By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,
Guwahati: Along with the entire country, Assam too has expressed its grief at the demise of renowned scholar and progressive thinker Asghar Ali Engineer on Tuesday at the age of 74 in Mumbai. The reformist leader who has visited the state number of times during the hour of crisis has left a mark among the people of the state who appreciated his way of life.
“We express deep sorrow at his demise. As one of the National advisors of the parishad, Dr. Engineer always guided us. His secular, democratic views and writings have contributed a lot to shape the ideals of our lives. We offer our sincere condolence to his family and vow that we shall take forward his ideals of secularism and democracy in the coming days,” Hafiz Ahmed, president of Char-Chapori Sahitya Parishad (CCSP), a literary body of Assam told TwoCircles.net.
Engineer who founded the Institute of Islamic Studies (1980) and the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (1993) to carry on his progressive movement also authored around 50 books on various topics and believed in treating all religions with equality. He has visited Assam number of times and tried his best to convey his message of progressive thinking. He came to Assam in January in 2012 to attend a seminar in Guwahati. He was also associated with CCSP.
Hafiz Ahmed, who has translated more than 50 essays into Assamese written by Engineer, further said that they are also hoping to compile all this so that his message can reach to a wider section of reader in Assam.
“His demise is a loss to every Indian who believes in secularism. He was the pioneer to bring the secularism among the mass. What I have seen during my long association with him was that he never said anything in emotion. He had gone thoroughly before making a statement on anything. For Assam, he has a good deal of contribution as he tried to make people understand at the national level about D-Voter issue, Nellie massacre and others. We all need to work more actively to promote his legacy,” said Dilip Bora, Gauhati University professor and the state head of All India Secular Forum which was founded by Engineer himself.
Human rights activist Anjuman Ara Begum who also came across Engineer’s ideals said that his legacy will be the strength of the people who believe in secularism.
Besides, his works also spoke for the empowerment of women in the society. “Asghar Ali Engineer Sahaab was the foremost fighter to uplift the Muslim women in the country. His books like Status of Women in Islam, Women and Gender Justice, The Quran, Women and Modern Society, The Rights of Women in India etc will definitely guide us while working for women empowerment and gender justice,” said research scholar and microfinance professional Abdul Kalam Azad.