Mumbai’s famous Karachi bakery, which received threats from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena over its name being after a Pakistan city, has been closed.
A very close family friend of the Karachi Bakery owner said, “Karachi Bakery owners were facing huge financial losses. Also, during the lockdown, the losses increased even more. The rent in Bandra West where the bakery was located was also very high, which the owners could not afford.”
In November last year, the chain had received a legal notice from MNS leader Haji Saif Shaikh, who also took the credit on Twitter after the shop was shut. The leader, however, denied any pressure from MNS behind the closing of the shop and said the bakery chain was closed possibly due to lack of business as ordinary citizens prefer not to buy from shops named after Pakistani cities.
On March 1, Shaikh took to Twitter and said, “After massive protest on Karachi Bakery for its name Karachi by MNS, Karachi Bakery finally closes its only shop in Mumbai.”
After massive protest on Karachi Bakery for its name #Karachi led by Vice President of MNS – @mnshajisaif karachi bakery finally closes its only shop in Mumbai.@RajThackeray Saheb@mnsadhikrut @karachi_bakery pic.twitter.com/67KQ0p30mI
— Haji Saif Shaikh (@mnshajisaif) March 1, 2021
Also Read: New Zealand Issues Tsunami Warning After Powerful M8.0 Earthquake Strikes Northeastern Coast
A Shiv Sena leader took objection to the name of Karachi Sweets which is also located in the same area of Bandra (West), which is still running. Shiv Sena at that time distanced from the action and clarified that it was not their official party line.
False spreading of information!
The Karachi Bakery has shut its store due to lack of business and not because of @mnshajisaif , nothing more then an failed attempt to mislead citizens.Please note ! https://t.co/xkLtAGIAR0
— M.N.C.D.F (@MNCDFbombay) March 3, 2021
Karachi Bakery was one of the oldest and famous bakeries in Mumbai. The outlet is part of the famous Hyderabad-based chain, whose owner had migrated from Karachi after the Partition. However, as their roots are from Karachi, they opened the shop and named it after Karachi.
The bakery is located in Jahi Market, Hyderabad. It was founded by Sri Khanchand Ramnani. He was a Sindhi migrant who left Karachi in 1947 during the partition of India. In 1953 Ramnani opened the first bakery in Hyderabad, and now they have 14 branches in the city.
As of now, the bakery is in five cities including Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi.
Their fruit biscuit is an unassuming square-shaped variety dotted with green and red pieces of papaya jelly which became a part of Hyderabad’s identity ever since it was launched. Biscuits are a big hit here (thanks to the culture of drinking tea at Irani cafes) and Karachi monopolized a segment of the market by the early 60s.