Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy’s letter to LUMS VC Adil Najam
Note: The context of the following letter is discussed in this post: Jamia Salafia Deobandia LUMS fires Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy
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From: Pervez Hoodbhoy
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 1:44 PM
To: Adil Najam
Cc: syedbabarali@yahoo.com; sahil; jaffe; Sohail Qureshi; Amer Iqbal; Muhammad Sabieh Anwar;
Anjum Altaf; Shahab Baqai
Subject: My exit from LUMS: For the record
15 October 2012
Dear Adil,
You suggested in your email (appended below) that we meet for one last time, but I see little point. We have already had numerous meetings in your office since November 2011 to discuss the extension of my teaching contract, which expires at the end of the current semester. You know that the SSE dean informed me on 11 October that my contract would not be renewed. This was a decision for LUMS to make, and I assume you are party to it. It will serve no purpose for me to hear yet more explanations for why I am unfit to continue teaching at LUMS.
I have been left bewildered by the decision-making process under your watch, and the fact that during the meetings over the past year I was presented with an ever shifting set of reasons for why my contract would likely not be renewed.
I am using this email as an opportunity to establish a record of this process for myself. It is being copied to all who have been involved and concerned in the matter. If there are omissions or errors in what follows, I expect you and the SSE dean, as well as the others, to send corrections by email to everyone on this list. Failing this, I will assume that you agree to the accuracy of this record of events.
In my 11 October meeting with the SSE dean, the following reasons were offered for why my contract would not be extended:
a) That you (PH) have “too much on your plate” and your primary mission “seems to be to fix the world”;
b) That I have not helped in recruiting new faculty;
c) That I have not helped the physics chairman in his duties;
d) That I have not mentored the younger faculty.
I am astonished by the first of these reasons. I do not see what bearing it has on the quality of my teaching or my research at LUMS – which is the basis for my employment here. If I want to fix my country or the world in my time that is my business.
As for the other reasons, I find them ironic. My association with SSE began many years before I had been offered employment here. Syed Babar Ali asked me repeatedly for nearly a decade to have a close relationship with SSE, which I welcomed.
As for my contribution to LUMS in this time, I believe I was of some help. In 2006, and then again in 2010, Syed Babar Ali asked me to consider the position of dean of SSE. Perhaps as a consequence of my efforts, some of my former students and colleagues applied to SSE. A few ended up teaching here and are present today as well (with the exception of my close friend, Faheem Hussain, who sadly passed away in 2009).
For your information, I have sat through the technical presentations of almost all applicants to the physics department and offered my comments when solicited by the chairman. Beyond that I could do little else – being on a short-term contract myself, I could scarcely ask others to apply for full career positions at LUMS.
I find the third and fourth reasons curious – especially since no specific instances of either failing were offered to me. I do not know of any situation where the physics chairman asked for my cooperation and I refused. I leave it to the current physics chairman, Sabieh Anwar, who is copied on this message, to provide appropriate examples.
Similarly, I frequently meet with the younger faculty, some of whom are my former students, and we discuss physics to mutual benefit. None have complained to me. I leave it to the SSE dean to provide instances of such complaints to me and the others copied on this message.
As I noted above, this most recent meeting with the SSE dean introduced a new set of reasons for why I would no longer be welcome to teach at LUMS. I turn now to the previous sets of reasons.
Months before I joined LUMS in January 2011, Amer Iqbal, then chairman of the physics department, invited me to teach in the department. He informed me that I was eligible for a 3-year contract. But in November that year, shortly after you became vice-chancellor, you told me that a new LUMS policy left only the possibility of one-year contracts that could be renewed on a year-to-year basis. You indicated further that there would be absolutely no difficulty in renewing my contract.
But no one-year contract turned up. By this time, I was teaching only with the promise of a contract but without an actual signed contract. So we had more meetings in your office where you told me that some of your sources had informed you that I was “not teaching enough”, and I was “not physically present on campus often enough”.
This quite astonished me as I had taught 4 courses in my first year (the regular faculty is required to teach three per year), and am physically present four of five working days on campus (many academics, including myself, prefer working at home). Complete details of my teaching, student mentoring, and research activities are attached to this email. This had been prepared in response to a request from the current physics chairman to document my activities at LUMS, and had also been mailed to you and both deans (SSE, SSH).
During one of our meetings you said there were complaints that I was overpaid. The fact is that I simply accepted what LUMS offered me as a salary – I did not negotiate. The acting dean of SSE at the time, Shahab Baqai, can confirm this. Even if there was a problem, it should have been a straightforward matter to compare my LUMS salary with salaries paid to comparable senior faculty at LUMS and make appropriate adjustments.
