Honoring the Greats

Medicine/Biochemistry

Prof. Anwar Waqar

Aga Khan University

Education

Prof Abdul Wahab

IBA, Karachi

Chemistry

Prof. Ata ur Rehman

Karachi University

Any suggestions for medicine?

Adib ul Hasan Rizvi?.....

Here are some additional suggestions:

Mathematics and Physics: Qaiser Shafi, Riazuddin, H. M. Mahmoud

Chemistry: Salimuzzaman Siddiqi

Economics: Mahbub-ul-Haq

Architecture: Sear`s Tower chief architect Fazlur Rehman Khan

Social services: Hakim Saeed

Religious thought: Maudoodi

Khan writes: ``In a ranking of cricketers (nationality and era independent) per achievement, Imran would be higher up than Miandad, by some margin. But a linear transformation from such a Wisden compilation to a ``Pakistani cricketing greats`` misses the pith and marrow.``

This and the other excellent points in your response are very compelling. Indeed, cricket is more than just a game and, when seen from this vantage, Miandad does stand taller than Imran.

Re: Amin Saleh.

I see your point. But I don`t share your reservations for peoples` political ambitions. Let people be as ambitious as they want to be. What does it matter if Pakistan gets enriched in the process ? Imran got what he wanted, but so did Pakistan - and that`s what counts. All of Imran`s negative attributes - and there are many of them - do not for one second undermine his gift to the cricket fans of Pakistan.

Saad

shafqat

My opinion on this is that Javed is the greatest for the simple reason he played without political ambition.

In case of Imran Khan, he was only willing to give his best if he was made the captain. It is not that Javed was not able to motivate the team but it was the case of insubordination in the ranks.

What about our hockey greats? I missed the glorious days of Pakistan hockey, but Shahbaz, Kalimullah, samiullah, Qazi Mohib, Tahir Zaman, Shahid Ali Khan, Wasim Feroz, and who can forget Hasan Sardar!

Re: Athar Mian #8

I suspect that your opinion against Dr. A.Q. Khan is not based on anything other than that Dr. Khan is not from Punjab. I also suspect that you do not believe ZA Bhutto had anything to do with Pakistan`s nuclear program. There was this huge uproar of similar discontent after the testing regarding Dr.Khan`s role and that of other people. Most of the people who thought Dr. Khan did not deserve the credit for his work were from Punjab.

I`m against all such provincial and ethnic BS, punjabi or non-punjabi. Ethnic prejudice is the disease that if not eradicated will eat up what`s left of Pakistan. Open your heart to the fact that Pakistan is a diverse country with accomplished people from all ethnic groups. Give them credit when its due.

Rehan.

Where on earth, oops, in this aricle is

JAVED MIANDAD?

Khan writes (in response no. 5): ``Greatest Pakistani cricketer? There is but one. He isn`t married to Jemima.``

All right, my friend. I haven`t had an Imran versus Javed argument for a while, so you`re on, buddy.

1. Javed was the best Pakistani batsman and Imran the best Pakistani bowler. But Imran was a much better batsman than Javed was a bowler, giving Imran the overall edge.

2. Imran could lead and inspire, Javed couldn`t. The reasons for this, which lie in angreziat and physical attributes, are sad but irrelevant. What matters in assessing the relative legacy of these two legends is that Imran captained Pakistan to memorable victories in England, India and the West Indies, amongst others. Javed did not.

3. In cricket, batting makes you look pretty but it is really bowling that helps you win. This is because, while you can bat till the cows come home, you can`t win unless you bowl the opposition out twice - twenty dismissals and nothing less. Pakistan always enjoyed a great supply of talented batsmen, but their cricketing fortunes did not change until Imran learned to deliver good-length balls at 90 mph.

Saad

PS: Don`t get me wrong. I love - absolutely love - Javed, much more than any affection I might have for Imran. But credit must be given where it is due.

But in the end, I think, it is really the same legend, really two legends in one. Can you remember how, on March 25, 1992, Javed walked out onto a sun-drenched Melbourne Cricket Ground to join Imran at the fall of Pakistan’s 2nd wicket, in a match against England that was to decide the world championship ? At some level it must have been deja vu because they had both been here before. In 1987, Javed and Imran had come together in Lahore in the semifinal of the cricket world cup against Australia, but had failed to win the match. On that occasion, their partnership had been tragically broken by an umpiring error - perhaps it was fate - and Pakistan just could not recover. On this occasion, both men found themselves in a similar situation except that the stakes were even higher as they were both in the twilight of their careers and they must have realized there would not be another day like this one. They faced a tremendous opportunity to cap their contemporaneous careers for Pakistan with the world cricket championship. Despite a long and disturbed mutual relationship, it was written on their faces that they were determined to succeed. Even if fate got in the way, you got the feeling they would conquer fate. All the baggage of their past was brushed aside - who had the time for petty disagreements and hurt feelings here, in this stratosphere of cricket heroism ? In a textbook example of risk-elimination, Imran settled into his aloof dichotomous strategy of block-or-slog while Javed, sly and Machiavellian, went about picking up ones and twos whenever he could. By the time Imran holed out to Illingworth for 70, the two had laid the foundations for a solid Pakistan score and, in the event, England were defeated. In their last mutual effort in international cricket, Imran and Javed had made Pakistan world champions. After that game, Imran retired and even though Javed continued to play for another couple of years, one had the sense that an era had passed and a great thing had come to an end. It was a fitting finale to a grand period of excellence and heroism in Pakistan cricket during which Imran and Javed became the stuff of legend and ascended, as it were, to the pantheon of cricket gods. They are both supernatural.

