Speakers at a conference on Thursday said Dr Mubarak Ali, an internationally-acclaimed historian and intellectual, had written the history of the people, instead of just about kings and heroes, and for the people, instead of the elite and a certain class.
The Institute of Historical and Social Research organised the two-day conference titled ‘Celebrating Dr Mubarak Ali -- the people’s historian’, at the Arts Council of Pakistan.
The conference started with poetry of Sufi saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai performed by Basharat Ali and his colleagues.
The inauguration session was presided over by Dr Syed Haroon Ahmed, Senator Hasil Bizenjo, Tasneem Siddiqui, Dr Tariq Sohail and Aslam Gordaspuri.
Dr Syed Jaffer Ahmed, the programmme’s organiser, said that 21 papers would be presented by academics, researchers and literary activists to discuss the works of Dr Ali in the two-day conference, while 10 personalities would chair various sessions.
Ahmed, who is also a known academic and former head of the Pakistan Study Centre at the University of Karachi, said that most of the speakers in the conference were mid-career academics and researchers whose works would have an impact on the coming generations.
He said that Dr Ali had expanded the horizon of history and made it accessible to the common people. “Through his work, Dr Ali has not only challenged the narratives of ruling elites but he also always tries to build history on the progressive mode of thinking,” he said.
“Through organsing the conference, we are in fact celebrating the work of Dr Ali,” said Ahmed.
He said Dr Ali diverted the focus of history from the kings to the histories of people, culture, nomads, ideas and traditions and made people realise how vast the scope of history could be.
Academics and intellectual in their papers eulogised the efforts of Dr Ali to speak up and write boldly against the status quo, tyranny and ruling elite.
In the inauguration ceremony, Dr Ghafir Shahzad presented his paper titled ‘Dr Ali – Past and Present’, while Dr Naazir Mahmood presented his paper titled ‘Seminal works of Dr Ali’.
Dr Tahira Khan presented her paper titled ‘Dr Ali and the materialistic concept of history’, while Dr Afiya Zia presented her paper titled ‘People’s History-- its possible avenues and scope in Pakistan’.
Dr Mubarak Ali also spoke on the topic ‘How to write Pakistan’s history’.
Today, on the second day of the conference, five sessions will be conducted in the second day of the conference.
Dr Shah Muhammad Marri, Dr Sarfarz Khan, Prof Aijaz Qureshi, Dr Huma Ghaffar, Zubaida Mustafa, Dr Ali Raza, Dr Ali Usman Qasmi, Dr Sara Ansari, Dr Khizer Ansari, Ahmed Saleem, Dr Arfana Mallah, Amar Sindhu and Dr Manan Ahmed.