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asifpk.5u.com |
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MAJEED AMJAD A government official who lived almost all his life in Sahiwal, a small town of Punjab. majeed amjad was a remarkable poet in his variety, vitality of experience and strenght of expression. He wrote in an inimitable introspective mood and idiom. He created his own blend of the lyrical with the prosaic. His impact was immense and far-reaching that echoed in his successors. MASUD PERVEZ Masud Pervez arrived in the subcontinent's cinema as an actor at a wrong time, when Bombay's film industry had fallen in the grip of communal frenzy of post-war tears. Back in Lahore, his first attempt at film-making ended in disaster. The setback was overwhelming. That further softended his speech and made him more self-effacing than before. But he remained a progressive at heart, committed to the principle of collective group work. An admirable collection of talent materialised in the mid-fifties as film director Masud Pervez the role of a balancing actor between an innocent producer (Sultan Jilani) and a highly assertive cine-aesthete-composer (Khurshed Anwar). The result was a production that became a model of entertainment, one which brought the discriminating moviegoers and the masses together in its appreciation. It also presented the least controversial blending of the demands of art and commerce in the uncertain environment of Pakistan's cinema. For many years his name alternative route to entertainment open. At a time when Pakistan's cinema was under assault from plagiarists and purveyors of vulgarity he kept the high on for decency and the values of film technique. He faced out as quietly as he had borne himself in the noisy studios and sustained himself by exercises in poetry -- purely for self-satisfaction -- including a rhymed traslation of the Quranic verses in Punjabi. MAZAR ALI KHAN Mazar Ali Khan was among the pioneers of Pakistani journalism. He joined The Pakistan Times as a young man, when it strated publication in june 1947. In 1951, he became its editor. During his period, Times described The Pakistan Times as the best edited newspaper in Asia. Khan resigned when Progrssive Papers Ltd was seized by the military regime of Ayub Khan in 1959. Some time later, he sreved briefly as the editor of Down. In 1957 he launched his own weekly Viewpoint from Lahore, which in his own words owed "allegiance to no political party or to group, but to the basic concept of a democratic polity." He kept his promise and throughout its 17 years, viewpoint remained a qua;ity opinion journal. Never one to overstate a point or be a drawn into debate over personalities, Khan's work set high standareds of journalism in Pakistan. For those who believe in the value of issue-based journalism and who want to take pride in their profession, he continues to serve as a role model. His pen always spoke powerfully to raise such issues, and to the end he unheld the ideals he believed in, standing tall in the histiry of Pakistan's journalism. MEHBOOBUL HAQ, DR. A prominent economist, leading development thinker and the creator of the widely acclaimed Human Development Report, Dr Mehboobul Haq had a Masters in economics from cambridge and Phd from Yale University. He had a long and distinguished career as the Chief Economist of Pakistan Planning Commission (1957-70), formulating the first four five-tears plans. From 1970-82 he served as director of the World Bank's Policy Planning Department and from 1982 till 1988 as federal Planning and Finance Minister. Since 1990, Dr. Haq's major contribution remained the annual Human development reports, which greatly inspired major UN conference on human development. Many countries around the world are now emulating this idea by producing their own reports. While appreciation by some, he was criticied by others for serving Pakistan government during Ayub and Zia. MEHDI HASSAN As the slassica forms became less popular, ghazal gaiki gained in prestige in a culture that was more hung on the importance of words than the abstraction of the sur. singers trained in the classical tradition found it difficult to survivi in the new environment. A few highly trained singers who broke away from this tradition of high classical, instead chose ghazal as their main forte of musical expression and the most successful among them was Mahdi Hasan. Ghazal was a minor from of music and it was sung at the salon of dancing girls and hardly given much importance by serious listeners of music. But, gradually in this country, it was sought as a substitute for the from like kheyal and thumri. One of the singers who brought the richness and virtousity of thumri into the ghazal gaiki, thus evevating its musical worth and retaining the sweetness and romance that goes with this kind of singing in Mehdi Hasan. As he is from Rajisthan he also brought the chief of that area to enrich his ang of singing. This trend started by Barkat Ali Khan has been strenghtened by Iqbal Bano, Freeda Khanum and Mehdi Hasan has taken the ghazal to a tatally new level. l MIR GHAUS BUX BIZENJO Aconsistent democrat, Mir Ghaus