Category Archives: Education

In U.P more Muslims go to school, spend on girls’ education

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education

UTTAR PRADESH :

A representative image

Indian Muslims as a community, due to various social and political influences, have remained educationally backward. The Sachar Committee Report in 2006 revealed the dismal state of education among Muslims. The report was an eye-opener for the community and led to the efforts to spread education among Muslims. Muslims introspected and asked how come a community that believes in “Read with the name of your Lord who created (everything)”  – the first Quranic revelation – lagged in education. Not only did the community urge the country’s political leadership to address it but also made efforts to improve the state of affairs.

The efforts have not gone in vain. The data compiled in the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) by the Union Ministry of Education, points towards a remarkable increase in school-going Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India.

Changing trends among Muslims

The UDISE survey reveals that in U.P, 4,53,62,059 students were studying in schools, from pre-nursery to class XII, during the 2019-20 session. Out of these, 70,18,201, or 15.47%, were Muslims. Because the Muslims are 19.26% of the population in the state, this number seems insufficient, which it is. But, if we consider the fact that seven years ago, in the 2012-13 session, out of 4,69,61,179 school-going children only 52,49,664, or 11.18%, were Muslims, the significance of the present numbers becomes evident.

The numbers show that the proportion of Muslims is steadily increasing and moving towards their proportion in the population, i.e. 19.26%. From the 2015-16 session till 2019-20, the percentage of Muslims among school-going children has been registered to be 11.08%, 12.40%, 12.32%, 13.88%, and 15.47% in successive years. If we talk in pure numbers, in 2015-16, there were 53,63,670 Muslim kids out of 4,84,06,853 students. In 2019-20, this figure has increased by more than 16 lakh to reach 70,18,201 as the total school enrolment in the state dropped by more than 30 lakhs. 

Graphic explanation of the changing trend in Muslim education-1

In order to understand the recent awakening in the community, one needs to look at the new enrollments. At the entry-level, Muslim students have reached very near to their proportion in the population. In the 2019-20 session, out of 51,48,352 students enrolled in class I, 9,71,229 were Muslims. This translates into 18.86% of the total class I students. It is a significant increase from 2018-19 when 16.92% of class I students were found to be Muslims, and in the year before the ratio was at 16.23%. 

The people working in the education sector among the Muslims of U.P often complain about the high dropout rates. As we go up the education levels, the proportion of Muslims tends to decrease. The apprehension is true, but the recent trends show an improvement in Muslim representation in higher classes. The survey found 3,73,304 Muslim students out of a total of 30,73,228 studying in class X, during the 2019-20 session. This makes 12.15% of the total class X students in the state, a significant rise from 2016-17 when only 7.65% of the total class X students were from the community. In the last four academic sessions, the proportion of Muslims in class X is, 7.65%, 8.38%, 10.90%, and 12.15%, successively. 

At Higher Secondary (+2), XI & XII, the proportion of Muslims enrolled has increased from 7.24% in the 2016-17 to 10.48% in the 2019-20 session. In successive sessions this proportion has been registered as 7.24% in 2016-17, 7.81% in 2017-18, 10.08% in 2018-19 and 10.48% in 2019-20. 

These numbers are no yardstick of the quality of education Muslims are availing. To get an idea we need to look at the type of schools at which these students are enrolled. As a matter of fact, in U.P, it is commonly believed that private schools are in a better condition than schools owned by the Department of Education. Out of the total 2,20,69,303 students enrolled in private schools, 25,95,073, or 11.76%, were found to be Muslims in 2019-20. This was a considerable increase from 2016-17 when 8.07% of the private school students were Muslims. In the last four academic sessions since 2016-17, the Muslim proportion in private schools was found to be 8.07%, 8.48%, 10.38%, and 11.76% respectively. 

Changing trends in Muslims’ education Graph-II

On the other hand, in the schools of the Department of Education, Muslim proportion remained more or less constant. In 2016-17, 12.34% of the students at the Department’s schools were Muslims which has shown a marginal increase at 12.50% in 2019-20. Another very important aspect of education among Muslims is that almost one out of every five school-going Muslims attends a Wakf/ Madrasa Board recognized Madrasa/ Maktab. In the 2019-20 session, 19.76% of the Muslim children were enrolled in these Madrasas. It is an increase from 2016-17 when 16.49% of Muslims were attending these institutions. But this shift can be attributed to a positive shift. In 2016-17, 5.31% of Muslim kids were attending unrecognized Madrasas which came down to 3.10% in 2019-20. It is a welcome change that Madrasa-going children are attending recognized Madrasa of Madrasa / Wakf Board instead of unrecognized Madrasas. 

Prof. Aquil Ahmed (Statistics & OR), AMU, believes that an increase in enrolments in private schools and status quo in Department of Education’s schools is a pointer that this increase in education among Muslims owes itself to the efforts from within. In recent years, he says that the community has started understanding the importance of education and hence without much help from the government people have started spending on education more and sending their children to schools.            

Bhim Rao Ambedkar said that women’s education and empowerment were the yardstick to measure the development of a society. The survey gives us immense hope as we analyze the data on girl students among Muslims. It is an open secret that ours is a patriarchal society. Irrespective of religion or caste, people discriminate against girls. It was not a surprise to see that, in 2019-20, out of 45,39,933 students enrolled in Higher Secondary (+2) in the state, 54.30% were boys and 45.70% were girls. Similarly, in class X, 54.46% of the total students were boys. On a similar pattern, for the same session, 55.17% of students enrolled in private schools were boys during the same session. But, the sweet surprise was the ratio of girls among Muslim students of U.P. In Higher Secondary,

Changing trends in Muslims’ education Graph-III

In 2019-20, 50.31% of the total Muslim students were girls while their proportion was 48.31% in class X. In private schools also enrolment of boys among Muslims was 53.96%. This means, among Muslims, proportionally more girls are being admitted in private schools than the average of the state. This positive approach towards women’s education is a welcome trend.       

The survey suggests that Muslims as a community are paying more attention to women’s education. As discussed above, in 2019-20, 10.48% of the total enrolments in Higher Secondary (+2) belonged to the Muslim community. If we look at gender then we find that, in 2019-20, of all the girls enrolled in +2, 12.06% were Muslims while 9.67% of the boys came from the community. This trend is a feature of all the preceding years as well. In 2019-20, in private schools out of all the girls enrolled 12.08% were Muslims while the proportion among boys was 11.50%. 

