AMU ALUMNI MEET 2015

Its quite difficult to sum up the recently concluded AMU Alumni meet 2015 in words . In my whole life I have never witnessed such enthusiasm, dedication, hard work and professionalism in any meet . More than 600 delegates ( AMU Alumni) across the globe gathered to pay tribute to the founder of AMU , the great Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and also pledged to take his mission forward by investing time, talent and treasure. The three day event started with SS day celebrations on 17th October 2015 , The chief guest of the event was Mr. PK Abdu Rabb, Minister for Education and Culture, Government of Kerala , who himself is a proud alumnus of AMU. In the evening each and every hall of AMU hosted its annual SS day dinner and eminent alumni of AMU presided those functions as chief guests.

On 18th October 2015, AMU Alumni meet commenced at Kennedy auditorium and the dais was full of eminent alumni consists of Chief guest Mr. Javed Usmani ( CIC, Uttar Pradesh Govt), Prof. Habib Zuberi ( Emeritus professor of economics , University of Michigan, USA), Dr. Ashok Seth ( Padam Bhushan, Chairman , Fortis-Escorts Heart Institute, New Delhi),Mr. Ameer Ahmad ( Chairman & Group MD of Manappat group of companies, Dubai, UAE), Mr. Nasir uddin Shah ( Padambhushan, Renowned actor, Mumbai) , Vice Chancellor Lt. General Zamir Uddin Shah, Pro Vice Chancellor Brigadier Ahmad Ali & Dr. Suhail Sabir ( Chairman of Alumni Affairs committee, AMU ), who made not only the alma mater but also the country proud through their work and talent.

After inspirational speeches from distinguished guests , an alumni Dr. Afshan Hashmi donated her wedding jewellery for the cause of alma mater , which was auctioned on the stage and the total money collected through this auction was in excess of Rs 70 Lakhs . Highest bidder was a proud alumni from Mumbai Mr. Rais Ahmad , who gave the jewellery back to AMU to be preserved in AMU museum.

After the inaugural session , various other sessions took place which emphasised on AMU & Alumni Interface , Alumni role in Infrastructure development & Alumni & Student Interaction. The sessions were addressed by alumni from USA, Middle East, Canada & India and they gave detailed presentations inline with the theme of sessions and promised to take AMU to new heights through their continuos support & experience . The speakers include the likes of Dr. Shaheer Khan, Mr. Syed Ali Rizvi, Mr. Masood Akhtar, Mr. Nausha Asrar, Mr. Rais Ahmad, Mr. Nadim Tarin, Mr. Mohammad Ahmad Badshah, Mr. Sayed Mohammad Naved, Mr. Syed Hasan Kamaal, Mr. Mohammad Zaigham Khan, Mr. Faisal Saleem, Mr. Ameer Ahmad , Mr Umar Farooq, Mr. Md Mudassir Alam, Mr. Mubarak Raza Naqvi & Zartab Haider Jafri...There were three presentations by Students as well which showcased various innovations and projects undertaken by them .

The day ended with a play " Karbal Katha" & Dinner .

On the second day of the meet , Alumni visited & witnessed the infrastructure projects like extension of B.R. Ambedkar Hall & a new manufacturing unit for Unani medicines . In the afternoon the foundation stone of new residence hall " Riyadh Hall" was laid by The Vice Chancellor Mr. Zamirduddin Shah & Mr. Nadim Tarin . This hall is being built by the efforts of Alumni from Saudi Arabia.

Alumni also visited the new art gallery , a smart classroom , Bridge course ( Ambitious initiative by VC to bridge Madrassa education & modern education ) & convention centre in Engineering department .

The day ended with Valedictory session in which the chief guest was another proud alumnus and recipient of coveted Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar award,Dr. Rajeev Kumar Varshney . The session was presided by one of the illustrious alumnus and recipient of Nishan-E-Imtiyaz , Brigadier Mohd Shafi Sb, who despite of his fragile health and old age (88 Years) , came all the way from Pakistan , to be a part of this event. He also donated Rs 7.5 lakhs to the alma mater.

To sum it up, these were the most enthralling three days of my life where I have witnessed the zeal and enthusiasm of Alumni and their urge to contribute in every way possible towards the growth and development of Alma mater . I was also moved with the benevolent and kind hearted gesture of the students , teachers and other faculty members who also pledged and donated whatever they can for the cause of alma mater .

It will be gross injustice If I will not appreciate the untiring and selfless efforts of whole Alumni affairs committee , who made this event possible and also left no stone unturned in making it one of the most successful event ever organised in the annals of alma mater history . Chairman of Alumni Affairs committee, Dr. Suhail Sabir, deserves special mention , as without his engagement and zeal this would not have been possible . He was duly supported by Dr. Ali Jafar Abedi, Prof. Syed Ziaur Rahman, Prof. Asad .U.Khan, Prof Akram Javed & Dr. Mohammad Zain Khan . The unsung heroes of this event , the volunteers , worth kudos and salutes and they sacrificed their sleep to make alumni comfortable at all times.

