KARACHI: Rashdi’s collection a treasure trove for scholars
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 31: Speakers at a seminar here on Sunday urged scholars to carry out research on the material collected and left behind by the leading historian and scholar the late Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi, so that the still hidden facts about history, culture and heritage of the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley Civilization could be known.
The seminar on “Life and Achievement of Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi” was organized to mark the 20th death anniversary of the renowned historian, scholar, author and editor of many books in a local hotel.
Sindh Governor Mohammedmian Soomro said a Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi Chair had been set up at Sindh University and it would be fully functional soon, probably by the next academic session. He assured that the government would extend all possible help to the university as regards the Chair.
He urged scholars and researchers to carry out extensive work in the fields of history, art, literature, music, etc so that it could be preserved for posterity. He said Pir Hussamuddin had left behind a treasure in the shape of books, manuscripts, photographs, historical documents, that needed to be thoroughly researched to find the missing links in the history of Sindh.
Highlighting the late scholar’s love for old books, manuscripts, etc, the governor recalled that he also accompanied Pir sahib to Elphi (now renamed Zaibunnisa Street) and spent hours looking for old books and manuscripts in bookstores.
Senior Muslim Leaguer Yusuf Haroon said the late scholar was a an outspoken person and he would always speak out what he felt was correct without any fear, but he always spoke gently. He said at present Sindh needed people like Pir Hussamuddin so that the rights of the province could be safeguarded.
A former vice chancellor of Karachi University, Dr Manzoor Ahmed, said Sindh, particularly Thatta, and the Persian language were the two loves of the late Pir. He said the scholar did a lot of work and wrote books in Persian, in recognition of which the Iranian government conferred its highest literary award, Nishan-i-Sapas, (Class I) in 1966. Earlier, he was also conferred Nishan-i-Sapas in 1962, and Tehran University conferred a doctorate degree (Honoris Causa) in 1974.
Later, he was among one of the 20 distinguished Iranologists (only one from Pakistan) who were selected by the Government of Iran on an International Advisory Committee to edit the series of Acta Iranica. The Pakistan Government also conferred Sitara-i-Imtiaz on him in 1964. He said the late Pir also did a lot of work for the development of Urdu language and was instrumental in the establishment of many institutions for its development.
Earlier, Sindh University Vice Chancellor Mazhar-ul-Haq Siddiqui said though the late Pir sahib had no formal education, many scholars doing their doctorates would seek his guidance while doing their research work.
He said Pir sahib’s material gifted by his family to the Institute of Sindhiology was in safe custody and would be helpful to scholars, who would be doing research work under the newly setup Chair at the university. The Institute had already set up a Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi Corner in its library where research fellows and scholars benefited from the gift of the late scholar.
Other speakers said Pir Hussamuddin, not having any formal schooling, took lessons in Sindhi, Persian and Arabic from local tutors and in English from his elder brother, the late Pir Ali Mohammed Rashdi, himself a towering figure in his own field.
They said he collected an enormous number of books, rare manuscripts, old documents, journals, etc in Persian, Arabic, Sindhi, Urdu, English, Hindi, Pashto, Russian and other languages and photographs, and a part of the collection he gave to Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.
They said he was also among the team of historians and archaeologists that identified the site of Deebal Bunder, where Mohammed bin Qasim had landed with his forces.
They said Pir sahib began his career as a journalist and had been associated with various newspapers, Sindh Zamindar, Sitara-i-Sindh, Al-Waheed, and Qurbani, etc. He also had a brief stint with poetry and wrote under a pseudonym “Fidaee;” later he also stepped into the field of literature as a fiction writer and wrote a number of short stories, before he switched over to more serious research work.
They said it was only due to his untiring and unmatchable efforts that many hitherto hidden aspects of the history of Sindh had been preserved for posterity.
They said Pir sahib used to tell his friends and scholars that he had assembled such a huge collection of knowledge that it would take 50 dedicated researchers to work for 50 years to carry out research on it.
Husain Shah Rashdi, Dr Ghulam Ali Allana, Hameed Sindhi, Dr Ansar Zahid Khan, Hameed Akhund, Dr Ghulam Mohammed Lakho, Inayat Baloch, Hameed Kashmiri, Dr Qasim Bughio, Dr Moinuddin Aqeel, Qamar Shahbaz, Jam Ameer Ali, Mahtab Rashdi, Ali Raza Rashdi and others also spoke.
A large umber of books by the late Pir Hussamuddin Rashdi were also on display at the venue.
