Book & Author
Abdus Salam Khan: Mayri Zindagi Kay Jhurokay (Windows of My Life)
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Mayri Zindagi Kay Jhurokay — Windows of My Life is the autobiography of Abdus Salam Khan Suri (July 25, 1927 – September 22, 2024), a prominent civil servant and Pakistan movement worker. During his century-long life (100.25 lunar years) he witnessed many changes, evolutions, and revolutions in many domains: Science & Technology, Wars, the end of colonization, the independence of Pakistan and India, the fall of East Pakistan, and many economic and political crises in Pakistan.
In the autobiography, Abdus Salam Khan has juxtaposed his family history and professional career with social, political, and economic changes spanned over the past nine decades. The book has twelve sections, in addition to a foreword, an introduction, and appendices containing documents and pictures.
Abdus Salam Khan Suri was born on July 25, 1927, in British India. His ancestral lineage connects to Sher Shah Suri, aka Farid Khan, and Khalid bin al-Walid. After completing his secondary and higher secondary education, he joined the Indian Commerce Department in Delhi in 1944. On August 7, 1947, he arrived with his family in Karachi via Ambala and Bahawalnagar rail route from Delhi. He received his BA (1953) from the University of Karachi, and his MSc (Agriculture Economics, 1967) from the University of Sindh, Hyderabad.
In the autobiography, he discusses interactions with many leaders such as Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan, Field Marshal Ayub Khan, General Zia ul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf. He worked closely with Ghulam Faruque Khan (1899-1992) former Governor of East Pakistan (1962) and Minister for Commerce, Science & Technology (1964-67); Waqar Ahmed, finance adviser for Cotton Board, Pakistan; and Syed Abdullah Shah (1934-2007), who later served as Chief Minister, Sindh (1993-96), in formulating various commerce, economic and agricultural policies. As an Agriculture Economist, he wrote many speeches for President Ayub Khan and Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. After serving the Governments of West Pakistan and Sindh for more than three decades he retired as Deputy Secretary, Agriculture, in 1987. Throughout his professional career, he survived many challenges by holding steadfast to his faith (Iman). He never compromised on principles. He lived a life guided by Islamic ethical and moral values. He raised his family on RizQ-e-Halal and educated and trained his children to follow high moral and ethical standards in life.
Reflecting on the pre-and post-partition era, the author states: “In early 1947 the Hindu-Muslim riots spread all over India and none of its cities and provinces remained unaffected by its fury. In Bengal and Bihar, the riots started in 1946, but in 1947 Bombay, UP, CP, and Punjab were completely engulfed in riots — killings and arsons were the order of the day. At the time, the freedom movement was at its climax, and the British had decided to quit India. British delegations were visiting India bringing with them new plans and suggestions for transfer of power. But due to differences between the Muslim League and Congress parties’ points of view, these plans were not successful. At the time the UK was ruled by labor party politician Clement Richard Attlee (1883-1967) who served as prime minister from 1945 to 1951. Finally, on June 3, 1947, the British presented the blueprint for the partition of India and thus the state of Pakistan was created on August 14, 1947.”
Commenting on Quaid-i-Azam’s proposal of creating an autonomous Sikh state within Pakistan, the author observes: “During the freedom movement, regarding the future of Sikhs, many suggestions and plans were put forth for discussion. Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah proposed a very important idea of creating a Sikh buffer state between Pakistan and India. An Autonomous Sikh state including Ambala and Patiala state, within Pakistan should be created; but the high-school teacher turned politician, Master Tara Singh (1885-1967), the Sikh Akali Dal leader rejected this proposal. Sikhs all over the world consider it a major blunder of Master Tara Singh, who was the very first convert to Sikhism of his Hindu family. Later, after the partition of India, he strived for Azad Punjab (Sikhistan), but his efforts did not yield any results.”
Narrating his story of coming to Pakistan, the author notes: “In July 1947, all employees of the Government of India were asked whether they would like to serve the Government of India or Pakistan. After Muslim employees exercised this option in favor of Pakistan, the government of Pakistan came into being (An Interim government of Prime Minister Nehru was already formed in which four ministers nominated by the Muslim League were taken: Liaquat Ali Khan, Sardar Abdur Rub Nishtar, Sardar Ghazanfer Ali Khan and I.I. Chundrigar. By exercising my right to serve the government of Pakistan, I became one of its early employees, and after separating from the government of India we started to serve the Government of Pakistan in New Delhi. We created lists of all official records, office equipment and furniture that needed to be transferred to Karachi. We took all these things and started to sit in separate rooms to work. All records, equipment, and furniture were transported to Karachi via trains, but most of it did not reach Karachi because it got destroyed during arson attacks on trains.”
