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1. You have done more than a decade of fieldwork in Lyari, written multiple articles and even made a documentary. How did you first get drawn into Lyari as a research site?Interestingly, it was my PhD research, which I conducted in the area of Zakir Nagar in Delhi in the early 2000s, that drew me to Lyari. When I first visited Lyari in 2012, I realised that many of the issues I had explored in Zakir Nagar — such as the experiences of marginalisation and stigmatisation of Muslims in Delhi — were echoed by the residents there. Both Zakir Nagar and Lyari were considered dens of crime and terrorism by mainstream media, but the reality was far more complex. While the discrimination in Zakir Nagar was related largely to religious identity, the marginalisation in Lyari was connected more with ethnicity and class. I was drawn to the stories narrated by the residents of this area and by the diversity, vibrancy and rich history of this neighbourhood — an area proudly called ‘Karachi ki maan’ (the pride of Karachi) — by those who call it home. 2. Lyari’s tumultuous gang history has rarely featured in mainstream Pakistani cinema. Why have filmmakers stayed away?Perhaps the main reason Lyari’s conflict has not been the subject of a feature film or drama series in Pakistan is that those largely responsible for the violence are still in power —namely, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the military establishment, both of whom used Lyari for their own political purposes. The PPP countered the city’s most powerful political party at the time, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), by allying with criminal gangs in Lyari, thus strengthening their power. Furthermore, approximately 50% of Lyari’s 1.5 million residents are Baloch, and the area has long been an important site for Baloch political organising. Many residents believe that the military has an interest in supporting the gangs to counter Baloch nationalism in the area.3. There are stories of how Rehman Dakait ordered his associates to play football with the severed heads of rival gang members. Does the film’s portrayal of Dakait as the terrifying overlord of the area capture reality?‘Dhurandhar’ seems to be almost completely based on fantasy. The only thing the film gets right is the fact that Rehman Dakait existed and that he was powerful. However, Rehman is not remembered as a terrifying monster by residents of the area. While he was certainly feared and known to have a great capacity for violence, he was also respected by many in the community and was seen as a kind of Robin Hood figure who supported members of his community through charitable initiatives and social work. When he died, the country’s greatest philanthropist, Abdul Sattar Edhi, even attended his funeral. By the time the infamous football incident took place in 2013, Rehman had long been dead. This brutal act was ordered by Uzair Baloch along with another famous gangster, Baba Ladla. 4. What aspects of Lyari life does your documentary ‘Shadowlands’ highlight—stories that rarely find space next to gang sensationalism?Karachi has gone through many cycles of violence over the past decades. In general, those in power allow the violence to continue as long as it suits their interests. When it starts to go out of their control, an ‘operation’ is launched to return the monopoly of violence back to the state. This is what happened in Lyari as well in 2013. While the dominant narrative after the ‘Karachi Operation’ was that peace had returned to Lyari and Karachi as a whole, few spoke of the thousands of people whose lives had been upended by the violence. ‘Shadowlands’ tells the story of two people who lost members of their families during the conflict, either in encounter killings or in inter-gang violence. It shows how the scars of violence continue to colour the lives of residents after the conflict officially subsided and how the seeds of conflict — drugs, poverty, unemployment, and state neglect — remain in the area. 5. Has the area got a makeover? It’s produced quite a few hip hop stars in the last few years, including female rappers.One problem with ‘Dhurandhar’ is that it flattens the diversity and vibrancy of the area. Lyari has always been a hub for art and culture. It has also been influenced by global trends, particularly those tied to the African diaspora because it is home to many people who trace their origins to the African continent. I imagine hip hop and rap music resonated with the youth of Lyari because of cultural, political and social similarities shared with other urban areas globally where local forms of the genre have also emerged. In this sense, I would not say Lyari has had a makeover, but the relative peace following the years of gang war has certainly opened a space for art and culture to flourish in the area once again. 6. ‘Dhurandhar’ has divided viewers both in India and Pakistan. It has even been banned in the Gulf.Although I am not sure exactly what led to the ban, this reflects the growing resentment of Pakistanis (including those in the diaspora) to the caricatured and inaccurate depiction of their country in Bollywood films. Rehman Dakait’s entry song is actually in Arabic, which is not one of Pakistan’s indigenous languages, even if many learn it for religious purposes. It would make much more sense to have a song in Urdu or even Balochi. Arabic only feeds into the orientalist imagination of Pakistan as an ‘Islamic’ and, hence, ‘Arabised’ nation. Such exotic representations reinforce perceptions of Pakistanis as ‘other’. 7. You have studied feminist movements in both India and Pakistan, and in Lyari you did set out to show that feminism is not a dull, bleak affair and can be fun. Tell us about that.My work on feminism and fun in Lyari was an attempt to demonstrate how the women of Lyari (and women in Pakistan and Muslim women more generally) are not passive victims of violence. Rather, women and girls in Lyari push the boundaries of gender norms in their pursuit of fun and leisure, through quiet, everyday acts of resistance. They might not call this ‘feminism’, but that is not important. What is important is that they are challenging gender boundaries in multiple ways, which are also worth studying.8. You have written about how more women are participating in the fight for Baloch rights. To what extent has social media enabled this shift?I have researched how Baloch women involved with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) have been struggling for an end to state violence in Balochistan and for the rights of the Baloch people. They have emerged as leaders of their movement, and this has been partially facilitated by social media. Photos of women leaders such as Mahrang Baloch, who is currently in jail, and videos of their speeches, protests, and rallies are shared widely on various social media platforms. This has inspired other women and girls to join and has allowed the movement to expand and gain support within the province, nationally, and on a global scale. Go to Source
