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Moses Somake: Flagstaff House at Karachi, Pakistan

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Moses Somake Although Moses Somake’s buildings are among the most famous and recognizable in Karachi, little is known about the architect who designed them. Somake was born on June 6, 1875, possibly in Lahore. Sources describe him as an Iraqi Jew, but differ as to whether he was born in Iraq or was of Iraqi heritage but born in India. He spent most of his life in Karachi before emigrating to England in the mid 1940s, and died on April 6, 1947.² During his years in Karachi he designed over a dozen buildings, including mansions, hotels, and a mosque that was never built.³ Many of the buildings still remain: some, including the Karachi Goan Association Hall and the BVS Parsi School, still fulfill their original purpose, while others are neglected or have fallen into disuse. Even the buildings that are virtually abandoned are still recognized as some of Karachi’s most beautiful and striking landmarks, emblematic of a style described as “hauntingly beautiful”.⁴ Somake’s buildings preserve the past through their uses as well as their designs, recalling the greater religious diversity that existed in Karachi in the early 20th century, when a Jewish architect could be commissioned to design a mosque, a building for a predominantly Christian club, and a school for Zoroastrian students.

History The building originally called Flagstaff House and now known as the Quaid-e-Azam House was designed and constructed by Moses Somake in the 1890s. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan, purchased the house in August 1943. He moved his belongings there in 1947, after the partition of India, and occupied the house until his death the following year. From 1948 to 1964, his sister Fatima Jinnah occupied the house, during which time the house was often a focal point for political dissent. After she left Flagstaff House, it lay abandoned until 1985, when the state purchased it and refurbished it into a museum dedicated to the statesman and his sister.⁵

Historical Preservation The Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act of 1994 gave protected status to around six hundred buildings in Karachi, including Flagstaff House.⁶ As Karachi continues to grow at a breakneck speed, it is often easy and profitable to demolish historic sites and replace them with larger and more useful buildings: land is more valuable than history. While the Act theoretically provides government funding to maintain and restore historic buildings, in practice that money rarely appears, and the buildings’ protected statuses are not effectively enforced.⁷ Fortunately, Flagstaff House, as a museum owned by the state, is in no danger of destruction.

Karachi's Jewish Population In the early 19th century, Jews of the Bene Israel communities in India migrated to Indian costal towns, including Karachi. By the 1890s, Karachi had a thriving Jewish population; the city’s Magan Shalome synagogue was constructed in 1893.⁸ The Jewish community played a role in shaping Karachi’s development—whether through the physical development of the city, as architect Moses Somake’s buildings transformed the landscape, or through political influence. Two prominent members of the Jewish community in the early 20th century were heavily involved in Karachi’s government. Solomon David Omerdekar, who spearheaded the effort to construct the synagogue, held several positions in the local government, and a street named after him still exists to this day.⁹ Abraham Reuben served as the first Jewish city councilor, elected to the city council three times between 1919 and 1939.¹⁰ According to several accounts, Karachi in the early 20th century was a very tolerant city, with diverse religious populations coexisting peacefully.¹¹ While the Jewish population was around 2500 at the time of partition, mass emigrations to Israel in the 1950s reduced the population to less than 300 by 1968.

Karachi, Pakistan

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