ISLAMABAD: Scholars and academics have expressed the need for exploring and appreciating the magnificent literary contributions of the writers and poets.
They said this while paying tributes to Mir Gul Khan Naseer, one of the most respected Baloch progressive poets, at a literary seminar organised as part of his 100th birth anniversary celebrations at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) here on Monday.
A friend of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and a prominent historian, Naseer devoted his life for achieving the rights of the people of Balochistan.
The seminar was part of various events being organised at international level to celebrate and promote the poetry and services of the poet. Balochistan government has declared 2014 as the year of Mir Gul Khan Naseer.
Speaking on the occasion, AIOU Vice-Chancellor Dr Shahid Siddiqui said that literature had a deep connection with power and politics and it was not just amusement or leisure.
He said that literature had a role in shaping and influencing public opinion.
The vice-chancellor said that power was a phenomenon, which allowed certain individuals to make others think what they wanted them to think. He added that was a reason why ‘peripheral literature’ such as Naseer’s work was neglected.
“Imperialism has always been used to promote hegemony. The powerful set the rules and declared their language and literature as standard, while everything else was considered substandard,” Dr Siddiqui said.
He emphasised on the importance of promoting one’s own language, culture, and literature adding that it had always helped in shaping societies.
Dr Siddiqui went on to say that imperialism tried to stigmatise and suppress ‘peripheral literature’ and culture.
In the process of decolonisation, the vice chancellor said, intellectuals like Naseer played an important role by raising their voice against injustice and violence while preaching brotherhood.
“It’s our responsibility to spread their voice to the masses. Their work should be translated into other languages,” he said.
Prof Wahid Bakhsh Buzdar of Quaid-i-Azam University said that there were very few names in Baloch literature that matched the stature of Naseer.
“He is among the greatest personalities of the 20th century,” he remarked.
While commenting on the poet’s work, Buzdar said that he penned poetry of resistance and opposed political oppression.
Naseer, who enjoys an unparalleled position among Baloch poets, was born in 1914 at Noshki, Balochistan.
Initially, he used Urdu as medium of his poetic expression, but soon he diverted his attention from Urdu and began writing poems in Balochi.
The speakers lamented that Pakistanis followed the work of various Western intellectuals more than the writings of the native writers and poets.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2014.
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