A Rare Courageous Daughter Of South Asia

Asma Jahangir, known for her indomitable spirit as a rights activist, was among the very few strong leaders in the Indian subcontinent. Her demise is a loss not only to Pakistan but to the whole South Asia

It rarely happens in the case of India and Pakistan that an achiever in any field is admired on both sides of the Radcliffe Line. But on February 11 the sudden death of Asma Jahangir, undoubtedly the bravest daughter of Pakistan, nay, of South Asia, was mourned in both countries by her numerous well-wishers and admirers. If she had a huge number of admirers in her own country, she had no fewer supporters in India for the causes dear to her.

She fiercely fought for the protection of human rights and democratic values. She firmly stood against the military establishment’s interference in an elected government’s affairs, misuse of intelligence agencies to terrorise critics of the ruling dispensation, extremists victimising members of minorities in the name of religion and use of extremism as an instrument of foreign policy. Her popularity in India was also related to her drive for forging friendly relations between the two neighbours. Her disappearance from the scene has weakened the Indo-Pak peace constituency on the other side of the border.