In April 2012 I was finally handed a one-year contract by the SSE dean, pre-dated to January 2012, and told that this would be the first and last extension. The reason given was that LUMS, as a matter of policy, does not give visiting positions to any professor who has crossed the age of 60. This seemed quite odd, given that I knew of a dozen or so other 60+ persons employed as visiting professors at LUMS. When we met in May 2012. I asked whether you endorsed the dean’s position. You said you would look into it but I heard no more about it.
In July, while on a visit to Boston, I was invited by Bob Jaffe to his house for dinner. Given his intense involvement with LUMS SSE since its inception, it was but natural for him to inquire into the current state of affairs. When I spoke about my situation to him, he was puzzled and wrote to you. I did not see his letter to you but he forwarded me your response to him. Your reply to Jaffe on August 20 reads as follows:
“Dear Bob,
Having known Pervez for over 25 years and having great respect for his work I also hope that he will choose to continue his affiliation. I believe the matter is a contractual one about his ability to devote full time to SSE given his other commitments or finding a way to formalize a less than full-time affiliation.
Regards,
Adil Najam”
In light of the above, we met in your office on August 27, where I made clear my attention to academic work at LUMS. You suggested that in order to clear misunderstandings, the two of us should meet again in your office along with the SSE dean. I welcomed the suggestion but that meeting never took place despite my reminders to you. It seems to me that while the reasons given for not having me at LUMS have been readily reinvented from time to time over this year, the outcome seems to have been decided quite early on.
I am now preparing to leave LUMS at the end of the semester. I have always wished it well and done what I could to help in its mission. Since many people will ask about what happened, it is important to me that I fully understand why LUMS chose to refuse me an extension.
To this end I ask that, where needed, all concerned append their corrections to the above narrative. I am copying this email to the following persons:
a) Syed Babar Ali, founder of LUMS and SSE;
b) Robert Jaffe, professor at MIT and my former physics collaborator, as well as a member of LUMS international advisory board;
c) Sabieh Anwar, the current physics chair;
d) Amer Iqbal, who as physics chair invited me to join his department;
e) Sohail Qureshi, current dean SSE;
f) Anjum Altaf, dean of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, since I teach a course in his School as well.
g) Shahab Baqai, former acting dean of SSE.
Sincerely yours,
Pervez Hoodbhoy
Visiting Professor
Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering LUMS.
—————
Appendix: BBC Urdu article
ہود بھائی: جھگڑا نظریات یا نئے کورس کا
آخری وقت اشاعت: منگل 23 اکتوبر 2012 , 14:07 GMT 19:07 PST
ملازمت میں توسیع نہ دیئے جانے کی کوئی وجوہ بھی منطق یا دلیل کی کسوٹی پر پورا نہیں اترتی تھی: ڈاکٹر ہود بھائی
پاکستان میں نیوکلیر فزکس کے استاد پی ایچ ڈی ڈاکٹر پرویز ہود بھائی کو لاہور کی ایک نجی یونیور سٹی نے ملازمت سے فارغ کر دیا ہے۔ ڈاکٹر پرویز ہود بھائی نے بی بی سی سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ انہیں مطلع کیا گیا ہے کہ دسمبر میں ان کے ملازمت کے معاہدے کی توسیع نہیں کی جائے گی۔
پرویز ہود بھائی نے کہا کہ انہیں مدت ملازمت میں توسیع نہ دیئے جانے کی مختلف اوقات میں مختلف وجوہات بتائی گئیں جن میں سے ایک بھی منطق یا دلیل کی کسوٹی پر پورا نہیں اترتی تھی اور ان کا خیال ہے کہ انہیں نظریات کی بنیاد پر یونیورسٹی سے الگ کیا گیا ہے۔
ڈاکٹر پرویز ہود بھائی نے سینتس برس اسلام آباد کی قائد اعظم یونیورسٹی میں ملازمت کی تھی اور وہاں سے ریٹائر منٹ کے بعد لاہور میں پاکستان کی معروف یونیورسٹی لمز میں پڑھا رہے تھے۔
