Rasool Bux Palijo: The Latifian Voice of Awami Struggle
By Kalavanti Raja
(Today his 7th Death Anniversary is being celebrated in Junghshahi Thatta)
In the heart of Sindh’s soil, where the Indus whispers the songs of resistance, rose a man whose name became synonymous with truth, justice, and intellectual defiance — Rasool Bux Palijo. He was not merely a political leader, but a movement in himself. A philosopher of the oppressed, a torchbearer of Sindhi identity, and a tireless warrior of people’s rights, Palijo’s legacy remains etched in the conscience of every soul who dreams of a just and egalitarian society.
Humble Roots, Towering Ideals
Born on January 20, 1930, in the village of Mungar Khan Palijo in Thatta district, Rasool Bux Palijo came from humble beginnings. Yet, from early on, his mind echoed with questions that challenged the status quo. A brilliant student, he pursued education with great zeal — eventually earning a law degree, and later emerging as one of the most articulate legal minds in Sindh. But for him, knowledge was never a means to personal gain — it was a sword to fight ignorance, and a bridge to liberate the downtrodden.
The Political Philosopher of the People
Palijo’s politics were never transactional. Rooted in Marxist thought and nationalist vision, his ideology was a blend of class struggle, cultural revival, and democratic resistance. As the founder of Awami Tehreek, he mobilized peasants, workers, students, and women — turning silent sufferers into roaring revolutionaries. His politics were principled, never polluted by opportunism. He remained unbought and unbent, even when jail cells became his second home.
He stood against Zia-ul-Haq’s dictatorship, opposed feudalism, resisted One-Unit, and challenged the unjust policies that exploited the people of Sindh. His speeches could electrify thousands — fiery, poetic, deeply philosophical — each word aimed at awakening the masses.
A Pen Mightier Than the Chains
Palijo was not only a street fighter but also a literary giant. Fluent in Sindhi, Urdu, English, Persian, and Chinese, he authored more than two dozen books, covering history, politics, literature, and philosophy. His masterpiece, “Shah Latif and the Message of Revolution”, revealed his deep reverence for Sufi thought while infusing it with revolutionary meaning.
His literary criticism, research, and jail diaries are a treasure for future generations. He believed in the power of the pen, not as a tool of decoration but as an instrument of emancipation.
Voice of the Voiceless
Palijo gave a platform to those history had ignored — the farmers battling landlords, the laborers lost in factories, the women shackled by patriarchy. He championed women’s rights long before it became popular, and founded Sindhiani Tehreek, empowering thousands of rural women with political awareness and self-respect.
He never hesitated to challenge power — whether it came in the form of bureaucracy, imperialism, or elite hypocrisy. And yet, his weapon was never hating — it was logic, love for the land, and unshakable belief in the people.
A Life of Sacrifice
Rasool Bux Palijo spent more than eleven years in jail for his beliefs — often in solitary confinement, often tortured, but never broken. His spirit could not be caged, because it lived in every student demanding education, every peasant demanding land, every poet singing of freedom.
Despite decades of struggle, he remained a simple man — walking with stick in hand, smile on lips, fire in eyes. Even when he disagreed, he did so with grace and depth, never descending into personal attacks or bitterness.
Legacy That Lives On
Rasool Bux Palijo’s legacy is not merely a matter of inheritance — it is a living movement, deeply rooted in the collective consciousness of Sindh and the broader struggle of the oppressed.
In his final years, he made a principled and historic decision to politically part ways with his son, Ayaz Latif Palijo, after observing a shift away from the ideological foundations he had so firmly laid. Rasool Bux Palijo believed that personal ambition and compromise had no place in a people’s movement. Therefore, he formally withdrew political heirship from Ayaz Latif, and with complete clarity, entrusted the leadership and continuation of his ideological journey to his beloved party, Awami Tehreek.
Awami Tehreek, built on the values of truth, discipline, anti-feudalism, anti-imperialism, and the rights of Sindh, remains the true guardian of his philosophy. It continues to organize workers, students, women, and farmers — staying committed to class struggle and national liberation without deviation or dilution. The party stands as a fortress of integrity in a time of political opportunism, proudly upholding Rasool Bux Palijo’s slogan:
”We are not in politics to rule, but to liberate.”
Though Palijo is no more with us since 7th June 2018 but the legacy of Rasool Bux Palijo lives on in every protest for justice, in every slogan raised against oppression, in every pen that writes for truth, and in every step taken toward a society based on equality and dignity.
The Sage Who Became a Storm
To sum up Rasool Bux Palijo in mere words is to confine the vastness of a sky into a jar. He was more than a leader — he was a teacher, a fighter, a dreamer, and a doer. In every chapter of Sindh’s political history, his name stands tall — not as a mere participant, but as a shaper of destiny.
In the later years of his life, Rasool Bux Palijo made a historic and conscious decision to detach Ayaz Latif Palijo from his political succession, expressing deep concerns over ideological divergence. Instead, he entrusted the torch of his lifelong struggle to the people-centered, disciplined, and ideologically committed leadership of Awami Tehreek— the very movement he had built from the soil of Sindh with sweat, sacrifice, and revolutionary dreams.
He did not chase power; he created awareness. He did not build castles; he raised consciousness. Rasool Bux Palijo’s true legacy lives on not in titles or names, but in the unwavering political line of Awami Tehreek, in the grassroots struggles of peasants and workers, and in every soul who rises for justice, equality, and freedom.
Rasool Bux Palijo will forever remain the soul of Sindh’s resistance — a man who lived not for himself, but for the generations yet to be born.
