[Reader-list] SociologySeminar at SAU: Nida Kirmani

[Diya Mehra]

The Department of Sociology, South
Asian University cordially invite you to a seminar:  

Life
in a ‘No-go Area’: Experiences of Marginalisation and Resistance in Lyari,
Karachi 

by Dr. Nida Kirmani, Lahore
Institute of Management Sciences

Wednesday, March 4
2015, Wednesday, 2.30 pm, FSI Hall, South Asian
University, Akbar Bhawan, Chanakyapuri,New Delhi 

Abstract:
The case of Lyari in Karachi offers important insights into the ways in which
various communities of marginalized citizens experience the effects the
Pakistani nation-state at the local level. Referred to by its residents as
‘Karachi ki maan’ (the mother of Karachi), the area of Lyari predates the
creation of the Pakistan. As such, many of the area’s residents identify as
members of 'indigenous communities', distinguishing themselves from migrants
who arrived in Karachi after Partition, particularly those who came from India,
and claiming their right to the city. Over the past twelve years, Lyari has
come to be identified as one of the city’s 'no-go areas' because of on-going
conflicts between gangs, political parties, and state security agencies. The
residents of Lyari narrate a sense of marginalization from the rest of Karachi,
which began after Partition but which was significantly compounded as a result
of the conflict in the area.  In this
talk I will attempt to trace the economic, social and political roots of this
conflict, placing it within the context of the development of Karachi and the
Pakistani nation-state, through the multiple and competing narratives of its
residents.

Nida Kirmani is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Lahore
University of Management Sciences. Her research has previously explored the construction of the locality and identities amongst
women in a Muslim-majority neighbourhood in Delhi. After completing her PhD
from the University of Manchester, she studied the relationship of women's
movements in India and Pakistan with Islam. Her current research focuses on
issues of marginalisation and insecurity in the area of Lyari, Karachi.