Old Gallians on Thursday strongly condemned the decision of Lawrence College Ghoragali’s management to rename the four houses serving as boys’ hostels from the names of Pakistani and Muslim heroes to the British reverends of pre-partition. Addressing a press conference at National Press Club, Islamabad, a number of senior “Old Gallians” condemned the decision and urged the Punjab governor to restore the names of the Pakistani and Muslim heroes.
During the first PPP government the name of Lawrence College was changed in 1973 as Pine Hills College; it was again renamed as Ghoragali College in 1978. The four houses that served as boys’ hostels were reamed in May 2011 after the four British reverends who had served as principals of the public school at various times, Walker, Wright, Wrightwick and Peake.
The PPP government in 1973 re-named them as Jinnah, Iqbal, Babar and Tipu, respectively. In 1986, on the demand of old students of the college, Gen Ziaul Haq renamed Ghoragali College as Lawrence College, but he did not change the names the four boys’ hostels, saying, it would prompt a strong public reaction. The Punjab governor serves as chairman of the board of governors. Salman Taseer, in his tenure decided to change the names of Pakistani and Muslim heroes, but the board of governors opposed the move.
After his death, the matter was again discussed by the board of governors with Taseer’s successor, Sardar Latif Khan Khosa. Khosa was not in favour of the change, but he honoured the desire of Taseer, so Jinnah House was renamed as Walker House, Iqbal House as Wright House, Wrightwick House as Babar House and Tipu House as Peake House. The old Gallians, led by Anis Satti who had been a head boy in 1954, 1955 and 1956 and Brig (retd) Jaffar Khan, Maj-Gen (retd) Inayatullah Khan Niazi, Brig (retd) Asmat Beg Humayun along with a large number of old students, urged the Punjab governor to withdraw the decision forthwith and restore the names of the Pakistani and Muslim heroes.
Who built the Institution and who initially contributed to the construction of the four hostels and academic and recreation halls. Non of the Muslim Heroes were there to
participate in the establishment.How many of us follow an iota of the character of our Muslim Heroes? We should stop behaving as self-centered egoists and accept the reality that the credit goes to those figures whom we today condemn because it pleases our psyche.
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