Respecting Teachers: Lahore’s Last Statue Standing?

Posted on December 21, 2006
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Architecture, Education, Society
19 Comments
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Adil Najam

Our friend Darwaish posted this picture at Metroblog Lahore claiming that it is the very last statue of a human figure standing at its original location in Lahore (outside the ‘old campus’ of Punjab Univeristy).

I have no reason at all to doubt his claim and am fairly sure that he is, in fact, right. But I wanted to check with our readers if this is indeed so. Do you know of other statues; in Lahore or elsewhere?

(I recall that discussion on an earlier post about a Gandhi statue outside the Sindh High Court that now stands in the Indian High Commission; and someone on Lahore Metroblog hinted that now there are many new statues all over the major cities – mostly of Ronald MacDonald and Col. Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken!).

This statue, by the way, is of Prof. Alfred Woolner who was a long-serving professor of Sanskrit, as well as vice-chancellor of Punjab University between 1928 and 1936.

Being in the same profession as Mr. Woolner, I am intrigued by this picture at many levels. For example, it is ironic that the statue of a professor has been vandalized by what seems to be a student organization of some sort. Whatever this may or may not tell us about the state of statues in Pakistan, it also says a lot about the respect that professors once held in our society and now do not.

Only yesterday, Mast Qalandar was writing in these columns about Islamia College Peshawar and the discussion led to a conversation on the contribution of Prof. Hubert Michael Close, one of the College’s remarkable professors. We have, of course, also been talking recently of cheating professors at Punjab Univeristy. One wonders if there are still professors in our colleges and Universities who are revered as Prof. Woolner here, or Prof. Close at Islamia College, were.

I have a tayya (uncle) who alway very proudly, and rightly proudly, tells me that his teachers were Sufi Tabassum and Faiz Ahmad Faiz. I know there are still many who should be revered and who excel at the craft and art of teaching. Yet, do we as a society even think that teachers are worthy of respect? And, can a society that does not respect teachers, even be considered respectable?

19 responses to “Respecting Teachers: Lahore’s Last Statue Standing?”

  1. Deeda-i-Beena says:

    By the way, “The Malika da But” the Statue of Queen Victoria was last seen by me collecting dust in the entrance hall of the Lahore museum. The Marble building/platform where it was housed still stands at the grounds in front of the Punjab Legilature.

  2. Deeda-i-Beena says:

    Talking of Teachers and Statues, they always live. Remember Socrates for Aristotle and for all of us. And of course Michelangelo.
    There was a Professor G. M. Fritters, a German Jew who Headed Pol.Sc. Deptt. at Punjab University in the 50’s and with what wisdom and command. A bit of an eccentric but so what.
    About the same time Lahore had Ozzir Zuby the Sculptorist.
    Does anyone know what happened to these two???????

  3. Moeen Bhatti says:

    I think its a separate discussion that if we are “but-shikans” or “but-taraash”; fact is we only follow Islamic things that suits us or that allow
    our consious to get away with.
    It is a fact that our society has changed and teachers & scholars don’t have a respect. I believe it reflects the values of our society.Having said that, I also believe that old teachers in schools used to verbally & physically abuse their students.

  4. MQ says:

    Adil,

    You have brought up two points in this post: respect for and recognition of good teachers and having their statues, or any statues for that matter.

    On statues, don’t forget we are a nation of “but-shikans” and not “but-taraash”. Remember Mehmood Ghaznavi? I am surprised how did this particularly statue escape the wrath of the mullahs on campus?

    I am not sure but I think there are several large statues, done in European style, in Mohatta Palace, Karachi, which is a public building now.

  5. Anwar says:

    Under the present state of affairs it boils down to pure economics and soical pressures of low income. Just like doctors hauling patients from govt. hospitals to their private clinics, teachers followed the same model and started tutoring privately to supplement their living – classrooms therefore became cold facilities to produce “another brick in the wall”- a mechanical function that does not require any respcet. It is rather unfortunate situation but can be turned around.

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