Been there | Karachi Profile

A Bengal tiger
Photo: Akhtar Soomro/EPA

What's in a name?

Ameerhamza

Karachi is the former capital of Pakistan. Once, when the British ruled India, it was a small fishing town that was just beginning to grow. The main reason for that growth push was the Arabian sea. To the credit of British administrators they had already recognized its immense importance.

Today, if Karachi closes down due to some problem, reverberations can be sensed across Pakistan and even Afghanistan. We are not sure about the origins of this city. What we know is that it had many different names, and after passing through those name-changing periods, finally it came to be called Karachi. No wonder then that this word 'Karachi' has no meaning in modern linguistics. Call it a proper noun.

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