Interestingly, in higher secondary education in private schools, the proportion of Muslims among girls stands at 10.22% while among boys it is 8.94%.  In each session we find more Muslim girls taking admissions in higher secondary than Muslim boys. The proportion of Muslims among girls is much higher than their proportion among boys. For class X, in 2019-20, 12.88% of girls were Muslims while among boys they were 11.53%. The trend breaks the stereotype that Muslims do not send their girls to school. Moreover, it shows that Muslims are moving away from the orthodox traditions faster than the other communities.

Prof. Nazura Usmani (AMU), believes that access of younger generations to religious texts has made this women empowerment possible. Muslims, on understanding the true message of religion, are breaking the shackles of traditional orthodoxies, which kept women caged for centuries. Now, people are understanding that women’s education is part of religion and also there is growing acceptance in the community towards economically working women. She says that those people who do not identify themselves with revolutionary feminism are accepting that women should be educated and economically independent.  

The UDISE survey report brings out a positive trend of increasing education among Muslims. Though the community is still lagging the developments of recent years instills hope. Moreover, the survey brings out that Muslims are showing more gender parity when it comes to education than other communities.  

(Saquib Salim is a Historian and a Writer)

source: http: //www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / December 09th, 2021

Aligarh and Women’s Education: A Brief Overview

Amazing Feats, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Women’s education in nineteenth-century India was no easy task. In the case of Muslim women, the task was even more difficult due to their triply marginal identity: as colonial subjects, as women, and as Muslims. Not only did the custom of purdah added to their seclusion from the social and cultural changes, their men hated everything about the western cultural influence (being displaced as rulers by the British). As a result, the middle class (the initiators of reform) was to develop late among the Indian Muslims than their Hindu counterparts. Nevertheless, by the late nineteenth century, a middle-class among the Indian Muslims was fledging. For this, no institution of the nineteenth-century can be given more commendation than Aligarh Muslim University.

Formed in 1920, the Aligarh Muslim University just completed its hundred years as a modern residential university. There has been a perception that the Aligarh Movement, for whatever reasons, neglected the issue of modern education to Muslim women. But there is more to this argument, some things to be explored, some to be re-interpreted.

This article, therefore, attempts to trace the genesis and trajectory of women’s educational reform in Aligarh through the profile of a woman reformer – Waheed Jahan (1886-1939), wife of Shaikh Abdullah (1874-1965), and the co-founder of Aligarh’s first girls’ school. Waheed Jahan was a pioneer of Muslim women’s education at Aligarh in the early twentieth century. Her role in ending the relative isolation of Indian Muslim women, while at the same time preserving the Muslim identity of the community, is worthwhile to recall. Her biography was published in Urdu by her husband in 1954. [1]

The educational reforms among Indian women were mostly started by men. Such men started with writings advocating women’s education. In this regard, among Muslims, Nazir Ahmad (1833-1912) published his novel, Mirat-ul-Arus, in 1869; Altaf Hussain Hali (1837-1914) published Majlis-un-Nissa, in 1874. Soon, magazines and journals followed, like the Tahzib un-Niswan by Sayyid Mumtaz Ali (1860-1935), the Khatoon by Shaikh Abdullah and Waheed Jahan, and the Ismat by Rashid-ul- Khairi (1868-1936). Gail Minault regards these as ’The Big Three.’ [2] Apart from literary activism, others tried more practical measures, like opening schools for Muslim girls.

As the movement intensified, so did the opposition against it. In such an atmosphere, even the talk of women’s education by a woman herself was quite a chivalry.

Yet, unexpectedly, there were women who defied the odds and broke the ground. Rashid-un-Nissa of Patna, became the first Muslim woman to write an Urdu novel, Islah-un-Nissa in 1881 (published in 1894), when writing was a distant dream for Muslim women. Rokeya Sakhawat Husain (1880-1932), a widow herself, pioneered Muslim women’s education in Bengal. Muhammadi Begam (1878-1908) edited one of the leading ladies’ home journals, Tahzib-un-Niswan. One such icon of women’s education at Aligarh was Waheed Jahan.

Waheed was born in 1874 in a landholding family in Delhi. Her father Mirza Ibrahim Beg was of Mughal ancestry, serving as a minor municipal official in Delhi. Her only brother, Bashir Mirza went to the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College (MAO Colege), Aligarh, where he befriended Shaikh Abdulla (a Kashmiri convert to Islam, named Thakur Das before conversion).

As was the custom, Waheed received no formal schooling. She learnt Urdu and Persian from her father and arithmetic and elementary English from a visiting English tutoress.

Ismat Chughtai, in her autobiography, Kagazi hai Pairahan, records, how Waheed Jahan, before her marriage, had dreamt of establishing a school for the girls. She would gather the servants’ children and teach them, and soon the rudimentary school became popular among her neighbours. It is noteworthy that, at a time when others (mostly men) were still imagining a school for girls (that too only in their writings), Waheed, in her own limited capacity, was practically making a difference.

In 1902, Waheed married Shaikh Abdullah – a lawyer at Aligarh, and an ardent supporter of women’s education since his school days. Following the marriage to a woman with some education, he began to consider concrete ways to promote Muslim women’s education. The Mohammadan Education Conference (MEC, founded at Aligarh by Sir Syed Ahmad in 1886) had established a Women’s Education Section (WES) in 1896 to start a Normal School for girls and to train female (zenana) teachers. In 1902, Shaikh became the secretary of WES, which by then had merely achieved anything beyond discussions and debates around women’s education.

Luckily, Waheed’s marriage to a reformist like Abdullah helped her materialize her dream. To champion women’s education, they started an Urdu monthly, the Khatoon, in 1904 with Waheed Jahan as editor. Begum Sultan Jahan (1858-1930) of Bhopal, Binnat Nazir-al-Baqir, Suharwardiya Begum, and Binnat Nasiruddin Haider were some important female contributors to the journal.

