[PrinceMirza]

'U' for Unity

Col (Retd) Riaz Jafri
It was April 1948 that the Quaid-e-Azam accompanied by Miss Fatimah Jinnah came to Edwardes College Peshawar. I was 17 then and am 73 now, but I remember vividly each and every moment of this historic visit.

Our Principal, Mr A.M. Dalaya, had requested the Quaid, then head of state, to address the students and staff of the college, which he had graciously accepted. It was an afternoon function out in the open in the college hockey ground which was between the Science Block and the college hostel.

All the students, around 350, meticulously dressed in green college blazer and striped ties were seated on the chairs under the shamiana. A stage had been set on a raised platform under a canopy with chairs for the college staff, Miss Fatimah Jinnah and the NWFP Chief Minister Khan Abdul Qayoom Khan. Professor Imdad Hussain was in attendance to Quaid and Miss Jinnah. Captain (retd) David, the PTI, was the overall in-charge of the arrangements.

There were no fanfares, no pompous ceremonies, no bureaucrats around, only the Chief Minister and the students and staff of Edwardes College. Not even official photographers or cameramen. It was an exclusive function for us only. Mr. Dalaya had taken good care of even the smallest detail and ensured orderliness and clock-like precision of all matters, which was to the liking of the Quaid.

In his brief and to-the-point address of welcome, the Principal did not ask for any funds or grant, which used to be and probably still is the norm on such occasions. He instead thankfully mentioned the Chief Minister saying that he took care of college's such monetary needs.
The Quaid moved majestically to the rostrum to deliver his speech. He looked visibly pleased with the arrangements around, the display of discipline by the students and the general atmosphere of great orderliness. He thanked the Principal for his welcome address and appreciated his gesture of not burdening the economy of a newly born state by requesting a grant. And then, the Quaid looking at Khan Abdul Qayoom Khan jokingly expanded his both arms around his waist mimicking the Khan's plump belly and said smilingly, "You say that Khan takes care of your monetary needs, but I am sure it will be very rare in his case." Every one present laughed, albeit decently. Those who had heard the Quaid before said it was the first time he had made a joke in public and that too on stage.

The Quaid spoke for about 25 minutes. He dwelt mainly on the role of the youth and the nation's expectations of it in a newly born state. He advised us to gird up our loins and set about making Pakistan worthy of its name. There was a pindrop silence throughout his speech. This caught up his attention too and he appreciatively remarked, "Churchill said that 'V' stands for victory", and he made a V with his two fingers.
"But I must say that 'U' stands for Unity" and made a U with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. While saying "U stands for Unity," the Quaid was continually pointing the 'U' made by his fingers at the students and moving his arm from side to side to cover the entire assemblage. This 'U stands for Unity' resounds even today in my ears, but alas did we ever stand for it ?

On this 126th birthday of the Quaid-e-Azam, allow me to make an appeal to all, particularly the youth of the nation, to revive this 'U stand for Unity' by greeting each other from now on with making a U with our thumb and index finger and pointing it at each other, the way the great Quaid did in April 1948. Let's greet each other from here onwards on every occasion warranting display of patriotism, unity, jubilation or a personal victory with a raised U, the way others do in the world by making a V with their fingers. It will remind us of the Unity that we owe to the Quaid-e-Azam.

 

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