Munnu Bhai donates his literary treasure to GCU

Lahore: Eminent writer Muneer Ahmed Qureshi, known as Munnu Bhai, has announced donating all literary treasure to the library of Government College University, Lahore in an appreciation to the work done by this great institution from the promotion of drama and literature in the country.

Muneer Ahmed Qureshi made this announcement at his invited lecture at GCU on “Responsibilities of Media in Democratic Society” which was chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman, while Chief Librarian Abdul Waheed and senior faculty members were also present.

“I make my will and it shall be noted that my complete library including personal books, scripts, collections and all literary material shall go the GCU library where students from diverse backgrounds will draw benefit from them,” said Munnu Bahi while appreciating the university’s system of preservation of books on scientific lines.

Addressing the students in Abdus Salam Hall, Munnu Bhai said “I will give you all my books and personal literacy collections, so that my heart shall always beat in your hands and my eyes shall always remain with your eyes.”

Munnu Bahi said that Pakistani media was young and would grow more mature with the passage of time, adding that it played tremendous role in raising awareness among people about the national issues. He rejected that media was portraying the country’s image negatively, saying that media was a mirror. However, he said, people just wanted to watch media reports in their favour. Everyone should endure criticism without wearing the glasses of favouritism or prejudice.”

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof Rahman said Munnu Bhai was a national treasure and GCU students and teachers had always learnt a lot from him. “It is a matter of great pride for us that he has trusted GCU for donating his personal library,” he added. He told Munnu Bhai that GCU Library Lahore stood tall among its peers on account of its strong section of personal collections; more than 1,45,464 books donated by eminent writers, poets and scientists including Ashfaq Ahmed, Qudsia Bano, Prof Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, Prof Qayyum Nazar, Kamal Azfar etc.

Speaking on the occasion, GCU Chief Librarian Abdul Waheed read extracts from the columns of Munnu Bhai and paid tribute to him for his services for Pakistan and its media.