Describing his train journey to Pakistan, the author observes: “The first special train carrying government employees, and their families left New Delhi on July 25, 1947, and arrived safely in Karachi on July 27, 1947, to a very warm welcome. I, with my siblings and parents, left New Delhi on August 5, 1947. Our train arrived first at Ambala junction, then entered Bahawalpur state via Bathinda. There were big crowds at the Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar stations who greeted us very warmly, but when our train entered Sindh it was a different story. At Rohri, Nawab Shah and Hyderabad stations people were clueless and stared at us wondering who we were and why we were here. Back then Sindh’s population was composed of only two classes: the rich Waderas and the workers or Haris who were uneducated and were not aware of current affairs. The middle class was almost non-existent in Sindh (things have not changed much in rural Sindh in this day and age). We arrived at Karachi Cantt station on August 7, 1947 — it was a historic coincidence that Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah also arrived at Maripur airport via a special plane on August 7, 1947. The traffic of special trains was discontinued after August 11, 1947, due to an increase in attacks and arsons on trains by the violent Sikh and Hindu mobs, which resulted in the carnage of passengers and the destruction of official records that were being transferred to Pakistan. Later people were transported by planes; my elder brother Akhter ul Islam Khan who was not able to come with us arrived in September 1947.”
Continuing his narration of arrival in Karachi, the author states: “During the night of August 14, 1947 (which was also the 27 th blessed night of Ramadan) Lord Mountbatten (1900-1979) as the representative of British government transferred the power to Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah — and thus the Republic of Pakistan came into being as a new geographic entity on the globe. The ceremony took place in the Sindh Assembly building at 12:01 am, I was a witness of this ceremony.”
Recalling praying Eid prayers in the company of Quaid-i-Azam, the author states: “After four days of independence, we participated in Eid prayer in the presence of Quaid-i-Azam at the Eidgah which was located across Jamia Cloth Market, Bander Road. It was a historic event — I prayed with my father, and younger brothers Mohammed Islam Khan, Mohammed Afzal Khan, and master Manzoor Khan. In those days we were living in two quarters at Clayton Road — one was allotted to me and the other to my brother Akhter ul Islam Khan.”
Reflecting on the influx of refugees, the biased decision of the Boundary Commission, and its aftermath, the author notes: “Arrival of refugees from India started in August and September 1947. After three or four days of Independence, the Boundary Commission award was announced. Muslim majority districts like Gurdaspur (which borders Jammu & Kashmir), Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar were supposed to be part of Pakistan — but at the last moment through a conspiracy, Radcliffe, chairman of the Boundary Commission made these districts part of India. This new engineered reality initiated the Kashmir issue and was a big surprise to the Muslims of East Punjab who thought that their districts would be a part of Pakistan, and did not prepare to migrate. The conspired “Radcliffe Line” forced Muslims of East Punjab to migrate to Pakistan in a very short amount of time, due to inadequate communications, most people had advance warning of only a few hours to a day to flee their areas, towards Pakistan. The first caravan of Muslims started to arrive in Pakistan via trains but when Sikh and Hindu attacks and burning of trains intensified causing carnage of all passengers on trains, then refugees started to just walk and use Bailgari (bullock cart) to reach Pakistan. The Sikhs even attacked them too, massacring innocent men, women, and children. It was a well-planned effort by Congress to place the burden of millions of refugees on the newly formed Government of Pakistan, to economically pressure it. But thanks to Allah SWT, Muslims helped each other and through philanthropy, they supported the new arrivals from India thus minimizing the impact on the provincial and federal governments.”
Remembering the Karachi of 1947-48, the author observes: “From August 1947 to January 1948, Karachi was a very clean city; its population was around seven lacs. All roads were washed daily, and it was a unique city in Asia well-known for its cleanliness. Buses and trams were the main mode of transportation in the city started by the East India Company. The tram route started at Saddar and connected Cantt Station, Soldier Bazar, Bolton market, and ended at Khemari. The buses operated from Jamshed Road to Khemari via Saddar and Bolten market. At the time Karachi had no suburbs. The city’s limit, after passing Jamshed Road, was at the Jail. After independence, the first colony established was the Pir Ilahi Baksh (P.I.B.) Colony; in the early 1950s new suburbs of Pakistan Employees Cooperative HousingSociety (P.E.C.H.S.) and Nazimabad started to develop.”
