On September 2nd, 2023, during the literary conference held alongside the second day of the Urs celebrations of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in Bhitshah, the Bhittaipedia project was officially launched by the Co-Chairman of the Institute, Mr. Abdul Majid Bhurgri, together with Syed Junaid Ali Shah, the caretaker minister for Culture, Government of Sindh.
The Director of the Institute presented this long-awaited project, showcasing the comprehensive scope of Bhittaipedia. This project includes all human-made translations and versions of Shah Jo Risalo, compiled by renowned scholars, with transliterations in Roman Sindhi and Devanagari Sindhi of all poetry by Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. The platform also features the lexical density of the language used in Shah Jo Risalo, audio-visual resources, and the capability to read Shah Jo Risalo in 130 of the world’s major languages through AI. Additionally, Bhittaipedia offers research articles, books, and integrated word-by-word meanings in simple Sindhi and English, accessible by tapping or clicking on any word of the verse. The project includes various components such as the history of all compilations of Shah Jo Risalo presented as a timeline and a Google Map API integrated with all verses mentioning any area of the world in Bhittai’s poetry.
Abdul Majid Bhurgri, the founder of Sindhi computing and lifetime Co-chairman of the AMBILE, emphasized the necessity of using technological advancements to promote Bhittai’s message, given the youth’s proficiency with technology. He stated that this initiative would help share Bhittai’s work with a global audience online. Bhurgri added that research from Shah Jo Risalo to magazines on Bhittai, as well as works on Bhittai’s contemporaries, had been made available online. Translations of the poetry in Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, and English are also available alongside each verse.
Mr. Abdul Majid Bhurgri highlighted that Shah Jo Risalo can now be read in 130 languages with the help of artificial intelligence. He recognized the tireless efforts of Amar Fayaz Buriro, who initiated this mega project and completed the translation of Shah Jo Risalo into English for AI training, enabling the translation of this profound wisdom into world languages. Bhurgri proudly mentioned that Bhittaipedia has been featured on France’s largest linguistic portal, Lexilogas, and that digitized maps of places discussed in Bhittai’s poetry are also available online.
Caretaker Sindh Minister for Culture, Junaid Shah, stressed the importance of using modern media to disseminate Bhittai’s message. He noted that countries like Turkey are using contemporary methods, such as online portals and web televisions, to spread the message of Rumi. He praised the Bhittaipedia initiative, expressing hope that such steps would effectively promote Bhittai’s message worldwide. Shah emphasized that Bhittai’s message should be incorporated into the educational syllabus to reach the masses.