Murray College Is Dying

OCTOBER 2004 - When so much that was good about Pakistan is in decline, it should certainly not cause ‘shock and awe’ to learn from a newspaper report earlier this month, that the over a century old Murray College in Sialkot is in its death throes. Once regarded as a great educational institution that had amongst its teachers and students, some of the most distinguished men and women you could ever come across anywhere in the world, it is now crumbling apart, both physically and intellectually.

It was Capt. John Murray who set up this wonderful college in the days of Queen Victoria. Starting as the Scotch Mission School in 1868 it was upgraded to the intermediate level in 1889 and never looked back. After partition, amongst the many missionary teachers who stayed on, Murray College was blessed with Rev. David Leslie Scott, whose father too had taught here. Rev. Scott was gentle and kind and looked after the college like a doting father. Among the great teachers were men like Prof. Arthur Mowatt, a genuine scholar of English Literature and one of the finest men to walk the earth. It was Mr. Mowatt who sat and catalogued the Murray College library, book after book and till a few years back, his system was still operational, though from recent reports, the library that was the envy of other institutions now has neither Librarian nor even an Assistant. I can only wonder how many books are left. There were thousands when we were there in the mid sixties.

Before Independence, the legendary Rev. John Garret was the principal and Prof. John Lilly taught philosophy here. His book on ethics was regular text and may still be at many universities around the world. There was Mr. C.W. Tressler, a strict disciplinarian who I grant you would fix all that ails the college today within no time at all, but he is long gone to that great campus up there. Dr. Rathore taught Persian here, as did Khawaja Abdul Lateef. Prof T.S. Datta taught Literature inspiring hundreds of students and there was the gentle and scholarly Rev. Khairullah who delved into the wonderful world of words and their antecedents – a man Khaled Ahmed would have worshipped. He had translated the Bible from English into Hebrew into Urdu or something equally staggering and was an authority on the origin of words. He was the Vice Principal when we were at college and Mr. R.C. Thomas, the Principal. Mr. Thomas taught Botany and was a great tennis player and a warm and loving person. When some students staged a strike and burnt some furniture, he walked into them fearlessly, tears streaming down his face, saddened by the loss. The students dispersed in shame. Such were the men who made this college what it was. With Edwards College in Peshawar, Gordon College in Rawalpindi and F.C. College in Lahore the quartet of wonderful educational institutions was complete. One is given to understand that both the Peshawar and Rawalpindi colleges are shadowy relics of the past. F. C. College has recently been rescued from oblivion and is on the long road to retain its past glory. And Murray College is about dead. To think that Allama Iqbal to whose blessed memory we pay good lip service throughout the year and Faiz Ahmed Faiz were amongst the two of many distinguished students that came out of Murray College, there would be an outcry about what is going on in this great institution, but such is our collective apathy, that there is only deafening silence.

Prof. Riaz Sadiq, the current Principal, told a newspaper that there were only 42 classrooms for over 6,000 students on the campus – or what is left of it. They are in dire need of another 12 classrooms at least. Posts for Assistant Professors and Lecturers in such key subjects like Biology, Statistics, Chemistry, Urdu, Physics, Mathematics, Physical Education, Commerce and Education remain vacant after months and months. Posts for 8 Lab Assistants, 4 Junior Clerks, Gardeners, Assistants, Naib Qasids, even sweepers remain vacant. There are no computer labs for students and neither is there any transport. At least Rs. 10 m is required for urgent repairs. Who is going to bail out Murray College?

In the case of F. C. College, after an ugly legal battle, which is still not quite over, there is order on its 100-acre campus and the college is looking more like an educational institution than the religious seminary it had become. Dr. Peter Armacost is an inspiring leader, cast in the old mould and he has arrived here at a time when some key Formanites are in positions of power and authority. They have helped. The President, the Punjab CM and many others have given F. C. College a new lease on life. At least it now has a fighting chance. Who is going to come to Murray College’s rescue? Surely there must be hundreds if not thousands of men and women who have been students here. Is it too much to ask them to come to the aid of the institution that gave them so much when they were in need of guidance? None of us can really comment about the kind of people the college was producing in the last few years, but whatever their caliber may be, some money can be raised for the college before it is just too late. We owe places like Murray a debt. Many of us have wonderful memories of our days here and even now, you will run into people – strangers from all appearances who will magically connect with you through the college where you once were – not even necessarily in the same class. What about the government? Can it cough up a few millions and, for once, not throw money into some hideous concoction dedicated to the memory of this or that ruffian? Unlikely but then there is no harm in hoping that someone, somewhere will reach out, pull a few powerful strings and create a position where the college can limp back to what it was. Institutions like Murray College cannot be allowed to simply fade away. One has no idea who sits on its Board, how much is the Church of Scotland involved now and whether the college’s affairs have been managed properly or not. Instead of building new and often grotesque institutions, there is a need to preserve what we already have.

The people of Sialkot are bright and hardworking. Perhaps the many millionaires who have raised the GDP of this city to match that of South Korea, can spare the funds to rebuild Murray College. In a way, it is also unfair to expect them to do that. They have long been at the receiving end of this country’s policy planners and executors. They have built a Dry Port from their resources since no one was willing to help. They have built their roads and now they are putting together an international airport which is embarrassingly low cost and high tech. Maybe they can do for Murray College what others have not and maybe an old boy somewhere, with clout in his hands, can restore the glory that was Murray College.