Unsung hero: Remembering Qazi Faiz on his 108th birth anniversary

It’s high time to mobilise oppressed people and help them achieve their rights, says speaker

Social activists and politicians came together to remember and mark the 108th birth anniversary of peasant leader Qazi Faiz Muhammad at Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, on Wednesday.

Qazi Faiz was a social reformer, novelist and a lover of classical and Sufi music. People like him are our historical assets, said federal minister for ports and shipping, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo

Pakistan Muslim League — Functional MPA Mehtab Akbar Rashdi read out a paper on Qazi’s life. He belonged to a middleclass family and was raised in an all-female household as he lost his father and other male members of the family at a very young age, she said, adding that Qazi spent all that he earned in his life for the betterment of peasants.

Qazi was more secular than his secular friends, said human rights activist IA Rehman. He was a peasant leader as well as a worker, he added.



Nationalist politician Jalal Mehmood Shah said that instead of Muhammad Bin Qasim and Mehmood Ghaznavi, who oppressed the natives, people like Qazi must be included in the textbooks so that our future generations know about the real heroes of Sindh.

Rights of farmers

Researcher Dr Hari Lohano said that about 70% of our income is generated from agriculture but unfortunately the peasants are deprived of their basic rights. Another research scholar, Dr Hyder Nizamani, said the peasants have a right on the agricultural yield.

The peasant class has been stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty, remarked Qazi’s son, Javed Qazi. Their condition is much worse than during the days of Qazi, he said, adding it is high time to revive the movement to mobilise oppressed people and help them achieve their rights.

A collective union is needed in the entire supply chain, which can include the growers and manufacturing workers, said Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research executive director Karamat Ali.

During his speech, Bizenjo mentioned that until land reforms are implemented, the lives of peasants cannot be changed. “The mentality of mullah and zamindar needs to be changed.”

Haris Gazdar of Collective for Social Science Research said that the government needs to support agriculture by announcing support price throughout the country. He also emphasised that organisations for female peasants should be formed since 70% of agricultural workers are females. He further urged to look into the matter of stunted growth of children as it is related to the children of agricultural workers in rural areas.

The people of Pakistan are hungry for land since the big landowners are considered the most powerful, said Rehman. The peasants and labourers have unreal wages, which have been frozen for many years now, he remarked.

Towards the end, Veeru Kolhan was awarded the first Qazi Faiz Muhammad award for raising voice against bonded labour in Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2016.