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 "

Kalam-The Legacy lives on

“If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher”- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

WE all know Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as a great scientist and visionary, but today I am going to touch upon his role as a teacher. It is in this role that he transformed many lives and became a role model of millions.

Years back when he visited Jamia Millia Islamia, he took questions from the students. The first question was, “Which role do you prefer – the president or the scientist?” He promptly replied, “A teacher.”

From very early in his life, he understood that the greatest impact on a person’s life is either from parents or from a teacher, and if a person gets the right teacher then no one can stop him or her in achieving success and contributing in country’s growth.

Whenever he use to visits the institutions, he emphasised on taking questions from students first and then adults or faculty members.

Another notable incident of his life which highlights his seriousness on being a teacher happened in 2002. He was in a classroom in Anna University, Chennai, when he got a call from the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, whom he knew in his capacity as the country’s Chief Scientific Advisor. “I was teaching so I couldn’t take the call,” he later told. When he did call the PM back, Vajpayee made his offer – Would he consider being the President of India?

Youth defines the future of any country. If youth are envisioned with humanity, success, humility, discipline, dedication, determination, fore-sightedness, equality, development, honesty and leadership, then they can contribute constructively in the growth of society in general and country at large. Kalam through his speeches and workshops always instilled these virtues among the audience and his words always left a mesmerising impact on the youth.

He was a person with a vision, a vision to empower the most valuable asset of any country – its youth. He dedicated his life to realise this vision .

His message to educationists was very simple, “Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.”

It is not only difficult but impossible to sum up his vision or deeds in an article, it can never do justice to his cause. He touched upon almost all issues plaguing our country, and creating road blocks in its endeavour to become a prosperous and peaceful nation. His thoughts on gender equality, religious freedom, economic development, cultural growth, scientific evolution , youth transformation, rural progress and empowerment of the underprivileged, are guidelines for society and government to implement, in order to make India a better place to live in.

Dr Kalam was not an individual, he was an institution in himself. There was always so much for everyone, right from individuals to institutions to organisations and to governments. His demise has left a void which is never going to be filled in but he will keep inspiring every soul with the legacy he has left behind.

I hope this message from him will remain the motto of our lives forever-

“We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilisational heritage.”

Empowering rural India to contribute more in national development

India has a huge opportunity to improve the education standards in rural areas and create an even bigger skilled workforce.



India, despite of its 60 per cent population residing in villages, becomes one of the fastest developing nation thanks to the progress made in sectors like IT, real estate, pharmaceutical, retail, and medical. This growth was possible only because of the capable and intelligent manpower India boasts.


India has got one of the biggest set of skilled manpower in the world. Indians' proficiency in English gives them an edge over their Chinese counterparts globally. But are we really in a position to bid for a place among the elite developed nations of the world? The answer, sadly, is a no!

Our manpower is still inadequate to meet the demand. Industries such as biotechnology, construction, medical, and energy have a big amount of skilled manpower shortage. Till we do not meet this demand, we are not in any race for global supremacy.

The basic problem is the skilled manpower mainly comes from the urban areas (almost 90 per cent) of the country, whereas the 60 per cent of population residing in villages contributes only 10 per cent of the total. This divide should be enough for the government to look into possible reasons, and work out a way. The solution lies in developing the educational standard of the state and centre run educational institutions by providing cutting edge technologies to villagers in areas of education and Industry, and using the globally accepted medium of English.

Unfortunately, government's approach towards a solution is pathetic. Till date no concrete step has been taken to address the issue, on the contrary, new rules and regulations are being promoted in the educational sector based on reservation, which can probably make the educational system defunct later, if not sooner.

The difference in infrastructure is obvious if one pays a visit to any village in India. You'll find shabbily dressed students sitting on rags in the open, one student would be reading from his book and others repeating the same text in chorus, and all this while the teacher sits on a chair reading a newspaper and enjoying the morning. This is how most students in rural India get their education.

If you go and ask them basic questions you will get blank stares and wry smiles! There is no accountability of teachers. They mostly arrive late to the school, register their attendance and get busy in their personal work. Poor villagers are left at the mercy of such teachers. The parents are happy that at least their children are attending school. For them education is knowing how to write your name and read letters. Quite similar to the definition of literacy rate in India!

