By Fakhar-e-Alam PESHAWAR, Sept 10 (APP)::For sixth-grader Zarlal Bibi, history suddenly became real when she walked into the historic Khyber Union Hall of Islamia College Peshawar a place where Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once stood before students and spoke about the future of a country that was yet to be born. Standing beneath the same historic roof where the Father of the Nation addressed students, Zarlal looked …
At Khyber Union hall, young students discover Quaid’ s living legacy on 78th death anniversary
By Fakhar-e-Alam
PESHAWAR, Sept 10 (APP)::For sixth-grader Zarlal Bibi, history suddenly became real when she walked into the historic Khyber Union Hall of Islamia College Peshawar a place where Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once stood before students and spoke about the future of a country that was yet to be born.
Standing beneath the same historic roof where the Father of the Nation addressed students, Zarlal looked around with a mixture of curiosity and wonder.
The old photographs, handwritten manuscripts and other historic memorabilia displayed in the hall offered her something that no textbook could quite provide: a tangible connection with the man whose leadership culminated in the creation of Pakistan.
Beside her, her younger brother Bilal Khan, a third-grade student, was equally fascinated after seeing the photographs of the great Quaid who changed world geography through a peaceful democratic struggle.
“I have always dreamt of seeing the historic Khyber Union hall where Quaid-e-Azam spoke to students three times. Today, my dream has come true, thanks to our grandfather,” Zarlal told APP as her excitement clearly evident in her
voice.
For the two children, the visit was more than a routine historical tour or a commemorative activity rather it was an encounter with a living chapter of Pakistan’s history a moment when the words of a leader who died nearly eight decades ago suddenly acquired a physical presence.
As the nation prepares to observe the 78th death anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on September 11 (Friday), tributes will be paid across the country to the founder of Pakistan, whose peaceful, democratic and constitutional struggle transformed the political landscape of the Indian subcontinent and culminated in the establishment of Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
From Khyber to Karachi and Gwadar to Gilgit-Baltistan, people from different walks of life will remember one of the towering statesmen of the 20th century, whose political struggle not only changed the course of history but also altered the map of the world.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the commemoration carries a particularly intimate connection with Quaid-e-Azam who considered KP (then NWFP) a strong province of Pakistan.
Government institutions, civil society organizations and educational institutions have planned seminars, walks, debate competitions and other activities to highlight his political services, democratic principles and vision for
Pakistan.
At Islamia College Peshawar, however, his legacy does not exist merely in speeches, books or ceremonial tributes. It can still be felt in the very walls where he once addressed students and acknowledged their important contribution to the Pakistan Movement.
The legendary Quaid visited the historic institution three times ie in 1936, 1945 and 1948 and recognized the significant role played by its students in mobilizing the people of the then North-West Frontier Province (now KP) for the Pakistan movement.
“Pakistan movement is incomplete without mentioning the visits of Quaid-e-Azam to Islamia College Peshawar where he clearly outlined his vision for Pakistan,” said Professor Dr Muhammad Naushad Khan, former Vice Chancellor of Islamia College Peshawar, while talking to APP.
The significance of his final visit to the college remains particularly striking.
On April 12, 1948, just months after Pakistan’s independence and while serving as the country’s first Governor General, the great leader returned to Islamia College to acknowledge services of its students.
“His role had changed dramatically. He was no longer addressing students as young volunteers in a freedom struggle; he was speaking to the generation that would inherit the newly independent Muslims state,” said Dr. Naushad.
“I am indeed very happy to be present here today and to have the privilege of addressing students of this great Darul Uloom, who are the future builders of Pakistan,” he told them.
Pakistan, he reminded his young audience, had been achieved, but independence was not the end of the journey. The difficult task of building a strong, stable and prosperous country had only begun.
His message was built around principles that he considered indispensable to nation-building i.e discipline, character, education, sincerity, hard work and public responsibility.
Using the image of a garden, Mr. Jinnah explained that a country, like a garden, could flourish only when it was properly cared for. The prosperity of Pakistan, he told the students, would depend upon the patriotic, honest and constructive efforts of its citizens.
More than seven decades later, those words appeared to acquire a new resonance as Zarlal and Bilal walked through the same historic space.
They were children of a different Pakistan, born generations after independence, yet they were standing at the very place where the country’s founder had challenged young people to shoulder responsibility for its future.
For Dr Naushad, this continuing connection between the great Quaid and students of Islamia College represents one of the most important dimensions of his legacy in the region.
