KARACHI, June 23: Intellectuals, social scientists and historians heaped praises on senior technocrat Ghulam Kibria on Sunday at a function organized by the Irtiqa Institute of Social Sciences.

Journalist Hasan Abidi presided over the function which was compared by Ali Yawar.

In a paper, captioned “Ghulam Kibria: eccentric or a man with a mission”, intellectual B.M. Kutty recalled how he had first met Mr Kibria in the early 1950s in Lahore. “Ghulam Kibria was never ’your-obedient-servant’ type of person. His association with the Khaksar Movement, led by Allama Mashriqi, proved how unorthodox he was. In 1954 he told me that he was in consultation with some people to form a charitable organization to impart skills to people. I thought that it was too utopian a concept to be put into practice. But before long Ghulam Kibria managed to secure one of the most important buildings in the province for his organization and set to work.”

Mr Kutty said that Ghulam Kibria had always laid great stress upon developing indigenous talent.

Journalist Mohsin Jafri said that Ghulam Kibria had studied the economic problems of Pakistan in a most dispassionate manner. ”His books do not deal with abstract ideas. They deal with concrete notions. His arguments are invariably backed by facts and figures.”

Mr Jafri said that in his books Ghulam Kibria deplored how many a great economic opportunity had been frittered away by the rapacious bureaucracy. “Ghulam Kibria observed the realm of bureaucracy from close quarters. In his books, he regrets that while the masses suffer untold miseries, the bureaucracy wallows in power and pelf. I have read all his books from cover to cover with great profit. I actually got to know him through his books.”

Historian Mubarak Ali said Ghulam Kibria deplored in his books that at the zenith of the Pakistan movement nobody had thought how the country would survive economically. “The story of Ghulam Kibria began when the Muslim aristocracy started moving to India from Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan. Here, they titles were conferred upon them. After the decline of the Moghal dynasty, some went to Deccan and some to Rampur and other states. The so-called mutiny of 1857 dealt another blow to their status and standing.

“Deputy Nazir Ahmed’s character, Mirza Zahir Dar Baig, embodies all the attributes the Muslim nobility had at that time. They loved to become embroiled in court battles, preferring them to actual battles. To gain social ascendancy, they put undue stress on the finer points of the language. Tradesmen, though wealthy, were considered upstarts. People clung to their past. They thought that they had been deprived of their position by the English through a conspiracy.”

Research scholar Dr Syed Jafer Ahmed said that Ghulam Kibria deplored that the potential of individuals was not adequately tapped in Pakistan.

Architect Arif Hasan and social scientist Tasneem Siddiqui also spoke on the occasion.

Ghulam Kibria said that at Aligarh he and his associates used to discuss whether or not Pakistan would be economically viable. ”At that time, people would not call each other ‘traitors’. They, however, used to call us ‘cracks’.” He added that the creators of Pakistan had not planned how the country would work after independence.