SHAH Abdul Latif Bhittai’s poetry has enriched our cultural landscape and inspired generations of creative souls for centuries. On April 29, 1974 it was reported the day before a literary event was held to celebrate Shah Latif’s life and work at S M College under the auspices of the Sindhi Adabi Majlis. The Provincial Minister for Transport and Communications, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, in his speech paid glowing tributes to Shah Latif calling him a great mystic poet by highlighting his literary accomplishments and his impact on the people of Sindh. Prof Ayaz Qadri described him as one of the giants of world literature because of his ‘noncontroversial’ personality and the universal nature of his poems. Zaman Shah, President of the Majlis, talked about the various aspects of the poet and the contents of Shah jo Risalo.

Shah Latif had a heart of gold and strongly felt about the struggling segments of society. The working class in any society has always had its fair share of struggles. On April 30, the Muttahida Mazdoor Federation took out a huge torchlight procession in connection with May Day. The five-mile journey started from Shaheed Chowk in Banaras Colony and terminated at Bara Board at Manghopir (SITE) passing through Abdullah College, Paposhnagar, Nazimabad and First Chowrangi. It was led by the leaders of the federation Babar Khan, Ayaz Khan and Nausher Khan. The participants carried banners and raised slogans urging the government to provide basic necessities to workers.

In a similar vein, on May 1, the city’s journalists resolved to continue upholding the banner of the Chicago workers for a proletarian revolution in the world. At a meeting of the Karachi Union of Journalists (KUJ) arranged at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) they said they would resist all attempts at dividing the working class on the basis of caste, creed, colour, nationality and religion. All present observed a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen Chicago workers. Those who spoke on the occasion included Habib Ghori, Zafar Rizvi, Hasan Abidi, Abdul Hameed Chapra, Arshad Shad, Iqbal Bukhari, Ghulam Nabi Khirkiwala and Inam Durrani. Poets Naqqash Kazmi and Mujeeb Khairabadi recited their poems and Aziz (cartoonist) read Iqbal’s Lenin Khuda Ke Huzur.

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and May Day

A big number of people representing low-income groups or the middleclass use public transport. On May 4, it was announced that the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) would take serious action against drivers of taxis and rickshaws for refusing to carry passengers and for overcharging. The Provincial Transport Minister had issued orders to the effect following complaints lodged by the public. It was pointed out by the RTA that under the terms of agreement no driver of a public vehicle could refuse to take passengers, especially during peak hours. Badly hit by this attitude of drivers and vehicles’ owners were the suffering patients, housewives and persons in need of emergency care.

Another mode of public transportation was in the news on April 30 when this newspapers in a story said that one person was caught red-handed for allegedly selling two tickets of Awami Express for extra Rs40 at Cantt Station.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024