Azmat Ali Khan: witness to independence and after
August 10, 2008
Karachi
The emergence of Pakistan on the world map was an accomplishment achieved by Quaid-e-Azam and his comrades. The history of post independence Pakistan is yet another story of failed promises, unfulfilled dreams and negation of the causes that were the kernel for the demand of a separate homeland for Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. There are people amongst us who have been a part of the struggle and witnessed the historical events. However, they are now disillusioned by the bad governance and insensitivity in the nation.
Azmat Ali Khan is one such person. Born in Kanpur in 1931, graduated from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1953 and migrated to Pakistan in 1954, he is a walking encyclopaedia of Pakistan’s history and speaks without mincing his words. “I was quite young when the struggle for Pakistan was in full swing but still had the inklings of the ongoing struggle.
“It was firmly understood by everyone (till June 3, 1947) - the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Indian Muslim League (IML) – that an undivided Assam, Bengal, Punjab and Kashmir will be part of Pakistan. The acceptance of a trimmed Pakistan was a shock to many including me”, he reminisces.
Khan praised the foresight and analytical quality of the Urdu magazine ‘Nai Zindagi’, published from Allahabad that brought ‘Pakistan Number’ in 1946 and wrote that Bengal and Punjab will be divided and Sylhet will become part of Pakistan. “Many people who had worked hard for Pakistan were disappointed and angry. They, in bitterness, decided not to go to the ‘promised land’.
Khan joined Urdu College as a teacher in July 1954 after arriving in Karachi and taught Chemistry. His salary was Rs175 per month. It was mandatory to take 24 periods in a week. A tall order compared to the present detached behaviour of the teachers. Additionally he taught commercial geography and introduced geology as a new subject in the college. He remembers his colleagues well especially Professor Ghafoor Ahmed and Professor Khurshid Ahmed who taught commerce subjects. His association with the Urdu College was for six years and in the meantime he was enrolled at the University of Karachi (KU) for an M.Sc. degree in chemistry.
Khan’s infatuation to science began at an early age when he was in the seventh grade. He used to read the Urdu magazine ‘Science’ published by Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu Hind. The magazine was the brainchild of the scientific society founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in Azamgarh, UP. “I still remember the articles in Urdu which were related to science. New Urdu terminologies were used for the new inventions. ‘Door Numai’, for instance, was used for Television”, he said.
His dream was to popularise science in Pakistan and he began his mission by proposing the use of scientific information in Urdu in such a way that elicited interest among the students and common readers. Then he founded ‘Bazm Sciensi Adab’ which blended science with Urdu prose and verse to allow the readers to gain scientific information in an interesting manner. “Thankfully the Bazm has been quite successful in evincing interest and bringing scientific vision to the people.”
Khan pointed out that there is no course of ‘Scientific Journalism’ in any university of Pakistan. “There is not a single Science Columnist in Pakistan. Indian Universities are awarding PhD degrees in Science Journalism,” he talks about the difference.
Khan joined Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) in 1961 and worked there for 29 years as Director, Science Information Centre. He was instrumental in publishing various scientific journals from PCSIR.
“There was no scientific culture or institutions in Pakistan. An Agricultural College in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), the University of Punjab (PU) and NED College at Karachi were a few solitary examples where some scientific education was given. Liaquat Ali Khan (the first Prime Minister of Pakistan) realised this and wanted Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui, who had not opted for Pakistan, to come and assume the mantle of science education in the new country. Liaquat Ali Khan wrote a letter to Jawahar Lal Nehru (first Prime Minister of India) to persuade Siddiqui to come to Pakistan. Nehru talked Siddiqui in coming to Pakistan”, he conveys the anecdote. He remained associated with Siddiqui for a long time.
The emergence of Pakistan on the world map was an accomplishment achieved by Quaid-e-Azam and his comrades. The history of post independence Pakistan is yet another story of failed promises, unfulfilled dreams and negation of the causes that were the kernel for the demand of a separate homeland for Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. There are people amongst us who have been a part of the struggle and witnessed the historical events. However, they are now disillusioned by the bad governance and insensitivity in the nation.
Azmat Ali Khan is one such person. Born in Kanpur in 1931, graduated from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1953 and migrated to Pakistan in 1954, he is a walking encyclopaedia of Pakistan’s history and speaks without mincing his words. “I was quite young when the struggle for Pakistan was in full swing but still had the inklings of the ongoing struggle.
“It was firmly understood by everyone (till June 3, 1947) - the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Indian Muslim League (IML) – that an undivided Assam, Bengal, Punjab and Kashmir will be part of Pakistan. The acceptance of a trimmed Pakistan was a shock to many including me”, he reminisces.
Khan praised the foresight and analytical quality of the Urdu magazine ‘Nai Zindagi’, published from Allahabad that brought ‘Pakistan Number’ in 1946 and wrote that Bengal and Punjab will be divided and Sylhet will become part of Pakistan. “Many people who had worked hard for Pakistan were disappointed and angry. They, in bitterness, decided not to go to the ‘promised land’.
Khan joined Urdu College as a teacher in July 1954 after arriving in Karachi and taught Chemistry. His salary was Rs175 per month. It was mandatory to take 24 periods in a week. A tall order compared to the present detached behaviour of the teachers. Additionally he taught commercial geography and introduced geology as a new subject in the college. He remembers his colleagues well especially Professor Ghafoor Ahmed and Professor Khurshid Ahmed who taught commerce subjects. His association with the Urdu College was for six years and in the meantime he was enrolled at the University of Karachi (KU) for an M.Sc. degree in chemistry.
Khan’s infatuation to science began at an early age when he was in the seventh grade. He used to read the Urdu magazine ‘Science’ published by Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu Hind. The magazine was the brainchild of the scientific society founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in Azamgarh, UP. “I still remember the articles in Urdu which were related to science. New Urdu terminologies were used for the new inventions. ‘Door Numai’, for instance, was used for Television”, he said.
His dream was to popularise science in Pakistan and he began his mission by proposing the use of scientific information in Urdu in such a way that elicited interest among the students and common readers. Then he founded ‘Bazm Sciensi Adab’ which blended science with Urdu prose and verse to allow the readers to gain scientific information in an interesting manner. “Thankfully the Bazm has been quite successful in evincing interest and bringing scientific vision to the people.”
Khan pointed out that there is no course of ‘Scientific Journalism’ in any university of Pakistan. “There is not a single Science Columnist in Pakistan. Indian Universities are awarding PhD degrees in Science Journalism,” he talks about the difference.
Khan joined Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) in 1961 and worked there for 29 years as Director, Science Information Centre. He was instrumental in publishing various scientific journals from PCSIR.
“There was no scientific culture or institutions in Pakistan. An Agricultural College in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), the University of Punjab (PU) and NED College at Karachi were a few solitary examples where some scientific education was given. Liaquat Ali Khan (the first Prime Minister of Pakistan) realised this and wanted Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui, who had not opted for Pakistan, to come and assume the mantle of science education in the new country. Liaquat Ali Khan wrote a letter to Jawahar Lal Nehru (first Prime Minister of India) to persuade Siddiqui to come to Pakistan. Nehru talked Siddiqui in coming to Pakistan”, he conveys the anecdote. He remained associated with Siddiqui for a long time.
