‘Explore reasons for communal violence’

ISLAMABAD: Even though over 70 years have passed since Partition, there is a need to study the reasons behind the communal violence that roiled the subcontinent, particularly in Punjab — a region which enjoyed communal harmony.

This was suggested by Quaid-i-Azam University Vice-Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali on Tuesday as he addressed a ceremony to launch the third volume of papers presented in international conferences on “Punjab: History and Culture”. Compiled into a book, the papers were launched by the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR).

“History defines and refines knowledge and correlates study of past with the present,” said Dr Ali, adding that communal riots and other such events need to be explored and recorded. He urged the NIHCR management to organise international conferences on history and culture of other regions of Pakistan as well, particularly Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Kashmir.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2020.