Gifts of Emmanuel
College
By Sir Cam
Cambridge, England
The University of Cambridge
has produced many distinguished people. As far
as distinguished Muslims from the sub-continent
are concerned, I've often gone through the list
of names, such as Allama Iqbal, Allama Mashriqi,
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Sir Fazl-i-Husain, and MAH
Ispahani.
The prominent colleges behind these men include
Trinity, Christ's, St John's and Emmanuel (Emma).
Let's focus on Emma for today. The reason for
this will become apparent below. Emma gave us
Ahmed Shah (Patras) Bokhari (1898-58), the great
literary figure of pre-1947 "India"
and later the UN diplomat of Pakistan. He read
English at the college from 1925-27. Patras was
soon followed by Choudhary Rahmat Ali (1897-1951),
who arrived in the UK in 1930 but joined the college
in January 1931 to study law.
Exactly two years later, on January 28, 1933,
Rahmat Ali issued his Pakistan Declaration or
"Now or Never" from his student address
3 Humberstone Road, Cambridge. Further details
in KK Aziz's "Rahmat Ali: A Biography"
(1987). Knowing my interest in this subject, KK
Aziz very kindly gave me an original copy of the
rare document "Now or Never". The first
attachment is a scan of the opening para of this
historic document.
To commemorate this event, when the word "PAKSTAN"
was first published (the real "Pakistan Day"),
I visited Emmanuel College today. It was a dull,
overcast day, but the gardens of the college are
serene and relaxing, especially by the pool, which
is where I took the pretty flower photo. I thought
I'd share a macro shot for a change: a present
from Emma!
Finally, take a peep at Tom (Taufiq) Shelley's
page:
http://www.shelleys.demon.co.uk/Ali.htm . Taufiq
was also at Emma and had the privilege to interview
Rahmat Ali's secretary and landlady.
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