First Days
by Mr. Muhammad Hasnain
(published in The Cadet magazine, 1958, pp. 8-10)
On 25th of August
1957, the town of Mirpurkhas awakened to the
realization that it had a Cadet College. Suddenly,
almost without warning, it happened. There was a
lot of confusion that day. The guardians who had
brought their wards were full of questions about
the hostel, the mess, games, military training and
academics. The boys, many of whom had come out of
their homes for the first time, were sometimes
homesick, occasionally down with different
ailments. They did not know how to conduct
themselves in the College, in the hostel and in
the mess. There was a whole platoon of thirty
recruits to be licked into shape.
My colleagues worked
with me enthusiastically day and night and
co-operated with me whole-heartedly. We wanted to
run this Institution successfully on which the
gaze of the educated people of Sind was set. Mr.
Zahoor was made in charge of the mess,
Mr. Khadim of
the House, Mr. Faruqui
of games and Mr. Zuberi of books and stationary.
After a few jerks the College got into gear and
started smoothly.
As I have already
said earlier, this College was an object of
curiosity. Almost every second or third day we
used to have some visitors who came to see what
this College was like. Some of the people who came
were Mr. Hafiz Sadiq, Mr. A. Saeed Khan, Mr.
Hashim Raza, and Mr. Hancock. Then we had official
visitors from Mr. Hasan Habib, the Deputy
Secretary of Education accompanied by Mr. A.M.
Nizamani and some other officers of the Education
Department. He saw the House, the mess and the
classrooms. He dined with the Cadets that evening
and was very pleased to see the high standard of
conduct and discipline in the College.
 Another
official visitor was Maj.Gen. Shahid Hamid, the
Adjutant General to the Forces. He addressed the
Cadets and advised them to build up such a
character as might make them useful citizens and
responsible public servants. Towards the end of
his talk, he expressed his appreciation for the
smart turn out and the high standard of discipline
and teaching maintained in the College.
We celebrated our
Parents' Day on the 19th of January 1958. This was
the last day of the College week during which
there had been debates, sports and other
competitions. On the Parents' Day all guardians
arrived by 9 o'clock in the morning. The first
item of the day's Programme was a Cricket Match
between fathers and sons. The cadets went in to
bat first. Masroor's father took his catch. "Sons
are so often caught by their fathers," remarked
the Adjutant. It was a thrill to see the old
fathers in action. Here was youth and vigour
against experience and skill and the match ended
in a draw. The parents had a light lunch and the
finals of the athletics were held at 2 P.M. Before
that there was a march-past and a P.T. Show by the
Cadets. Such shows are rare in this part of the
country and I could see the eyes of the old
fathers beaming with joy to see their sons
displaying their prowess so creditably. At the
end, there was a tug-of-war between teh staff and
the Cadets. Here youth conquered old age because
it was strength and not mere experience that was
needed.
In the evening,
there was a variety show. The guests were
entertained with songs, dances, plays and a fancy
dress show. It was a very entertaining
performance. In the end, Mr. Nizamani, who was the
Chief Guest, gave away the prizes. The Prize
Distribution was followed by a grand dinner.
The 12th of March
was a great day in the history of the Institution,
for Mr. Akhtar Hussain, the Governor of West
Pakistan, visited this College. He was accompanied
by the Commissioner of Hyderabad, the Deputy
Commissioner of Tharparkar and other high
officials of the region. He was extremely pleased
to see this Institution and his remarks in the
Visitors' Book bear ample testimony to the fact
that this College which had been started from
scratch had become great in a short time and was
living up to the best traditions of former SIND.
In addition to our
normal activities in College, we organized picnics
and outings throughout the year. I took the boys
to G.M. Barrage and Hyderabad Central Prison. Mr.
Khadim Hussain took them to Jhuluri and the
Village Aid Institute, Tando Jam.
I feel sure that in
the years to come, it will be proud claim to have
been concerned with the start of the College which
will be famous throughout Pakistan. |
