Khwaja Masrur Hussain.

What didn't change were the issues that had begun to keep the authorities on their toes. On June 29, a news item revealed that the day before at least nine persons were injured in a brawl in Nafisabad that took place when a ball hit a stationary truck and the frenzied driver ran after the boys who were playing with it. As many as eight persons were arrested for forming an unlawful assembly and indulging in rioting.

Health-wise, too, things didn't...