Ibn Abdur Rehman, also known as I.A. Rehman (1 September 1930 – 12 September 2020) was a Pakistani

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and human rights advocate, a veteran communist and a journalist.

Early life and education

Rehman was born on 1 September 1930 in

Pataudi State Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 by the East India Company rule in India. The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commission ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(present day

Gurgaon district Gurgaon district, officially known as Gurugram district, is one of the 22 districts of Haryana in northern India. The city of Gurgaon is the administrative headquarters of the district. The population is 1,514,432. It is one of the southern dist ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

). He grew up in both a "religious and secular" household, and his father and grandfather were landowners. When

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

happened in 1947, he was still studying at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. He reportedly lost many relatives in the riots that followed the partition in his region of birth. He survived because he was away from the region as a student. Then he moved to Pakistan and was able to finish his MSc. degree in Physics from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan.

Career

I. A. Rehman first started writing columns for newspapers in 1950. A protégé of the great

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

poet

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Chaudhry Faiz Ahmad Faiz (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984) was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his works and ideas r ...

, he became chief editor of the ''

Pakistan Times ''The Pakistan Times'' (1947–1996) was a Pakistani newspaper, established by Mian Itikharuddin and Faiz Ahmed Faiz through the leftist Progressive Papers Limited. Its headquarters was in Lahore, Pakistan. Later, it started another edition fr ...

'' newspaper in 1989. He continued to write columns for

Dawn newspaper ''Dawn'' is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in British India by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1941. It is the largest English newspaper in Pakistan, and is widely considered the country's newspaper of record. ''Dawn'' is the f ...

until almost his death. He was the founding chair of the ''Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy'' and a prominent human rights activist. Rehman was influential for promoting peace in the

Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts Since the partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...

and in

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

as well as for other human rights issues in Pakistan. Rehman was also very active in the

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nat ...

(PFUJ). He was also a Director (1990-2008) and Secretary General from (2008-2016) at the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP; ) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting and prom ...

. A major newspaper of Pakistan is quoted as saying about I. A. Rehman: "Had he chosen to concentrate on column-writing alone, he would have profited immensely because the big newspapers of India and Bangladeash were ready to publish him for any amount he desired, but instead he taught many generations of journalists about filing a report, doing research and journalistic ethics." In November 2007, on a visit to India, he told ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' newspaper, "I've been working to defend people's human rights all my life. And, I will continue to do so."(Ananth Krishnan
Profile of journalist I. A. Rehman on The Hindu newspaper
Published 16 November 2007, Retrieved 17 September 2023 In 2015, many human rights activists including I.A. Rehman urged the Pakistani government to 'criminalise child labour in hazardous environments'. According to ''

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

'', one activist doctor said, "I have seen cases where children have contracted tuberculosis because they worked in hazardous environments. Making children work such jobs should be criminalized."

Death and legacy

He died on 12 September 2020 in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

at age 90. On his death, a spokesperson for the

(HRCP) reportedly called him a "titan of human rights....his integrity, conscience and compassion were unparalleled".

Awards and recognition

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

for Peace and International Understanding in 2004 * Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003I. A. Rehman gets Nuremberg International Human Rights Award in 2003
Dawn newspaper, Published 7 October 2002, Retrieved 13 February 2024

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehman, Ibn Abdur 1930 births 2021 deaths Pakistani anti-war activists Pakistani communists Muhajir people Pakistani human rights activists Pakistani male journalists Pakistani people of Haryanvi descent Ramon Magsaysay Award winners University of the Punjab alumni Pakistani columnists Pakistani newspaper editors Indian emigrants to Pakistan