no idea which forum this one belongs to....
but good to have it here to see how others think about it....
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Calling the capital ‘Islamabad, the beautiful’ is a cliché done to death. The term first came up when it was inscribed on a slab of stone installed near Zero Point, facing the incoming traffic. Brainchild of a former CDA chairman who was singularly devoid of good taste, it has attracted wide-spread criticism over time. A columnist for an English paper uses the phrase sarcastically, day in and day out. He and, for that matter, all of us should thank our lucky stars that another hair-brained proposal of the same chairman did not see light of day.
Some of us would recall that there used to be a singularly unattractive statute of Queen Victoria at Lahore’s Charing Cross. This was fortunately removed and placed in an innocuous museum corner in the 1970s. Our friend, the former chairman, wanted to put up a replica of the canopy and pedestal of this statute in the middle of Zero Point. There was stiff resistance from the press and public and fortunately for Islamabad the chap was suspended for corruption before he could inflict this atrocity on the city.
All said and done, the fact remains that Islamabad, set in a valley of colours and flowers, nestled against the Margalla range and overlooked by the foothills of the Himalayas (‘Hindu Kush’ would hardly be appropriate in the prevailing spirit of bonhomie!), is one of the most scenic cities to have come up during the last century. Perhaps that is the reason why, despite one’s good sense, the cliché seems to grow on one with the passage of time, especially during the heady spring days.
But perhaps for the first time Islamabad looked really beautiful even in the drab winters for the recently concluded SAARC Summit. This was largely the handiwork of the newly appointed CDA Chairman, Kamran Lashari, who has earlier contributed significantly to the beautification of Lahore.
1 do not have the privilege of knowing Lashari personally but would like to extend my gratification to him for the new look that he has imparted to Islamabad in a short while since taking over his new assignment. The colourful flags, the banners, with meaningful inscriptions, the neatly trimmed terraces and the well-laid out flower beds along the main boulevard, as well as the tasteful and eye-catching lighting arrangements, bear witness to his aesthetic sense and organising ability. All this has set me thinking about the history of Islamabad’s evolution to which I was a witness, both at the beginning as well as sporadically during the last four decades.
The decision to shift the capital from Karachi was taken by Ayub Khan soon after he took over as CMLA-president. A Capital Commission headed by General Yahya Khan was set up, mandated to select a suitable location for the new capital. After visiting various parts of northern Punjab and the Hazara district and taking into account factors such as the availability of water and proximity to developed areas, the Commission recommended the present site. The cabinet decision to name it ‘Islamabad’ was announced by Federal Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It is also widely believed that Ayub Khan’s preference was for a site not too far away from Rawalpindi so that he could keep an eye on GHQ.
Once the site was selected, Ayub Khan decided to shift the capital temporarily to Rawalpindi, pending the development of Islamabad. The process of shifting started in October 1959. What a sight it was to see our Bengali and Karachite colleagues alight at the railway station, clad in heavy woollen clothes including cotton jackets called ‘bundles’ or simply wrapped in woollen blankets!
The civil government offices were relocated in private houses and sometimes even in army barracks, while the regional railway office opposite the railway station and the military accounts office called ‘Calcutta daftar’ were used for housing the ministries. ‘Calcutta daftar’ was named so because of the pre-dominance of Bengali clerical staff in the pre-partition era. Since the British conquest of the subcontinent started from Bengal where their trade interests were initially located, the Bengalis, mostly Hindus, were introduced to learning adequate English to be usefully employed as clerical staff and ‘pen pushers’ at lower administrative levels. If someone from among them rose to be an office superintendent, he was considered to have attained the ultimate height in service. This is how the term ‘Bengali Babu’ became popular throughout India.
The Master Plan for the new capital was drawn up by the Greek firm of Dioxides Associates in record time and was immediately approved by the cabinet. The concerned departments were charged with laying out the new capital speedily and swiftly. And in no time, the roads and streets were laid out and the Secretariat buildings and staff quarters built. In a span of some four to five years most of the ministries were established in the new capital. The Diplomatic Enclave grew up almost simultaneously and embassies began shifting from Karachi as well as from their temporary location in Murree. The next decade saw the city become fully functional and the Corps Diplomatique settle down.
Islamabad is one of the most well-planned and neatly laid out cities to come up in recent times. Its original master plan envisaged a triangular township with its apex towards Margalla Hills. The city was divided in eight zones, including the diplomatic enclave, the educational sector, the commercial district, the industrial area, and the housing complexes spread over various sectors.
One entire sector, E-9, an area of four square kilometres, was earmarked for a public park which has now taken shape as the Fatima Jinnah Park. On the original map, different zones were shown in different colours: blue, mauve, yellow and so on. While all other zones now have their distinctive names, the label ‘blue area’ has somehow stuck on, though the main boulevard passing through it is called Jinnah Avenue. Mercifully, other colours have faded from memory sparing Islamabad the ignominy of a ‘red area’. Over a period of 40 odd years a distinct pattern has emerged with each sector and sub-sector having its own park, green belt, shopping centre and educational institutions for boys and girls.
Unfortunately the reputation of being a characterless city of bureaucrats and diplomats has been bestowed on Islamabad from day one. As the story goes, a diplomat on home leave was asked about the exact location of Islamabad, ‘Only ten miles from Pakistan’ was his response. Despite all these labels, my family and I enjoyed living in Islamabad for three years in the early seventies and again from 1991 onwards.
Syed Abid Ali is a former Director General Public Relations, Punjab and Secretary General PNCA
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