Paying tribute: Sindh remembers the man who fought for its freedom

Allah Bux Soomro is thought to be one of the best premiers of Sindh.

KARACHI:

The 71st death anniversary of the two-time premier of Sindh, ‘nationalist number one’ as he is often called, and the man given the title of ‘Khan Bahadur’ - Allah Bux Soomro - was marked with glowing tributes by his successors.

“Neither was Allah Bux a feudal lord nor the chief of his tribe. His father had no title and he did not inherit much,” said Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, a former senator and finance minister and the grandson of Allah Bux. “He was a humble worker who rose through the ranks. He earned everything he had through sheer hard work.”

Remembering his grandfather, he shared the salient features of his personality, including his public and private life, political wisdom and the message he left for the generations to come. “He was a loving father and family man. He never saw himself as a ruler and never had the wish to become rich with the state’s money.”

Shaikh was speaking at a seminar organised by the Sindh Sufi Institute at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Wednesday. Shaikh said that Allah Bux had renounced British honours due to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s accusations against Indian politicians, which eventually cost him his seat and his life. “He never accepted any protocol or armed guards for his security at any time,” said Shaikh, adding that his untimely departure cost Sindh a lot.



Commenting on his two terms as a premier, Shaikh said that both of Allah Bux’s tenure were short but he still managed to serve the people in the little time that he had. “We should celebrate the fact that he was born here and sacrificed his life for us,” said Shaikh. “But what now?” he asked, to further highlight how big a loss Allah Bux’s death was to the province.

“We have gas, coal, granite, minerals, a sea, rivers, an irrigation system, historical sites and rice and fruits and vegetables and what not, yet our people are poor,” said Shaikh. He was of the view that we blame others for our mistakes and hold them responsible for what we have failed to achieve. He said that a provincial finance commission should be established to keep a check on the provincial budget.

Other speakers, including barrister Omer Soomro, Sahib Khan Channa, Prof Aijaz Qureshi and barrister Zamir Ghamro, also paid tribute to Allah Bux for his political and social services.

The speakers said that he was a committed politician who strived for the betterment of the people and believed that more money should be spent on developmental and educational projects.

“He owned Sindh,” said Channa, “This was the biggest characteristic of Allah Bux. Now people own parties. They are slaves and behave like slaves.”

The Khan Bahadurs

“He lost his life in the struggle to free India of colonialism,” said barrister Soomro. He then read aloud a printed extract that paid tribute to Allah Bux after his death. “Allah Bux, the former Prime Minister of Sindh, bore a title. He was a Khan Bahadur. What that title meant no one could say. Many are Khans without being Bahadurs and many are Bahadurs without being Khans. But Khan Bahadurs are British made,’ read the extract from the Free Press Journal.

Allah Bux Soomro (1900 - 1943)

In 1926, Allah Bux was elected as a member of the Bombay Legislative Council. In 1928, he became president of the Sukkur district Local Board. In February 1937, he was elected member and opposition leader of the Sindh Assembly. In March 1938, he became the premier of Sindh and in March 1940, his government was toppled.

In April 1940, he was elected president of the Azad Muslim Conference, a non-communal organisation of South Asian Muslims. In 1941, he again became the premier of Sindh.

On September 26, 1942, he wrote a letter to the viceroy regarding the independence of the Asian subcontinent. In reaction to the letter, he was dismissed from the premiership on October 10, 1942, by the Governor of Sindh, Sir Hugh Dow and on May 14, 1943, he was assassinated.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2014.