LARKANA, March 26: Historian and short story writer Sobho Gianchandani has said Rashdi Sayeds had always sacrificed for the cause of Sindh and those who sacrifice for their soil and people need to be remembered and their mission should be continued. He was speaking at the first “Sooriah-Badshah Conference” at the Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library here on Sunday to mark the 63rd death anniversary of Sibghatullah Shah Pagaro, commonly known as Sooriah-Badshah. The Pakistan Muslim League-F had organized the conference.
Mr Gianchandani said Hurs had not only waged a war of resistance against the British rule under the command of Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi but had also fought for defence of the country in 1965 and 1971.
He said the great Rashdi had been buried in an island between Karachi and Colombo, as he had been told in a jail during 1942-43.
Referring to Nawab Kalabagh’s remarks about Sooriah Badshah (brave king), he said there was a need to thoroughly study declassified British documents for exact information about the burial place of Sooriah Badshah.
He said that many Hurs, who had fought against the British rule, were still alive. He said they should also be interviewed to trace out missing links of history.
Sindh Secretary for Culture and Tourism Mehtab Akbar Rashdi, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said the role played by Sibghatullah Rashdi Shaheed for independence of Sindh from the British rule was a part of our national history.
She said it was a unique example that a spiritual leader had become a freedom fighter against a big power.
She exhorted the people of Sindh to forge unity in their ranks because it was needed for the well-being of the province.
She stressed the need for including history of national heroes in the syllabus so that the youth could know about them and get inspiration from them.
Ms Rashdi said Sooriah-Badshah had never compromised on land and his principles, adding that there was a need to rewrite sub-continent’s history.
Sindhi Adabi Board secretary Inam Shaikh regretted that the government had failed to lodge a protest with the British government for not handing over the body of Sooriah Badshah.
He criticized those Sindhis who had ignored the people of vision and wisdom and who had offered sacrifices for their land.
DCO Ahmad Bakhsh Khokhar said people should be united to achieve their goal. He also underlined the need to explore the place of burial of Sooriah Badshah.
District Nazim Mohammad Bakhsh Arijo said the Hur Tehrik had sparked the Pakistan Movement. He announced that there would be a local holiday in Larkana on the death anniversary of Sooriah Badshah.
The gathering adopted a resolution calling upon the government to find out the burial place of Sooriah Badshah.
Faqir Ibrahim Soomro, Mehtab Shah Jilani, Mustafa Rashdi and others spoke on the occasion.
