Honouring heritage

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court had earlier ordered that the Mohatta Palace, a long-standing cultural landmark in Sindh and a frequented museum, be converted into a female-only Medical College. This understandably enraged many civil society activists and government officials alike, who took to social media and parliament to make clear their opposition to this decision.

In the past month the result of the massive objections towards the proposal of the SHC has led to the Sindh Government announcing that it will be opposing this decision and contesting it in court, subsequently the SHC issued a stay order regarding the ownership of the building leaving it in the ownership of the Sindh Government.

This saga began when the petitioners counsel, Khawaja Haris, filed a plea where held firm before the court that the heritage building is currently being used by the provincial government to fill its own pockets. He asserted that, “[Sindh Government officials] are just filling their pockets, and that the establishment of a medical college will shut down their businesses.”

However, the Sindh Government due to immense public support was able to hold onto the building. The Additional Advocate General had stated that, “the Sindh Government has decided to challenge the single-member bench’s verdict because it is illegal,” while adding that, “the [Sindh government] will take its arguments to a two-member bench.” Separately, the state prosecutor claimed that the orders to change the name of Mohatta Palace to ‘Qasre Fatima’ are also illegal.

A Quick History

The case had been pending in court since the 1970s and was initially contested by Fatima Jinnah’s relative, Hussain Waliji, soon after the succession certificate of Miss Jinnah’s properties was awarded to Shireen Jinnah Charitable Trust, which was made defendant in the petition.

The heritage building, designed by architect Ahmed Hussain Agha in the 1920s, exits on a 2.4 acres plot, and was owned by Hindu businessman Rai Bahadur Shiv Rattan Mohatta. After partition, the building was converted into the office of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later turned into the residence of Miss Fatima Jinnah. She also ran her presidential election campaign against Field Martial General Ayoub Khan from the building.

After Miss Jinnah death, “the building was abandoned and sealed till 1994 because of a dispute over it,” claimed former Sindh Culture Secretary Abdul Hamid Akhund. He added that, “credit goes to the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who listened to us and granted the money for the Sindh Government to purchase it.” Akhund further revealed that Rs61.8 million were arranged by Federal Government and after the valuation of property by the court, the money was deposited in SHC with the intent to distribute it among the legal heirs of Miss Fatima and Shireen Jinnah, and all parties in the case agreed on the payment. “Later, the court ordered to sell the palace to the Sindh Government in 1994,” he said. The building was then turned into a museum and the Mohatta Palace Gallery Trust was formed in order to promote the art and culture of Sindh.

Can it be done?

While there is currently a stay order in place, many are understandably enraged at this sudden move to turn Mohatta Palace into an educational institute. After many its many years as a heritage museum, it has upset many to see that the same would cease to exist if the SHC decision went through. With much of the debate around this decision revolving around the fact that turning this historical site into a university will damage the sanctity of the building, it begs the question: does it?

The first thing to consider here is that, doing something of the sort is nothing new. Across the globe, heritage site have been adapted for educational use. However, doing so requires sensitivity to historic detail, proper planning and clarity about their future new functions. Which many a skeptical the provincial government will be able to do. Furthermore, even if such an endeavor is possible, is there a need for this? Statistical evidence has not pointed towards the med for the construction a new medical university, and the public certainly does not want the building to be converted into one. At the moment, everything regarding the fate of the historic landmark rests in the hands of the Sindh Government making good on its promise to prevent the conversion from happening.