By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
Distinguished speakers paid rich homage to the great
reformer and educationist, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, on the occasion of his 195th birth anniversary observed under the auspices
of Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA) with a call by
President AMUOBA and Chancellor, Sir Syed University of Engineering &
Technology (SSUET), Engr Z A Nizami, for acquisition of the latest knowledge in
the field of science and technology.
“Acquiring scientific and technological knowledge is
the only solution for the problems being faced by the Muslims,” he observed in
his Presidential address, declaring that the arduous task which was undertaken
by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan for emancipation of Muslims of South Asia must continue
with the same missionary zeal.
Engr Nizami described the establishment of Sir Syed
University of Engineering and Technology as a big step towards the desired
direction. He said that today SSUET was regarded as the top engineering university
of Pakistan having collaboration with top 11 universities of
USA.
He reminded that Sir Syed’s aim was not just to establish a
college at Aligarh but pursue the Muslims to acquire modern education to lift
them up from a precarious position, having devoted whole of his life for this
purpose.
Speaking on the occasion, Azad Bin Haider, a renowned
politician of his prime days and a writer and researcher of eminence now,
stated that it was the great reformer Sir Syed who gave a new direction to the
Muslims of South Asia and it was mainly due to his movement that many more new
movements for Muslim’s renaissance started in South Asia.
He said that the observance of Sir Syed Day by AMUOBA every
year is a highly fruitful act and Pakistan can be led to the path of progress
if the motives behind Pakistan Movement are remembered.
He thought of Sir Syed a real motivator who launched a
movement for Muslims to acquire modern education and created a wave of
awakening in them. He urged the youth to focus on their education which is the
only solution to every problem.
Prof Dr Waqar Rizvi, a religious scholar and writer,
presented a paper on Pakistan Movement and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and said that it
was the national spirit behind the mission undertaken by him which can truly be
regarded as the foundation for the creation of Pakistan.
Renowned scholar, columnist and Pakistan Movement Gold
medalist, Saeed Siddiqui, remarked that the past of nation is the pride of
nation. He said those nations who forget their history are bound to be
eliminated.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, he said, was a great visionary,
statesman and Muslim reformer of the 19th century who worked tooth and nail to make the
community progressive and lead them to the cherished objective.
He said that Sir Syed was the first Indian Muslim to
contribute to the intellectual and institutional foundation of Muslim’s
modernization in South Asia.
He recalled that in 1862 he formed a scientific society, and
13 years later he assisted in establishing the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental
College, which prospered and became the key intellectual center for Indian
Muslims - The Aligarh Muslim University. The success of the college was largely
due to his leadership and a curriculum embodying both Western and Oriental
studies.
Ali Zafar Qadri, a senior Aligarhian presented a detail
chronology of the life and accomplishments of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan while Khumar
Farooqi, a renowned poet and writer, paid poetic homage to the great reformer
and educationist and drew a big applause.
A significant feature of the function was highly impressive
speeches on the life and achievements of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan by SSUET students
Umer Khan in Urdu and Umer Ali Kazmi in English. The audience highly
appreciated their knowledge about the great reformer.
Another feature of the well-attended function was singing of
Tarana-e-Aligarh” sung by boys and girl students of Sir Syed University.
