The history of Government College University

TO MY ALMA MATER

(MANZURUL HAQ, YEAR II.)

YEAR 1934

Your worth only your students know, and your dear name sets al their hearts aglow.

Like a prolific mother many children you have reared, and have led to glories great and to the world endeared.

A tiny point upon the earth you are; of constellations but a trivial star; but in the magical powers which you possess for turning into beings of radiance mere things of flesh, you are greater than anything we can guess. The men which you have on the staff hold of qualifications the best, and yet they are so humble and kind that they smack not of the task master nor of the pedant’s mind. For love of you, all your worshippers have sought to do what they could to get you to the goal, with the vision of your sacred self in their souls.

Now exalted in status may you thrive and bloom, and may you never suffer from any shortage or gloom! Brilliant gems of the first water may yet throw up year after year; so that of your superbness there may not be left any doubt, even in the rankest of scepties and detractors out and out.

An educational institution can not be made out of hand. It develops slowly and its traditions

draw inspiration from the life and ideals of the directing head, the teaching staff who preside over it,

and the students who pass out of its portals from year to year. This intangible but essential spirit

The merely material growth of the institution ..... upward and outward ..... the addition of buildings,

the growth in numbers ..... alone will not give us a correct idea of the entire development.

Historically, the college can be traced back to that tiny sapling of a Middle School, which was planted

C.L. Kapur, M.A., Lecturer in History and Economics who was present in the institution during the year 1934.

8th Dec 1933, His Excellency Sir Herbert Emerson, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., Governor of the Punjab,

declares the institution as Degree College. The speech on the occasion by Principal Chetan Anand

Mr Lala Lachhman Das, who was head clerk during 1934 narrates the journey from school to College.

Lala Harkishen Das, M.A., P.E.S. (Retd.) served the Government High School for ten years

and left the institution in the year 1919., After his departure the school was upgraded to intermediate

College and latter to Degree College. In the year 1934, he recollects the forgotten history.

The editorial written by written by Prof Abdul Haye in the spring 1948 issue of Beacon and his vision of new

"The year 1947 has proved very eventful. It saw the beginning and end of the communal distributions in Punjab.

It also saw the end of the British rule over the subcontinent of India and the establishment of sovereign state of Pakistan,

Hail Pakistan! We have achieved thee with blood and intellect, and we shall nourish thee with the same."

This is the opening sentence of the Gazetteer written by Mr Muhammad Anwar in the Beacon issue of Spring 1948.

After independence, College opened up on 27 Oct 1947 and within the short span of seven months its mentors and

students brought laurels to cherish with. The article speaks of the unswerving leadership qualities of Mr Hashmat

Khan, the Principal who took out the college from the aftermath of crises. Apart from the educational commitments

of the teaching staff and the students, it also highlights the role the college played in the rehabilitation of the nation.

The beacon is the oldest college magazine which was introduced by Principal Armstrong. The article deals with its history.