It was really great to see Malala Yousafzai being honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway yesterday. Some of her detractors may dismiss her as Western propoganda, but this valiant girl battled death and survived to become an inspiration to billions in the world who fight religious extremism for their right to education. However, when she started with her acceptance speech, she sounded anything but humble & modest, especially when she said this during her speech (verbatim) - I am very proud to be the first Pashtun, the first Pakistani, and the youngest person to receive this award. But since she happens to be a teenager still, shes forgiven ;) Unrestrained Enthusiasm & even Complacency are Excused when one is just 17 :) She is absolutely right about being the first Pashtun & the youngest recipient but I wish she made it explicitly clear that she was the first Pakistani to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and not the Nobel Prize. Im sure Dr. Abdus Salam must have turned in his grave when Malala uttered the words First Pakistani yesterday :P and even by the fact that his name was nowhere mentioned during the ceremony. For the uninitiated, Dr. Abdus Salam, a theoritical physicist, was the first Pakistani to win the Nobel prize (Physics Nobel) in 1979 for his pioneering work in electroweak unification theory. And like Malala, he too was a victim of religious persecution as he was from the Ahmadiyya sect (Qadiani) and left Pakistan after Ahmaddiyas were declared infidels by the Pakistani government. Like Malala, he too exiled himself to England where he lived till his death.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:20:15 +0000
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