A Tribute on Founder’s Day - Sir Syed Ahmad Khan - Aligarh Muslim University – India
Monday, October 27, 2014
The mission and teachings of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan to dispel ignorance, to accept modern education and above all to live like brothers and sisters irrespective of caste, colour, creed and nationality are no more ideals today but real necessities of life for survival. On this auspicious day, therefore, let us like true Aligs resolve to spread the message of Sir Syed Khan in every part of the world where we may be based. It should become a hallmark of our alma mater.
We are all admiration for a movement that restored the confidence and self respect of Indian Muslims, broke their insularity, persuaded them to take part in the various spheres of life, won them over to modern education and started them on the course of change of attitudes. It released pent up energies and channelled them into constructive and nation building efforts.
It is not feasible to link the beginning of any movement to a given point of time. But in case of Aligarh Movement, one can with a reasonable degree of precision place its start in the early years of 1870. Curiosly, the movement tapered off by the time (1920) when the Mohammedan Oriental College reached its originally intended destination of a full fledged modern university – Aligarh Muslim University. Sir Syed had insulated his movement from active politics because he knew politics would militate against the objectives aimed at by the movement and demanded a massive and concerted effort. Sir Syed’s strategy was to persuade the Indian Muslims to concentrate on making up the leeway in education.
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was a great nationalist, gifted with secular outlook, a true Muslim and a great Indian. His outlook was very comprehensive. He wanted to see India strong and flourishing. He had full realisation if any of the communities inhabiting India were economically depressed, educationally backward, devoid of logical comprehension, divorced from science and all that science stands for and at the same time does not imbibe the real teaching of it’s religion, the country will not move forward. The indomitable courage which he manifested here was indeed rare.
It is extremely rare to find a man with such un-flinching faith to continue his endeavours under heavy odds when there were no monetary gains or any public recognition. When he planted the school in form of a sapling, little did he know that a day will come when the sapling will grow into a big shady tree sending its bowers all over the world. And the dream has come true. The school was meant for educational and cultural upliftment of the Muslims of India but it’s doors were open to all irrespective of faith and belief. At the time when Sir Syed established the school, the situation was such that had he introduced reservations for Muslims, no eyebrows would have been raised, but it was his secular outlook that prevented him from doing so.
Over last several decades, Aligarh Muslim University has undergone a tremendous expansion. Science and Technology came into their own. Engineering and Medical Faculties aided by Management Degrees and degrees in Journalism helped to balance the earlier emphasis on Humanities. And !!....the excellence continues with new courses added in Tourism, Computer Applications, Petro-Chemical Engineering and Food Technology etc.
The attitude that Aligarh teaches manners, induces confidence and produces sportsmen of national and international calibre has greatly helped achieving constantly high academic standards. However, there have been casualties too, alongside. Students have been exploited time and again by political parties to be groomed as legislator and future ministers resulting in some interruptions. The relevance of the philosophy of Sir Syed is more needed today. Sir Syed introduced modern education, - to carry forward his this mission is the need of the day with religious and moral teachings, to recapture the spirit of dedication and social reform, resistance to sentimentalism and adherence to reason, pursuit of excellence and a well ordered corporate life based on healthy traditions. The spirit of Aligarh Movement also require in a big way the education of Muslim women, vocalisation of education, a dextrous handling of democratic system and exploitation of the avenues of self employment.
Sir Syed Day is celebrated on October 17 every year to refresh the memory what Sir Syed stood for. Let this day be a day of heart searching. Let it not end up with rituals. It should be a day of pledge-taking that the mission of this great son of India, will be carried forward.
Here in Kuwait Aligarh Muslim University is very strongly represented by its alumni who walk and talk the Kuwait countryline serving practically all sectors of the economy….…from businessmen to bankers to doctors to engineers to financial partners and educationists and business managers. Through events like dinner meetings, get together at religious festivities, the AMU alumni fraternity turn its love of fellowship into a way to both entertain and serve the community.
When we the alumni of AMU look back, our heart swells with pride at the Academic Progression of our alma mater which has grown from strength to strength over the years. A look at its present status is as under:
** The Aligarh Muslim University an Institution of National importance
(Seventh Schedule, Article 246 of the Indian Constitution)
** AMU Ranked 3rd among Indian Universities: (Times Higher Education, Asia Ranking 2014)
** J.N. Medical College
Ranked 15th, The India Today-Nielsen Ranking of Best Medical Colleges of India-2014
** Faculty of Law Ranked 6th, The India Today-Nielsen Ranking of Law Colleges of India-2014
** AMU Ranked 50th, among top 100 institutions of higher learning in BRICS grouping-2014
** AMU Ranked 5th, The Week-Hansa Research (Best Universities Survey) 2014.
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