CHITRAL: The death of noted Aitchison College teacher Major Geoffrey Douglas Langlands has sent shock waves through the valley of Chitral, where he had served as the principal of Sayurj Public School for quarter a century until retirement in 2012.

The residents, especially the deceased’s students, were found to be extolling Major Langlands for helping the main English medium school of the region stand on sound footing.

Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk, one of the school’s founders, told Dawn that the then Chitral DC, Javed Majid, had convinced Major Langlands to come to Chitral in 1989 and take charge of the school established a year ago.

He said Major Langlands proved his worth much more than they expected and that it was due to his strenuous efforts that the school was ranked among the best institutions of the district due to quality education.

“It was the foresight of Major Langlands that he selected a piece of land on the outskirts of Chitral town for school like Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan did for Peshawar’s Islamia College by choosing a deserted place near Jamrud, which later turned into four universities,” he said.

Mulk said Major Langlands not only selected the land but also persuaded its owner, Shahzada Burhanuddin, to donate it for the great cause of education. He said the school was the largest school in the district and could be expanded.

“Major Langlands did not hesitate to contact his former students from Aitchison College, Lahore, who were in high positions, including former president Farooq Leghari, and won grant-in-aid for the school’s upgradation,” he said. A former student of the deceased, Shahzada Ali, a PIA pilot, said the fatherly treatment of Major Langlands towards the students emboldened them and gave them immense self-confidence.

“Major Langlands was completely unaware of corporal punishment although it was in vogue at that time in other schools of Chitral. He never got angry with anyone, who failed to pay tuition fee on time, and that he always encouraged students to discuss with him their problems. This approach endeared him to us,” he said.

Mr Ali said when Major Langlands came across him in Islamabad two years ago, he got overjoyed and appreciated how smart he looked in uniform.

He said he continued to meet his former teacher regularly until his death as the latter’s love and affection attracted him like a magnet.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2019