At last, appreciation of Pakistan’s Nobel Laureate in his native land
It has come 37 years after the event and it is still a tiny, almost a timid, step forward, but is not totally without significance. Hopefully it can turn out to be a good omen for more positive changes in our present petrified mindsets concerning a national hero in the future. After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step. It was way back in 1979 when Pakistan’s only scientist became a Nobel Laureate receiving the ultimate global scientific accolade for his groundbreaking work in theoretical physics. The entire scientific world applauded his unique achievement.
Now, in renaming, (or drawing up a summary thereof) the National Centre for Physics at Islamabad’s prestigious Quaid-i-Azam University after Dr. Abdus Salam and creating five Fellowships for PhD studies in reputed foreign institutions in his name, the Prime Minister has, to a small degree, set right the rejection and the disrespect heaped upon him in his lifetime and even after his death for his religious beliefs. Throughout his life this marvelously gifted and industrious man of humble origins decided not to Live but to Know and to advance human knowledge and enlightenment. There is a need to stop the practice of profiling scientists, professionals and civil and military personalities on the basis of their beliefs.
Although Dr. Abdus Salam was prevented from pursuing his grandiose plans for education, especially for scientific learning, in his beloved homeland, he still taught and trained countless Pakistani scientists at the International Centre for Theoretical Studies, at Trieste, Italy, which he had founded in 1964.
As a community, Muslims are generally found lagging far behind the developed countries because of their disregard for the importance of universal modern education, a criminal negligence which is also holding up the civilised progress of Muslim societies the world over, apart from inviting accusations of bigotry, gender and human rights violations.
The Muslim world today needs thousands of talented men like Dr. Abdus Salam