PAL publishes book on peace, culture | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

PAL publishes book on peace, culture

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) has published a book on peace, literature and culture, containing both prose and poetry by renowned literary personalities of the subcontinent and the world.

The book, In Defence of Peace, Poetry and Culture, released here on Thursday, also contains reproductions of a number of pamphlets issued by illustrious intellectuals such as Maxim Gorky, proceedings of the World Congress of Intellectuals for Peace held at Warsaw, Poland in 1948, statements of Ilya Ehranburg, essays by Saifuddin Kitchlo, G.M. Sayed, and Hina Akhlaque.

Compiled and edited by Ahmad Salim, the book, according to PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman, is “an honest effort to view the tradition of resistance in historical perspective and continuation”.

It highlights the resistance of the spiritual mentors to tyranny and dictatorships and their efforts in bringing solace to humanity.

“The term resistance defines the centuries old traditions of culture and peace; it is the tradition of Shah Hussain, Shah Latif Bhitai, Rehman Baba, Jam Durrak, Sacchal Sami, Bulleh Shah, Faiz, Gul Khan Naseer, Ghani Khan, Sheikh Ayaz and then of Lorka, Gorki, Neruda, Nazim Hekmat and Ilya Ehrenberg. They are the links of the same chain. “Likewise, from burning of books in Hitler’s Germany to ban on books of Sheikh Ayaz, Gul Khan Naseer, Ghani Khan, Ajmal Khattak Habib Jalib and myself, is continuation of the tradition of intolerance to culture by dictators,” Mr Zaman said.

All progressive writers and poets of all languages of Pakistan and India such as Faiz, Mulk Raj Anand, Rajinder Singh Bedi, and Gubakhsh Singh are a few names with which attached is the name of Arundhati Roy of our times.
Source: Dawn
Date:3/5/2010