Karachi during WWII

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ex-l

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Karachi during WWII

Post26 Jul 2017

During WWII, the early Brahma Kumaris, called "the Om Mandli" was situated in Karachi in British Sind. Now Pakistan.

The BKs are currently re-writing all their early, vividly apocalytic "End of the World-ism" as the euphemistic ... and somewhat disingenuous (read: dishonest) ... "sense of urgency".

But what could have inspired such fearfulness ... such surety that they were at the very End of the World ... and loathing for the rest of the world in Lekhraj Kirpalani?

That's has been explored in other topics but I found this an interesting insight into what Karachi looked like at the time and how the Western world, the "Science Proud Christian Cats" who were going to bring about the final annihilation of humanity, must have impacted upon his and their minds.

As war raged in Europe and North America, and the Japanese stormed all over Asia pushing the Western imperialist out, the British capital of Calcutta became unsafe for the Allied airforces meaning that Karachi had to become a transit point for British and American aircraft flown over the Atlantic or even assembled in Africa before hopping over "the Bump" (the Himalayas) from Karachi into China.

Everything from fighter planes, to heavy bombers to flying boats made their way even literally up Karachi's high street and down its creeks. B-24 Liberator Bombers, C-47 Transport Aircraft, P-40 fighters ...

The Karachi Airfield, seen below, was later converted to civilian use and today it is known as the Jinnah International Airport.

What is clear from the photos is how backwards and under-developed Karachi was. Knowing the noise of these aircraft, there is no way that the BKs would have not noticed them as they took off and flew overhead, let along rolled down their high street!

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Karachi_WII_3.jpg
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ex-l

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Re: Karachi during WWII

Post26 Jul 2017

That last photo is RAF flying boat base at Korangi Creek which the British RAF leased in 1942, a few hundred yards from Clifton Beach where the BKs spent so much time. It's now a state-of-the-art facility for Pakistani Air Force out of which 'unmanned aerial vehicle' (UAV) fly for the Pakistan Defence Forces.

What is now Jinnah International looked like this ...

Many other records, including list of "evil" cinemas and their shows document life for Westerners passing through Karachi at the time was like.

Karachi_Airfield.jpg
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ex-l

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Re: Karachi during WWII

Post27 Jul 2017

There was an English language booklet provided for American servicemen in Karachi called "A Guide to Karachi (1942)" that called it, "the cleanest city in the whole of India" and "Paris Of The East" under British rule. The author was Glen Garrelts (more photos).

No mention of God Brahma Kirpalani and the Om Mandli in it!

Under 'Indian Islamic' rule, Karachi now tends generates headlines like “the most dangerous city on Earth”, “the most dangerous place for journalists”, “the worst country to live in as a woman” and “Pakistan’s dark heart ... dangerous, chaotic, ungovernable ... one of the most violent cities on Earth”. Apparently the Taliban have moved into the city, and begun a violent campaign against Shia Muslims, terrorizing and assassinating people in mosques, in the streets and demoralizing them by targeting their intellectuals such as doctors and teachers.

(Religion? Thank God for atheism in my book).

The book mentions the Victoria Museum (now the Supreme Court of Pakistan building) holding artefacts from Mohan-Jo-Daro dating back 5,000 years.
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Re: Karachi during WWII

Post29 Jul 2017

Just as an aside, Karachi was a sleepy fishing village of about 14,000 when the British conquered the Sind in 1842, about 40 years before the birth of Lekhraj Kirpalani. By the time they left around 1947, and the Om Mandli remained, it had grown to 400,000.

Contrary to the BKs' exaggerated version of history, many Hindu Sindhis actually remained in the area after Partition. It was only really in the northern provences that they left. Their safety was not "magical".

We've discussed elsewhere possible Christian influences on BKism, there were not only British and Americans in the region, and their Christian priest and missionaries, others came, e.g. from Australia and New Zealand.

British missionaries arrived as early as 1852 and started distributing literature in Urdu and Sindhi language. By 1880, there was a publishing house which became 1930, the Sindh Christian Literature Society. They established themselves in Karachi and Hyderabad and toured villages widely.

Whilst Lekhraj Kirpalani condemned non-BKs as the lowest classes, e.g. calling us Shudras, according to 'Jars of Clay: Ordinary Christians on an Extraordinary Mission in Southern Pakistan' by Pauline A. Brown (2006) at the same time, many real caste born Hindu Chuhras (a "polluting" caste of hereditary sweepers) converted and started to list their religion as "Christian" during the 1920s and 30s.

There's an early history of them in, 'The missions of the Church Missionary Society and the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society in the Punjab and Sindh" (1904). See also, 'Catalogue of the papers of the
Church of England Zenana Missionary Society 1872­ to 1968' catalogued by Rosemary A Keen, University of Birmingham, 1987/

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Re: Karachi during WWII

Post31 Jul 2017

Great photos. Thank you! Gives some context to the formative years of the Om Mandli.
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ex-l

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Re: Karachi during WWII

Post31 Jul 2017

It certainly dates from the period when Lekhraj Kirpalani was at his most apocalyptic and writing to the "Military Marshals" encouraging them to carry out scorched earth tactics on the world.

Imagine the impact of that happening to a nearly 60 year old man who grew up in a dusty village with only those donkeys as transport. If you've never heard the equivalent of a WWII heavy bomber flying over head, they literally shake the ground. One of the most chilling sounds you will hear, considering they are "deliverers of death".

Where I live we used to get the WWII memorial 'fly overs' going right over head each year. It's a really low pitch, reverberating drone of open exhausts. 4 x 12 cylinders roaring.

I'd need to go back and review the earlier writings to find out when exactly the apocalytic messages began, perhaps they were just inspired by and riding on all the excitement of this going on.

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