In loving memory:‘Rasheed Hassan Khan devoted life to rights of peasants’

Mairaj Muhammad Khan says the NSF leader died with the same vision he lived for

KARACHI: Veteran socialist Rasheed Hassan Khan was a man of principle who stood firm by his ideology and devoted his life to fighting for the rights of labourers, peasants and students.

Mairaj Muhammad Khan, one of the founding members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), remembered his former companion in these words at a condolence reference organised to honour the late comrade's struggle against imperialism at the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) House on Saturday.

Rasheed was the president of the National Students Federation (NSF), a progressive, left-leaning students' political organisation, from 1968 till 1970. He passed away on April 30. At the reference, a large number of people associated with Rasheed and NSF paid tribute to him.



Mairaj, severely ill these days, unexpectedly marked his presence at the reference and could barely contain his emotions while delivering a few words for his close friend. Mairaj recalled how firm Rasheed was about his ideology and added that no ruler of the country was able to change his views.

According to him, Rasheed died with the same vision that he lived for. He added that the comrade devoted his entire life to the struggle for the rights of peasants and labourers of the country while people, like many of us, somehow left the cause that we were once together for.

Kaleem Butt, who was also very close to Rasheed and was with him during their student politics at Dow Medical College during the 1960s, endorsed what Mairaj earlier said about his devotion to the struggle. Butt recalled Rasheed's importance in student politics, citing how even former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto once said that the future of the country's politics is decided at Dow's canteen.

Butt pointed out that due to his struggle for the rights of the poor, Rasheed was sent behind bars several times. He recalled how once they went to meet the late activist in Sukkur Jail, where Rasheed failed to recognise any of his companions as he had been severely tortured.

According to Dr Tipu Sultan, Rasheed was a brilliant student but since his focus was more towards the problems of his countrymen, he completed his medical degree in the 1980s despite having been enrolled in Dow in the beginning of 1960s. He added that Rasheed could easily have managed to get any ministry in any government but he was different as he was beyond the wealth and luxuries of the world and believed in equality for all.

As Rasheed had not married, there were no immediate family members to honour him at the event. However, Muhammad Muneeb, a young man from his family shared how Rasheed did all his work himself till his last day and did not ask for any help. Muneeb added that Rasheed had taught him how to stand firm on one's principles.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2016.