In a country where philosophy is not even taught in most public and private colleges and universities, and where there is a systematic effort by the state and society to wipe out any logical reasoning or rational thought, it is unbearable to lose men such as Kazi Javed and Ashfaq Saleem Mirza.
The sense of loss becomes more acute when we realise that both men used Urdu as their main language of expression. Because of their passing, serious scholarship in Urdu — which is already diminishing — has met a major tragedy, particularly when it comes to original writing and translations in the discipline of philosophy. There is hardly anyone left who either enjoys the same stature, or would be able to contribute the way Javed and Mirza did by dedicating their lives to harness logical thinking in an intellectual wilderness.