صہباؔ لکھنوی
صہبا لکھنوی مدت سے بیمار تھے، وہ خلقتاً بھی نحیف اور کمزور تھے، اس کے باوجود افکار کی ترتیب و ادارت اور اس سے متعلقہ کاموں کی نگرانی کرتے تھے، بالآخر ۳۱؍ مارچ ۲۰۰۲ء میں پیامِ اجل آگیا، مرحوم ’’افکار‘‘ کے بانی مدیر تھے اور صحافیوں کی اس نسل سے تعلق رکھتے تھے جو صلہ و ستائش سے بے پروا ہوکر ادب پروری اور صحافت وادب کے فروغ کے لیے صحافت کے پیشے سے وابستہ ہوتی تھی۔
صہبا صاحب کا اصل نام سید شرافت علی تھا، ان کا آبائی وطن لکھنؤ تھا، مگر وہ ۲۵؍ دسمبر ۱۹۱۹ء کو بھوپال میں پیدا ہوئے تھے، تقسیم سے پہلے یہیں رہایش پذیر تھے اور ۱۹۴۵ء میں یہیں سے ماہنامہ افکار جاری کیا اور اپنی ساری قوت و توانائی اسی میں لگا دی، ان میں شعر و ادب اور نقد و نظر کی جو صلاحیتیں اور قابلیتیں پنہاں تھیں۔ ان کو افکار کے لیے قربان کردیا اور اپنے نوک خامہ سے دوسرے ارباب قلم کی تحریریں چمکاتے اور افکار میں شایع کر کے ان کی ہمت و حوصلہ بڑھاتے اور ان کی عزت افزائی کرتے، انہوں نے بڑے بڑے ادیبوں کی تحریروں کے معاملے میں اپنا حقِ ادارت محفوظ رکھا اور ان کی کوئی رورعایت نہیں کی۔
تقسیم کے بعد کراچی آئے تو افکار نے یہاں سے دوسرا جنم لیا، صہبا صاحب مالی مشکلات اور دوسری پریشانیوں سے دوچار ہوئے اور لوگوں کی نکتہ چینی کا نشانہ بنے مگر افکار کی خدمت و ترقی میں ہمہ تن منہمک رہے، رات دن اٹھتے بیٹھتے اور چلتے پھرتے افکار ہی ان کے دل و دماغ پر چھایا رہتا تھا، ان کے پاس زیادہ سرمایہ نہ تھا لیکن جو کچھ اور جس قدر تھا سب افکار کی نذر کردیا۔ اپنے بعد بھی اس کو جاری رکھنے کے لیے افکار فاؤنڈیشن...
On the 11th of February this year death vanquished Pakistan’s Asma Jahangir: Nothing else could. Her name will endure; yet one cannot go on to say “death thou art dead” for the vacuum in the field where this indomitable and intellectually gifted lawyer fought and won her battles for the forgotten and ignored, the resource-less, and – above all – for the politically and socially persecuted is felt more gravely with each passing day: Asma Jahangir was a convinced human rights activist. There are many such, but she was a uniquely effective and successful one.
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an important but ignored fruit crop of Pakistan for which no research work has ever been reported previously inside the country. There is no standard or identified loquat cultivar available to the growers for cultivation in the loquat growing pockets of Pakistan. Generally, the farmers grow their orchards through seeds. As a result, most of the loquat orchards do not possess the plants with uniform fruit characters and fruit is not of good quality. Previously no work has been reported regarding description of the loquat genotypes in Pakistan. The present study was, therefore, carried out to evaluate and characterize the available genotypes in the main loquat growing areas of Pakistan and to determine the genetic diversity among these genotypes. For this purpose, 9 sites were selected in the main loquat growing areas of Pakistan. Forty two genotypes were identified, which were compared on the basis of morpho-physical traits. Significant differences were observed with reference to various characteristics among different genotypes. Fruit weight of the genotypes ranged from 9.54 g (in HW4) to 47.84 g (in TB15). Range of flesh seed ratio was from 1.67 (in HW5) to 3.05 (in TB8). Minimum yield per tree was recorded as 25.85 kg (in TB15), while it was maximum (89.87 kg) in TB7. Correlations among some traits were also observed. Moreover, RAPD analyses of the genotypes were performed. Five RAPD primers gave reproducible results and generated 47 polymorphic bands. According to the dandrogram, two main groups of the loquat genotypes were identified with a linkage distance of 33%. For most of the locations, grouping of the genotypes was in accordance with the geographical locations. Out of the three genotypes from Mardan, one falls under the first group and the other two under the second group. The maximum number of genotypes (15) was identified at Takht Bhai, two of them belonged to the first group and 13 to the second group. Genotypes with good characteristics i.e. better yield, higher fruit size and weight, less number of seeds per fruit and higher flesh seed ratio can be recommended for further multiplication and introduction to the other loquat growing areas which would increase the income of farming community. The study also recommends establishing germplasm units in Punjab and NWFP and pooling all these genotypes for future strategies and breeding programs including selection, introduction, hybridization and mutation breeding. The present study would also be helpful for the documentation, management, and conservation of the loquat genetic resources of Pakistan.