Adil Najam
As reader zamanov has reminded us elsewhere, today marks Dr. Abdus Salam’s 10th death anniversary.
It should be a moment of deep reflection for all of us. He would have been as great a man as he was even if he did not won the Nobel Award in physics. But we would have conveniently forgotten him. That he did win the Nobel Award is a source of cosmetic and hollow pride for many Pakistanis. Cosmetic and hollow because it is also a source of visible unease. Even when we acknowledge that he was a great scientist (after all, the Nobel Committee thought so), we are uncomfortable acknowledging that he was a great man whose significance goes beyond his science.
As a brutally honest editorial in today’s Daily Times points out, “we are scared of honoring Dr. Salam.” We must not be.
The Daily Times editorial says all that needs to be said; it is worth reading, worth thinking about, and worth quoting in full:
The tragedy of our treatment of Dr Abdus Salam
Dr Abdus Salam (1926-1996) died ten years ago. He was the first Pakistani to get a Nobel Prize in 1979. But he might be the last if we continue to allow our state to evolve in a way that frightens the rest of the world. Our collective psyche runs more to accepted ‘wisdom’ than to scientific inquiry; and even if we were to display an uncharacteristic outcropping of individual genius the world may be so frightened of it that it might not give us our deserts.
We are scared of honouring Dr Salam because of our constitution which we have amended to declare his community as ‘non-Muslim’. When Dr Salam died in 1996 he had to be buried in Pakistan because he refused to give up his Pakistani nationality and acquire another that respected him more. But the Pakistani state was afraid of touching his dead body. He was therefore buried in Rabwa, the home town of his Ahmedi community whose name is also unacceptable to us and has been changed to Chenab Nagar by a state proclamation. But that was not the end of the story. After he was buried, the pious, law-abiding and constitution-loving people of Jhang, which is nearby, went over to Chenab Nagar to see if all had been done according to the constitutional provisions regarding the Ahmedi community to which he belonged.
And what did the constitution say? It said that the Ahmedis are not Muslims, that they may not call themselves Muslims, nor say the kalima or use any of the symbols of Islam. The original amendments to the constitution were passed by Z A Bhutto, a ‘liberal socialist-democrat’, and subsequent tightening of the law was done by the great patriot General Zia-ul Haq. Thus both the civilians and the khakis had connived in the great betrayal of Dr Salam.
After the great scientist was buried in Chenab Nagar, his tombstone said “Abdus Salam the First Muslim Nobel Laureate”. Needless to say, the police arrived with a magistrate and rubbed off the ‘Muslim’ part of the katba. Now the tombstone says: Abdus Salam the First Nobel Laureate. The magistrate remained unfazed by what he had done but Dr Salam’s grave is actually the tombstone of a Muslim culture that Pakistan had inherited from the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. But ironies fly thick in Pakistan. In Jhang, for example, where Dr Salam grew up as a precocious child, the schools that he endowed with scholarships and grants now teach communal hatred rather than the love that he had in mind when he gave them his money.
Meanwhile, the Ahmedi community is under daily pressure and anyone with a twisted mind is free to persecute them.
Abdus Salam was born in Jhang in 1926. At the age of 14, he got the highest marks ever recorded for the Matriculation Examination in Punjab. The whole town turned out to welcome him. He won a scholarship to Government College, Lahore, and took his MA in 1946. In the same year he was awarded a scholarship to St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he took a BA (honours) with a double First in mathematics and physics in 1949. In 1950 he received the Smith’s Prize from Cambridge University for the most outstanding pre-doctoral contribution to physics. He also obtained a PhD in theoretical physics at Cambridge; his thesis, published in 1951, contained fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics which had already gained him an international reputation.
In 1954 Dr Salam left his native country for a lectureship at Cambridge University. Before the Pakistani politicians apostatised him, he was a member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan and Chief Scientific Adviser to the President from 1961 to 1974. Pakistan’s space research agency Suparco was created by him and it is only symbolic that a group of Shia workers of Suparco were put to death in Karachi in 2004 by sectarian terrorists. Like Dr Salam, a lot of gifted Shia doctors have had to leave Pakistan because of the state’s twisted policies.
Dr Abdus Salam got his Nobel Prize for Physics in 1979. It was a most embarrassing moment for General Zia who had “supplemented” the Second Amendment to the constitution with further comic disabilities against the Ahmedis. He had to welcome the great scientist and had to be seen with him on TV. Since the clerical part of his government was already bristling, he took care to clip those sections of Dr Salam’s speech where he had said the kalima or otherwise used an Islamic expression. It was Dr Salam’s good luck that one of the believers did not go to court under Zia’s own laws to get the country’s only Nobel laureate sent to prison for six months of rigorous imprisonment. Dr Salam then went to India where he was received with great fanfare. He had gone there to simply meet his primary school mathematics teacher who was still alive. When the two met, Dr Salam took off his Nobel medal and put it around the neck of his teacher.
