KARACHI: Speakers at a programme to commemorate the centennial birthday of one of the most influential educationists of the country, Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah, called him a public intellectual and a teacher to the very core whose efforts improved the once extremely poor girls’ education.

“He established girls’ schools across the country when he was the director education. It was an act which was rigorously opposed by influential lords and tribal chiefs then, but later on they conceded how great that work was,” said Dr Rafiq Mustafa Shah, son of Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah, while speaking at the programme.

The reference was organised on Sunday by the Servants of Sindh Society and the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi at the latter’s auditorium.

Mr Shah said girls’ education was almost non-existent in the country several decades earlier. However, when his father became director education and served in all the provinces of the country, he took conscientious efforts to improve that.

“The opposition was huge, but my father was courageous and firm [and] got established girls’ schools even in the most neglected, remotest regions of the country.”

He said Mr Shah became a trustee in the Quaid-i-Azam Trust upon Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah’s insistence. He said during a visit of Sindh University, when late Shah was the VC, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said: “Governments come and go, vice chancellors too; but you are lucky to have Shah Sahib who is an institution himself.”

He said late Shah also served as a member on the board of Unesco twice and at times he presided over the board.

“He was an out-and-out teacher. A person, who can be an influential person for being a Syed; yet, he chose to be a teacher to improve the then dismal and poor education indicators,” said Dr Suleman Shaikh, educationist and intellectual.

He said that apart from being a vice chancellor of the University of Sindh and a federal education minister in Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s first government, late Shah’s huge contribution was to form the Servants of Sindh Society and publishing the Sindh Quarterly journal.

He said the society had a wide range of members from the intelligentsia. The society was active for more than 25 years and expressed the views on social, economic, political, literary and human rights issues.

Fazul Suleiman Kazi said Shah was a man of initiative and drive who initiated bold venture of publication of Sindh Quarterly.

“As a public intellectual it was his conviction that truth must be told; whatever be the consequences, in the larger public interest for stable order of the society,” he said.

Former federal minister Javed Jabbar said he had worked as a minister in the guidance of Sayid Ghulam Mustafa Shah whose personality epitomised knowledge and wisdom.

Politician Mehtab Rashdi said she was a teacher in Sindh University when Mr Shah was its VC. She shared her memories of that time and expressed anguish that there were so many huge personalities who served Sindh, but their services were not being acknowledged.

Prof Aijaz Qureshi said while a student of Sindh Madressatul Islam, late Shah took to the streets to get donations from philanthropists to provide education to poor deserving students.

Prof Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, Mohibullah Shah, and Ghulam Mohammad Lakho also spoke.

Dr Ayoub Shaikh moderated the proceedings.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2019