Those who supported partition sought the then Hyderabad PM’s intervention to stop funds to Darul Uloom in UP
An image of the complaint sent to Sir Akbar Hydari against Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani; and other connected documents preserved at the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute.
It was the time when Hindus and Muslims joined hands to fight for India’s freedom, and Darul Uloom at Deoband in Uttar Pradesh and scholars of the Islamic seminary played a vital role.
So much so that those who opposed the strong anti-partition stand of celebrated freedom fighter Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani, who taught hadith (tradition of Prophet Muhammad) at the institution, termed it ‘anti-Muslim’, and even sought a rescinding of a grant to the seminary from the State of Hyderabad.
Documents preserved at the Telangana State Archives and Research Institute reveal that on August 22, 1938, one G.H. Siddiqui from Bijnore had complained to Prime Minister of Hyderabad, Sir Akbar Hydari, saying that Maulana Madani had unfurled a Tricolour atop his allotted quarters. He then proceeded to describe the seminary as an ‘institution which has now become a political centre of anti-Muslim religious propaganda and is now, no more an institution to give pure Islamic education’. He then sought to know whether it would be possible to briefly stop the annual grant to teach a ‘lesson’ to the staff.
Sir Hydari’s handwritten note, polite in tone and tenor, found its way to the Vice Chancellor of the seminary, Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, another celebrated Islamic scholar, to know whether this was true, even as he requested him to investigate the matter.
In his response, Maulana Usmani said that not only was the incident true, but the small flag that was once atop the quarters was replaced by a much larger one. The maulana, whose political leanings were diametrically opposed to those of Maulana Madani, supported the creation of Pakistan and eventually moved there. He had pointed out that the incident had happened in his absence. While Maulana Madani’s office had responded to inquiries, he himself had not.
The letter shows that there was not much that Maulana Usmani could do. In the letter he writes, “Esteemed sir, you may remember that as I have previously informed you that 10 or 11 years ago, when my predecessors appointed the maulana as principal of the institution, they had accepted all his conditions, that his political activities and leanings would not be restricted.”
Academic and author Shamsul Islam, in his book “Muslims Against the Partition of India”, writes that Maulana Madani, who was fiercely against partition, was famous for saying in 1937, nearly a year before the incident as mentioned in the letter to Sir Hydari, that ‘nations are based on homelands, not religion’.
Speaking to The Hindu , noted cleric and president of Jamiat-e-Ulama Hind (Arshad Madani group) Maulana Arshad Madani, who is the freedom fighter’s son, opined that the staunch opposition to partition was a result of foresight, and conviction in peaceful coexistence of communities.
“He was of the strong opinion that partition would not auger well for Muslims in India and Hindus in Pakistan. He believed that for 1,300 years, both communities lived next to each other without problems. We saw what happened after partition. He was imprisoned for a total of nine years, including in Sabarmati jail, and in Matla,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Syed Mohammed / August 14th, 2021
Salman Khan used to drive a cab in New Delhi, now he has a medal at the Asian Games. Alongside Satnam Singh, Salman won India’s first ever bronze medal in the men’s double sculls on Thursday, September 24.
Salman Khan (left) and Satnam Singh (right) win India’s first ever bronze medal in double sculls at the Asian Games. (PTI Photo)
Indian rowers Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in the men’s double sculls at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, September 24, securing India’s first-ever medal in the event. The Indian pair clocked 6:13.25 in the final to finish behind China’s Yi Xudi and Yide Nie, who won gold, and Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov, who took silver.
Satnam and Salman were firmly in medal contention for much of the race, staying second at the 500m, 1000m and 1500m marks. They were eventually overtaken in the closing stages, slipping to third in the final 500m, but held on to secure the bronze.
For Salman, the medal marks his first podium finish at the Asian Games and another major step in a rowing career that began only after he joined the Indian Army. Before he found his way into the sport, Salman was driving an Uber in Delhi to support his family.
WHO IS SALMAN KHAN?
