Government College University Lahore Debating Society has celebrated their 130 oratory awards which they won at the 51 debating championships held during the academic session 2010-11 across the country.
GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman was the chief guest at the celebration ceremony, which was also attended by GCU former public speakers including Central Superior Services (CSS) Examinations 2011 topper, Rana Abdul Aziz.
Presenting the society's annual report, GCU Debating Society Co-Adviser and former President Professor Muhammad Siddique Awan apprised the audience that the 130 awards won by GCUDS this academic year include 25 team trophies and 40 best speaker awards. He revealed that GCUDS General Secretary, Ali Zafar contributed 22 oratory awards single-handedly to the tally including the most prestigious team trophies of the debates championships at PAF Academy Rasilpur, Aitcheson College Lahore, Home Economics College Lahore and Punjab University Law College. He said that the prestigious PAF Academy Rasilpur Trophy was won by the Ravians 10 times in the last 17 years.
Recalling that generations of orators groomed at GCU Debating Society, Professor Awan cited interesting episodes of Old versus Young Ravians Debates where on two occasions fathers and sons came face to face with each other. In the late 1960s, the then editor Dawn, Mazhar Ali Khan, and his Tariq Ali, a celebrated writer, contested against each other. In mid 1990s, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and son Ali Hassan locked horns on the motion: "Men are democratic by nature while women are despotic."
Ahsan warned his son during the speech and they were bound to go home and face the lady despot who was Aitzaz's wife and Ali's mother. However, it did not deter the son from arguing his case effectively and the audience gave their verdict in favour of son that it's men and not women who are to be blamed. Paying glowing tributes to the laureate debtors, GCU VC, Professor Dr Khaleeq-ur-Rahman said that education alone is not sufficient for nation building, rather character refinement was the primary requirement of our youth which the debating society has been offering ever since its inception.
He recalled that in his student days, he himself was a promising orator, thus he had first-hand exposure to the nature of requirements of debaters and pledged that he would extend unflinching support to further promote debates culture at the university. He congratulated Rana Abdul Aziz, the former general secretary of GCU Debating Society, who has stood first at the CSS Examinations 2011. He also felicitated four Ravians, Muhammad Zulqernain, Esha Tariq, Amna Ijaz and Ali Zafar who had recently represented Pakistan in China, India, Bangladesh and South Korea respectively.
The Vice Chancellor expressed profound joy at the disclosure that the GCU debating has won over 2100 oratory awards from Pakistan and abroad in the last 17 years which no other academic institution Pakistan could match.
Speaking on the occasion, CSS topper and Old Ravian, Rana Abdul Aziz underscored the significance of human struggle both at the intellectual and physical plains. He referred to the philosophical treatises of Hazrat Ali Bin Usman Al-Hajveri and Allama Muhammad Iqbal to elucidate the significance of human action in the process of collective social evolution.
Speaking on the occasion, Ali Zafar, the GCU highest achiever of the year, lamented that co-curricular activities were relegated to a secondary level in Pakistan whereas according to him, public speaking and thespian skills should be made a mandatory part of our national circular. He believed that such education is meaningless that does not empower a person to convince other about his perspectives pertaining to any walk of life.
GCU Debates President, Muhammad Zulqernain fondly recollected his exposure to the Chinese people and said that their perseverance and untiring handwork made him remember the famous saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) whereby he has advised the Muslim Ummah to seek knowledge even if they have to travel to China for the purpose. Later, the Vice Chancellor gave away gifts of books to the outgoing batch of orators of Government College University Lahore.