Educational superintendents and Basic Education Assistants (BSAs) do routine checkups of schools, sometimes in their areas of jurisdiction, not to check the quality of education but to ascertain that mid-day meal is properly distributed and all students have received uniforms allocated to them by government. Teachers are complacent for they don’t have to answer to any superior authority for the quality of education they impart. No wonder the level of education in villages is going down by the day. It's impossible to get superior set of skilled workers from such schools and institutions.
Ironically, private run institutions pay their teachers less than half of what state run educational institutions do, and still hold them accountable for a non-performing student. This accountability results in better individuals contributing to the economic growth of the country using their educational acumen. Until similar or a better system is not put in place in the state run institutions, mediocre students would continue to lose out in the race.

State governments needs to play a bigger role in curbing deteriorating standards of education in states. Caste based politics makes sure that voters from a specific caste benefit from the system, which includes education. Orders are issued from higher levels to allow all students from a particular caste or tribe reaches high school, regardless of how they fare in exams. If a teacher opposes he is suspended immediately. Such orders results in low attendance of students, as they are sure about the results, in state run institutions in villages. Thus the whole educational system goes for a toss!

The medium of education in these schools is still Hindi, which make students of these institutions lose out to their urban counterparts in bagging good jobs in the private sector, considered the epitome of India’s economic success.

India is sitting on a huge pile of future skilled manpower from villages, but, sadly it is not providing means to utilise that chunk. Unless the educational standards of state and centre run institutions are not improved, and the teachers are not held accountable, India would never be able to convert this unskilled force into skilled one.

Let's hope that our policy makers come up with a definite plan soon enough and India's global march continues unabated.

Mumbai - A Dream City or A Blast City

Another July, Another Blast and again the roads of Mumbai spilled with the blood of Innocent " Emerging India"'s citizens. It seems Mumbai has become a ripe field for terrorists who get away with their evil works at ease and leave behind a trail of blood, dead bodies, cries and chaos.

Mumbai has got Two faces, The First face is - A city of dreams for many, people from nook and corners of India flock here to make their dreams comes true, a city of bollywood- World's Biggest Film & entertainment Industry, A City of Industrialists where Industry Moguls Like Ambanis are racing hard to claim the richest man on the earth title, A city where even people living in slums dream of making a fortune by exploiting the rich potential of the city, A city where property market is booming even in recessionary times, A city which never sleeps.But yes there is another face of this city which is - A city prone to terrorists attacks, A city where underworld is still ruling despite being the headquarter of state police and security agencies, A city where all the politicians are involved in a scam or another and no one dares to touch them, A city which witness gang war on its road almost every day, A city where drugs is easily accessible and A city where No one is sure of returning back safe once steps out from their house.

Mumbai is the face of Emerging India- A nation which has recently got a distinction of being the Biggest Arm importer of the World . The rise of India is not going down well with its adversaries and they are pushing hard to destabilize the country with such cowardly and covert attacks. Within India there are many anti national elements which plays in the hand of these adversaries and are being utilized to create chaos by terrorist activities. Despite of saying this a thorough introspection is required that who really is responsible for creating such anti national elements and the first answer you get is India herself.

Today India is a cash rich country, there is enough money with the government which allows scams of multi million crores to happen regularly but they don't have enough money to erase the poverty, to erase the illiteracy , to erase the job insecurity, to erase the discrimination on the lines of Caste, creed and religion. These demons are playing high on the individuals which turns into anti national elements as they are easily lured to do such heinous crimes for petty money.

The Blast has killed score of people, many of them were the only bread earners of their family , once they are gone no one knows how the families are going to survive , the trauma is such that can break anyone, A peek into the lives of theirs will only show us the agony and devastation they might be going through, there is a dead end in front of them, any person which has got a heart will cry looking at the faces of little children who lost their father, wives who lost their husbands, parents who lost their wards and the biggest lost for all them was a hope to survive . These questions can rattle the mind of any sane person but not our politicians or so called social activists as they are busy in scoring brawny points on each other by finding faults in each others statement.. Everyone is coming out openly to do politics on the dead bodies of these innocent citizens, Media is busy in shouting foul on the attitude of the politicians and raising their TRP's by playing with the emotions of victim's families.... News Channels are serving the interests of different political parties to which they are affiliated , their main aim is to malign the image of political parties and political leaders but hardly they are concern with the sufferings of the victims.