Reflecting on the construction of his first home in Nazimabad, Karachi, the author notes: “After arriving from New Delhi, we lived in various immigrant (Mohajir) camps and at Clayton Road Quarters in Karachi, before settling in Nazimabad No III in 1954 — where I acquired a 219 square yard plot via a House Building Corporation loan, and built a house named “Darussalam (Abode of Peace).” Until the late 1980s Nazimabad remained as the preferred residential area by intellectuals and professionals. Former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf and his family lived in “Darussalam” for a couple of years after his father returned to Pakistan (mid-1950s) on completion of his assignment in Türkiye. General Pervez Musharraf in his book In the Line of Fire, has mentioned living in Darussalam, Nazimabad. He also wrote to me once and remembered his pleasant memories of Darussalam. His elder brother Javed Musharraf also visited us during the 1990s to reminisce about good old memories of living in Darussalam.”
Commenting on his education, the author notes: “My secondary education in British India was interrupted due to my prolonged illness and family’s financial hardship. However, after arriving from Delhi, my second academic phase started in Karachi in 1948-49. I joined evening classes at Urdu College and passed my intermediate exam. At the time, the University of Karachi was not established so Urdu College was affiliated with the University of Sindh, Hyderabad. Back then academic standards were very high, and it was a big challenge for students to pass the exam with first division. After passing my intermediate exam, I started pursuing BA (Hons) in Economics while working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I completed my BA (Hons) Economics in 1951-52 from the University of Karachi while working for Cotton Board. For enrolling in MSc (Agricultural Economics) there is an interesting background: it was early 1960s after the military coup the four provinces were merged into one province of West Pakistan; Field Marshal Ayub Khan became the first Martial Law administrator; in June 1961 I joined West Pakistan’s Department of Agriculture as Assistant Director. My first post was at Khairpur, Sindh, and my immediate boss was Deputy Director, Abdul Ghani Pirzada, who was the younger brother of Abdul Sattar Pirzada, a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Mr Pirzada was highly appreciative of my work and accomplishments; when he got promoted to Director’s rank he took me with him to Hyderabad, and later when he became principal of Agriculture College, Tando Jam, one pleasant morning he rang me up and said: “Salam Khan I have given admission to you in MSc program.” I was pleasantly surprised and replied “I have not applied for admission in the MSc program.” He advised me to come to the Agriculture college and apply for admission, which I did and pursued the MSc program while working in the Department of Agriculture. I was awarded the degree of MSc (Agriculture Economics) in 1967.”
Introducing his professors in colleges, the author observes: “Professor Karar Hussain Sahib was my English professor at Urdu College, Karachi; he was an intellectual and well-known scholar. When he delivered lectures, there was complete silence in the classroom; he spoke in a very soft and eloquent manner — like water slowly moving in a stream. He spoke impeccable English which helped me to improve my English language skills. Professor Fasih uz Zaman Sahib taught economics, he came to Pakistan after receiving his education at Osmania University, Hyderabad Deccan. Since the medium of instruction was Urdu, he used Urdu terminology for economics English jargon while teaching in Urdu, and for many students, it created confusion and difficulty. Urdu was taught by Professor Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahib, a very kind and able teacher. He later joined the University of Sindh, Hyderabad, as the head of the Urdu Department. I also vividly remember two of my very able professors who taught Economics at Islamia College: Professor Mutlu bur Rahman Sahib and Professor Dr Aziz Sahib, who later joined the UN. At Agriculture College (later University), Tando Jam, Professor Taha was our Head of Department, who later became Director of Anti-Narcotics, and Professor Dr Sami replaced him as the head of department. Mr Abdul Ghani Pirzada was the college principal. They were all very able and kind professionals. Prof Taha used to say what we teach in the classroom, you already know much more than that.”
