Learning from a Life of Purpose
The first time I encountered Syed Babar Ali was not through a conversation or a book, but through his name engraved on a building at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. Back then, it was simply the name of a benefactor, someone whose contributions I barely understood. Years later, after graduating in the USA, I find myself returning to that name through his autobiography, Learning from Others. The title is striking, as he chose to define his life’s story not by what he taught the world, but by what the world taught him.
Autobiographies like his deserve a wider audience. They should not remain confined to literary festivals or corporate boardrooms. They belong in classrooms, where young Pakistanis are searching for role models. We often lament the absence of heroes yet overlook the value of autobiographies that allow students to learn directly from lives shaped by integrity, perseverance and public purpose.
The Question of Enduring Legacy
Syed Babar Ali’s centenary on 30 June offers more than an opportunity to celebrate an extraordinary individual. It invites us to reflect on a question Pakistan has struggled with since its inception: what kind of legacy truly endures? The answer is not wealth, political office or personal fame. It is institutions. What Pakistan has consistently struggled to produce are institutions that outlast the individuals who founded them. Even many successful businesses remain centred on family succession rather than professional governance. Syed Babar Ali deliberately chose a different path.
Business Achievements and Investment in People
His business achievements are substantial. Packages Limited transformed Pakistan’s packaging industry and introduced international manufacturing standards. Partnerships with global companies such as Tetra Pak and Nestlé demonstrated that international collaboration could be built on trust, professionalism and ethical conduct rather than short-term commercial interests. Yet perhaps his greatest investment was never in factories or products. It was in people.
When the idea of establishing LUMS emerged, Pakistan already had universities. What it lacked was an institution committed to developing leaders capable of strengthening both the private and public sectors. That vision reflects a broader truth often overlooked in public discourse. Pakistan’s greatest untapped resource has always been its people. Syed Babar Ali recognised this long before “human capital” became a fashionable development phrase. Throughout his career, he repeatedly invested in education because he understood that institutions are ultimately built by capable, ethical and well-trained individuals.
A Century of Reflection
Throughout his century-long life, Syed Babar Ali witnessed Partition, the optimism of independence, the separation of East Pakistan, nationalisation, economic liberalisation and repeated cycles of political instability. Yet his reflections are remarkably free of bitterness or nostalgia. Rather than dwelling on the past, he consistently returns to one central conviction: invest in people.
That observation deserves careful attention. Nations rarely decline because of a single economic crisis. They decline gradually when institutions lose credibility, when merit yields to patronage, when education prioritises credentials over competence, and when public office becomes a vehicle for personal gain instead of public service. Conversely, nations recover when institutions become stronger than individuals.
Pakistan's Current Challenges
Pakistan today confronts multiple crises: economic uncertainty, climate vulnerability, educational inequality, weak governance and declining public trust. None of these challenges will be solved through charismatic speeches or short-term political victories. They require patient institution-building, ethical leadership and sustained investment in human development. That work is slow. It rarely attracts headlines. Often, its rewards are realised only decades later.
The current government is striving hard for youth-building in the right direction while stitching the moral and economic fabric. As Pakistan marks the hundredth birthday of Syed Babar Ali, perhaps the greatest tribute is not another celebration of his remarkable achievements, but a willingness to embrace the principles that shaped them.
The Example That Endures
Syed Babar Ali’s greatest contribution perhaps is not simply the companies he founded or the university he helped establish. It is the example he leaves behind: that nations are transformed not by extraordinary individuals alone, but by ordinary people committed to creating institutions that endure. That may well be the lesson that shapes Pakistan’s next hundred years.
Muhammad Ali Falak is a Fulbright alumnus working on climate change. He can be reached at mafalak@yahoo.com
