Karachi
Many speakers, including former student leaders, social activists and intellectuals, showered tributes on the late socialist leader Meraj Muhammad Khan for his untiring advocacy of the cause of the betterment of the oppressed and the disempowered and for the promotion of egalitarianism, at a condolence meeting held at the Karachi Press Club on evening..
Federal minister for information, broadcasting, and national heritage, Pervaiz Rashid, eulogized Meraj’s adherence to his commitment to struggling to ameliorate the lot of the oppressed and raising a voice against exploitation by the capitalists.
Rashid said alongside his advocacy of revolution, Meraj was perhaps the gentlest soul ever. “Meraj was a national asset”, he added. He recalled Meraj’s sentence of six years’ prison during the Yahya regime and said that had the government heeded his word in 1970, “today in Pakistan we would not have had to face extremism and social disruption. Today we would have had a more beautiful’ Pakistan”.
Meraj’s vision, Rashid said, was that of a highly educated, emancipated Pakistan, totally free of the trappings of bigotry, extremism, and religious intolerance, a Pakistan which was free of the curse of exploitation by capitalists.
“Meraj was a staunch advocate of civilian rule. Our best tribute to him would be through enforcing freedom of speech and our educational institutions curbing divisiveness, whether ethnic, religious, or class discrimination,” the minister said.
He said Meraj found it distressing when he saw capitalists pocketing the fruits of the workers’ labour, the product of the sweat of their brow.
Umar Baloch, another speaker, Meraj was an essential part of the history of Pakistan. He recalled a political meeting at Sachal Goth where two provincial groups came to a head-on clash and arms were used freely. Everybody there ran helter-skelter and hid wherever they could except for Meraj who kept sitting most calmly on the chair he had been sitting on which gave them all courage.
“We should follow in Meraj’s footsteps and spread his message of socialism and egalitarianism”, he added.
Columnist Muqtada Mansoor recalled his acquaintance with Meraj in 1967. He said Meraj was a bright star on the horizon of struggle for the oppressed. He recalled Meraj’s resignation when Mumtaz Bhutto ordered firing on a group of students.
Manzoor Razi, former president of the Railway Workers’ Union, recalled how Meraj had resigned when police killed workers at the Daud Mill.
Abdul Khaliq Junejo said Meraj had resigned when he found that Bhutto’s actions were just benefiting the establishment.
He said that it was wrong to say that the world had changed. The only change, he said, was that the Soviet Union had gone. “Capitalist exploitation is every bit there. That’s what Meraj was crusading against,” he added.
Noted industrialist and former head of the Citizens’-Police Liaison Committee, Nazim Haji, said Meraj’s crusade imparted dignity of labour to the workers. “We all gather for condolence references but where are we when they are alive?” he queried.
Pakistan People’s Party worker Rashed Rabbani said Meraj had opposed the financial coercion of the West. He fought against US imperialism.
“To honour his memory, we must go all-out to counter the extremism, the bigotry that we find in our society today.
Ahmed Shah of the Arts Council said today in the post-modernist era we had all kinds of new doctrines being propounded but no profound books on the socialist struggle by any of the “comrades”.
“We only have speeches. Books are the foundation of socialism,” he added.
He suggested forming a web site in memory of Meraj and document all about him and his struggle. Senior journalist Ahfazur Rehman did not speak himself but his speech was read out by Momin Khan, wherein Ahfaz recalled his association with Meraj and his brother Minhaj Barna in the struggle for the betterment of the lot of the oppressed and the journalists.
Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Munawwar Hassan recalled his association with Meraj through the NSF and suggested that regardless of ideological orientation, people from all schools should get together and tackle social dilemmas.
Noted journalist Beena Sarwar recalled her acquaintance with brothers Meraj and Minhaj Barna through her late father, the late Dr Sarwar, who was president of the Democratic Students’ Union in 1949. Dr Abdul Malik, former Chief Minister of Balochistan, recalled Meraj’s struggle against dictatorship in the 60s.
“How I wish today there were lots of Merajs. We must take pains to advance his message of egalitarianism,” he said.
Leftist leader Yusuf Masti Khan said Meraj may be gone but as long as oppression and exploitation remained, Meraj would be in our midst.. “Meraj Muhammad Khan is the name of a liberation movement,” he added.
Another leftist intellectual, Zahida Hina, in her very erudite discourse, recalled Meraj’s struggle against capitalist oppressors and usurpers of the fruits of the workers’ labour. She said that Meraj was always fully alive to the “machinations” of the US in the internal affairs of Pakistan. She highlighted his staunchly anti-imperialist stance.
Others who spoke were Hisamul Haque, formerly of the NSF, Anis Baqar, and a whole lot of others who were still to speak till the time of this report was filed. The reference was held under the aegis of The Friends of Meraj Muhammad Khan.
