Ø Occupation of Karachi, 1839:
The British had planned to occupy Karachi in order to use the resources of Sindh for the Afghan campaign and to get the facility of transport for the passage of their troops. For this purpose, Henry Pottinger who was the British resident in Hyderabad from 1838-1840, threatened the Mir Noor Muhammad Talpur:
"Karachi would be occupied if war provisions were not made available to the British."
On the other side, Governor General Lord Auckland sent Lieutenant East Wick, Colonel Outram and Lieutenant Leckie to Hyderabad for a new agreement and to persuade the Mir's to pay a subsidy to the British army.
When the British advanced towards Afghanistan, the Mirs were reluctant to help, and then the British Colonel Henry Pottinger suggested the Bombay government that the reserved army be prepared to attack the Karachi fort. In result to Henry Pottinger's suggestion, the Bombay Government formed a contingent of reserved forces to occupy Karachi under the supervision of Commandant Colonel Valiant. On 31 January 1839, he had received a short note by Bombay Government that "Proceed to Karachi and take it".
On 7th February 1839, British troops occupied "Karachi and its coastal areas" to better monitor the affairs of the Russian Empire, Central Asia and Afghanistan. Instead of the local businessmen of Karachi, the wealthy businessmen sided with the British power to protect their interests. The assistance given to the British was acknowledged and due to this assistance the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Frederick Maitland, was asked to protect Seth Naomal's family and his property in Karachi. Seth Naomal ancestors were traders and due to inefficiency of Kharak Bandar, they came to the shores of the Arabian Sea in search of a new port. Thus his great-grandfather Bhojomal founded the city of Karachi. Gradually, his family became one of the most successful business families in Karachi. Their trade relations extended to various countries in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. The British also had trade posts in Sindh, so Seth Naomal Hotchand also had friendly and business relations with the British. Thus, the British for the sake of their hidden interest to occupied Karachi had forged friendly relations with the local merchant Seth Naomal. According to Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi, “if Naomal had not betrayed, Sindhi Muslims would still be riding on horses and camels, and Sindhi Hindus would be riding on donkeys and mules”
As Khuhro explained that British administration took interest in Karachi because:
“Karachi was also the most convenient location for a maritime colonial power. The city was to be developed to serve as ‘the port nearest to Europe’-a military necessity…as the port that would open up not only the hinterland of Sindh itself, but the entire northwestern areas of the subcontinent and also be the port of areas to the north-west, which could thus be safeguarded from the embrace of the Russian bear.”
Karachi had a striking value both by land and sea routes. In order to take permanent advantage of these routes, the British had taken several steps to increase the development activities in Karachi. In this way, the people there had directly or indirectly benefited from those development works.
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