AMRITSAR: There is renewed hope for the revival of the Baba Guru Nanak research chair at Punjab University in Lahore following the election of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior vice-president Maryam Nawaz as the first woman chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan.
“Since its inauguration, the Baba Guru Nanak research chair at Punjab University has been inactive due to various reasons.We had held discussions with the former Punjab governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, but it didn’t fructify. Now, we are initiating a dialogue with Maryam Nawaz, the newly-elected chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan, to revive the chair dedicated to Baba Nanak,” Dr S P S Oberoi, managing trustee of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust, said on Tuesday.
Oberoi informed that a team of the trust had recently conducted an in-depth assessment of the chair and calculated that it required around PKR 8 lakh per month for recruiting staff, including research scholars, holding seminars, and other activities. “The trust will bear all the cost of running the chair,” he said, adding that a team from the trust would be visiting Pakistan to finalise the proposal.
Given that Baba Nanak was born and passed away in what is now Pakistan, it would be fitting for scholars to pursue research through the chair and promote the message of tolerance and peace espoused by Baba Nanak, Oberoi said while expressing disappointment that for the first time, a Pakistan university had established a chair in the name of Guru Nanak Dev and it was not working owing to various constraints. He also said the trust had already conducted several philanthropic activities in Pakistan. “We are sending various electrical kitchen equipment, including dishwashers and chapati-making machines, to the gurdwaras of Pakistan. We will also offer to help them set up dialysis centers, labs and diagnostic centers, as we have been doing in India,” Oberoi added.
Punjab University, Lahore, spokesperson Dr Khuram Shahzad said he wasn’t aware of any research work going under the Baba Guru Nanak research chair.
“Since its inauguration, the Baba Guru Nanak research chair at Punjab University has been inactive due to various reasons.We had held discussions with the former Punjab governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, but it didn’t fructify. Now, we are initiating a dialogue with Maryam Nawaz, the newly-elected chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan, to revive the chair dedicated to Baba Nanak,” Dr S P S Oberoi, managing trustee of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust, said on Tuesday.
Oberoi informed that a team of the trust had recently conducted an in-depth assessment of the chair and calculated that it required around PKR 8 lakh per month for recruiting staff, including research scholars, holding seminars, and other activities. “The trust will bear all the cost of running the chair,” he said, adding that a team from the trust would be visiting Pakistan to finalise the proposal.
Given that Baba Nanak was born and passed away in what is now Pakistan, it would be fitting for scholars to pursue research through the chair and promote the message of tolerance and peace espoused by Baba Nanak, Oberoi said while expressing disappointment that for the first time, a Pakistan university had established a chair in the name of Guru Nanak Dev and it was not working owing to various constraints. He also said the trust had already conducted several philanthropic activities in Pakistan. “We are sending various electrical kitchen equipment, including dishwashers and chapati-making machines, to the gurdwaras of Pakistan. We will also offer to help them set up dialysis centers, labs and diagnostic centers, as we have been doing in India,” Oberoi added.
Punjab University, Lahore, spokesperson Dr Khuram Shahzad said he wasn’t aware of any research work going under the Baba Guru Nanak research chair.