- Patras Bokhari
Syed Ahmed Shah Patras Bokhari (
Urdu : سید احمد شاہ پطرس بخاری) (commonly known as Patras Bokhari پطرس بخاری) HI, (born1 October 1898 ,Peshawar , died5 December 1958 ,New York ) was one of the bestUrdu humourist s,educator s,essayist s, broadcasters anddiplomat s fromPakistan .Life
Patras received his early education from
Peshawar and in 1916 he moved from Islamia CollegePeshawar to joinGovernment College Lahore . After completing his Masters in English he was appointed as lecturer at the same institution.Patras Bokhari left
Government College Lahore in 1925 to study atEmmanuel College ,Cambridge University to complete aTripos in English. Many years later, the Bokhari English Prize was established there in his honour.cite web |url= http://www.emma.cam.ac.uk/former/giving/achievements/ |title= Endowment of Prizes |work=Emmanuel College website |quote= Bokhari English Prize: for a College Prize in English for the best first in the EnglishTripos . ] cite news |url= http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-10-2002_pg3_5 |title= CAM DIARY: ‘Kamal da teacher’ |work= Daily Times |date=30 October 2003 |author= Sir Cam |quote= Professor K.K. Aziz has single-handedly set up the Bokhari English Prize atCambridge University , awarded annually to the best student of English atEmmanuel College . ]In 1927 he came back to
Government College Lahore and as aProfessor remained there till 1939.Before the formation ofPakistan in 1947, he was the Director General,All India Radio . Being aProfessor ofEnglish Literature he also served as the Principal ofGovernment College Lahore from 1947 to 1950. The famousUrdu poet,Faiz Ahmed Faiz , and the leading free verse poet inUrdu ,Noon Meem Rashid , were among his famous students. After the formation of Pakistan, he served as the first permanent representative of Pakistan in theUnited Nations from 1951–1954. From 1954-1958 he remained as the Under Secretary of the UN, Head of Information. He died during his diplomatic service and is buried inNew York ,USA .Triva
* His thin volume of essays, Patras Kay Mazameen (Essays of Patras), published in 1927 is considered as an asset of Urdu humor.
* He accompaniedPrime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on his first visit to theUnited States as the Prime Minister's speech writer.
* In 1945 Patras Bokhari was awarded the Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE) Award.
* Bokhari Auditorium onGC University, Lahore is named after him [http://www.patrasbokhari.com/awards] .
* The Government of Tunisia, named a Road after him in Tunis, as a recognition for his contribution towards the freedom of Tunisia from French Colonial Rule in 1956.
* There is also a road named after him in Islamabad, Federal Capital of Pakistan.
* Editorial appears in theNew York Times on6 December 1958 , a day after his demise, in which he was described as a "Citizen of the World".
* In October 1998, to mark his birth centenary, the Government of Pakistan issued a postage stamp with his photograph under the series, "Pioneers of Pakistan".
* On14 August 2003 President of Pakistan ,General Pervez Musharraf announced the conferment ofHilal-e-Imtiaz , posthumously to Patras Bokhari, the country's second highest Civilian Award.References
External links
* [http://www.patrasbokhari.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/feb2004-daily/14-02-2004/oped/o4.htm A citizen of the world]
* [http://www.un.int/pakistan/20prslist.htm Pakistan’s Mission in the UN]
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