LAHORE: An exhibition, titled Pakistan – The Making of a Nation as a part of Independence Day celebrations was held on Monday by the Information Technology University (ITU)’s Centre for Governance & Policy.
For the first time in history, rare and never-seen-before pictures from Pakistan’s first year as an independent country were displayed, focusing on the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah while taking oath as governor general and his visits to all provinces of Pakistan and his meetings with various leaders. The exhibition also showcased Quaid’s last public appearance at the opening of the State Bank of Pakistan on July 1, 1948 and his funeral procession. Several important speeches of the Quaid were also highlighted in the exhibition.
The exhibition is also accompanied by original video clippings of the happenings of 1947, as well as readings of works by several literary figures like Saadat Hassan Manto, Amrita Pritam, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Kaifi Azmi.
While addressing on the occasion, ITU Vice Chancellor Dr Umar Saif said that the speeches of the founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah made in the first Assembly, for civil servants and the members of the Armed Forces are a beacon of light for all of us to take Pakistan forward towards the heights of development, progress and prosperity.
Dr Umar Saif said that we need to focus on primary sources to learn the truth while such exhibits bring us back to our roots and help us to understand why this country was created.
“We need to take care of all our minorities and create an inclusive, strong and united Pakistan, just as the Quaid wanted for us, to run this country under such principles, through institutions, on inclusiveness and with principles to support and include every segment of the society,” he added.
He further stated that there were the founding principles on which this country was made and it was need of the hour to adhere to these principles, which demanded us to understand the profoundness of the words of Jinnah and to understand the profoundness of the founding fathers of this country.
“This exhibition showcases our past through a mix of pictures, documents, videos and readings of acclaimed writers and to vividly remind us of our history and heritage,” he said.
On this occasion, Dr Saif also launched the ‘partition portal’ on ITU’s website, which is part of ITU’s collaboration with the South Asia Centre at Harvard University, a repository of material related to the 1947 Partition. Being a great resource for academics and general public alike, this portal, for the first time, makes accessible all published government documents relating to the Partition, including reports on Partition violence, the exodus of refugees and their rehabilitation. The portal also hosts a series of interviews of the living people who lived through the harrowing events of 1947 in the Punjab, taken by ITU students, thereby creating an important oral history repository.
Published in Daily Times, August 14th 2018.