ڈاکٹر ہود بھائی کا شمار پاکستان کے بائیں باوز کے معروف دانشوروں میں ہوتا ہے اورمعاشرے میں مذہب کے بارے میں ان کا خاص نکتہ نظر ہے۔
ہود بھائی نے کہا کہ انہوں نے یونیورسٹی میں پولیٹکل سائنس کا ایک نیا کورس ’سائنس اور زمانہ جدید کے تقاضے‘ شروع کیا تاکہ سائنس کے طلبہ کو آرٹس اور آرٹس کے طلبہ کو سائنس کے بارے میں معلومات ہو سکیں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ آرٹس اور سائنس کے طلبہ کے درمیان ایک بڑی خلیج بن چکی ہے جس کو وہ ختم کرنا چاہتے تھے وہ آرٹس کے طلبہ کو سائنس کے خوبصورت پہلوؤں سے روشناس کرانا چاہتے ہیں اور سائنس کے طلبہ کو بتانا چاہتے ہیں کہ سائنس نے مغرب میں کیا تبدیلیاں رونما کی ہیں۔ اسی طرح یہ بھی بتانا ضروری ہے کہ سائنس کو اگر کھلی چھٹی دی جائے تو اس کے نتائج کیا نکلتے ہیں۔
ہود بھائی نے کہا کہ اس کورس کو طالب علموں نے پسند کیا اور پہلے سال اس میں اسی فیصد سائنس گروپ کے طالبعلموں نے شرکت کی جبکہ اس بار اسی فیصد آرٹس کے طلبہ و طالبات شامل ہوئے۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ اس کورس میں سیاست پر بھی بات ہوتی ہے اور مختلف مسائل پر گفتگو کی جاتی ہے۔ انہوں نے مثال دیتے ہوئے بتایا کہ پاکستان میں توانائی کی ضرویات پر بات کی گئی اور کہا گیا کہ کوئلہ پانی اور تیل کے ذریعے یہ ضروریات پوری کی جاسکتی ہیں اور اگر پاکستان میں یہ وسائل موجود ہیں تو ان کا حل کیوں نہیں ڈھونڈا جاتا؟ انہوں نے کہا کہ طالبعلموں کو ان مسائل پر سائنسی نکتہ نظر سے غور کرنے اور فائدے نقصان کو دلیل سے ثابت کرنے کی تربیت دی جاتی ہے۔
ڈاکٹر ہود بھائی نے خیال ظاہر کیا کہ یہ سارا جھگڑا اسی کورس کی وجہ سے ہوا ہے کیونکہ لوگوں نے کہا کہ میں ’سائنس اور مذہب‘ کا کورس پڑھاتا ہوں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ نظریات کی بنیاد پر ان کی ملازمت ختم کروانے میں کوئی بیرونی ہاتھ نہیں ہے اوریہ یونیورسٹی کا اندرونی معاملہ ہے۔
ڈاکٹر پرویز ہود بھائی سنہ انیس سو تہتر میں نیوکلیئر فزکس میں پی ایچ ڈی کرنے کے بعد پاکستان لوٹ آئے تھے اور تب سے یہیں تدریس کی خدمات انجام دے رہے ہیں ان کا کہنا ہے کہ ’پڑھانا اچھا لگتا ہے اور وہ پڑھا کر خوش ہوتے ہیں۔‘
انہوں نے کہا کہ انہیں لمز یونیورسٹی سے بہت سی امیدیں ہیں اگر یہاں صرف اور صرف میرٹ کو مدنظر رکھا گیا تو یہ ملک کے لیے مشعل راہ ہوگی لیکن اگر نظریات کا عمل دخل بڑھ گیا تو پھر یہ کامیاب نہ ہو سکے گی۔
لمز یونیورسٹی کی انتظامیہ کا کہنا ہے کہ ڈاکٹر پرویز ہود بھائی کی مدت ملازمت میں توسیع نہ دیئے جانے کے بارے میں کوئی بیان فی الحال جاری نہیں کیا گیا۔ وائس چانسلر آفس کی ایک خاتون انتظامی افسر نے کہا کہ اس بارے میں یونیورسٹی کے وائس چانسلر ڈاکٹر نجم ہی کوئی بیان جاری کر سکتے ہیں جو ان دنوں بیرون ملک دورے پر ہیں۔
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2012/10/121023_dr_hoodbhoy_ra.shtml
Excellent letter. Very well argued, makes it crystal clear that Noman and Adil Najam are the culprits.
A G @leezakhan
I knew it were @AdilNajam 🙂 @AshrafKakkar Pervez Hoodbhoy’s letter to Adil Najam: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2184460/PHLetterToLUMS.pdf … … … #Hoodbhoy #LUMS
Arsalan Rabbani @arsalman
and What a verbal beating Mr.hoodbhoy RESPECT The ultimate break-up letter. Pervez Hoodbhoy to Adil Najam: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2184460/PHLetterToLUMS.pdf … …
Ali Nur @ali_nabi_nur
Get over the #Hoodbhoy issue. Students from the engineering branch called for his reinstatement themselves. Democratic, no foul play. #LUMS
Joshua Umar @joshumar
#Hoodbhoy should come to the US or Britain, since our universities still value independent thought. Too bad for #LUMS & #Pakistan
Sallo @Eliya
After Hoodbhoy, LUMS has recruited Agha Waqar as physics professor, Ansar Abbasi as Prof of History & Hamid Gul as Prof of Humanity #sarcasm
Raza Rumi @Razarumi
Subhan Allah, now God’s soldiers have found another cause to espouse. #Hoodbhoy RT @DemocracyWatch1:legal right of contracting party…
Mubashir Akram @mubashirakram
Interesting to see that a “Conservative QAU” did not fire Dr. Hoodbhoy while a “Liberal LUMS” did. It just makes me smirk!
