Romantic fascination and poor-friendly service is what had made the rail a symbol of lifeline of the country. It is neither romantically fascinating anymore nor is it able to provide the people with economical way out to reach their destinations. Both these aspects came under discussion at the launching ceremony of Dr Irfan Ahmed Baig’s new book “Dedh Sadi Ki Rail” arranged by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) under its Civic Cafe dialogue series.
While the book represents writer’s 40 years experiences of travelling in rails around the country in company of his father who worked for Pakistan railways at different stages of its evolution and emergence as a strategic asset of the country, the speakers of the event talked about the deterioration this important transportation system has gone through in recent times.
Prof Yonus Khalid said the book had beautifully captured minor details of the rail, railway tracks and the life along both sides of these tracks. “There is definitely a story spreading over 150 years of Pakistan railways, as it had started on May 13, 1861, when the first railway line was opened to the public between Karachi and Kotri with a total distance of 105 miles”, he said.
Prominent poet and writer Haris Khaleeq said this book rotates around a triangle of writer’s love for his father who served the railway for years, rail itself and most importantly Pakistan. “This is story of history, glory and downfall of this very important institution of the country” said Haris Khaleeq. He appreciated writer’s academic detachment or objectivity which makes it a good research document in addition to being a great literary piece of work.
Prominent writer Najamul Saqib said Irfan Baig’s book not only talks about railways’ importance in public life but also traces the history of political movements and country’s development related to the life of rail and railway tracks. He said Derh Sadi ki Rail can be a good reference document even for railways officials if they want to know about the reasons of its downfall.
SPO Chief Executive Naseer Memon connected the contents of this book with the development paradigm of the country that focused on snatching away the assets and opportunities from the poor. Memon left the audience with a question on why the poor-friendly services like railways was vanishing while a number of fancy cars were increasing day by day? He said state-owned enterprises were alleviating poverty all over the world, but in our country state enterprises were abrogating poor people’s services. “This book reminds us of the importance of railways being not only an effective and cheap source of transportation but also a beautiful picture of country’s landscape” said Naseer. Introducing the audience and the programme, SPO Chief of Programmes Zafar Zeeshan said the Civic Cafe is a space for all to discuss contemporary issues and developments.
