Geoffrey Douglas Langlands: Forever Pakistani

“No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind”-Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

“I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession”-John Wooden “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition”-Jacques Barzun In the degenerating Pakistani society, where the majority is obsessed with gathering material riches alone, idolising the wealthy and the powerful, disdain for teaching as a profession should not come as a surprise. Those who are unfortunate in seeking executive jobs in public and private sectors or do not have the capacity to conduct their personal business usually end up becoming teachers. Very few venture out to adopt teaching as a passion or profession of first choice. Even the near and dear ones suggest taking up teaching where they see an unemployed friend or relative thus implying that this noble profession is at the bottom of the list of desirable career paths. As a source of livelihood, teaching has no glamour, no power play, not much money, no nuisance value, no excitement, very slow promotions and at times may even become rather monotonous with the same mundane routine day in and day out.

If a doctor’s, engineer’s, lawyer’s, accountant’s or architect’s job is considered challenging and tedious, its redeeming factor is the heavy monetary compensation that accompanies it but a teacher, whether school, college or university, has to rely on the paltry sum he gets as salary and make his ends meet. He feels shy to introduce himself, especially if he finds himself amid so-called successful (read rich and powerful) men even if the children of these tycoons are under his tutelage. What is more loathsome than suffering from an inferiority complex on account of one’s extremely dignified source of income? In our society, where marriages are mostly arranged by parents, finding a suitable bride for a teacher son could become a difficult task as few would be willing to give their daughter’s hand in marriage to a person who may not seem to have a ‘promising’ future.

In such a bleak scenario, anyone who by choice picks teaching as his/her occupation should be regarded as an icon since it requires tremendous courage and sincere commitment to defy the norms of a society and face the consequences of a decision many may not approve. Such persons need not only our support but also deserve our respect as well as gratitude. One such brave gentleman is 96 years old Geoffrey Douglas Langlands, who has been brought to life by a programme on a private television channel. Till this time only a few knew about him because our national media is too occupied to cover the life and achievements of an old English teacher who has dedicated himself to a good cause and to Pakistan as a country. Born in 1917 in Britain, he came in 1944 to the Indian subcontinent during World War II and since then has remained here devoting himself to imparting and spreading education to far-flung areas – firstly in North Waziristan (1979 to 1989) and after that in Chitral where he improved upon a school that was started by the deputy commissioner, known as The Langlands School and College.

Hats off to this extremely dauntless man – his profound dedication to teaching bypassed all urban comforts and motivated him to spend many decades of his life in the tough environment of mountainous terrain in an alien land. What makes him distinguishable from others is the fact that neither language nor food or culture, obstructed his enthusiasm to educate the young ones of a community that was never exposed to modernity in terms of knowledge. He whole-heartedly embarked upon his mission to arm boys and girls with solid weapons of learning to help cultivate their tender minds and enable them to stand up to the forces of modern day civilisation of which they had been hitherto unaware. Since textbooks of most of the subjects, particularly sciences are in the English language, it was essential to focus on mastering it. Who else but an English native could be more proficient in developing these skills in his pupils and Langsland had the much-needed conviction to carry out this arduous task.

Perhaps one can say that Geoffrey Douglas Langsland is a more devout Pakistani than any of us can claim. He not only opted to stay back in his adopted country but has proved his loyalty by doing something for which our own professionals may have been highly reluctant if called upon to serve in places like North Waziristan and Chitral. Some may attribute his ambitions to his life as a bachelor or a person who did not have any familial responsibilities but that would be undermining his sincere efforts to spread education. The fact is that Pakistan is in dire need of a most competent corps of teachers which can earnestly impart their knowledge to members of the younger generation and groom them into useful citizens who can contribute productively towards the betterment of their country. To achieve this end it is vital to raise the teachers’ status, increase their emoluments, provide them with retirement benefits befitting an executive and improve their self-esteem so that they willingly adopt this profession and consider it as a matter of pride to be called educators.

The income tax law of Pakistan did have a provision for reduction in tax liability of certain teachers to the tune of 75% on tax pertaining to their salary income but the Finance Act of 2014 has reduced this rebate to 40% which is quite deplorable and would act as a disincentive to those aspiring to become teachers especially in government run/recognised institutes which are already suffering from acute shortage of competent instructors. This clearly goes to prove lack of commitment, unwillingness and short-sightedness of the government to broaden the education sector. The present education system which is already suffering from severe mismanagement and is fraught with unscrupulous elements desperately requires a complete overhauling and a new lease of life with fresh recruits who are fully motivated to turnaround the destiny of this country.

Meanwhile, in recognition of his services, Geoffrey Douglas Langland’s desire to be knighted and endowed with the title of ‘Sir’ could be taken up as a cause with the government sending in a request to Her Majesty, the Queen of England for her kind consideration. It is hoped that if moved by the Pakistan Government, this request of a 96-year-old veteran would not be turned down by the Queen who is known for her compassion and respect for humanity. This would also be tremendously inspiring for the comity of teachers generally the world over and particularly, in Pakistan.

(The writers are Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and partners in law firm, Huzaima & Ikram (Taxand Pakistan)