A diehard communist and leader from the Indian subcontinent who refused to leave Larkaana Sindh at the time of partition . He stayed in Sindh till his death . A social scientist , journalist ,revolutionery writer , author , playwright , poet and short story writer but above all a champion of the poor, marginalised and underprivileged population across the border .
He was one of the pioneers of the Marxist movement in Sindh and went to jail several times. Till his death, he did not give up his beliefs.
Shubhraj Gian Chandani was educated at Shantiniketan and was a favourite student of Gurudev Tagore . Tagore nicknamed him as “boy from Mohan Jo Daro “. He worked with Gandhi ji, Nehru , Maulan Azad, Syed Sajjad Zaheer , P C Joshi , Jyoti Basu , G M Syed , Hyder Bux Jatoi , Sheikh Ayaz and many more leaders and Intellectuals . He was a close associate of G M Syed and Sheikh Ayaz and worked with them for Jiye Sindh Movement.
Writes *Beena sarwar:
“A vociferous reader, he continued to build up an already extensive knowledge of history and politics, vocally opposing military rule and arbitrary changes to the constitution, advocating a swift return to democracy and peaceful relations with the neighbouring countries. Some years ago, when he was invited to give a lecture tour in the US and applied for a visa, the American ambassador expressed an interest in meeting this man on whom they had a file several inches thick. He asked Gianchandani, ‘Do you want Sindhu Desh?’ “ No, I want maximum autonomy for Sindh within the Pakistani federation.”
In an interview , He informed Beena Sarwar ;
“My struggle continues to be for justice. A father, when he goes to sleep at night, should be confident that his children will have enough food to eat the next day, that they will have a future. My struggle continues to be for socialism. You can call it Islamic socialism, or democratic socialism as in the Scandinavian countries, or anything. I still believe in the revolution, in a society that provides justice for all, not denies it because someone is a Hindu or a Bheel. I still want a change in society so that no one goes to sleep hungry.”
In 2004, he was awarded Pakistan’s top literary Kamal-i-Fann Award for life time achievement . Some Previous recipients of the award, which carries a cash prize of Rs500,000, are Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Intizar Hussain,Ahmad Faraz, Munir Niazi ,Ada Jafferey and some others .
Shobo was a lawyer who fought for the poor at his own expense; Known for his pro poor and strong anti establishement views , Shobo would oftren say ;
“For the Pakistani establishment, I am a three-headed Monster — I am a communist, I am Hindu, and I am Sindhi.”
In an interview he once said :
“I am one of the oldest communists probably not only in Sindh but even in the sub continent, the oldest living communist is Jyoti Basu he is 93 years old and Sardar Suraj Singh from Punjab he came couple of years back to Karachi, he said comrade how do you find yourselves in Pakistan, I said fine, I was born here and I chose not to migrate to India, the Sindh is my home land I have tried to contribute my little bit to the building of communist party and the beautiful world that we hope to make. It does not matter we have failed because even in the Soviet Union, communism has changed its shape its not the same as we struggle for.
Presently Pakistan is full of dirty minds. Religious extremists have turned the country in hell. In the name of Islam, they are killing innocent children and closing the doors for women. I fear that if they are not taken with iron hands they would turn progressive society into stone age. ”
He remained a lifelong friend of veteran actor A K Hangal , Sindhi Poet Sheikh Ayaz and G M Syed who headed Jiye Sindh Movement .
On his death , Glowing Tributes were paid to him by his close associates in sindh . I quote some ..
Sindhi Writer and intellectual Amanullah Shaikh said:
“He (Gianchandani) used to have three pictures —one of Lenin, one of Tagore and one of Vivekananda — on the walls of his home. They represent his lifelong struggle.”
Noted Historian Mubarak Ali writes:
“His decision to stay in Pakistan at the time of partition was actually his defiance of the two-nation theory,”
I end this post with a poem of sindhi Poet Sheikh Ayaz..
( Truth )
Truth,
A great offender!
Ever since genesis Seized and chained, Hunted out and killed.
At times --
Condemned to drink hemlock (1),
Hanged from gibbet (2),
Roasted alive in cauldron of boiling oil (3),
Crushed in oil-expeller (4),
Thrown down from mountain top (5).
Despite all, he persists in his luckless custom;
Any heart that he breaks into
Is always in turmoil;
Today he is thy guest,
Hast thee ever paused to ponder,
Whom thou hast befriended,
the great offender,
Truth!
( Avtar Mota )
PS
*Beena Sarwar is a well known journalist, artist and fimmaker .She was the Pakistan Editor of the Aman ki Asha (Hope for Peace) initiative sponsored by the Jang group in Pakistan and the Times of India in India. This initiativewas aimed at Permanent peace and peceful Co-Existence .
In the poem 1 to 5 are clarified as under
1) The great Greek philosopher, Socrates (469-399 BC).
2) The Persian Sufi Mansoor Al-Hilaj (858-922 AD)
3) The Sikh Guru Arjun Dev ji
4) The Sindhi saint, Makhdoom Bilawal (Died . 1579 AD).
5) A failed attempt made on the life of Jesus Christ .
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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