11 July 2004	Sunday	22 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

HYDERABAD, July 10: Federal Privatization and Investment Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has said a corner will be established in Karachi in memory of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai.

He was speaking at a conference on "Shah Latif, Sindhi Language and Society", organized by the Sindhi Language Authority here on Saturday.

Dr Shaikh said Shah Latif, Sindhi language and Sindh were inseparable. Shah Latif was like a shield for people of Sindh who felt safe and protected behind it. Sindhi language was alive due to the Sufi poet, he added.

He said the poetry of Shah Latif was timeless and relevant even today because his message was the message of tolerance and unending struggle and truth.

Stressing the need for spreading his message, he said Shah Latif was not the poet of Sindh alone but a universal poet.

He said Shah Latif was not a "Darbari poet" nor did he ever receive any scholarship from kings. However, he said he had sung hymns in praise of common people and his heroes were also the common people.

Speaking on the occasion, Sindh University vice-chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui said great poets had always performed the role of bulwark against aggression and worked for peace and brotherhood. He said Shah Latif was among those poets.

Referring to the age of the poet, Mr Siddiqui said on the one hand there were edicts of narrow minded Maulvis and on the other, landlords had unleashed repression against poor people. He said it was in this age that Shah Latif had created awakening among people.

In his welcome speech, SLA chairman Dr Mohammad Qasim Bughio said it was not the responsibility of the government alone to run literary and cultural organizations and added that people should also come forward to give a helping hand.