First General Body Meeting

• The first General Body Meeting (GBM) of SANA was held in Rockville, Maryland, in August of 1995. A considerable number of Sindhis attended the meeting along with their families. Many members travelled from far off places in USA and Canada to attend the GBM.

The GB started after dinner in a local restraint at about 8.00 P.M. The meeting was opened with the recitation of poetry of SACHAL by Dr. Gul Agha. Mr. Khalid Hashmani presided over the meeting. Several matters were discussed in the meeting. The account of the discussion and corresponding decisions is provided in the following:

1. Tax Exempt Status: It was decided that the Executive Council will appoint one of its members to get the tax exempt status for the association. (Note: The Executive Council has entrusted Dr. Gul Agha with this task and is awaiting his report).
2. Constitution Approval: The general body approved the constitution and Byelaws with unanimity as formulated by the initial Organizing Committee.
3. Executive Council Approval: The general body unanimously approved the elected Executive Council. The general body accepted the resignation of Dr. Nazeer Mughal from the post of General Secretary due to personal reasons. The general body then elected Altaf Hemon as the General Secretary of SANA. Mr. Memon’s name was proposed by Mr. Hashmani and seconded by Dr. Gul Agha.
4. Committee Formation: The general body authorized the Executive Council to form committees as required by the constitution, in the interim the general body approved following committees: 

• Membership: Irahad Kazi, Z. Siddiqui and Roshan Shaikh.
• Social and Cultural: Lateef Laghari, Karim Memon and Razak Memon.
• Publication: Altaf Memon, Roshan Shaikh and Razak Memon.
• Fund Raising: Ali Nawaz Memon, Latif Laghari and Inayat Kathio.

5. Constitutional Amendment: The general body unanimously passed a resolution to amend the constitution and Byelaws, to include a dissolution clause in the Byelaws, so that obtaining the tax exempt status may become easier for the association. The amendment reads:

           “In case of dissolution of this association, assets of the association after satisfying all of its liabilities, shall be earmarked for the promotion of Sindhi language and shall be given to any North American University(ies) and/or any other non-profit organization(s) in the world.”

6. Block Membership: After discussion at length about a proposal to create a BLOCK or JOINT membership with other associations, the general body decided that the matter should be further studied by the Executive Council and report to the general body in the next GM.
7. Purpose and Programs: A detailed discussion was conducted to clarify the objectives and goals of the association. A consensus was reached by the general body that the stated objectives of the constitution were adequate, and no further explanation was necessary. Among programs discussed were publicizing the association, raising funds, publishing a newsletter, publishing membership Directory, organizing cultural events such as “Sindhi Sham”, “Lateef Day”. or “Jhulelal Day”, etc.
8. Boston Resolution: A resolution passed by Boston Area Sindhi Association in support of SANA was read to the general body and was unanimously appreciated by the general body.
9. Donations: Following persons pledged donations to SANA in the GB:

• Dr. Javaid Laghari $100.00
• Ali Nawaz Memon $100.00
• Khalid Hashmani $100.00
• Altaf Memon $100.00
• Anwar Kemon $100.00
• Sajid Akhund $25.00

10. Vote of Thanks: The general body unanimously passed a resolution recognizing and thanking following persons for their services rendered to SANA: 

• Miss Safia for organizing the GBM
• Members of the Executive Council for their work
• Mr. Altaf Memon and Mr. Javaid Laghari for their efforts to organize the association from scratch.
• Dr. Naranjan Doodani for services provided in preservation of Moen-Jo-Daro.

Sindhi Sham:

After the adjournment of the formal proceedings of the GBM, a Sindhi Sham was organized at the house of Mr. Ali Nawaz Memon. Sindhi Sham was full of songs, dances and chit chat. The sham was started with slide show of historical and cultural sites in Sindh. The slide show was put together by Dr. Gul Agha. Scholarly narration of Dr. Agha was thought provoking and was appreciated by the audience. Dr. Naranjan Doodani and Miss. Lata Chainani stole the show with their singing of “Nangra Nimani da Jeeween teeween Palina“, “Ho Jamalo” and other songs. Most of the participants danced in a course on “Ho Jamalo“. Dr. Doodani was the heart of the Sham and won the hearts of all of the participants. Without him the Sindhi Shan would not have been a success.

S.A.N.A. Membership As of November 1, 1985

1. Dr. Ali M. Abro
2. Dr. Gul A. Agha
3. Mr. Zahid Agha
4. Dr. Feroz Ahmed
5. Dr. Waseem Akhtar
6. Mr. Sajid Akhund
7. Mr. Israr I. Ansari
8. Mr. Shoukat Hussain Ansari
9. Dr. Akhter H. Bhatti
10. Ms. Premlata Chainani
11. Dr. Niranjan Dudani
12. Mr. Khalid A. Hashmani
13. Mr. Mushtaq Ali Kalwar
14. Dr. Inayatullah H. Kathio
15. Dr. Abdul Wahab Kazi
16. Mr. Irshad H. Kazi
17. Mr. Shahzad Kazi
18. Mr. Adam Khan Laghari
19. Dr. Javaid R. Laghari
20. Dr. Latif Lighari
21. Mr. S. Lakhavani
22. Mr. A. Razzak Memon.
23. Mr. Abdul Nabi Memon
24. Mr. Ali Nawaz Memon
25. Dr. Altaf A. Memon
26. Mr. Anwar Memon
27. Dr. Bashir A. Memon
28. Ms. Safia Mohammadally
29. Dr. Aftab A. Mufti
30. Mr. Bashir A. Mughal
31. Dr. Nazir A. Mughal
32. Dr. Amanullah Khan Pathan.
33. Dr. Askar A. Qalbani
34. Dr. Mahmood Qalbani
35. Dr. Nasreen Qazi
36. Dr. Abida Quraishi
37. Dr. Mohammad Ali Rajper
38. Dr. Abdullah Riar
39. Dr. Saida S. Saleh.
40. Mr. Mubarak Ali Shah
41. Mr. Nisar Ali Shah
42. Dr. Aftab A. Shaikh
43. Mr. Anwar M. Shaikh
44. Mr. Badar Shaikh (New York)
45. Mr. Badar Shaikh (Maryland)
46. Ms. Sajida Ahmed Shaikh
47. Mr. Mehdi Azizali Shallwani
48. Mr. Iqbal Tareen
49. Mr. Asif Wafai
50. Mr. Saleem Wafai