Rawalpindi
Gordon College was established in 1893 and even today, after a lapse of 123 years, it retains its importance and fame. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions of the sub-continent. Gordon College is very famous for its literary and cultural activities of which the college magazine The Gordonian is an intrinsic part.
The first issue of The Gordonian was published in 1915, and leaving aside few years of absence, its publication continued and now it has completed 101 years of its publication.
History of the college can be divided into two periods; from its establishment in 1893 to 1972 when the college was nationalised by the government and then from nationalisation upto present day. In pre-nationalisation period, Prof. Xavier, Prof. Victor Mall, Prof. Stewart, Prof. J.B. Cummings, Prof. A.Q. Daskavie, Prof. Khawaja Masood and Prof. Nasrullah Malik remained members of editorial board.
College celebrated 100 years of its establishment in 1993 and different activities such as Qirat and Naat competition, inter-collegiate debates, mushaira and musical night were organised and attended by a large number of Old Gordonians. Annual dinner was arranged on the college campus for the alumni of the college.
The main event of the centenary celebrations was the publication of the centenary number of The Gordonian. Principal Dr. Gulzar Muhammad Khan constituted editorial board comprising of Prof. Sajjad Sheikh, Prof. Nawab Naqvi, Prof. Shahbaz Ali Qureshi, Prof. Naeem Nathaniel, Prof. Aftab Iqbal Shamim and Prof. Shahid Rasheed. In this issue, famous essays, poetry, reports and unique photographs from all the previous issues were included. This issue was hailed by the literary circles in Pakistan as well as abroad.
Prof. Sajjad Shiekh retired in 1998 after remaining associated with the college for more than 40 years. To mark the retirement of legendary Prof. Sajjad Sheikh, Principal Dr. Zahid Kazmi constituted a new editorial board which included Prof. Humayun Qureshi, Prof. Nawab Naqvi, Prof. Shahid Rasheed, Prof. Naeem Nathaniel and Prof. Shahbaz Ali Qureshi. The remarkable feature of this issue was "Sajjad Sheikh Corner" enriched with unpublished essays and poetry of Prof. Sajjad Sheikh. This issue also contained some remarkable essays and poems penned down by a number of Prof. Sajjad's students spread all over the world.
In 2003, Prof. Nawab Naqvi, famous poet and writer as well as the in charge of literary activities in the college was transferred to the local Govt. Post Graduate College, Asghar Mall. He remained associated with Gordon College as student and teacher for more than 35 years. In recognition of his invaluable services for the college, Principal Prof. Muhammad Saleem Ch. constituted new editorial board which consisted of Prof. Khalid Maqbool Bhatti, Prof. Aitzaz-ud-Din Sabri, Prof. Muhammad Abbas, Prof. Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Prof. Shahbaz Ali Qureshi and Prof. Amjad Zia. Here it would not be out of place to mention that Principal Prof. Muhammad Saleem Ch. was an outstanding principal and during his tenure Gordon College regained its lost glory. Gordon College excelled in curricular and co-curricular activities and was declared the best college of the division by the local government. Under the guidance of Principal Saleem Ch, an edition of The Gordonian was published having "Nawab Naqvi Corner". Like all the previous issues of the magazine, it was also appreciated by the men of letters everywhere in the world.
Government of Pakistan decided to celebrate the year 2010 as the year of Pak-China friendship. Therefore, Pak-China friendship number of The Gordonian was published under the patronage of Principal Dr. Abdul Qayyum Bhatti. Editorial board for this edition comprised of Prof. Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Prof. Aitzaz-ud-Din Sabri, Prof. Amjad Zia, Prof. K.M. Bhatti, Prof. M. Abbas. This issue contained quite informative essays written by teachers and students. It was also appreciated by all and sundry in the literary circles.
In 2015, Principal Dr. Muhammad Ali Bhatti took over the charge of principal. He is an educationist, administrator and a sportsman. After assuming the charge he focused to activate co-curricular activities which were lying dormant for a number of years. He has initiated the practice of conducting monthly tests in an organised way which has tremendously improved the results of college. This year, for the first time in the history of the college, two students of this college secured 2nd and 3rd positions in the HSSC results of BISE Rawalpindi. Besides this achievement, Gordon College regained its supremacy in the field of sports. In addition to that, one of the Gordonians won the CM essay writing competition at provincial level.
To commemorate the completion of 100 years of The Gordonian, the Principal constituted new editorial board which included Prof. Aitzaz-ud-Din Sabri, Prof. Irfan Afzal, Prof. Adnan Ashraf, Prof. Faheem Ahmed Sabri and Prof. Anees Mirza. The remarkbale feature of this issue is the induction of two female student editors after a lapse of 43 years (college was nationalised in 1972 and with that came to an end co-education in the college). This issue is also regarded by all the literary circles as a standard which must be achieved and strived for by all the educational institutions. Last but not the least the credit of publishing the latest issue goes to Prof. Irfan Afzal, Prof. Adnan Ashraf and Prof. Faheem Sabri who worked with full devotion. The college administration is also grateful to Mr. Umair Durrani, an outstanding photographer, for voluntarily rendering his services to contribute some marvelous photographs in the pictorial section of the magazine.