Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo lived a long life during which he witnessed many cataclysmic events, but instead of becoming a silent spectator, he chose to resist. Till his last breath on Nov 9, 2017, Joyo continued his fight on ideological, literary and intellectual fronts.

Born in 1915 to a peasant family in present-day Jamshoro District, Joyo received early education in his village, then went to Karachi, and later Bombay [Mumbai] for further studies. In Bombay, in 1940, he came under the influence of the Marxist leader M.N. Roy, who helped found the communist parties of India and Mexico, then created the Radical Democratic Party (RDP) and then ultimately abandoned Marxism to develop the philosophy of radical humanism.

Joyo, who translated Roy’s book The Historical Role of Islam, joined the RDP and on his return to Sindh, brought many young writers into the revolutionary fold. Among these was Shaikh Ayaz, who later rose to prominence for his modern Sindhi poetry. Joyo’s role in Ayaz’s intellectual development transformed Ayaz into a poet who did not merely entertain, but attempted to set fire to an old and decaying system to make way for a new world. Joyo edited Ayaz’s works, wrote elaborate commentaries on his poetry and published his books. Letters between them are considered masterpieces of Sindhi prose for their lyrical style and thought-provoking content. Ayaz himself acknowledged Joyo’s contribution in these words: “[He] opened for me the doors of a new world. All the pillars of the old world crumbled. For me, the fetters of the past were broken and a new path was paved. His friendship with me was like the friendship between Rumi and Shams Tabrez who burnt the books of Rumi with his glance.”

Editor, translator and political activist, Ibrahim Joyo was ultimately a teacher and mentor who helped mould the minds of generations of Sindhi readers

Joyo remained active on the RDP’s platform and published, with other party workers, the magazine Freedom Calling. During the elections of 1945, he campaigned in Thar and Umerkot against the feudal and moneyed class. Distraught by the rapid communalisation of politics and fearing that this could swallow up not just Sindh, but the entire subcontinent, in 1947 he published the book Save Sindh, Save the Continent from Feudal Lords, Capitalists and Their Communalisms. It didn’t sit well with the authorities. The book was banned and Joyo was terminated from his position as a teacher at Sindh Madressatul Islam.

In 1951 Joyo was appointed Secretary of the Sindhi Adabi Board. At the time, a mere four years after Partition, there was a huge void in Sindhi literature as most writers had left the region. In the 10 years he held his position, Joyo worked to translate the world’s best books on literature, history, anthropology, economics and science into Sindhi, as well as source books on Sindh’s history written in Persian, Arabic and English. Books on Shah Latif Bhitai and authentic texts of classical Sindhi poets such as Bekas, Sami, Sachal Sarmast, Qadir Bux Bedil and Shah Abdul Karim Bulri were published. A 40-volume collection of folk literature and a comprehensive Sindhi dictionary were also conceived. During Joyo’s time, the Board published some 400 books and he was personally involved in each, from conception to printing, proofing, editing and, in some cases, even re-rewriting them. From 1997 to 2002, he once again remained with the Board as its honorary chairman.

Joyo resurrected the then defunct quarterly Mehran and edited it for two years and launched a children’s magazine, Gul Phul. One of the finest editors in Sindh’s literary scene, he set canons and standardised the language, usage and punctuation; coined terms and words; and developed a syntax that is followed today as a standard model.

Although Joyo edited — and wrote prefaces for — hundreds of books, he is mainly known for his wonderful translations. He was inspired by the European Renaissance and believed a similar revival on rationalist, scientific, secular and humanist lines was needed for Sindh. To this end, he selected the works of Stephen Zweig (The Right to Heresy), Howard Moore (Savage Survivals), Paulo Freire (Pedagogy of the Oppressed), Bertolt Brecht (The Life of Galileo), Emile Erichman and Alexander Chatain (The History of a Peasant) Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Tse Tung to translate. Joyo believed the way to bring forth a revolution was through progressive education, not armed struggle, and his translations of Plutarch’s On the Education of Children and Jean-Jacque Rousseau’s Emile, or On Education elucidated the principles of liberal education for the creation of a just society. He also translated some of Sindhi political leader G.M. Sayed’s works into English.

These, and other similar books, helped mould the minds of generations of readers and were employed by progressive political parties during the ’70s and ’80s to instill secular and progressive values in the political cadre. The same political cadre later spilled over into journalism and the civil society of Sindh and continues to uphold these values.

Of course, Joyo was not spared by obscurantist forces for introducing such enlightenment. A battle of ideas ensued between the liberal left and the religious right. A smear campaign was launched. He and his companions were vilified for being atheists and corrupting the minds of the youth. Polemics were written against them. Pamphlets were pasted on walls and demonstrations were held demanding

their arrest and bans on their works. Articles and editorials were written in newspapers and magazines, court battles were fought and won. This ideological clash set a course which is still followed in Sindhi literature.

Joyo formed, or was associated with, many organisations that promoted Sindhi literature and secular and progressive values. During the ’80s, when it was realised that a government institution such as the Sindhi Adabi Board couldn’t play its due role, Joyo and his associates founded the Sindhi Writers’ Cooperative Society under whose aegis were published 40 books, including Joyo’s translation of Rousseau’s The Social Contract and Georges Politzer’s Elementary Principles of Philosophy. Progressive writers promoted from this platform included Fatah Malik, Narain Shyam, Tanveer Abbasi, Ayaz Gul, Adal Soomro, Altaf Abbasi, G.M. Mehkri and Qazi Faiz Mohammad. This was also the first time that a complete collection of the triumvirate of Sindhi classical poetry — Shah, Sachal and Sami — was published. Joyo wrote an elaborate introduction to this, describing the historical, socio-economic and intellectual background that shaped the work of these great poets. This introduction was later separately published for fear that including it might result in the banning of the works of these revered Sufi poets.

As the noose of Gen Ziaul Haq’s regime tightened, another organisation, the Sindh Friends’ Circle, was formed. Its many publications included a Sindhi translation of Dr Mubarak Ali’s article ‘Sindh Ki Tareekh Kaisay Likhee Jaye’. Joyo, along with such stalwarts as Sirajul Haq Memon and Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah, was instrumental in the formation of the Servants of Sindh Society, a think tank of Sindhi intellectuals working to protect the region’s political sovereignty and economic interests during Zia’s regime. After Ayaz’s demise, a foundation in his name and headed by Joyo was established to publish Ayaz’s unpublished works. In 1995 the Sindh Education Trust was established and Joyo was appointed co-chairman and managing trustee.

Despite these stellar achievements, Joyo was essentially a teacher. He guided hundreds of able students, including nationalist politician Rasool Bux Palijo, former chief minister and caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and former information secretary Ali Ahmed Brohi. He wrote, edited and translated more than 40 textbooks, including the Sindhi Reader, a teacher’s guide to science, and wrote treatises on curriculum and teaching methods.

Over his impressive life of 102 years, Joyo worked hard to elevate the status of the Sindhi language and bring it at par with other advanced languages of the world. He was tireless in his efforts for a prosperous, progressive and secular Sindh. Until his final years he was translating important texts on feminism and secularism into Sindhi. Till his body and mind permitted, he wrote newspaper articles on issues of language, politics, education and society. Till he could speak, he gave lectures to spread consciousness of national and humanist values. To the very end he received students, teachers, literati, political workers and social activists at his study at the Journalists Colony. After more than a century, he leaves behind a rich legacy of inspiration.

The writer is a translator and author of short stories

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, December 10th, 2017