Today we are witnessing these things and still act as mute spectators, till the time we , The responsible citizens of our Motherland " India" will act in such cowardly manner, these selfish politicians, media and other government missionaries will keep on exploiting us and like today we will again sit in a drawing room and conveniently accuse the system, the government, the political parties, the media and everyone and anyone and enjoy our tea and snack. if this is what we are going to do then we have no right to criticize anyone, we are not worthy of criticizing anyone because we ourselves are the biggest enemies of our own nation by allowing all this to happen.

The time has come that we " The responsible Citizens" should stand together and take a firm stand against such anti national elements and take strong action against all those who are responsible for letting it happen, be it the media, the politicians, the government,or anyone...let us pledge that we will not allow anyone to play with the resources and potential of our country and if they dare to do then we are going to nail them down with full force...after all there is no bigger strength than the strength of Mass...I hope and believe that the dream of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar will come true one day... Leaving you all with a retrospection with these lines of Ramdhari Singh Dinkar...

सदियों की ठंढी-बुझी राख सुगबुगा उठी,
मिट्टी सोने का ताज पहन इठलाती है;
दो राह,समय के रथ का घर्घर-नाद सुनो,
सिंहासन खाली करो कि जनता आती है।

Jai Hind !!!!

Happy Independence Day

As we are in Pursuit of celebrating 64 years of Independence from British Empire, a thorough introspection is required to see whether we should really celebrate it!!!

Today when you go to elite or a middle man they will talk about India's progress in various sectors and the emergence of India as a powerful nation who can compete with any other nation in the world in fields of Space Research, missile technology, softwares, skilled manpower, medical services,media, telecom, Engeering solutions,and so forth so on...the list is endless...

But go to the poor or common man and there Reality Bites!!! When we have progressed so much in these sectors then why the poor and common man are still suffering..the answer lies within the corrupt system of our beloved country...

Mahatama Gandhi once said that "I would go to the length of giving the whole congress a decent burial, rather than put up with the corruption that is rampant."

This outburst of Mahatma Gandhi was against rampant corruption in Congress ministries formed under 1935 Act in six states in the year 1937. His Followers and so called nationalists ignored his concern over corruption in post-Independence India, when they came to power. Over Sixty years of democratic rule has made the common man so immune to corruption that they have learnt how to live with the system even though the cancerous growth of this malady may finally kill it.

The history of corruption in post-Independence India starts with the Jeep scandal in 1948, when a transaction concerning purchase of jeeps for the army needed for Kashmir operation was entered into by V.K.Krishna Menon, the then High Commissioner for India in London with a foreign firm without observing normal procedure. But like always he has been given a clean chit and has been inducted into the Nehru cabinet as minister without portfolio.

In 1950, A.D.Gorwala, an eminent civil servant was asked by Government of India to recommend improvements in the system of governance. In his report submitted in 1951 he made two observations: “One, quite a few of Nehru's ministers were corrupt and this was common knowledge. Two, even a highly responsible civil servant in an official report as early as 1951 maintained that the Government went out of its way to shield its ministers” (Report on Public Administration, Planning Commission, Government of India 1951)

Other Well Known corruption cases which surfaced post indepence are Mudgal case (1951), Mundra deals (1957-58), Malaviya-Sirajuddin scandal (1963), and Pratap Singh Kairon case (1963),Fairfax, HBJ Pipeline,HDW Submarine deal,Bofors,Rs.2500 crore -Airbus A-320 deal with France involving kickback (1990), Harshad Mehta security scam (1992), Gold Star Steel and Alloys controversy (1992), JMM bribery case, Hawala scam of Rs. 65 crore,Urea scam (1996),.....list is really long and recently Commonwealth Games corruption case is making continous headlines........But the biggest question is that what our Government is doing to check such cases...the answer is pathethic " Nothing", apart from sacking few scape goats, the big fishes always gets a blessing hand on their head and they walk away scott free....Leaders like Laloo Prasad Yadav, Jayalalitha, George Fernandes, Bangaru Lakshman, Sukhram, Sharad Pawar, Suresh Kalmadi, Mayawati, Late Narsimha Rao, D Raja, George Fernandes...they all have been involved into corruption cases but they are still enjoying their lives despite of eating billions or trillions of Tax payers money ..and the most important thing is that these leaders represents almost all the main national parties.

The on going war cry against corruption, which is nothing but a mad fight to replace one corrupt system by another is not going to transform the beleaguered nation to a sustainable social order.

