Anwar Peerzada
Encyclopedia
Anwar Pirzada or Peerzada (Sindhi
: انور پيرزادو), was a researcher, anthropologist and expert on Sindhi history
, language
and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
's poetry.
Anwar Pirzada was born on January 25, 1945 in Larkana
's tehsil
of Dokri
, in Sindh
. His original name was Muhammad Paryal Pirzada, He passed his Matric from Dokri High School in 1962. In 1963, he became a primary teacher and in 1965 joined with Dr. George F. Bels of the University of Pennsylvania
, USA to work on the archaeological site of Moen Jo Daro
. In 1966, He did a primary teacher’s training course and in 1969 received his MA degree in English from the University of Sindh
, Jamshoro
.
Pirzada joined the leftist movements of the late 1970s, but had to remain underground. He even did a stint in the military when he joined the Pakistan Air Force
as a pilot officer for the non-GD Branch training course. He never agreed with the 1971 military action
in East Pakistan
. He took part in demonstrations and as a result was court-martial
ed and sent to jail for seven years. He served part of his time in Peshawar
and then a portion of it in Karachi
.
In 1972, Pirzada filed a review application with a magistrate who let him go but disallowed him from working for any government department. Around that time he joined Gulistan School as a teacher and along with his student, Sohail Ansari, brought out a Sindhi periodical from the school. Three years later, he joined Hilal-e-Pakistan
as a sub editor while also working as an editor of an Economic Bulletin, which originated from the Russian Embassy.
In 1976, he joined the Sindhi Adabi Sangat
, an organization of literature-loving people. It was around this time that he joined the Communist Party
, but remained underground for the most part. In 1979 after political turmoil in the USSR forced the Russians to pack up their bags and close down their embassies, Pirzada went home also.
In 1980, he became Dawn
newspaper’s Larkana
correspondent. Two years later he was appointed the bureau chief of the now-defunct eveninger Star. In 1983, Pirzada joined the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy and was imprisoned for six months. After his release in 1984, he became the same eveninger’s staff reporter in Karachi and started a column titled "Sindh Scenario" along with a column in Dawn called "Sindhi Press Digest."
In 1989, along with his friends, Kalimullah Lashari, Badr Abro and Ishtiaq Ansari, he roamed the Indus River
, from Attock
till the Arabian Sea
, detailing each and every inch of the peninsula for a study.
In 1990, Pirzada became the editor of Awami Awaz
, Sindh’s first newspaper with IT technology. The same year he hooked up with a Chicago-based newspaper called Indus News Network.
Due to his deep historical knowledge, Pirzada started working for the prime minister's media cell during Benazir Bhutto
's second government. He also has to his credit a translation of Akhtar Baloch's Qaediaani jee Diary which the MRD leader had written while she was in prison. Baloch is Sindh Culture and Tourism Minister Sassui Palijo
's mother.
Pirzada also wrote poetry, which he complied in his Sindhi book, Eh Chand, Bhitai khek chaijan. He was also working on material for an encyclopedia on Qambar
.
Pirzada died of cancer
at the Liaquat National Hospital
(LNH) at the age of 61.
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
: انور پيرزادو), was a researcher, anthropologist and expert on Sindhi history
History of Sindh
Sindh is one of the provinces of Pakistan. Sindh was home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley civilization.-Paleolithic and Mesolithic era:...
, language
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai was a Sindhi Sufi scholar, mystic, saint, poet, and musician. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Sindhi language...
's poetry.
Anwar Pirzada was born on January 25, 1945 in Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
's tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
of Dokri
Dokri
Dokri is a town in Larkana District, Sindh province of Pakistan and is the capital town of the Dokri Taluka. The town is located at 27° 22' 29" N 68° 05' 50" E and has an elevation of 39 metres. Mohenjodaro is situated 7 km away in East-South of the Dokri town. The town has been the scene of...
, in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
. His original name was Muhammad Paryal Pirzada, He passed his Matric from Dokri High School in 1962. In 1963, he became a primary teacher and in 1965 joined with Dr. George F. Bels of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, USA to work on the archaeological site of Moen Jo Daro
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro is an archeological site situated in what is now the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BC, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, existing at the same time as the...
. In 1966, He did a primary teacher’s training course and in 1969 received his MA degree in English from the University of Sindh
University of Sindh
The University of Sindh informally known as Sindh University is the second oldest university in Pakistan accredited by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan....