Following the adoption of the Pakistan Resolution on March 23, 1940, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah repeatedly visited Muslim-majority provinces of British India, including the then North-West Frontier Province (now KP), to mobilize support for the Pakistan Movement.
His 1945 visit to Islamia College was met with an enthusiastic reception where students and the Muslim Students Federation presented him with Rs8,000 as a contribution to the Pakistan Movement and pledged to provide 8,000 committed and educated workers for the cause.
The political mobilization that followed was reflected in the province’s politics. In the 1946 elections, the Muslim League succeeded in securing significant political support, strengthening the momentum of the independence movement.
His affection for the institution was reflected in his will, written in Bombay on May 30, 1939, in which he named Islamia College Peshawar, along with Muslim University Aligarh and Sindh Madrassatul Islam Karachi, among the beneficiaries of his property.
The Quaid Trust subsequently paid Rs10.81 million to Islamia College in different installments. The funds supported several educational and institutional projects, including the Quaid-i-Azam College of Commerce, University of Peshawar-related development, Jinnah Residential Quarters, Jinnah College for Women and the Takbeer Block.
According to Dr Naushad, the relevance of the Quaid’ s addresses at the college lies in their emphasis on education, constructive criticism, discipline and public service rather than political point-scoring.
The Quaid understood that students represented the future leadership of the country, he said, which explained why he continued to maintain his connection with the institution despite the enormous demands of his political and official responsibilities and his deteriorating health.
His vision for education was not confined to established academic institutions but he also attached considerable importance to the people of the former tribal areas, many of whom had supported the Pakistan Movement and made sacrifices for the cause.
On April 17, 1948, despite the immense pressures of his responsibilities as first Governor General, he addressed a Grand Tribal Jirga at the Governor House in Peshawar.
Tribal elders, Maliks and representatives from different parts of the region gathered to hear the country’s founder. The great Quaid praised their loyalty and commitment to Pakistan while urging them to turn their attention toward education and socio-economic development.
He particularly emphasized technical education, science and technology, recognizing them as essential instruments for economic advancement in the new country.
The great Quaid later traveled to the historic Khyber Pass and Landi Kotal, where he met tribal elders and maliks. They presented him with traditional gifts, including a goat, rifle, turban and cap.
His message to the tribesmen was again forward-looking that Pakistan had been created, but its success would ultimately depend upon the hard work, discipline and commitment of its people.
Dr Naushad said that the Quaid’ s emphasis on education had become even more relevant over the decades, particularly for communities in the former tribal districts, where access to education and opportunities for socio-economic development remained central to progress.
The Quaid’ s own life illustrated the extraordinary commitment and devotion to duty he demanded from others.
Even while suffering from serious health problems, he continued to work tirelessly in the difficult months following independence. Pakistan was a young state facing enormous administrative, economic and security challenges, yet its founder remained committed to laying the foundations of a functioning nation.
He died on September 11, 1948, leaving behind a country still in its infancy but also a political and moral legacy that has remained deeply embedded in Pakistan’s national consciousness.
American historian and writer Stanley Wolpert, in his 1984 biography Jinnah of Pakistan, captured the extraordinary scale of the creator of Pakistan’s historical impact by observing that very few individuals significantly alter the course of history, fewer still modify the map of the world, and hardly anyone creates a nation-state.
The great Quaid, he argued, accomplished all three. Nearly eight decades after his death, the Quaid’ s legacy continues to be remembered not only through official ceremonies, speeches and national tributes but also through quieter and more personal encounters with history.
One such moment unfolded at Khyber Union Hall when a young girl stood before photographs and manuscripts of a leader she had largely encountered through school textbooks.
For Zarlal and Bilal, the visit transformed their beloved leader from a historical figure into something far more tangible being a man who had once stood in the same hall, looked at students of another generation and spoken to them about education, character, discipline and their responsibility toward Pakistan.
That connection may explain why historic places such as Islamia College continue to matter. They remind each generation that the country’s history is not confined to dates and monuments.
It is also preserved in buildings, photographs, speeches, memories and, above all, in the questions passed from one generation to the next.
What did the Quaid expect from the young people of Pakistan?
And, nearly eight decades later, what will today’s generation do with the country he helped create?
For Zarlal and Bilal, the answer may still be years away. But standing in the Khyber Union hall where Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once addressed students, they had already taken a small step toward understanding the responsibility embedded in his message that Pakistan’s future would always belong to those prepared to build it.