The paucity of funds made it impossible to start a Normal School. Waheed Jahan advised her husband to start a primary school for the elite (Sharif) girls. In 1904, the Mohammadan Educational Conference passed a resolution to start a girls’ school in Aligarh. Waheed proved to be an efficient manager and fund-raiser for the cause.

Her capacities as a fund-raiser and organizer were displayed in 1905, when she organized a meeting of Muslim women in Aligarh, with participants from far corners of Lahore and Bombay. Judging from the context of the time when purdah among Muslims was so harsh, even the idea of organizing such an event was quite revolutionary.

Aware of women education in Turkey and Egypt and its benefits to society, she tried to convince other women; she said:

When women meet among themselves, there will be more solidarity. . . Now there is a division between educated and uneducated women. Uneducated women, who do not go out, think that respectability is confined to the four walls of their houses. They think that people who live beyond those walls are not respectable and not worthy of meeting. But God has ordained education for both men and women, so that such useless ideas can be dispensed with. . . [3]

The meeting was a success, the exhibition of women’s craft secured good funds; finally, the women passed a resolution favouring a girls’ school in Aligarh. In October 1906, Aligarh Zenana Madrasa (girls’ school) opened its doors, and seventeen students were enrolled. Urdu, arithmetic, needlework, and the Quran formed the curriculum. Leaving her own children in servants’ care, Waheed took the responsibility of supervising the school. Within six months, the number of students increased to fifty-six. Waheed’s efforts secured the school a cumulative grant of Rs. 15,000 and a monthly grant of Rs. 250. By 1909, the school taught 100 students and shifted to a larger building.

The opposition to girls’ school took new forms. One amusing story is recorded in Shaikh Abdullah’s Urdu memoir (1969), Mushahedaat o Taaassuraat. [4] Maintaining purdah, the girls were carried in daulis (curtained carriages) to school, and some street urchins started harassing the school going girls by lifting the curtains of their daulis. The mischief only stopped when Shaikh gave one of the miscreants a good thrashing. In another incident, Shaikh confronted a tehsildar who had accused the school of making the girls insolent.

When the Abdullahs proposed a girls’ boarding school, it invited opposition from elite corners. The European principal of MAO College, W.A.J Archbold; Ziauddun Ahmad (1873-1947); and Viqar-ul-Mulk (1841-1917) opposed vehemently.

The couple, however, succeeded in 1914, witnessing the transformation of the school into a boarding school. The same year saw the culmination of Muslim women’s activism by the foundation of Anjuman-i-Khavatin-i-Islam (AKI) at the same venue. Begum Sultan Jahan (1858-1930) of Bhopal graced the foundational ceremony of the boarding school, felicitating Waheed; she urged other women to follow her example. Fyzee sisters, Abru Begum, Begum Shafi, and Begum Shah Nawaz were the other dignitaries.

The Begum was already active in various social and educational reform projects. She served as the first chancellor of AMU from 1920 until her death in 1930. Having a woman as the first chancellor was indeed a historic feat.

Only nine girls became the residents, most of them from Waheed’s own family. By the end of the year, the enrollment rose up to twenty-five. This was the result of what the historian Gail Minault calls as Abdullahs’ portrayal of girls’ school as an extension of girls’ families and also of their own. To make the school successful, Waheed used to invite the parents of girls to Aligarh, for a few days stay in the hostel, to convince them that the conditions there were safe enough to let their daughters stay, records Sheikh Abdullah, in his Mushahedaat o Taaassuraat. She supervised everything – housekeeping, laundry, shopping, and even tasted each dish cooked for the girls.

It could be said that Waheed Jahan acted as a foster mother to these girls, counselling, nursing, and treating them as a part of her own extended family. They called each other as Apa (sister), Shaikh Abdullah as Papa Mian, and Waheed Jahan as Ala Bi. This created a sense of sisterhood among the girls.

This familial system of ethos still remains unique to the Aligarh Women’s College.

The boarding school project contained other complex problems, such as maintaining proper purdah. Both Shaikh and Waheed agreed that the purdah practiced in the Sharif society was more restrictive than purdah sanctioned by the Shari’a (Islamic Law). But to secure social acceptance for their school, they chose to go with strict purdah, building fortress-like walls to fend off the male gaze, students’ mails were scrutinized, and only close relatives were allowed inside.

This accommodation of purdah within the gamut of their reformist agenda, to gain social acceptance, was indeed very astute of the Abdullahs. Thus, Waheed Jahan succeeded in preserving both the elite and the “Muslim” identity of herself and her community while simultaneously breaking the relative isolation of Indian Muslim women. The girls’ school became an intermediate college in 1925 and started degree classes in 1937 (with 250 students). Waheed passed away in 1939, only after seeing her school becoming a degree college.

The relation between education and social change is complex, varying from culture to culture and among different classes in the same culture.

True, that Aligarh movement was late to include women’s education in its fold. Even the school founded by the Abdullahs did not fulfil all its expectations – their choosing an exclusively elite (Sharif) clientele limited the impact of their reforms.

But their efforts indeed bore fruits; the educational reforms for Muslim women at Aligarh contributed to many social developments. After the formation of AKI in 1914, the number of meetings and associations (for women-only) increased rapidly in the 1930’s. The growth in the number of educated women created a market for new publications for and by women.

The Aligarh Women’s College produced many women of substance, who made sure to shine above and beyond purdah, some figuratively and others literally. These ladies excelled in various fields, from teaching to medicine to writing.

Rashid Jahan, Waheed Jahan’s daughter, became a successful physician, a radical writer, and a staunch communist. Her short stories in Angare (1932) became the opening salvo of the Urdu Progressive Writers Movement (1936). Rakhshanda Jalil, in her biographical work on Rashid, A Rebel and her Cause: The Life and Work of Rashid Jahan, writes that Angare was a “document of disquiet”; a self-conscious attempt “to shock people out of their inertia, to show how hypocrisy and sexual oppression had so crept in everyday life”. Rashid became an inspiration for a generation of women writers such as Ismat Chughtai, Attia Hosain, Sadia Begum Sohravi, and Razia Sajjad Zaheer, among others.

