Legacy of Shah Latif

Letter published in Daily Dawn 29 June 2007

At the outset, proclaiming Shah Latif as a poet is to diminish his significance. The ‘poet’ is one, endowed with imaginative power, who expresses his thoughts and views in a rhythmical expression arousing the emotions while exaggerating the object, of course to stress his point.

According to 18th Century political thinker, Edmund Burke, “poetry is the art of substantiating shadows and of lending existence to nothing”, whereas Shah Abdul Latif was not a poet in this sense of the word but was basically a committed reformer and truth-seeker par excellence whose verses do not contain any exaggeration which more often than not poetry contains.

Second, being an intrepid traveller and man of introspection, he was greatly dejected by extremely miserable conditions of the people of his beloved Sindh.

Thus in order to evade the tyranny of rulers, he camouflaged his passion and sang through verses his ideas of change in society. The message of truth, love for humanity, forbearance and contentment he delivered by chanting verses in folklore that the masses understood.

The period of Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752) was the era of transition from Mughal suzerainty to the local rule. Sindh had initially lost its sovereignty to Akbar the Great in 1592, who annexed it as one of his provinces.

After the removal of Aurangzeb’s iron-clad hold, the local warlords started assuming control, first by obtaining authorisation from imbecile emperors and, finally, becoming sovereign rulers.

Although, prior to the Mughals, the people of Sindh were in perpetual hardship, especially during the despotic rule of Arguns and Turkhans (both aliens), in the Mughal period their position was even relegated to a subservient class.

They braved tremendous tribulations during this period. The transition even becomes more hazardous because of frequent Iranian and Afghan incursions during the period for the sake of loot and plunder.

Those were the chaotic times which left indelible imprint on conscientious and courageous Shah who, through his message, addressed the downtrodden to rouse them from slumbering indolence and endeavour to change their destiny through the poetic language and legend they were acquainted with.

It is equally mistaken to suggest that the message of Shah continues to inspire and influence the lives and activities of mystic-loving souls of Sindh the way it ought to have done.

It may have inspired a few academicians and scholars who have written on his life and works and discussed esoteric meaning of his verses but not the common people.

The laity, on the contrary, kept his message aside, too sanctified to be spoilt by following its meaning as they held him as a divine saint who can intercede for their failings. The multitude of people visiting the shrine of Shah regularly, praying for some mundane happiness, is a testimony that no lesson has been taken from his message for which the great reformers had endured the never-ending tribulations as on more than one occasion attempts were made even to assassinate him.

I plead with the admirers of this great social reformer to step forward and impress upon the slumbering masses to explore and appreciate the spirit of Shah’s verses in the right perspective so that they can benefit from their intrinsic message.

MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi