Birth anniversary of Dr. Abdus Salam

[muse]

People should really stop hyping the maltreatment by some segments of Pakistani society toward Dr. Abdus Salam. Vast majority of the nation respected him, PM gave him medals and held national celebration in his name. He was given prestigious titles and career positions of his expertise. So all this talk of Pakistan not loving him enough is nonsense he was admired and greatly appreciated and rewarded, just a minor incident of disdain was given to him by some people. That is the case with many Scientist like Einstein being a Jew some people in US I think German community during the time may not have liked him, but nation still admired and appreciated him.

Rubbish - On the contrary, it was only by highlighting how poorly Pakistan, both the state and people have treated not just this Pakistani but all Pakistanis who's confession is a problem for the state and the majority of Pakistanis in the Punjab, that we have today made more and more people sensitive to how obnoxious it is to do what the Pakistani state and nation have done and continue to do.

To forget this injustice is to ensure that it will be made to happen to other Pakistanis.

 

[ayesha.a]

Let me try to give an idea of why Dr Abdus Salam's work is held in such high regard.

His greatest contribution to the field of physics was "electroweak unification". That is, he demonstrated theoretically how electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force are in reality the same thing, two different aspects of the same property of nature. Unifying the four fundamental forces is the so called 'holy grail' of physics, the ultimate aim (or so it was, at the time).

In general, science is all about explaining seemingly varied and complex phenomena in terms of simple, fundamental laws and theories. The fewer laws we need to explain the universe, the better. Once Newton formulated his laws of motion, all phenomena regarding motion, whether of planets or winds or waves or pendulums could be explained in terms of the same few laws. The falling of an apple and the motion of the moon could both be explained and predicted accurately using the same mathematical formula.

Newton formulated the concept of 'force' - something that could make an object move, or stop it from moving, or change the speed or direction of its motion - and ever since then, people have been trying to identify the "fundamental" forces, and to show that all forces are the same phenomenon of nature. For example, when you move an object with your hands, the fundamental force being used is electrical. When your hand gets very close to the book, the elementary particles at the outermost layer of your skin repel the similarly charged elementary particles on the book. (Both elementary particles are electrons in this particular case). In the same way, all seemingly different forces were finally reduced to four fundamental forces - gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong nuclear forces. (Electrical and magnetic forces were shown to be the same thing, by James Maxwell in the 19th century.)

Since then, physicists have been trying to prove that these four forces are also different aspects of the same force. (Why? Because scientists love simplicity!) The big breakthrough came in 1968 when Salam, Glashow and Weinberg formulated their theory of electroweak unification, and proved that the weak nuclear force and electromagnetic force are one and the same thing. The other forces have still not been proved to be unified. That endeavor, called the "Grand unification theory", has been a dream for physicists, since Einstein.

It is difficult to explain why this particular accomplishment is so important, and so cherished over others, from a non scientists' point of view. It is about understanding nature at a very, VERY fundamental level. It is the ability to explain all of nature using a simple, elegant and concise theory. The ability to reach "the law within the law". The eternal quest of the scientist to explain the universe and all of reality in simpler and still simpler terms. Other scientific theories may have brought faster practical applications for humanity, and even radically bettered the lot of humankind - like say, the germ theory of disease. But theories like newton's laws of motion, or Maxwell's laws of electromagnetism, or electroweak unification, which combine several branches of human knowledge into one, have a certain platonic beauty about them, and can be appreciated in an aesthetic sense.

 

[ShahidT]

lets see the takfeeri mullah brigade contribute anything to humanity or bring Islam any laurels. so far theyve brought nothing but bloodshed and tarnishing the name of Islam. thats why Zia perplexes me, some of his earnest ideas were good, but some so disastrously off track, almost like mixing pure milk with some ghaleez napak substance.

these mullahs who spewed venom at Quaid are now thekedaars of Islam and muslims. P**s off. and because of them many of our children won't be taught about the beauty and intricacy of Allah's qainaat through the insights of Dr. Salam and others' work, but rather preached hatred driven by fitnah and poisonous ideologies. enough of it seriously, regulate the madrassas and so called darul uloom s already, and punish those giving taqreer in public inciting violence or firqawariat

on a more positive note, lets hope the mistakes we committed become cause for humility and caution, so that any bright young mind in future is not treated the same way by anyone in our country. only if we change our ways will children who have an inclination actually pursue knowledge inquisitively, with an atmosphere that produces many such heroes in time.

to me Abdus Salam continued the legacy, albeit in a different area, of the work by Satendranath Bose on the bose-einstein statistics in mid-to-late 1920s, around the time Dr. Salam was born, which in turn played its part in higgs boson particle theory. they are both invaluable legends of the subcontinent in Physics and inching us towards knowledge of our vast universe.

In fact, all ten or so nobel laureates from India and Bangladesh combined belong as much to us as Dr. Salam does to them, not least because most of them were born in an undivided subcontinent, but also that we are South Asians. their legacy is all of ours, time to realize that the West only recently ceased to colonize our minds and inhibit growth of our intellect (arguably so, seeing some morons). so every step forward is a step forward for all of us, regardless of where in bare saghir it was taken.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

a certain section of Pakistani society should bow their heads down in shame and apologize to the name of the late Doctor ---whom they disowned because of intolerance and hatred

I say he's a hero and Pakistan should be proud of his accomplishments -- I shouldnt even need to be saying this

 

[A1Kaid]

Rubbish - On the contrary, it was only by highlighting how poorly Pakistan, both the state and people have treated not just this Pakistani but all Pakistanis who's confession is a problem for the state and the majority of Pakistanis in the Punjab, that we have today made more and more people sensitive to how obnoxious it is to do what the Pakistani state and nation have done and continue to do.

To forget this injustice is to ensure that it will be made to happen to other Pakistanis.

What's rubbish? Everything I stated was a fact. Dr. Abdus Salam was for the most part treated very well by Pakistani society, don't cherry pick a few pieces of bad cases. By the government he received many awards and was given prominent positions including Scientific adviser to the President, he also helped find PAEC and SUPARCO. These are facts. I think you wish he was treated badly so people like you can believe all the lies that he was mistreated, which isn't the case at all; if he was mistreated he wouldn't be given awards nor many prominent positions in government agencies and become scientific adviser to the President.

No one single person in Pakistani history has held more high level positions in Government than Dr. Abdus Salam.

 

[Pandora]

Great Man with great achievements. Words cant describe what need to be said.

 

[muse]

Another example of how well Pakistan treat the Ahmadi/Qaidiani:

Clerics attack Ahmadi house, torture family in Punjab
By Rana Tanveer
Published: March 26, 2013



KASUR: Local clerics attacked a house belonging to an Ahmadi family in the Kasur district of Punjab on Tuesday and subjected the family members to violence allegedly over their religious belief, The Express Tribune has learnt.

A mob led by a local cleric chanted slogans against Ahmadi families, their religious beliefs and their community before breaking into Mansoor’s* house in the Shamsabad area.

The five members of Mansoor’s family tried to take refuge in a room but the mob broke into the room as well.

Police personnel were reportedly present at the spot but did not take any action against the mob.

Mansoor was severely tortured after which he lost consciousness, while his wife and his 70-year-old uncle were also beaten.

Mansoor was shifted to a hospital where authorities claimed that he is in critical condition.

Sheikh Yousaf, Head of the Ahmadi community in Kasur, told The Express Tribune that he had repeatedly asked the DPO Kasur to establish a police check post in the area as they had been receiving threats since six months. He said that the DPO had agreed to his demands but the local MNA created hurdles in establishment of the check post.

He claimed that the police had deliberately left the Ahmadi family at the mercy of the mob, and the clerics who attacked that threatened the family to convert to their religion or face consequences.

The house was attacked when Mansoor refused to convert, Yousaf added.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

 

[funtoosh]

a great scientist whose grave was vandalized

 

[Rangila]

if the kuran follwers in pakistan are hammered in the form of ahmedya....what will happen to hindus n christians is well anticipated.

 

[muse]

Pride of the Muslim ummah
Yasser Latif Hamdani



On a recent visit to Islamabad, President of Egypt Muhammad Morsi made a statement that should have startled our ideologues and guardians of Islam in Pakistan. Paying a tribute to Dr Abdus Salam, the Islamist president of Egypt declared that the great physicist was a source of pride for the entire Muslim ummah. Years ago, our mullahs had desecrated the grave of this great man because his tombstone read ‘the first Muslim Nobel Laureate’.

