KARACHI: His parents wanted him to become an engineer. He, too, aspired to be one. But fate had other plans for him. He ended up becoming a journalist and later teaching the theories of his profession in public and private universities.

Dr Nisar Ahmed Zuberi, former editor of Akhbar-i-Jehan and professor of mass communication, was speaking to Dr Tahir Masood, former chairman of Karachi University’s mass communication department, on the premises of Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu on Saturday.

Born in Shahjahanpur in India, Mr Zuberi received his early education at his birthplace and went to Muradabad, a city close to Shahjahanpur, for his higher education. An altercation with his Hindu college-mates over Jinnah and Pakistan deeply affected his intermediate studies resulting in poor marks in his exams and he was unable to get admission to any engineering college. He migrated to Pakistan in 1958 and did his masters in psychology, hoping to teach the subject in a college. “I was appointed to teach psychology in a college but then I was told the college had a large number of female students and the administration thought it prudent to appoint a female lecturer instead,” he said.

In the newsroom

And thus Mr Zuberi began his journalism career first with Hurriyet newspaper and then in 1965 with Jang newspaper where he began a youth magazine. But his real claim to fame as a journalist, according to Mr Masood, was as editor of the extremely popular weekly magazine Akhbar-i-Jehan where he was at the helm from 1974-1984 and whose circulation peaked to over 100,000.

Speaking about the high points of his editorship, Mr Zuberi said: “When I joined the magazine, its circulation was between 29,000 and 35,000 and I was tasked to increase it by 80,000. I managed to increase it to over 100,000.”

Explaining the reasons for its popularity, Mr Zuberi thought it was because they introduced high quality fiction, published as a series, by well-known writers in their magazine. “This kept the readers hooked and they waited anxiously for the next episode.” Another section ‘Cutpiece’ comprising humourous anecdotes and jokes was also well-liked and increased the popularity of the weekly.

Quarrels in Mr Zuberi’s life have left an impact on his career choices. For instance, a squabble during his student years led him to the profession of journalism. Similarly, a squabble with his boss when he reneged on his promise on giving him a special grade should he achieve the circulation target set for the magazine meant that he quit the newsroom and began a new journey in the classroom.

In the classroom

He taught for several years at the mass communication department of Karachi University. He did his PhD under the supervision of Prof Zakria Sajid. His thesis for Phd was titled “Impact of television on children”.

According to Dr Masood, Dr Zuberi ensured that the dissertation produced by students who did their thesis under his supervision would be of highest standards. “He would make his students revise their drafts repeatedly till he was satisfied. Indolent students would ensure they do not write their thesis under his supervision and search for teachers who did not have such exacting standards,” said Dr Masood.

Dr Zuberi also taught at Islamic University Malaysia, a public sector institution, where he was most impressed by their teaching standards and their rector’s continued engagement with the professors of his university. “The rector would regularly meet the professors and discuss their courses. Departmental meetings would regularly take place to dissect the curricula. The teachers had to be present in their classroom, or in their office or library. They could only leave the university premises at 4pm.” Comparing it to his experience at Karachi University, he said the vice chancellor here only visited departments for some event and is invited to give a speech. “Moreover, the professors here are fixated upon salaries and allowances.”

Mr Masood asked him to comment on the futility of teaching journalism as in real life journalism standards have become abysmal. Mr Zuberi more or less agreed with the statement. He felt the curricula in universities teaching journalism or mass communication was outdated and needed to be thoroughly revised and updated with more focus on practical aspects rather than theories. Also, he felt strongly that it was TV that had wrecked havoc on the entire landscape of journalism. “Our least capable students have gained positions in TV channels and I am unable to figure out why this is so.”

He blamed the owners of media groups for focusing only on profit and not raising the bar in media in terms of ethics and social responsibility.

The veteran journalist and professor, who is 75, thought civil society could highlight the flaws in the media and undertake efforts to remove them.

Mr Masood and Prof Sahar Ansari of Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu drew attention of the guests to Dr Zuberi’s literary contributions. “Vatan ka Qarz, compiled by Dr Zuberi, is a collection of short stories with Pakistan as its main theme and is worth reprinting,” said Dr Masood. “There is a short story titled ‘Thoo Thoo’ in the collection that haunts me to this day. It is about a child who loses his speech due to the events of East Pakistan and all he can say is thoo-thoo,” said Prof Ansari.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2015