Ranchore Line (), officially named as Gazdarabad (), is a neighbourhood in the
Saddar Town
Saddar Town (صدر ٹاؤن) lies in the Karachi District (South), Karachi District South that forms much of the historic colonial core of Karachi, in the Sindh province of Pakistan. According to the 2023 Pakistani census, Saddar Subdivision ...
of
Karachi South district of
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
Pakistan, and part of
PS-108 constituency. The neighborhood is one of the oldest in Karachi. It has a predominantly
Muslim Marwaris population who hailed from
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
from 19th century. Gazadarabad is also home to Karachi's largest Hindu-dominated neighborhood,
Narayan Pura.
History
Gazdarabad was formerly called
Ranchore Line until around the 1950s. The name of the area was associated with a Hindu named Ranchor. The area was first built in the early days of the British Raj. With time, it became one of the most densely populated areas in the city. Before the
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
of Pakistan, the area was home to a majority of Hindus.
After the independence of Pakistan, the Karachi population increased dramatically when hundreds of thousands of
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
refugees (
Muhajirs) from India moved to Pakistan and settled in the city. The minority
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
s and
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
s
migrated to India while many
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s refugees from India settled in the Karachi. There was previously a local Jewish community including the former
Magain Shalome Synagogue.
The name was changed in the honour of
Muhammad Hashim Gazdar
Muhammad Hashim Gazdar (; 1 February 1893 – 19 February 1968) was one of the three representatives from Sindh to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and the second Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Early life
Gazda ...
, who belonged to the
Muslim Marwaris community and resided in the locality. Mr. Gazdar had been
Mayor of Karachi
Mayor of Karachi (Urdu: ; ) is the executive of the Karachi metropolitan corporation and the Karachi local government system of the city of Karachi, which is the third tier of governance in Pakistan after federal and provincial governments.
...
and one time deputy speaker of the Constitutional Assembly. Gazdarabad is home of
Muslim Marwari Community who migrated from
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
at and around the beginning of British Raj.
These people perfected the art of yellow stone masonry. Their artistic skills can be seen in all the British era buildings in Karachi.
See also
*
Silawat
The Silawat, also known as Sangtarash (both ), are from Marwar region of the state of Rajasthan in India. They are also present in the province of Sindh in Pakistan, also Karachi and Hyderabad, where they have different castes as well.
Distrib ...
*
Muhammad Hashim Gazdar
Muhammad Hashim Gazdar (; 1 February 1893 – 19 February 1968) was one of the three representatives from Sindh to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, and the second Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Early life
Gazda ...
References
External links
Karachi Website
{{coord missing, Karachi
Neighbourhoods of Karachi
Saddar Town