HYDERABAD: Speakers paid rich tributes to Agha Shahabuddin, a civil servant, educationist and author of Sindhri ja Sudka which highlighted Sindh’s sense of deprivation under the One Unit, at a programme marking his fifth death anniversary held here on Saturday evening.

They said that Agha always stood for the cause of Sindh and devoted his life to building and strengthening institutions.

Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani who chaired the programme said that was an educationist who devoted all the time he had to the development of education sector. His book depicted a gloomy picture of Sindh under the One Unit which would enlighten people about the sad chapter in the province’s history, he said.

Mr Durrani who was nephew of Agha Shahabuddin said that those who talked against Sindh’s integrity would be opposed tooth and nail. Sindhis would always take a united stand to counter any move against their motherland and protect it till the last drop of their blood. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had also sacrificed their lives for people, he said.

He said that his family had been associated with education for a long time. His grandfather had established a library in his native town in 1942 which still existed and was a great help to youths appearing in competitive examinations. He had preserved the heritage of his ancestral home so that visitors should see how his elders had built it, he said.

Qaumi Awami Tehrik president Ayaz Latif Palijo said that Agha was a man of principle who always stood for the cause of Sindh. He played an active role in Save Sindh Committee which was formed to force PPP government to cancel controversial legislation for a dual local government system, he said.

He regretted that Karachi had 33 private universities but Hyderabad had only one, the onus for which rested on Sindh Higher Education Commission head Dr Asim Hussain, who was himself involved in multi billion rupees corruption.

How unfortunate, he said, Sindh was that the people who looted the province and fled would again be welcomed but future generation would hold certainly them accountable for their actions. If PPP did not change its manner of governance it would surely face its consequences, he said.

Prominent writer Abdul Hameed Sindhi said that Shahabuddin was always ready to tell the truth and he always worked with a positive frame of mind. Sindh belonged to Sindhis who loved it from the core of their hearts, he said.

Analyst and writer Jami Chandio said that Sindh was Shahabuddin’s love. He had a firm belief in values and worked for building institutions.

Mr Chandio held rulers responsible for extremism, systematic decay of institutions and nepotism and said it was in reality an oligarchy in the name of democracy.

He said that people generally tended to prefer individual interests but Shahabuddin always worked for collective causes and devoted much of his time to strengthening institutions.

The book Sindhri ja Sudka Shahabuddin wrote in late 70s was re-launched at the programme. Dr Jan Mohammad Memon, Ejaz Qureshi, Prof Idris Rajput, and others also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2016