‘Sufism and Peace’

By Schezee Zaidi, "Benazir, Curman nominated for Rs2 million PAL awards" - The News international - Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, May 23, 2009

Islamabad: The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) announced the nominations of Benazir Bhutto and Peter Curman for the highest literary awards launched by it in 2008 for the first time since their inception in 1995.

PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman made the announcement of the awards at a press briefing held here on Friday.

According to the announcement, eminent Swedish poet Peter Curman has been nominated for the International Quaid-i-Azam Award for Literature, as a mark of respect to his contributions to the world literature. Benazir Bhutto has been selected for the International Quaid-i-Awam Award for Democracy, as a mark of respect for her courageous struggle for democracy.

The PAL chairman said that both these awards are worth Rs 2 million each [$ 25'000.-]. According to him, these are the highest literary awards in South Asia.

Peter Curman, born in 1941, is a Swedish poet. His first selection of poetry appeared in 1965 and since then he has published twelve books of poetry, debates, anthologies and one love novel. Together with Ingemar Lindahl, he translated John Lennon’s ‘In His Own Write’. He is well known in this region, as his works have been published in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Gurmukhi.

Curman was for many years the president of the Swedish Writers Union (1987-95) and was lately the chairman of the Swedish Joint Committee for Literary and Artistic Professionals, an umbrella organisation for 18 creative unions representing the cultural scene of Sweden. He has also been one of the driving forces behind the literary cruises in the Baltic Sea in 1992 and in the Black Sea and the Aegean in 1994 that resulted in two dynamic Writers’ and Translators’ Centres under the auspices of Unesco on the Swedish island of Gotland and the Greek island of Rhodes.

Peter Curman is also the initiator of the Swedish digital printing house — PODIUM — an initiative aimed to introduce new technology — print-on-demand — to distribute new literature in limited editions as well as worldwide.

The PAL chairman also announced another new award titled ‘Pas-e-Zindaan Award’ for best writings appearing during dictatorial and military rules of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. He said that many political activists and writers suffered torment and imprisonment during dictatorial regimes but they kept on writing in their prison cells.

He said that the PAL has collected all such writings and four best works will be selected for awards. The decision regarding the awards worth Rs 100,000 [$ 1250.-] for each work will be made by a national committee comprising 13 prominent writers and judges.

Fakhar Zaman also announced the new board of governors for PAL by adding new members representing all four provinces and Islamabad. The newly-appointed members are Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Masood Ashaar, Dr. Tahir Tounsvi, Dr. Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Dr. Fahmeeda Hussain, Dr. Shah Muhammad Marri, Saleem Raz and Professor Alamgir Hashmi.

The PAL chairman also made an announcement with regard to enhancement in financial assistance to writers from the previous Rs 3,000 to a flat amount of Rs 5,000 from 2008, as approved by the prime minister. He said that as per the decision, eight more literary institutions have been added to the list of Learner Bodies and the financial assistance has also been increased. It has also been decided that other literary societies will be given financial assistance. He said that Rs 4.3 million will be distributed among these institutions.

Fakhar Zaman said that earlier the PAL initiated a scheme to provide writers with insurance facility. As many as 700 writers were insured under this scheme so far. However the process was stopped but now provision of medical facility would be included in the scheme.

Fakhar Zaman announced that arrangements are being made for holding an international conference on ‘Sufism and Peace’ in which about 100 delegates from 70 countries will participate along with Pakistani writers from all four provinces of the country. Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will preside over its opening session. Soon after the confirmation of his availability, date and schedule for this conference will be announced.

Fakhar Zaman said that a big project is underway to compile selected writings published in all Pakistani languages from 1947 to 2007. This voluminous selection will be published in two volumes, separately in each Pakistani language.

He also announced that a selection of resistance literature published in Urdu from 1999 to 2007 will also be published soon. He said that it was decided in a meeting with Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani that PAL should publish a book on the personality and writings of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as a writer and intellectual. The PAL is also in the process of reprinting ‘Bhutto Trial’ in two volumes, a book comprising documents and reports on the trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

The PAL is also working on a plan to publish a selection of writings of anonymous writers, relating to the legendary personality of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Another book ‘Khushboo Ki Shahadat’ is being published by the PAL comprising poems published after the murder of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

[Picture: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani]