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Punjab Government Shelves Plan to Build

Allama Mashriqi Museum and Library


The Punjab Government seems to have shelved plans to build an Allama Mashriqi Museum and Library
for unknown reasons. Over a decade ago, The Daily Times (June 09, 2004) reported that the Government
of Punjab was moving forward on plans to build an Allama Mashriqi Museum and Library in Lahore. The
Daily Times wrote at the time:
The Punjab government plans to build a library-cum-museum in honour of Allama Inayatullah
Khan Mashriqi. The museum will house his articles, artefacts, unpublished manuscripts and a
1942-model Renault-Benz MercedesThe sources said the Punjab government wants to preserve
the heritage of the late Allama Mashriqi to inform future generations about the genius of the man.
The orders to build the museum reportedly come from top Punjab government officials, who met
with the late Allama's family
Further highlighting Mashriqis caliber, The
Daily Times wrote, British newspapers wrote
about Allama Mashriqi in 1930 calling him a
genius of untold possibilities. The Daily
Times referred to him as "the biggest
mathematician in any nationality of the
world.
There seems to have been no action on the
museum project since the time that the Daily
News wrote about it over 10 years ago. The
much-needed museum/library project would
have served as a tremendous resource for
academic researchers, journalists, students,
and others seeking to learn about Pakistan,
India, and Bangladeshs history during the
crucial pre-partition and post-partition era. The cancellation of the project is even more surprising
considering that interest in Mashriqi from his life story to his impact on the demise of colonial rule in the
Indian sub-continent to his political, philosophical, and religious ideas - has grown in both the East and the
West. Some examples of this growing interest include:

A large number of people around the world from academics to writers to the general public visit
social media and other web sites that provide information on him
World-famous research libraries (including in Australia, Africa, Europe and North America) have
added books or historic materials about Mashriqi and his Khaksar Tehrik to their collections
Digital libraries have also added rare pieces about Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik to their
collections
International delegations (German and Turkish) have visited the Khaksar Tehrik headquarters to
gather information about Mashriqi and his movement. Academics, journalists, students, and others
also visit the movements headquarters.
Prestigious publications have included information on Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik

It is important to remember that Mashriqi, his family, and followers made tremendous sacrifices for the
freedom of the Indian-subcontinent. Mashriqi was imprisoned and tortured, stabbed and threatened, his
movements were restricted, his property and bank accounts were confiscated, the Khaksar Tehrik and AlIslah were banned, one of Mashriqis sons was killed during the struggle (while other sons were tortured),
his daughter and wives received death threats, and his followers were jailed, prosecuted, and tortured. Yet
Mashriqi refused to surrender or cooperate and did not relent until the sub-continent was freed from foreign
rule in 1947. The contributions and sacrifices of Mashriqi and his movement played a crucial role in the
sub-continents history.
Hopefully, the Government of Punjab will take immediate steps to establish an Allama Mashriqi museum
and library. The Governments of Pakistan, India, and Britain should also declassify Mashriqi and the
Khaksar Tehriks materials. The materials that are available to libraries and other institutions today
represent only a small subset of the Khaksar materials produced; the remaining materials are still
inaccessible to these institutions and continue to rot in various archives in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and
the United Kingdom. Even Mashriqis rare and historic Al-Islah weekly newspaper remains unavailable in
top research libraries in the East and West (digital files are now available on the internet).
The Government must reinstate the Allama Mashriqi museum/library project to provide a balanced and
accurate picture of the history of the sub-continent.
More information on Allama Mashriqi is available on the internet and social media sites, including:
https://www.facebook.com/AllamaMashriqi.1
https://www.facebook.com/Khaksar.Movement
https://www.youtube.com/c/AllamaMashriqi
Reported by:
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World Tribune Pakistan, May 16, 2016


South Asian Pulse, May 16, 2016
The News Now (India), May 16, 2016
Asian Lite (United Kingdom), May 17, 2016
The Asian Today (United Kingdom), May 17, 2016
India Post (California, USA), May 27, 2016

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