Reflecting on his professional career and the discriminatory policies he faced, the author states: “During my professional career I worked with many great professionals but during the late 1960s things began to change in Sindh. Before the 1970’s election, people used to coexist with each other in peace and harmony but the rise of Wadera Inc. in politics introduced the politics of ethnicity and discrimination: locals (Sindhis) vs non-locals (Mohajirs, Punjabis, Pathan, etc.). Many times, I got affected by this discriminatory politics and policies of Wadera Inc.; twice I was selected to pursue a doctoral degree (first at American University, Beirut, and then at North Dakota State University in the USA) but at the last moment Wadera Inc selected its own candidate. Other examples of Wadera politics include, a number of times using their influence they put pressure on me to take illegal actions for them; and other times they tried to offer bribes for their illegal demands, once Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi brought an envelope full of cash but I refused to accept it and informed him that I do not accept bribes and take actions based on rules and regulations. Another example of Wadera Inc. politics involves the discriminatory policies of Qaim Ali Shah — I was on his radar for a long time as the Deputy Director of Agriculture, Hyderabad — though his moles and spies in the department first he tried to create problems for me but when his efforts didn’t yield any success, he had me transferred to Dadu — one of the hottest places in Sindh. At the time my wife and children were visiting Lahore during summer vacation. So, I arrived in Dadu alone. The residential facilities lacked appropriate cooling equipment such as fans, etc., so within a week of my arrival there I got very sick due to extreme heat. Dadu lacked medical facilities to deal with critical emergencies, my friends and colleagues tried to help but my medical condition did not improve. So, I decided to take a medical leave and join my family in Lahore so that they could take care of me. I wrote an application for medical leave and my friends took me to Lahore to join my family. But Wadera Inc. declined to grant me medical leave and declared me an absconder from duty and terminated my service; Qaim Ali Shah installed his son in my position. The news of my termination adversely affected my physical and emotional health. With no job and poor health, the next two years in Lahore were very challenging. We survived on my savings and support from friends and family. When General Zia ul Haq came to power on July 4, 1977, through a military coup, he established a special tribunal to investigate Wadera Inc.’s illegal termination of officers. In April 1978, I along with six other officers, was reinstated to my previous post as there was not an iota of evidence of any wrongdoing. Qaim Ali Shah terminated me because in 1970 when I was the deputy director of Agriculture, Hyderabad, I refused to listen to his illegal demands — he asked me to have his son appointed as the Secretary of Market Committee, Khairpur. I told him that this request is out of bound and out of my authority. He was very mad at my refusal and told me that he would appoint his son in my position; and that is what he achieved by having me illegally terminated. Later, while working at Cotton Trading Corporation (CTC), I found out that Qaim Ali Shah was approaching top leadership of CTC to have me fired again; but when the CTC leadership told Qaim Ali Shah that my selection was made by Waqar Ahmed, the establishment’s main guy, Qaim Ali Shah backed down from his demand and told them not to mention to anyone about his efforts to have me fired again. I faced similar situations where Abdullah Shah (who later became chief minister Sindh) demanded to have his son (Murad Ali Shah) be appointed for a key position in the Agriculture department. Wadera Inc has destroyed the merit system where departments used to be run by professionals and rules.”
The book also contains details of the author's travels all across Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Canada, and the USA, and details and experience of performing Umrah and Hajj. The author also recalls playing cricket, in the 1950s, with little master Hanif Muhammed and his brothers (Wazir, Rais, and Mushtaq, Sadiq was too young back then) at Mughal Cricket Club, Karachi.
The book concludes with the author’s advice to his children: “1. Allah SWT has given a short life to men; do not get too busy in everyday activities, and focus on doing good deeds as it will make you a content person, you never know what you may consider a small good deed could prove to the source of your success in the hereafter; 2. Forgive other people’s shortcomings and conceal their misdeeds, Allah SWT will conceal your shortcomings on the day of judgement; 3. If someone seeks help from you, and you are able, provide help to the seeker but never mention and brag about it, otherwise you would attenuate its reward; 4. Anger can lead to major mischief and strife, control your anger by doing Dhikr and seeking Allah’s protection from Shaytan; 5. If you commit a sin or mischief, repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness, Allah SWT likes those who seek His mercy and forgiveness; 6. If someone misbehaves with you, just forget and forgive, never try to take revenge; 7. Allah SWT and His angels send blessings on Prophet Muhammed (SAW), so recite Darud frequently, you will acquire peace here and earn a reward in the hereafter; 8. Allah SWT does not like arrogance, so never exhibit arrogant behavior, and try to be humble; 9. Live a simple life in terms of food and attire, and never show off; 10. Make sure to take care of your younger brother Nadeem; 11. After I pass away, if any of my words or actions offended you, please forgive me; 12. Recite the Qur’an and after offering salah, sincerely pray for my forgiveness. May Allah SWT be your guide and protector, Your father Abdus Salam Khan.”
In Mayri Zindagi Kay Jhurokay — Windows of My Life, Abdus Salam Khan has juxtaposed personal trials and tribulations with a vivid eye-witness account of — changes, evolutions and revolutions in domains of Science & Technology, Wars, end of colonization, independence of Pakistan and India, fall of East Pakistan, many economic and political crises in Pakistan — spanned over a century. The author reminisced about a bygone era when everyone had a heart of gold, and lived in small abodes, their moral compass was well-calibrated, they knew the difference between right and wrong, and cared for the welfare of all in their neighborhoods and communities. The book is an interesting read for all.
(Dr Ahmed S. Khan — dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org — is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar)
