THE issue of retrenchment in Daily Anjam, as discussed in the last two columns, had become one of the most talked-about issues facing the country by the beginning of July 1966. The protesting journalists and calligraphers were not willing to move from their position (they had set up a protest camp on McLeod Road — now I. I. Chundrigar Road — to stage a demonstration against the newspaper’s management) and the other party, led by chairman of the National Press Trust, too, remained firm in its stance.

People on a regular basis visited the camp to express solidarity with the strikers. On July 4, for example, a Muslim League member of the provincial assembly, A. M. Qureshi, came to the camp and sympathised with the laid-off Anjam employees. Meetings between leaders of the two sides were going on, and there came a point when it was thought that an agreement had been reached. Not to be. On July 7, an emergency meeting of the executive council of the Karachi Union of Journalists was held. In the meeting the KUJ called upon its members in Anjam to continue with their strike as, according to it, chairman of the NPT A. K. Sumar had violated the letter and spirit of the agreement and assurance given to the editor of the newspaper, Ibrahim Jalees.

The next day, July 8, the NPT chairman issued a statement saying it’s a matter of deep regret that in callous disregard of the genuine interests of Daily Anjam and the families working in it, Mr Jalees had been forced by interested parties to go back on a solemnly accepted agreement.

Reading up on the goings-on of that week in history, it may seem as if it was the season of vociferous protests. On July 4, it was reported that residents of Jamshed Quarter opposite KGA Ground protested against the setting up of a new petrol pump in their locality. A deputation of the residents met the commissioner of Karachi, Syed Darbar Ali Shah, and requested him not to allow the petrol station to be built. They told the commissioner that there were already four pumps on M. A. Jinnah Road in an area covering less than three furlongs. The commissioner, in a rather predictable reply, told them that he would look into the matter.

Mind you, the acts of remonstration in Karachi did not just have a domestic dimension to them. On July 9, a group of students and workers marched on the streets carrying placards to protest against American aggression in Vietnam. The call for the demonstration was given by the National Students Federation (NSF).

But what is Karachi without its cultural facet? On July 7, a new art gallery called KAG (Karachi Art Gallery) opened in Mohammadali Society by a group of young artists and their friends. It displayed a number of artworks on sale at moderate prices. Among those who contributed to the collection included Mansur Aye, Kohari, Sajjad, Mohammad Ali and Siddiqa. Wow! An art gallery in Mohammadli Society! Is it still there?

The fact is that Karachi’s art community has always been a conscientious one (well, not always, but let’s just say it has). On July 6, a Cuban embassy press bulletin said that it had received Pakistani artist Prof Sheikh Ahmed’s oil painting made for the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Fidel Castro. The artwork titled ‘Rehman Baba’ had recently been handed to the Cuban Charge‘d Affaires, Guerra Menchero in Pakistan at a simple ceremony held at the Pakistan Institute of Art and Design in Karachi. Menchero thanked Prof Sheikh on behalf of Castro.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2016