Salman Khan was born in Pure Dhingai in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district and grew up as the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. His father, Mohd Kasim Khan, worked in truck-body construction in Tauru, Haryana, where Salman completed his schooling.
His life changed when his father died of dengue when Salman was 18.
With the responsibility of supporting his younger siblings falling on him, his plans of joining the Indian Army were put on hold. Salman instead moved towards earning a living, driving an Uber cab in Delhi and working day and night to help support his family.
His Army dream eventually returned.
A friend pointed out that Salman’s height and physical build could make him suitable for the armed forces. He handed the cab over to another driver and spent four months preparing for recruitment before clearing the recruitment rally, medical and written examinations.
Salman joined the Bombay Engineer Group in Pune on September 25, 2018.
It was after joining the Army that he was introduced to rowing.
Coaches Satywan, Satish Siraat and Prabhat Mishra noticed his physical attributes and encouraged him to try the sport. Salman was initially reluctant, as rowing was not something he had planned to pursue. But his coaches persisted and eventually put him into the boat.
His first inter-centre regatta brought a silver medal, giving him confidence to continue. He went on to win medals at battalion and inter-centre competitions before clearing the ergometer benchmarks in 2021 and earning selection for the Army Rowing Node at CME Pune.
Training alongside some of India’s leading rowers helped Salman see rowing as more than something he had been encouraged to try.
He twice came close to quitting the sport, but his coaches convinced him to continue. Senior coach Kudrat Ali and Training Officer Major Nagendra Hooda were among those who guided the next stage of his development.
The results soon began to reflect that progress.
Salman won gold at the 36th National Games in Gujarat in 2022 and also claimed gold at the 5th Indoor National Championship that year. In 2023, he won silver at the Senior National Championships and gold at the Open Sprint National Championships.
He also represented India at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne in 2023.
Salman was inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme in 2023, receiving Rs 4,09,100 in support under TOPS. He also received Rs 12,16,589 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition programme.
He won gold at the 37th National Games in Goa later that year before claiming gold at the Asian Rowing Cup in 2024. The result also earned him a promotion to the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army.
His international record continued to grow, with silver medals at the Australian Rowing Championships in Tasmania and the Asian Rowing Championships in Vietnam in 2025. He also won gold at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand and the 42nd Senior National Rowing Championships in Bhopal that year.
The Asian Games medal was the next significant addition to that record.
India’s bronze winning team in men’s double sculls at the Asian Games 2026. (PTI Photo)
WHO IS SATNAM SINGH?
Salman’s partner in the historic bronze, Satnam Singh, also arrived at rowing after starting out in another sport.
Satnam was a national-level handball player before switching to rowing in 2018. Olympian Swarn Singh Virk recognised his physical potential and encouraged him to take up the sport.
The move quickly developed into a career.
Hailing from Punjab’s Mansa district, Satnam represented India at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where he finished eighth in the men’s pair. He later established himself among India’s leading rowers and won the men’s single sculls title at the 40th Senior National Rowing Championships, becoming the first Indian Navy rower to win the event.
Satnam’s first Asian Games medal came at Hangzhou in 2023, when he was part of India’s men’s quadruple sculls crew that won bronze.
He added more international success in 2025, winning gold in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Asian Rowing Championships in Vietnam. He also won silver in the indoor Asian Championships in the men’s double sculls.
The pairing with Salman at Aichi-Nagoya came after India’s rowing team underwent a late reshuffle.
Satnam and Salman had initially been part of the men’s quadruple sculls crew but were moved into the double sculls, while other rowers were shifted between events. The changes came just days before the rowing competition and led to frustration among members of the Indian team.
The two adapted quickly to their new combination.
On Thursday, they stayed in the medal positions throughout most of the final before securing bronze in 6:13.25. For Satnam, it was another Asian Games medal. For Salman, it was the first. And for Indian rowing, it was a historic first in the men’s double sculls.
source: http://www.indiatody.in / India Today / Home> Sports> Asian Games / by India Today Sports Desk – Kingshuk Kusari / September 24th, 2026
Veteran shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan said India’s three skeet bronze medals at the Asian Games 2026 are a big boost for the LA Olympics, but felt the men’s team could have won gold.