Bux Bizenjo remained steadfast to his political principles and humanitration ideals for five decades. He defined the national democratic platfrom for which he struggled till his last breath. Bizenjo is the most secular of the six top politicians who shaped the post-independence political history of Pakistan. Three features of his political distinguished him from his contemporaries. One, he was progressive and committed toemancipating the oppressed. As a socialist or a social democrat, he viewed the world from the standpoint of the havenots. That made him a true internationalist. Two, he was the most articulate champion of the rights of oppressed nationities and deprived regions and struggled for the devolution of power. Despite being a staunch nationalist, Mr bizenjo was never a chauvinist, nor did he ever became an exclusvist as did many of his comrades. Third, he was a great believer and practitioner of demecracy and never abandoned the modes of peaceful styuggle and pluralist adjustments through negotiations. From the Utman Gil to the National Party and from the national Awamy Party to his own Pakistan National Party, Mir Bezenjo played a leading role for a constitutional, federal and demecraric system with equal rights for the people of federating units. His role in four movements earned him a place in Pakistan's history. One, his struggle against the One-Unit and the Ayub dictatorship. Two, his pioneering role in making the constitution. Three, his contribution to the battle for secularism. Four, his efforts for a non-aligned foreign policy. Above all, Mir Bezanjo was a clean and principled politician -- a statesman who was not allowed to play his due role. MIRZA MOHAMMAD IBRAHIM Mirza Mouhammad Ibrahim was perhaps the noblest icon produced by Pakistan's labour. None of his peers could match his tenacity of purpose and commitment to werkers' uplift. In his life was reflected nearly the entire story of the country's labour movement -- its modest origins, its sensitivity to historical shifts in humankind's destiny, and its grim struggles against a state apparatus equipped with the ultimate weapons of coercion. Born poor and allowed only a limited exposure to the three 'Rs' he learnt the trade union ropes through a bitter and relentless struggle. Luck of material resources did not deter him and he trudged hundreds of miles to awaken fellow workers, to inspire them for collective action, to give them confidence in their ability not only to gain their rights but also to become agents of all round change. His organisation capacity was recognised quite early in his life when he acquired prominence in the largest trade union organisation ofthe pre-partition days and shared glory with a small band of labour stalwarts, one of them eventually becoming President of India. In his own homeland his faith was tested in every conceivable way -- he was refused the right to travel abroad, his union was denied registration for long years, and he was repeatedly incarcerated on flimsiest of grounds including vagrancy. And to deny him the right to represent his electors in the legislature of his deprived children could hold Mirza Ibrahim back. He avliantly stood by the post he had chosen for himself till bthe last ounce of energy in his body. Whatever Pakistan's labour achieves in the decades to come it will owe a great deal to the grotty campaigner -- a humble man called Mirza Ibrahim. MIR KHALIUR RAHMAN Mir Khaliur Rahman took out the Jang Dehli in 1941 during the Second World War. From this humble beginning was to evolve the largest newspaper empire in Pakistan. What distinguished Mir Khaliure Rahman from other newspaper owners was his emphasis on reporting -- something he had learnt in his early career in Dehli as a reporter, news editor, editor and distributer all rolled into one. Migrating to Pakistan at the time of partition, Mir Khaliur Rahman re-estadlished Jang in Karachi -- starting in a rented building, with a mearge Rs 5,000. Not only did he make Jang the largest-selling Urdu paper in the country, he expanded his enterprise by launching the English weekly eveninger Daily News, Urdu weekly Akhbare Jehan and English weekly Mag. The News, the English morning newspaper la unched by the Jang Group, was one yea r old a t the time of Mir Khaliur Rahman's death in 1992. He was never shy of experimenting, and the first to introduce new technology. Qualities which made his a trendsetter in Pakistan journalism. M.R.KAYANI, JUSTICE When Ayub khan's martial law and the accompanying censorship rendered the whole country speechless, Justice M.r Khyani's voice rang louder' for his was a voice of dissent. The Munir Kayani report which co-authored at the end of laborious investigations into the anti-Ahmedi riots of 1953 remains the most telling treatise on the dangers of succumbing to an ideological framework. As a judge and then chief justice, his speeches at various formus were widely covered by the national prees, not least because of the rare combination of intellect, wit, courage and integrity he personified. He originally belonged to the Civil Service of Pakistan and after having served for eight years on the executive side, was