Bhagwandas: a great judge & human being

RANA Bhagwandas, who died early Monday morning, was a great judge and a great human being.

Although we knew each other, our interactions got closer in 1994 when he came to Karachi as a Sindh High Court judge and I was principal of the Sindh Madressatul Islam.

The relations continued even when he left for Islamabad as a judge of the Supreme Court in 2000 and subsequently as chairman of the FPSC. He used to come to SMI regularly and some time lectured the students.

In December 2012 the syndicate of the then newly-formed Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) at its first meeting proposed his name as member of the selection board.

These were his closing days at the FPSC. When I called him to seek his approval to his nomination, he thanked God profusely that Allah had given him yet another chance to render service!

From February 2013 to January 2015, SMIU’s selection board held meetings for 28 days on different dates and interviewed more than 400 candidates for the teaching and staff positions. He was the only member of the board who did not miss even a single meeting!

Though the board contained other members also of very high integrity, like Justice Deedar Hussain Shah, Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan and Mr A.W. Kazi, the duty to check the minutes of the meetings on behalf of the board was always entrusted to him. This board selected on merit about 100 candidates, from grades 17 to 21, who are today a continuing the legacy of Rana Bhagwandas.

He was a very lively man: always smiling. Whenever I invited him to meet our international visiting scholars or dignitaries, from Michel Boivin of France to Rita Bruun Akhtar of USEFP, he would not only attend but infuse spirit in those gatherings.

When nine Indian scholars came to participate in SMIU’s second international seminar on ‘Sindh through the Centuries’ in March last, he offered to bring home-cooked vegetarian food for them.

He would consult me on offers and issues relating to educational institutions.

Once there was a difference of opinion. I wanted him to accept the position of the chairman of NAB and wrote a letter in these columns. When he read that letter, he called me and said that he was not interested in that position, rather he would like to continue serving at SMIU.

Today he is no more with us, but his proud legacy continues.

Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh

Vice Chancellor

Sindh Madressatul Islam University,

Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2015