Raza Rumi @Razarumi
Isa Daudpota, NFP &other ppl are mobilising public opinion protesting ag Hoodbhoy’s non-renewal of contract. This is NOT Hoodbhoy doing it.
Nadeem F. Paracha @NadeemfParacha
Extension of Dr Hoodbhoy’s post without degradation of employment terms. Sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/chairman-physics-sse-dean-lums-vc-advisory-board-board-of-governors-extension-of-dr-hoodbhoy-s-post-without-degradation-of-employment-terms
Ayesha Tammy Haq @tammyhaq
@NadeemfParacha #Hoodbhoy is not the first casualty of #LUMS growing conservatism there have been others but no one spoke up for them
————–
Adil Najam pseudo-lib + Deobandi Lobby:
anjum kiani @AnjumKiani
Amazed that Liberal Fascist educated elite dont know the difference between ‘Beeing Sacked/Fired & Contract ended’ #LUMS #HoodBhoy
Saleem H. Ali @saleem_ali
Troubled that Dr. Hoodbhoy made private email exchanges public and not met with Dr. Najam in person despite latter’s request to do so
Saleem H. Ali @saleem_ali
@abbasnasir59 Also Hoodbhoy was on visiting professor contract – there is really no smoking gun here, Sir @omar_quraishi @adilnajam
affan dawood @affandawood
Who the hell are desi liberals to dictate LUMS what to do or not, its their descision to sack Hoodboy .
Shaheryar Mirza @mirza9
I have just been informed that the public campaign about Hoodbhoy’s non-renewal at LUMS has been orchestrated by Hoodbhoy himself. #Classy
Mosharraf Zaidi @mosharrafzaidi
@Razarumi whoever is doing it should have the decency to not attack an upstanding person like Adil Najam.
Mosharraf Zaidi @mosharrafzaidi
Adil Najam is one of the classiest, most dedicated & compassionate people I know. I won’t silently watch his reputation sullied.
While Express Tribune and other papers have remained shameless silent on the entire episode, some of them have now decided to shoot the messenger, i.e., LUBP.
omar r quraishi @omar_quraishi
Some of those whose tweets CriticalPPP quotes in the Hoodbhoy case are those whom they have publicly vilified in past http://criticalppp.com/archives/230304
Adil Najam is a text book example of the plague bacilli incubated in the laboratory that was Zia’s Pakistan. if memory serves Adil Najam;along with similiar army and bureaucrat `bacchas’ was mentored and promoted by Mushahid Hussain etc who ran a fake`LIBERAL’ outfit at Agha Murtaza Pooya’s newspaper THE MUSLIM.Looking back, it was a pluperfect nest of Islamist vipers;forked tongues spouting pan-Islamist security state shibboleths in passable Angrezi…precisely the sort of wily Jihadist beloved of the guilty white liberals both far-left and paleo-con right. Your contention meets the ticket entirely: I would take the Jamaatias over the Najam/ Sherry Rehman nexus any time, just as I would the camel-molesting Salafists over Jemima Khan, Tariq Ramadan or the revolting Tariq Ali. Keep up the good work , for truth, for light, for your Dharti Mata, for that latter-day Abbas Alambardar by the name of Faisal Reza Abedi,but most of all for your own immortal souls.
peopl like Hudoby sahib should b great great respct by all…such peopl are d actual assests f an institution…it will b great to see him nt only working in LUMS but also love to see him as asprofessor emerious…he has lot to offer….
Not only PH, but also other Left-leaning infidels teaching at LUMS must be kicked out.
This is the beginning of our journey towards a Golden Age.
Insh’Allah LUMS would revive the legacy of Baghdad university under Khilaafat-e-Abbasi.
— nt Tannya Muneer – @tapinator2012
– @AnjumKiani @AffieTweets Hoodbhoy email shows that lameAss LUMS faculty was playing tricks instead of honest, upfront behaviour.
— nt Tannya Muneer – @tapinator2012
@AnjumKiani @AffieTweets Hoodbhoy was sacked. I would have more respect for LUMS if they had simply fired him instead of weasel tricks.
