DSF Convention Karachi, June 3, 4-7 pm at PMA House

Democratic Students Federation is holding its first convention in Karachi after its revival a year ago. The hallmark program will take place on June 3rd, 4.00-7.00 pm at P.M.A House, Karachi. D.S.F will celebrate memories of its great late Comrade Mansoor Saeed, and D.S.F’s cultural wing will present its work and documentaries whereas Laal Band’s ex-vocalist Shahram Azhar and famous classical dancer Sheema Kermani will also add flare to the convention. Here’s the link to the Facebook event.

Pakistani doctors in America: continuing a legacy of progressive student activism

Poet Fehmida Riaz with Dr Naseem Shekhani of NHF at the launch of the Urdu English Medical Dictionary in Karachi, Dec 31, 2010

Anyone interested in healthcare in Pakistan – check out and support National Health Forum (NHF), a registered tax-exempt organisation in America initiated by a group of Pakistani doctors, many of whom were activists with the progressive National Students Federation (NSF)in their student days.

Screengrab of NHF website

The causes they have taken up include maternal care, child cancer (working to build a children’s cancer hospital) and helping flood survivors in Pakistan through the Pakistan Medical Association. They also support non-profit organisations in USA in the healthcare and medical education sectors. I love that Dr Sher Shahis listed in their website as one of the ‘projects’ they support (if you don’t know who he is, you should. Look him up). Another project, and a great success, is the launch of the much-needed Medical Urdu-English Dictionary. The informative website includes links to PDFs of their reports). Also do check out and ‘like’ the NHF facebook page.

‘Looking back to look forward’: event videos now online

A play list of 16 clips from ‘Looking back to look forward’, the three-hour long event held in Karachi on Jan 9, 2010 to commemorate Dr Sarwar and the 1953 student movement. Click this playlist link to see a list of all the clips. Clickable in chronological order below:

Video links: “Looking back to look forward”

Finally managed to convert and upload the video of the inspiring event held on Jan 9, 2010 to commemorate Dr Sarwar and the 1953 student movement – total of 16 clips, featuring great speeches, music, poetry and people –  http://www.youtube.com/p/A7510E99FB0730E2?hl=en_US&fs=1
Click here for photos and report of the event

Video footage by Sakhawat Ali, tel 03012712659, Karachi.

Cambridge Karachi Portrait: Dr Sarwar

British artist and filmmaker Caroline Jaine was recently in Pakistan as part of her Cambridge – Karachi project,in which she finds connections between these two cities. She has edited several short films for story-telling purposes and is about to begin work on the 23 minute film about Karachi. The part on Dr Sarwar is embedded above. Below, links to all the films:

• Cambridge Karachi Portrait.  Story-telling 5: Faraz Khan
• Cambridge Karachi Portrait.  Story-telling 6: Sarah Faruqui
• Cambridge Karachi Portrait.  Story-telling 7: Dr Sarwar
• Cambridge Karachi Portrait.  Story-telling 8: Saddar

NSF: Commemorating Jan 8, Karachi event

NSF invite for Jan 8 event at PMA House Karachi, 3 pm

Fatehyab Ali Khan no more. RIP comrade

Sad to hear that Fatehyab Ali Khan is no more. He suffered a massive heart attack in Karachi on Sept 23 and was rushed to hospital where doctors tried to revive him with electric shocks. He was subsequently kept on a ventilator, until doctors gave up hope last night.

He and his contemporary Mairaj Mohammad Khan were very much present at the Jan 9, 2010 event held in Karachi to commemorate the 1950s Democratic Students Federation (DSF) led student movement, during which he had been a high school student. They were happy to be there; their very presence meant a lot to everyone there. The movement inspired him and others of his generation who were inclined towards left-wing, progressive politics.

Keep the fire burning – by Zakia Sarwar

End note, written for the Jan 9, 2010 booklet commemorating DSF, at Karachi Arts Council – an event that gave hope to many.

By Zakia Sarwar

Forty seven years of sharing pain and laughter together… I find it difficult to say even a few words for this great event in which Sarwar is being celebrated and friends and like-minded companions are joining hands to look back in order to forge a way ahead.

When we got married in September 1962, we had the same social circle and family friends in common, great persons such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sibte Hasan, Hamid Akhtar, Zamiruddin Ahmed, Malik Noorani to name just a few. And we also shared the same kind of dreams. He used to dream of going to settle down in a village where I would teach, and he would do his medical practice and gather young men around him to improve their social set up.

That dream remained unfulfilled, but as if to make up for the promise of our unfulfilled dreams, Sarwar supported me in all my activities — whether it was to set up a centre in Sir Syed College to enable girls to earn their living through doing different kinds of handwork, or to be a part of the teachers movement to stand up for their rights against the Ayub regime, or to nurture the English teachers’ organization SPELT (Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers) to create opportunities and provide training for classroom practitioners with limited resources. He was with me in his own unobtrusive way.

Continuing Stories: Social Action and Change – Ruqaiya Hasan

Michael Halliday, Ruqaiya Hasan, Dr M. Sarwar and Zakia Sarwar, Karachi 1970's

By Ruqaiya Hasan

At the heart of every story are individuals – real or fashioned by imagination, crafted by inevitably evaluating memories, and mythologised by history.  At the heart of the story being told here today is also an individual, a Dr Mohammad Sarwar, very real to me, dear as a brother, and always present to my mind though no longer laughing and talking among us. When I first met him in 1964 on a visit to Pakistan, he was to me just a likeable young man, a newly acquired relative – the husband of my sister, Zakia.  He seemed full of fun and easy going, with a gentle sense of humour – so gentle you could miss it if you were not an attentive listener.  It did not take long to find behind this relaxed carefree demeanour, the reflective Sarwar, with a strong social conscience.

Event Book, Jan 9, 2010