Re Saad:

Good choices most, especially bowling, and innings.

I would rank Imran up there with the captains listed, though Mushtaq was my favorite.

2nd greatest batsman - Zaheer?? nope. Saeed Anwar or Asif Iqbal or even Majid. Zaheer was more pliable than rose petal tissues under pressure. (Hey how about our beloved Ejaz Ahmed?)

Greatest Pakistani cricketer? There is but one. He isn`t married to Jemima.

Anjum, great article!

I agree with most of your listings and those of others. My comments:

- You missed on Tahira Sayeed, who has achieved fame anyway from her (and her mother`s) National Geographic cover photo and article,

- I would be careful in claiming Ghulam Hussein aka Kathak Maharaj, whom I knew, or Naheed Siddiqui, one of his pupils, as greats. Mr. Hussein was decidedly a fraud, at best a PR figure,

- Asma Jahangir may have done some good work, but there were many others who did more and suffered too, unlike her. I still remember Herald Karachi`s cover article on her where she reveals her motivation by saying that she always wanted a husband with a flagstaff car (and got one, much like the ex-TV actress Khalida Riyasat.) She didn`t ``do`` much after that marriage. And who is paying for the luxury labeled as ``Aurat Foundation``? Like you said, it is difficult to extract hype from fiction,

- Same goes for Dr. A.Q. Khan, whose cousin, ``Dr.`` A.H. Qureshi was our Vice Chancellor at Engineering U., Lahore. Dr. Qureshi spilled the beans more than once on A.Q. Khan, and I also know from personal experience that Dr. Khan was another gadfly with not much of a contribution. He actually delayed our nuclear program quite a bit, along with other characters! I moan the loss of talent and hard-earned foreign exchange here, not the delayed ``bomb``, which was Chinese-originated anyway.

- If by Mazhar Ali Khan, you imply the editor of Viewpoint, I fail to see his contributions...to the end he was predicting a socialist revolution through the Afghan corridor, a preposterous assumption even a decade ago. And wasn`t he himself a ``wadera``,in the fine tradition of other waderas talking shop about liberating Pakistan?

- I will certainly be interested in the contributions of the economists that you have named (don`t know anything about the folks.) However, contrary to what readers have suggested, Mahbub ul Haq was no hero...his borrowed policies of import substitution played havoc with both the Pakistani,and similarly,the Indian, economies. His UN/IMF/World Bank title of Senior Vice President is unimpressive...there are countless of those revolving door bureaucrats. Merely UN ``experience`` and authorship of scantly-read books should not be a qualifier. Plus remember, he was always ``imported`` when a military dictatorship took power, and fired otherwise. That should say volumes about him.

Regards,

Anjum Altaf:

Zikr oos nay chera........I presume this is a working list and not a final one.

Here is my knee jerk addition to your list.

In jadid Urdu nazm the two names above even Faiz are Noon Meem Rashid (Nazar Mohammed Rashid) and Meeraji.

In Urdu humour Mushtaque Ahmed Yusufi, Ibne Insha, and perhaps Shafiqur Rehman and Col.Mohammed Khan. In English, Malik Rustom Kayani.

Others in Urdu literature worth considering, Chota Bukhari (Patras` younger borther Z. A.Bukhari), Ibne Safi (I believe his fans have developed a web page for him), Mushfiq Khawaja (khama Bagosh), Fehmida Riyaz, London based Saqi Farooqui.

In music, Maulvi Shahid Ahmed Dehlavi, singer Ghulam Ali, Khwaja Khurshid Anwar, Rashid Attre.

In Cricket, Abdul Hafiz Kardar and Wasim Bari Jan.

In religious discourses, Maulan Jaafer Shah Phulwari, Abul Ala Maudoodi, Mufti Mohammed Shafi.

In economics, Washington based Tariq Husain

and Dr. Ekbal Ahmed.

In journalism, Razia Bhatti.

