Zubair Qureshi
The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training in collaboration with the National Heritage and Culture Division and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting organized a special event “AyazMelo” to commemorate the 100th birth Anniversary of the great Sindhi and Urdu poet and mystic ShaikhAyaz.
Federal Minister Madad Ali Sindhi was the chief guest on the occasion and paid glowing tributes to Sindh’s representative poet and “a spokesperson of the world’s deprived and the downtrodden people.”
Madad Ali Sindhi while addressing on the occasion said ShaikhAyaz’s contribution towards the democratic journey of Pakistan cannot be overstated. He said that ShaikhAyaz’s role in the intellectual awakening of the youth of the country and in particular youth of Sindh cannot be neglected. Intellectuals like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, HabibJalib and ShaikhAyaz have done for this country an immeasurable service.
All his life ShaikhAyaz wrote poems and gave voice to the people particularly those of Sindh and Pakistan and this he did even in the most oppressive times of dictators.
Madad Ali Sindhi further said that ShaikhAyaz’ devotion and hard work laid the foundation of the democratic norms that we have in the country today. He said that the basic human rights that the people enjoy today stem from the vision and philosophy of ShaikhAyaz.
Madad Ali said that after partition for years the people of Sindh did not have true political representation and the void was filled by the revolutionary poetry of ShaikhAyaz.
Madad Ali said that ShaikhAyaz went to prison numerous times due to his unwillingness to compromise on his ideals. Madad Ali said that the name of ShaikhAyaz will be remembered for ages to come. He said that whenever the history of democracy in Sindh is documented, his name will be taken after that of Shah Abdul LatifBhittai.
Madad said that ShaikhAyaz was not only a Sindhi language poet but a prose writer and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Sindh. “ShaikhAyaz is counted as one of the prominent and great Sindhi poets of Pakistan in general and Sindh in particular.”
ShaikhAyaz authored more than 50 books on poetry, biographies, plays and short stories in both Sindhi and Urdu languages. His translations of Shah Jo Risalo, which was written by the 18th-century Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif, from Sindhi to Urdu language established him as an authority in his domain. He received Sitara-i-Imtiaz for his literary works and is regarded as a “revolutionary and romantic poet”. In 2018, a university, ShaikhAyaz University, was established and was named after him.
Minister for National Heritage & Culture Division Syed Jamal Shah on the occasion presented sets of recent publications of Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) to the participants of the “AyazMelo.”
DG, PAL, Sultan M. Nawaz Nasir, DG, PNCA Mr. Muhammad Ayubjamali and various literary figures/ artists attended the event.
