KARACHI: The annual convocation of the Karachi University ended in fiasco when rowdy students demanded that the Governor of Sind Mir Rasool Bakhsh Talpur should give a categorical statement that Urdu would be declared as one of the official languages of the Sind Province. The Sind Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the Karachi University, was not even allowed ... to speak, and left the ‘Pandal’ in disgust... .
It all started when an unassuming girl recipient of the degree of B.A., walked unhesitatingly up to the Chancellor and surrendered her “academic robe and hood” saying that the degree is of no use and “please keep it to yourself”, and walked out ... and melted in the 10,000-odd crowd... .
Following this formal registration of protest ... the batch of Engineering College graduates ... started raising slogans “We want jobs” — “take back our degrees”. ...[S]ome of them raised slogans in favour of Urdu, too. This created a stir and an uproar followed. ... Within minutes, the situation took a serious turn and the whole crowd started moving forward towards the raised platform where the Chancellor was presiding.
Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2022
