The Philosophy Department of Government College University, Lahore turned 150 years old on Thursday.
A large number of students, old Ravians and faculty members of the department participated in an on-campus colorful and jubilant walk, led by Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah, to mark the sesquicentennial anniversary of the oldest Department of Philosophy in entire South Asia. Eminent writer Mirza Athar Baig also participated in the walk which was embellished by pigeons, balloons, rose-petals and placards on which various slogans were written.
Talking to media, GCU Philosophy Department chairperson Dr Sobia Tahir said that the department was established in the Government College Lahore in 1868 and it cherished the rare distinction of being the oldest seat of philosophical learning in the subcontinent. “It was in this prestigious department that the poet-philosopher Allama Mohammad Iqbal first studied and later taught,” she added.
Talking about the history of the department, Dr Sobia said since the beginning, eminent thinkers and teachers like Professor Bell, B.E. Ussher, Lala Jiya Raam, Thomas W. Arnold, George Sidney Brett, Professor Noor Ilahi, A. W. James, J.H. Harley, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal, L.P. Saunders and G.C. Chatter had remained associated with the department which started its postgraduate classes immediately after its inception.
Dr Sobia Tahir said that after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Muslim thinkers and scholars immediately filled the gap of the eminent British and Hindu academics without the slightest difficulty or breach.
“The shining stars of academic horizon who illuminated the department with their erudition are no less than Professor Qazi Mohammad Aslam, Professor Hamid ud Din, Professor Mohammad Saeed Sheikh, Professor Shahid Hussain, Dr. Mohammad Tufail Salik, Professor Mirza Athar Baig and Professor Azam Khan, said Dr Tahir.
“Greatest scholars of the undivided India opted for Pakistan and associated themselves with the department at the Government College (GC). The same great men then helped in establishing Department of Philosophy at Punjab University, Lahore in 1963. These scholarly personalities included Dr. Khawaja Ghulam Sadiq, Dr. C.A.Qadir, Dr. Mohammad Ajmal and Professor Bakhtiar Hussain Siddiqui,” Dr Sobia concluded.
Speaking on the occasion, vice chancellor (VC) Prof Hassan Shah said that during its long history, the department had continued to be one of the most important centers of philosophical learning in South Asia, especially noted for the promotion of the spirit of free inquiry and critical thinking.“The Department has made significant contribution to the promotion of liberal values in the University and Pakistan,” the VC said.
Prof Baig said that it was an acknowledgment of the advanced and superior educational standard of Punjab in general and of Lahore in particular in the late 1860s that a higher department of an elegant and refined discipline was established there. He also recalled that the department had started it research journal, Quest, in 1993 which is being published regularly.
Published in Daily Times, November 9th 2018.