Indian shooter Mairaj Ahmad Khan said India’s three skeet medals at the Asian Games 2026 are a good step towards the Los Angeles Olympics, but the team could have done better. India won bronze in all three skeet team events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. It was a historic first for Indian skeet.
Historic bronze for the men’s team
Mairaj Ahmad Khan won his first Asian Games medal, a bronze, as part of the men’s skeet team with Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Bhavtegh Singh Gill. The team defeated Kazakhstan in a shoot-off with a score of 346 points. Mairaj returned to the Games in 2026 after competing in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
He has won three World Cup gold medals in New Delhi (2021), Changwon (2022) and Cairo (2023), along with a silver in Rio (2016) and a bronze in Cairo (2021). At the Asian Championships, he has one gold, two silver and three bronze medals. Speaking about the bronze, Mairaj told TimesofIndia.com from Japan, “Aur achha ho sakta tha. We could have won a gold medal. The stage was set, but no problem, next time.” He also spoke about his individual event. He said he felt tired. “In the individual event, hunger was not there. I think I was a little tired. I was relaxed, mentally tired, overworked. Maybe the calendar is so busy,” he said.
Women’s and mixed teams also won bronze
India’s women’s skeet team, comprising Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan, won a bronze medal, marking the country’s first-ever Asian Games medal in this category. Additionally, Anantjeet and Parinaaz secured another bronze in the mixed team event, achieving medals in all three skeet team events within two days.
Focus on LA Olympics
Mairaj said he is proud of Anantjeet and Parinaaz. “I am really proud of the way Anant and Parinaaz have performed. We are building a team together for the LA Olympics,” he said. Mairaj said his journey is not over. “I will not stop. Ever since I picked up the gun, I have felt that I could have done better. I have made some mistakes. The fight is on for the LA Olympics. Gold was the dream and it will remain the dream,” he said.
source: http://www.dnaindia.com / DNA / Home> Latest News>Sports / by Anishka Pandey / September 24th, 2026
Madhaipur Village (Pratapganj District), UTTAR PRADESH :
Shahnavaz Khan is now the first Indian man to win a long jump medal at the World Athletics U-20 Championships; Shaili Singh had won silver in women’s long jump in 2021.
File – Shahnavaz Khan in action during qualification at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Shahnavaz Khan bagged the bronze medal in the men’s long jump event in the World Athletics U-20 Championships 2026 in Oregon on Saturday.
Shahnavaz Khan bagged the bronze medal in the men’s long jump event in the World Athletics U-20 Championships 2026 in Oregon on Saturday.
This is now India’s third medal of the championships, following silvers from Ashish Yadav (javelin) and Basant Kumar Meghwal (high jump).
Shahnavaz is also the first Indian man to win a long jump medal at the World Athletics U-20 Championships; Shaili Singh had won silver in women’s long jump in 2021.
The bronze, though, might feel like a missed opportunity for Shahnavaz, whose best leap on Saturday (7.84m) was significantly shorter than his personal best (8.30m).
Similarly, R.C. Jithin Arjunan, the other Indian finalist in Oregon, too failed to get close to his personal best (8.12m), as he finished eighth with a best jump of 7.59m
Daniele Leonardo Inzoli of Italy won gold with a 7.97m leap. Silver medallist Australia’s Mason McGroder came agonisingly close to winning the championship, when he touched 7.96m (personal best) with his last jump.
source: http://www.sportstar.thehindu.com / Sportstar / Home> Athletics / by Team Sportstar / August 09th, 2026
It is a commonly held notion that the states of India are natural units, each a homeland of a particular language and culture that existed long before 1947. The formal recognition of these states after India became a Republic was nothing but natural.
