Rich tributes paid to Pakistan's Sufi saint Shah Latif Bhitai [RA]
Pakistan Times National News Desk

ISLAMABAD: There is earnest need to spread the message of love and peace in the present times that are not friendly and paint a gloomy picture of the world. Federal Minister for Anti-Narcotics Ghaus Buksh Mehar made these remarks while addressing a National Literary Conference on Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai [RA] jointly organized by Shah Latif Social & Cultural Organization and Pakistan Academy of Letters on Tuesday.

The Shah Latif organization had convened the literary conference to observe the 261st death anniversary of the saint, sufi and poet of Sindhi language Shah Abdul Latif. He said without the complete understanding of the saint’s message, the gulf between communities and nations can hardly be bridged.

He said Shah Abdul Latif’s message is relevant to these present cruel times when efforts are being made to estrange civilisations from one another, and divide humanity in different camps. He paid rich tributes to Shah Latif who composed verses dedicated to love and peace. It is the richness of his poetic vision and the broadness of the canvas he painted in his kalam that every champion of human rights and politics claims Shah Latif and takes pride in carrying on with his philosophy in his movement.

Poetry is Universality

The chief characteristic of his poetry is ‘Universality’. The minister promised all-out help in helping such translation projects. It was Dr Ghazanfar Mehdi who drew the attention toward the pressing need of translation of Shah Latif’s works.

In the past, the terrain of Sindh stretched from Khunjrab to Gwadar and Mekran, and hence the whole civilization of Pakistan is compressed in the word ‘Sindh’, said he. The other word Hind indicates the civilisation found in the areas which now belonged to Hind or India.

Therefore, we must respect our ancient history bound with Sindh that opened the gateway to Islam in this sub-continent. The federal cultural institutions must devote a share of their energy and time in disseminating the message of universal love of humanity embedded in Shah’s literary works.

Qasim Hyder gave an account of how Shah Latif [RA] had impacted his entire life. In his infant days his mother used to sing Shah’s poems in his ears, and when he grew up he got the opportunity of keeping up with Shah’s poems at every stage of his life.

Metaphor of Sussi

The fact that Shah Abdul Latif [RA] had reproduced the verses of the Holy Quran in cadenced and musical language was also shared in the paper presented at the literary conference by Ms Rukh-e-Naz. Another speaker and noted columnist Hashim Abro said the concept of enlightened moderation was strewn in Shah’s message and those who want to understand the concept must read Bhitai.

Muhammad Ibrahim said Shah used the metaphor of ‘Sussi’ to express love for his ancestral land of Hala, where he was born. He was keen to help the distressed people who were suffering at the time under the reign of Kalhoro dynasty. The Shah sought social justice for his people but advised them to forge ahead with love and smile even in trying conditions.●