Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair Introduction | Objective | Background | Faculty & Staff Seminars & Conferences | Publications | Projects | Contact

Establishment

Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair is a Research Institute, especially established in the University of Karachi in 1986, with the purpose of carrying out research on the poetry and message of the great Sindhi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai.

Previous Directors

Prof. Dr. Ayaz Hussain Qadri was appointed as Professor/Director, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair on 30-07-1987, on his retirement from the Department of Sindhi, University of Karachi.

The “Rules for Special Chair” were approved by the Syndicate in its meeting held on 6th January 1988 and an Advisory Committee was constituted in March 1991.

During the four year tenure of Prof. Qadri as an adhoc appointee of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair, he supervised and guided quite a few candidates of M.Phil / Ph.D courses, who conducted research on Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. Two of them Dr. Fahmida Hussain and Dr. Ghulam Haider Channa completed their doctorates in 1992 and 1996 respectively.

Dr. Qadri established a very well equipped seminar library in the Chair with more than six thousand books and some rare manuscripts on the life and poetry of Shah Latif and other topics such as Religion. Sufism, History, Literature and other relevant subjects. This seminar library provides basic and important informative source material to research scholars.

In the year 1991, on 22nd September Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed joined Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair as Director, and Professor Qadri was appointed Professor Advisor..

Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed, during her five year tenure arranged one extension lecture on Shah Latif and a workshop on Research Methodology for scholars, intending to do M.Phil / Ph.D on Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and his poetry.Following books were published during her tenure.

1. Shah Ji Mossiqui – Compiled by Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed.
2. Shah Latif Ki Shairi Aur Fikr – A translation of Dr. Durreshahwar’s Ph.D Thesis by Dr. I.K. Naqvi.
3. Tahqeeq Jo Tariqekar – Compiled by Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed.
4. Shah Latif Tay Tahqeeq – Compiled by Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed.
5. Bibliography of Shah Latif – Compiled by Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed.
6. Kashf-ul-Abeyat, written by Dr. Abdul Jabbar Junejo.
7. Shah Jo Rislo Vol-I in four languages – Compiled by Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed.

After Dr. Durreshahwar Sayed was relieved from S.A.L.B. Chair, the post of Director was temporarily handed over to Mr. Fateh Mohammad Burfat, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Karachi. He was relieved on 30-11-1996 and Prof. M. Salim Memon, Chairman Sindhi Department was handed over the additional charge of the S.A.L.B. Chair.

During the tenure of Prof. Memon one more book was published by the Chair, “Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai” (A study compiled by Mr. Azad Qazi).

On Feb 3rd 1998, Prof. Dr. Fahmida Hussain, Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Sindhi, University of Karachi, was appointed as the Director of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai Chair. She is a well known scholar and writer of Sindhi as well.