transferred to the judiciary in 1938. He rose to become a judge of the Punjab High Court in 1949 and then the chief justice of the West Pakistan High Court in 1958. In 1956, he was ecelted president of the West Pakistan Branch of the CSP Association in which capacity he strove to uphold the status of the Civil Service of Pakistan. His characteristic brand of humour and caustic, witty remarks did not spare even presidents. The most popular speaker of the country in the last four years of his life, a collection of his speeches have appeared in the fomrm of various books like The Whole Truth, Not the Whole Truth, Half truths, A judge May Laugh and Afkar-e-Parishen. MIAN MOHAMMAD IFTIKHARUDDIN Mian Mohammad Iftikharuddin is a unique character in Pakistan's political history. He consistently served his people without any opportunity of rulling over them. Thus he belongs to that category who help shape their society by the ideas they foster and the causes they uphold, as distinguishable from those whose actions in authority determine the nature and functioning of the collective. Gifted with a board vision of life, derived from the ideals of democracy, pease, secularism and egalitarianism, he occupies a prominent place in a small group of eminent Pakistais who offered an alternative to objectives and practices that militated against the spirit of the age, because of which, among other things, dictators and philistines have never gone completely unchallenged. Iftikharuddin raised his voice of sanity whenever the state took a wrong turn. His brave attempt to find a settlement between the Muslim Leauge and the Congress on the eve of partition is well known, as is his role in triggering off the Muslim Leauge civil disobedience movement early in 1947. He called for land reforms not only the grounds of economic and social necessity but also to ensure a rational stellement of the refugees and painless national integation. Struggles for civil liberties, a federation or confederation based on the rights of nationalities, and independence foreign policy were permanent features of the creed. When martial law was enforced in Lahore in 1953 he warned that the way was being prepared for military rule; he warned Ghulam Mohammad against relying on the army to dissolve the Constituent Assembly; he denounced the one-unit as being against provincial rights; and the rejected the 1956 Constitution as being against both national interest and Islam. This record established him as one of the most perceptive politicians Pakistan has had. There is very little in his debit column -- his failure to respond seriously to the Objectives Resolation, his election and business tricks, and his inability to convince his radical supporters that his lifestyle did not compromise his convictions. Perhaps his most durable contribution came in the from of Progressive Papers which not only set standards in conscious and responsible journalism but also served as a nursery for a whole generation of journalista and defined the framework for a few press that has been one of the nation's saving graces. MUSHTAQ AHMAD YOUSAFI Born in Tonk, rajistan, Mushtaq Ahmad Yousafi graduated from Aligarh University and worked for several banks before the president of the united bank Ltd in 1974. Yousafi is arguably one of the most original humourist in Urdu. His carefully crafted prose is a marvel in lucidity. While the situation and characters in his writings are funny enough, there is nothing vitriolic about them. There is considerable compassion in his point of view and a healthy tolerance of human foibles. His first book was made up of sketches but gradually his writing has become a composite genre in which sketch-writing is generally mixed with fiction, realism and humour. His book, Aab-i-Gum, is a milestone in Urdu prose. MOHAMMAD YOUSUF For years snooker was played in Pakistan as a minor sport, limited to a few clubs that were scattered in the major cities of the country. but a 42-years-old, balding man changed everything, bringing a boom so big that it has completely changed the face of the game here. Mohammed yousuf helped snooker become one of Pakistan's most popular games (cricket, hockey and squash being the other ones) by beating Iceland's johannes Johannsson 11-9 in the final to win the world Championship in Johannesburg in Noverber 1944. Since that astonishing triumph there has been no looking back for Pakistan snooker. But unfortunately same is not the case with Yousuf. The champ had to stay away from the national and international circuit for more than a year after being banned by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PPSA) because of a bitter fight with some top national officials in 1998. It was the wrost period of Yousuf's illustrious career which has been him becoming the only Pakistan to win both the World and Asian titles (he reigned supreme in the '98 Asian Championship in Karachi'). Yousuf also won the national title a record nine times, having claimed his first one in 87. He war with PBSA seems to have ended now and Yousuf is set to make a comeback early next year as the joint Pakistan number one along with archrival Saleh Mohammed. |