KARACHI: It was a trifle disheartening to see not too many people show up at a programme at PMA House on Friday evening held to pay tribute to distinguished leftist peacenik and humanist B.M. Kutty who passed away on Aug 25. One felt that the organisers acted a bit hastily to turn the event into one where a dozen or so men sat on chairs in a circle because, as the programme progressed, a reasonable number of people poured in.

Dr Kaiser Bengali was the first one to speak on the occasion. He said he first met Kutty 40 years ago through Piler (Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research). The late peace activist authored several books.

Dr Bengali narrated a few stories that indicated how forthright and honest a person Mr Kutty was. In Z.A. Bhutto’s tenure Kutty was in jail. Bhutto came to meet him in his cell. He told Bhutto that the country might be his, not the cell. Upon hearing this, Bhutto went back, asked ‘may I come in’ and then stepped in.

Narrating another incident, Dr Bengali said when Ghaus Bux Bizenjo was governor of Balochistan and Kutty was his political secretary, someone came to see Kutty with keys to a car. Kutty inquired about it to which that person responded that he had come to hand over the car keys to him. Kutty asked a colleague to call the police and arrest the man who was offering him the vehicle.

Dr Bengali said Kutty never ran after material pursuits. He was intellectually bright. His command over the English language was exemplary. He wrote drafts [of various documents] for four decades for all the political movements in the country. If he [Bengali] could sum up Kutty’s personality in one word, it would be ‘integrity’, [because] he never compromised on principles.

Habib Junaidi said we could both celebrate and mourn Kutty’s passing away. He was associated with Piler and did a lot for labourers. “We’ve learned a great deal from him.”

Dr Ali Azhar Mirza said the Pakistan Medical Association had arranged an event at PMA House in honour of Kutty when he was alive. He was so overwhelmed by it. Now it’s the need of the hour to further his cause which he expressed through his commitment and ideas.

Haris Gazdar said the one thing that we can learn from Kutty was his humility. All his achievements carried that important element of humility. He was also a ‘record’. He had a role to play in every progressive document that has been produced. Since he was from Kerala, he brought an international element to his work.

Zulfiqar Shah said Kutty was a selfless (be laus) person. Although he was a political person, his contribution to the social sector is no less significant.

Zain Salawat said it was from a very young age that he had the privilege of having Kutty’s guidance. He [Zain] was a member of the youth progressive council, and Kutty, along with Sher Afzal Malik, used to visit the council’s library. The late activist also helped Zain to send him to Moscow for higher studies.

Dr Tipu Sultan said Kutty was his role model. He was an honest, highly educated and down-to-earth man. He cared for the poor. “I had never seen him pessimistic,” he claimed adding that the late author, like a doctor, had his finger on the pulse of society.

Dr Bakhsh Ali, M. Ramzan Memon, Sheikh Majeed and others also spoke. Dr Jabbar anchored the programme.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2019