Parsi Heritage in Karachi: Fire Temple, Schools and Landmarks

Parsi Karachi is easiest to see in two places: the old streets of Saddar, where the Behrana fire temple, the Parsi schools and the Eduljee Dinshaw dispensary stand within a short walk of each other, and the Clifton seafront, where Parsi benefactors built Jehangir Kothari Parade and the Katrak Bandstand. The community that built them is now very small. The 2023 census counted 2,348 Parsis in the whole of Pakistan, and an AFP report carried by Arab News in 2025 put the number in Karachi at about 900.

This guide covers the community's history in the city, the landmarks you can see, which places are private, and how to plan a heritage walk around them. For the Navroz festival itself, see our separate guide to Navroz with Karachi's Parsis.

Who are the Parsis of Karachi?

Parsis are Zoroastrians whose ancestors left Iran for western India more than a thousand years ago. From the mid-nineteenth century, after the British took Sindh, Parsi families came to Karachi from Bombay and Gujarat as traders, contractors and shipping agents, and settled around what is now Saddar. Over the next century they became one of the city's most influential communities, out of all proportion to their numbers.

They are a closed faith community. One does not convert to Zoroastrianism in the Parsi tradition, and marriage outside the community has been an ongoing debate. That, together with emigration, explains the long decline. The Arab News report describes young Parsis leaving for Canada, Australia, the UK and the United States, and quotes the hotelier Dinshaw Avari saying there is a better chance of finding a Zoroastrian partner abroad than in Pakistan.

A family link many Pakistanis know: Muhammad Ali Jinnah's wife, Rattanbai (Ruttie), was born into the Parsi Petit family of Bombay.

What does the Constitution say about minority communities?

Parsis, like every religious minority in Pakistan, are covered by the Constitution's fundamental rights:

• Article 20 says that every citizen has the right to profess, practise and propagate his religion, and every religious denomination has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions, subject to law, public order and morality.
• Article 22 says that no one attending an educational institution can be required to receive religious instruction, or take part in worship, of a religion other than their own.
• Article 36 says the State shall safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minorities, including their due representation in federal and provincial services.

Jinnah's speech to the Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947 is often quoted in the same context: "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan." The 2023 census was also the first in which Parsis were counted as a separate category.

Which Parsi landmarks can you see in Saddar?

Most of the community's oldest buildings are close together in Saddar, so they make a compact walk.

H. J. Behrana Parsi Dar-e-Meher

Karachi's main fire temple, consecrated in 1849, stands in the heart of Saddar, and is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Its design draws on the architecture of Persepolis, the ancient Persian capital. It is a working place of worship, and Zoroastrian fire temples generally admit only Zoroastrians, so see it from the street and do not ask to go in.

B. V. S. Parsi High School

Founded on 23 May 1859, this boys' school was renamed in memory of Bai Virbaiji, the late wife of its benefactor Seth Shapurji Hormusji Soparivala. The foundation stone of the present building on what was then Victoria Road, now Abdullah Haroon Road, was laid in 1904 and the building opened in 1906. It was designed by Moses Somake, the architect of several of the city's stone landmarks, in local Gizri stone. Its old boys include the columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee.

Mama Parsi Girls' Secondary School

The girls' school opened in 1918 thanks to donations gathered by Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta, the largest from Khan Bahadur Ardeshir H. Mama. It moved in 1919 to the corner of Abdullah Haroon Road and Inverarity Road, and its permanent building, begun in January 1920, was completed in January 1925.

Eduljee Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary

Seth Edulji Dinshaw (1842 to 1914) rose from poverty to become Karachi's biggest landowner. In 1882 he commissioned the architect James Strachan to build an Italianate charitable dispensary in Saddar, which still serves patients. He also gave Rs 85,000 towards the Lady Dufferin Hospital for women in the 1880s.

What did Parsis build in Clifton?

The Clifton seafront was shaped by two Parsi benefactors.

• Jehangir Kothari Parade. Built between 1919 and 1923 to a design by E. B. Hoare, in pink Jodhpur sandstone and buff Gizri stone, on a site given by Jehangir Kothari. It included the pavilion with its five arches facing the sea and the Lady Lloyd Pier, which ran about 1,200 feet towards the water. See our Jehangir Kothari Parade guide.
• Katrak Bandstand. Paid for by Sir Kavasji Katrak, with a domed cupola in pink Jodhpur stone, at the western end of the same group of monuments.

Where are the Parsi colonies and institutions?

Sohrab Katrak Parsi Colony

In 1920 the community bought 96,000 square yards of land in what is now Jamshed Town and laid it out in 58 large plots with wide roads and a central community area. The Banu Mandal community centre and the Bhedwar Library are still at its heart. Today most residents are not Parsi, and the Arab News report describes many old Parsi homes standing empty. The streets are public, but these are homes: walk, do not photograph people or houses, and keep to the road.

Karachi Parsi Institute

Founded in 1893 by Parsi businessmen, the KPI in Central Jacob Lines, Saddar, is a sports and social club with a cricket ground that has hosted first-class matches. Statues of Edulji Dinshaw and his son Nadirshaw, removed from public places after Partition, now stand there. It is a working club rather than a monument, so ask before going in.

NED University

The engineering university began in 1921 as the Prince of Wales Engineering College. In 1924, after a large gift from the heirs of Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw, it was renamed NED Government Engineering College, and it still carries his initials.

Which Parsi names shaped Karachi?

• Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (1886 to 1952), president of the Karachi municipality from 1924 to 1936 and the city's first elected mayor in 1933. Jamshed Quarters and Jamshed Memorial Hall on M.A. Jinnah Road are named after him, and Pakistan Post issued a stamp in his honour in 1988.
• The Avari family, whose Beach Luxury Hotel opened on 21 March 1948 and whose Avari Towers was completed in 1985.
• Ardeshir Cowasjee (1926 to 2012), the Dawn columnist and philanthropist known for his campaigns on the city's land and heritage.

How do you plan a Parsi heritage walk?

1. Start in Saddar in the morning, when the streets are quieter. Walk between the Behrana fire temple, the B. V. S. school, Mama Parsi school and the Eduljee Dinshaw dispensary. Allow about an hour and a half.
2. Add nearby colonial buildings such as Frere Hall and the churches of the old cantonment; our Karachi heritage walk links them.
3. Drive to Clifton in the late afternoon for Kothari Parade and the Katrak Bandstand as the light softens.

Schools and the fire temple are private property. Look from outside, avoid school opening and closing times, and never photograph children. Do not ask about or try to visit the Tower of Silence, which is a funeral site and not open to the public.

Is it worth doing?

Yes, if you like old buildings and want to understand how Karachi grew. In a few hours you see a small community's mark on the city's schools, health care, seafront and civic life. It suits walkers and history readers. It does not suit anyone expecting museums or interiors, as almost everything is seen from outside. For more ideas on cultural days in the city, see our experiences page and our guide to Hindu temples in Karachi.

Frequently asked questions