The Lives of Violence: An Ethnographic Account of Karachi University’s Entanglements with Rangers
Abstract
Karachi University’s relationship with student politics dates back to its inception. It was the students who demanded a public university’s right. My hopes and aspirations were to understand the reasons for the diminishing freedom of students inside the campus. I identify Rangers as a body representing the state to maintain security and order inside the Karachi University campus. I put forth a question of relationship and connection between the lived experiences of students and Rangers. I chose my method of inquiry to be ethnographic. The method allowed me to center human experiences and human voices in my research. I identify that the presence of Rangers over a sustained period is a product of anxiety rooted in the historical memory of student clashes and violence. Lastly, I look into the modalities of violence inflicted on the students by the Rangers for raising questions that threaten the writ of the state.
