HYDERABAD, April 18: More authentic material about the history of Sindh is available in Europe, including France, Germany and Holland, than has been preserved in the province itself.

This was said by senior Sindh minister Syed Sardar Ahmed on Friday at the first session of the two-day-long Shah Latif Adabi Conference jointly organized by the provincial department of culture and tourism, the Bhitshah Cultural Centre and the Shah Latif chair of the Karachi University.

The theme of the conference was Sur Momil Rano.

Stressing the need for exhaustive research on the history of Sindh, the minister said that authentic material in this regard should be brought on record.

Mr Ahmed said that the only book, detailing Sindh’s history, was Chach Namo, whose authenticity could not be ascertained as its originality was doubtful, adding that it might even have been altered.

The senior Sindh minister said that more authentic material about the history of Sindh was available in museums, libraries, universities and personal collections in Europe, including that of a German scholar, who had purchased 700 to 800 manuscripts from Sindh over 150 years ago.

Mr Ahmed said the universities in Holland and the Paris National Library held a lot of material on Sindh, adding that he had personally corresponded in this regard.

Syed Sardar Ahmed said that the SIndh government was willing to provide funds if scholars were sent there to conduct research in this regard.

Expressing concern over the dilapidated condition of monuments in Sindh, the senior Sindh minister called for better upkeep in this regard.

Referring to the issue of the mismanagement in the Sindh Adabi Board, Syed Sardar Ahmed called for appointing a committee to ensure proper utilisation of funds.

Speaking on the occasion, renowned scholar Dr Nabi Bux Khan Baloch stressed the need for translating the works of major poets of Sindh into other languages to determine their place in the world literature.

Dr Baloch said that besides poetry, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai had made a profound contribution in music and had composed some of the most popular Ragas, establishing new trends in this regard.

The Ragas, he said, had remained unaltered for the past 259 years and one could hear them being sung night after night without any change.

Prominent among those, who also spoke on the occasion, included provincial secretary for culture and tourism Hameed Akhund, vice chancellor of the Sindh University Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, director of the Latif Chair of the Karachi University Prof Qavi Ahmed and Dr Ghulam Ali Allana.