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    The 1st Karachi Biennale 2019 Roundtable: Displacement and Social Ecology

    Written by: Varda Nisar
    Posted on: January 17, 2019 |

    (L-R) Naziha Ali, Dr. Gul Hassan Kalmati, Aquila Ismail and Shahana Rajani

    With its first event of the year, it can be safely stated that the official program for the second edition of Karachi Biennale 2019 (KB19) has taken off. The 2019 edition would focus on Ecology and the Environment, and how artists and social activists are addressing these concerns. The first KB19 Roundtable, held on 11th January, at Alliance Francaise, focused on the theme of “Displacement and Social Ecology,” and was part of the Discursive Programming.

    As explained by Niilofur Farrukh, Chair for the Discursive Committee KB19 and CEO KBT, a total of 3 roundtables are scheduled for this year, focusing on themes which are diverse in nature and include issues like Security Architecture, and Fake News. The roundtables were first introduced during KB17 when a total of 4 were held, and filled the void that exists in the Pakistani Art World in terms of documented or archival material’s availability for research purposes. The Discursive was meant to correct this by providing a strong component to go hand in hand with the exhibition, bringing together different practitioners to contribute to this realm. Another component of the Discursive, the “South-South Dialogue” which also made its debut in 2017, with its focus on Latin America, will be revised for this edition and shift the spotlight to Africa for 2019.

    Shahana Rajani giving her presentation on the growth of Karachi

    Shahana Rajani giving her presentation on the growth of Karachi

    The speaker for this round of discussion was Shahana Rajani, whose work focuses on research-based projects and collaborations, through which she explores alternate discourses and counter-geographies. Exploring cities and urban centers as the theme of the evening, she discussed the notions of development within the context of Karachi by talking about two of her projects, which based themselves on visual politics and visuality, and how facts and fiction come together in the visual domain to create a narrative that isn’t always accurate. Both of her projects document the often unresolved and forgotten history behind any development and the violence that is complicit in achieving those goals.

    Starting off from the city tours that she had co-created with Zahra Malkani under the banner of Karachi LaJamia, she talked about how development is designed to push certain elements of society to the fringes by those who hold the power, and is never as random as it is made out to be. For example, the shifting of Karachi University to the outskirts of the city was a calculated deliberation on the part of those who saw the power of student unions during the 1953 protests. The same is the case for the Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum – the site of which was home to around 5000 people, who were forcefully removed to Korangi at the outskirts of the city, to eliminate the eye-sour from the city center. However, despite these brutalities, Shahana emphasizes the silence of the Archives, history and the narrative around development. To correct this, one approach that has been taken by her is to document the houses that existed on the site of the Mausoleum, thus effectively creating a counter-geography and narrative.

    The presentation

    The presentation

    Another project, “Gadap Series” again focuses on the visual and its link to promote ideals that favor development. The project has been undertaken in collaboration with the Karachi Indigenous Rights Alliance, and highlights how Gadap has been overtaken by giants like Bahria by presenting Gadap as a barren, desert site, much in need of a developmental project that epitomizes straight lanes and roads. The issue then becomes of how to counter the visuality that is created to promote a certain idea in favor of another. The result has been an interactive website ofstruggle.com which documents the violence and subjugation of Gadap under Bahria.

    The presentation was followed by a panel discussion, whose first speaker Aquila Ismail presented a link between displacement and dispossession. She touched upon her personal history, of first migrating in 1947 to East Pakistan and then in 1971 to West Pakistan, and the feelings of loss of home and social fabric each time one is displaced. She discussed the work that had been done by Parveen Rahman, the social activist and Director Orangi Pilot Project, who was working to document many of the goths (small settlements) which came under the wrath of such development projects. Despite being on those lands for decades, their legal status was often used against them to displace them in favor of multimillion-dollar projects and housing schemes. However, by documenting these goths, their existence was put down on paper and gave them legal rights– which is what led to her untimely death.

    Aquila Ismail and Shahana Rajani

    Aquila Ismail and Shahana Rajani

    Dr. Gul Hasan Kalmatti further emphasized the repercussions of displacement, and how females are the most impacted by this, whose livelihood is dependent on these lands in a number of ways, including vegetation, and harvesting of seasonal vegetables. Beyond this, it is also the intangible cultural aspects which come directly under threat when a goth is destroyed.

    Naziha Ali opened up with how it was her research into Parveen Rahman’s death that led her to explore the underbelly of developmental projects, particularly Bahria, about which no one was talking. This was despite the fact that this development had led to people not only losing their homes and culture, but also translated into extreme ethnic violence, rifts amongst families and communities, and further sidelining and silencing of indigenous voices.

    The audience

    The audience

    It will not be wrong to say that the first roundtable has set a bold tone for what one should expect from this edition of Karachi Biennale. It will also not be far-fetched to emphasize how it has brought to the foreground the work of social activists and artists attempting to awaken the social consciousness of our society. Their work is critical in highlighting the many voices that have been silenced, and it is this work that makes artists such an important part of any society.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

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    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
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    January 2021