, Jamshoro
Jamshoro
Jamshoro is a city in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is located on the right bank of Indus River, approximately 18 kilometres north-west of the city of Hyderabad and 150 kilometres north-east from the provincial capital Karachi....
.
Pirzada joined the leftist movements of the late 1970s, but had to remain underground. He even did a stint in the military when he joined the Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...
as a pilot officer for the non-GD Branch training course. He never agreed with the 1971 military action
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Indian, Bangladeshi and international sources consider the beginning of the war to be Operation Chengiz Khan, Pakistan's December 3, 1971 pre-emptive strike on 11 Indian airbases...
in East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
. He took part in demonstrations and as a result was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed and sent to jail for seven years. He served part of his time in Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
and then a portion of it in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
.
In 1972, Pirzada filed a review application with a magistrate who let him go but disallowed him from working for any government department. Around that time he joined Gulistan School as a teacher and along with his student, Sohail Ansari, brought out a Sindhi periodical from the school. Three years later, he joined Hilal-e-Pakistan
Daily Hilal Pakistan
-See also:* List of newspapers in PakistanThe Daily Hilal is a newspaper published in Karachi, Pakistan. It is published in the Sindhi language, which is the third most spoken tongue in Pakistan, and the official language of the province of Sindh, home to the city and the paper. The Daily Hilal...
as a sub editor while also working as an editor of an Economic Bulletin, which originated from the Russian Embassy.
In 1976, he joined the Sindhi Adabi Sangat
Sindhi Adabi Sangat
Sindhi Adabi Sangat is an organization of the writers of Sindhi language that has branches in Sindh, Pakistan and abroad as well. Because of its great number and well-built organization, it is considered as the biggest Adabi Tanzeem of Asia.It was in 1952 that Abdul Ghafoor Ansari and Nooruddin...
, an organization of literature-loving people. It was around this time that he joined the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, but remained underground for the most part. In 1979 after political turmoil in the USSR forced the Russians to pack up their bags and close down their embassies, Pirzada went home also.
In 1980, he became Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
newspaper’s Larkana
Larkana
Larkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city in the north-western part of Sindh Province, Pakistan, and is located within Larkana District.The old name of larkano is chandka which was changed in 1901. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
correspondent. Two years later he was appointed the bureau chief of the now-defunct eveninger Star. In 1983, Pirzada joined the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy and was imprisoned for six months. After his release in 1984, he became the same eveninger’s staff reporter in Karachi and started a column titled "Sindh Scenario" along with a column in Dawn called "Sindhi Press Digest."
In 1989, along with his friends, Kalimullah Lashari, Badr Abro and Ishtiaq Ansari, he roamed the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
, from Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...
till the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
, detailing each and every inch of the peninsula for a study.
In 1990, Pirzada became the editor of Awami Awaz
Daily Awami Awaz
Awami Awaz is a Sindhi daily newspaper in Pakistan.Power to Reach Sindhعوامي حقن جي ترجمان، ڪمپيوٽر تي پهرين مڪمل سنڌي اخبارروزاني عوامي آواز ڪراچي...
, Sindh’s first newspaper with IT technology. The same year he hooked up with a Chicago-based newspaper called Indus News Network.
Due to his deep historical knowledge, Pirzada started working for the prime minister's media cell during Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
's second government. He also has to his credit a translation of Akhtar Baloch's Qaediaani jee Diary which the MRD leader had written while she was in prison. Baloch is Sindh Culture and Tourism Minister Sassui Palijo
Sassui Palijo
Sassui Palijo is a liberal politician and a columnist in Pakistan. She is Member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh from Mirpur Sakro Thatta PS-85 THATTA-II, she belongs to Pakistan Peoples Party. She is the only directly elected female assembly member in Sindh...
's mother.
Pirzada also wrote poetry, which he complied in his Sindhi book, Eh Chand, Bhitai khek chaijan. He was also working on material for an encyclopedia on Qambar
Qambar District
Qambar Shahdadkot District is a district of Sindh, Pakistan.-Naming controversy:This name was chosen by much conflict between the people of Qambar Ali Khan City and Shahdad Kot City in the days of Chief Minister of Sindh Arbab Ghulam Rahim in 2004...
.
Pirzada died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the Liaquat National Hospital
Liaquat National Hospital
The Liaquat National Hospital , is located at Stadium Road, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Liaquat National Hospital was established on October 16, 1958.- History :...
(LNH) at the age of 61.