Daily Times

A book titled Lyari on the Rise authored by a final-year student of English department at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University Lyari (BBSUL), Umair Razzaq, was launched at the university.

Prof Dr Akhter Baloch said, “Lyari has a lot of talented and educated sons of soil. I have always seen extraordinary talent in Lyari in the field of art, culture, literature, sports, journalism, music and education.”

He further said that the way Umair began a debate with the mainstream media was remarkable. At a very young age, he seemed firmly committed to showcasing a brighter Lyari to the media for which, Umair already has done a lot.

“I call it a new horizon for the phalanx of energetic youth who tend to contribute for the betterment of their society. Lyari, undoubtedly, needs to be reclaimed politically, socially, literary and culturally. The young author like Umair has found a new way of redefining Lyari,” he added.

Addressing the audience, author Umair Razzaq lamented that the national media is biased when it comes to stories related to Lyari. He further remarked that Lyari has been destroyed due to parachute journalism. “This book is a counter narrative to both national media and parachute journalists’ perception about Lyari in order to show them what a citizen journalist can do.”

He added that the book refers to the time (2015 – 2017) when Lyari was making progress socially, economically, literally and politically.

“When we say Lyari that means the first settlement of Kolachi which, after going through many phases, later adopted the name of prospering Karachi. Because of this historic reality, the people of this oldest neighborhood usually like to call themselves ‘pioneers’ of this great cosmopolitan city,” writer Ramazan Baloch said while addressing the ceremony.

He further stated that the people of Lyari have some grievances that encompass their political exploitation, poverty, unstable life style and economic deprivation. But the thing that usually hits them hard is somewhat a planned marginalisation by the media which shows them as a criminal lot.

“The author of this book represents the Lyari youth who saw and experienced a phase of terror and extreme violence some years back. But the pertinent point is that they never let themselves be washed away with pessimism. They sustained their positive approach and always kindled the light of hope and sanity. They continued thinking high and faced the chaos with objectivity and resilience,” Mr Baloch explained.

Another panelist, Abid Hussain Brohi said that Umair Razzaq is known among those who portray the things just the way they are. “He has been fulfilling his social and journalistic responsibilities with great fervor. He documented every event that took place in the town through his writings.”

Poet Waheed Noor said that there were few nasty faces who were empowered by the external powers in order to label the whole Lyari with a notoriety. This target was achieved through print and electronic media which continuously kept highlighting “scripted violence” with exaggeration while blurring those positive and progressive details in the background.

“Having passed through a very difficult, excruciating, nerve breaking and dark journey, we are again about to land on the enlightening, amicable, literary, cultural and artistic beach of prosperity,” Noor maintained. He added that Umair Razzaq wants people to change their narrative about Lyari and highlight all that is good.

Vice Chancellor of BBSUL, Prof Dr Akhter Baloch graced the event as the chief guest. The event was moderated by a senior and prominent educator from Lyari Mr Jalil Ibrahim.

Published in Daily Times, April 30^th 2018.