The three-day Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Sindh Graduates Association (SGA) on the completion of fifty years (1972-2022) were celebrated with great enthusiasm. These events began on Friday, June 3, 2022, at 8:30 p.m. in the Z.A Bukhari Open Air Theater of Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, with the recitation of Quran Shareef.
Mr. Hafiz Muhammad Yasir Endhar received the blessing of recitation. After that, Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Bhutto, vice president of SGA Sachal Goth Branch, presented the Wai of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah was supposed to attend the inaugural meeting as a guest of honor, but he could not come due to some important engagements, so the honor went to Syed Sardar Ali Shah, Provincial Minister of Education, Culture and Antiquities. Prof. Muhammad Saleem Memon took charge as the stage Secretary and invited Syed Sardar Ali Shah, Madam Mehtab Akbar Rashidi SGA Chairperson, Dr. Muhammad Suleman Sheikh SGA Founder, Mr. Ali Hussain Brohi Vice Chairperson, and Mr. Wali Muhammad Roshan Secretary-General to sit on the stage. Later, SGA’s newly prepared anthem “SGA’s Caravan Goes On” was sung. This song was written by the famous poet Aakash Ansari. After singing this anthem, Mr. Wali Mohammad Roshan Secretary-General welcomed all the guests.
Madam Mehtab Akbar Rashidi said that for the first time in the 50-year history of SGA, a woman has been the head of SGA. She said that she has visited from Karachi to Kashmore and held meetings with the office bearers of the branches and reviewed the performance of the organization. She said that the problems of Sindh will not be solved until women become slaves in our society. We must trust our women. SGA colleagues participating in the Golden Jubilee celebrations will go back with new enthusiasm and plan a new service. The Chairperson of SGA thanked the Central Executive Committee officials and other colleagues for successfully organizing the Golden Jubilee Program in a short span of three months. She also thanked Arts Council of Pakistan President Ahmed Shah for his full support.
On this occasion, Madam Mehtab Akbar Rashidi announced that the founder of SGA, Dr. Muhammad Suleman Shaikh, will be made the lifetime patron of SGA. And upon his announcement, the open-air theater, which was full of people at that time, stood up in respect and paid tribute to Dr. Muhammad Suleman Sheikh for his excellent services.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Dr. Muhammad Suleman Sheikh said that we had a dream of development and peace in 1972 which came true. SGA has gained international recognition. Our determination was to know ourselves and drive away laziness. SGA created decorum in this society and gave a message for peace and development. He said that SGA is a big volunteer organization. We the people should forget our caste and strive for the collective prosperity of Sindh. Unfortunately, the rulers have always looked at us with suspicion. Without mutual cooperation, the goal of consistent and sustainable development cannot be achieved. Without increasing agricultural production in Sindh, poverty cannot be reduced. For the development and promotion of the Sindhi language, a non-standard curriculum has to be abolished. Sindhi should not be considered as the language of communication with farmers only. Dr. Muhammad Suleman Sheikh further said that the institutions could not be established in Sindh, but we should not despair at all. He gave the example of Shamsuddin Sheikh, he has given all his wealth except his house for charitable purposes, and from this money, a charitable hospital named Al-Shams Medical Center has been established in Pano Aqil, which is Serving for the poor and needy people.
On the evening of the second day of the SGA Golden Jubilee, a `Mushaero` was held in the auditorium. It was presided over by Mr. Aakash Ansari, the special guest was Mr. Adal Soomro, and the host was Mr. Amar Pirzado. In this mushaero, Mr. Muhammad Ali Pathan, Mrs. Sultana Waqasi, Mr. Bakhshal Mehrani, Mr. Raz Ali Gul Bhutto, Wazir Solangi “Farhad”, Mrs. Shabnum Moti, Mr. Rakhiyal Morai, Mr. Abdul Rauf Dayo, Mr. Ayaz Latif Dayo, Haji Khan Bozdar, Mr. Imtiaz Danish, Mr. Ghos Pirzado, Mr. Sher Mehrwani, Mr. Urs Otho and other poets presented their poems.
In the end, famous dancer Shema Karmani presented a dance drama. Prof. Muhammad Saleem Memon introduced Shema Karmani and said that she is a goddess of dance and she is doing her PHD from Karachi University on the subject of Sindhi Cultural Heritage after her M.Phil. In her short address, Shema Karmani said that she wants to establish an institution for learning dance and music. She considers herself a Sindhi and will continue to work for Sindh. 100 year of the discovery of Moen-Jo-Daro are being completed, so programs have been planned in this regard. Thus, the three-day Golden Jubilee celebrations came to an end around 09:00 pm.
The Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Sindh Graduates Association (SGA) 1972 promises to make a landmark event in Pakistan’s history, celebrating the ideals and principles that define the Sindh democratic and progressive identity.