A Slice of History
History shows that the political boundaries most Indians live inside today were drawn by a three-member commission that submitted its report on 30 September 1955. This means that the line that separates a Kannadiga from a Malayali or a Bihari from a Bengali was an innovation.
Till then, India had simply carried forward former British provinces, princely states and centrally administered territories, classified under a four-tier system of Part A, B, C, and D states inherited from the Government of India Act of 1935. It was Sir Syed Fazl Ali, a judge from Benares (Varanasi), who led the work to define the boundaries of Indian states,
Born on 19 September 1886 in Varanasi to Saiyid Nazir Ali, Fazl Ali belonged to a family of lawyers, with roots in Bihar. He studied at Muir Central College, Allahabad (now Prayagraj), and at the Middle Temple, London.
Oner his return to India, in 1912, set up practice in the district courts of Chapra, Bihar, arguing criminal cases before subordinate judges. This apprenticeship carried him to the Patna High Court in April 1928, with a deputation to settle labour disputes at the Tata steel works in Jamshedpur.
He was knighted in the New Year Honours of 1941, became acting Chief Justice of Patna in 1938 and permanent Chief Justice in January 1943.
Fazl Ali also chaired the inquiry into the Royal Indian Naval Mutiny of February 1946, one of the last rebellions against the British Empire in India. Later he sat on the Calcutta Disturbances Enquiry Commission, investigating the killings during the partition.
Fazl Ali was elevated to the Federal Court in June 1947. In three months and an Independent India, he went as India’s delegate to the second session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he was elected chairman of its Fifth Committee. In 1950, he became one of the eight judges of the Supreme Court of India. He was also the first Muslim to sit on that bench.
One of his dissenting notes as a Supreme Court judge made history. Indian Parliament had passed the Preventive Detention Act of 1950, allowing the state to jail a person without trial. In A.K. Gopalan versus State of Madras, decided on 19 May 1950, Chief Justice Harilal Kania led the majority in holding that a citizen could be stripped of his liberty by any procedure Parliament chose to enact, however unfair, so long as it was called law.
Two of the six judges who disagreed were Fazl Ali. Fazl Ali held that the procedure established by law had to rest on four elementary principles, which he summed up in a single line: “the right to be heard before one is condemned.” It took twenty-eight years and the government’s arbitrary seizure of a young woman’s passport, without explanation, for the Supreme Court to agree with him.
In Maneka Gandhi versus Union of India in 1978, the Court finally read fairness back into Article 21, and nearly every later right to dignity, privacy and due process in India has been built on that foundation. In fact, less than two years after Gopalan, Fazl Ali had already sat with the majority in the State of West Bengal versus Anwar Ali Sarkar, striking down a law that let the government to select certain cases for trial in Special Courts, bypassing ordinary procedures.
The Court held that such discretionary power violated Article 14 of the Constitution, as it allowed arbitrary and unequal treatment of similar offences. Indian courts still apply the test of reasonable classification under Article 14 that this judgment helped establish.
In 1952, Potti Sreeramulu fasted for a separate Telugu state. He died in the process, and there was unrest in the region. This forced Jawaharlal Nehru’s government to concede to reorganisation of India along linguistic lines.
In December 1953, Ali Fazl Ali, then Governor of Odisha, was asked to head a commission with the historian-diplomat K.M. Panikkar and the veteran liberal parliamentarian H.N. Kunzru as members for the purpose. For almost two years they toured the country, took evidence region by region and read memoranda from parties, princes and peasants. They weighed every demand against four tests – national unity and security, linguistic and cultural homogeneity, financial and administrative viability, and the welfare of the people in each proposed state.
The Commission submitted its report on 30 September 1955. The report said that it was guided by the principle that “the unity of India must be regarded as the paramount consideration,” and refused to accept one language, one state as an absolute rule.
Not every line the commission drew was viable. For example, it kept Maharashtra and Gujarat together as a bilingual Bombay state. The plan was not acceptable to both Marathi and Gujarati speakers, and the state was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.
