Dr. Feroz Ahmed , an eminent scholar and crusader in the cause of democratic revival in Pakistan , died here Saturday the 5th of April 1997 of heart attack.

Dr. Feroz Ahmed ( 57 ) was widely respected at national and international level for his profound scholarship, pioneering research on demographic and social subjects , and political activism against dictatorship and social injustice. He remained associated with progressive movements within and outside the country , particularly between 1960 -1985.

He came into prominence as a student leader in Karachi during Ayub era in early sixtees before joining Hopkin University where he did his doctorate in demography. He got post-doctoral training in Harvard and taught at several universities in Canada and the United States besides the Sindh University. He was currently professor at Howard , University School of Social Work.

Author of about 20 books and more than 300 journals , articles and research papers , Feroz also launched " Pakistan Forum " from Karachi in 1974 and remained its editor till he was forced out of the country in 1980. Later he also served as consultant to a number of organizations including UNICEF, NICHD and SAMSHA. He also founded Pakistan Democratic Forum of North America which provided critical support in the United States to the Movement for Restoration of Democracy ( MRD) of Pakistan during early eighties.

Though he had a history of heart problems , Dr. Feroz died suddenly on Saturday during an afternoon nap. On Friday he presided over a meeting of the Washington Group of Policy Studies and Analysis, a forum of Pakistani intellectuals in Washington. Visiting Pakistani journalist Imtiaz Alam initiated discussion on current political and economic situation in Pakistan. The meeting which was to be held on Saturday, was advanced by a day at the insistence of Dr. Feroz.

He leaves behind his widow, brothers and sisters to mourn his death, according to family sources here.The deceased was a younger brother of Apa Afroze, Director-General, Directorate of Federal Education, Islamabad.

Dr Feroze Ahmed took his early education in Karachi. After doing his masters in Marine Zoology from Karachi University, he did his masters in Public health from Hawai University, USA. He did his D.Sc.in Demography from John Hopkin University, Baltimore.

He started his career as a lecturer in Abdullah Haroon College, Karachi, and soon afterwards moved to USA.

He worked as professor of demography in Antario University Canada and later as a professor of sociology in Sindh University, Jamshoro.

He was lately affiliated with Harvard University, Washington DC as professor of social work. The deceased was a researcher. He authored many books besides writing essays and articles on various topics ranging from public health to socio-political issues. He was a political activist. He also worked as a free lance journalist and columnist. He edited monthly magazine from Karachi called `Pakistan Forum'.

The funeral will be held in Maryland , Muslim Community Center , 15200 New Hampshire Avenue, on Monday afternoon.

One of our Sindhi intellectuals Dr. Feroz Ahmed passed away after a heart attack today in Maryland. Dr. Feroz Ahmed hailed from Karachi, Sindh and was a demographer by training. He was associated with the Howard University in Washington, DC. He was a journalist, a professor, and an activist who always strived for the democracy and human rights in Pakistan. May The Almighty rest his soul in peace. He leaves behind his wife who has been with him through thick and thin since they got together in Karachi Uninversity in sixities. He was in his late fifties. We offer our profound condolence to his family.

The news about the passing away of Dr. Feroz Ahmed will be quite shocking for Sindhi community in North America. Dr. Feroz was a personal friend to many and one of those who provided a lot of encouragementfor the formation of SANA. He was respected by all, particularly for his effective writings on Sindh's problems. His analysis of the urban and rural dimensions of Sindh's politics and possible solutions was always stimulating. One of his recent articles about the shidis of Sindh (African-Sindhis) was quite informative. His death is truly a great loss for our community. May God rest his soul in peace.

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FEROZ WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US
Condolence message from the President of SANA
Sudden and tragic death of Dr. Feroz Ahmed has shocked everyone including his intellectual rivals. His untiring crusade against individual and collective human rights abuses, life long struggle for democracy in Pakistan, and fair and moral stand for the rights of Sindhi people made him a loving son of Mother Sindh.

Even his opponents couldn't help admiring him for his intellect and straight thinking. Like a gallant soldier, without any remorse or fear, he always said and wrote what was commanded by truth.

It hurts to know that Feroz will not be with us physically but his thought and contribution will lead us for ever. His sudden death has caused all of us a great pain specially to his wife (our dear Bhabi) and his family. Hundreds and thousands of people who ever read his writings or even met him once will be in a great grief today. He had natural gift of winning a special place in the hearts and minds of others.

Feroz's death is a great loss for Sindhi nation in particular and human rights movement in general. On behalf of members of SANA Executive council and their families, I express our deepest grief and sorrow over this unfortunate tragedy. Iqbal Tareen, President, SANA.

Dr. Feroz Ahmed exemplified that honorable class of competent intellectuals who refused to compromise on the principles of democracy, equality and justice. He bore every mark of a veteran fighter who has been standing tall against the state that used every instrument to break down the will of those intellectuals who refused to accept its dictates. Psychological harassment, threats to life and, in the end, forced banishment from the homeland could not bow him down. Most of all, he gracefully lived the torture of being neglected and betrayed by our ruling elites' ignorance and arrogance. Grieving his sudden death, Mr. Mowahid Shah, in his personal note to me, wrote that, "It is an indictment of our times that he did not get the recognition that his calibre warranted. He leaves a void which many will find hard-pressed to fill."

