Daily Times

Last Saturday we visited Masood Jhandir Research Library located at Sardar Pur Jhandir, a small village of tehsil Mailsi around 88 kilometers from Multan, in South Punjab. This book village was founded by three brothers in 1963 which was named after their father Mian Sardar Mohammad (1887-1952.) The village has civic facilities like electricity, post office, water filtration plant, sewerage system, paved streets telephone exchange and public transport flow, a small hospital and schools for both boys and girls.

The new library complex was completed in 2007.It is built on 21000 sq.ft covered area. It contains 8 commodious halls, auditorium, committee room, multimedia workstation, reception hall and office. The library is surrounded by a 5-acre attractive park.

Malik Ghulam Mohammad Chughata (1865-1936) a mediocre landowner left behind a few hundred books inherited by his grandsons which proved nucleus for this large library.

The library contains more than 225000 books, 128000 periodicals and 4050 manuscripts. This national heritage is the result of 50 years of three brothers’ struggle without any external funds though the library received generous donations of books. A separate room is reserved for items from folk hertitage.

The library is open to research scholars doing Masters, M.Phil and PhD’s in humanities, social sciences and languages. Every year hundreds of research scholars from Pakistan and abroad visit this library.

Since the library is situated in a small village, scholars are provided necessary logistic support. PTCL has provided internet and fiber-optic link and government of Punjab has built metaled road leading to this village.

We spent some time with Mian Ghulam Ahmad Jhandir, one of the three grandsons of the founder. He is a very enlightened man and shared his interesting views with us:

He said that not lending books to someone is not being miser. It is permissible to be mean and rude in case of books, though this rule does not apply on other items of daily life.

Second, it is not good to accumulate anything beyond one’s needs but this principle is also not applicable to books. One can have as many books as one can and it will not amount to being excessive and extravagant.

Third, theft of books is permissible (if possible.)

Fourth, books need not be arranged in order. A heap of books is equally attractive as it indicates the collectors’ quest for knowledge.

It was a lifetime experience and we felt more educated and enlightened after leaving this place.

Published in Daily Times, March 27^th 2018.