Let us admit in a whisper that Pakistan did issue a stamp commemorating Dr Salam years ago lest the government come under pressure to remove it from circulation. It is also true that his alma mater, Government College Lahore, now a university, has named certain ancillary departments and academic sessions after him following a long period of obscurantist domination. But Pakistan needs to feel guilty about what it has done to the greatest scientist it ever produced in comparison to the lionisation of Dr AQ Khan who has brought ignominy and the label of “rogue state” to Pakistan by selling the country’s nuclear technology for personal gain. Can we redeem ourselves by doing something in Dr Salam’s memory on this 10th anniversary of his passing that would please his soul and cleanse ours?
[quote comment=”12093″]For you MARIAM if you still don’t find any thing objectionable in Qadyanies.
http://www.khatm-e-nubuwwat.org/
I know they will surely say it is a false Propaganda against them. But just ask any of the Qadayani How Did There First GREAT SUPREME Leader died[/quote]
I want to ask the same question from Asma.
KTN, whether Salam or Adnan Sami or some XYZ talented invidual Pakistani,no difference at all.
What happened with salam happend with other Pakistanis too by using other excuses. Just because Salam sahib got a nobel prize in his field, it doesn;t allow you to offend the skills of other Pakistanis who performed great in their respective fields.
[quote post=”431″]Right path? Yes, that’s definitely thinking “outside the box.â€Â?[/quote]
Ignorance is not an excuse my friend! As I said earlier that every one can read the concerned material rather demonstrating mentall illness and infertility to blame mullahs or anyone else.
Read the link given by Mariam! Read the very very first line which is in urdu. Any muslim[even jews/christians] know who is a promised Messiah and signs of Imam Mehdi[Islamic ideology only].
[quote post=”431″]He was unable to conduct his work in Pakistan because it simpy would not have been possible,[/quote]
Agreed! So anyother Pakistani is unable to perform such high quality research work in field of Physics due to lack of resources. This excuse was not with Salam only.
[quote post=”431″]keeping in mind all the restrictions that would have been imposed on him.[/quote]
Lame excuse. That was all political stunts against Salam or could be agaisnt any other XYZ person regardless of a faith.
[quote post=”431″]our brilliant leaders decliend the offer. And Italy gained from our loss.[/quote]
Again, whatever happened with him was not something new.It happend with other pakistanis as well and still happening. I will again give the example of Adnan Sami[not because I am an ADnan too]. The guy contacted several pakistani flim industry pundits and offered his brilliant compositions, he was damned and rejected. THe guy got frustrated and tried his luck in India. just like salam was cashed by Italians, Adnan was cashed by indians, he was given respect and he signed some major movies. Today the guy is working in many Indian movies. The irony is that same ADnan was then offered by same pundits to work for Pakistani films but he clearly refused. It was all his right. So kindly don’t neglect a celebrity for other. You’re just not being fair with yourself.
[quote post=”431″]Salam’s unique position in Pakistan[/quote]
Offcourse he was a Pakistani scientist who was not respect by the rulers of that time.
As I said earlier, I personally don’t care who label himself a muslim or not as I am least bothered. All I know is:
Suchai Chupti nahi Banwat k Asooloun sey
Khushboo Atee nahi Khaghaz k phooloun sey
Adaab!
Cowasjee on Salam in today’s Dawn here: http://dawn.com/weekly/cowas/cowas.htm
Farhatullah Babar on salam; (http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=33 209).
Oh I just looked back and realized the quote I used has already been posted by Saima Nasir. Boy do I feel stupid. But great minds think alike I suppose
you missed the point. Actually everyone here was
whiningtalking that something bad happened with Mr.Salam and were blaming to a community.They were “whining” about it because that is indeed what happened. A ‘bad” thing (to say the least) happened to Dr. Salam precisely because of ignorance on part of an Entire community: Pakistan (for the most part) - not just the leaders. Why didn’t anyone protest against what happened when Dr. Salam’s body arrived in Pakistan to be buried? Our great leaders refused to honour his death with a ceremony. But nobody protested. That’s preposterous. In fact, many younger Pakistanis have no clue as to who the man is - perhaps not of their own fault. But it’s tragic. We don’t exactly have a long list of Nobel Prize Winners that remembering the ONLY one would be such a difficult task.
Salam got a nobel prize doesn’t mean others in Pakistan were mere parasites. Think out of the box rather following a traditional path.
