Call to include Sufism in syllabi

LAHORE: World Punjabi Congress Chairman Fakhar Zaman has urged the Punjab government to include a compulsory paper on Sufism at College and University level. He once again deplored the inaction of the authorities concerned towards the shrines of great Sufi poets, and demanded the government that priority should be given to renovation of the mausoleums of these poets. In his presidential address to the conference on Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, he said these great poets are the messengers of tolerance, peace, brotherhood and love for mankind.
Fakhar Zaman reiterated his demand to make Punjabi language compulsory at the primary level and urged the MPAs to speak in Punjabi in the provincial assembly. He vehemently advocated the need of Punjabi University to be established in Lahore. WPC, Zaman said, would be holding conferences on Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid and Shah Hussain before the start of Ramazan and afterwards conferences would be arranged on Sultan Bahu, Khawaja Farid, to be followed by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast, Shah Inayat, Mast Tawakali, Khushhaal Khan Khattak and Rehman Baba. He said that Sufi poets were the only source of the national integration.
Fakhar Zaman said they could give soft image of the country beleaguered by extremism. He emphasised that all languages spoken in Pakistan were national languages of the country and the use of terminology of regional languages was derogatory.
Afzal Raaz, eminent Punjabi writer and editor of a local daily, said that like every year his organisation would again hold moot on Punjabi in Gujrat. He said he agreed with WPC chairman that curricula at college and university level should be radically changed. Iftikhar Bhutta said Punjabi movement was a progressive movement and the protagonists had to take strong steps for the recognition of this language. Mansoor Amin admired the poetry of Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, which he said, was full of symbolism of the human romances and travails. Iftikhar Warraich said he would be in the forefront in the demonstrations for the rights of Punjabi language. Ashfaq Ayaz, Qazi Qamar-ul-Islam, Chaudhry Shair Bahadur, Shareef Fayyaz and Iqbal Ballum spoke on different aspects of Mian Muhammad’s poetry and recited his verses. In the end, Chaudhry Ismail presented WPC Chairman the correct version of Saif-ul-Malooq, which he said, was a labour of 15 years to find out the actual manuscripts written by Mian Sahib.