A man beyond boundaries: ‘Gianchandani’s beliefs and struggle unrestrained by class, religion, geography’

Speakers gather to pay tribute to late left-wing intellectual, writer and activist

KARACHI: Sobho Gianchandani's personality, his beliefs and his struggle were unrestrained by class, religion or geography. He was a man beyond boundaries.

This was said by Comrade Rochi Ram at a reference organised by the Sobho Gianchandani Memorial Committee and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research at the Arts Council auditorium on Sunday. The renowned left-wing intellectual, writer and activist, who Rabindranath Tagore had referred to as 'the man from Moen Jo Daro', passed away on December 8, 2014.

"Perhaps Gianchandani represented the Pakistan that Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted to create," said activist IA Rehman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. "I learnt the real meaning of patriotism from him. He remained here till his last breath, because he did not want to leave his birthplace and his people."

A message sent by the Communist Party of India especially for the event said that Gianchandani had repeatedly been asked by Liaquat Ali Khan to go to India. "He refused every time, saying that 'I am a Sindhi, this is my land and I will never leave it,'" read the message. "His most painful confinement was under the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto regime."

Meanwhile, historian Dr Mubarak Ali, who spoke to the audience via Skype, said that Gianchandani's decision to stay in Pakistan was actually in defiance of the two-nation theory.

Discussing the fate of left-wing politics in Pakistan, he said that progressive movements had not declined. "Whenever there is darkness, there are stars to keep hope alive," he said. He added that those who felt that communism had died a natural death after the collapse of the Soviet Union should look to Gianchandani's struggle. "His words were a ray of hope that, sooner or later, the fascist system would change."

According to social activist Qadir Buksh Soomro, Gianchandani was not only a master of Sindhi, Arabic and Persian, but was also well-acquainted with religion. "He once wrote a letter to Maulana Maududi about mistakes in his Quranic translations," Soomro commented. "Maududi replied saying that he had done a great favour to th Muslims."

Critic Mazhar Jamil said that Gianchandani had been highly influenced by his grandfather. "His grandfather was a staunch devotee of Guru Nanak but he or his family never practiced Sikhism, instead choosing to remain secular."

Activist Kawish Rizvi remarked that through the 95 years of Gianchandani's life, there was not a single stain on his stature. Despite being jailed multiple times before and after Partition, he steadfastly advocated for the rights of the oppressed.

Rizvi added that Gianchandani believed in Jinnah's speech of August 11, 1947, which he claimed was censored afterwards. "He was one of those great men who, in their gathering, pondered upon ideologies for the benefit of mankind."

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2015.