Malappuram: ''He had great pride about his Indian origin and roots... But he never wanted to change his Pakistan nationality," says Mohammed Kutty, brother of prominent Indian-origin Pakistani politician and activist B.M. Kutty who died in Karachi after a prolonged illness on Sunday. Though his family members here wanted him to come and stay at Vailathur, his ancestral village at nearby Tirur at the dusk of his life, Kutty had fondly rejected their demand and said he wanted to die as a Pakistani, the brother recalled.
"He had love and respect towards the people of Pakistan. He used to say that people of India and Pakistan share similar thoughts and sentiments and Partition had failed to divide their united hearts. Problem was with politicians only, he had said," Mohammed Kutty said on Monday. "When I asked him if he could remain in Kerala, he had said no way...He never wanted to change his Pak nationality," Kutty said.
The 89-year old Biyyothil Mohyuddin Kutty, popularly known as B.M. Kutty, had migrated to Pakistan from Malappuram district 70 years ago in 1949 when he was 19. As soon as they received the news about his death, the family members gathered at his ancestral home here and conducted special prayers on Sunday evening. They distributed rice to over 250 poor families and read his autobiography "Sixty years in self-exile: No Regrets; A Political Autobiography", reviving Kutty's memories.
Mohammed Kutty, the youngest brother, said though he tried to call B.M. Kutty's daughter in Karachi, the phone was continuously switched off. "I had talked to my brother a week ago. He sounded very weak.. he was upset about the recent developments in Kashmir...,"the 70-year old recalled. Born in 1930 in Tirur town in Malappuram, Kutty was the eldest of five siblings. He belonged to a family of peasants and landowners and was raised in middle-class circumstances. During his student days, Kutty developed Socialist and Leftist political views and joined the Kerala Students Federation affiliated with the Communist Party. In 1946, he also joined the Muslim Students Federation under the All-India Muslim League. He attended Mohammedan College in Chennai, where he studied science for four years. "After his studies, my brother and some of his friends had gone on a trip to various places in India and Pakistan. As part of the tour, he visited Lahore. Though his friends later returned to India, my brother decided to stay back in Pakistan," he said. He found a job first in Lahore and then in Karachi and eventually settled down there and acquired citizenship. The younger brother recalled that his parents were initially upset about their son's migration to Pakistan and his marriage with Brigees Mohiuddin, whose family had migrated to Karachi from Uttar Pradesh. But, even after settling down in Pakistan, he continued to be in touch with family members in Kerala and tried to visit the southern state as frequently as he could. After 2002, he began visiting the ancestral home at least once in two years, the family said. When he suffered a stroke, which left him paralysed in 2017, Kutty flew to Kerala for Aryurveda treatment which improved his condition.The high point of his career was his association with Ghaus Baksh Bizenjo, the Governor of Balochistan province, in 1972 He also served as political secretary to the Governor of Balochistan. Kutty came to the limelight after he launched his autobiography "Sixty years in self-exile: No Regrets; A Political Autobiography" in 2011.