Criminalisation of politics is another facet of corruption. N.N.Vohra, Union Home Secretary in his report (1995) on this issue observed:- “A network of mafias is virtually running a parallel Government pushing the state apparatus into irrelevance. Quoting some ‘DIB’ sources, he added, “….there has been a rapid spread and growth of criminal gangs, armed senas, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the country, which have over the years developed an intensive network of contacts with bureaucrats, government functionaries at local level, politicians, media persons and strategically located individuals in non-state sector. Some of these syndicates have also international linkages including the foreign agencies.”

Corruption is just one of the many Evils which a common man is facing today, corruption has lead to bribery and the biggest of all is the beaurecracy itself, though it has been considered as a bane throughout the world but still it is being practised so religiously in our country that a common man gets entangled into the web of it and the only way to come out of it is to resort to bribery and became a member of the corrup system.

Another evil which emerged since independence was communalism as so many people lost their lives to this demon. Communal riots spread due to many factors ranging from political interests, economic factors, Hindutva & Radical Islamic Groups...etc..

Major Communal riots which took place post Independence are Kota ( 1953,1956), Jabalpur ( 1961), Rourkela, Calcutta, Jamshedpur (1964),Hatia,ranchi( 1967),Karimganj, Assam ( 1968), Ahmadabad ( 1969), Bhiwandi, Jalgaon, Mahad, Maharashtra( 1970), Nonari & Sajni, UP ( 1972), Varanasi ( 1977), Sambhal & Aligarh, Up & Hyderabad, AP ( 1978), Jamshedpur, Bihar ( 1979), Moradabad ( 1980), Biharsharif ( 1981), Meerut ( 1982), Baroda ( 1982),Hazaribagh, Malegaon & Hyderabad ( 1983), Bhiwandi ( 1984), Delhi (1984),Ahmedabad ( 1985,86),Meerut( 1987), Indore ( 1989),Kota ( 1989), Bhadrak, Orrissa ( 1989), Gujrat ( 1990,1991, More than 1400 Communal incidents happened during this period in Gujrat alone), Jaipur, Jodhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Delhi, Hailakandi in Assam, beawar in Maharashtra ( 1990), Bhagalpur ( 1990), Patna, Indore, Hyderabad,Karnataka ( 1990), Benares ( 1991), Sitamarhi, Surat, Mumbai (1992), Bhopal ( 1992), Madras ( 1995), Gujrat ( 2002),Solapur (2002), Malegaon (2005,2009).....list seems to be endless....

Is this we wanted out of our Independence??????????

Between 1995 and 2005 over 150,000 farmer suicides were reported in India and the number grows at a disturbing rate of 10,000 per year ( BBC 2008).....Desperate indebtness was found to be the prime reason behind most of the suicides, deeper analysis though revealed that indebtness was merely a symptom. The suicides were a manifestation of growing distress in Indian Agriculture. Stagnant Technology, rising input prices, weakning support systems and declining profitability have all made cultivation a highly risky and un-remunerative enterprise, threatning the lively hood of farmers,particularly the small and marginal ones. Green revolution in India only benefitted the rich peasants whereas the poor farmers suffered all the times...

Is this we wanted to happen In Independent India...

These are just few factors which are frustating a common man...!!!

This is certainly not a dream seen by our selfless freedom fighters and this is not what they wanted to give a common Indian....

I Hope and Pray that some sense will prevail and we will curb all these evils with the course of time!!!

Happy Independence Day to ALL!!!

Steps to make AMU the number 1 University in India

Recently AMU has been ranked among the top 10 Universities in India.

To rank within the first top ten is itself a big achievement, now since we have reached here so the next step is to eye the top spot...first of all let’s look into the ingredients require to make our great institution, the number one in India...

• Providing Students and Teachers, the cutting edge technology in various fields by sending them to globally well equipped institutions and calling in more competent visiting faculties.


• Building a world class laboratory with advanced equipments to attract more research opportunities.


• Conducting a performance appraisal of all the teachers, professors and lecturers as per international standards and arrange the trainings for those who requires it.


• International teaching & communication skills should be implemented to gain the competitive edge.


• Students should be encouraged to participate in more research works & innovative ideas should be welcomed and provided enough material to execute.


• Creating a sense of security and belonging among the students and teachers alike so that they can associate themselves with the institution more strongly.


• Building a Central placement Unit to attract big companies for campus placement.