Maheen Usmani @MaheenUsmani
Did not expect such behaviour from a person of Adil Najam’s calibre. How could he jettison Dr Hoodboy from LUMS? http://criticalppp.com/archives/230346
aalimalik @aalimalik
Wondering if it was Adil Najam’s job insecurity that led to firing of Dr. Hoodbhoy.
pejamistri @pejamistri
I keep saying that likes Adil Najam, Ata-ur-Rahman and such are more dangerous to Pakistani nation then molvis like Qazi, Munnawar and Fazlu
nano m @supernova_nano
Read Prof Hoodbhoy’s letter to adil najam, the reasons given for his dismissal are laughable.
nano m @supernova_nano
prima facie it appears Prof Hoodbhoy was way ahead of other profs incl adil najam. so fired.
…………..
Mosh Zaidi, an ISI poodle in the Foreign Office, is also a visiting teacher at LUMS. Birds of a feather….
Mosharraf Zaidi @mosharrafzaidi
Adil Najam is one of the classiest, most dedicated & compassionate people I know. I won’t silently watch his reputation sullied.
Mosharraf Zaidi @mosharrafzaidi
@Razarumi whoever is doing it should have the decency to not attack an upstanding person like Adil Najam.
Pervez Hoodbhoy may be an eminent physicist, but he chose the limelight instead of purely pursuing academic milestones. He has worked hard to become a divisive and controversial figure in Pakistan. Instead of encouraging open debate and a search for truth, Hoodbhoy can often be found coloring the world black or white.
For contractual employees, like Hoodbhoy, LUMS morally and legally reserves the right to choose to either extend or end their services. All this wailing and whinging is just embarrassing on Pervez’ part. He should have bowed out with grace from LUMS, to pursue a career in politics or pundity, which for the last two decades seems to consume his life.
Parvez Hoodbhoy should have kept his case within the acedemia circles and not gone public.
This issues will effect the students and the name of LUMS. And that is not good.
MAV
Sweden
jb tk Shia , Deoband ka naam haqarat se na le , ilzam na lgae Shia ko chain nai milta . . .
ab upr pic main , Deoband , Mufti Taqi Usmani , or Malik Ishaq ko shamil krne ki zarurat kya thi ??
any solid , valid, technical, logical reason ?? plz
LUBP k SHIA jawab dena frz hai ap pr . . .
NA SMJHO GAY TO MITT JAO GAY
TUMHARI DASTAAN TK NA HO GI DASTANON MAIN !
i think you have courage to include my comment 🙂
hoodhboy. baat kren sir.. chawwalein na maren.
Hoodbhoy is an idiot jo har cheez main taang arahatay hain , he should never have been invited to lums! bohat phaday baaz shaks hain , QAOU main bhi inka yahi role tha!
Hoodbhoy has every right to take this public (if he did so in the first place). Why? Because the Lums administration hasn’t got the balls to say the truth right in his face. Lies, delays and deceits was all that was doled out to Hoodbhoy and the only thing he wanted was a frank answer, the candid truth. Certainly wont come from A.Najam, who specializes in conflict resolution.
A man of his stature can relocate anywhere; the greater loss will be incurred by Lums and not the man in question.
Lastly, I don’t give two hoots about what ideology he subscribes to. What matters is that he cares about this nation.
Contract for person X is not renewed by person Y. You like person X, so person Y is evil. Fascinating, this binary. Even more fascinating, and dare I say ironic, is the propensity of people who support Dr Hoodbhoy to believe that the equation can ever be as simple as that. Perhaps understanding the lessons from Dr PH’s talks and lectures and using that to construct a more nuanced lens for viewing the world would have been a true victory for Dr PH and all he stands for.
Dr. Adil Najam and Dr. Pervaiz Hoodbhoy are both outstanding individuals who have achieved much more than they are given credit for. Their walls are mounted with laurels but their true genius is only understood by those who have interacted with them. I personally have been inspired by both, though I don’t completely agree with either… but I suppose that is how they want pakistanis to be – to get inspired and not just imitate, to disagree but respect.
This issue might just pluck personal strings and both individuals might fall from grace, bickering and fighting. But they will eventually take a step back and look at threads like this and realize that they have both failed. They have failed because everyone commenting above (from both camps) has ONLY read the letter sent by Dr. PH and already formed conclusive views on the matter. Those views might eventually be accurate but will continue to be uninformed till a response comes to the fore. They have failed because somehow for everyone here it is intuitive that any institution that fires a liberal/progressive must necessarily be the opposite – pro-establishment and a deobandi/salafi apologist. For that to be the intuitive conclusion from the fragments of information and misinformation available to us, is the true failure of Hoodbhoy and Najam.