Dr. Feroz Ahmed took the path of reforming the system, entirely due to his personal choice. Graduating as a top student from the Karachi University, having a Ph.D. from John Hopkins University and a post-doctorate from Harvard, is more than enough for anyone who wants to climb the ladder of power and prominence. He proved his professional capabilities by getting a tenured position in a Canadian University. However, personal achievement was not his cup of tea. He jeopardized his career for the good of fellow human beings, throughout his life.

Early on, he joined hands with famous student leaders of Ayub era, Hussain Naqi, Meraj Mohammad Khan and Fatehyab Ali Khan at the Karachi University and faced the wrath of Nawab of Kalabagh's dreaded machinery. After coming to the US, as a graduate student, he irked the Foreign Office by organising Pakistan Students Association (PSA) and, later on, by publishing Pakistan Forum from North America. He was among those few who opposed the military oppression against East Pakistanis: his `Pakistan Forum' became the voice of truth and justice during those heady days.

He became the teacher, mentor and conscience of young reformists of our generation. Having high hopes from the uprising in Pakistan - and all around the world, he abandoned his career (in Canada) and returned to Pakistan in the mid-seventies. His book Pakistan aur Samraj (Pakistan and Imperialism) and several other books became the necessary reading for young revolutionaries and reformists. Later, he pioneered the first thought provoking Urdu magazine, again named, 'Pakistan Forum'. No other magazine of this class, before or after, had that much readership and following. Not only he wrote and published, but he also saw to it that other progressive publishing outfits, engaged in producing enlightened material, are adequately helped. For him this activity was to uplift the downtrodden and not for profit.

The heart-breaking disarray of the left movement of the late seventies, particularly the break-up of the Mazdoor Kissan Party, dispirited many. But Dr. Feroz Ahmed, who had invested too much into that party, remained undeterred: his faith in social change remained unfettered. He continued his efforts to unite the democratic forces till Ziaul Haq's machinery made him leave the country. Continuing his struggle, he formed the `Movement for the Restoration of Democracy' (MRD) in New York and organized protests against the martial law. He did it at a high personal cost because, after coming to the US, he had to start his life from scratch. He patiently faced unemployment and other difficulties during this time. Being a brilliant scholar par excellence, in a short while, he established himself as a prominent public health scholar in American circles and became a full professor at Howard University, Washington D.C.

Dr. Feroz Ahmed wrote dozens of books and about 300 articles and research papers. Therefore, it is impossible to even present a summary of his path-breaking intellectual contribution in this brief column. Nevertheless, to have a sense of his intellectual insight, I would like to highlight the following:

• He was among the very few (along with late Dr. Aziz-ul-Haq) who introduced the concept of nationalities and their rights, in mainstream intellectual circles. He fearlessly sensitized the Punjabis and Urdu speaking intelligentsia to the sensitivities of the ethnic minorities. He continued his work on the questions of ethnicity till his last day. However, unlike narrow-minded nationalists, he always recognized the shortcomings of his own nationality, Sindhis.
• When anti-Bhutto movement was at its peak, not shared by the poor masses, he wrote his classic piece, "Log Bhutto Sey Kewn Muhabbat Kartey Hain" in his Pakistan Forum. Dozens of books do not explain the Bhutto phenomenon as much as that brief article did. It will remain a classic piece.
• Explaining the trend of integration of the economy of the NWFP and Punjab, he early on propounded that Wali Khan's nationalism will be unsustainable: sooner or later, the Pathan nationalists will forge close alliances with the Punjabi politician. His thesis has held from the days of Qaumi Ittehad to PML(N) and ANP alliance.
• Unlike most of the Pakistani intelligentsia, he has been asserting that Pakistan is moving fast towards integration rather than otherwise. The results of the last election was a proof of his insightful articulation.
• He is among a very few Pakistani social scientists who have tried to analyze the relationship of the state and society.

One can list hundreds of points like this. The fact is that he was a rare, organically indigenous intellectual who had viewed society from every angle. On the one hand, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of Punjabi and Urdu films, music, architecture and other arts, and on the other, he had read the most modern theories of social sciences. He was an ardent lover of art of all kinds and, at the same time, he was a meticulous scientific researcher who would not tolerate a tiny digression from the established rules. Like great intellectuals, he could synthesize a pedestrian film to the highest level of social phenomena.

Foes and friends hated his guts and his bluntness of telling the truth. Sometimes, one would feel that he was an innocent, but very bright, child who had not been consumed by compromises and inhibitions. He never hesitated or feared to speak his mind - a mind that is rare and will be missed for long.

Dr Feroz : A Man of Character And Vision

Sindh - My Motherland My Fatherland

Makhdoom's Quest For The Truth

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