SINCE 1976 was the year when the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s centenary was being celebrated (he was born in 1876), a good number of programmes were arranged to honour the Quaid’s memory. One of them was organised by the Old Ravian Association of Karachi at the Arts Council on Aug 17. Speaking on the occasion, Syed Rizwan Ahmed, Secretary of the Quaid-i-Azam Foundation, cited inaccuracies found in textbooks and standard works on the Father of the Nation. He strongly advocated establishing of a high-level committee by the government for setting straight the historical records.
Staying on the subject of history and books, on Aug 23, this newspaper reported that the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) had taken upon itself the task of restoring the historic Liaquat Hall Library at Frere Hall. The previous month, the corporation had decided that the facility needed to be reopened to the public. Now the restoration work had begun. A particular feature of the 111-yar-old building, declared a protected monument by the government of Pakistan, was its overwhelmingly wooden structure. Barring the load-bearing walls made of Gizri stone, the entire piece of construction rested on Burma teak, which had also been used extensively for decorative purposes. In all, about 20,000 cubic feet of wood was used in the building out of which about 5,000 cubic feet of woodwork needed replacement. After it was slated to be thrown open to the public in a couple of months’ time, the library would have a collection of 50,000 books and other reference material, with the provision for gradual addition in the future.
The subject of the acquisition of wisdom again hogged the headlines when it was learnt that keeping with the promise made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, to the resident of Liaquatabad in Karachi, on Aug 21, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi sanctioned the opening of a degree college for boys in Liaquatabad from the ongoing season (1976-77). The college was to start functioning on Aug 23. It was to be, temporarily, housed on the ground floor of the Government College of Education, Qasimabad. In the inaugural session, only first year science classes (pre-engineering and pre-medical) would be held.
The teacher-student relationship in the city at the time wasn’t a particularly friendly one. On Aug 17, the teachers of the University of Karachi (KU) boycotted invigilation work to protest against the assault on a teacher by two students the day before. At a general body meeting of the Karachi University Teachers Society, they resolved to continue the boycott of examination work until the administration took disciplinary action against the students involved in the incident. In another resolution, the meeting expressed concern at concessions being granted to a select group of students by higher authorities, allowing them to appear in exams despite their attendance being less than the required percentage. Subsequently, the vice-chancellor of the university, Dr Ehsan Rashid, appointed a five-member committee to probe into what he described as a ‘deplorable’ incident.
Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026
