LAHORE: Punjabi novelist, poet and political and rights activist Anwar Chaudhry passed away here on Friday. He was 68.

He suffered a heart attack at 11am at his home in the Punjab Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Phase-I, near Wapda Town, and expired before the rescue service arrived. His funeral prayers were offered near his residence at 9pm.

Anwar Chaudhry’s Punjabi novel Sanga was published in 2005. He founded Kitab Trinjan, a publishing house dedicated to Punjabi language and literature, in December 1997 along with Nisar Khan and Zubair Ahmed on Temple Road, Mozang. Besides printing books in Shahmukhi, it transcribed many Indian Punjabi writers from Gurmukhi and introduced them to Punjabi readers in Pakistan. It continued publishing Punjabi books until its closure in September 2009.

Anwar was born in Bahawalnagar in June 1947. He joined active politics at an early age, becoming the regional secretary general of the PPP. He organised party meetings for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1967-68 in his area. ZAB is said to have offered him a party ticket but he refused. He joined the Mazdoor Kisan Party in early 1970s and worked for peasants and workers’ rights.

He shifted to Lahore in 1983. He joined the South Asia Partnership in 1995 and edited many books including classical poets Bulleh Shah and Shah Husain. At the time of his death, Anwar Chaudhry was working with the organisation as editor and head of its communication and documentation section. – Irfan Aslam

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play