July 09, 2015
News
Book on Waris Mir sheds light on his life
LAHORE: On the eve of the death anniversary of Waris Mir, one of the country’s noted journalists and writers, the Waris Mir Foundation has published a book titled Waris Mir Kahani which highlights his journalistic contribution and struggle as a daring intellectual.
The 287-page book is primarily a compilation of articles about Waris Mir by the country’s prominent columnists, intellectuals, writers and political activists, which is a testimony to his vivid struggle in the hard times of dictatorship, especially during the dark era of General Ziaul Haq.
The book dwells on Waris Mir’s larger-than-life role as a teacher, journalist, writer, and intellectual, and describes him more as a movement than a man. The foreword of the book states that there have been merely a handful of journalists in the 68-year history of print journalism in Pakistan who had preserved the sanctity of their pen and profession by writing the truth even during the dark days of martial law regimes that were clamped on Pakistan by power hungry dictators.
And Prof Waris Mir tops the list of those gutsy intellectuals. It is an important book, especially for students of journalism, human rights activists, politicians and people in general to recall one of the remarkable persons of our history. Besides being a writer and journalist, Waris Mir was also the chairman of Journalism Department at Punjab University, Lahore. Prominent among those whose articles form a part of the book include Habib Jali, Bushra Rehman, Karar Hussain, Mahmood Mirza, Ahmed Bashir, Asma Jahangir, Farooq Haider Maududi, Mujibur Rehman Shami, Ataul Haq Qasmi, Nazir Naji, Suhail Warraich, Abbas Ather, Khaled Ahmed, Aitzaz Ahsan, Afzal Touseef, Rukhsana Noor, Anwer Kudwai, Javed Chaudhry, Hamid Mir, Raja Anwer, Mewhdi Hasan, Qazi Javed, Irshad Haqqani, Tanveer Qaisar Shahid, Munnoo Bhai, Hasan Nisar and others.
Waris Mir’s son Amir Mir, who has compiled the book, states in the foreword of the publication: “This book highlights the tale of a courageous writer who continued to speak truth at a difficult time and did not refrain from raising voice for freedom and values even though he had to pay a heavy price for it.
The book’s objective is not just to compile articles written about Waris Mir but an effort to focus on the understanding and spirit of these articles”.
At the time of his sudden death in 1987, Waris Mir was at the peak of his professional career as a writer. His writing on contemporary politics, army’s meddling in politics, feminist issues, religious beliefs, philosophical questions punctuated with literary references and historical backgrounds continue to remain relevant long after his death.
It was the firmness of his writings that earned Waris Mir soaring popularity amongst the readers, especially during General Zia’s martial law period when the latter tried to “Islamise” society by enforcing his own version of Shariah.
The books authored by Prof Waris Mir in Urdu language include “Hurriyat-e-Fikar kai Mujahid” (The warriors of the intellectual freedom), “Kaya Aurat Aadhi Hai” (Is woman half the human?), and “Fauj Ki Sayasat” (The politics of the Army).
He was laid to rest in the Punjab University Lahore graveyard close to New Campus Underpass which has already been renamed as the Waris Mir Underpass. He was decorated with Pakistan’s highest civil award – “the Hilal-e-Imtiaz” or the Crescent of Excellence (posthumous) on March 23, 2013 by the state of Pakistan in recognition of his meritorious services in the field of journalism and for furthering the cause of democracy and press freedom through his thoughtful writings. The Government of Bangladesh also decorated him with the country’s most prestigious civil award in 2013 for writing meticulously and criticizing the military action against the civilian population of the then West Pakistan.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk