Islamia College: Education Icon; Draws Students Ahead Of Pakistan Day’s Celebrations

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2024) Established in the foothills of Koh-e-Sufaid in 1913, Islamia College Peshawar which saw Independence Movement, started attracting students of Khyber Pakthunkhwa to present rich tributes to its students’ historic role in completion of Quaid e Azam’s mission for Pakistan.

Impressed by the ICP’s students’ heroic role in mobilization of the denizens of Khyber Pakthunkhwa for Pakistan, the students of different Govt and private schools here Wednesday visited different sections of ICP including Khyber Union, a debating society of the college established in pre-partition era that was also visited by father of the nation Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and highly praised its great services in awakening of people for Pakistan.

Students Abdul Hadi, Daniyal, Malaika Bibi and Muhammad Saad along with others were over the moon after seen the tall beautiful domes, lush-green lawns and majestic architecture of Islamia College Peshawar grabbing visitors’ attention while passing on University Road.

Declaring ICP’s identity of Peshawar, the students said that they have heard a lot about this historic college of Khyber Pakthunkhwa and today their dream to see it was fulfilled by their fathers and relatives. “I thanked my papa jan for helping me to see my favorite’s college today with own eyes,” said Abdul Hadi of Nasirpur village, Peshawar.

“Getting admission in ICP is a dream of every student of KP. I will definitely try to get admission in my favorite college after qualifying metric examination with high score,” said Malika Bibi, a fifth grade student of Educators Pabbi Campus Nowshera.

Holding a torch of education for 111 long years, ICP is carrying national flag hoisting high on occasion of 84th Pakistan Day that would be celebrated with national enthusiasm on Saturday across Khyber Pakthunkhwa.

Being a beautiful combination of Aligarh Movement of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Deoband school of Thoughts, ICP is a mere testimony to the greatness of its Founder, Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan.

Muhammad Yousaf Khan, Chairman Pakistan Studies Department, ICP told APP on Wednesday that the history of the Pakistan Movement could not be completed without mentioning the role of ICP.

Yousaf said ICP had provided a unique platform to KP’s people to compete with other communities in education, civil service, economy and politics after they were pushed to the wall during the colonial era, and great educationist Sir Abdul Qayyum Khan has played key role in its establishment.

“The idea to establish a college clicked in the minds of Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan, leader of Muslim League, and Sir George Roos-Keppel, the then Chief Commissioner of NWFP (now KP) in early 1909 when they met the Pathan students during their visit to the Muslim University Aligarh,” writes ex-principal ICP, Prof G.D. Khilji in his memoirs.

The students requested them either to construct a Frontier hostel at Aligarh or a college may be built for them in then NWFP (now KP). As a token, the students raised around sixty rupees and gave them to Roos Keppel to form a Frontier Hostel fund or any other project.

Later, Keppel passed the money on to Nawab Sahib. It was April 12, 1911 when philanthropists Ghulam Haider Khan, Habibullah Khan, Khushal Khan, Sethi Karim Bakhsh and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum gathered at the residence of Abdul Karim Khan Indrabai in Peshawar.

Haji Karim Bakhsh Sethi offered to build a mosque, Rahim Shah Kakakhel promised to construct a hostel and Abdul Karim Khan donated Rs 10,000, Sethi Karim Bakhsh Rs.50,000 and Nawab of Dir promised Rs100,000 for the college fund.’

Later, a 10-member ad-hoc college committee under the chairmanship of Colonel Muhammad Aslam Khan was set up on May 29, 1911 to table proposals for establishment of the college. Leading Khans and Ulema were invited and seven resolutions including one to title the college as ‘Darul-Ulum-i-Islamia Suba-i-Sarhad’ were unanimously passed. A committee was constituted to select a suitable site for the college. The proposal of a college at Wazir Bagh was rejected by Ross Keppel as he wanted to spare the place of recreation.

Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum in consultation with Ross Keppel selected the existing place for ICP. On October 1, 1913, ICP was opened with 26 students on roll and Sahibzada Khurshid was the first student who got admission and later became the Governor of then NWFP and Tipping (1913-17) was its first Principal.

