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GCU offers to adopt Woolner's statue
LAHORE, May 2(Daily Times): The Government College University (GCU) on Tuesday offered the city
government and Punjab University (PU) to look after the 'neglected' statue of
Alfred Woolner on The Mall.
Unidentified people threw paint on the statue
outside the PU Old Campus three months ago. The PU administration, city
government and the Archaeology Department held each other responsible for the
statue's restoration.
Nazim Amer Mehmood said that GCU should
restore the statue without relocating it. However, a PU official said that GCU
should not touch the statue.
GCU vice chancellor
Prof Dr Khalid Aftab expressed his concern over the neglect of the statute.
Woolner was the professor of Sanskrit and a PU vice chancellor from 1928 to
1936.
"The statue is a source of inspiration for me because the man was
the one who set up the Pharmacy Department to spread modern knowledge," Dr Aftab
said.
"The GCU administration wants to 'adopt' the statue, but only if
the PU administration and city government allows us to take the statue to the
GCU building."
He said GCU had a tradition of preserving old artefacts,
buildings and cultural heritage. People can see how the veranda arches of an old
building ¯ made of Agra red stone of 1920 vintage ¯ have been relocated,
conserved and displayed on the lawn facing the Oval Ground.
"Woolner's
statute has a great historical significance. Not only because it is old, but it
is a symbol of the beginning of Western education in the northern India," he
added.
"The Punjab University was set up in 1882 by Dr GW Leitner, who
was also the first principal of Government College Lahore. It means that GCU has
an association with the PU," he said.
Amer Mehmood said it was clear that
the PU administration was neglecting the statue because the paint thrown on it
about three months ago had not been removed yet. "GCU can take over the statue
but it should not be relocated," he added.
PU registrar Prof Dr Muhammad
Naeem Khan said the statue was not only part of the PU building, but it was also
the legacy of Lahoris. "GCU does not have any legal or moral claim to it. They
should mind their business," he added.
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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