The following speech was given by President Ayub Khan on the occasion of the Centenary Ceremony at F C College on 28 November 1964.
Mr Governor, Mr Principal, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It gives me special pleasure to be associated with the centenary celebrations of the Forman Christian College, Lahore. In the case of the students and staff of this college, joy must be mixed with pride and satisfaction at the completion of a hundred years of very useful service to the cause of education. May I extend to you all my sincerest congratulations on this happy occasion.
I am very much impressed by the fact that the Forman Christian College, through its hundred years of beneficent existence, has set a very worthy example of the good that can be accomplished by a noble band of dedicated men imbued with a highly developed sense of public service. It is gratifying to know that the high ideals of the Founder continue to animate his successors – past and present.
It is no doubt due to those lofty ideals that your college has acquired a worthy reputation for itself. The achievements of this college, your constant endeavour to add to those achievements, and your high traditions will no doubt inspire the present and coming generations for still greater effort. The educational institutions of this sub-Continent should no longer be content with turning out literate persons fit only to seek jobs. With the coming of Independence, they must equip the young men and women of this rising nation to meet the challenge of the needs of socio-economic development.
We have arrived late on the scene of international competition. We have, therefore, got much leeway to make up. It requires special effort on the part of the youth of the nation and its tutors. Hard work, devotion to studies and noble ideals must be inculcated and practised if we are to hold our own in this highly competitive world. The rising generation also needs faith and courage to enter the struggle of life for the sake of its own future and that of its country. Faith and courage require a moral and spiritual base in the human mind and character. Fortunately our own spiritual and cultural heritage, if properly inculcated into the new generations, can well equip them for the vicissitudes of life.
Before I conclude, I would like to refer to the proposal to put up a Centenary Hall to commemorate this occasion. I think it is an excellent idea. I have the clearance from the Government to offer Rupees one lakh. But I think this is not enough; so I will persuade them to raise the donation to Rupees two lakh.
I wish this college, its staff and students many happy returns of centenary celebrations. And may the young men and women who go out of the portals of this institution prove to be worthy sons and daughters of Pakistan in whose stability, strength and progress lies their own future. Pakistan Paindabad.
Source: Forman Christian College Lahore 1965-66
Photograph: preview.siu.edu.vn
