Abdul Sattar Edhi
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The foundation of selflessness
PAK SCAN - Gujarat-born face of compassion in Pak passes away
Sameer Arshad The Times of India Jul 10 2016
Abdul Sattar Edhi was traumatised to see his mother struggle with mental illness and paralysis without much care when he arrived in Pakistan as a penniless refugee in 1947.
His agony mirrored millions of poor whom the infant state was unable to take care of.Instead of despairing, Edhi took it upon himself to look after destitute PAK left to fend for themselves in the absence of a welfare system.He begged on Karachi streets to collect funds to buy a rickety ambulance for the first charitable clinic he started in 1951.
Six decades on, Edhi, 88, left behind Pakistan's biggest and one of the world's largest welfare organisations when he died on Friday . Edhi ran his charity empire of 1,500 ambulances, shelters for the elderly, orpha nages, maternity wards and morgues entirely on public do nations that continued to grow in a measure of trust that very few in Pakistan enjoy .
That his humanitarian work transcended all divides made him by far Pakistan's most-loved national hero. Edhi built a temple for deaf and SCAN mute Indian woman Geeta after he reali sed she was a Hindu. Geeta, who returned to India last year, has been among those Edhi has cared for over the years. Geeta was handed over to the Edhi Fo undation when she was found alone at the Lahore Railway Station after she landed there mysteriously after boarding a cross-border train. Edhi and his wife treated Geeta like their daughter during her 12-year stay in Pakistan.
Edhi gave dignity to unwanted kids along with other outcasts like drug addicts and mentally ill. The abandoned kids are fed, clothed as well as educated at Edhi homes to make them respectable citizens.This humanitarianism is complemented by Edhi's fruga lity. He never built a home for himself even as Edhi presided over a charitable empire with Rs 100 crore budget.
He lived with just two sets of clothes, a karakul cap in a windowless room with just a bed, a wash basin and a stove. Edhi's asceticism attracted donations from even the poorest as he continued his practice of sitting outside a posh Karachi locality to collect money for his work that earned him several Nobel Peace Prize nominations.
Edhi's selfless service has earned him a place in the pantheon of most revered Pakistanis like Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Like Jinnah and his contemporary Mahatma Gandhi, Edhi had his roots in Gujarat's Kathiawar Peninsula. Edhi was born barely 60km from Gandhi's place of birth -Porbandar -at Bantva in 1928. He was schooled in Gujarati in Bantva before partition uprooted his family.
Thousands of Gujaratis like Edhi arrived in Pakistan penniless but have contributed disproportionately to its economy and culture of philanthropy. Among them is Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa, whose Chhipa Welfare runs automatic bread baking plants and a kitchen to feed over 30,000 people.
Gujaratis are even betterknown for their business acumen. They account for less than 1% of Pakistan's population but are the mainstay of the country's GDP . Gujarati trading communities like Memons, Khojas and Bohras own multi-national firms, five-star hotels, banks and multiplexes, besides dominating Pakistan's biggest stock exchange.
TV journo reports from grave, draws flak
With the news of Abdul Sattar Edhi's passing away on Friday, a Pakistani TV news channel found itself at the receiving end of social media ire. A reporter from Express News reported from inside the grave dug up for the burial. As many Pakistanis and Indians expressed online anguish at the treatment of the story, the channel's executive director of news Fahd Husain apologised for the clip violating “all social and journalistic ethics“. “The most disgraceful thing is #ExpressNews' reporting. They could have spared his grave! #DownWithTRPs #Edhi“ tweeted @ahsannag. A tweet from @shaheershahid said: “Hey @ExpressNewsPK. Are these your reporting standards that your reporter has to disgrace Edhi's grave by reporting from inside it?“