It is also amusing that in this entire saga perhaps the most glaring problem has been missed. The letter shows one thing more conclusively than others. That the mechanism that runs LUMS requires revamping. For any faculty member to be strung along without a contract for 3 months, to be subjected to conflicting information from different individuals and to ultimately not be given an unambiguous concrete reason for dismissal is a sign of fatal dissonance within the system. In that sense, it is no different from the institutional bureaucracy across pakistan, and its inconsiderate, pathetic relationship with the people. Working in LUMS and that to closely with the faculty and Vice Chancellor, this is perhaps the biggest shock to me. No faculty member should ever have to end a resignation/termination letter with the words, “I do not fully understand why LUMS chose to refuse me an extension”. Truly tragic.
Unable to identify issues that need revision, resort to convenient ideological binaries, lack of substance, factual inaccuracies and hyperbolic misrepresentations.. and yet we’ve managed to have a ‘successful’ debate. I guess beyond physics and climate change, neither individual has managed to have an impact on anyone.
Of course its difficult to sustain a forum by just critiquing lack of discipline, propriety and process. Deobandi/Salafi VS Liberal/Progressive it is. Go wild.
It is not surprising to hear Mr. Hoodhboy wailing and complaining again! For indeed, he has been a less of a professor and more of i-know-better-than-you-so-shut-up person! No wonder LUMS wants to get rid of him!
great.
As Sir Pervez was at QAU before where he was using department forum and resources in areas not related to physics at all such as running movies, launching ceremony poetry books, debates on political and religious issues etc
Also he used to spend a lot of time on talk shows on politics and religion.
You can also check his articles in last 5 years to see how many he has written in his research area and how many on politics
To me its fine but an employer may not want to pay a person for a professor position in physics who spends most of his time writing on politics
So, I think there are genuine reasons by LUMS
They dont want to hire a person on a heavy amount who spends most of his time on something else
At the end why is so much drama created on his termination ..Why is he so special that BBC has to write on it?…..I think every employer is free to extend or terminate the contract and an employ use these pressure tactics to blackmail the employer
For those who are arguing about his research potential …..He has published just 1 paper in last 5 years …. and that was in 2008?
http://inspirehep.net/author/P.Hoodbhoy.1/
wth… where does mufti taqi usmani comes into this. God help the media, stupid conspiracy theories
Unfortunately, this has more to do with sectarian thinking in our country then the merit. If Abdus Salaam can be sidelined and soon forgotten who is this Hoodbhoy! Good luck to all the non- deobandis in our country. We need Pluralistic society!!! God Bless
Dr Hoodbhoy, speaking to The Express Tribune confirmed that the email was authentic.
He said he had been informed, on October 11, by the Syed Babar Ali School of Science and Engineering dean that his contract would not be renewed “because of multiple reasons, which include failure to help recruit faculty and mentor junior faculty”. He said he was also told that he had “too much on his plate”.
Dr Hoodbhoy says he sent the email on October 15 to several offices, including Vice Chancellor Dr Adil Najam, Pro Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, SSE Dean Dr Sohail Qureshi and physics department Chair Sabieh Anwar. He says he is yet to receive a reply.
Dr Hoodbhoy joined Lums as a visiting professor in January 2011 with eligibility for a three-year contract. In November 2011, he says, he was told that as per the new policy at Lums he would be eligible for a one-year contract which would be renewed annually.
Dr Hoodbhoy says he received a year’s contract in April 2012, which was back dated to January. He says he was also told that his contract would not be extended because the university did not offer people above 60 positions as a visiting professor.
However, a Lums official, said on the condition of anonymity that on Oct 15, the SSE dean had discussed with faculty members a list of 15 visiting professors, all above 60, some of whom were approved.
“I fail to understand what exactly the issue is. Every now and then they come up with new complaints,” said Dr Hoodbhoy.
He says he recently faced a lot of criticism when he introduced a course titled Science and the Contemporary World Order. He says the course, which discusses science and politics, “gave rise to ideological differences”.
Brigadier Ka Beta (Brigadier’s son) Adil Najam is hurt due to Dr Hoodbhoy’s accusations of malice or ill-intent
Vice Chancellor Dr Adil Najam, who is currently in Austria, told The Express Tribune via email and on the phone that the administration was “deeply hurt” by the allegations.
“Dr Hoodbhoy, whose intellect and contributions are admirable, was on a contract which ends in December,” said the VC. “Dr Hoodbhoy is not being expelled, terminated or fired.”
Dr Najam said that a similar review procedure was adopted for all visiting faculty members at the institute.
