Student Activism and Politics in a Third-World Medical School

Student Activism and Politics in a Third-World Medical School: A Truncated Recollection of Events Between 1975 and 1985

Naveed Kamal Shams, MD.
Dow Graduate, Class of 1982. Currently, Senior Vice President Research & Development & Chief Medical Officer, OPKO Health, Inc. Miami, Florida

Since the creation of Pakistan, student unions have played a pivotal role in defining the historic character of academic institutions. Student unions typically concerned themselves with three main issues: a) academic; b) communal; and c) political issues (local, regional and national). This was certainly true for the Dow Medical College (DMC) students union. At the academic level, for example, the DMC student union made sure that textbooks were available at an affordable price, even if it meant pirating the text; it made sure that there were cadavers available for dissection, that the library was funded; that the sound systems and electricity in lecture halls were working; that new buildings were actually being built and money was available for the basic maintenance of the infrastructure, etc. At the communal level, the DMC student union made sure that extracurricular activities were being organized (from social gatherings and picnics to annual sports events); it made sure that transportation was available to students; that the cafeterias were functional. On the political level, the union made certain that local, provincial and national political as well as professional leadership were aware of the needs of the medical college; that funding and staff was available to the institution. In a country of landlords, patriarchs, and corrupt government officials, the union worked tirelessly for justice for the various constituents of the college community. This included the struggle to preserve seats for minorities, and uphold fairness in the admission policy.

While academic achievement was the stated vision of the institution, as a medical school in a third world setting, with literacy rates in the low double digits and a middle class no larger than 2% of the population, it was imperative that the lucky few with education and a stake in the continued success of the nation get involved in more than the pursuit of educational achievement. Indeed, all major educational institutions in the country were bastions of student activism. Therefore, to understand the life of a medical student in a premier institution, particularly the seventies and eighties, one has to recognize and appreciate the role of the student union. For better or for worse the student union, with its motivated and selfless student leaders as well as rank and file supporters were an integral part of the historic fabric of the institution.

In the summer of 1975 I walked through the gates of then Dow Medical College, Karachi (Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi) and experienced student activism at its zenith and at its best. Like many others I entered the medical profession because of a very deliberate set of parents not because I really wanted to be a physician. I will admit though, that the options were few to none. You either studied to become some sort of an engineer or a “tooti-walla doctor,” as my late mother

used to say. However, having grown up in a Military Public School, or a Cadet College, as some would say, I was not prepared for what lay ahead.

So here I was, with 450+ other first-year students, yes, 450+ students in one class, approximately 200 females and the rest males from all over Pakistan. That fateful day students were greeted at the entrance of the college by truly enthusiastic young men and women in white coats from a wide variety of student organizations. Yes, student organizations, that claimed to have a stake in the running of business at the Dow Medical College. The prominent ones were from Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba or Jamiat for short and National Students Federation or NSF for short. Regional, nationalist and social networking organizations such as Punjab Medicos, Sind Medicos, Mohajir Student Federation and Dow Medico’s were well represented as well. In short order it became very clear that indeed these organizations played a vital role in the day-to-day operations of the school and that to survive for 5 years, it would be a necessary to declare your allegiance as expeditiously as possible. The student union and the party in-charge played a key role in the life of all medical students, whether one appreciated it or not.

In 1975, Jamiat controlled the DMC student union (Dr. Misbah-ul-Aziz, President). In short, it meant, they were in charge of setting the agenda for the school and as they were a national organization supported by the Jamat-e-Islami, the agenda was in line with the national ambitions of the mother party. To the contrary, the major opposition party, NSF, claimed to be a party of progressives who although had a national presence, lacked a national level mother organization. They had experienced a glorious past at DMC and were working hard to reclaim the glory days.

Between 1975 and 1984 when it all ended by a government decree, DMC unlike any other medical school of the time, had a unique mixture of high level student activism, and educational achievement. As a human being today, I am a product of a great medical institution that allowed many of us to do more than just get a good education and a career. What it lacked then and continues to lack now, with a few exceptions, is academic excellence as noted by the lack of intellectual prowess of its students and faculty.

While 1975 & 1976 were nondescript years in the history of Pakistan and DMC (Dr. Misbah ul Aziz, President 1975 and Dr. Hamid Zaki, President 1976), things were about to change. In 1977, as the country experienced the end of an era of so-called democracy by General Zial-ul-Huq, the student unions, including the student union at DMC were forced to mobilize student activists into action. The transition from a land owner to a dictator not only adversely impacted the student unions of the day, it ruined the educational calendar at DMC. Prolonged school closings, 6 months at a time, resulted in postponement of professional exams. In some cases the exams were delayed for two years. As national politics transformed the national scene, it impacted the various student led organizations in the college as well. This was indeed the beginning of a growing chasm between the two major political parties in the college. The chasm began to truly take hold between 1976 & 1978 (Dr. Aziz-ur-Rehman, President 1976-1978; the only DMC Union President whose tenure actually lasted 2 years).

Soon thereafter, in 1979 (Dr. Rana Mehmood Akhtar, President), things would turn from bad to worse. The entire region would plummet into chaos as Mr. Bhutto was hanged in Pakistan, and the Shah of Iran was deposed in a violent revolution. The differences between progressive and conservative thought, the chasm, grew even bigger. A year later, as the tide changed in DMC politics and National Students Federation took control of the student union (Dr. Naseem Azeez Shekhani, President), the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. As the Russians tried to consolidate, and Americans with the help of General Zia tried to dislodge them at any cost, the chasm between the progressive left and the right wing conservatives continued to widen. However, the students of Dow Medical College, led by the student union and the leadership of various student organizations on campus would be at the forefront of the struggle for national identity as well as peace and self determination in the broader South Asian region. Unfortunately, however, the schism between progressive and conservative thought on campus reached a point of no return during these tumultuous years. Between 1980 (Dr. Raheel Rasheed Khan, President) and 1982 (Late Dr. Kazi Tanveer Uzair, President) violent, physical altercations threatened to destroy the fabric of student activism and politics not only in DMC but at every other major academic institution in the country. Continued violence and the inability of the state to control it, finally led to the demise of student politics in DMC and other academic institutions in the country.