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Conscience-keeper of the press By Hasan Abidi Zamir Niazi was the conscience-keeper of journalism. His death has saddened many. He was an erudite writer, researcher and a fighter of indomitable will where human rights were concerned. The nature of his ailment was such that bare survival all these years was no less a miracle. But, then, he was a remarkable person in many ways. Surprisingly, he produced his best writings during his illness. Baghban-i-Sahra and Zamin ka Nauha are outstanding compilations - related, respectively, to the anti- nuclear movement in South Asia and peace between developing nations. Niazi was engaged in interesting research concerning the sacking and burning of libraries during different phases of civilization and in different countries. He had completed the manuscript which hopefully will be published in the near future. Niazi was a bibliophile and was always tracking on his computer as to what was being written by whom and where. He worked as a sort of a coordinator between writers at different cultural centres - Mumbai, Delhi, Patna, Lucknow, Lahore, etc. He belonged to a rare breed of journalists who were also acknowledged as creative writers. I may recall the name of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, editor and columnist of an English-language daily in Mumbai, and Hayatullah Ansari, editor of an Urdu daily in Lucknow. Both were reputed short story-writers, and also working journalists. Society itself has now undergone great changes with the electronic media and the dominance of the computer, and the written word may be losing its grip: language is no longer important, and literature somehow a luxury for the few. Before coming to Karachi, Niazi was a member of the Progressive Writers Association in Mumbai. He worked in close association with such stalwarts as Ali Sardar Jafri and Kaifi Azmi. In 1948, when the progressive writers, following in the footsteps of the Communist Party of India, adopted a hardline, they came under pressure from the government and were refused permission to hold their annual conference in Mumbai. The venue was shifted to a far away town known as Bihmri. The Mumbai police raided the PWA office and took away the published copies of the conference papers. But the office secretary, young Zamir Niazi, managed to save some papers through guerilla tactics. Coming over to Karachi, he wholeheartedly devoted himself to journalism and a free press. The guerilla in him never died. * * * * * Till three weeks or so ago, Frere Hall Library employees who came on scooters or motorcycles were supposed to get down before entering the garden area as no vehicle was allowed to move on to Fatima Jinnah Road. They had to drag their vehicles all the way to the parking lot of the library. Now even this has been prohibited. Both Fatima Jinnah Road and Abdullah Haroon Road and even adjoining lanes have been closed to all vehicular traffic except private cars, which are searched before being allowed to proceed. Pedestrians are also discouraged from entering the area. The Frere Hall Library has lost its clientele. The garden has been made virtually inaccessible. Both have been throttled, thanks to the "effective measures" taken by the law- enforcement agencies against terrorists in the city. The book bazaar held at Frere Hall on Sundays was also an attraction for many book lovers, looking for bargains or rare secondhand books. The bazaar had started with a small number of stalls but soon became popular. Till recently, it had around 60 stalls. It had become quite a rendezvous for writers, teachers and publishers. Encouraged by the growing crowd, a makeshift arrangement for tea was also made, attracting more people, some just to gossip and exchange notes over a cup about what they were reading. An antiques market was also proposed. The bazaar is in decline because of what the law-enforcement agencies consider to be their idea of security. Why isn't the US consulate shifted to a safer, less frequented area, as suggested by some Dawn readers in the letters column? Now, all citizens are being treated as if they are possible terrorists. Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