The vice chancellor also denied Dr Hoodbhoy’s allegations that the course he had recently offered had resulted in ‘ideological differences’, “The decision not to renew the contract was not influenced by his choice of courses. The university encourages and welcomes new courses.”
“Such decisions are often not easy because they concern our colleagues who we care for,” said Dr Najam, “Anyone can agree or disagree with the decision but accusations of malice or ill-intent are incorrect and hurtful.”
Brigadier Ka Beta: meray samnay tum sab ho fail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWgPfW9IT5o
Specimen reaction on ET:
Karim Buksh
To all those who think that Dr Hoodbhoy leaked his letter to get attention, well obviously you do not understand anything about taking a stand on a matter of principle. The fact is Dr Hoodbhoy has made his case very clear and the very least he deserves is a straightforward answer. However, he is receiving evasions, shifting reasons, etc. This indicates that the administration has not been straightforward and probably does not have much of a case. Shame on them. If they can treat a respected professor this way it does not augur well for how they will treat lesser faculty. Very sad behaviour.
kanwal
I have a strong feeling that lots of people here have not bothered to thoeoughly read Hoodbhoy’s letter . If he has proof of what he has said in it, then some people at LUMS are in serious breach of accademic and administerial protocols and may even have agendas of their own. This should be thoroughly investigated. We cant let a scholor like PH treated this way.
Umer:
The letter has made some allegations to which LUMS has not replied to and side stepped the issue. It seems to me that LUMS has something to hide. There is something not quite explainable at their end.
Vice Chancellor Dr Adil Najam, who is currently in Austria, told The Express Tribune via email and on the phone that the administration was “deeply hurt” by the allegations.
Quit the emotional tirade Mr Vice Chancellor and explain why were allegations made against Hoodbhouy which LUMS now cannot backup.
Luminite:
It’s a shame that LUMS is letting go of Dr. Hoodbhoy. He’s been a great professor and an inspiring person. There’s no doubt that this is a step backwards for LUMS.
The administration never fails to disappoint. It’s like the students are non-existent for them.
Uza Syed:
It is a bad decision based on whatever excuses but the fact that a teacher like Prof. Hoodbhoy is much too dangerous for the idealogues who have hijacked the whole education system over here and LUMS is no exception. Someone like Dr. Hoodbhoy can and does induce and provoke thinking in his students and as one can imagine what thinking minds can and usually do, they ask intriguing questions and demand answers and often provide answers. This is not acceptable to a society like ours which has been raised on the notion of ‘blind faith’ and groomed to submit to any and all ‘diktats’. This is not what Hoodbhoy is all about or could be expected from those who have been educated by him. Anyone, who really cares about Pakistan and its development must finally see and value the thinking minds and teachers like Prof. Dr. Pervaiz Hoodbhoy.
mahmood:
I can see the Establishment’s hand behind this. An outspoken, anti-Establishment professor crosses some ‘red lines’ with his criticism especially in the aftermath of May 2, 2011. A consummate Establishment man joins as VC. The latter is tasked to show this ‘dangerous man’ the highway. A case is manufactured out of thin air to retrofit the end goal. And the hit man pulls the trigger as he is paid to do.
Stating the obvious:
Obligatory Einstein quote –
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”
Bangash:
Its a loss to LUMS and also for Pakistan. Anyone who speaks out or stands up to evil in Pakistan like Dr Hoodhbhoy or Malala Yousafzai or Benazir Bhutto are shut down however Malik Ishaaq can walk the streets a free man.
Dear Hoodhbhoy,
Academia in Pakistan is fundamentalist. They are coward people and they would never let you educate peopel towards progressive Pakistan.
Its a culture of bullying and harrassment which would prevail forever.
Daniyal:
I am currently a student of LUMS, and have attended a couple of debate sessions in which Dr. Hoodbhoy took part. Even though I didn’t agree with many of his views on politics and religion, his prowess in the field of science was never in doubt. Needless to say, his not being part of the LUMS faculty will be a great loss to the institution. And no one can say for sure what went on behind closed doors that led to the non-renewal of Dr. Hoodbhoy’s contract, there might have been valid reasons for all I know, but if it indeed was because ideological reasons, then LUMS administration could not have done a bigger injustice to the reputation and standing of LUMS as a guiding light among Pakistani educational institutions.
Zain:
Since his courses were popular, he was overseeing senior projects and completing research work as well, what legitimate reasons would there be for the University not to renew his contract, except financial? And financial reasons seem to be hardly the issue here. It clearly seems like ideological differences and personal grudges clashing to get a prominent academic removed from faculty.
He served for 37 years at QaU, much problems with faculty and other conservatives trying to get rid off him, but they failed. Two years at LUMS and that was it.
