Karim Lala (1911 – 19 February 2002), born as Abdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District of the Kunar province of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, was infamous as one of the three "mafia dons of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

" in India for more than two decades from the sixties to the early eighties. The other two being Mastan Mirza aka

Haji Mastan Mastan Mirza (1 March 1926 25 June 1994), popularly known as Haji Mastan or Sultan Mirza, was an Indian mafia gang leader, originally from Tamil Nadu and based in Bombay. He was one of an infamous trio of mafia gang leaders in Bombay for over ...

and Varadarajan Mudaliar.

Background

Karim Lala was an Afghan who emigrated from Kunar, Afghanistan to Mumbai (then Bombay) in the 1920s. His family settled in one of the most densely populated and impoverished Muslim communities of Bhendi Bazaar in South Mumbai. Starting as an ordinary worker in the Mumbai docks, he later joined a gang of ethnic Pashtuns (called ''Pathans'' in India) who worked as illegal recovery agents for Marwari and

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

money lenders, landlords, and businessmen. These money lenders and landlords employed the burly Pathans whose tall imposing size and intimidating demeanor made it easy to recover money from defaulting debtors and evicting tenants and owners from prime properties in the expensive south Mumbai area. For over two decades, he was the leader of the dreaded "Pathan Gang" that operated in impoverished and crime-infested Muslim ghettos of South Mumbai like Dongri, Nagpada, Bhendi Bazaar, and Mohammad Ali Road. The Pathan Gang was involved in operating illegal gambling (satta) and liquor dens, illegal money recovery, illegal land evictions,

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

(hafta),

contract killing Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...

( supari), distribution of

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiate ...

and

counterfeit currency Counterfeit money is currency produced without the legal sanction of a state or government, usually in a deliberate attempt to imitate that currency and so as to deceive its recipient. Producing or using counterfeit money is a form of fraud or fo ...

. Lala soon rose up the ranks to be the chief of the "Pathan Gang" that became notorious for contract killings, forced evictions from property, kidnapping, and extortion. The gang operated several "

carrom Carrom is a tabletop game of Indian origin in which players flick discs, attempting to knock them to the corners of the board. The game is very popular in the Indian subcontinent, and is known by various names in different languages. In Sou ...

clubs" that were a facade for illegal moneylending, gambling, and betting rackets. In the 1970s, Lala agreed to a pact with the other two ganglords,

and Varadarajan Mudaliar to divide Mumbai amongst themselves so that they could freely run their criminal activities without any conflict between each other.

Later life

Due to failing health during the late seventies, Lala gradually transferred the leadership of the Pathan gang to his nephew, Samad Khan and then managed his hotel and transport business. Although Lala had several illegitimate businesses, his legitimate business included two hotels (Al Karim Hotel and New India Hotel) and a travel and passport agency called New India Tours and Travels. Lala remained friendly with his other counterparts- Haji Mastan and Varadarajan. He was also close to Shiv Sena supremo

Bal Thackeray Bal Thackeray (; 23 January 1926 – 17 November 2012), also known as Balasaheb Thackeray, was an Indian politician who founded the Shiv Sena, a right-wing pro- Marathi and Hindu nationalist party active mainly in the state of Maharashtra ...

In 1980, Lala unsuccessfully tried to mediate peace between his nephew, Samad Khan and his rivals,

Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar (died 12 February 1981) was notorious Indian criminal based in Mumbai. He was the elder brother of Dawood Ibrahim, the current gang leader of the D-Company. The risen of Shabir and Dawood in Mumbai's underworld and the sym ...

and Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. Lala also held a weekly "

durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance ...

" where people from different walks of life narrated their grievances to Lala and he helped them financially or to get justice using his gang's muscle power. He died on 19 February 2002 at the age of 90. His younger brother (Ali Mohammed) was living in Kabul Afghanistan at that time and could never meet his brother.

In popular culture

During his peak, Lala frequently invited several personalities from Bollywood (Hindi film industry) to his daawats (parties) and Eid celebrations. Many characters from Bollywood movies closely resemble Karim Lala and his mannerisms and accent. The 1973 movie, '' Zanjeer'', the writer duo,

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters ...

created a Pathan character called "Sher Khan" (played by actor Pran) whose mannerisms resembled Karim Lala. Widely considered to be the inspiration for the magnanimous crime lord Abdel Khader Khan in the 2003 bestselling novel Shantaram, Karim shares personal and behavioral similarities with the fictional mafia don.

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

played the character of Karim Lala in

Sanjay Leela Bhansali Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...

's 2022 film

Gangubai Kathiawadi ''Gangubai Kathiawadi'' is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language biographical crime drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and produced by Bhansali and Jayantilal Gada. The film stars Alia Bhatt as the titular character with Ajay Devgn, Shantanu ...

References

External links

Lala with Shiv Sena Supremo - Bal Thackeray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lala, Karim 1911 births 2002 deaths Indian gangsters Indian crime bosses Indian Muslims Afghan criminals Indian people of Pashtun descent Indian extortionists Criminals from Mumbai

Background

Later life

In popular culture

See also

References

External links