Daily Times

January 29 was an important day to
be celebrated by Pakistanis for being the birthday of a person whom Pakistan as well as many other countries are hugely indebted to for his immense contribution not only towards scientific knowledge but also for establishing leading institutions for scientific developments in Pakistan and abroad. He used his diplomatic skills for fostering support to institutions, to negotiate agreements on behalf of Pakistan and the Third World countries, and to form such institutions that continue to benefit thousands today. Counted among world’s most influential physicists Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate Professor Abdus Salam is the best representation Pakistan could have had world over, as various institutions of international repute after his name are big boost for every Pakistani. He contributed to the world at various levels and in various dimensions and if we also count his personal life, he was living in at least seven dimensions at a time and handling the amount of work good enough for seven genius individuals.

Dr Salam’s name is in limelight once again since the discovery of a subatomic particle in July last year that proved his theories and predictions correct and is considered the biggest discovery in physics in the past 30 years. Higgs boson particle (named after the British scientist Peter Higgs for his pioneering work in this field and boson the generic name) is, in simple words, known to have property of transforming energy into material thus giving shape to our universe, more or less what it is at present, millions of years ago. Dr Salam’s groundbreaking work on this concept provided an essential stepping stone in the form of theories that led experiments into a direction culminating into what is seen as a major breakthrough in understanding mysteries of creation and forces of nature. The work on subatomic particle is also a source of advancements in modern gadgetry like plasma TV and super computers.

Dr Salam’s enormous contribution to theoretical physics was guided by the Quran and driven by his belief in one ness of God, which made him search for unification of forces in nature. His work is shared by the world as one of the most precious assets in the treasury of knowledge. Equally commendable is his legacy of research institutions that he was able to establish inside and outside Pakistan.

Not undermining significance of institutions for other fields of knowledge, strong academic institutions play a vital role in initiating and sustaining scientific developments more than in other disciplines. Research facilities are important to carry on with scientific research and development because to move on with research without laboratories is impossible. Lagging behind in scientific and technological developments often translates into big compromises in the histories of nations. Dr Salam had recognised this need the moment he was struck by a compromise in his own life when he had to leave his beloved homeland land at an early age for the of sake research in physics due to lack of facilities back home.

Dr Salam loved his motherland, so like a young romantic but an obedient man he took onto himself task of balancing between his soul’s love affair with physics and demands of a ‘mother’ — his homeland, Pakistan. With his full-time research commitments in a difficult area of knowledge, he assumed another full-time commitment and that was of strengthening scientific institutions in Pakistan. In the capacity of scientific adviser to government of Pakistan between1960 to 1974, Dr Salam played a major and influential role in Pakistan’s science infrastructure and became the guiding spirit and founder of Pakistan’s nuclear programme as well as Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission besides Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco).

Like an affectionate brother, Dr Salam did not overlook his siblings and concentrated on harnessing human resources in Pakistan, helping more than 500 Pakistani physicists and mathematicians attain higher studies and research in the UK and US universities on scholarships. Dr Salam was doing many things in parallel. In 1958, he had established a vibrant Theoretical Physics Group at the prestigious Imperial College in London. In 1960s he helped many Pakistanis to study at the Imperial College and involved many of them in founding Theoretical Physics Group in the newly established Quaid-e-Azam University (then Islamabad University) in the late 1960s.

To enrich international co-operations in the field of science Dr Salam led opened doors of Pakistan to international conferences. And in 1974, he founded International Nathiagali Summer College (INSC), an annual meeting event of scientists from all over the world to come to Pakistan and hold discussions on different aspects of physics and science; The INSC continues to hold annual meetings regularly.

Running parallel to his research in physics, strengthening institutions in Pakistan and Europe, the third stream of Dr Salam’s full commitments emerged with the Third World’s needs for scientific development and his aspiration for addressing disparities in scientific research facilities. Having experienced the pain of parting from home, this young romantic enthusiast could not stay away from the isolation of young scientists struggling in not so well resourced countries of the world. Dr Salam had contemplated over meanings of verses in the Holy Quran and was inspired by the concept of symmetries, which evoked in him the quest to overcoming imbalances and inequalities. Search for symmetry combined with his compassionate nature drove him to establish in 1964 International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Italy, meant for the benefit of scientists from the Third World countries. Dr Salam was its director from 1964 to 1993. In recognition of his services, it has been named the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. The centre is credited with training of over 100,000 scientists from the Third World countries.

The story of the setting up of the ICTP also reveals another dimension of Dr Salam’s personality — his diplomatic skills. The idea of international laboratories had clicked with him during an international meeting on particle physics at the Rochester University New York in September 1960. Few weeks later, he was appointed as the Pakistani delegate to the nascent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna; he had in his mind the situation of the Third World scientists, therefore he launched the idea of establishing the International Centre of Theoretical Physics to serve as a resource centre for the Third World countries. He single-handedly managed to persuade his fellow delegates to support the idea of setting a centre where scientists from developing countries would be able to come on a regular basis to interact with leaders in the field, while continuing to work in their home countries.

Gordon Fraser in his book Cosmic Anger writes, “He was not just an envoy simply relying on his government’s wishes, he was also his own ambassador.” In 1960, at a conference on Particle Physics at University of Trieste the idea took concrete shape. He received strong support, and in 1964, the centre was established with the support and funding from the Italian government, UNESCO and IAEA. The ICTP has been ensuring that scientists from the developing world have access to the same resources and opportunities enjoyed by their counterparts in wealthier parts of the world.

(To be continued)

The writer is a freelance columnist