YEARS ago, when I came to study at the Government College University, Lahore, I used to hear murmurs from my seniors in the hostel as well as from my teachers that the history of the subcontinent was embedded in the college. This was a strange notion for me. I started delving into books and digging through archives, but could not find it anywhere of interest. Despite my continued efforts, all I found were calculated historical events in books that were dry in nature and failed to capture my imagination.

During my university days, most of my time was spent in the main library and the dormitory. In fact, the arches and motifs on the walls of the library used to convey many unsaid things. Sometimes, my eyes would become entangled with the carved logo of the college, and the waves reminded me of the watery rivers of Punjab. Perhaps, these rivers were communicating with me, suggesting that knowledge should be like the water of rivers, which remains fresh at all times.

Anyhow, alongside the library, there was a room designated for talks and debates. This room was called the Fazal-i-Hussain Reading Room. I visited it many times, but always wondered who Fazal-i-Hussain was. Why could we not name it, say, the Allama Iqbal Reading Room?

I often inquired about the personality of Fazal-i-Hussain from my teachers and classmates, but I never received a single satisfactory answer. It is disheartening that we lack knowledge about our own material heritage, particularly regarding individuals who have played significant roles in history.

Now, serving as a teacher in the same university for years, I have taught history courses in various departments and have been attempting to delve into the lives of key personalities. However, the responses I have received so far have often been rather unsatisfactory. Forget the students, even my colleagues in the faculty struggle to talk straight about key perso- nalities and pivotal moments of history.

Unfortunately, our universities seem to be merely producing individuals who are largely disconnected from indigenous empirical knowledge. It is time to reassess and rectify the mistakes of the past, giving due importance to indigenous scholars.

Adeel Ijaz
Lahore

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2024