Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that there is a need of organizing international conferences every year to invite men of letter to visit Sindh and to interact for promoting our literature, and education and encourage meaningful research.
This he said on Wednesday while speaking at International Conference on ‘Alexander in the Indus Valley’, organized by Endowment Fund Trust at Jahangir Siddiqui Auditorium, IBA City Campus, Saddar here.
The conference was attended by Syed Fakir Aijazuddin, Dr. Robin Lane Fox, Emeritus Fellow of New College, Oxford University, and Dr. Richard Stoneman, Honorary Professor at the University of Exeter. This conference will continue until 24 February 2023.
The Conference opened with a performance from the Kalash dancers who had come from Chitral for the occasion.
Hamid Akhund hosted the first session in which Minister of Culture Syed Sardar Shah, Hamid Haroon, Jahangir Siddiqui, and others spoke on the occasion.
“Up till very recently, a road in Sehwan was referred to as Sikandari road,” he said and added, “although Sehwan may or may not be the city the Greeks called Sindhimana, Eggermont states that the fort possibly retains evidence that will help understand the full impact of Alexander’s time spent in the Indus region.”
He said that as a boy, Alexander dreamed of matching the heroic feats of Achilles, by 20 he led his cavalry to stunning victories, and by twenty-five, he had crushed the Persian Empire. “He was in the Indus Valley for a very short period of over two years and this great leader of armed men had for the first time in history linked the east to the west with the largest empire and for twelve and half years, he has ruled,” he said and added wise men whom he had brought with him to record events have provided us with the knowledge and conditions of diverse peoples and their customs.
According to the CM, “the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) has come upto his expectations in organizing this conference on time, and they have my appreciation as do Sardar Ali Shah, Jahangir Siddiqui, and Hameed Haroon for their inspiring support. I am aware of the difficult task they have on their hand, they have the full support of his government.”
The CM sought the counsel of visiting friends to advise us about the works at the Sehwan Fort, a site that has suffered due to neglect. “The Sindh government has started repair works on rain and flood-damaged sites, it may take longer but steps are being taken,” he said and added he advised the Sindh Culture dept to organize one or two such events every year to invite men of letters to visit Sindh and to interact so as to create a clear understanding of each other and reviving old contacts and to promote and enrich our literature, education and promote meaningful research.
