KARACHI: Sacrifices of millions helped create Pakistan and in its seven decades of existence, millions more have participated in furthering its cause. At the Mohatta Palace on Saturday, homage was paid to a handful of names at the launch of a book titled 20 Pakistanis to be Proud of by Tauqeer Mohajir.

To distil the services of a few against the backdrop of a rich historical, cultural and political milieu is no easy task, and can be accused of being reductionist in entirety. But Mr Mohajir, who calls himself the curator rather than the editor of the collection, has made the effort to include writers, musicians, activists and sportsmen, among others to his list of Pakistanis that Pakistanis should be proud of.

Is it a representative list? Not at all. Does it claim to be so? Absolutely not.

In his endeavour to mark the services of these men and women, with each profile accompanied by an exclusive feature and photo gallery, Mr Mohajir includes the Quaid-e-Azam at the top of the list. The remaining 19 figures are then assembled alphabetically to ensure that no one is given precedence over the other, nor is one area of achievement considered superior.

Tauqeer Mohajir has edited and curated several books on art, and 20 Pakistanis to be Proud of is just the start of a project that will most possibly traverse different personalities the country has been home to. “There are hundreds of icons we can talk about and 20 are not enough. The current volume is thus the first of a series of books,” he said.

He hailed the publication as “a tribute to the heroes of Pakistan who laid down their lives for the country. From Pakistan’s creation, to the wars within, and the ongoing ‘war of terror’ in which we have been embroiled for the past 15 years, countless sacrifices have been made.”

Speaking about the selection criterion, he said: “These 20 icons have been consistently outstanding in their chosen careers.”

CEO of Dawn Media Group Hameed Haroon elaborated why the shortlist is anything but complete. “It is 20 Pakistanis to be proud of, not the only 20 Pakistanis to be proud of.”

Mr Haroon admitted that he did not completely agree with the choice of images in the book. “Not all the images are stock; for example Tauqeer has a Jinnah image which is a Getty Images image. ... I would have been a little harsh with him on his choice of Allah Bakhsh images. Some of the more superlative moments in Allah Bakhsh’s life are missing. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t adequately represented him.”

Head of Corporate Affairs & Marketing at United Bank Limited Ali Habib said that the book was a “sore need of our time to renew our faith in Pakistan and refresh our pride in the country.”

Musical giants Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan to Mehdi Hasan, poets Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Ahmed Faraz, writer Mohsin Hamid, filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and activist Malala Yousafzai, cricketer Younis Khan, Nobel Prize winner Mohammad Abdus Salam and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi are just a few names that feature in 20 Pakistanis to be Proud of.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2016