BY MAHRUKH ARIF
As we celebrate the 88th anniversary of the great Doctor Abdus Salam today(01/29/14), I could not prevent myself from shedding a tear. This man, who should have been considered as a Hero not only for Pakistanis but the whole Muslim World, has been constantly rejected and forgotten by both of them.
Doctor Abdus Salam was a theoretical physist who was the first Muslim and the first Pakistani to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1979, for his contribution to eletroweak unification. He also occupied the post as a science advisor to the Government of Pakistan from 1960 to 1974 – a position from which he played a major and influential role in Pakistan’s science infrastructure. To that matter, he promoted not only the development and contribution in theoretical and particle physics, but also scientific research to maximum level in his country. He believed in the idea of “Atom for Peace” and contributed in the atomic bomb project of Pakistan.
But in 1974, after the Pakistani Parliament passed the bill declaring Ahmadi Muslims as “non muslim”, everything changed. Doctor Abdus Salam had to leave his country “with great anguish” he once confessed. Until today, he remains as one the most influencial person in Pakistan for his contributions to education and science. But instead of making him a national Hero, his own people chose to reject him.
Doctor Abdus Salam’s biggest dream was to establish an international research centre in Pakistan for students of the third-world countries in order to promote education, science and research there. But the Pakistani government snubbed him and showed no interest in his project. Instead, when he came back to Pakistan several years after, they appointed him as a Sports teacher. As the situation didn’t progress, he chose to set up the International Centre for Theoretical Physisics (ICTP) later changed to Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.
Two years ago, when the world of Physics applauding the discovery of the “God-particle” remembered Doctor Abdus Salam for his contribution, CNN reported :
“Imagine a world where the merchant of death is rewarded, while a scientific visionary is disowned and forgotten. Abdus Salam, Pakistan’s only Nobel laureate, the first Muslim to win the Physics’ prize helped lay the groundwork that led to the Higgs Boson breakthrough. And yet in Pakistani schools, his name is erased from the text books…”
Not only his name has been erased from the text books in Pakistan but also, after his death, local administration asked to remove the word “Muslim” from the inscription on the grave which said “the first Muslim Nobel laureate”. The word has been painted over, leaving just: “the first Nobel laureate”.
The question that rises remains the same : does education have any link whatsover with one’s faith? Why a man hasn’t been appreciated for his contributions in science? Why hasn’t he been appreciated for his efforts to promote education in third-world countries?
Dr. Abdus Salam was a Hero. A national Hero for Pakistan who unjustly rejected him. A worldwide Hero for the Muslim Word who keep ignoring him. A true patriot, who even after recieving several offers to change his nationality chose to give his Nobel Prize to the country and people who disowned him.
Forgetting this hero is not only a loss for Pakistan, but also a loss for the entire Muslim World. page2image8160
As we celebrate the 88th anniversary of the great Doctor Abdus Salam today(01/29/14), I could not prevent myself from shedding a tear. This man, who should have been considered as a Hero not only for Pakistanis but the whole Muslim World, has been constantly rejected and forgotten by both of them.
Doctor Abdus Salam was a theoretical physist who was the first Muslim and the first Pakistani to win the Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1979, for his contribution to eletroweak unification. He also occupied the post as a science advisor to the Government of Pakistan from 1960 to 1974 – a position from which he played a major and influential role in Pakistan’s science infrastructure. To that matter, he promoted not only the development and contribution in theoretical and particle physics, but also scientific research to maximum level in his country. He believed in the idea of “Atom for Peace” and contributed in the atomic bomb project of Pakistan.
But in 1974, after the Pakistani Parliament passed the bill declaring Ahmadi Muslims as “non muslim”, everything changed. Doctor Abdus Salam had to leave his country “with great anguish” he once confessed. Until today, he remains as one the most influencial person in Pakistan for his contributions to education and science. But instead of making him a national Hero, his own people chose to reject him.
Doctor Abdus Salam’s biggest dream was to establish an international research centre in Pakistan for students of the third-world countries in order to promote education, science and research there. But the Pakistani government snubbed him and showed no interest in his project. Instead, when he came back to Pakistan several years after, they appointed him as a Sports teacher. As the situation didn’t progress, he chose to set up the International Centre for Theoretical Physisics (ICTP) later changed to Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.
Two years ago, when the world of Physics applauding the discovery of the “God-particle” remembered Doctor Abdus Salam for his contribution, CNN reported :
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