Source: dailytimes.com.pk

The Inspiring life of Abdus Salam

Author: Dr Mujahid Kamran

Publisher : University of the Punjab, Lahore; 2013

Pages: 329

Strange as it may sound, many a times nations end up ignoring their greatest minds. Those talented souls are left to wander, disowned and banished, as nations carve their heroes, most ironically, out of outright mediocrity. Dr Abdus Salam was one such name, whose greatness was acknowledged internationally, yet he remained a ‘foreigner’ to the land of his birth. To a common Pakistani, he always cut a mysterious figure, and mention of his name almost always invited long stares and sullen remarks. It was hence a pleasant surprise to encounter a biography written by a Pakistani, honouring Dr Salam and offering him the place he rightfully deserved. Perhaps it was long overdue!

The Inspiring Life of Abdus Salam has been authored by Dr Mujahid Kamran, who is an eminent physicist and a renowned educationist of Pakistan. Dr Kamran did his PhD in Physics from University of Edinburgh, where he got an opportunity to interact with many contemporaries of Dr Salam. He also remained in contact with Dr Salam through the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), which allowed him to establish a lifelong personal relationship with Dr Salam. Kamran’s penning of this biography, as a physicist and a lifelong admirer of Dr Salam is thus extremely befitting, as he is uniquely competent to portray Dr Salam’s scientific and human achievements. Through this work, he is able to transport his readers through the life of the great man, a journey of diligence, discovery and of transformation. Only Dr Kamran could have done it.

The book is systematically divided into 15 chapters capturing the different periods of Dr Salam’s life. The book begins by tracing the roots of Dr Salam. His humble beginnings in the plains of Jhang are presented, where a young Salam is shown reading keenly, aloof to the happenings in the surroundings. Jhang, the city of poets and that of folklore, was thus to nurture a man of science this time. The city of Heer Ranjha, the city of passion, was to give birth to a man of reason. According to Kamran, Dr Salam’s brilliance could be traced to the immense attention given to him by his parents. The prodigy would always reciprocate with the most brilliant results.

Readers would be pleased to notice that Dr Kamran, for the first time, has been able to collect the original …continue reading at dailytimes.com.pk