Dr Salam was one of those rare Pakistanis who continued to remain loyal to his country even after experiencing persecution of the worst kind. His speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony is a testament to this. So is his refusal to accept overtures by both Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1960s and later Indira Gandhi. Compare Dr Salam’s commitment to Pakistan to the commitment of our self-styled savior, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who confessed to trading nuclear secrets for money. One can safely say that had he been in place of Dr Salam, Dr Khan would have sold his soul and any nuclear secrets he possessed to the highest bidder, including India.

Dr Salam’s faith is unwelcome in Pakistan thanks to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Ziaul Haq. His co-religionists continue to be disenfranchised, marginalised, persecuted, beaten up and killed by both the state and society, despite their sterling contributions and unwavering loyalty to this country. This is why when President Morsi, a man whose praises our mullahs do not tire of singing, comes and states a simple truth, the silence by the latter is deafening.

Dr Salam is not the first talented Ahmadi who gave all for his country. One of the founding fathers of Pakistan and one time president of the Muslim League, Sir Zafrullah Khan, whose ideas formed the basis of the Lahore Resolution, who was tasked by Mohammad Ali Jinnah to plead Pakistan’s case before the boundary commission and who was appointed the first foreign minister of Pakistan was similarly shabbily treated because he happened to be an Ahmadi. Then too an Egyptian president, Gemal Abdel Nasser, had famously said, “Some people say Zafrullah is not a Muslim, well, if he is not a Muslim, I am not one either.” Nasser was very impressed by Sir Zafrullah’s advocacy of the Arab causes in the UN and considered him a great friend and ally. The same Sir Zafrullah was abused by our mullahs on the streets time and again.

So while our Egyptian brethren have been fulsome in praise of our two great Pakistani icons, Sir Zafrullah and Dr Salam, we have failed to name even a single road in their honour. Children are not taught of Zafrulla’s contributions to the Pakistan Movement. His picture does not feature in the Aiwan Karkunan-e-Tehreek-e-Pakistan Museum on the Mall, while every ‘jee-huzoori’ (yes man) and nawabzada — including those who openly abused Jinnah — has his picture up as one of the pioneers of Pakistan. Our children are not taught to admire and emulate Dr Salam, who has kept Pakistan’s name alive in the field of Physics even in death.

The question of whether one considers Ahmadis Muslims or non-Muslims can be a matter of choice clearly. The problem starts when the state starts deciding who is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. Given that none of us are in possession of divine knowledge, would it not be better to follow a simple test instead, a simple test that the founder of this country, Jinnah, prescribed “anyone who professes to be a Muslim is a Muslim.”

What happens when the state decides who is Muslim or non-Muslim? It empowers various sections of the clergy. Inevitably, those sections of clergy then turn on each other, turning one kind of Muslim against another kind of Muslim. This is when Ahle-Hadith tell Barelvis that they are kafir (infidel), and Barelvis tell Deobandis they are kafir and so and so forth. A multitude of movements begin to declare each other a constitutional kafir. The result is that you have endless bloodletting because ultimately not every community is non-violent like the Ahmadis.

Ahmadis, in so far as I have understood their position, have long left the matter to God. What they want now is simply to live in peace as Pakistani citizens, entitled to equal rights as Pakistanis, which includes the right to practise their faith, whether or not you and I consider them non-Muslims. This is a constitutional right under the Article 20. Those who rely on Zaheeruddin v the State to suggest that the Article 20 of the constitution is not violated by the persecution of Ahmadis and wanton destruction of their property should remember that through the 18th Amendment, the word ‘freely’ was restored to the Objectives Resolution, which was not the case in 1993. Therefore, logically, a free, fair and impartial judiciary, unmoved by religious passion or pressure should be able to strike down the notorious and illogical Ordinance XX of 1984, which is a violation of every known principle of natural justice and all principles of Islam vis-á-vis religious freedom.

Let us not persecute this community any further. Restore to them, as Pakistanis, their civil and political rights even if you disagree with their religious beliefs, so that they may live honourably and without fear as citizens of country. In the long run, we need them more than they need us.

The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Jinnah: Myth and Reality