The Seventh one-day History Conference held at the National College of Arts was the major event in Lahore this past week, which engaged the attention of the people. Other noteworthy cultural activities were an exhibition of calligraphy, and an exhibition of the works of an Indian artist.
The Institute for the Study of People's History and Culture, the Research and Publications Centre of National College of Arts and Fiction House, a local publishing house, jointly sponsored the one-day Seventh History Conference at NCA auditorium on January 9, which was attended by a select but enlightened audience. Divided into three sessions, it was addressed by historians and scholars of the eminence of Dr Mubarak Ali, Dr Jafar Ahmed, Director, Pakistan Study Centre, Karachi University, Dr Younis Samad, history scholar from Oxford University, Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, Dr Tahir Kamran, APNS Executive Director Dr Tanvir Ahmed Tahir, Professor Riaz Siddiqui, architect Ghafir Shezad, specialist in education Dr Anis Alam, Hussain Khan, Dr Robina Saigol and Nadeem Omar, who dilated on different aspects of nationalism.
Several important issues not discussed earlier at any fora were brought out by the learned speakers, including the alleged secular state of mind of the Founder of Pakistan, who was reputed to have used the two-nation theory as a ploy and a bargaining chip to achieve his political objective - the safeguarding of the interests of the Muslim minority in the sub-continent. They also talked about the similarities in the three constitutions of Pakistan framed by different regimes, which they claimed, were based on Government of India Act, 1935. They also asserted that the quantum of provincial autonomy given to the federating units of Pakistan were less than what had earlier been enjoyed by the provinces ruled under the Government of India Act of 1935.
The thrust of Dr Mubarak Ali's presentation was focused on the concept of nationalism that spawned nation states in Europe, which turned themselves into imperialist and colonial powers. Dr Tanvir Ahmed Tahir discussed Sindhi nationalism in length, which he claimed, had been burdened by ethnicity for the past 70 years including the period when Sindh was a part of Bombay Presidency.
In the opinion of Dr Anis Alam, out of the total of 210 countries of the world 110 could not be bracketed within the definition of a nation, as their population was less than one million. Dr Tahir Kamran opined that the two-nation theory on which Pakistani nationalism was based suffered from several inherent contradictions, which he believed had spawned sectarianism in the country.
A lively question-and-answer session followed the first two in which Dr Robina Saigol, Dr Younis Samad and Nadeem Omer initiated discussants and responded to questions fielded by the members of the audience.
On January 15 Lieutenant General (r) Khalid Maqbool inaugurated an exhibition of calligraphic paintings by artist Sardar Asad Khan Leghari at Lahore Arts Council. Entitled 'Allah's Names for Peace' the function was also addressed by noted architect Nayyar Ali Dada, NCA Principal Sajid Vendal, former principal Kinnaird College for Women Dr Mira Phailbus, Vice Chancellor Jamia Ashrafia Abdul Rehman and artist Sardar Asad Khan Leghari.
The resurrection of calligraphy in Pakistan has been witnessed in recent years, thanks to the encouragement given by official agencies and educational institutions. Formerly, this Islamic art was restricted only to scribes who practised it for commercial purposes in the printing industry. Now, it has been included in the syllabi of a number of educational institutions including National College of Arts and the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of the Punjab.
In his inaugural remarks the Governor of the Punjab urged Muslim scholars to present Islam as a moderate, human-friendly and peaceful religion, which is practised by over 20 per cent of world population. In that context he referred to the efforts made by the government to curb extremism and resulting terrorism. He bemoaned the fact that some elements in Pakistan by their extreme views have distorted the image of Islam in foreign countries, which he urged should be curbed.
The Rohtas-2 gallery offered its premises for the opening of an exhibition of the works of an Indian artist Sumedh Rajendran on January 15. Entitled 'Pseudo-Homelands', the exhibition will continue till January 25. Rajendran received his MFA degree from Delhi College of Art in 1999. Earlier he did his BFA (sculpture) from the College of Fine Arts from Thiruvananthapauram in Kerala in 1994. Since 2004 he has associated with Khoj International Artists Association as a group member and teaching sculpture at the Modern School, New Delhi.
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