Shafqat Tanvir Mirza, who died on Tuesday, could be aptly described as a person who was humble, unassuming and unpretentious. A large number of journalists, writers, intellectuals, human rights activists attended the Qul ceremony of the eminent journalist, editor, columnist and fearless campaigner for free press and freedom of expression here on Wednesday. Mirza Sahib died at the ripe age of 80 of cancer. He left behind wife, a daughter, and thousands of his admirers.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed deep sense of sorrow and grief over the demise of the prolific Punjabi writers who had devoted his life to the promotion of Punjabi language, culture and history. Mirza was born in Wazirabad district Gujranwala in 1932. He started his journalistic career in 1949 from daily Tameer followed by Hilal-e-Pakistan Rawalpindi and Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore.
When the C&MG was closed in 1964, Mirza Sahib (known as STM) joined the daily Imroze where he worked and developed close friendship with such stalwarts of the profession and intellectuals as Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, Zaheer Kashmiri, Zaheer Baber, I.A. Rehman, Abdullah Malik, Hameed Akhtar, Hameed Jhelumi, Syed Amjad Hussain, Ahmad Ali Khan, Mohammad Idris, Nisar Usmani and Safdar Mir.
Throughout his 60-year career in journalism, STM was in the forefront of struggle for freedom of expression, rights of the workers and promotion of local cultures and languages. He spent many months in the jails of Lahore, Karachi and Bahawalpur during dictatorship regimes for human rights and free press in the country.
STM was elected President of Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) during Zia's dictatorship. He led several movements against censorship and restrictions on newspapers. Till his last days STM regularly contributed to Dawn on Punjabi themes and Punjabi books for more than two decades. He remained Chairman of the Punjab Adabi Board for several years. He strongly advocated introduction of Punjabi language as a medium of education at primary and secondary school levels to preserve and promote the mother tongue of Punjabis.
STM wrote some memorable books. His two important Punjabi books are Tehreek-e-Azadi Which Punjab Da Hissa (Punjab's contribution in movement for freedom) and Adab raheen Punjab de tareekh (Punjab's history through literature). Many see STM as a true genuine historian of Punjab, particularly Lahore. For example, he had a very interesting take on Lahories fondness for food. He would often explain how the people of Lahore became a community of foodies, with increasing sophisticated tastes and an appetite for a variety of cuisines. He would also explain how a particular dish would seduce Lahories.
According to him, the Lahories' distinction in relation to their taste for food is strongly related to the days of frequent invasions of the Punjab by the people from north centuries ago. Those attacks through which the Lahories in particular were deprived of their savings at the hands of invaders ultimately forced the Lahories to spend whatever they had before the people from north could invade them.
--- Jarr'da teray kaul hay kha ja
--- Warna baaki Ahmed Shah Abdali da
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