ONE of Karachi’s cultural identity markers is its crocodiles that have been inhabiting a pond at a shrine in Manghopir for many a decade. A large number of devotees visit the mazar every year. On Jan 6, 1975 a news item in Dawn caused a bit of consternation among those with such spiritual leanings. According to the report, the famous Sulphur water crocodiles of Manghopir might soon become history if immediate steps were not taken by the Sindh Auqaf Department to keep them alive. In the last three decades, 32 of them had died due to overfeeding, water pollution and lack of a conducive environment. The report went on to claim that out of the ‘toughest’ three surviving reptiles, at least two seemed to be nearing death because they had already lost their ‘loud and bellowing’ voices, could not crawl and kept living out of the pond with their mouths open all the time — the symptoms of being unwell. Zoologists said a crocodile should not consume more than a couple of seers of meat in a week. The Manghopir crocodiles were being subjected to enormous overfeeding by scores of visitors to the shrine of Sakhi Sultan Baba Manghopir. Since the animals did not like overeating, the devotees often opened their jaws with sticks and thrust food into their mouths with iron rods. Moreover, the size of the pond — 60X30 feet —was too small for the reptiles to survive, the zoologists added. Some other, and bigger, government-run institutions were in a spot of bother, too. On Jan 7, the President of the Karachi University Students Union (KUSU), Shafi Naqi Jami, through a statement demanded that the grant-in-aid to various universities should be determined on the basis of students on roll. He pointed out that Islamabad University was getting aid equivalent to Rs6,000 per student per annum, Punjab University Rs1,600 per student per annum, and Karachi University Rs360 per student per annum. The youngsters hogged the headlines on Jan 8 as well when homage was paid to the martyrs of the 1953 student movement at meetings held under the auspices of various student organisations to observe Shaheed Day in the city. The main event was arranged at S M Arts College. Speakers highlighted issues faced by college-going boys and girls, demanded restoration of civil liberties, the repeal of university ordinance and the release of all labour and student leaders. Some other meetings were held at Government College Nazimabad, DJ Science College, NED Engineering College, Sir Syed Girls College, Karachi College for Women, Allama Iqbal Girls College and St Patrick’s College. Students and books go hand in hand. On Jan 10, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Karachi, A B A Haleem lauded the 12 social scientists for discussing in their book Creative Literature and Social Sciences ‘life-like situations and human problems’. Launching the publication, he described it as a useful experiment. The 12 individuals who had contributed to the book were: M Y Adami, S K H Jaffery, Sikandar Abbasi, Ali Nawaz Kalhoro, Shamshad Begum, Najmussaba, M S Baqai, Sabiha Hafeez, Habib Mufti, Israr Mohammad Khan, Shamim Hashmi and Aquila Kiani.