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‘I can never forget The Mall’

* Phillips Talbot recalls his love for Lahore
* Nancy Talbot says fond of Pakistani food

By Hina Farooq

LAHORE: Phillips Talbot, a US-based distinguished journalist and political scientist, who spent a long time in India and Pakistan said he could not forget The Mall.

Talking to Daily Times during his recent visit to Lahore, he recalled memories of Lahore, a city that he considered the loveliest and relatively liberal in Pakistan. He wished to visit the place – Minto Park (now Minar-e-Pakistan) – where once Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had passed the Pakistan Resolution and historic buildings like National Museum on The Mall. He termed consistency of democracy key to Pakistan’s progress.

92-year-old Prof Dr Phillips Talbot is a veteran journalist and a political scientist with his long-time dedication and outstanding contributions to South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. 24-year-old Phillips, a student of Aligarh University, first time visited Lahore in 1940. At that time, he was the correspondent of Chicago Daily News. He witnessed the Partition announcement by Lord Mountbatten. He is recently visiting Lahore to get feedback on his fourth book An American Witness to India Partition published by SAGE Publications, India. The book narrates his experiences and observations between 1938 and 1958. Currently, he is the US Asia Society president (emeritus). He served as US ambassador to Greece (1965-68). He also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the early 1960s.

He was honoured with a number of awards including Padma Sri award by the Indian government.

“I am happy to see that both India and Pakistan are progressing economically.” He said. “However, I feel that India is relatively lucky because there is consistency of democracy.”

He said, “Both the countries have now realised the reasons behind conflicts including the Kashmir issue. Both the countries rely on each other for their progress.”

He said, “I still remember the tall buildings of the Aitchison College and the National Museum. He said, “Lahore is the only city in Pakistan I am affiliated with.” During his stay in Lahore, he said, he used to write for several newspapers.

He said he had a bulk of memories, which he later published in his book An American Witness to India Partition. “I have heard that Lahoris are conservative, but I have still to see any evidence of this.”

His daughter Nancy Talbot, who is also accompanying Talbot, said, “I was seven when we lived at FC College in 1956.” She is a seminarian at the Union Theological Seminary, New York. She said, “It is my first time to Lahore after a long period of 50 years.” She said she would love to visit the place where she spent her childhood. She said she was fond of Pakistani food.

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