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Today, I attended a rare historic event at Patiala. Yadavindra Public School (YPS) celebrated the 140th anniversary of Aitchison College of Lahore. Four living alumni, who attended Aitchison College till 1947, were honoured at the morning ceremony in an auditorium full of students, alumni and their families.
Why would a school in Patiala (India) celebrate the founding anniversary of a school in Lahore (Pakistan)?
To grasp this, we must go 140 years down the line to 1886 AD when the British Empire envisioned a college for the sons of the chiefs and royals of Punjab. Of the over 25 chiefs and royals who donated Rs 2.5 lakh for the construction of the college, one of the first and largest donor was Maharaja of Patiala. He donated 50,000 rupees for the construction of the Aitchison campus near the Mian Mir area of Lahore on the Mall Road. His contribution alone is equivalent to Rs 1.75 million today.
Soon thereafter, 12 boys of Punjab chiefs from Ambala Wards School were moved to Lahore in 1886, to establish Punjab Chiefs College. Of these, seven were Sikh and five Muslim. Not only were the students of various religions, but the teaching staff was also from various faith traditions, including three Muslims, four Hindus and a Christian Principal. The initial classes, until the current campus was built, were held at Queen Mary College in Lahore.
The foundation stone of Punjab Chiefs College was laid on November 3, 1886, with great pomp and show. Attendees included the Viceroy/Governor General of India, as well as Lt Governor of Punjab Sir Charles Aitchison and princes, chiefs, and other influential men of Punjab. Maharaja Patiala could not attend the event due to an illness.
On November 13, 1886, the Council of the Punjab Chiefs College met at Lawrence Hall in Lahore and formally changed the name of the college to Aitchison College. The first Committee of Management, appointed to run the college, was also multi-faith with five Sikhs, three Muslims and a Christian.
Ram Singh, the famous Sikh architect of Mayo Institute of Art (now National College of Arts) in Lahore, initially designed the Old Building for holding classes, and two boarding houses in a Spanish Moorish architecture with Punjabi and Mughal features incorporated into the three buildings. During construction, a third boarding house was added by 1891. Later, Ram Singh also designed the Principal and Vice-Principal houses in 1900-1902, and a gurdwara and a temple in 1904.
Related news: YPS honours pre-partition Aitchison College alumni on Foundation Day
The college still boasts of a masjid, gurdwara and mandir on its campus. The mosque was built in 1900 by the Nawab of Bahawalpur. Maharaja of Darbhanga laid the foundation of the mandir in 1910, while the Maharaja of Patiala did so for the gurdwara.
Balwant Singh Ber (Roll No. 2 at Aitchison) established a dispensary on the campus in 1889 for the medical treatment of the boys. The swimming pool on the campus, built in memory of Rani of Mandi, is called the Rani of Mandi Swimming Pool. In addition, several sports and academic awards and trophies were established at the college by Sikh Punjab chief families, including Vahali Cup, Albel Singh Waston Gold Medal, Sidhuwal Cup, Majithia Cup and Rani of Mandi Challenge Cup.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala attended Aitchison from 1904 to 1908 earning cricket and football colours. His son Maharaja Yadavindra Singh attended the college from 1927 to 1930 earning the Rivas Gold Medal, Ritchie Riding Prize and the Hutchison Tennis Challenge Cup. Their cousins, totaling 20 boys of the Patiala royal family, attended the college from 1885 to 1947. Maharaja Patiala was one of the largest donors to the college since its inception till 1947.
Till 1932, the policy of the college was to house Muslim boys separately from Sikh and Hindu boys in boarding houses. Each boarding house had its own mess conforming to the religious dietary restrictions of that house. With the joining of Principal CH Barry in 1933, this changed. He argued that while the boys studied together, they should also learn to live with one another, regardless of their faith. Thus began a grand experiment in which boarding houses were integrated and completed by 1940. Senior faculty members had a significant role in implementing this policy, especially House masters. This now meant that the college was not just multi-faith but also interfaith. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and boys of other faiths lived together in rooms. The messes of each boarding house were also integrated. Vegetarian food was served to all, while halal meat was served at the table only to Muslims, and jhatka meat was offered at the table to Sikh and Hindu boys. No wonder CH Barry is recognised today as one of the most transformative principals of Aitchison College.
By 1940, the boarding houses were fully faith-integrated and the boys who lived together formed lifelong friendships with their roommates of many faiths. From 1886 to 1947, about 46% of the college students were Sikh, 41% Muslim, 7% Hindu and the rest 6% Christian.
