Courtesy of Mr. Aslam Khwaja and Mr. Safdar Nensey

Mr. Nensey wrote on our Facebook group ” Karachi Past and Present” on September 18, 2024: ” KARACHI STUDENTS ON THE MARCH – 1905 TO 1946 by Dayo Nathaney. The booklet was originally published on September 1946. However, I have a reprinted version of it printed by Progressive Kitab Publishers. It is worth mentioning that the booklet is dedicated to Hemu Kalani, a young freedom fighter from Sukkur, who was sent to gallow for his role and not divulging the names of other freedom fighters.”

KARACHI: A book on students’ movement in Sindh, especially Karachi, from 1905 to 1946 titled Karachi Students on the March by Dayo Nathaney has been reprinted.

It was launched at the Arts Council of Pakistan in 2021.

Providing background to the book, academician Dr Tauseef Ahmed said that there had been many movements in Sindh during colonial times and the Karachi students’ movement was also one of them. “There was the Reshmi Rumal Movement, the Khilafat Movement, which also earned support from Sindh. The book covers the students’ movement of that time, which should be relevant even today, especially for those researching student politics,” he said.

Author of several books Aslam Khawaja said that he discovered the book during the first Covid-19 lockdown last year. “My friends and I were sharing books when one of them sent me Karachi Students on the March from abroad. It gave a story that we didn’t know much about,” he said.

“But the book was also missing several of its last pages. We have, for the last one and a half year, been trying to find a copy of it that is complete. We have looked everywhere. There was a copy in the British Council library in London but that was also missing the same pages. Then we heard from a gentleman in France who claimed to have the complete version. We offered to buy his copy or even pay for the missing pages if he could scan those and send them to us. But after we told him which pages we wanted, he stopped corresponding. He has not replied in seven months now.

“So with the resolve that we will publish a complete edition if we find the missing pages later, we decided that we have tried everything for now and that we should publish the book as it is. We have left the missing pages as they are as you can see from the page numbers,” he said.

“It seems like the author of the book must have written more on Sindh. We are also searching for his other writings,” he said.

Sharing her review of the book, young Virsa Pirzada said that it made her realise that the students’ struggle of that time was not very different from the students’ struggle of today.

Waqas Anagia, a leftist student researching Marxism, said that the book shows how the students held their ground while making others to agree to their terms.

Senior journalist Sohail Sangi said that despite its missing pages, the book seemed like a complete document to him. “It s a very good reflection of Sindhi society of those days,” he added.

Prof Aijaz Qureshi said many of the students in that movement from 1905 to 1946 grew up to become party leaders. There was a need to have the book translated into Urdu as well as Sindhi, he said.

A young student of medicine, Elsa Qazi, read out a beautiful poem from the book ‘Marching Song of Students’.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2021

Amin H. Karim MD September 26 2024