Wings of Duty

Wings of Duty — Page 8

Syed Muhammad Ahmad 8 and this desire was fulfilled 10 years later when I was commissioned in the Royal Indian Air Force. I first joined the Air Force out of necessity. In 1939, when I was 14, I passed my Matriculation exam from Talimul-Islam High School in Qadian with a score of 68 per cent—a first division grade. I had the fifth highest score in my class. I wanted to attend Government College Lahore in the FSc Pre- Medical programme, as by then I wished to become a doctor. Despite knowing of my desire, my father had decided that I should become a civil engineer. He had me admitted to an FSc Pre-Engineering course, with the idea that after completing this, I would go to Mughalpura Engineering College, which is now the University of Engineering and Technology. Back then, only 30 boys were admitted to the college every year and of those only four gained entry on an open merit. The rest of the places were reserved for the sons of railway engineers and Public Works Department engineers. Therefore, to be sure of gaining admission, I needed a grade of at least 75 per cent in my FSc exams and this I was not able to achieve. My father was deeply disappointed with me and remained so for a long time. Left with no other