KARACHI: The Institute of Historical and Social Research (IHSR) organised an evening of remembrance at the Zaki Hasan Auditorium at the Jinnah Medical and Dental College for several scholars who recently lost their lives to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Addressing the sombre gathering, Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed said that everyone had read about pandemics in history but who had thought that they would also see one in their lifetime.

“It’s a national and international calamity. But making the most of the time spent working from home, IHSR’s researchers got the time to work on several reports about how Pakistan coped with the pandemic. We have 30 such reports ready along with books, too, penned by notable personalities such Zahida Hina and Anis Haroon,” he said.

He also said that they have prepared lists of Pakistani scholars who died due to coronavirus.

Tributes paid to late academics Munir Wasti, Jazib Siddiqui, Shakeel Farooqi, Arif Rizvi, Fahmida Islam and Aquila Islam

“There have been too many precious lives that have been lost. The list was too long so we broke it down into those who belonged to Karachi but it was long even then. Still, we have gathered here today to remember some of our dear friends,” he said.

Prof Dr Anwar Shaheen of the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, spoke about her colleague Prof Dr Syed Munir Wasti.

“We have lost several beacons due to this pandemic and Prof Wasti was one of those who left us very quietly. Many of us didn’t even know of his passing and could not attend his funeral,” she said.

She also mentioned how serious the late professor would be about discipline among students. “He was soft, yet firm. No students were favoured by him, which made us afraid for his life. We would worry that some student may hurt him physically, so much so that we thought of replacing him,” she said, adding that he also loved books and spent much of his time in the Pakistan Study Centre library.

She also remembered how her daughter, when little, attended his wife’s nursery school. “Then our children also started frequenting his place and we all also befriended his pet dog and duck,” she shared.

“He would also buy old books and reproduce them after reading so that more and more people can benefit from them,” she said.

Writer and columnist Dr Rukhsana Saba spoke about Prof Jazib Siddiqui, who hailed from Lucknow and was expected to work to help his family at the age of seven. “But he wanted to study. And his love for education made him so enlightened that he became a poet, a journalist and a film-maker, too. He was traditional and yet forward-looking,” she said.

Dr Fayyaz Ghias remembered Karachi University’s Dr Shakeel Farooqi.

“I didn’t know much about him other than the fact that he taught genetics when I came to teaching pharmacy at KU,” he said. “When I tried finding out about him, I was told that he had been a student leader and was still involved in politics. But he turned out to be a very open-minded gentleman when I got to know him better. Yes, he would debate and clash on topics with me but we would still remain friends as he would also hear me out,” he said.

“He was a fine teacher, he was a mentor, a friend, a philosopher and guide. He also supervised PhDs and wanted his students to be enlightened rather than just earn a degree,” he said.

Prof Anis Zaidi spoke about Prof Arif Rizvi. “He used to organise the best science exhibitions that everyone used to look forward to. They became quite popular and earned him much respect. He would even use money from his pocket not to mention his free time and energy for science. It is people like him who give hope to the young and prepare them for the world,” he said.

Prof Aziz Fatima spoke about her friends Prof Fahmida Islam and her older sister Prof Aquila Islam, both of whom along with their younger brother succumbed to Covid-19 in Dubai recently.

Prof Fatima said that she was friend with the older sister Prof Aquila and through her she also became close to Prof Fahmida. She said both sisters were like stars in a galaxy of learned individuals as their entire family is enlightened.

“Dr Aquila had vision. She had reached where she did in her profession not by cutting anyone out. Even private universities benefited by her way of research because ‘impossible’ was not a part of her vocabulary. Everything was possible for her,” she remembered.

Senator Taj Haider said that Prof Aquila and Prof Fahmida and their family was like his own family. “Prof Aquila was my elder sister’s friend and confidante and my entire family has been terribly disturbed by the loss. Their other surviving brother veteran journalist Ghazi Salahuddin has also called this past one year as a lost year. They were all taking precautions, and then when the vaccines became available they also got themselves vaccinated. Everyone stayed at home. No one dared go outside. But then only recently they decided to travel to Dubai to see family, and there both sisters and their brother got infected with Covid,” he said, wondering at the irony of it.

“Aquila was a nuclear physicist. She had a PhD in the subject from abroad. The late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto used to call her an asset for Pakistan. Aquila and her siblings were part of a generation which made hard work their aim,” he added.

Finally, Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, who was presiding over the programme, said that all the esteemed people remembered had certain things in common. “They were all positive thinkers. Such people are there to better or improve societies. Their intellectualism is prominent,” he said.

He added that all educated people cannot be called ‘intellectuals’. “Intellectuals have a different thought process. They review things and they question. And despite having a greater understanding of things they remain humble and happy in their kind of academic work,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2021