SANGHAR: The 71st anniversary of the martyrdom of the great freedom fighter, Pir Syed Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi lovingly called by his followers as Sooriah Badshah, was held at the press club here on Thursday.

Prof Umar Chand, Prof Qalandar Shah Lakyari and historian and former bureaucrat Gul Mohammad Umrani who spoke at the anniversary organised by the Hur Historical Society said Sooriah Badshah waged an armed struggle against colonial rulers and his followers called Hurs fought a guerrilla war under him. They laid down their lives in the freedom struggle as the colonial rulers burnt down their villages and hanged them by scores to break their spirit, they said.

The gathering passed a resolution urging the government to rename the Dow Medical College because Dow was the governor of Sindh who perpetrated atrocities against the Hurs.—BoC