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Pak college honours former Punjab CM Harcharan Singh Brar
The classroom dedication at the college by Ali is a symbolic gesture of their over 70 years of lifelong friendship, Butalia said.
Lahore: A prestigious college in Pakistan's Lahore has dedicated a classroom in honour of one of its distinguished alumni, former Punjab chief minister Harcharan Singh Brar.
Babli Brar, his daughter, unveiled a plaque dedicating the classroom number 108 to her father at the Aitchison College here at a ceremony held on Wednesday.
Apart from her, the event was attended by the principal and senior staff of the college and the office-bearers of Aitchison College Old Boys Association.
"A plaque has been placed outside classroom 108 of Senior School and a photograph of Harcharan Singh Brar wearing the college blazer has been hung inside the classroom," Dr Tarunjit Singh Butalia, honorary envoy at the Aitchison College, told PTI on Thursday.
Industrialist and former Pakistan finance minister Syed Babar Ali, Brar's schoolmate and lifelong friend at the institution, wrote the text of the plaque that his daughter unveiled.
Ali, a centenarian himself, joined the ceremony online.
The classroom dedication at the college by Ali is a symbolic gesture of their over 70 years of lifelong friendship, Butalia said.
"Their friendship transcended the trauma of the partition time, their professions, and patriotism. It is a source of inspiration for young Pakistanis and Indians who will be the leaders of South Asia of tomorrow," he added.
"This classroom is dedicated to the loving memory of my friend Harcharan Singh Brar (1922-2009) of Srai Nanga, District Ferozepur," reads the plaque that Ali wrote.
Brar joined Aitchison College in 1937 and graduated after passing his Senior Cambridge in 1941 and the Higher School Certificate of Cambridge University in 1943.
"He was an outstanding student, School Prefect and was awarded the Rivaz Gold Medal. He did exceptionally well at games. He earned colours in riding, tennis and cricket, which gave him the Full Blazer, a coveted achievement," it read further.
"I have had the privilege of enjoying his friendship ever since we were classmates in 1937. Harcharan Singh Brar remained my best friend till he passed away in 2009," Ali said.
Brar and his family regularly visited Alis in Lahore, the industrialist, who was a student of Aitchison College from 1934 to 43, said.
He donated Pakistan rupees (PKR) 4 million for the restoration of the classroom in April 2026.
Brar took admission in Government College, Lahore in 1944 and graduated with a BA degree from Panjab University.
After 1947, he joined the Congress Party in India and occupied several positions across governments. He was also the governor of two states before becoming the chief minister of Punjab in 1995.
Founded in 1886 in Lahore, Aitchison College traces its roots to the 1868 Wards School in Ambala.
Originally established by the British era as the Punjab Chiefs' College to educate the region's princely elite, it evolved into Pakistan's premier boarding and day school after partition.