FCC150 FAA Annual Reunion
The Formanite Alumni Association of the Forman Christian College (FCC), held its Annual Reunion on campus on Saturday 1 March 2014. This was the 11th reunion since denationalisation, and was dedicated to FCC’s 150th anniversary celebrations. The Honorable Chief Justice Pakistan Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, who is a Formanite himself, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. He did his Bachelors and Masters in Political Science from FCC. Governor Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai was Guest of Honor along with US Consul General Nina Fite. The Governor being a Formanite did his Bachelors from FCC in Urdu Literature. Also present at the occasion were Former Finance Minister Pakistan Shaukat Tarin, CEO Servis Industries Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed, General Retd Kuldeep Singh Bajwa, Rector FCC Dr James Tebbe and Former Rector FCC, Dr Peter Armacost. At the event, Distinguished Formanite awards for outstanding contributions in their fields were given to Justice Wajihuddin, Lt Gen Farooq Ahmad Khan and Gen Noel Israel Khokhar. Gen Kuldeep Singh Bajwa a Formanite from India and President of the Chandigarh Chapter of the Alumni Association was also honoured. Rector FCC Dr James Tebbe summarised the achievements of the past year, and spoke of future plans for the university. These included further developing the liberal arts program for students, developing a South Asia Institute for research and policy development, leadership development for faculty and administrative staff, and developing teacher education programs. Dr Tebbe thanked the federal and provincial governments as well as USAID for their support towards infrastructural development and providing scholarships. Nina Fite, US Consul General in Lahore acknowledged the thanks. Talking about FCC, US Consul General Nina Fite said that she was delighted to be a part of FCC’s 150th anniversary and congratulated the entire FCC community for achieving the milestone. “Education is fundamental for development in the country and FCC has played an important part in it,” she said. General Retd Bajwa also spoke on the occasion and said that it was great honor to be at FCC again and to represent Indian Formanites. “Forman taught me many things. My debt of gratitude to this institution does not end here. I am now a military historian and I owe much to FCC,” he ended. A special award was given to Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed recognizing his role in reviving the Alumni Association and raising funds for the university through his own contributions as well as requests through others. He recognized the benefactors of the institution and the efforts of the faculty, administration and students. Former Rector FCC Dr Armacost also congratulated the institution, thanked the college alumni, staff, faculty and students for their efforts in helping him bring the institution to...
FCC 150th Anniversary Supplement in Dawn
On 3 March 2014, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) recognized Founder’s Day in its sesquicentennial year by bringing out a 4-page 150th Anniversary nationwide supplement. It contains messages from the Rector Dr James Tebbe, FCC Patron and Governor Punjab Mr Mohammad Sarwar. former Rector Dr Peter Armacost, President Formanites Alumni Association Chaudhry Ahmad Saeed and distinguished Formanites Mr Yusuf Shirazi and Dr Joseph Wilson. It also contains a brief timeline of important events during the last 150 years and an article on the developments in FCC over the last decade. FCC is grateful Servis Industries Ltd, Atlas Honda, HBL, UBL and Engro Foods Ltd for helping sponsor the...
Remembering the 100th Anniversary
by Manzur Sangam Gill In 1964 I was an MSc student of Physics of FCC, lived in Ewing Hall, but with classes in the old campus of Punjab University, near Anarkali. Living in Ewing Hall was wonderful: the classes were within ten minutes walking distance; in the evening, watching the pretty girls dressed in beautiful evening clothes in Anarkali Bazar was only three minutes walking distance. The President of Pakistan, Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan, was going to be the chief guest at the main event of the centennial celebrations, and I was not going to miss the event for anything. Several of us from Ewing Hall came in the college bus well in advance. Come rain or shine the college bus was always on time. These were simpler times – the President of the country was going to attend the function, the students and guests were roaming around the campus, no guns or rifles or obtrusive security people were visible, there were no searches made as we entered the campus. It was a pleasant sunny midmorning, the grassy grounds and the hedges were all meticulously presentable as usual. The event was held in the main ground. Arriving at the scene were the President – most handsome and presentable specimen of a Pathan; accompanied by serious faced, awe-inspiring Malik Amir Muhammad Khan, Nawab of Kalabagh and Governor of West Pakistan, in his usual turban with a stiff turla pointing towards the sky; and the relatively small-framed, gentle and dignified Principal Dr E J Sinclair. The audience faced towards what is now Sinclair Hall, unlike these days when the audience face away from Sinclair Hall during the annual alumni reunion main event. I was so impressed by his photogenic face that when I left Pakistan for higher studies, I took a photograph of President Ayub to show off our president to the people abroad. The Principal gave the welcome address in his usual clear voice and professor-like tone, followed by the speech by the Chief Guest. The whole event was flawless and I was proud to be a Formanite. All photos from The Folio, Centenary Issue, Forman Christian College, Lahore, November 1964....
