Will it be appropriate to change the national logo of Pakistan for the third time?

Federal Minister of Information, Fawad Hussain Chaudhry, said in one of his tweets in recent days that the logo of the state of Pakistan, i.e. Tughre, should be changed and science and technology should be given place instead of rice and tea.

In this regard, he has also asked for suggestions for changes in the proposed design. The current Tughra of Pakistan was approved in 1954, then United Pakistan and being an agricultural country, tea and cotton were its main agricultural products which were included in the state Tughra.

Pakistan was torn apart in 1971 and it has been 50 years since that tragedy. Now our Minister Ba Tadbir Fawad Chaudhry has suggested that the national logo of Pakistan should be changed because tea and cotton are not our products. Despite the fact that according to the data of 2019, Pakistan is the largest tea importing country in the world and it imports tea worth 49.8 million dollars annually, but still showing it as national production in the national table. Place is given.

In this way, India ranks first, Bangladesh second and China third in the production of cotton. India produces 50% of the world’s pit sand. Our number is 17 in this list. Pakistan imports more than $100 million worth of pit sun annually to meet its needs.

The current logo of Pakistan i.e. Tughra was adopted in 1954. The first proposed official flag had the verse ‘Mallikt Pakistan’ above and ‘Hasbana Allah Wa Naam Al Wakil’ written below. There was a tea leaf on one side, wheat ear on the other and cotton flowers in the middle but it was not applied.

Many may not know that the first official logo approved and signed by the Quaid-e-Azam was issued in 1948 with the moon and star at the top. Pakistan was written in the moon, while below it is an open book, which is supposed to be a boat, and on the lower side are the letters ‘Government of Pakistan’ in English.

Regarding how the first two logos of Pakistan came into being, Dr. Nadeem Umar Tarar in his book ‘The Colonial and National Formation of the National College of Arts. Lahore. 1870-1960’ writes that after the flag and the national anthem, the most important symbol of national unity in the state is the national logo. In 1947, Liaquat Ali Khan, then the Finance Minister of United India, through one of his representatives, requested the renowned artist AR Chaghtai to design a logo of the new state in the light of the Quaid-i-Azam’s instructions.

These instructions were only that there must be a crescent in the sign. Chaghatai was given two months for this purpose. In due time he accomplished his goal and on 18 May 1948, the Quaid-e-Azam approved the design made by A. R. Chighatai.

AR Chaghtai is also credited with designing Pakistan’s first postage stamp, Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television logos. This logo remained in use until 1954 after which a national level competition was held for the current logo and in this competition the logo designed by Meraj Muhammad, an alumnus of Mayo School of Arts, Lahore was selected.

Meraj Muhammad was from Dera Ghazi Khan and did a three-year diploma in commercial painting from 1935 to 1938 at the Mayo School of Arts, now (National College of Arts or NCA). The logo designed by him was approved by the then Constituent Assembly before its dissolution.

Miraj Muhammad later became the Head Artist of Punjab Agricultural College, Faisalabad, which is now known as Agricultural University. The artist who designed the national logo of Pakistan, his services were neither recognized at the national level nor mentioned anywhere in history, thus this national hero died a death of anonymity.

The current logo of Pakistan is a reflection of the ideological base of Pakistan along with its economy, culture, heritage and its guiding principles which consists of four parts. At the bottom are the guiding principles given by Quaid-e-Azam, faith, unity, order, written above them is a garland of flowers in a circle with a moon and star above it. The green color of the moon, star and logo is a reflection of Islam.

In the middle are four boxes displaying cotton, wheat, tea and cottonseed products. The garland of flowers is made of chenbilli, which is the national flower of Pakistan. The design of the garland and the lower portion inscribed with the Quaid-i-Azam’s guiding principles resemble Mughal art.

The national emblem of any state is a mirror of its national pride which reflects its history, religion, heritage, art, economy and national aspirations. The same is the case with the national flag. According to a Pew study, out of 196 countries in the world, 64 countries have religious symbols in their flags, 48 ​​percent of which are Christian and 33 percent are Muslim. More or less the same trend is also with regard to national logos. The national logo of Pakistan also reflects its religion, history and economy.

Some experts also raise the question that although cottonseed and tea are produced very little in the country at the moment, but maybe its production will increase in the coming years, so will the national logo be changed at that time?

In this regard, former executive director of Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services, Zafarullah Khan told Independent Urdu that ‘logos of government institutions in Pakistan have been changing frequently. This is the fifth logo of the National Assembly and the fourth of the Senate. The tradition of changing the national logo was put by the PTI government, then it will not stop, every incoming government may repeat this practice, so it is better to keep the old logo. Agriculture still has a major share in the national output. As far as science and technology are concerned, there are still no outstanding achievements in this field in our part, then changing the logo to give place to science and technology will be called stupidity.

Professor of Political Science at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Dr. Rasool Bakhsh Rais told Independent Urdu: ‘After the formation of Bangladesh, tea and cottonseed are less produced in our country, but these are signs of our history and being an agricultural country. If we remove East Pakistan from our history, then Pakistan would not even exist. Although the events of 1971 are certainly heartbreaking, the talk of changing the logo on this basis can only be called mental retardation.’

He added: ‘If you want to advance science and technology, there is no need to change the logo. America, which is the world leader in science and technology, has an eagle in its logo. India’s logo has a lion. Therefore, the logo of Pakistan is a mirror of a history which has absolutely no need to be tampered with.