In an announcement that surprised many, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif decided to rename the National Centre for Physics at the capital’s Quaid-i-Azam University in honour of the first Pakistani Nobel Laureate, Abdus Salam, on Monday. The very fact that his government has dared to embrace such a controversial figure despite fears of enraging the country’s religious hardliners deserves great applause and promises hopes for better days ahead.
Salam’s phenomenal research that had significantly helped in the later discovery of subatomic “God’s particle” continues to be celebrated with much enthusiasm and esteem all over the world except his own country. While his scientific successes, as well as his crucial contribution to Pakistan’s nuclear programme, should have been revered as those of a national hero, both its government and the society continue to overlook — even undermine — his achievements merely because of his religious affiliation. Salam remains an eminent example of the tragic circumstances the religious minorities in Pakistan are forced to brave at the hands of the growing influence of hardline Islamic interpreters, who vehemently attack all who oppose them. Even though all minorities suffer from the incessant existence of religious discrimination, forcing many to flee their own homeland, the marginalisation faced by one particular group, members of the Ahmeddiya sect, has only intensified over the years. The blatant blend of hateful rhetoric and prejudiced mindset has already consumed most of their prospects to get educated, enjoy employment and other societal benefits, and above all, the recognition of their legal status.
