July 17 marks the 17th death anniversary of Sindhi journalist, erudite and writer F. M. Lashari. He hailed from a small village in Larkana and was among those writers who kept producing quality works of literature during the brutal Zia regime. He faced dire consequences for doing that but did not stop contributing to literature. Apart from writing extensively on the Indus civilisation, art and culture and its modern-day influence in his well-received books, Lashari was also a working journalist. In the late '80s, he pioneered modern Sindhi journalism. It was the time when Sindhi intelligentsia and literati were acting resiliently against Zia's authoritarian rule. Lashari played a significant role as editor of a Sindhi daily Jago. He revolutionised the op-ed section of the newspaper and gave new a dimension to it.

”History,” according to Lashari, “has invariably been so generous and has helped us to produce exceptional people.” A true iconoclast he was. Lashari also lashed out at the traditionalists who misinterpreted the verses of poets like Shah Latif.

He also tried to decipher the essence of Shaikh Ayaz's poetry in a historic interview. Unfortunately, Lashari lost his life at the peak of his career in a road accident and his untimely death left a vacuum in the Sindhi literary scene.

Dr Gobind Menghawar
Peshawar