The reference under way on Tuesday evening.
KARACHI: The Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi on Tuesday evening held in its Josh Malihabadi Library an event to pay tribute to the renowned Indian literary critic, playwright and poet Prof Shamim Hanfi who passed away on May 6 this year.
Indian poet Ranjit Singh Chohan, who joined proceedings online, was the first speaker. He said Hanfi sahib’s death was his personal loss. He was the life of literary events. Chohan regretted the fact that in the second wave of the pandemic when the late scholar couldn’t make it to the Jashn-i-Adab [in India] he didn’t like it and stopped taking his calls for some time. Afterwards he himself and Hanfi sahib contracted coronavirus. The latter reached a stage where he needed the support of a ventilator.
Ekushey . . . Before and After the Shootings
Syed Badrul Ahsan
21st February, 2021 02:52:58
Dhirendranath Dutta rose in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly on 25 February 1948 in defence of Bangla. He was shouted down by Liaquat Ali Khan. On 21 March 1948, speaking in Dhaka, Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in clear disregard of Bengali sentiments, asserted that Urdu alone would be the state language of Pakistan.
The road to disaster was beginning to be paved.
Observe Ratan Lal Chakrabarty’s work, Bhasha Andoloner Dolilpotro (Documents of the Language Movement), a revealing record of the happenings leading to Ekushey 1952 and beyond.
Prior to the tragic happenings of February 1952, elements unwilling to acknowledge the primacy of the Bengali language in Pakistan went all the way voicing their determination to keep what they called the Pakistan ideology intact. The consequences were sometimes hilarious. There was the Aga Khan, with his bizarre suggestion that as a way o