Few people in Lahore, especially of old walled city, are revered and adored more than an exceptionally simple scholarly man than Dr Nazir Ahmad, a former principal of Government College Lahore. Yet, sadly, little is written about him.

In my books he was, without doubt, Lahore’s greatest human being - simple and highly educated, honest to the core, fearless in his beliefs for he treated the poor and the rich and powerful equally. When he walked down a street, or rode his bicycle home, he was inconspicuous. That is the way he was, and admired for who he was.

Born on the 19th of December 1905, at Haveli Barood Khana, inside the old walled city, and grew up there. Just how he came to live there is a story in itself. His grandfather was the brother of the grandfather of Mian Mahmud Ali Kasuri. The family was brought from Kasur to Lahore, and they lived there in the ‘haveli’. His grandfather compiled the syllabus of the Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam. Allama Iqbal, Faiz and Taseer as well as other great men of the Freedom Movement interfaced with him.

The elder brother of Dr Nazir Ahmad was called Moti Shah, and he used to roam the streets as a ‘Malang’. So extreme simplicity was in his family. Their house was a side portion of the main Haveli Barood Khana.

After doing his MSc from the University of Calcutta he proceeded to London to work on his PhD, where he stayed from 1943 to 1950. His specialty was in cotton and its genes. Most high yielding varieties that we see today are because of his research. It was during this time that my late father, who was then working for the BBC as a war correspondent, met him.

One incident will illustrate the man. Outside the British Museum Library my father was conversing with the late Dr Ahsanul Islam, a student of Dr Nazir and my father’s first cousin. Dr Ahsan’s research led to the discovery of the DNA sequence. As they chatted out of the library came Dr Nazir with a book in his hand. He looked at the book and started crying helplessly. It turned out that he had been reading a copy of the original autobiography of ‘Hazrat Bilal’, the slave of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The British invaders of Syria had managed to bring it from Damascus in December 1918 at the end of the First World War. Dr Nazir had a copy of the original.

And as he read out the lines he wept away helplessly. Such was his devotion. When I mentioned this episode to by dear friend Tipu Almakky, the next day he provided me with a translated printed version. Never has any book given me goose-pimples like that book by Bilal.

The British sent Dr Nazir to the Lyallpur Agriculture College, where his pioneering work on cotton helped him spread it to the fields. In between he was sent to the Cotton Research Institute in London.

In 1959 Dr Nazir Ahmad became the principal of Government College Lahore, a post he held till December 1965. His first action was to promote debates and dramatic and musical activities. He also insisted that each department should give their students research assignments. Soon the military dictatorship of Gen Ayub Khan learnt that the students of GC were through different mediums criticising his dictatorship.

In the days of Dr Nazir’s leadership both the liberal and exact arts were becoming admired and famous. The Governor of the West Pakistan, Nawabzada Amir Muhammad Khan of Kalabagh, a tyrant in his own right, accused Dr Nazir of being anti-government. He explained that it was a wrong description, but that it was the creation of different personal opinions, which put together shape the way people think. The Nawabzada, who had for some time been a Cambridge student, nodded his head and then transferred him as principal of the nearby teacher training college.

Dr Nazir quietly walked towards his new office, but students blocked his way. As the newly appointed Prof G N Butt proceeded to take over, the students blocked him and refused him entrance. Soon the college, and then every college in Lahore, was up in arms. Amazingly the students in Dacca (now spelt Dhaka) in East Pakistan went on strike too. The whole country was demonstrating.

In Lahore a massive demonstration was organised which surrounded the Governor House, and refused to move till the transfer was cancelled. They were shouting: “Hamara Baap Hamay Wapas Karo”. The dictator and the tyrant succumbed to pressure as strikes spread to even industrial concerns. It was unprecedented in its spread and effect.

In 1965 the Centenary Celebrations of GC Lahore were held and both President Ayub and Governor Kalabagh were invited. Guests from all over the country, from India and abroad, flocked the GC College Oval. When Dr Nazir shook their hands, the slogan again went wild.

In December 1965 Dr Nazir retired and immediately set about researching the works of Sufi saints. One of his students, Syed Babar Ali, managed to get him to work on this effort in the Packages Limited office. There he produced an amazing book titled ‘Kalam-e-Bullah Shah’ as well as other books on the Sufi saints.

During this period, I joined the group after returning from England. As I drove home, I saw him walking. I stopped my car and offered to drop him at his home. He flatly refused and said: “I have legs, I will manage”. Seeing my disappointment he immediately added: “OK, as you are son of Hamid Jaan, drop me at the bus stop, so both are vindicated”.

As Dr Nazir lived in the house portion next to Dr Ahsanul Islam, my uncle, behind the GC Zoology Department, one often got to meet him. He would chat on a variety of topics. But his first question always was: “Which book are you reading at the moment?” He would then discuss the book.

Last year his daughter-in-law, Mrs Hina Jiwan Shah, inaugurated the ‘Dr. Nazir Ahmad Institute of Biological Sciences’ of the GC University. It is an abiding tribute to a citizen of our ancient city, to our finest educational institution, and the finest human to walk the streets of this amazing city.

Dr Nazir Ahmad passed away in August 1985, but his name and reputation live on. Simple and austere and admired by one and all, surely there is every reason why he should not be our favourite human being.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2024