Essays of Eqbal Ahmed launched
ISLAMABAD – The Oxford University Press and the Eqbal Foundation on September 17, evening launched a compilation of late Eqbal Ahmed’s essays on South Asia, in Islamabad at the National Library.
Zia Mian of Princeton University, Iftikhar Ahmad, a scholar with the Pakistan Institute for Labour Education and Research, and Dohra Ahmed from Yale and Columbia Universities have compiled the late intellectual’s 44 essays published as newspaper columns, magazine articles and personal interviews during his lifetime. The collection is called “Between Past and Future”.
The collection that represents his views over the last 30 years mostly focuses on issues that Pakistan and India face.
These 44 articles include “Jinnah in a class of his own”, “Letter to a Pakistani diplomat”, “Pakistan -signposts to a Police State”, “The signals the soldiers pick”, “India’s uncertain future”, “BJP’s challenge to Pakistan”, “A Kashmiri solution for Kashmir”, “As Afghanistan goes”.
The book has a forward by Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy of the Quaid-e-Azam University who also spoke about Eqbal Ahmed’s life and works at the ceremony. Others who narrated their personal reminiscences of the luminary included MNA M P Bhandara, Professor Tariq Rahman of the QA University, one of the editors, Zia Mian and also Ameena Saiyid of the OUP.
In her brief remarks, Ms Saiyid recommended the collection to the younger generation as ” the example he set of scholarship, lack of bias, tolerance, concern for humanity, devotion of social justice” were ideals for those growing up in a global village. She said the OUP intended to publish a simplified version of the essays.
One of founders of a free thinker’s trio of contemporary world, Eqbal was respected for his deep insight, powerful writings, moral courage and understanding of the problems of the third world.
Source: Business Recorder
Date:9/18/2004
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