Itinerant academic Riyaz Punjabi passes away

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 8

Advertisement

Riyaz Punjabi, an itinerant academic and a firm proponent of syncretism in Kashmir, passed away here on Thursday.

Born in Srinagar, Punjabi was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2011.

An avid writer, Punjabi’s work touched the areas of peace studies, human rights, composite culture, inter-religious conflicts and rise of fundamentalism in South Asia and Sufism.

In public life as well as in private, friends recall that Punjabi, a man unapologetically fond of his drink, was also nonchalant about his stout defence of Kashmiriyat and strong opposition to using violence to achieve political ends.

Punabi was also well conversant with the Sikh faith and had written a book on the spiritual content of Guru Granth Sahib.

“He was a genuinely liberal Kashmiri. If you can believe that somebody is secular, he was one of them. I always found him to be a very informed person,” said Harpal Bedi, a senior journalist.

However, many remembered him for taking positions that skirted close to the Union government’s line of the day.

Punjabi is also remembered for a draft paper on autonomy for Kashmir.

His last appointment was as Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, but he also had stints with Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University. He was also editing a magazine titled ‘International Peace Studies’, which however had recently fallen on hard times.

“I feel sad that Prof. Punjabi died away from many of his friends and associates in Srinagar and elsewhere in Kashmir. Prof. Punjabi will be remembered in Kashmir long for his qualities of head and heart. I offer my condolences to Mrs. Taranum Riyaz and pray that God may rest his soul in peace and give the family the fortitude to bear this great loss,” said Congress leader Saifuddin Soz in a condolence message.