Farewell, M.B. Naqvi, Prof. Nauman…

The cause of progressive politics in Pakistan suffered two major losses over the past week, with the passing away of veteran Pakistani journalist M.B. Naqvi, 81, on November 7th, and Prof. M. Nauman, 58, on Nov 15th. I know they would both have been present at the event planned for Jan 9-10 to honour and take forward the legacy of the 1950’s student movement – and they remain with us in spirit and through their ideas, work and commitment

The last time I saw Naqvi Sahib was at a peace seminar in Karachi, held to honour Nirmala Didi. He played an active role in the Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) and the Pakistan Peace Coalition. He contributed regularly to The News opinion pages while I was Op-Ed editor there and I felt sad when his column stopped being published. The South Asia Citizens Wire contains a collection of his columns, which reflect his commitment to the cause of peace and rational thought (thanks Harsh Kapoor). Please visit the website maintained by his daughter Aaliya Naqvi-Hai in California and scroll down to leave comments about M.B. Naqvi (thanks Shaheryar Azhar, moderator, The Forum for this information)

Prof. M. Nauman, an associate professor at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, was a social activist and well-known Marxist. He was a prominent student leader associated with the National Students’ Federation during the late 1960s and the early 1970s. He actively participated in the upsurge against military dictator General Ayub Khan in 1969. See Riaz Haq’s note on Chowk and the condolence page for Prof. Nauman he has set up

Shahid Husain’s obituary ‘Prof Nauman bows out’

Article on the Kalabagh controversy by M. Nauman and A. Ercelawn, ‘ Damming Kalabagh: State versus Community, Center versus Territory, Nation versus Federation’, The News, June 21, 1998