Hasan Nasir — Dreams Do Not Die
By Shariq Ali
Valueversity
The life of Hasan Nasir is a symbol of a dream that was hung upon the walls of tyranny, tortured upon the cross of cruelty, yet emerged unbroken and alive. He still beats within the hearts of young souls yearning for truth and justice.
He was born in 1928 in Hyderabad Deccan, into a distinguished and educated family. His maternal grandfather, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, was among the foremost champions of Muslim education and reform. But Hasan Nasir chose to abandon the comfort of privilege and dedicate his life to the service of the oppressed.
The intellectual and political atmosphere of Aligarh and Deccan awakened in him a deep awareness of equality, freedom, and social justice.
After the creation of Pakistan, he moved to Karachi and joined the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP). He firmly believed that independence must be not only political but also economic. When the Communist Party was banned in 1954, he continued to work underground, organizing movements of workers, students, and peasants. Later, he became the Secretary-General of the National Awami Party (NAP) and played a prominent role in the struggle for social justice.
The martial law of 1958 further suffocated freedom of expression, yet Hasan Nasir refused to bend. He lived among the poor in Karachi’s slums, listened to their sufferings, and worked to unite them. That, in the eyes of the rulers, was his crime.
In 1960, he was arrested in Karachi and imprisoned in the notorious Lahore Fort, where he was brutally tortured. On 13 November 1960, he was found dead in his cell. The government called it “suicide,” but every just heart recognized it as the ruthless murder of a conscience.
When his mother, Zahra Alamdar Hussain, arrived at Miani Sahib graveyard, she refused to identify the mutilated body:
“This is not my son.”
Thus, Hasan Nasir was buried without a name or a grave that could be marked — yet his memory, his resolve, and his dream remain alive.
Even today, his name echoes through student gatherings, workers’ rallies, and the verses of resistance poetry — reminding us that fortresses of oppression may crumble, but the human spirit never dies.
The story of Hasan Nasir teaches us that though the path of truth is harsh and perilous, it is the only path that endures — forever bright on the pages of history.