Intellectuals attending the two-day Khwaja Ahmed Abbas centenary programme at the Raj Bhawan here called Abbas a visionary and a strong fighter against the negative aspects of his time.
The speakers were also of the opinion that like Abbas, the challenges faced in contemporary literature, film and journalism media should be presented honestly. During the first session on the concluding day of the programme, the literature, ideology and journalism of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas were discussed. The second session saw Abbas being evaluated as a film maker.
In the first session, University of Delhi professor and Progressive Writers Association national general secretary professor Ali Javed said that in the present conditions, every such person is progressive who view a human as a human without discrimination on the basis of religion, race or cast.
“Media like literature, journalism or film cannot and should not be used simply for entertainment. The questions faced by Abbas during his time are still relevant today. There is need for opposing every such thought which talks of a special religion, culture and language which is against the ideal of ‘unity in diversity’ seen in India,” he said.
Expressing his thoughts, cinema writer and artist Atul Tiwari said that three movies by Abbas- ‘Dr Kotnis ki Amar Kahani’, ‘Neecha Nagar’ and ‘Dharti ke lal’ were trend setters in the Indian film industry. Professor Pramod B lal said that all of the work by Abbas, be it a book or film, is still relevant in the present times and this is the biggest attribute of his which compels one to think. Prof lal also spoke about the influence of Sufism on Abbas.
Professor Hemendra Chandaliya spoke of the ideological aspects of Abbas. He said that in his initial days, Abbas was influence by MK Gandhi while in his later days he was influenced by Jawaharlal Nehru.
His left leanings were also clearly visible, said Professor Chandaliya. The convenor of the programme and Planning Commission member Dr Syeda Hameed said that Abbas had struggled throughout his life to make the world a better place. It is hard to compare him to any other person, she added.
Kumaun University vice chancellor Professor SC Dhami, Public Service Commission member Dr Chaya Shukla and other persons were also present on the concluding day of the programme which was organised on the initiative of Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi.