A Hyderabad-Based Bakery Caught In The India-Pakistan Crossfire. Here's Why (Screengrab from x.com/SalmanNizami_)
Hyderabad: Whenever tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, the famous Karachi Bakery has been a target of protests. The association of the bakery’s name with the city of Karachi – the economic capital of Pakistan – is often the motive behind the attacks, with protesters demanding its name change.
The recent incident took place on Saturday. Within hours after the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, one outlet of Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad was vandalised by a group of local BJP members demanding that the owners change its name.
Video footage that appeared on social media shows protestors wearing saffron shawls stepping on Pakistani flags and chanting slogans like “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.” It also showed the vandals hitting the nameboard with sticks, particularly striking the word ‘Karachi’.
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Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad is being vandalised — but for the record, the owners are Rajesh Ramnani and Harish Ramnani! Wish this anger was shown at the border instead. #IndiaPakistanConflict pic.twitter.com/tKDGNVvmi8
— Salman Nizami (@SalmanNizami_) May 11, 2025
The bakery outlet comes under the jurisdiction of the RGI Airport Police Station and they stated that Police reached the spot within a few minutes of the incident and was able to disperse the members of the political outfit.
“A couple of BJP workers showed up outside the Shamshabad Karachi Bakery within the RGI Airport Police Station limits at about 3 pm. They raised slogans and took issue with the bakery’s name. They tried to damage the signboard,” South First reported, quoting Inspector K Balaraju.
Continuing further, official said that Police detained the vandals before that could inflict extensive damage. Later, they let the protestors go since Karachi bakery did not want to press charges. However, a case was registered and investigation was started against the group for wrongful restraint and damaging the property.
This is not the first time, Karachi bakery witnessed protests targeting its name. The latest incident came a just few days after the owners of Karachi Bakery, Rajesh and Harish Ramnani, appealed to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Director General of Police (DGP) Dr Jitender to offer them protection as well as support in keeping the name. “We request Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Telangana DGP’s support to prevent any change in the name. We are an Indian brand and not a Pakistani brand,” owners told the media.
Amid the advancing conflict between India and Pakistan, a few days before, the Karachi Bakery team issued a statement on their Instagram handle saying, “We are proudly Indian,” and added, “Our name is part of our history, not our nationality.”
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Meanwhile, BJP Telangana Spokesperson Natcharaju Venkata Subhash expressed disapproval of the act.“I do not think it was the right thing to do. Just because it has Karachi in its name does not mean that it belongs to Karachi. Many of the bakery’s outlets proudly display the Indian flag in front of their stores,” South First quoted BJP leader, as saying.
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Karachi Bakery
image credit: x.com/Ananth_IRAS
A celebrated name in baked goods and biscuits, Karachi Bakery was established in 1953 at Mozamjahi Market in Hyderabad by Khanchand Ramnani, Harish and Rajesh’s grandfather. The name, “Karachi” – referring to the founder’s hometown and alludes to his origins before he migrated to India following the partition.
Following the April 22 Pahalgam attack members of right-wing outfits in Hyderabad have placed the Indian flag on the signboards of several Karachi Bakery outlets, The News Minute reported. Similarly, on May 6, a right-wing group in Visakhapatnam had called a protest at one of the stores demanding the Bakery to remove the word “Karachi” from its name. There were instances of vandalism and protests directed at the bakery following the Pulwama attack in 2019 as well.
Despite multiple instances of protest calls for renaming its business in the past, the Bakery continued to operate by sticking to its name. Aside from running more than twenty branches in Hyderabad alone, Karachi Bakery also has branches in several cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai.
