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January 06, 2008
REVIEWS: Declining fortunes
Nearly 60 years after our independence, we are still grappling with the issue of how to give appropriate education to the citizens of the country. Our apathy towards education knows no bounds. The biggest culprit in this regard is the state, which does not show, even an ounce of interest in this very important area. Various governments have resorted to many a scheme to raise the literacy rate but to no avail. All policies get bogged down due to official negligence. Consequently, our performance in the education sector is abysmal.
Here it would not be out of context to note that some of the smaller countries in this region like Sri Lanka are way ahead as far as education is concerned. Certainly we will have to pull up our socks to be at par with the developed countries in the realm of education. One way is to carry out research on educational topics so as to detect our shortcomings; but again, research too is alien to our society. But there are certain gentle souls who try to break the ice. Mustafa Ali Barelvi is one such man who has dedicated his whole life to the cause of education.
This book, as the title suggests, is an inquiry into the ups and downs that the discipline of education has gone through over the years. Musalmanan-i-Punjab Ki Taleem was first published way back in 1975 under the aegis of the All Pakistan Educational Conference in Karachi. Financial constraints kept the reprint of the book pending. Generous funding by the Pakistan Education Foundation in Islamabad is responsible for the second edition of the book.
Since the book covers such a long period, it becomes quite a daunting task for the author to do full justice to the topic. But he has tried his best to give an authentic picture of the way the education sector fared in the province of Punjab. He starts with a brief history of Punjab and then covers various eras and the state of education in those times. For example, in the Mughal era there were innumerable madressahs that imparted education to all and sundry, however, the emphasis was more on religious education. The author says that a trend of liberal education also prevailed in the Mughal era. He quotes Abul Fazl to prove his point, and it is his assessment that the reign of Jahangir was more productive in terms of education.
It is interesting to note that when Dr Leitner, the first principal of Government College, Lahore tried to set up an oriental university, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan opposed it tooth and nail. His view was that by setting up a university only for oriental disciplines, the English rulers were trying to keep Muslims away from modern scientific disciplines.
The disintegration of Mughal rule brought many other players into the arena that greatly benefited from this chaos and lawlessness. Slowly Sikhs came on the scene and Punjab too came under their claws. In order to educate their sovereigns, Sikhs suppressed the Muslims ruthlessly. The author states that they even converted mosques, using them for their own purposes, to further add insult to injury. Even the majestic Badshahi mosque was turned into a stable by the Sikhs.
However, with the arrival of the British the situation changed a bit as they had their own agenda to thrust on the inhabitants. They tried to oust Muslim writers from the mainstream by making Persian language completely worthless and irrelevant. This was a death blow for the helpless Muslims. To further aggravate the situation, missionaries were given a freehand to spread Christianity. In this scenario Muslims were the worst sufferers. A missionary school was established in Lahore in 1849. The author is of the view that the then rulers of Punjab fully supported the activities of the missionaries. It was also the British government that first introduced fees for the students in Punjab in 1860-61.
On May 27, 1867, the government of Punjab wrote to the Indian government for permission to set up a university in Lahore but the appeal was rejected. It is interesting to note that when Dr Leitner, the first principal of the Government College Lahore, tried to set up an Oriental University, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan opposed it tooth and nail. His view was that by setting up a university only for Oriental disciplines, the English rulers were trying to keep the Muslims away from modern scientific disciplines. The author of this book states that Sir Syed even wrote articles in newspapers castigating the prejudiced approach of the government.
This book throws ample light on all the aspects of education with respect to Punjab. The role of institutions like Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam is also eulogised in the book. It is loaded with a lot of useful data as regards the discipline of education in the province. It also mentions many institutions and their development over the years. Since it is written in Urdu, it can cater to the needs of a wider audience.
Musalmanan-i-Punjab Kee Taleem: Ibtidai ehed-i-Islami say qayam-i-Pakistan tak
By Syed Mustafa Ali Barelvi
Academy of Educational Research, All Pakistan Educational Conference, Karachi
484pp. Rs 300
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