A Pakistani Christian holds candles at the grave of his relative in Gora Cemetery to mark All Souls Day, also known as the Day of the Dead, in Karachi, Nov. 2, 2009. Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim, but has a small Christian population. (Athar Hussain/Reuters)

Karachi: A place for all souls

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Pakistan, intended as a place for India's Muslims after partition, makes its Christians and Hindus feel welcome, too.

By H.M. Naqvi — Special to GlobalPost

Published: November 7, 2009 11:14 ET
Updated: November 7, 2009 16:59 ET

KARACHI, Pakistan — In a country not associated with plurality, the statics are surprising: 3 million Hindus and about 3 million Christians live in Pakistan. That's about the population of Israel or Denmark.

And while the Muslim majority periodically grates with each community — in the early 1990s, the razing of the Ayohdya mosque in India led to a series of reprisal attacks on Hindu temples in Pakistan — both celebrated annual festivals in the last 10 days without incident, and with all the “traditional fervor” they could muster.

Down Bandar Road, a major thoroughfare connecting Karachi to the sea, the opening rites associated with Diwali, the festival of lights, were held at the 150-year-old Swami Narayan Temple in the last week of October.

Like most edifices of historic significance in the city, the temple is obscured by the haphazard surrounding modern construction. One enters through an unremarkable archway flanked on either side by eateries and shops, mostly manned by bearded Pathan textile merchants. Inside, an ornate spire rises, adorned with beaded lights on special occasions.

The air wafts incense. A set of stairs lead to the area of worship and the adjacent yard that houses larger-than-life figures of the god Ram and the goddess Sita, perched on a swing. This year, however, the artifacts remained shrouded.

Several cameras and crews were present on the premises — Dunya TV and KTN — capturing women in pink, yellow, saffron and lime saris, often wearing matching bindis on their foreheads; children dressed in their Sunday best; and young men sporting handkerchiefs on their heads, intent on exploding firecrackers.

According to a crew of old timers sucking beedies by the entrance, and the garrulous popcorn-wallah, the “music program” that typically accompanies the celebrations had not been taking place for several years due to crowd control and “security problems.” There seemed to be a consensus among people that “things were better” (“haalat behtar thay”) during Musharraf’s tenure although the sentiment is obviously anecdotal.

Devotees lit lamps and candles in honor of the triumphant return of Ram who rescued his wife with the help of the monkey-god Hanuman from the 10-headed, Sri Lankan monster. Prayers took place before animate statues of Krishna and Hanuman. Money was laid at their feet. Kisses were bestowed on their toes. The prayers, the worshippers maintained, would continue into the night.

Across town a week later, in a necropolis known as Gora Kabristan, the party would also continue all night. On Nov. 2, All Souls Day was held in Karachi and across the country. Even before dusk, cars, vans, taxis and rickshaws had parked along the northern boundary of the graveyard, bound by Korangi Road, where traffic was bumper-to-bumper for several hours. On the sidewalk, hundreds congregated.