AMU. Aligarh celebrated the 205th
birth anniversary of its founder Sir Syed Ahmed Khan with traditional Passion and
gaiety on 17th October 2022.
For AMU Fraternity all over word this day:
17th October is not an ordinary day of the year. For them it is above many
festivals. They celebrate Sir Syed day in full sprit.
After sun set, all the main buildings
specially, Bab-e-Syed, Maulana Azad Library, Arts Faculty, Victoria gate, University’s
grand Masjid and residential halls were well decorated with special light
effects.
The proceedings of the day began with a
Quran Khwani (Quranic Recitation) after the Fajr (Day Break) prayer at the
University Masjid.
The Vice Chancellor also inaugurated
‘Exhibition of Books and Photographs’ pertaining to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan at the
Sir Syed House. The exhibition was jointly organised by Maulana Azad Library
and Sir Syed Academy.
The main function held in Gulestan-e-Syed
under a huge pandal. Function started with recitation of Quranic verses.
Several distinguished personalities attended
the function. Prof. Tariq Mansoor VC AMU, Prof Tahir Mahmood (Former Chairman,
National Commission for Minorities) as Chief Guest.
Justice
Iqbal Ahmed Ansari (Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court) as the Guest of
Honour, Chandan Sinha (IAS Officer and Director General, National Archives of
India) as a Guest of Honour and various other luminaries were present at the
function.
Guests,
arrived in the elegant vintage phaeton drawn by a pair of horses at the venue of
Gulestan-e-Syed, where they were ushered to the stage by a long line of
assembled students of the University Riding Squad.
In the welcome
address, AMU Vice Chancellor, Professor Tariq Mansoor said:–
“Sir Syed’s ideas of secularism and
inclusiveness are reflective in the way AMU operates. The University is a
monument of large-hearted tolerance and communal harmony and its portals are
open to the students of all communities from its very inception.
We have maintained Peace and Harmony on the
campus and successfully overcome challenges, problems and crisis by exercising
restraint and stressing on unity and consensus”, the Vice Chancellor
pointed out.
Delivering the Sir
Syed Day commemoration address, the Chief Guest, Prof Tahir Mahmood (Former
Chairman, National Commission for Minorities):–
Called the AMU community to spread Sir
Syed’s rationality, modernity, manners and amity to corners of the Nation and
the world. Preservation and propagation of Urdu is also an integral part of Sir
Syed’s legacy that needs our attention.
He called for spreading the message of Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan for education, free enquiry, tolerance, interfaith
understanding and national unity.
Attending the
Commemorative Ceremony as the Guest of Honour, Mr Chandan Sinha (IAS Officer
and Director General, National Archives of India) remarked:–
This annual function is not just a
commemoration of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his contributions, it is an occasion
to look back at where Aligarh Muslim University has come from and where it is
headed, it is a time to check our bearings, and to ensure that not only are
time honoured traditions not abandoned but the demands of the onrushing future
are not ignored.
It is remarkable that throughout his pursuit
of improvements in the education system, Sir Syed spoke of the needs of the
whole of India.
Justice Iqbal Ahmed
Ansari (Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court), the Guest of Honour
stressed:–
“Sir Syed was an apostle of secularism and
Hindu-Muslim unity who advocated and supported ban on cow slaughter. He once
wrote, ‘If prohibition of cow sacrifice can bring peace and friendship among
the Hindus and the Muslims, it would be wrong on the part of the Muslims not to
relinquish this right’.”
The Chief Guest, Prof Mahmood and Vice
Chancellor, Prof Mansoor presented the ‘International Sir Syed Excellence
Award’ to Barbara Daly Metcalf (Professor Emeritus of History at the University
of California, Davis, USA) with a cash prize of Rs 200000 for her seminal works
on the history of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, South Asia and Islam.
They also
honoured New Delhi based voluntary, non-profit social service organization, the
‘Maulana Azad Education Foundation’ with the ‘National Sir Syed Excellence
Award’ carrying a cash prize of Rs100000 for promoting education amongst the
educationally backward minorities in particular and other weaker sections in
general.
Prof Farukh Arjmand (Department of Chemistry) and Dr Hifzur Rahman
Siddique (Department of Zoology) received the Innovation Council Award for
Outstanding Researcher of the Year. They received Rs 50 000 each as prize money
with the awards.
The most eloquent part of the celebrations
was holding of gala dinners at various residential Halls of the University
where several distinguished personalities from different walks of life grace
the function as chief guest.
The Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice Chancellor
visited different halls of residence to witness the Sir Syed Dinner.
It was a nostalgia occasion for hundreds of
Aligarh Muslim University alumni and AMU fraternity, to attend the celebration
of Sir Syed Day of Aligarh Muslim University.
The programme ended with University Tarana
and National Anthem.Fully packed Pandal at Athletic ground was burst into
clapping like a thunderbolt.
Sir Syed Day
celebration should aim to revitalize the Aligarh Movement:
A man is remembered after his death for his
good deeds. Are not Sir Syed’s deeds enough? Of course, they are. In all
honesty, he deserved an honour for his good work. However, paying tribute to a
great man should only be in terms of noble and generous acts.
The aim should be to take the Aligarh
Movement to the last mile by ensuring access to education to every child of the
community.
Photographed and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram.
The End