And a la the monuments to the unknown soldier, I would vote one stamp for the unknown Pakistani mother, who, despite all adversity, has continued to lit the flame of hope in her offspings--- hope against all hopes---- that someday will marterialize (darn the poet in me).

As I said, this is a knee jerk reaction. Meaning I reserve the right to add more names to this list upon more reflection.

regards,

Anjum bhai, aadab. Good to see you here though I must say kay Javed Miandad jaisay logon ko exclude karnay say pehlay pooch to liya hota. But all is not lost. Allow me.

Greatest cricketer: Imran Khan Niazi
2nd greatest cricketer: Javed Miandad Khan

Greatest captain: Abdul Hafeez Kardar
2nd greatest captain: Mushtaq Mohammed

Greatest batsman: Javed Miandad Khan
2nd greatest batsman: Syed Zaheer Abbas

Greatest bowler: Imran Khan Niazi
2nd greatest bowler: Mohammed Wasim Akram

Greatest innings: Hanif Mohammed 337 versus West Indies at Bridgetown, 1958 (scored with Pakistan following-on 473 behind)
2nd greatest innings (TIE): Zaheer Abbas 274 vs England at Edgbaston, 1971 (technically and artistically one of the greatest innings of all time); Asif Iqbal 146 vs England at the Oval, 1967 (took Pakistan from 65-8 to 255, setting up 190 run 9th wicket partnership with Intikhab Alam that stood as world record until recently)

Greatest bowling spell: Imran Khan 8 for 60 versus India at Karachi, 1982 (took 5 for 3 in the last 25 balls during which he was, for all purposes, unplayable)
2nd greatest bowling spell: Sarfraz Nawaz 9 for 86 versus Australia at Melbourne, 1979 (took last 7 wickets for 1 run, Australia were chasing 382 to win and crashed from 305 for 2 to 310 all out)

Greatest victory: By 24 runs versus England, Kennington Oval, 1954 (Fazal Mahmood 12 for 99, victory against England on first trip there, still a unique achievement amongst all Test teams)
2nd greatest victory: By 8 wickets versus Australia at Sydney, 1977 (Imran Khan 12 for 165, the birth of his fast-bowling career and a pivotal turning point in Pakistan`s cricket history)

Saad

In Which the Public Flogging of Anjum Altaf is Announced:

``We the pleibians of Chowk do hereby decree on this, the fourth day of the last year of this millenium, that Anjum Altaf be flown to all destinations where British Airways flies, at each of which destinations awaiting him in baggage control shall be hordes of cricket fans of sound morals who shall express their outrage in all manners best-suited to such high crime as commited by villian Altaf (hawai chappuls especially recommended), until the connecting flight is ready to board.

The entire purgatory odyssey shall be planned and underwritten by Chowk LLC and the MCC.

Let it also be known from this day forth that Anjum Altaf be always referred to as:
``The errant aggregate of organic matter who wished Rizwan-uz-zaman to be listed as a Cricketing Great while excluding the immortal Miandad from among Pakistani cricket legends.``

PS: Good article. Big Omission :).

Anjum Altaf says:

``We have failed to adequately honour our greats. And part of the reason for this failing is that often we do not know how to recognize greatness. ``

With all due respect sir, ironically, your article is the living proof of your own statement. If you were going to write something on the subject, you had better made sure you did some research instead of relying on ``fields with which I am somewhat familiar, my biases and my fading memory.`` Some notable omissions from your list:

Sports: Miandad, of course the greatest cricketer produced by Pakistan.

Commentators: Iftikhar Ahmad and Munir Husain

Wrestling/Boxing: Husain Shah, the only boxer to win a medal in the olympics

Music: Ghulam Ali (how can you forget HIM?), Malka Pukhraj (and these are from classical category only which is what you chose as `music`)

Social Worker: Ansar Berni, he has freed more than one hundred thousand innocent people from jails of Pakistan.

Scientists: There`s a guy called A.Q. Khan, ever heard of him?

Writers and Artists: In this sweeping category lumped together are: the one and only Sadqain, also Chughtai (artists FYI) Habib Jalib, Rais Amrohawi, Parveen Shakir (poets) Inshaullah Khan and Ibne Insha, Mushtaq Yousafi, Shafiqur Rehman (writers) Moin Akhtar, Kamal Ahmad Rizvi, Talat Hussain, Qavi, Mohammad Ali, Sabiha Khanam, Arshe Munir (actors)

Economist: Mahbub ul Haq was the foremost economist in the UN panel of experts. It was he who came up with the UN Human Development Index which is the standard now to compare development among countries of the world.

There are so many names that I can`t remember now but who deserve thier place in the list. But I applaud your effort to at least say something about the issue. Thank you for doing that.

Rehan

Speaking of Pakistani cricketing greats, did i miss out Javed Miandad .. did i ?

Rishi