Karachi: A piece of ripped cloth is draped over the gate of the Jewish graveyard in Mewa Shah, Lyari, Karachi, Sindh. The gate bears the symbol of the Star of David, designed as an equilateral triangle – an indication of its longevity. The ripped cloth, however, is a better representative of Karachi’s Jewish graveyards – torn asunder by the vagaries of time and the indifference of its people.
The graveyard is now covered in weeds and a Baloch woman who saw me approaching it warns me not to enter but later relents. She should not have bothered; the thorny weeds do a fine job of preventing anyone from having easy access to the graves.
Cheel Chowk was known as Abraham Chowk. “Up until 1998, people used to call it Abraham Chowk and now it is known as Cheel Chowk.”
Aamna Baloch says
Most of the graves have surrendered to the wrath of time, some broken while others have become one with the earth with no proof that they ever existed.
Jewish graveyard
Karachi is home to two Jewish graveyards one at Kachhi Memon Qabristan, Cheel Chowk and another at Mewa Shah. The latter is also referred to as Bene Israel. The one at Mewa Shah has 400 graves most of which are now dilapidated.
The canopies atop some of the graves remind you of the Chaukandi graveyard. Most graves have names in Hebrew and English and the Star of David.
The ones that have survived are beautifully carved.
Two graves stand apart as they are placed in a room. Their special treatment however did not save them from the wear and tear that is a hallmark of most graves here. The two graves belong to Solomon David and his wife. Solomon, who died at 60, was elected as the president of the Jewish Community and surveyor of Karachi Municipality.
Read: Chaukandi graveyard: They lived as royals and were buried as one too!
A young Baloch, who accompanied us, said they believe Solomons might have been affluent and that could explain why the couple’s graves were in a room.
The other Jewish graveyard is the Kachhi Qabristan in Cheel Chowk, which was initially in possession of Jews but is now under the Kachhi Community. It has around 26 graves. The local Baloch are familiar with the grave but are reluctant to share information as they don’t want to get into trouble.
Many 50-year-olds in the area recall how they used to play in the Jewish graveyard as children.
Jews in Karachi
Jews made significant contributions to Karachi, the capital of Sindh. In fact, Jews and Sindhis share a long history. Yet, there is not much information about Karachi’s Jewish history despite it being home to two large Jewish graveyards which proves the community once thrived here.
According to the Jewish Virtual Library, the Jews arrived in Karachi in the early 20th Century and they spoke Marachi.
. “In 1893, the Jews of Karachi built the Magain Shalome Synagogue. In 1936, one of the leaders of the Jewish community, Abraham Reuben, became the first Jewish councilor of the city corporation,” the Jewish Virtual Library stated.
Aamna Baloch, an activist, recalled that as an eighth grader, Cheel Chowk was known as Abraham Chowk. “Up until 1998, people used to call it Abraham Chowk and now it is known as Cheel Chowk,” she said.
The late historian Gul Hassan Kalmati in his book on Karachi titled ‘Karachi Sindh Ji Marvi’ said, “The 1907 Sindh Gazette showed that the Jewish population in Karachi was 428 in 1901.”
The book said the Jews lived in Lawrence Kavater, Jubilee Market Karachi, and Hoti Market where they had a synagogue which was later demolished to build a plaza. However, things took a turn for the worse during Partition as religion got embedded with politics.
The Arab-Israel fight only aggravated this situation and many Jews began to flee to other nations. Those who could not afford to leave called themselves Paris or Bohris. In 1950 when the government carried out a survey one of the questions pertained to religion and local Jews, afraid of revealing their identity, preferred to be counted as Parsis or Bohris.
The Baloch guardians
For generations, several Baloch families have protected the Jewish graveyards and remain as committed as their ancestors to save them. The Baloch fear that the graveyards will fall into the hands of land grabbers who will raze the tombs to build other graveyards. In fact, they don’t speak much about the graves.
Architect and town planner, Arif Hassan declined to comment on the Jewish graveyard stating he did not know about the graveyards except for a few pictures of them. Hassan’s comments come as a surprise as earlier he had spoken about the Jewish graveyards.
The Jewish graveyards represent an important chapter of Sindh’s past and the Sindh government needs to ensure that they are protected under the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act 1994.
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