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to Dr Mohamed Abdullah Pasha, a physician by pro-fession, migrated England in 1956 where he served on the health author-ity in Essex. Currently he is honorary secretary of the Rotary Club in Southend, England. He is also honorary consultant physicians for the care of the elderly in his community. He has writ-ten two other books
Ghulam Kibria, a technologist and engineer by profession, estab-lished the Appropriate Technology Development Organization in 1972 and was appointed its chairman. He resigned from that post in 1977 and was offered a UN consultancy on agricultural mechanisation. He is now associated with the Orangi Pilot Project and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research.
Education default
Ghulam Kibria on the failure of the Mughals and their successors in Muslim India to develop a strong tradition of education and literacy among the Muslims
T he Mughal empire evolved a very effective administrative system, so effective that it was adopted by the British even for their other colonies. It is still operative in India and Pakistan in most basic aspects. The Mughal patronage to music pro-duced outstanding musicians and composers and their love for paintings and architecture pro-duced many talented painters and architects. Where the Mughals failed miserably was in phi losophy, sciences and technology. The Mughals could not be proud of any outstanding work in these disciplines. The Mughals also failed to cre-ate institutions in the educational, political or social fields. They created a bureaucracy but as is usual with bureaucracies, it was isolated from the society. It did not add up to create strong national feelings because there hardly was a nation. Despite their great conquests, the Mughals could not advance even armament technology. Nor were their armies as organised and as well drilled as the European armies were.
In knowled
the areas which later comprised Pakistan, where a homeland for the Indian Muslims was created in 1947. The virtual absence of the Muslims from big business and industry, their small share in small businesses and their generally depressed economic condition was no less worrisome. There were many other equally severe prob-lems.
Sir Syed’s movement was certainly a very great step forward but it had very little impact in the areas where the Muslim feudals dominat-ed, that is in Sindh and southern and south-west-ern Punjab, the future homeland of the Indian Muslims. On the lead provided by Sir Syed, the Muslims of Lahore and Peshawar established schools and colleges. But no university was established in the feudally-dominated southern and south-western Punjab, Bahawalpur State or Sindh. Nor did the majority of feudals acquire higher education. The few who did refused to give up feudal habits, nor did they work to make life any easier for their Muslim peasants, their brothers in Islam. Nor indeed did they work for