Praful Bidwai’s ashes immersed in River Indus

HYDERABAD: The ashes of an Indian journalist and peace activist Praful Bidwai brought from the New Delhi were immersed at a ceremony held at the bank of River Indus near Al-Manzar Point in Jamshoro near here on Saturday.
The Pakistan Peace Coalition (PPC) Sindh organised the event, which was attended by Sindh United Party (SUP) President Jalal Mahmood Shah, Karamat Ali and Zulfiqar Shah of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Zulfiqar Halepoto, General Secretary PPC Sindh, Suleman Abro of Sindh Agriculture and Forest Workers Coordination Organisation (SAFWCO), peasants leader Punhal Sariyo, and others spoke on the occasion.
A large number of civil society activists from Hyderabad, Karachi and other parts of Sindh attended the ash-immersion ceremony at the River Indus. Maharaj Mohan performed the rituals and the participants dissolved the ashes into River Indus.
Karamat Ali of PILER paid rich tribute to late Bidwai for his role to promote peace and communal harmony in the South Asian region, especially for people-to-people contact between the people of Pakistan and India.
He said it was the second time that people of Sindh have received ashes of two peace activists of India, which were immersed in River Indus. Last time ashes of Didi Nirmala Deshpande were received and immersed into the River Indus at Sadh Bela in Sukkur. “This time we dissolve ashes of Praful Bidwai into the River Indus at Jamshoro.”
Praful Bidwai was an analytical journalist, writer and independent scholar, who actively worked against the nuclear proliferation in South Asia and promotion of communal harmony. Jalal Shah of SUP shared his association with late Bidwai, whom he met while visiting India to attend a moot on the South Asian peace and found him friendly with the people of Sindh. He said late Praful struggled for peace because he experienced communal strife in this region. This fight might have led him to contribute to end the communal riots in the entire region.
The SUP leader said Zulfiqar Shah linked the efforts to oppose the nuclear weapons’ race in the region with Sindh province of Pakistan, where people are passing through acute poverty, hunger, diseases and children’s death by malnutrition. He said Bidwai was a true friend of the people of Sindh and now is the time that the people here should realise and recognise their friends and foes.
The other speakers said the people of Sindh are peace-loving and the River Indus is the symbol of unity among the people wherefrom it is flowing. They said the role of Bidwai is inspiring for the people of Pakistan, who are facing acute poverty.