CH Barry left the college in 1946 with the upcoming upheaval of the Partition on the horizon. The college's management appointed Lala Dhani Ram Kapila as Principal in January 1947. He was the first non-Christian Principal of Aitchison. If the partition of South Asia had been transparent at the end of 1946, why would the college appoint a Hindu Principal? It is clear that when Dhani Ram Kapila was appointed Principal in January 1947, the concept of the partition of South Asia had not come into reality.
By the summer of 1947, the partition of South Asia had become inevitable. For summer break, the college sent all Muslim boys to the Pakistani side and Sikh and Hindu boys to the Indian side. This meant that the boys of Aitchison did not suffer physical harm during the Partition, but the emotional toll of never meeting their roommates and deep friends of other faiths was traumatic for many old boys. In 1947, over 60% of the college population had Sikh and Hindu boys. These boys left over the course of a matter of days, never to return to Aitchison.
The story of an old boy leaving the Aitchison campus during the Partition is worth sharing. One of the living old boys, who lives in Delhi now, mentioned that he had dropped off his bicycle at the repair shop under the drive-through portico of the old building in the morning. That afternoon, a car arrived to take him to Amritsar – he never returned but still fondly remembers his bicycle and time at Aitchison.
Lifelong Aitchison multifaith friendships were shattered in 1947. About 160 Aitchison boys landed up on the other side of the border with little educational prospects. Maharaja Yadavindra Singh stepped forward to establish the Yadavindra Public School in his Olympic Stadium — it opened its door to students on February 2, 1948.
Many of the boys who left for India joined the YPS in Patiala and some joined Doon School (Dehradun), Bishop Cotton (Shimla), Lawrence School (Sanawar), Mayo College (Ajmer) and others.
Lala Dhani Ram Kapila, the then Principal at Aitchison, was appointed Headmaster at the YPS, Patiala, along with several Aitchison Sikh and Hindu staff, including Harnam Singh Bal who was appointed Vice-Headmaster at the YPS. Shanti Lal Sehgal was appointed Bursar at Mayo College, Ajmer. Nearly all Sikh and Hindu staff of Aitchison who went to India in 1947 were re-employed by educational institutions in India.
When the Muslim boys returned to Aitchison College after the Partition in January 1948, more than half the college population was gone. The college population had become single-faith for the first time, and worst of all, their Sikh and Hindu roommates and friends were gone – never to meet them again. This took a traumatic toll on the boys.
Dhani Rai Kapila, the first Headmaster, and Harnam Singh Bal, the first Vice-Headmaster, began the setting up of the YPS, Patiala, in February 1948 on the lines of Aitchison College. Dhani Ram had previously worked at Aitchison for 32 years and Harnam Singh for 11 years before they joined the YPS in 1947.
After the Partition, some boys were able to stay in touch by letters. Others were lucky enough to cross the border and meet their old buddies. In the early 1980s, Aitchison College Old Boys Association (ACOBA) began working with Aitchison Yadavindra Old Students Association (AYOSA) and arranged several visits across the border. In 1981, ACOBA met in Parwanoo, India, and Lahore, Pakistan.
A significant delegation of old boys from India, both Sikh and Hindu, visited Aitchison for its 100th anniversary in 1986 and 125th anniversary in 2011. The college held student exchange visits for sports competitions with the YPS, Bishop Cotton-Shimla, Daly College-Indore, Mayo College-Ajmer and Doon School-Dehradun from 1982 to 2010.
As elaborated above, the YPS was founded in 1948 for the boys who had to leave Aitchison in 1947 and it was set up by two administrators who had worked at Aitchison College.
The historic celebrations in Patiala today had two highlights and emotionally evocative presentations. First one was on the history of Aitchison and the YPS joined at the hip. The other was a pre-recorded message from the current Principal at Aitchison College, recorded for the Patiala celebrations, which lifted up the hope of more engagement between the two historical sister educational institutions — both founded by the Patiala royal family.
Tomorrow, I will head to Lahore to plan for the February 13-15 celebrations of Aitchison College's 140th founding anniversary at Aitchison. I take with me a shawl presented by the YPS, Patiala, for Aitchison College, Lahore — it symbolises the deep history and friendship between the two sister schools across the 1947 Radcliff Line.
To mark this historic 140th anniversary of founding of Aitchison in Lahore, the college has invited all 15 living old boys of Aitchison in India to attend the mid-February celebrations in Lahore. Despite old age, a cold winter and the need to fly by air (since Wagah border is closed), a few boys are planning to attend the celebrations at their alma mater in Lahore to reconnect and renew old friendships.
I will present the commemorative shawl with the YPS logo at the 140th anniversary celebrations in Lahore as token of the friendship that still exists between these two sister educational institutions divided by a border. I will present this gift to Aitchison College as someone whose father, grandfather and great grandfather studied at Aitchison.
— The writer is Honorary Envoy, Aitchison College