Like all other reform movements of that time period, the Aligarh movement had its limitations too. For a start, it did prioritize men’s education over women’s, for various reasons (a story that needs to be told elsewhere), but by the early twentieth century, things were changing. The Aligarh movement not only took up the cause of women’s education actively, but it also let women (Like Wahid Jahan) be a part of the process.

Notes

[1] Shaikh Abdullah, Savanih-i- Umri-i- Abdullah Begum, Aligarh, 1954

[2] Gail Minault, Gender, Language, and Learning: Essays in Indo-Muslim Cultural History, Permanent Black Publications, Ranikhet, 2009, p. 87

[3] Khatoon 3, 1 (Jan 1906) “Ladies Conference”, pp 7-8

[4] Shaikh Abdullah, Mushahidat-wa-Ta’asurat, Female Education Association, Aligarh, 1969, pp. 234-6

(Ishrat Mushtaq is PhD Candidate, Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University and Sajad Hassan Khan is PhD. Candidate, Centre of Advanced Study in History, Aligarh Muslim University. Article courtesy: Mainstream Weekly.)

Janata Weekly does not necessarily adhere to all of the views conveyed in articles republished by it. Our goal is to share a variety of democratic socialist perspectives that we think our readers will find interesting or useful. —Eds.

source: http://www.janataweekly.org / Janata Weekly / Home / by Ishrat Mushtaq and Saad Hassan Khan / January 24th, 2021

Muslim Leadership and Women’s Education: Uttar Pradesh, 1886–1947

Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Education, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , ,

Lucknow, UTTAR PRADESH / Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

By Nasreen Ahmed / First Edition Pub. October 2012, x+190 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 in. / ISBNs: 978-81-88789-82-5

This is a broad study of the efforts at modern education for Muslim women, especially with reference to the Aligarh Movement and the initiatives inspired by it in other parts of UP, namely Lucknow, Allahabad, Rampur and Agra. The role of Muslim leaders, both male and female, the nature of the problems they encountered and the manner in which they countered them is the major thrust of this study. In the process we are introduced to the major debates on women and education during the course of late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century.

The author breaks many stereotypes as we learn that it was the more traditional among the Muslim leadership, rather than the ‘modernisers’, who pioneered women’s education and that Muslim women themselves played a major role in nurturing the first institutions under their personal care.

Based on an extensive range of primary sources and contemporary writings in English, Urdu, Hindi and Persian, this is a definitive work in many ways, gives food for thought on developments other than its main theme and will be useful to those concerned with women’s studies, social reform, education and modernity in colonial India, particularly with reference to Muslims.

CONTENTS

  1. Muslim Women’s Education in the Nineteenth Century: A Study of the Traditionalist Attitudes
  2. Efforts for the Education of Muslim Women, 1857-1885
  3. Aligarh Movement and Muslim Women’s Education, 1875-1902
  4. Female Education Section: Early Discussions, 1896-1904
  5. A School for Muslim Girls at Aligarh
  6. From Female Normal School to Muhammadan Girls’ School, 1906-1910
  7. A Degree College Managed by the University
  8. Establishment of Schools by Other Indigenous Efforts: Lucknow, Allahabad, Rampur and Agra.

Cover photo: Papa Mian (Sheikh Abdullah, 1864-1965) and Waheed Jahan Begum (1884-1939), founders of the first school for Muslim girls in Aligarh. Back cover: Carriage used to bring girls to school, accompanied by a female escort. (1923)

Nasreen Ahmed

Nasreen Ahmed (1954-2009) studied at the Aligarh Muslim University and later taught at the Karamat Husain College, Lucknow.

She is a pioneer among historians on concerns of Muslim women’s education, as her early essays on the theme published in the late 1970s show. Thereafter she presented her work at various national conferences and seminars. Her studies are rich in sociological data: she records a great deal that feminist scholars writing on Muslim women today have missed. She is author of many research articles published in the Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, a journal of frontier scholarship in history.

source: http://www.threeessays.com / Three Essays Collective

A College in Memory of Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ Birthday Fete

Education, , , , , , , , ,

Kayamkulam (Alappuzha District), KERALA :

A college has been named after Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ birthday celebrated as Seerat-un-Nabi across the globe. The 60-year old Muslim institution – Milad-E-Sherief Memorial College – stands tall at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha district in God’s Own Country. Thanks to the visionary Alhaj P K Kunju Sahib, a former Finance Minister in Kerala between 1967-69, who was instrumental in establishing the institution.

Perhaps in a first of its kind, a Muslim minority institution in Kayamkulam situated in Alappuzha district in God’s Own Country has been named ‘Milad-E-Sherief Memorial College’ (MSM) reminiscing the birthday of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ celebrated as Seerat-un-Nabi across the globe.

The timely info was shared by journalist Colachet Azheem in his Facebook page which sheds light on the munificence of Alhaj P K Kunju Sahib, a former Finance Minister in Kerala between 1967-69, who established the institution.

Flipping through the pages of MSM College portal, it revealed that late Alhaj P.K. Kunju Sahib as a realisation of his long-cherished dream of cultural advancement of the uneducated people of central Travancore named the college as Milad-E-Sherief Memorial College.

Interestingly, it stands as a monument speaking volumes about Prophet Muhammad’s teachings and preachings and his way of life. A veritable champion of the masses, he envisioned that the progress of the poor and the downtrodden is possible only through education. Hence he undertook the great mission of imparting the radiance of knowledge to all, especially to the marginalised, to whom the college was established in 1964. The unseen but domineering presence of his social commitment, continues to enthuse the MSM fraternity for relentless pursuits to scale heights of excellence.

Notably, the MSM College is a symbol of empowerment and education located in the centre of Kayamkulam. It is a monument to his visionary leadership and commitment to helping the underprivileged and worthy minorities in society.

Managed by the MSM Trust, MSM College is more than just a college, it has served as a beacon of knowledge and hope for many generations. Not to be left behind, the institution grew from a modest beginning to become the region’s centre of academic achievement over time. The institution is proud of its highly effective faculty members who are committed to developing students’ potential and encouraging critical thinking. Over its history, MSM College has had a significant impact on establishing the cultural ethos of the community as well as the academic environment of Kayamkulam.

