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A D D R E S S

BY

THE HONORABLE

MR. JUSTICE TASSADUQ HUSSAIN JILLANI CHIEF JUSTICE OF

AT THE ALUMNI REUNION DINNER HOSTED BY THE FORMANITES ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (FAA), , LAHORE

ON

01.03.2014

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Dr. James A. Tebbe, Learned Rector of the F.C. College University

Ch. Ahmad Saeed President Formanites Alumni Association (FAA) Students & Fresh Graduates,

Distinguished Guests

Ladies & Gentlemen!

It is an honour to have been invited to this dinner to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Forman Christian College. As I thought of coming here, a host of memories overwhelmed me. I was reminded of the great teachers, my mentors who inspired and guided me, of friends and acquaintances, of long walks and occasional moments of solitude which provided an opportunity to think who am I and what I would like to be.

It is a place which nurtured my dreams, my hopes and my ideals in life. I fondly remember the first day of my admission at college. I hardly knew anyone in the college or in the city of Lahore who could be of help in my admission. My family was living in Multan after my father’s retirement. He requested one of our family friends who was serving as an S.P at Lahore to be of help. I called on him and he in turn gave me a letter in the name of the then Principal

Professor Sinclair. As I went to Principal’s office around 2.00 PM, he had already left the college.

I met the Bursar and he said, “You are late to see the Principal”. I asked him where his house was and he under the impression that I knew the Principal personally, gave me the residential address which was within the campus. As I reached there it was already 2.30 PM. I could hear the sound of hymns as I entered the veranda. I pressed the door bell and a little later, an elderly person came out. I asked him if I could see the Principal to which he tersely responded, “Yes this is Professor 3

Sinclair”. Feeling a little excited and nervous I in all innocence handed over the letter which I was carrying. He opened it and after a quick look at it he took off his spectacles and with a sharp gaze carrying a tinge of annoyance, he said, “Oh! You want to be admitted to the Forman Christian

College on the basis of a letter from S.P. Special Branch.” I immediately sensed the mistake and what irked him. But promptly replied, “Not exactly sir, I just wanted to be introduced; I hail from

Multan; I hardly know anyone here. You are free to decide about admission either way.” This response had a melting effect on him and to my utter pleasant surprise, he said, “You are a smart lad. You are admitted, go and tell the Bursar.” I never expected my admission that smoothly. This gesture was a very kind act of encouragement on the part of Late Professor Sinclair. It was inspirational; it added to my confidence and evoked feelings of self worth in me. So long as I remained in the college this gesture on his part always prompted me to live upto his impression of me. It gave me strength to pursue my studies and ambitions.

Ladies & Gentlemen!

While I was preparing my remarks for this momentous day I asked myself what would interest you or what could be the perfect words and thoughts to share or wisdom to impart.

Several events and ideas came to my mind: my ambition in life; about how I joined the profession; where I am and about the dynamics of the world around us.

The life of a student is a mix of hard work, of carefree moods, of ambitions, of romance and a measure of idealism. But you should always have a moment of solitude and ask who you really are and not who you wish you were. Ask what your true gifts and skills are; what you are passionate about, and what activities give you a sense of fulfillment? Identify your goal and pursue it like a passion. I recall my parents wanted me to be a civil servant. But while I was doing

Masters in Political Science, I realized that the Civil Service was not the kind of career which 4

would suit my temperament. I decided to do Law and practice it. I was a sensitive young man prone to daydreaming, and cherished certain ideals. The injustices around evoked feelings of pain, anguish and compassion; I thought I was born in an unjust society, I would not like to die in it; that I must contribute my bit in making the society more just and more fair. I wrote a ten page letter to my father about this change of heart which came both as surprise and shock to him. But he never opposed it rather he said, “I am with you and I trust you would do well. But it is a lifelong hard work.” I did my Law and after my Masters in Political Science joined the Legal

Profession.

The decision to take law as a career was my own. I started it with a mix of passion and idealism. The ideals which I cherished may not have been fully realized. But I was never disillusioned or cynical about it like the famous Urdu novelist Quratul Ain Haider whose endorsement to one of her famous novels reflects a cynical crash of ideals: . I had my share of disappointments in life, but was never disillusioned. Life is a mix bag. Hope always sustained me and gave me strength. Pursuit of ideals gave a meaning and this is what made a difference in my life. As rightly observed by a Sage, “Of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so indispensable, none so powerful, as hope. Without hope men are only half alive. With hope they dream and think and work1.”

