Abdul Karim Sher Khan, also known as Karim Lala, was a notorious Indian gangster who was active in Mumbai for more than two decades, from the 1960s to the early 1980s. He was one of the three most influential “Mumbai Mafia Dons” in the 1960s; the other two were Mastan Mirza (also known as Haji Mastan) and Varadarajan Mudaliar.
Wiki/Biography
Karim Lala was born in 1911 (he died at the age of 91) in Kunar Province, Emirate of Afghanistan (now Afghanistan). When he was 9, his family moved from Afghanistan to Bombay and settled in Bhendi Bazaar, one of the most densely populated and poorest Muslim slums.
Family and wife
Karim Lala belongs to a Pashto-speaking Pathan (Pashtun) family.
The Transformation from Abdul Karim Sher Khan to Karim Lala
Abdul Karim started his career as a common labourer at the Bombay docks. As time went on, he came in contact with the Pathans who worked as illegal debt collection agents for money lenders, landlords and merchants in Marwari and Gujarat and he joined their ranks. They used to hire big Pathans; because of their tall and strong build, it was easy for them to collect money from the defaulters. Soon, Karim Sher Khan became Karim Lala (Lala means elder brother in the Pastoral language).
Diamond and Jewelry Smuggling
Karim Lala started his career as a common laborer in Mumbai. Gradually, he opened a small business in Mumbai under his own name. But in reality, Lala started smuggling diamonds and gemstones from the Mumbai shipyards. By the 1940s, Karim had almost monopolized the smuggling trade in Mumbai. He started making huge profits from the smuggling business and expanded his business to the illegal liquor trade. Both his name and business grew.
The first mafia boss of the Mumbai underworld
Abdul Karim Sher Khan entered the world of crime by running an illegal gambling house in Mumbai. He soon rose through the ranks to become the leader of the ‘Patan Gang’, a gang known for hired killings, forced evictions, kidnappings and extortion. The gang ran several ‘carrom clubs’ as a front for illegal money lending, gambling and betting scams. He also developed some legitimate businesses on top of his organized crime business and combined the two to build and maintain a significant sphere of influence. A few years later, Lala became the leader of several criminal enterprises. Although many call Haji Mastan Mirza the No. 1 don of the Mumbai underworld, experts believe that Karim was the No. 1 mafia boss of Mumbai. Haji Mastan himself called Lala the real boss.
Linked to two ‘Mumbai mafias’
Karim later associated with Mastan Mirza aka Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar aka Varadarajan Mudaliar, two other bigwigs of the smuggling trade in Mumbai. In the 1970s, Lala came up with an idea to divide Mumbai into three parts, namely Lala, Mastan and Mudaliar, so that they could freely carry out their criminal activities without any conflict. The three eventually parted ways and agreed to operate in their own specific areas as per mutual agreement between the three.
The three mafia bosses of Mumbai underworld
Durbar Weekly
Lala used to hold a ‘Dhaba’ every week to deal with people’s grievances as an arbitrator. This practice made him very popular and people from different societies and communities approached him for help. In his dhaba, there was no distinction between the rich and the poor. Karim also used to provide financial assistance to the needy and the poor.
Rivalry with Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood’s entry into the smuggling business made Karim Lala uneasy. Before Dawood’s arrival, there was no bloodshed in the underworld of Mumbai. In the 1980s, the hatred and hostility between the two grew, and Karim’s Pashtun gang killed Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Shabir in broad daylight. Gang wars broke out on the streets of Mumbai. A bloody battle broke out between Dawood and the Pashtun gangs. Dawood wanted to avenge his brother, so in 1986, five years after his brother Shabir’s death, his gang members killed Karim Lala’s brother Rahim Khan. Gradually, Dawood Ibrahim’s D Company wiped out Karim Lala’s Pashtun gang from Mumbai. It is said that Lala once caught Dawood and beat him severely, and Dawood was seriously injured. This incident still happens in the underworld of Mumbai.
Dawood Ibrahim and Karim Lala
Leadership transition
Due to failing health, Karim gradually handed over the leadership of the Pathan gang to his nephew Samad Khan in the late 1970s. He remained friends with fellow gang members Haji Mastan and Varadarajan. In 1980, he tried to mediate between his nephew Samad Khan and rival gang members Sabir Ibrahim Kaskar and Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, but failed. In addition to his illegal operations, Lala also ran legitimate businesses, including two hotels (Al Karim Hotel and New India Hotel) and a travel and passport agency called New India Tours and Travels.
die
Karim Lala died on February 19, 2002 in Mumbai at the age of 90.
Facts/Trivia
- Even though Karim had an upper hand in business, his life was very simple and unadorned compared to his peers.
- Lala is a leader of the Pashtun community in Mumbai and leads an organization called “Pakhtun-e-Hind”.
- Apparently, Karim is known as the last king of the Pashtun people.
- Karim was said to have good relations with many Bollywood stars and politicians, especially in the 1970s and 1980s.
- He is believed to have hosted lavish parties for Bollywood celebrities on the Islamic festival of Eid.
- Lala was the inspiration for many characters in Indian films. The character of Sher Khan played by actor Pran in the 1973 blockbuster film Zanjeer was inspired by Lala’s life.
- Once, film actor Helen also asked Lala for help. It was reported that Helen’s friend Arora took all of Lala’s earnings and fled Mumbai. At that time, Karim intervened and mediated, and Lala’s money was returned.
- As the leader of the Indian Pashtun Party, Karim Lala met Indira Gandhi several times in Delhi and Mumbai. In addition to the Congress leader, Lala also met several other politicians, such as Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.
Karim Lala and Indira Gandhi
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education