Noted alumni members included Mollywood’s Rasul Pookutty, Oscar award recipient, T P Srinivasan, former Ambassador of India, Permanent representative of India to UN,  Justice K Harilal, former Kerala High Court, Brigadier Suresh G, Indian Army, Dr P Sujatha Devi, chief scientist, CSTD, NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, C S Sujatha, former MP.

For well over six decades, MSM College played a key role in catering socially backwards through enlightenment. In consonance with the vision of the founder, this shrine of letters looks forward to the heydays of a classless society. The programmes launched by the institution as part of this mission focus on academic excellence of global dimension, value-based personality development and training for leadership, and soft skill development. The college has produced many professionals for the industry and is one of the leading colleges in the region.

[The author is former Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle chief]

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Features> Focus / by M Rafi Ahmed / by Radiance News Bureau / August 28th, 2025

Waheed Jahan Begum: A Reformer In Her Own Right l #IndianWomenInHistory

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021),

Poonch, JAMMU & KASHMIR / DELHI / Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

In a time when women were relegated to the home and the hearth, and their dreams resigned to those of little other than a committed marriage and devout motherhood, Waheed Jahan Begum proved that women could want more for themselves.

  Featured Image Source: FII

Throughout India’s modern history in the struggle for women’s rights, many Indian reformers have gravitated towards upholding the crusade for women’s education as their foremost priority. For the everyday individual, the topic of women’s education tends to bring to mind a few notable Indian reformers who fought for women’s rights to pursue an education, albeit the large majority of these names are of men. 

Throughout India’s modern history in the struggle for women’s rights, many Indian reformers have gravitated towards upholding the crusade for women’s education as their foremost priority. For the everyday individual, the topic of women’s education tends to bring to mind a few notable Indian reformers who fought for women’s rights to pursue an education, albeit the large majority of these names are of men. 

Jyotirao Phule’s wife, Savitribai, was responsible for opening the first school for girls in the Indian subcontinent, yet her contributions and accomplishments are often accredited to their union than to her alone, and she is often overlooked for her importance to the movement while her husband is remembered by history as one of the leading reformers for it.

Similarly, in the union between Sheikh Abdullah and Waheed Jahan Begum, we see an identical dichotomy emerge as the husband rises to prominence for his contributions to women’s rights movements, while the wife is remembered only as his counterpart, or inspiration. 

Source: Book Women Education by Dr Nasreen Ahmad

Today we understand the importance of education in the lives of modern women, as a means to achieve financial independence in a patriarchal set-up that favours women as being financially dependent on their fathers, and later, their husbands. But despite the well-established variety of schools and colleges for women we have in India today, it was not always as such and the story of the path to women’s education would be incomplete without the role played by Waheed Jahan Begum. 

An early educator  

Waheed Jahan Begum was the youngest daughter born to Mirza Mohammad Ibrahim Beg, a minor municipal official, in a landholding family from Delhi in 1874. Though she did not have the means to pursue formal schooling, her father personally ensured she would be fluent in Urdu and Persian, while also hiring English tutors to provide her with an understanding of arithmetic and elementary English. 

She subtly began to implement her lifelong dream to start a school for girls in her surroundings growing up, by gathering up the houseworkers’ children and teaching them. Through this method, she succeeded at establishing one of the first concerted efforts at providing girls with an education in a group setting, akin to a school. She attempted to make education accessible to girls within her locality, regardless of their background, at a time when few others were able to say the same. 

In one simple gesture, she managed to lay down the foundations upon which she built her career from the ground up. 

Source: Aligarh Muslim University

But as a single Muslim woman in the Indian subcontinent, it would have been nearly impossible to single-handedly bring about concrete change. 

Sheikh Abdullah, however, was a Kashmiri lawyer who was a prominent leader in the Aligarh Movement, which encouraged the Muslim youth to pursue a modern English education. Though many in the movement rejected Muslim women’s right to an education as well, Sheikh Abdullah represented one of the few men in the movement who was outspoken regarding the need to educate girls and women. This made him a suitable candidate for Waheed Jahan Begum to partner with in her pursuit of fighting the cause for women’s education. They also later had five daughters and a son together. 

Creating a class of well educated muslim women

On marrying Sheikh Abdullah, Waheed Jahan Begum encouraged him in his quest to appeal to the issue of women’s education to the masses. Together, the couple concluded that female teachers needed to be trained to impart education to young girls. 

While Sheikh Abdullah took up the matter of women’s education in front of the Muslim Education Conference and was subsequently elected secretary of the Female Education Section, Waheed Jahan Begum became editor of an Urdu monthly, Khatoon, that the couple began publishing in 1904 to further the cause of women’s education. Additionally, they opened a primary school for the elite populace of Muslim girls. 

Waheed Jahan Begum also hosted meetings among educated Muslim women from across the country to champion the advantages and benefits of women’s education in the country, consequently securing funding for establishing a girls’ school. 

 Sheikh Abdullah with his daughters, son-in-law and grandchildren

However, Waheed Jahan Begum’s secular approach to women’s education growing up proved to be difficult to maintain going forward into her professional life as her lifelong goal to establish a school for girls proved to be a challenge amongst those in charge. 

As when the couple then moved on to start a primary school for girls on various disciplines relevant to the education of Muslim women, including Urdu, the Quran, arithmetic, and needlework, it was restricted to the daughters of elite families who could afford to educate their girls. Additionally, though the school opened with only seven students in 1906, it grew over the years to accommodate around a hundred students in 1909. 

This, however, did not come without its societal dangers, as the girls enrolled in the school faced harassment from the local boys and men in the process of travelling from their homes to the school in curtained carriages. This led to their families pulling them out of school once they reached puberty.

To counteract the threats posed to the girls in their travels, the couple then proceeded with, and succeeded at, pushing for the opening of a boarding school for girls. Leaving her children to be overseen by houseworkers’, Waheed Jahan Begum committed herself to establish the boarding school within the paradigm of a family structure, taking care of each of the girls enrolled in the boarding school as though they were her daughter.

From personally overseeing each aspect of the daily lives of her pupils regarding housekeeping, laundry, and shopping, she would even go as far as inviting the families of the girls to stay in the hostels for a few days to assure them of the safety of the boarding school and to secure their trust. 

