youn
lagay dost tera mujh say khafa ho jana
jis
tarah phool say khushboo ka juda ho jana
ahl-e-dil
say yeh tera tark-e-talluq yaani
waqt
say pehlay aseeroun ka riha ho jana
(Qateel Shifaie)
It was the premier
Rising Kashmir Conclave organized at SKICC, Srinagar in the year 2009 where I met
Dr. Syed Shujaat Bukhari sahib for the very first time while receiving an award
for writing a paper on the “Measures to revamp higher education sector of Jammu
and Kashmir state” that had been adjudged among top three by the peer
reviewers. It was a brief and pleasant interaction with him when for the very
first time I got to hear him as an eloquent, graceful, articulate and elegant
young man. His impressive personality was glowing on the dais and adding glamour
to the magnificent milieu of the SKICC auditorium. After that I happened to
meet him again at a meeting of a group of prominent civil society members in
the winter of 2011 who had gathered to discuss the growing menace of drug
addiction in the valley and to find ways and means by which it could be curbed and
controlled. After a threadbare discussion they had arrived at the conclusion
that lack of a comprehensive drug policy in the state was primarily responsible
for the menace and wanted someone to assist them in framing a draft drug policy
for the state. A couple of my articles published on January 9th,
2005 and February 27th, 2008 in another leading English Daily on the
need to frame a drug policy in J&K had perhaps prompted Prof. Mehraj-ud-Din, former
Director of SKIMS, Srinagar to propose my name for the intended job.
I was
immediately called to join the meeting that was being chaired by Late Shujaat
sahab though he had kept his happy-go-lucky attitude and pleasant sense of
humour in tact. I always found him cool, relaxed and cheerful in such meetings but
would never lose track of the main agenda and never indulge in any loose talk.
He greeted me with a warm welcome in presence of all the renowned civil society
members and asked me to share my views about the topic of discussion. At the
end of the meeting I was asked to frame on a comprehensive and robust draft
drug policy for the state of J&K that could be presented to the government.
I did the needful well in time and published the main highlights of my draft in
Daily Rising Kashmir on January 15th, 2012. Our delegation led by
Shujaat Bukhari met then Chief Minister of J&K and presented the draft drug
policy framed by us, after a lot of brainstorming, for its adoption and implementation. Subsequently a meeting
was arranged with then Commissioner-Secretary Health and his entire team of
officers where a four hour long marathon discussion ensued on each and every
facet of the draft drug policy. Most of our suggestions were accepted by them
whereas some were set aside. Premier drug policy of the state was finally
approved by the state cabinet of ministers as well as the state legislative
assembly on February 12th, 2012. Thereafter it took us dozens of
meetings with various ministers and government officials besides three Chief Ministers
of the state to get the policy substantially adopted and implemented. Main
credit for the same goes to Late Shujaat sahib since each and every such
meeting was arranged and led by him. He had additionally written a series of
editorials and columns in his newspaper on the need for implementing a drug
policy in the state.
Shujaat sahib
would always arrive in time in all such meetings in spite of his very hectic
schedule back at his newsdesk. He would warmly greet and affably interact with all
members of the delegation before every such meeting. He was very kind and
affectionate towards me too. His poise and persona would add value and vigour
to our visiting delegation. He was invariably the one to make the opening
remarks in our meetings with the government officials. Subsequently he would
neatly pass the baton to other members for further elaboration. His commitment
towards the social cause was unflinching and indomitable. Even though some of
us would occasionally get emotional about issues and raise our pitch in support
of our demands, he was always calm, composed and cordial. Many times when we
were utterly disappointed due to inaction of the government functionaries he
would boost our morale and encourage us to exhibit perseverance till the desired
goals are attained. During none of our meetings would he ever digress from the
main agenda or indulge in any needless discussion with the authorities. It was
an unwritten and undeclared law among our circles not to push for any kind of
personal agenda during such meetings and every member of the delegation would
religiously follow this rule. Shujaat sahib deserved all accolades and
salutations for making the social agenda so personal and using all his personal
relations and contacts to salvage maximum benefits for the common masses from
the government quarters.
Just a couple
of days before his assassination, we met at his office to devise our plan of
action for resolving several pending issues related to healthcare system of the
state. During our casual discussion he informed us that for some days he was
being intimidated by some unknown people over social media sites. We requested
him to exercise caution and tighten his security but he did not seem to be
scared or bothered much by the rant. He was as cool as ever and didn’t pay much
heed to the threats. News of his death just a couple of days later shook the
hell out of us as nobody would have ever imagined even in his wildest dreams
that a completely harmless and docile person like Shujaat Bukhari would be
killed so mercilessly. Shujaat sahib was the formidable voice of our nation. He
would often highlight the socio-political issues of the valley on national
print and electronic media in a very cogent, argumentative and articulate
manner. He would never indulge in mud-slinging and blame-game but would put
across his points with sound reasoning and logical inferences leaving his
opponents speechless. He was a man of substance who would always rely on facts,
figures and genuine oratory. He believed in making logical interventions
through consistent lobbying, persistent advocacy and persuasive pressure. He
never indulged in baseless rhetoric, hollow sloganeering and meaningless jeering.
His viewpoints and arguments were grounded in well-established historical
facts, well-accepted norms and conventions. He represented Kashmir in many
international conferences and aptly highlighted the plight of the people of
this beleaguered nation whenever he got an opportunity to do so. Apart from reading, writing and speaking, he loved travelling and socializing. He visited Human
Resource Development Centre of the University of Kashmir several times as a
Resource Person and delivered very informative and insightful lectures on
issues related to mass media and Kashmir.
ae
jahan ham ko adaawat say nahein hay fursat
phir
kabhi dushman-e-arbaab-e-wafa ho jana
yeh
bhi tere qad-o-qaamat say chupaya na gaya
ek
sitaray say tera mah-e-laqa ho jana
(Qateel Shifaie)
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