Dr. Ali Akbar Dhakan: A Man of Letters and Commitment
Dr. Syed Mehboob
Senior Economic and Political Analyst
I have encountered thousands of people for the last four decades and among them were politicians, lawyers, business tycoons, ulemas, scholars, poets, journalists, diplomats, social workers and others. Some of them have really very impressive personality traits. There are very few people who are highly energetic, committed to their cause, have a vision and did really something extraordinary one. Dr. Ali Akbar is one of them. To understand the personality and characteristics of Ali Akbar Dhakan, we have to think beyond the material world and pull the horse of our imagination and thoughts towards “Spiritual World”. A world where there is love, peace, harmony, selflessness and ocean of sincerity. In this world you won’t find hatred, enviousness, greediness and jealousy. It is a world of purity. Dr. Ali Akbar is a man of Spiritual World, with great commitment, a pure heart and soul with free of all kinds of greed and enviousness. He has a deep love and admiration for Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who was sent as blessing for all humanity. Mr. Dhakan is a Sufi by nature but he is also inspired by Holy Quran and dived into deep ocean of Quranic spiritualism and brought some precious diamonds and pearls from it which he presented in his books, “Balaghul Quran “and “Sifat ur Rehman fil Quran”. He is very much impressed by great Sindhi Poet and Sufi Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhattai. He has a multi-dimensional personality, a versatile one, a writer, columnist, social worker, economists and above all a person with great humanity in him.
A great contribution of Ali Akbar Dhakan is, “Translation of Shah Jo Risalo” into English in prosaic form which is a great work specially for new generation who studied or studying in English medium schools and colleges and do not have the ability to understand scholastic and poetic Sindhi. They have now access to great literary and spiritual work of Shah Abdul Latif. Ali Akbar Dhakan has thirst of knowledge and this thirst can not be quenched by few drops and it is oceanic, as Shah Abdul Latif portrayed it in his Risalo in Sur Suhni,”
“I yearn, I burn, I writhe, I wriggle,
Drinking does not quench my thirst,
Where I to gulp down the entire sea,
It would hardly be a sip for me.”
I had an honour to meet Dr. Dhakan at his residence last week. My Friend Mr. Ali Akbar was accompanied with me. Dr. Ali Akbar himself received us at his door and gave us a warm welcome.
Dr. Ali Akbar is Ph.D. in economics, have many unique features in his biography. He was born on 23rd March, 1940 on the same date and year when “Pakistan Resolution “was passed. At that time there was only one Muslim in banking sector and that was too on a meagre post of peon. Despite many injustices with him because of his ordinary background and his sincerity and simplicity he reached at the peak of State bank of Pakistan. He retired from a glorious post of “Deputy Governor of State Bank of Pakistan” but his life is above from bureaucratic scales and grades. Most of the bureaucrats as observed have iron in their neck and they consider themselves above from the earth somewhere at heaven and lookdown upon at common people but surprisingly Dr. Dhakan is very different from them. From 1975 to 2000 , for 25 years in State Bank of Pakistan and in Sindh government from 1959 to 1975 for 16 years and total 36 years remaining in government service, he remained down to earth, a very simple and loving person with traditional hospitality of Sindh which is unique one not only in Pakistan but in world too. It was my second meeting with Dr. Dhakan, first I met him in 2016 and after the gap of six years I met him second time. There was no change in him in these six years except enhanced knowledge and old age symptoms.
When I talked to him I felt that he has a long history in his heart and mind and just one or two sittings are not enough for me to know deeply about his personality and to share our readers his life experience. A very strange thing is that when every one wants to live a luxury life he chose himself to live among common people. A person who is author of 14 books, having a library containing more than 100,000 books served for 36 years at various government departments including State Bank of Pakistan instead of living at DHA, Baghdadabad or KDA scheme he lives in Shanti Nagar. Only a true lover of Shah Abdul Latif Could do this. He was retired from State Bank of Pakistan in 2000. Since last 23 years he did not look back and continued to quench his thirst of knowledge and spends most of his time in reading and writing. He started translation of “Shah Jo Risalo” into English in 2016 and finished it in 2017. He wants to dedicate his library for common people specially for students who could get great benefits from it. Libraries are very important for scholars and students. I request him to denote some books to Jamia Islamia Hala where interior Sindh students could benefit from this treasure of knowledge and people of interior Sindh are really deserving for it.
It was a nice meeting with a great scholar and a man with ocean of love and hospitality. Dr. Al Akbar presented me his translation of “Shah jo Risalo” which I consider a precious gift for me. I am going through it and trying to quench my thirst of knowledge. I have Sindhi version of Shah Jo Risalo by Kalyan Advani, and Urdu Translation by Sheikh Ayaz and this is the third book on Shah Abdul Latif and his poetry.
It is the duty of our nation to pay tribute to such scholars and I appeal to the government of Pakistan and Government of Sindh that in recognition of Ali Akbar Dhakan’s meritorious work high civil award should be given to him.