In addition to such measures, strict purdah was enforced in the form of walls built around the facility to garner social acceptance from the Muslim elite, though both husband and wife agreed on the restrictive nature of purdah. Their battle for women’s education was riddled with compromises and concessions made which reveal the complexities of the arena of women’s education within the given historical context, as families would assign greater value to their daughters’ “honour” than their education as the former kept them marriageable. The latter held little weightage to their prospects in the market. 

A legacy to look upto

By the time Waheed Jahan Begum passed away in 1939, the boarding school had developed into a women’s college which offered several degree courses. 

Waheed Jahan Begum turned her dreams into reality, by handing down the gift of education to a new generation of Muslim women, with the women’s college she opened with her husband now boasting a strength of around 40,000 students and counting. Students travel from across the world to study at the college she opened back in the days when even moderately educated women were few and far between. 

Source: Aligarh Muslim University

To have achieved such a lasting change in the sphere of women’s education is no small feat, and while it is bleak to confront how little ability women have to bring forth a change within their material reality without the support of the progressive men in their lives, such as their husbands or fathers, it would altogether be impossible to bring to fruition without the hard work of inspiring women such as Waheed Jahan Begum.

She paved the way for the first steps to be taken in the emancipation of Muslim women in the Indian subcontinent, she believed in the power of education as a stepping stone to liberation from traditionalism which would have women confined to the knowledge of the four walls of their husband’s home and little of the vast world that lay beyond. 

As a woman who sacrificed so much of her freedom to dedicate her life to striving for the progress of future generations of Muslim women, she is deserving of recognition beyond her role as a supportive and ingenious partner to Sheikh Abdullah as he set the wheels in motion for women’s education within Muslim society at large.

In a time when women were relegated to the home and the hearth, and their dreams resigned to those of little other than a committed marriage and devout motherhood, Waheed Jahan Begum proved that women could want more for themselves, and for women at large, by leaving their mark on history in their words and actions, to inspire and leave room for future generations of women to add on to their legacy and change the world we live in, bit by bit. 

source: http://www.feminisminindia.com / Feminism in India – FII / Home / by Tanya Roy / January 13th, 2023

Ghiasuddin Babukhan’s legacy: building institutions, empowering lives

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Ghiasuddin Babukhan, one of Hyderabad’s most respected builders, philanthropists, and educationists, died Monday at 83. He is survived by his wife, three sons, and a daughter.

Known for his compassion, Babukhan leaves behind a legacy that bridged stone and society — architectural heritage inherited from his father and a philanthropic network of his own making.

He was the son of Khan Bahadur Abdul Karim Babukhan, a legendary builder who left an indelible mark on India’s architectural history. Abdul Karim Babukhan’s construction empire produced some of the most celebrated structures of the 20th century, including the Arts College at Osmania University, the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, and the Kadam Dam in Nirmal, then in Adilabad district.

Ghiasuddin inherited not just this construction legacy, but also the conviction that enterprise must serve society. In the early 1990s, he shifted decisively from business to social service. In 1992–93, he founded the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust (HZCT), creating a structured and transparent system of charitable giving. For him, philanthropy was not about token donations but about building institutions that could sustain dignity and hope for generations.

The trust focused primarily on education, which Babukhan believed to be the most powerful tool for empowerment. Its annual scholarship program for orphans became one of its most impactful initiatives. For more than a decade, over 10,000 orphaned students across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana pursued education with dignity through these scholarships. Many went on to become doctors, engineers, teachers, and entrepreneurs — living proof of Babukhan’s belief that charity must enable, not merely provide.

Unlike many who confined themselves to charity within their community, Babukhan’s work cut across religious and social lines. He was committed to humanitarian relief, healthcare support, and the preservation of Hyderabad’s plural cultural ethos. His schools, social programs, and charitable initiatives reflected an inclusive philosophy rooted in compassion, justice, and service.

“The passing of Ghiasuddin Babukhan is a great loss for Hyderabad. He was a dedicated philanthropist whose efforts in educating the poor will be remembered. My condolences to his family and friends. May Allah grant him maghfirah and patience to his loved ones,” Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said in an X post.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind president Syed Sadatullah Husaini called him a “true champion of education and a benefactor to the Muslim community.” In a post on X, Husaini said Babukhan’s contributions through the Hyderabad Zakat and Charitable Trust transformed the lives of thousands and would be remembered for generations.

“He was a true champion of education, a liberator of the marginalised, and a benefactor of the Muslim community — an embodiment of the noble spirit of zakat and compassion. Through his philanthropic initiatives, he played a pivotal role in the educational upliftment of the Ummah, poverty alleviation, relief work, and community development,” Husaini wrote.

source: http://www.maktoobmedia.com / Maktoob Media / Home> India / by Maktoob Staff / August 26th, 2025

GDC Women Students Felicitated for Academic Excellence in Jagtial

Education, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jagtial, TELANGANA :

Jagtial:

Government Degree College for Women, Khodmukhtar, hosted a special felicitation programme to honour students for their outstanding academic achievements. The event was organised by the Emirate-e-Millat Islamia Education Committee and Bazm-e-Urdu Adab, Jagtial.

The ceremony was presided over by Principal Professor Rama Krishna. Distinguished guests included Muhammad Abdul Bari, President of Emirate-e-Millat Islamia, Liaquat Ali Mohsin, President of Bazm-e-Urdu Adab, and Muhammad Munemuddin, President of the Education Committee.

Eight students who secured first positions in their respective degree courses were awarded medals, mementoes, and certificates. The awardees were Asna Takreem, Shifa Sadaf, Mehdi Falak, Umm Khadija, Aafia Sultana, Zeba Firdous, Nasira Begum, and Samira Sultana.

A speech competition on the topic “Role of Muslims in the Freedom Movement” was also held. Rimsha Fatima won the first prize of Rs. 3000. Samina Sultana secured second place with Rs. 2000, while Samiya Sania took third place with Rs. 1000.

In addition, students Hajra Maheen, Areeba Shahwar, and Nahanaz, who achieved excellent ranks in Urdu in the Telangana State Common Post Graduation Entrance Test, were honoured with shawls, medals, and mementoes.

The event was conducted by Urdu lecturer Qasim Ali. Faculty members Muhammad Abdul Rahim, Yasmin Sultana, Irfana Begum, and Satyam were present, along with Education Committee members Sheikh Naseem Ahmed, Muhammad Sajid Patwari, and Iftikhar Hussain.

