ASPIRING FOR THE INDIAN POLITICAL SERVICE – A FAILED ATTEMPT
One of the lesser known but decidedly at the apex of the administrative machinery of British India was the Foreign and Political department
Engineering Boat Bridges and Crossing Rivers in Northern Punjab
The evidence of constructing stone and masonry bridges dates back two-and-a-half millenniums. In 500 BCE, a Chinese engineer constructed a single arch masonry and stone bridges of 37 meters that still stands.
BRIDGING THE MIGHTY INDUS
On the way to Peshawar along the Grand Trunk Road if you take a left after crossing the concrete bridge over the River Indus at Begum ki Sarai, two kilometers onwards, you will be rewarded by a magnificent view of a 460-meter-long steel road/rail bridge that is
A JOURNEY ALONG THE TRACKS OF TIME
I was introduced to the Frontier Mail while gathering information on the operations of the British Indian Army in the NWFP and came across a photo taken of the Frontier Mail arriving at Rawalpindi Station.
A MUSLIM INSTRUCTOR AT STAFF COLLEGE QUETTA 1943-45
My father, Maj Gen Syed Shahid Hamid was one of the first Muslim officers on the faculty of the Staff College, Quetta. He was not from a combat arm but from the Royal Indian Army Service Corps that was despairingly known as the Rice Corps after is acronym of RIASC.
THE POWER OF A MOTHER’S PRAYER
The desk in my study and the letter rack that rests on it belong to my late father, Maj Gen Syed Shahid Hamid. One of the slightly curious possessions of my father that I have in the letter rack is an old and frayed bank note.
WHO WAS SAHABZADA SIR ABDUS SAMAD KHAN?
Many would recognize the name of Sahabzada Yaqub Khan – general and foreign minister, but they would not be familiar with the name of his father Sahabzada Sir Abdus Samad Khan.
THE HERITAGE OF SAHABZADA YAQUB KHAN
There were a large number of Pathan Riasaten (kingdoms) in the Indian Subcontinent but only 21 survived the upheaval of 1857 and were recognized as States by the British.
DR KHALIFA ABDUL HAKIM – THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL RENAISSANCE PHILOSOPHER
If we were to describe Dr. Khalifa Abdul Hakim in one word, we would say that he was a ‘sage’. He was a thinker, philosopher, and poet, who authored several books on Islam and literature.
THE DOCTOR AT 24 MARRIS ROAD, ALIGARH
In 1947, my mother Tahirah, and her eldest sister, Amina were the only two members of their family who migrated to Pakistan, leaving behind their parents, two brothers, and a sister.