• Ensuring that all the residence halls are having all the basic amenities required, providing a quality living for the students moreover equip each hall with its own reading room big enough to accommodate at least 200 students at a time, common rooms & playing area should be well maintained.


• Check the advances of Student, teacher & non teaching staff mafia, who create all the disturbances and tarnish the image of this great institution for their own selfish motives.


• Provide teachers and students with changing trends of education and incorporating the new and advance teaching trends at all levels.


• Maintaining a quality Career guidance cell, to prepare students of final years for their professional career.


• All the alumni associations across the globe should come forward towards the development of the institution by taking one major task at a time and completing it, I am sure that if all the associations gather under one umbrella and do a job at a time, then we can do methodical and systematic service to our Alma matter, which will certainly benefit AMU in long run.


• Constructive criticism should be encouraged rather than personal criticism.


• All the factions & groups working for the institution should not point finger on the working of other group rather it should appreciate such step and contribute in it too.

These are few points which can give a much needed push towards number one Position, I am sure there are many other points which can be discussed and implemented.

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.

Religion: A Path to Unity or Division

In my recent Visit to India I happened to meet some of my old friends & we had a very lengthy discussion on Religion,there were Muslims,Christians & Hindus among us ,in the end we derived a common phenomenon that every religion leads to One & only one God & there is no difference as far as divine faith is concerned, the only difference we have among us is of ideologies and our way of beliefs. All religions regardless of any following accepts that we are descendants of Adam & Eve, every Religion says that there is one supreme power who has no shape, voice or presence in mortal format and HE is omnipresent i.e GOD.We all believe that God has sent messengers in this world from time to time to guide his creatures , we call them as Prophets( Muslims & Christians) & Hindus called them as Devtas.We all have created the homes of God to worship HIM, be it Temple, Mosque, Church or Gurudwara, but all these homes are infact directing us towards one GOD, although here there is a slight difference, when a Muslim go to a mosque he prays to Allah and ask for his forgiveness and ask for favors by giving the wasila of Prophets & infallible, when a Christian goes to a church he does the same in the name of Jesus and Hindu does the same in the name of Ram or Krishna.
Everyone has got a medium to reach to one Supreme God .
Its not a fault of a person to born in a Hindu or a Christian Family because its God’s will that a person is born under some religious umbrella , then why we are bifurcating him in the name of religion, who are we to give him a religious identity, why dont we just consider him a normal human being like us.
Today if a Hindu help us in some way or other then we start praising him and when some other Hindu do something wrong we immediately start cursing his religion rather than saying bad to him. why such a discrimination & this holds good for all the religions.
There are many terrorists activities happening across the globe where members of one community are killing the members of same community, like in India you may find the frequent attacks by Ranbir sena and Marxists against each other in Bihar, Naxalites in Andhra, parts of UP , Ulfa in Assam……… and many more, also you may find Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda , Sipah Sahaba,Tehreeke Jaafariya,Sadr Militia and all they all are killing Muslims while being Muslims themselves, here in these cases we divide ourselves on sectarian lines rather than religious lines, so you can make out that this division is not only between Hindus and Muslims it is even between among different sects of Hindus and different sects of Muslims. Witness yourselves that how much we are divided.
Its hard to find a Hindu in India who doesn't have at least one Muslim friend and a Muslim who doesn't have one Hindu friend , but when it comes down to support we always support on religious lines rather than supporting right and criticizing the wrong, here I am talking about a general mood which is prevalent in our society, also we even go deep by supporting on regional grounds as well.
Here at least on this blog I have noticed one thing that almost every member comes out openly against wrong and if one support the wrong then upon giving logics he start reasoning, so I can at least say that all is not lost yet and we are moving in right direction.
I wish and hope that we will grow more mature with time and follow only one religion and that is the religion of Humanity which is the first basis of every religion.
It easily reflects that God never wanted any discrimination among his followers, its we those who have created differences on religious lines.
I personally belief that every human being born on this earth has got an intelligentsia quotient, to derive what is wrong and what is right & everyone has got a right to follow what he is following , we should not hate or love a person because of his religious background, rather we should love a person because of he being one among us, a creation of GOD.

Upbringing of Children in Today's competitive World!!!

