On the orders of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif the Pakistani government has declared the ancestral house of Dilip Kumar in Peshawar as a national heritage. Prime minister has also ordered to acquire the property by buying it from its current owners (off course by spending tax payers amount from national treasury).
The house located at Qissa Khawani Bazar, Peshawar is in bad condition being used as a storage place by wholesalers. The government is planning to renovate the house after acquiring it, after which it will be inaugurated in a grand ceremony where Dilip Kumar will also be invited who actually lives in Mumbai, India.
Though a positive step, it is ironic that government is keenly following this case where the concerned artist has never ever worked for any Pakistani production. Especially when our governments has never shown any intention or interest in preserving heritage of legendary Pakistani artists like Mehdi Hassan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madam Noor Jehan and many others. Apart from artists there are many poets and writers who deserve same anticipation from government. Dilip Kumar is indeed a great artist born in Peshawar who opted to live and work in India after partition rather than his homeland, but those who opted to live and work in Pakistan and brought fame to our country should be the first priority for any such decision.
Rashid Nazir Ali