The programme highlighted the role of community organisations in encouraging education and celebrating student achievements.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education> Latest News> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / September 12th, 2025

AIITA Mangrol Celebrates Excellence in Education at Ideal Teacher Award 2025

Amazing Feats, Education, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mangrol (Baran District), RAJASTHAN :

Mangrol: 

The All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) Unit Mangrol, district Baran, Rajasthan, organized the Ideal Teacher Award 2025 to honor the contributions of educators in the community. The event brought together teachers, dignitaries, and residents to recognize the vital role of teachers in shaping students and society.

Applications were invited from educators across schools and madrasas. A seven-member committee evaluated candidates based on moral character, punctuality, religious integrity, contribution to student development, social engagement, and community impact. After a rigorous selection process, ten educators were chosen for recognition. They were awarded certificates, shields, and medals. The awardees included Rafiq Ahmad, Ejaz Hussain, Mohammad Iqbal, Fakhruddin (Siswali), Tarannum Parveen, Mohammad Saleem (Principal, Madrasa Suiwalan), Mohammad Irfan (Anjuman Madrasa), Meraj Ahmad, Wahid Anwar, and Rizwana Kausar.

A highlight of the ceremony was the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Tahir Hussain for his decades of service to education. His work was described as leaving a lasting impact on the community and inspiring both teachers and students.

The event was attended by prominent figures including AIITA State President Khalid Akhtar, who spoke on the moral and social responsibilities of teachers, and Media Secretary Dr. Raheem Khan, who encouraged the use of technology in classrooms. State Secretary Yunus Ansari and other guests also expressed appreciation for the teaching community.

The program concluded with words of thanks from Unit Secretary Haider Ali Ansari and Unit President Mohammad Irfan. The ceremony reinforced the value of education and highlighted the role of teachers as community leaders.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / September 17th, 2025

The Changemakers: 10 stars of Rajasthan who have made society proud

Amazing Feats, Arts & Crafts / CraftsPersons (wef. January 14th, 2025), Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri Award (since January 01st, 2024), Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RAJASTHAN :

Changemakers of Rajasthan

Jaipur :

Rajasthan is known for its sandy deserts, historical monuments, especially forts, vibrant culture, and above all, its brave people, some of whom are inspiring others and changing society for the better. Under our series ‘The Changemakers’, Awaz-The Voice, brings you ten such personalities of Rajasthan, who have done extraordinary and pioneering work. Batool Begum: A living legacy of musical heritage.

Batool Begum: Woman who took traditional music to the world

One name that resonates in the streets of Jaipur is that of Batool Begum. Born in Kerap village of Nagaur district, Rajasthan, this extraordinary singer is a living legacy of Indian classical music. Batool developed a deep passion for music in her childhood. Despite facing social and economic challenges, she continued her singing.

Her melodious voice and her passion for music not only earned her recognition as an artist but also proved that talent can break all barriers. Her art is a source of inspiration for her community and the entire Rajasthan.

Abdul Salam Johar: A lac bangle maker who received global recognition

The vibrant spirit of India’s Pink City, Jaipur, doesn’t only emanate from its colours and people but also from the traditional handicrafts that are made and sold here. Bangles worth lakhs are made in these streets, which are a symbol of the traditional beauty and hard work of thousands of its people.

Abdul Salam Johar is one such artist who not only preserved the traditional art of the State but also brought about a social change in a major way. Coming from the Manihar community, Johar was born in a family with little means, but his dreams were extraordinary. Seeing the struggles of his grandfather Hafiz Mohammad Ismail and parents Haji Abdul Aziz and Hajjan Qamar Jahan, he made hard work, dedication, and social service the main mantra of his life.

He began his journey from his ancestral shop ‘Indian Kangan and Colour Store’ located in Tripolia Bazaar of Jaipur, and today his wares are being sold under brands ‘Johar Design’, ‘Johar King’ and ‘Indian Crafts’ in the global markets. He is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also a social reformer who took his community and traditional art to new heights.

Abdul Latif ‘Arco’: A confluence of business and social service

Abdul Latif, who lives in Chini ki Burj in the capital Jaipur, and is known as ‘Arko’ in Rajasthan, is one such special personality. Born in a small village of Chomu in 1946, Abdul Latif’s father, Rahmatullah, and mother, Hafijan, taught him hard work, honesty, and the passion to help people, which became the basis of his life.

His company, Abdul Razzaq & Company (ARCO), is today a big name for social service along with electric motors, fans, and coolers. Apart from this, his hotel, ARCO Palace, is a symbol of his hard work and foresight. Abdul Latif’s story is not just of a businessman, but of a person who chose to work as a changemaker by combining his business and social responsibilities.

Qazi Nishat Hussain: A new voice breaking stereotypes

The voice rising from a small office located in the narrow streets of Johri Bazaar in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, is today inspiring society to change. This voice is of Nishat Hussain, Rajasthan’s first Muslim female Qazi, social worker, and a strong advocate of the rights of Muslim women.

Her life journey is an example of courage, struggle, and change, which not only made thousands of women aware but also gave them a new direction to live.

Born in Sitabari Mohalla of Karauli district, Nishat’s childhood was spent in an environment of communal harmony. His family was the only Muslim family in the neighbourhood. There were three temples in front of her house. She says, “We did not know who was a Hindu and who was a Muslim.” In a backward area like Karauli, where girls’ education was not given importance, Nishat created history. She became the first Muslim girl in the district to pass the tenth standard, that too as the only Muslim student among 1200 girls. Today, she has become a torchbearer of the rights of Muslim women.

Captain Mirza Mohtasim Baig and Ruby Khan: An Inspiring couple in social service

An inspirational couple, Captain Mirza Mohtasim Baig and his wife Ruby Khan, hail from Jaipur. Captain Mirza is the first Muslim pilot of Rajasthan and has been operating national and international flights for the last 25 years. At the same time, his wife Ruby is an active social worker and politician.

Both believe that if one wants to bring change in society, then he has to take the initiative. Together, they had organised medical camps, documentation camps, free ration distribution, and offered financial help to families in the marriage of their daughters. The couple is an epitome of change brought about by spirited people.