Few questions like the building of AMU centres at Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, though remain to be answered and I am pretty sure that under the dedicated aegis of Vice Chancellor Zamir Uddin Shah , those will also be able to see the light of the day .

I can proudly say that university is in safe and sound hands and the dedicated duo of VC and Pro VC along with their teams will ascertain that the growth of AMU will go unabated.

I end with these lines of Majaz

" Zarraat Ka Bosa lene ko Sau baar Jhuka Aakash Yahan,

Khud Aankh se hamne dekhi hai Baatil ki Shikaste Faash Yahan"

Yeh Mera Chaman hai mera Chaman, Main Apne Chaman ka Bulbul hoon "

"Sir Syed Zindabad----- AMU Paindabad "

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan: A Great Muslim Reformer

October 17th reminds us of a great Muslim reformer, educationist and a legendary figure, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was born on this date in 1817 in Delhi.

Aligarh Muslim University which became a symbol of Muslim quest towards modern education was the brain-child of this great personality.

Born in a noble family of Mughal empire, Sir Syed was more in influence of her mother than his father. His mother Aziz un Nisa took great interest in the education and upbringing of Sir Syed and her rigid discipline and supervision guided him in his character formation.

The death of his father in 1838 left the family in difficulties. Thus young Syed Ahmad was compelled at the early age of 21 to look for a career. He entered the service of the East India Company. He started his career as Sarishtedar in a court of law. He became Naib Munshi in 1839 and Munshi in 1841. In 1858 he was promoted and appointed as Sadar-us-Sadur at Muradabad.

While working as a Jurist he developed an interest toward writing and he published a series of treatises in Urdu on religious subjects in 1842. Though it was his book Athar Assanadid (Great Monuments) which won him a national fame and he was being considered as a cultural scholar. His other Literary works include Jila-ul-qulub bi -Zikr-il Mahbub, Tuhfa-i-Hasan,Tahsil-fi-jar-e-Saqil, Namiqa dar bayan masala tasawwur-i-Shaikh, Silsilat ul-Mulk, Asbab-e-Bhaghawath-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny), Loyal Muhammadans of India, Tabyin-ul-Kalam, A Series of Essays on the Life of Muhammad and Subjects Subsidiary Therein. Apart from that he also wrote a commentary on Bible and Quran.

There were many inspirations which were the binding force behind his many literary works, like the commentary on Bible was written by him suggesting that Christianity is the closest religion to Islam in terms of culture and traditions, also Asbab-i-Bhagawat-i-Hind was inspired by the unethical expansion of British colonial rule and the massacre of Indian mass in the aftermath of 1857 mutiny by the Britishers.

During 1850’s Sir Syed Ahmad Khan began developing a strong passion for education. He thrived hard to inject the western style of education among the Indian masses and worked throughout his life to achieve this goal, he was against the traditional dogma and religious orthodoxy which were the influential themes among the Muslims at that time. He was criticized by many religious zealots at that time and even been termed as kafir for his efforts.

Committed to working for the upliftment of Muslims, Sir Syed founded a modern madrassa in Moradabad in 1859; this was one of the first religious schools to impart scientific education. He established another modern school in Ghazipur in 1863. Upon his transfer to Aligarh in 1864, he founded the Scientific Society of Aligarh which were on the lines of Royal society and Royal Asiatic society. He enrolled many renowned personalities across India in this society and held annual meetings of the same which in turn decide about the allocation of fund for educational causes across India. He published two journals also, Aligarh Institute Gazzette and Tehzeeb-ul Ikhlaq. Tehzeeb-ul-Ikhlaq succeeded in infusing a desire among Muslims towards acquiring modern Education and it also gave Muslims a new social and political thought.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan also advocated Muslims against joining the political parties without getting the parity in Education with the Hindus.

On May 24th 1875 Sir Syed Ahmad Khan laid the foundation of Muhammadan Anglo Oriental college in Aligarh with an aim of having a Muslim Cambridge University. MAO attracted a large student body, mainly drawn from the Muslim gentry and middle classes. The curriculum at the college involved scientific and Western subjects, as well as Oriental subjects and religious education. The first Chancellor of the college was Sultan Jahan Begum, a prominent Muslim noblewoman, and Sir Syed invited an Englishman, Theodore Beck, to serve as the first college principal. The college was originally affiliated with Calcutta University but was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the 20th century, it began publishing its own magazine and established a law school. In 1920, the college was transformed into Aligarh Muslim University, after 22 years of Sir Syed’s death.

Tilll his death on 27th March 1898, Sir Syed strive towards the upliftment of Modern education among the Indian masses and his efforts have successfully broken the shackles of religious orthodoxy and traditional dogma of Indian Muslims and encouraged them to attain a more successful and respected life style by adopting the modern and scientific education.

He was buried besides Sir Syed Masjid inside the campus of the Aligarh Muslim University.