KARACHI, March 15: The influence of Persian on the literary scene in Sindh is quite discernible prior to the downfall of the Talpurs. However, the situation changed drastically under British rule during which English replaced the then official language, Persian.

This was stated by Dr Sajidullah Tafheemi, a Persian scholar, at the 5th International Persian Conference organised by the Department of Persian, University of Karachi, on Saturday.

Speaking as chief guest, the Iranian consul-general in Karachi, Masood Mohammad Zamani, said that the influence of Persian in Sindh had not died out but its role had been considerably reduced.

The diplomat stressed the need for the establishment of centres for the promotion of Persian in Sindh. “When a person chooses a language, it should be spoken without fusion or interpolation of any other language,” Mr Zamani said.

Dr Sajidullah Tafheemi, a retired KU professor, said that Persian flourished in Sindh mainly due to the fact that a number of scholars had migrated from Iran to settle in this part of the world.

“Those scholars kept the language alive even after the decline of Persian in the subcontinent”, he said.

Dr Tafheemi mentioned various genres of books such as mysticism, poetry, religion, history etc. printed frequently in Persian during that time. He also cited the titles of a few Sindhi-Persian dictionaries that were printed in that era.

The director-general of the Khana-i-Farhang Iran, Dr Mehdi Tawasali, said that a research study centre for Persian would soon be established in Karachi.

The vice-chancellor of the University of Karachi, Dr Pirzada Qasim, thanked the distinguished guests from Iran and different cities of Pakistan. Quoting history books, he said that as a matter of fact geographically the entire region from Mehran Valley to Kashmir was once called Sindh.

He also referred to the influence of Persian as well as Iranian culture on Sindh.

Dr Nabi Baksh Baloch presided over the second session of the conference.

Dr Safeer Akhtar, while reading out his papers in the second session, said that the purpose of the British Empire or the East India Company by attaching Sindh to Bombay was to weaken Persian influence in the region.

He said that Dr Mohammad Iqbal was highly inclined towards the Persian language and philosophy and therefore till the time Iqbal’s poetry survived Persian influence in Sindh would live.

Earlier, the chairperson of the Persian department, Dr Rehana Afsar, presented the welcome address.

Dr Chand Bibi, Dr Ghulam Moinuddin Nizami, Dr Mohammad Taqi Mukhtari, Dr Ali Akbar Kajbaf, Dr Mohammad Hussain Tasbeehi and others also spoke.

Workshop

Experts at a two-day workshop on Research and Drug Development, organised by the Bahria University in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), argued that a wide range of opportunities might sprang up once graduates and professionals got trained in international conventions and guidelines for conducting clinical research, adds PPI.

Local and international experts spoke on topics relevant to clinical research with a specific reference to Pakistan.

The speakers were of the view that the opportunities if realized would have a multi-pronged impact on our educational and health infrastructure.

There was a consensus that the opportunities for our young life sciences graduates to participate in various research activities should be the ultimate objective as through their involvement Pakistan could become a potential regional clinical research hub.

Dr Saadat Aliya briefed the audience about the main objectives and achievements of the HEC’s National Group in Life Sciences. “HEC has indeed made significant strides in improving the standards of higher education, the status of universities and further research in science and technology”, she said.

Prof Shaharyar shared his expertise on research concepts and protocol development specifically with reference to clinical research.

He described and discussed the contents of a typical protocol.

Sheikh Ansar talked about the regulatory approval process and allocations (out of central research fund) for any research proposal that was accepted.

A range of clinical research industry specific topics were shared such as to how drugs come into the market place, understanding the basic need for GCP, ethics, Pharmacovigilance, and responsibilities of investigators and sponsors.

Dr Howard Sussman and Dr Lawrence Faulkner also joined in via teleconference.