SRINAGAR: The Institution of Engineers at Church Lane, Sonwar, on Saturday hosted an emotionally charged commemoration to mark the third death anniversary of noted jurist, social reformer and RTI activist Syed Nassarullah Shah.
The event was jointly organised by the Environmental Policy Group (EPG) and the JK RTI Movement, both of which have carried forward his work on transparency, accountability and environmental conservation.
Former JK Chief Information Commissioner, Ghulam Rasool Sufi, presided over the function and recalled Shah’s pioneering role in bringing Right to Information activism to the state. “He was a man ahead of his time who encouraged ordinary people to challenge corruption and demand accountability,” Sufi said, before being felicitated with a Kashmiri shawl.
Tributes flowed from a range of speakers, including Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, chairman of the JK RTI Movement, who described Shah as a torchbearer who shaped a generation of rights campaigners, and Faiz Ahmad Bakshi, convenor of EPG, who called him “our conscience-keeper” whose legacy lives in young activists, environmental volunteers and voices for transparency.
The programme featured a presentation on Shah’s life by Tauseef Ahmad Bhat and personal recollections by MM Shuja, who highlighted his more than twenty PILs on corruption, environmental degradation and riverbed mining. Advocate Rafiq Bazaz lauded Shah’s uncompromising judicial career, while Khaliq ul Zaman Bhat, in a written message, remembered his struggle for better service conditions for judicial staff.
Poets Ishrat Gul, Anjum Assad and Syed Farhat added cultural tributes, while environmentalist Haji Manzoor Ahmad Wangnoo drew applause by announcing a pledge to plant one thousand trees in Khimber and restore a spring in Shah’s memory.
The occasion also recognised contemporary contributions, with awards presented to environmentalists, RTI activists and journalists, including Dr MM Shuja, Abdul Ahad of Kupwara, student activist Mueed of Shivpora, entrepreneur Aamir of Kulgam, Greater Kashmir Executive Editor Arif Shafi Wani, Doordarshan’s Tariq Ahmad Rather and Kohsheen TV’s Shuaib Nasir.
The event was attended by a wide spectrum of activists, jurists, officials, journalists, educationists and environmentalists, reflecting the breadth of Shah’s influence. Concluding the programme, Faiz Ahmad Bakshi said the anniversary was not just a remembrance but “a renewal of commitment to the values Syed Nassarullah stood for.”
