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Death of Indo-Pak peace activist I.A. Rehman mourned across borders

Tributes flood in for Partition-generation activist who devoted life to peace

IA-Rehman-AP File photo of I.A. Rehman, who passed away at the age of 90 on April 12 | AP

One of the loudest voices for peace and human rights, I.A Rehman, passed away in Lahore today. He was 90.

Rehman sahib—as he was referred to as fondly—was a legend and a tireless champion for peace between India and Pakistan. Diminutive in height, Rehman towered intellectually over the Indo-Pak peace narrative. There were very few causes of justice that were not close to his heart. He was a strong supporter of equality for minorities in Pakistan, where he campaigned eloquently for tolerance, justice, human rights, democracy and peace. 

A raconteur par excellence, no meeting in Lahore on peace between India and Pakistan was complete without him, his dry wit, his distinct smoke-filled voice narrating incidents in the past and his hope for a better future. A veteran communist, he was also a protegee of the poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz. 

Prominent Pakistanis took to Twitter to pay tribute to him. 

“He was an icon of integrity, standing steadfast for every single fundamental right, every single democratic value in the worst of times. Pakistan will not be the same without him," tweeted PPP Senator Sherry Rahman. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tweeted that Pakistan has lost a "true icon". But across the border in India too, his loss was felt keenly—a tribute to his legacy of peace.

“Most worthwhile ideas of the South Asian peace movement were either born in his head or a product of conversations with [him],’’ says M.J Vijayan, General Secretary Pakistan India Peoples’ Forum for Peace and Democracy. 

“There are very [few] activists who could take humour in their stride. He used personal humour and political satire effectively, both to diffuse situations and attack regressive powers. Far from being afraid of the powers that be, he always took on authoritarian and fundamentalists forces with a smile," Vijayan added.

Rehman was one of the founding members of the PIPFPD. Outspoken always, Rehman spoke his mind even till the end. In his last article, published in Dawn on April 8, he wrote on the trend of labelling the opposition as thieves and receiving identical responses, Rehman wrote: “The upshot of this discussion is to take politics as a serious vocation—not as a Sunday afternoon diversion from attempts to enlarge one’s coffers and to follow the rough path with sincere labour without dreaming of an early windfall.” 

With his demise, another voice from the original Partition generation speaking for better relations between the country has been lost. 

“With Rehman sahib gone, we have lost the lodestar of our struggle,’’ said Syeda Hameed, a former member of the Planning Commission and prominent peace activist. “His humour, his modesty, his humility taught us the best lessons that words can’t spell.”

For many, who went across to Pakistan with a message of peace—whether part of a large delegation or solo hoping to soften borders—a meeting with Rehman sahib was always part of the itinerary. “I went with a peace delegation in 2000,’’ says Sagari Chabra, author, film-maker, and director of the "Hamaara Itihaas" archives.

“He and Mubashir Hasan sahib welcomed us. They tirelessly worked to spread the message of peace. We are one, it is in our DNA. This hyper-nationalism and militarisation is going to spoil peace in the region.”

Rehman was a recipient of the prestigious Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003 and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding in 2004. Even well after his retirement, he was the honorary spokesperson for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, embodying the spirit of it.  

"A titan of human rights, Mr Rehman's integrity conscience and compassion were unparalleled,'' a statement of HRCP read.

His passing united India and Pakistanis civil society activists together. “Today while we grieve, but for our loss. We feel you telling us again. Jism mit Jaane se insaan nahi mar jaate. Dharkane rukne se armaan nahi mar jaate. (Death doesn’t kill what the man stood for. Nor does it stop dreams)..We can hear you broadcasting the message of love in South Asia,’’ said Hameed.

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