Today’s world is a world of competition and there is cut throat competition in every sphere of life. The theory of “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST” applies to each and every walk of the society. A question that arises in our mind is how to bring up our children in order to face competitive world and emerge successful. Let us first analyze the mindset of parents. Normally parents start educating their children by the age of two or three, as it is a common thinking that by this age only a child is going to be in a position of understanding the things. But here lies the problem because we are underestimating the capabilities and skills of a child. There are certain skills which start developing in a child right from his birth but since those skills are not properly nourished, they start decaying and by the time a child attains the age of two, those skills are already on the verge of being vanished.
There are many skills which are very important to be taken care of right from the beginning. Let us discuss a few of them here:

• Listening and concentration skills.
• Manipulative skills.
• Skills of color, texture & time
• Social skills

Now, these skills play a very crucial role in a development of a child. Like most of you must have noticed that a child start operating a TV from a remote control without getting any guidance from any member of the family. This is an example of concentration skill because a child is very imitative by nature and he use to imitate almost each and every action of his closed ones, so just by watching others he also learns how to operate a TV through a remote control. Likewise you must have noticed that children who are brought up in an environment where luxuries of life are available right from the beginning, they use to adopt the environment and start behaving in that manner only, these are only few examples to put, but there are many. Now if in a home an educational environment persists then the child tend to have a positive attitude for education right from the beginning, because first two years of child are very important, the skills which you can develop in a child by that age are going to be his asset for his lifetime. It is very important to provide the essential educational materials to the kids in that age. Few educational programs are being developed by various companies to meet those requirement of early education of children. Strong foundation is very essential for anything to face all the obstacles, likewise early education is a strong foundation for a child to face all the hardships in life and prepare him to face this competitive world. Like we need food in order to be healthy and maintain our energy levels, likewise the food to the brain of a child in his early years, are books, which works as a proper nourishment to the brain.
Another problem which many parents face is the problem of answering each and every question of children, by nature children are very curious and they use to ask lots of questions in a day, sometimes parents use to answer them accurately, sometime they just pass on the information whatever they have without checking the accuracy and sometimes they totally ignore these questions. Now the end loser in all these circumstances is only the child because if he is not getting proper answer to his questions, his curiosity start decreasing and that leads to the total alienation of child towards studies. The best time to answer the questions asked by children is when they ask them and most important is to answer them accurately. If we will provide them the wrong information it will ruin their prospects of getting the best education. Now we are not super human beings that we know all the answers to the question put by the children so we have to have the books which contains all the information about everything like encyclopedias or other books which contains the questions which a child normally asks and their answers.
These are few steps if we take then believe me we will be able to lay a strong foundation for the best education for our children and it will help them in overcoming each and every problem in their life. These steps will build up their confidence and develop a feeling of staying ahead in each and every sphere of life.

Divisions and Differences

Yeh Firqon me bata Chaand,
Yeh tera Chaand, Yeh Mera Chaand.
Friends,
As Eid is approaching which is indeed a great festival for all of us to celebrate. A festival which symbolizes the feeling of Brotherhood and togetherness. But I am in a dilemma whether there is going to One EID this time or again we will be having two or three EIDS.
Unfortunately, today we are so divided that we have totally forgotten the real essence of Islam which preaches Brotherhood and Unity at all levels.
If we go by the times of our Prophet and His companions we witness that although there were difference in opinions among them on various issues but they were not divided on religious lines. Having “differences in opinion” is one thing and “division” is another thing. Unfortunately we distinguish ourselves into various sects and divided us by following different companions of Prophets who were undivided throughout their lives. If we can’t call it as an irony then what is it?
Going through the examples set aside by the Prophet himself and his companions we see that there was a bond between them which was so strong that they were one under one unified banner of Islam without any prejudice and malice towards each other, but their so called followers, hurled abuses and bad words to each other on the virtue of being right .
Today our all energies are involved in proving ourselves right and others wrong which is a misfortune for the whole Ummah of Prophet Mohammad (SWAS).
For me today one Shahadah, La Ilaha Ill AlLah , Muhammad ur Rasool Allah, is more strong than the division based on our own thoughts.
Let us pledge on the auspicious occasion of Eid that we will denounce such forces with strong hand who are trying hard to create a rift between us and give them a befitting reply by recognizing ourselves as “Muslims” rather than Shias, Sunnis, Ismailis, Wahhabis, Deobandis, Zaidis, Barelvis and others.
Let Allah Guide us to the right path and give us enough strength to fight the fitna which has divided us over the Years (Ameen)
Some thoughts Crossed my mind regarding the Moon sighting and I have penned down few couplets which purely reflects my thinking.
I am not a Shayar so this poetry of mine would not be technically correct but it is only a reflection of my thoughts.
Yeh Firqon me bata Chaand,
Yeh tera Chaand, Yeh Mera Chaand.
Kitne Hain aapas ke Ikhtelaaf,
Ek hone per bhi hain Bahatar Chaand.
Hain sab kehne ko Musalmaan,
Phir Kyon hai yeh Shia Chaand,Yeh Sunni Chaand.
Ahmed Mursal ko na tha Yaqeen,
Phir yoon batega tukroon me Chaand.
Kyon Bikhar gaye hum is Chaand ki Khatir,
Allah ka tha tou bas Ek hi Chaand.
Asli Eid hogi us Din Kamyaab,
Jab hoga sabka Ek hi Chaand.
Eid Mubarak to all of you!!!!