And for those who will suggest ‘but it is a private university and can do what they want’ – it is a university and is an institution performing a public duty & providing public utility as a place of learning. It can and must be discussed, debated and criticized publicly. Universities are as much places of debate as they are of learning. So to criticize LUMS for not renewing the contract is legitimate and should be done by all and sundry.
Looks to have become too ugly for things to be mended now. It’s sad.
I do hope LUMS does go ahead with a transparent appeals process (if Dr Hoodbhoy choose to appeal), not raises walls of silence. In multiple public affairs of denial of tenure (a similar circumstance really), we have seen far more transparent processes worldwide (Ignacio Chapela at UC Berkeley, Guillermo Gonzalez at ISU, Norman Finkelstein at DePaul). I don’t have high expectations about transparency in this case. It is Pakistan after all.
Dr Ayesha Siddiqa study about socio-political attitudes amongst youth in elite universities.
* 56 % of youth is against idea of secular state .
* 62% of respondents in Dr. Siddiqa’s data (urban elite universities) consider shias to be non-Muslims.
* 77% youth is against more provinces .
* 69% were of the view that newer provinces would weaken Pakistani nationalism.
*Instead of out rightly rejecting military’s role in politics, majority believed that the military’s role in politics was acceptable during peculiar circumstances. This in itself is an indicator of conservative political views.
http://criticalppp.com/archives/55644
I fail to understand why there is so much of a debate on an issue which is not an issue at all. If LUMS does not want Hoodbhai, so be it. Hoodbhai would not start starving. Many foreign universities must be breathing hot to hire him.
What is amazing is the foolish logic of X and Y, and from where this Salafi/Deobandi/Shia questionaires are being put forth? What has it got to do with Physics? Dr. Hoodbhai’s has just put the record straight, he is not fighting his case for remaining a visiting professor of LUMS. All that he would miss, he would miss his students and I am sure his students would miss him more. Dr. Hoodbhai would get the job, if not in Pakistan, anywhere in the world. He would earn enough to remain white collared and filled stomach. But we should keep ourselves busy in Salafi/Deobandi/Shia debates. God bless Pakistan.
This is the difference between muslim world and non-muslim world. We never think Einstein in respect of his religion (Jew)we adore him for his General and Special theory of Relativity and his formula E=mc^2. Dr Hoodbhoy is nowhere near this height, but at least he is good physicist. In this country where education is so dearth, we are down to bottom in education, we should not politicize any learned person, instead value him for the sake of spreading torch of knowledge. We should respect any knowledgeable person irrespect of his religion, sect, caste or creed. And thats the bottom line.
you see the intellectual hypocrcy that is seeded in our society from institutions like LUMS to others, it is very clear from the email by dr.pervez hoodbhoy a great intellectual and scientist the he was again the target of establishment of the state.
Dr Perviz Hoodbhoy [Ex QAU phyics lecturer]’ I am myself Msc Economics from QAu session 2001. I got employment as Research Officer BS 17 in ME cell Ministry of Defence after getting top position in over all pakistan test in 2006. Prior to that I was working as Lecturer in Economics in University of Malakand and Research Assistant in UET peshawar.
2] My contract was terminated by Sect Defence Mr Ather Ali. Even on 2nd May 2011 , the Defence Division asked ASF .SUPARCO to transfer thier to strenthen the office.
3]On 30th June 2011, a retired Section Officer Mr Ashique Hussain SO Admin asked me to sighn the relinquish order as there is no need of mine after my 4 1/2 service, Where as a son of Ex MNA hired on Assistant Chief was regularised,
4]I took my case to the level of supreme court CP 1220/12 and appeared to JUSTICE S KHWAJA as PETITIONER IN PERSON.
5] THAT JUDGE WAS ALSO AN EMPLOYEE OF LUMS WHO IN SHORT ORDER DISMISSED MY CP.
NOW I HAVE REQUESTED THROUGH LUBP TO THE PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN TO RE-INSTATE ME AS PPP HAS ALWAYS VOICED FOR LABOUR RIGHTS.
6] PTV PROGRAM ‘ ANCHOR PERSON AAP KA MASLA KIA HI HAS ALSO WROTE A LETTER TO CC PM GRIVANCE WING ONE YEAR AGO.
7] SIR THIS IS LAND OF PURE PAKISTAN WHERE MIGHT IS RIGHT FORMULA FITS ALL
THE TIME.
THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING HOPE TO OUR YOUNG PAKISTANI GENOURATITION!
!
LONG LIVE LUMS’ LONG LIVE PAKISTAN!
FROM MANAGER LUBP
ONCE QAUDIANS, ALWAYS QAUDIANS
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