HYDERABAD: Noted historian Dr Mubarak Ali has called for writing afresh Sindh`s history to bring to light hitherto unknown struggles of resistance like the one waged by Sufi Shah Inayat Shaheed against entrenched feudalism in Jhoke, Thatta.

Historically, shrines had not led resistance movements as they were dependent on donations from rulers but it was the first time that Shah Inayat challenged rulers, that was why he held an important place in history but still he remained an unknown hero, he said.Mr Ali was speaking at Shah Inayat Shaheed conference organised by the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) at the press club on Friday.

The historian stressed the need for writing Sindh`s history afresh to discover such characters and said it would help understand personalities behind resistance movements and guide people on how to deal with present conditions.

He explained the difference between rulers` history and people`s history and said rulers` history did not make much mention of resistance movements. Therefore, such movements often remained alive in folklore, he said.

The available information aboutShah Inayat`s struggle was incomplete. `We need to find out other sources to know what issues he faced when once mighty Mughal rule was on the wane because of emerging regional powers like Sikhs, Rohillas and Marhattas,` he said.

`It is an important aspect of history. Whenever there is a rebellion collaborators weaken regional forces by siding with the centre and in Shah Inayat`s case Kalhoras acted as collaborators,` he said.

Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed, director of Pakistan Study Centre, Karachi University, said in his paper, that Shah Inayat had challenged exploitative forces. He loved his people andfoughtfortheirrights.`Although his struggle didn`t succeed but it did create a new chapter in Sindh`s social history and made it clear that mysticism is not restricted to shrines or custodians but it can play the role of a catalyst,` he said. He pointed out that not much was written on Shah Inayat`s struggle.

`He is called Sufi in mystic literature in a passing reference.

Efforts have not been made so far to throw light on his contribution` Perhaps, he said, his best evaluation was done by Syed Sibte Hassan in his book Naveed-i-fikr in which he devoted an entire chapter to him, terming him Sindh`s socialist Sufi.

Local landlords colluded with the subedar of Thatta, Nawab AzamKhan to harass Shah Inayat in the name of recovery of taxes. On refusal Khan attacked Jhok and after inconclusive four-month-long fight with Shah Inayat, Khan offered him a truce as a ploy and treacherously had him and his followers killed on Jan 7, 1717, he said.

Columnist Zahida Hina said that 300 years before the French revolution and Marxism, Shah Inayat propagated the ideology of collective farming.

`He had studied world`s revolts which emboldened him to unite farmers and raise the slogan `land belongs to Allah. He who tills it has the right to eat` (zameen Allah ji ahay, jeko khairay so khae),` she said.