Newsletter (Senior)
April 2018PDF 2
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into a more egalitarian institution. The aristocratic air had continued
for a few years while I was at Aitchison, but as the atmosphere and
the conditions in the Indian sub-continent changed, the British
administration realised that Aitchison College also had to be a part
of that change. People from different backgrounds, families and
circumstances were admitted into the College. The boys who joined
had a stronger spirit of competition. They were much more industri-
ous and their values were more progressive. This is what stimulated
the spirit of competition.
Aitchison College was also a wonderful training ground, both in
scholastic and sports activities. We were provided all the facilities to
gain knowledge and to compete. The spirit of competition, struggle
and endeavour was also promoted on the sports field which is anoth-
er important part of one’s education. Aitchison created in me a
strong interest for outdoor activities and sports, particularly team
sports. These were important factors in helping me to lead a healthy,
wholesome life and have stood me in good stead in all these years. I
owe much of my interest and continuing fascination for watching
and playing sports to Aitchison College.
I also feel that learning to speak and write in English from an early
age was a great advantage because the doors to modern knowledge
are opened by the key of the English language. This was something
which most other schools did not provide but Aitchison did, largely
because the head of the school was an Englishman. We had several
English people teaching and English was used regularly as a means of
communication and learning. Today, with the computer evolved and
the internet, English is the primary language. It is the lingua franca of
the world.
Schooling at Aitchison also stimulated an interest in culture, as well
as in the Arts and Literature. We had teachers who were highly qual-
ified and promoted cultural and literary activity. We used to have
regular debates. Bazm-e-Adab was a literary society in which inter-
est was promoted in the Persian and Urdu languages and literature.
Aitchison also taught me the value of team spirit. Being a part of a
team and subject to discipline, I realised the importance of a cooper-
ative and joint effort in life. This helped me to effectively interact
with other people in my life and to gain an appreciation of how
important leadership is to run any organisation. Whether it is a
school, a small institution or a large corporate entity, good leader-
ship is vital for success.
I must also tell you that when I was finishing at Aitchison College in
my last year in 1948, Pakistan had been created. Mr. Gwyn, Principal
of Aitchison College was kind enough to recommend me for admis-
sion to a college in Cambridge. I was admitted and I spent three very
interesting and constructive years of my life at Cambridge Universi-
ty. Had it not been for the recommendation of Mr. Gwyn, I may not
have been able to join the University. All the training that Aitchison
had given me in Literature, History, Economics, the languages and in
sports enabled me to lead a reasonably full life at Cambridge Univer-
sity. I have to thank the College and the Principal for providing me
this opportunity to go there and to benefit from the wonderful edu-
cation at one of the finest universities in the world.”
GUEST
SPEAKER
SESSION
Old Aitchisonian Dr. Taimur
Rahman visited the College
on 16th February 2018 for
his talk with the A2 boys.
Dr. Taimur is an academic,
musician
and
grassroots
political activist. He holds a
PhD from the School of Ori-
ental and African Studies
and has been teaching polit-
ical science at LUMS since
2002. He is the spokesper-
son for the band Laal and
the author of the book, ‘The
Class Structure of Pakistan’
published by Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
Dr. Taimur talked about the
history of philosophy and
shared his experiences with
the students. The talk was
followed by a Q&A session
and a wonderful folk song
performance by Dr. Taimur
Rahman.