A Good Samaritan, Hatim Tai, and Formanite
By Manzur Sangam Gill One day in 1958, a young mother wanted to wear her favourite jora [set of clothes]. She searched for it everywhere in the house, but could not find it. When her young son returned from college she asked him about this favourite jora. He sheepishly told his mother that he had given it to the college mali [gardener]. The mali had pleaded for good clothes for his daughter’s wedding. The mother’s anger turned into mother’s love for her benevolent son. On another occasion, he came home from college without his trousers and jacket – it was winter and he was shivering. On the way home, the boy had felt sorry for an old man and had given his warm clothes to him. The mother has many similar stories about her son. As a second year FSc student, this young man got into an argument with another student and was ready to hit the other boy with a spanner. Dr Sheets, the Vice Principal, tried to intervene, but was told by the angry young man, “Get out of the way, Doctor”. You can well imagine what happened next: the young man was expelled from college. His father, bedridden because of backache, came to the college and pleaded with the Principal Dr Ewing, “Please give my son another chance otherwise he will become a vagabond.” The Principal reinstated the young man and kept an eye on him. That youngster of the 1950s is Dr Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed, President of the Formanites Alumni Association, and a benefactor of his alma mater – Forman Christian College. Many years later a fellow Formanite’s wife was terminally ill with cancer in California, bedridden but wanting to be in Pakistan, the land of her husband’s birth. I was that Formanite, and my wife Susheela could not travel by international airlines because of her condition. Thanks to Dr Chaudhry Sahib, she was flown by PIA to Lahore in comfort, and taken directly to Shalimar Hospital for medical care and to recover from jetlag. I have had the good fortune to have been associated with Dr Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed from 2004 to 2012, the years FCC was recovering from nearly 30 years of nationalization. He gave selflessly on countless occasions: counsel and contacts to the administration, financial help for needy students and building renovations, a leading player and donor in organizing yearly Alumni Reunions. He has been an extraordinary spokesperson for his alma mater. In biblical language he is a “good Samaritan“(someone who helps a stranger in dire need without knowing the person’s caste or creed and with no thought of reward) and a “Hatim...
27 Years at FCC
by Aroon Datta Our family moved to Forman Christian College campus when I was five and I left when I was 32 years old. In 1953, my father, T S Datta, joined the faculty as a professor of English. It seemed like we had moved into a beautiful state park or, better still, a beautiful, extremely well-kept garden. The meticulous lawns, the trimmed and manicured hedges, and the sports grounds were all extremely well-maintained, and as green as they are to this day. Everyday, for ten years, I rode the FCC bus to Cathedral School — that bus with its distinctive blue color and its unmistakable smell of leather seats. Our gang generally occupied the rear of the bus, by design, of course. This habit of mine persisted in college, university, faculty meetings later on, and all during my professional life. In 1964, I joined Forman as a student of the sciences and proudly wore the blue college blazer and the badge (emblem) that read “By love serve one another”. The four years that followed were some of the best years of my educational career. I had the most fantastic teachers who inculcated into the minds of their students a love for the sciences and languages. I fell in love with chemistry from the very beginning and graduated from college in 1968 with a major in chemistry. It was a very proud moment for me, and also for my parents, when I was asked to join the chemistry faculty in 1970 after I received my MSc degree from the University of the Punjab. Actually, it was an unbelievable offer, one that I could not refuse, because up to that point I had only dreamed of teaching some day. After coming on board, I realized that all of a sudden my former teachers had now become my colleagues and I could “hang” out with them in the cafeteria at Lucas Centre!!! For years after that, I would get up from my chair every time one of my professors entered a room. And, by the way, it’s a pretty cool thing when your own father becomes your colleague. Rest assured, that needed some major adjustments in my everyday behavior as a young lecturer. I proudly served Forman Christian College from 1970-80 and then decided to move to the United States with my family. In search of more “enriched” bread and butter I made some career changes and chose to go into neuroscience research eventually–a bit different from organic chemistry at the end of the day. I may add here that due to my passion for chemistry, I have maintained my adjunct...
Rector announces start of 150th year celebrations at 10th FCC Commencement
The 10th Forman Christian College Commencement was held on 30 November 2013. The Rector Dr James Tebbe used the occasion to announce the start of Forman Christian College’s 150th year celebrations. Over 600 students graduated with Baccalaureate and Postgraduate degrees. The Chief Guest was FCC Patron and Governor of Punjab, Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar. Nauman Ismail Khan, BS (Hons) Economics, was Valedictorian. Details of the event can be found on our main website...
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