Renowed writer Sobho Gianchandani passes away

Karachi: Acclaimed writer and leftist leader Sobho Gianchandani, who was given the sobriquet of "a man from Moen Jo Daro" by Rabindranath Tagore, today died in Pakistan's Larkana aged 94.

Gianchandani, who studied at the Shantiniketan College in West Bengal, was the first non-muslim and non-urdu recipient of the renowned Kamal-e-Fun Award -- a top literary award given to writers in the field of literature.

He was the founder of many progressive, democratic and nationalist campaigns in Sindh and had also worked with many prominent personalities such as Rabindranath Tagore, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Goband Malhi and Hyder Bux Jatoi.

While studying in West Bengal he was given the sobriquet of "a man from Moen Jo Daro" by Rabindranath Tagore because his village was located near this historical site widely recognised as ancient Indus Valley Civilisation metropolis.

Gianchandani wrote nine books four of them in Urdu and five in Hindi.

He was known for his association with a number of political parties and campaign groups such as the Indian National Congress and Khudai Khidmatgar, which was a non-violent movement turned political party during pre-partition times.

After partition, the leftist leader was asked to leave Sindh and go to India, but he refused and as a consequence was banned from travelling abroad until 1998.