The birth of Muslim Educational Conference in 1886 was the first occasion since the days of the Pious Caliphs when representatives of Muslim community gathered with such wide base for deciding the future of their nation. Since then, something similar has been happening every 20th year at least in Pakistan.
This was pointed out by eminent Iqbal scholar and historian Khurram Ali Shafique in his keynote address at Iqbal Day Celebration at Sir Adamjee Institute Intermediate College for Commerce and Science Hussainabad, F B Area Karachi.
Shafique proposed that it would be much better to divide the history of Pakistan after 1886 into seven 'stages' according to those peak moments rather than dividing it according to the various rulers as has been done far.
The new division gives symmetrical periods of 20-year each, which reflect history of the people rather than history of the rulers. According to this division, the seventh 'stage' has started in 2007 and may be presumed to list till 2026. An interesting parallel was drawn between these seven 'stages' of Pakistan's history and certain patterns which Shafique discerned in the works of Iqbal and demonstrated earlier in his book 'The Republic of Rumi (2007).'
It was also pointed out that division of Pakistan's history along these lines offers opportunity for comparing the difficult 'stages' to see any similarities that exist within each stage. Such similarities might serve as a basis for historical forecasts especially if they appear meaningful in the light of Iqbal's works and the concept of Pakistan.
Students' Advisor Karachi University, Dr Tanvir Khalid who presided over the session called the presentation an "eye-opener". Addressing the youth, she said the future of the nation depended on them and they should follow the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) as a role model.
College Principal Commander Najeeb Anjum also pointed out in his address that "the election of Barrack Obama as the President of US goes only as far as showing that finally the US has overcome the racial discrimination in the political sphere, which was never an issue in Pakistan in the first place."
Adding to this point Shafique observed that the election of someone from a religious minority to the highest office was still only an ideal for US as well as Pakistan but it had been stated more explicitly in the inaugural speech of Jinnah than it was in the ideology of America.-PR