THATTA: Speakers at the sixth death anniversary of Awami Tehreek founder and leftist ideologue Rasool Bux Palijo held Munghar Khan Palijo village in Jungshahi on Friday opposed Irsa Amendment Act and corporate farming and described Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as an attack on the powers of the parliament.

AT president Lal Jarwar said at the death anniversary convention that Palijo devoted his life to mobilising masses through long marches and grassroots activism and shaped political discourse around Sindh’s issues.

He criticised corrupt rulers backed by the establishment and held them responsible for current crisis in the country. The Pakistan Peoples Party had auctioned off lands and resources of Sindh in order to grab power, he alleged.

He highlighted severe water shortage in Sindh and lamented plight of Sindhi people at the hands of dacoits, who were allegedly facilitated by feudal lords. Sindh would resist rulers’ actions that damaged its integrity and reject SIFC as a means to sell out the resources and lands of the oppressed nations, he said.

Other party leaders slammed corporate farming projects and Green Corporate Initiative Pvt Ltd and condemned PPP government for failing to enact legislation to protect oppressed women.

Guest speakers, prominent among them Mushahid Hussain Syed, dismissed SIFC as an attempt to give away 130,000 acres land of Sindh to foreign companies and demanded autonomy for all nations living in Pakistan on the basis of the 1940 resolution.

They called for the abolition of the SIFC, terming it an unconstitutional institution.

The gathering passed resolutions demanding rights for all nations as guaranteed in the 1940 Lahore Resolution and called for the implementation of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s August 11, 1947, speech to the first constitutional assembly of the country. The gathering was attended by a large number of activists of Sindhiani Tehreek and Sindhi Girl Students Tehreek who paid tribute to their leader with a parade.

Former senator Sassui Palijo, senior politician Dada Abdul Qadir Ranto, Muhammad Bux Khaskheli, Iqbal Jakhro, Noor Nabi Palijo, and other prominent figures laid wreaths on Palijo’s grave.

Rasool Bux Palijo, born in Jungshahi, was a renowned Supreme Court lawyer, fluent in several languages including Sindhi, Urdu, English, Bengali, Arabic, Persian, and Hindi. He was a leading figure in the movement against the One Unit and played a crucial role in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy.

Palijo was instrumental in creating political awareness among women, a formidable opponent of dictatorship and a stalwart in the fight for the rights of Sindh, who led numerous movements throughout his life.

His consistent opposition to projects like the Kalabagh Dam and other controversial water projects earned him a place in history as a tireless advocate for justice and equality.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2024