AMU Closed Sine Die- A Step in Haste!!!

Three days back a B.Sc. final year student Shahnawaz Alam was shot dead by a goon called Kallu khan , fighting erupted over a parking issue at a restaurant near Aligarh railway Station and it resulted it Shahnawaz's death...Police came into action and within 24 hours of the incident they have nabbed the culprit and put him behind the bar.

Now taking this killing as an issue few students and the adversaries of AMU Vice Chancellor Prof Abdul Aziz started demonstration and within no time more than 2000 students gathered outside Bab-e-Syed and starting shouting slogans against the VC and demanding his resignation on moral grounds...Two days went by and still no accord took place between the agitating students and the administration , in the meantime three students started hunger strike and the situation became worse....and instead of tackling this issue by taking the students into confidence, VC has decided to close the university Sine Die...now how many times we have witnessed such closures...it seems administration know only one way to tackle the students unrest and that is to close the university, flush out the students from the hostels, send them home, deploy the RAF & PAC in the campus and set up a high profile committee of professors and officials to find out the reason of unrest and suspend the culprits from the university rolls....I am really disgusted to see the administration working in such manner...by closing the university they are not only playing with future of the students but also jeopardizing the academic session....I am sure this matter would have resolved by talking to the agitated students and letting them realize the graveness of such situation and persuaded them to stand with the administration for the betterment of the institution...but they have acted otherwise and have given enough fuel to the miscreants and rogue elements to ignite such kind of instances again and again....though administration was not at fault for the killing but they have certainly taken an immature decision and washed away all the support it was getting from the students and other well wishers of the institution!!!!

I am sure the situation would have diffused if the administration would have shown a little maturity in handling the situation....students are mostly prone to agitations and demonstrations and they just need a flame to ignite the fire and this time also they did the same...VC should have appointed someone or should have lead from the front in talking to the students and infusing a sense of belonging and responsibility but unfortunately he did nothing !!!!

Its time that Institutions should take a different approach to solve the problem..afterall you dont close down a company if some of the employees start agitating...do you?

192nd Birth Anniversary fo Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

I was contemplating for last few days for a topic to start my blog , but never reached a decision and today all the confusion withered away as thousands of messages flocked all over the globe commemorating the 192nd birth anniversary of great Muslim reformer 'Sir Syed Ahmad Khan",and that moment only I decided to start my blog with an article on the great visionary and the founder of Aligarh Muslim University.The great Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

Much has been written over the years on Sir Syed's early life, education, professional life and his untiring drive towards imparting the western education among Indian mass, so I wont go into all those details,my purpose is to pay my tribute to this legendary icon of education .

Sir Syed thrived hard to change the mindset of common Indian towards western education,he went to UK to study the curriculum and the way of teaching and its importance and came back to India to get it implemented in Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College( MAO) college, which is recognized today as Aligarh Muslim University.

Today Aligs have their old boys association in more than 50 countries and they celebrate this day ( 17th october) every year with great zeal and remember the great reformer for his services to mankind. SS Day is a great platform which unites all the Aligs and the people those who are taking forward the Aligarh Mission .

Lets pledge on this day that we all who respects and follow the teaching of Sir Syed will keep on imparting the Vision of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan throughout our lives and contribute in improving the educational standard among the mass and also providing resources for those who are not in a position to acquire good education..starting scholarships in the name of Sir Syed....promoting a deserving alumni of our alma matter whenever a position is available within our contacts and helping the community by arranging micro funds for the widows and the marriage of poor girls...

Long Live Sir Syed and his Vision!!!!

Happy Sir Syed Day to All!!!!