Saeed Rashid
Saeed Rashid, PP, (20 January 1927 – 19 June 1999) was a writer, teacher, and historian from Pakistan. He was director of Tameer-e-Millat Institute of Education & Research Islamabad and Director of Sultana Foundation Department of Character building and Pakistaniat, Islamabad. Earlier, from 1990 to 1994, he was Principal of Army Public School Jhelum and Mangla Cantt . From 1950 to 1990 he was on the faculty of Military College Jhelum (MCJ), as House-master and Director of Research and Development Cell.[1] Educated at Bareilly and Aligarh Muslim University. His special Interests were: Character Building, Teacher Education, Pakistaniat and Creative – Oriented Curriculum Development. Prof. Rashid authored about three dozen books in several subjects.
Life
Birth and traditions
His maternal grandfather Azmat Ullah Siddique was the prime disciple (khalifah) of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi. Saeed Rashid was born when Azaan (the call for prayer) was in progress. His grandfather recited the azaan in his ear and prayed to God, "O Allah! Make him Saeed (with good fortune)". When someone asked for the reason he replied that he had been tipped in a dream about this.
The recitation of Surah Ar-Rahman was a routine in his house. His grandmother used to grind wheat holding him on his lap and recited the Surah. His family had another tradition that mothers fed their children milk only after performing wudu (Ablution). The same was kept by his mother Rehmat Bibi.
Education and Pakistan Movement
At the age of four years, four months, and four days the tradition of Bismillah was performed. Then a sickness delayed his studies for six months, thus the formal beginning of his education was roughly in the sixth year. This included the study of Qaida i Baghdadi, Aamd Nama, Quran, and Raah i Nijaat (a book of Ethics). For Primary Education he attended Kotwali. From 4th to Intermediate class he studied at Islamia Inter College Bareilly. This school was the product of Sir Syed's educational movement.
In his youth Bareilly was the center of the Pakistan Movement. Along with the Muslim League many political parties were in motion. There, he listened to the leaders of Congress Party, Nehru and Gandhi. He also attended the addresses of Attaullah Shah Bukhari and Zafar Ali Khan. In 1942, he finally had the opportunity to hear Quaid-e-Azam.
In 1949, after taking his exam for MA Previous Urdu he enrolled in Teacher Training College, Aligarh Muslim University. Although well acquainted with Aligarh, formally this was his first year there. He now had teachers such as Dr. Zakir Hussain, Dr. Hadi Hassan, Dr. Kwaja Ghulam-us-Sayyadain, Prof. Rasheed Ahmed Siddique, and Prof. Hahib-ur-Rehman. He took special inspiration from Sir Syed's mission and the Pakistan Movement which were enriched in this environment. When he topped university's B.T. exam it was thought very likely he would get a PhD scholarship in United States, however, his teacher Dr. Ishrat Hussain advised him that his destiny would be in Pakistan, not the US, and that he should not be carried away by the glitter of civil service. He told him that Pakistan needed teachers rather than officers, and that nations were made and broken in schools. Saeed Rashid followed his advice and came to Pakistan.
Military College Jhelum years
On 11 June 1950, he saw Pakistan, and immediately on 21 June he attended an interview at Military College Jhelum. The very next day on 22 June he joined the institution. In the 1950s he was associated with Fine Arts Cultural Center. There he wrote and produced plays. From 1950, for several years he was associated with the editorship of the college magazine Tarbiyat (training). From 1965 to 1968 he was the library officer. From 1967 to 1985 he served as the House Master for Shair Shah House. In October 1974, he was appointed Director of the Research and Development Cell and in 1991 he became secretary of Alamgirians Society.
Later years
After, retirement from Military College Jhelum in 1990, he joined Army Public School Jhelum and Mangla Cantt and served as its principal from 1990 to 1994. Afterward, he was director of Tameer-e-Millat Institute of Education and Research Islamabad and Director of Sultana Foundation Department of Character-building and Pakistaniat, Islamabad. Professor Saeed Rashid died in the small hours of Saturday morning, 19 June 1999 at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Rawalpindi, after a protracted illness. He was 73 and left four daughters and two sons.
Major works
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Recognition
- Pride of Performance: He was given Pride of Performance civil award by Government of Pakistan
- Saeed Rashid Block: A new academic block was named after him at Military College Jhelum on 19 November 2000.[4]
See also
References
External links
- A Tribute to a teacher at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009), Military College Jhelum site
- M.C.J. Picture Gallery at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009), Military College Jhelum site
- Professor Saeed Rashid's Book Ilm-o-Amal, Alamgirian.org – The MCJ Website
- Renowned educationist passes away, PakSearch
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