“But Karachi is Always Dual”: Cartography, Placemaking, and Identity in Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography

This paper examines Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography and its use of mapping as a tool to navigate Karachi’s intricate socio-political and cultural landscape, highlighting the role of place in the (re)formation of identity. Drawing on Robert Tally’s “placemindedness,” Yi-Fu Tuan’s and Doreen Massey’s theories of place, and Denis Cosgrove and Nigel Thrift’s insights on mapping, this paper analyses how Karim and Raheen, of Bengali and Muhajir heritage, negotiate identity amid ethnic tensions and cultural divides. Kartography conceptualizes Karachi as a dynamic spatial entity through dual mapping strategies: one affectively experiential and intimate, the other structurally analytical and relational. This dual approach culminates in an alternative, hypertextual digital map that integrates individual affect with critical social awareness. The novel’s cartographic metaphor underscores the city’s layered identity, mediating between memory, belonging, and alienation. By transforming cartography into a mode of critique, Shamsie redefines how we read cities, identities, and postcolonial and post-partitioned space.