Karim Lala

Karim Lala (1911 - February 19, 2002), born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in Kunar province of Afghanistan, The First King Of Indian Mafia and the The Last King Of Pathans, The Silent Ruler of the streets of Mumbai. He went to work in Mumbai’s docks in the early 1940s via Peshawar, but he rose to prominence, along with Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar. Karim Lala and his fellow Mafia leaders were based in Mumbai. They were involved in Smuggling Jewellery, Running Gambling and Liquor Dens, Extortion Rackets and selling Hashish. Karim Lala was an ethnic Pashtun, he died on February 19, 2002, at the age of 90.

Karim Lala, a Pathan, had the ubiquitous distinction of being the first underworld don of Mumbai. The rise of Karim Lala from a nondescript immigrant Pathan to a much-feared underworld don is no less than what Bollywood films are made of. In the early '30s, KarimLala made his way from the hilly tracts of Shigal in Afghanistan to the bright lights of Mumbai. He never went back. Along theway, he also realised the needs of a city that was fast becoming a metropolis. Lala consolidated the Pathans in the city and made it known that goons were available, for a price, to settle disputes that one wanted resolved without resorting to the jurisdiction of law. Lala's men were hired by ordinary people to terrorise and settle disputes through muscle power. Thus, started the cult of dadagiri on an organised scale.Later, Lala befriended other dons Haji Mastan, Yusuf Patel and Varadarajan Mudaliar of Matunga — and supplied his men to them. He was also the one to outlive the other old-time dons. Lala's family, however, asserts that he wasn't involved in any malpractice. According to Brother Muhammad Sher Khan Pathan, although Karim Lala was friendly with Haji Mastan and others, they had different business dealings. "Karim Lala was always busy with his two hotels Al Karim Hotel and New India Hotel. Later, he opened a travel and passport agency New India Tours and Travels. He was never involved in smuggling, narcotics or anyother illegal activity. But he got the blame because Haji Mastan and others were his friends" says Zaffar Khan.Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind His family is also quick to highlight the good work that Lala did under the aegis of Pakhtoon Jirga-e-Hind, an organisation of Khudai Khidmatgars, of which he was the presidentfor 30 years. According to Lala's family, the organisation was started after Partition and Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, appointed Lala to address the problems of the Pathan community.Lala, to his credit, dispatched his duty with élan. He settled disputes, arranged shelter and food for the needy, organised marriages, Haj trips.

He was the proverbial Godfather to the community and refused to get involved only in divorces. His wife Fauziya recalls, "Many people came for help in divorce but he always told them `Main milaoonga par alag nahi karoonga.'" Till his lastdays, Lala continued to be a mediator and address problems of not only the Pathan community but others as well. Perhaps what made him so popular was his lack of distinction for the rich and poor. His evening durbars at his house addressed the problems of both classes of society. Bollywood Lala was also known to be close to the film industry and had many friends in Bollywood whom he helped. Zaffar Khan recalls the time when actress Helen came to Karim Lala for help. "Helen's friend P.N. Arora had taken away all her earnings and was refusing to give her any money. A desperate Helen went to Dilip Kumar, who told her to meet Karim Lala. Helen came to meet Karim Lala with a letter from Dilip Kumar. Lala mediated in the matter and Helen got her money back," says Zaffar Khan. In fact, Lala inspired many reel characters in Bollywood. Kader Khan's role in Angaar, the character of Sher Khan enacted by Pran in Zanjeer, Badshah Khan in Khuda Gawah, all had shades of Karim Lala in them. Perhaps the best enactment, according to Lala's family, was Dharmendra's in Hathyaar."It was like watching baba on screen," says his daughter. Sanjay Khan even offered him a role in Kala Dhanda, Gora Log but Lala refused it. The script was then changed and Sunil Dutt taken in. Actor Kader Khan recalls his association with Lala."Karim Lala was from the same area where I spent my childhood. While growing up, I used to oftensee Karim Lala come to the dargah. Being a fellow Pathan, I would watch him from a distance. He used to take advice from my father who was a scholar," says Khan, adding that Lala did a lot of good work for immigrants from Afghanistan."Pathans are a backward, illiterate, poor community. Karim Lala looked after them. He was a kind-hearted man who helped every person irrespective of caste or creed. He was a real don, resembling one of those characters in Hindi films," adds Khan. While it would be easy to romanticise the philanthropic work done by Karim Lala, it may be recalled that Lala and his men introduced inter-gangrivalry and brought violence to the streets of Mumbai. A fellow Pathan, police inspector Shamsher Khan Pathan, has no sympathies for Lala. When Mr Khan was posted as a sub-inspector in Dongri police station, he arrested Lala's bodyguard Shamshuddin for possessing an imported revolver without a license. An inquiry was conducted, as it was an illegal weapon, but Shamshuddin, subsequently, got bail."I have never sympathisednor supported Karim Lala even though I am a Pathan myself. I am a loyal government servant and Pathans and Pandits are equal to me. I have never met Karim Lala but I know that he used to avoid me. Ihad a reputation of being hot-tempered and I had arrested one of his bodyguards," says Mr Khan. He adds that he has never heard of any good deed done by Karim Lala and instead recalls the time when Lala was accused of setting a slum on fire."In 1984-85, there was a landlord-tenant dispute in Dawood Bagh in Shuklaji Estate, Nagpada. The landlord wanted the tenants to be evicted as hewanted to develop the land. There was a dispute and the slum was burnt down. Karim Lala was supposedly the one who set it on fire. A charge-sheet was filed in Nagpada. However, I heard that he was acquitted later," recalls Mr Khan. He also accuses Lala of introducing inter-gang rivalry in Mumbai. "In Mumbai, all the areas where dadagiri flourished were generally controlled by Muslims. Conflict with Dawood Ibrahim In the 1970s-80s, the Pathan leader Lala got intoconflict with the Konkani gang led by Dawood Ibrahim which started the gang war," says Mr Khan. In the mid-80s, as a result of this rivalry, Lala's nephew Samad Khan was killed by Dawood Ibrahim. Dawood also lost his brother Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar when Amirzada, a Pathan from Lala's gang, killed him near Prabhadevi.