“Like students of Aligarh Movement who were in the vanguard of the independence movement in India, so were the students of Islamia College, Peshawar for creation of Pakistan,’ said Muhammad Younas.

Quaid-i-Azam had an immense love for people of KP, ICP and visited this college in 1936, 1945 and 1948 as first Governor General of Pakistan.

In 1945, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had received a rousing welcome at ICP where students and Muslim Students Federation (MSF) presented him Rs 8,000 as fund for Pakistan Movement. “They assured him to present 8,000 committed educated workers when he came again to this great alma-mater.”

Younas said, ‘KP people had shown an immense love for Quaid-i-Azam and that is why Muslim League secured maximum seats in the 1946 election and after that historic victory nobody could stop the independence movement from this province.’

‘In July 1947 Referendum, Muslim League clinched landslide victory in KP by securing over 200,000 votes and its people announced to become part of Pakistan,’ he said. ‘The spirit and enthusiasm of people was historic when Quaid e Azam came to Peshawar as first governor general of Pakistan on April 12, 1948. Peshawarities had decorated their houses, markets, vehicles and bazaars with national flags looking festive.

The great Quaid presented glowing tributes to the services of its students towards making Pakistan in these words. ‘I am indeed very happy to be present here today and to have the privilege of addressing students of this great Darul Uloom, who are the future builders of Pakistan.’

He reminded the students, ‘we have achieved the national goal of Pakistan and now it is our collective responsibility to work hard in our respective professions with a high-level of dedication, commitment and sincerity to make it one of the greatest countries of the world.’

He advised students to develop a sound sense of discipline, character, solid academic background and devote themselves towards studies. ‘Remember your government is like your own garden. Your garden flourishes by the way you look after it and the efforts that you put towards its improvement. Similarly, your government can only flourish by your patriotic, honest and constructive efforts to improve it,’ he told students.

Following a gap of one year, the Government had established University of Peshawar near ICP in 1949 in line with the Quaid’s vision and later two more universities UET and Agriculture University were formed besides Pakistan Forest Institute. Younas said the great Quaid also addressed a Grand Tribal Jira at Governor House, Peshawar on April 17, 1948 and highly praised strong commitment, patriotism and support of tribesmen for Pakistan. He laid great emphasis on education and social economic development of tribesmen.

The love of Quaid-i-Azam, who became an honorary member of Khyber Union debating society of the college set up in 1936, can be judged from his “Will” written on May 30, 1939 in Bombay in which he declared ICP, Muslim University Aligarh and Sindh Madrassatul islam, Karachi as among the inheritor of his property.

Later, Quaid Trust paid Rs10,811,600 in different installments to ICP and was spent on construction of Quaid-i-Azam College of Commerce, University of Peshawar, construction of Jinnah residential quarters for employees, Jinnah College for Women and newly constructed Takbeer block at ICP.

The college was closed for about three weeks in 1919 due to the second Afghan War and students were shifted to Shahi Mehman Khana, Peshawar. It was again closed for a few days in 1920 due to the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Eleanor Roosevelt of the USA, first Governor of the NWFP Sir Ralph Griffith, renowned writer of Turkiye Khalida Adeeb Khanum, leader of All Indian Muslim League Sir Muhammad Shafi, Pundit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Governor then NWFP George Cunningham and Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar besides others remained its honorary members.

According to the board of Trustees (BoT), the college owns about 544.5 acres of cultivable land in Charsadda, 395 shops, and flats in Khyber bazaar Peshawar and Charsadda. The college’s clock tower, now Peshawar’s pride symbol, has long figured on the back of an Rs.1000 Currency note. ICP is a unique educational institution in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where students from KG to a Ph.D. level were getting a quality education and contributing to the prosperity of Pakistan.

National flag hoisting ceremony would be held on Saturday at ICP on occasion of Pakistan Day and students of the great alma mater have vowed to work hard in their respective fields to make Pakistan an economic giant in the comity of nations.

APP/fam/