For the 12th year in a row, Google has commemorated Pakistan’s Independence Day (14th of August) with a customized Google Doodle on their Google Pakistan homepage. You can see the twelve doodles below, starting with this year:
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2014 Doodle
2014’s Doodle outlined the Pakistan Monument, Pakistan’s newest national monument located in Islamabad. This monument is an architectural masterpiece that portrays different aspects of Pakistan in a beautiful manner. The overall structure (also shown in the Doodle) showing four petals represent the four provinces of the country. Art depicting Islamic architecture is used to cover the insides of the walls of these petals. The monument is located on a small hill in Islamabad, making it a vantage point to see the beautiful capital city.
Google has a rich tradition of doing Doodles to mark different events, anniversaries and other important dates. Be it scientist’s birthdays or a religious holiday, finding out what Google has put up on their homepage has become somewhat of a tradition among the community of global internet users. With the Google Cultural Institute – or Google Arts & Culture – the company is also showcasing important elements of Pakistani culture.
Selection Process
The process of selecting only a few Google doodles out of many hundreds trying to make it to the homepage has a similarity with the way the architect and design for the Pakistan Monument was selected. The Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) held a competition before the construction of the monument to select the best design.
Google has been deep in the middle of controversy in Pakistan, with YouTube (owned by Google) blocked several times over the last decade, as well as FBR’s attempt to tax Google. We hope that there is a congruence of interests between both parties that they can jointly benefit from in the future.
