'The Dreaming Spirits of Oxford'

[sadia malik 2011]

A selection from 'Daughter of the East'
by Benazir Bhutto


Oxford, Oxford, Oxford, he'd drummed into all of us. Oxford was one of the best and most respected universities in the world. Oxford was steeped in English history. English Literature, the church, the monarchy, parliament, all had some connection with Oxford. American education was very good, he'd allowed, but was conducted in a more relaxed manner. Oxford would give us all a new horizon and a sense of discipline........................................ ................................. .........


" I feel a strange sensation in imagining you walking on the footprints, I left behind at Oxford over 22 years ago", my father wrote to me.............." I see your presence like mine in flesh and blood over every cobble of the streets of Oxford, over every step you take on the frozen stone ladders, through every portal of learning you enter. Your being at Oxford is a dream come true....................


My father had warned me that, compared to Harvard, Oxford would teach me to work under pressure. As I struggled to write the required two essays a week for my tutorials in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, I had to admit, he was right.

Of all the various societies at Oxford, and there were many _ ranging from Socialist, Conservative and Liberal political clubs to those focusing on rowing, beagling _ the most well-known was the Oxford Union Debating Society. Established in 1823 and modelled on the House of Commons, the Union was seen as the training ground for future politicians.I had no intention of becoming a politician, having seen first hand the pressures and strains of life in politics. I was aiming for a career in Pakistan's Foreign service. Nevertheless, I joined the Oxford Union to please my father
.

As well as fulfilling my father's wishes, I was drawn by the art of debate. The power of oratory had always been a great force on the Asian sub-continent where so many were illiterate. Millions had been swayed by the words of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, M.A Jinnah and indeed my father. Story-telling, poetry and oratory were part of our tradition. I did'nt realize then that my experience gained in the polite and panelled walls of the OxfordUnion would translate into speaking before millions in the fields of Pakistan.