Young graduates! Those of you who have completed their formal education are about to enter the practical life. You may have realized that the world today is in many ways not the same as that of your forefathers. But what distinguishes this age from the preceding one? How well prepared are you for this “brave new world”?

1 By Charles Sawyer in the book Quips, Quotes and Anectodes by Jacob M. Braude. 5

Unmistakenably it is the globalized interdependence. We live in an age of advanced technology, an age of internet, an age of nano technology, of genomics and of shrunken distances.

The social media is having a universal transformative effect. Today’s youth is rising above the fears and biases of their parents. No wonder youth in the Middle East are in revolt and crowns are restless. According to an estimate so far only about two billion of the world’s seven billion people have come online through social media. But the number of people gaining connectivity is rapidly rising. Democracy has no greater tool than social media to empower the masses. There are far more transnational marriages, migrations and job related travels. Economically the world has become more closely linked in trade, in aid, in health care, in development planning than ever before. The dividing lines between the international and domestic relations are thinning out. This interdependence is likely to grow in the years to come. However it carries a discordant note. We have become more vulnerable to weapons of mass destruction, to terrorist acts of the non-State actors. At the domestic level, those non-State merchants of death have wreaked violence in the name of sect, ethnicity and a narrow world view. This is the kind of the world wherein you are going to lead your practical life. These are some of the societal issues, you have to confront.

These are the challenges that you may have to surmount.

In the wake of these challenges, your life would be defined by how you respond to these challenges. Most of you may have already decided about your careers and the kind of life you want to lead. Obviously this is something subjective and cannot be uniform. But in a democracy there is one office that you share with the rest irrespective of the choice of your career, your vocation, your religion or your sectarian or ethnic affiliation. This is the office of a citizen. As a citizen you are equal whatever position you may hold---a teacher, a doctor, an engineer, agriculturalist, industrialist, a father, a mother, a son or a daughter. Remember as citizens you are 6

member of one race of human beings notwithstanding your socio-political or religious affiliations. As part of the one race we have stakes in the peace, amity and progress of world around us. We cannot be indifferent to public affairs both domestic and international. The process of social renewal and reform is in progress. If you don’t stand up and speak on what you hold to be morally right, you would leave the space for others to fill and paint their version of what is right and wrong, of truth and falsehood, of belief and disbelief.

Ladies & Gentlemen!

Most of you are privileged to have had the benefit of liberal education. Liberal education produces persons who have the ability to think and reason, who have a rational approach in life, who are open minded, free from dogma and extremism. Such people are trained to think for themselves rather than to conform merely to conventions. The violence that we see today all around is to a great extent attributable to this absence of reason and the habit to think rationally.

“Sleep of reason produces monsters” (Goya). Today these monsters are on the rampage.

Everyday men and women are being killed. This flight of reason is a threat to peace and social harmony but it is a creative challenge to all those who hold the office of a citizen to make a difference.

Our country, ladies & gentlemen, is passing through a critical phase of its existence. The

Constitution of a country is a sacred document wherein the people lay down the values and principles they would like to live by. Those values in our context are democracy, the rule of law, faith, tolerance, enjoyment of fundamental rights by all and inexpensive justice. These values are under serious threat on account of intolerance, violence, murder and mayhem. But such incidents should not dampen your vision or dampen our resolve for a newer Pakistan. All countries have had their share of extremism and violence. In 1526 the Bishop of London was tried on charges of 7

terrorism as he wanted to blow up the Parliament House because Protestants had won majority in the Parliament. In his final play Henry VIII, Shakespeare has his Archbishop predict, “the future

Elizabeth will rule by a mixture of peace, plenty, love and a just measure of terror.” Perhaps we have similar pseudo “bishops” and zealots wrecking violence in the name of our sacred faith.

These individuals are a minority. They have made the silent and compassionate majority hostage to the threat of terror. Those challenges beacon you to play your role in creating a more tolerant, more compassionate and a more just society. The manner you accept this challenge and play your role as catalysts of change would define the future of this country. In doing so you would only be honest to the vision which the founder of this country Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah outlined in his first address to the Constituent Assembly:-

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed—that has nothing to do with the business of the State.”2

Thank you.

2 Presidential Address of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan at Karachi, 11 August 1948.