I don’t recall having called anyone a “parasite.” Please don’t put words into my mouth. I detest that. I for one am very fond of music and art. But people are focusing on Salam here because it was a post Dedicated to him. Anyhow, in solely my own opinion, I do believe that Dr. Abdus Salam is in a different league than Sami, he’s not a mere “celebrity.” Not because he won the Nobel Prize. But because he was able to help millions of other aspiring scientists in the Third World to follow a dream that was otherwise close to imossible to follow had they remained in their own countries - I’m referring to the Salam Center in Italy. Another thing that significantly differs Salam from someone like Sami is that DESPITE the ludicrous treatment he was subjected to by his own nation, he chose to never abandon it. Proof: He declined passports offered by many other nations and his final wish was to have his body buried in his native land. He wanted the Abdus Salam center to be built in Pakistan but again, our brilliant leaders decliend the offer. And Italy gained from our loss. Actually I don’t even know why I’m having this conversation at all. Salam’s unique position in Pakistan, as well as the Muslim world, doesn’t need any justification.
[quote post=”431″]The thought lurking in mind is perhaps that ‘we the 140 million Muslims who are on right path could not produce one intelligent man deserving a Nobel but the belief that follower of a heretic sect, got such intellect and ultimately the award, scares the society.[/quote]
Right path? Yes, that’s definitely thinking “outside the box.”
I am not sure but I think most of Salam’s work was not done in Pakistan. Offcourse we don’t have such facility. I wonder tht why other pakistanis like Dr. Saleemuz zaman were sent/provided similar facilities? what made salam so different than other. I don;t believe he was the only genius in Pakistan. He was also provided facilities to do Research which was not possible in Pakistan.[/quote]
He was unable to conduct his work in Pakistan because it simpy would not have been possible, keeping in mind all the restrictions that would have been imposed on him. As I mentioned earlier, he wanted the Salam Center to be built in his native land. But the government declined. I guess it’s better off this way. Pakistan simply doesn’t deserve it. And no he was not the Only genius. Nobody’s arguing that. You seem to be saying that Salam was in fact provided with Special Treatment by Pakistan. That was hardly the case. And you know it.
Anyhow, sorry for the long post. But it had to be said.
To borrow a phrase from Shakespheare,
“The Heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”
May Salam’s soul rest in peace.
Adil Najam,
It’s a great article by Khalid Hasan written in his inimitable style.
After reading this post and the many comments on it I have reached a conclusion that the injustice in our society being perpetrated in the name of religion by the rulers, abetted by the “muftis” and “mullahs”, can only be removed if we consider what that master poet, Faiz (himself a victim of injustice) had to say in his poem “Sar-e-wadi-e-Seena”:
Ab rasm-e-sitam hikmat-e-khasaan-e-zameeN hai
Taaeed-e-sitam maslihat-e-mufti-e-deeN hai
Ab sadiyoN kay iqrar-e-ataa’t ko badalnay
Laazim hai keh inkar ka farmaaN koi utray
I will attempt a rough tranlation:
[While the tradition of injustice and cruelty is the ploy used by people in power, the “muftis” and “mullahs” find it expedient to abet and approve the injustice. Therefore, to change the centuries old Covenant of obedience it is imperative that we have a new Law from above that encourages disobedience.]
I am not sure if I have been able to capture the essence of the poem. It will be nice if someone could render a more appropriate translation. It is a very thought provoking poem.
KTN:
you missed the point. Actually everyone here was
whiningtalking that something bad happened with Mr.Salam and were blaming to a community.Sorry, I didn’t get agreed with the idea because in Pakistan ‘a celebrity’ whether It’s about Salam,AQ Khan or an actor or singer? Why are you degrading Adnan Sami? just because He’s a ‘Gawwya’[Singer]. Sami is genius in his feild like Salam was genius of his field. Adnan Sami holds the ‘world fastest keyboard/piaono player’ in Guiniess Book of Record. I have listened his composition invidual and with Zakir Hussain and they are truly amazing and reminded me composition of Ravi Shankar. Salam got a nobel prize doesn’t mean others in Pakistan were mere parasites. Think out of the box rather following a traditional path.
[quote post=”431″]The thought lurking in mind is perhaps that ‘we the 140 million Muslims who are on right path could not produce one intelligent man deserving a Nobel but the belief that follower of a heretic sect, got such intellect and ultimately the award, scares the society.[/quote]
*nods*, another name comes in mind; ‘Najeeb Mehfooz’ then IAEA’s Mohammad ALbardai-Everyone knows Bardai’s toe licking policies against Muslim countries. Why hans blix was not given a nobel prize? just because he was not agreed to buy a theory which Whitehouse wanted him to say to outer world.
I am not sure but I think most of Salam’s work was not done in Pakistan. Offcourse we don’t have such facility. I wonder tht why other pakistanis like Dr. Saleemuz zaman were sent/provided similar facilities? what made salam so different than other. I don;t believe he was the only genius in Pakistan. He was also provided facilities to do Research which was not possible in Pakistan.