Dr. Arif Khan: The village scientist who created history

Thirty-four years ago, a child was born in the small village of Masani in the Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan. Today, he is Dr. Arif Khan, a scientist who has brought laurels to India. In his village, most of the people toiled in the fields. His father, Advocate Farid Khan, wanted his son to become a doctor. His mother and grandfather also had the same dream. But there were few schools in Masani, and the path to making dreams come true was difficult. Still, Arif had a passion to do something extraordinary in his life.

With his hard work and dedication, he became a bio-scientist and brought glory to his family and village. His research on milk and food products brought a wave of change. His story proves that if the intentions are strong, then even a boy from a small village can become a scientist and make the country feel proud.

Mainuna Nargis: First Shia Muslim woman in art conservation

In a vast country like India, art conservation is important since it not only preserves history but also connects future generations to our heritage.  Mainuna Nargis, the country’s first and so far the only Shia Muslim woman art conservator, does the same work. Born in Bahjoi, a small town in Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh, Maimuna’s childhood was ordinary, but her dreams were extraordinary. Rajasthan has now become Mainuna’s second home.

Her father, a Policeman in UP, always encouraged her. After studying Fine Arts from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), she did a diploma in Museology, which became the most decisive turning point in her life. Maimuna’s story is not just of professional success, but a story of passion, struggle, and self-confidence, which revived the broken pieces of history.

Yoga Guru Naeem Khan: Global journey from music to yoga

The life journey of Yoga Guru Naeem Khan, who rose from the streets of Jodhpur, the cultural capital of Rajasthan, to spread his spiritual aura on international platforms, is a unique example. He rose from a common man to a global yoga guru and presented yoga as a universal energy beyond religion, culture, and boundaries.

Naeem Khan was born in a family where music was in every breath. His grandfather, Ustad Umardin Khan, was the court musician of the Jodhpur royal family, while his maternal uncle was Padma Bhushan-awarded Sarod player Ustad Sultan Khan. However, with changing times, that traditional flame of music started to fade. Naeem and his brother got involved in business, but yoga gave Naeem a new direction, and he took it to a global platform.

Syed Anwar Shah: A man who introduced girls to education

Thirty years ago, a dream was born in a small room in Jaipur, which has today become the light of education for thousands of girls. This is the story of Syed Anwar Shah, whom people fondly call Master Anwar Shah. He not only dreamt of his daughter’s education, but also made it a means of progress for the daughters of society.

Today his educational institution, Al-Jamia-tul Alia, is spreading the message of knowledge and Islamic ethics not only in Jaipur, but also in the whole of India and abroad. After completing his M.A. in Public Administration from Rajasthan University in 1980, he dedicated his entire life to the welfare of society and the service of education. In 1995, when his daughter Alia was born, he decided to set up an institution for the education of girls, which would impart both worldly and divine teachings.

Today, his effort has become a boon for thousands of families.

Padma Shri Shakir Ali: Patron of Miniature Painting

It’s no exaggeration to say that Jaipur is the art capital of Rajasthan. And in the field of miniature painting, the name of Syed Shakir Ali comes to the fore spontaneously. This genre of painting is an identity of the state of Rajasthan. 

Padma Shri awardee Syed Shakir Ali is not only a great practitioner of this art, but he is also the guardian of that heritage, which is an integral part of the cultural identity of Rajasthan. Born in 1956 in Jalesar village of Uttar Pradesh, Shakir Ali’s family soon settled in Jaipur, where his art got a new direction. 

Today, he has given recognition to this traditional art of Rajasthan not only in India but also on international platforms.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> The Changemakers / by Aasha Khosa, ATV / September 14th, 2025

Vision Academic City Inaugurated in Mewat: A Blessing for the Region, Says MLA Mamman Khan

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Maroda Village, (Mewat District), HARYANA :

New Delhi :

Human Welfare Foundation inaugurated the ambitious Vision Academic City” project in Mewat, one of Haryana’s most backward districts. Spread across 24 acres in Maroda village, the campus aims to transform the socio-economic landscape of the region by providing quality and affordable education, healthcare, and community services.

Speaking on the occasion, local MLA Mamman Khan described the campus as a “blessing” for the people of Mewat and assured full support to strengthen its educational initiatives.

P. Mohammed Ali Gulfar, Patron of Human Welfare Foundation and founder of the Gulfar Group, recalled that the dream of Vision 2026 was envisioned in 2005 and is now becoming a reality. “We will continue working for the educational and social upliftment of this region,” he said.

Adding to this, T. Arif Ali, Chairman of Vision 2026, emphasized that the sacrifices of Mewat’s people are deeply rooted in India’s soil, and the time has come to turn the dreams of their forefathers into reality.

Mewat is counted among the most underdeveloped districts of the country, grappling with poor education levels, lack of healthcare facilities, and inadequate sanitation. To address these challenges, the Vision Academic City has been developed under the Vision 2026 Programme.

During the inauguration, several institutions within the campus were formally opened, including Al Jamia Islamia Mewat Off-Campus, an undergraduate college building, separate hostels for boys and girls, and Chirag Middle School. The foundation stones of Scholar School and a Skill Development Centre were also laid.

The event also highlighted Mewat’s rich cultural heritage through Tarang Cultural Fest, Mewat Kitchen, and the Mewat Heritage Wall, showcasing the region’s traditions and identity.

Prominent guests included Engineer Mamman Khan (MLA, Ferozepur Jhirka), P. Mohammed Ali (Founder, Gulfar Group of Companies), and Maqbool Ahmed Anarwala (Retd. IPS Officer). Educationists, community leaders, and several eminent personalities also graced the occasion.

Speakers stressed the urgent need for quality education and skill development in Mewat, noting that Vision Academic City would not only provide modern infrastructure but also open pathways for higher education and research.

Among those present were M. Sajid (General Secretary, Human Welfare Foundation), Shibli Arslan (Academic Director, Al Jamia Mewat Campus), and many local dignitaries.

The inaugural ceremony concluded with a commitment to make Vision Academic City a hub of learning, development, and cultural pride for Mewat.

source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Society / by Mohammed Naushad Khan / September 08th, 2025