The commission had recommended 16 states and three union territories as against the final Reorganisation Act of November 1956 going for 14 states and six UTs. However, the template was intact. Punjab and Haryana followed it in 1966. Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand followed it in 2000. Telangana followed it in 2014. Every one of these reorganisations has worked within the same administrative and legal vocabulary that Fazl Ali’s commission wrote, that a community’s claim to its own language and government must be weighed against, never simply surrendered to, the unity and coherence of the nation.
Fazl Ali spent his last years as Governor of Assam, working to bring the Naga hills into the administrative mainstream. He opened a college at Mokokchung, Nagaland that still bears his name.
Fazl Ali’s son, Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali, became Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and, in 1975, a judge of the very Supreme Court his father had helped inaugurate. Sir Syed Fazl Ali was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1956. He died in office on 22 August 1959.
Sir Syed Fazl Ali led no mass movement. But every time an Indian under arrest demands to know the grounds, every time a citizen calls a law arbitrary before a court, and every time someone crosses from one state into another without a thought for how that border came to sit exactly there, they are repeating an argument first made by a Varanasi-born Bihari judge.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / September 11th, 2026
When President Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Teachers Awards, 2026, on 48 teachers from across India, on Saturday, the recipients included four Muslims, who had instilled values and teachings in the minds of their pupils beyond the classroom.
The recipients of the award included Mohammad Zafar Alam from Odisha, who is credited with transforming the lives of the tribal children in a state where hunger and deprivation was once identified with the life of the indigenous people.
The other awardees are Dr Iftikhar Khan, from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh; Mohammad Ayaz Raina, from Rajouri, (J&K); and Mohammad Mustafa Kamal, from Kargil, Ladakh.
The awardees were selected from 27 states, seven Union Territories and six institutions under the Central Government. The list comprises 26 men and 22 women. The award is presented annually to teachers who have made outstanding contributions to school education and brought positive changes to the lives of students.
Mohammad Zafar Alam
Mohammad Zafar Alam, Principal of Eklavya Model Residential School Karanjia in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, has been honoured for his contribution to providing quality education to tribal children in remote area.
Mohammad Zafar Alam (In blue jacket) at the annual day function of school
The school, located at Banuria (Tato), operates under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The residential and co-educational school was established in 2017-18 for Classes 6 to 12. It has around 410 students and an overall capacity of approximately 480.
Under Alam’s leadership, the institution seeks to prepare Scheduled Tribe students not only for school examinations but also for admission to higher and professional educational institutions and future employment opportunities.
Eklavya Model Residential Schools were established to address the shortage of quality educational opportunities in remote tribal areas. They have been developed broadly along the lines of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, with an emphasis on educational standards, residential facilities and competitive opportunities for tribal students.
The National Teachers Award to Alam therefore also draws attention to the important role of educators working in remote tribal regions, where access to quality education can have a transformative impact on the lives of young people.
Dr Iftikhar Khan
For 25 years, Dr Iftikhar Khan, an art teacher at Government Inter College, Ballia, has been providing free art education to poor and underprivileged children at his home.
The initiative began in 2000, when Dr Iftikhar recognised that talented children from economically weaker families in Ballia had limited opportunities to receive formal training in fine arts or prepare for entrance examinations to leading institutions.
Alongside his regular teaching responsibilities, he began conducting free classes at home every Sunday. His students have come not only from Ballia but also from Gorakhpur, Mau and neighbouring Bihar.
He also organises special painting workshops during the summer holidays, providing children with regular practice and individual guidance. His training goes beyond basic painting: he prepares students for admission to higher educational institutions in the field of fine arts.
Dr Iftikhar Khan with his students
More than 200 students have progressed to higher education and careers in fine arts under his guidance. Some are now working with leading companies in India, while others are promoting Indian art abroad.
One of them is Ballia’s Neeraj Singh, who developed an interest in painting after seeing an exhibition by Dr Iftikhar at the Dadri fair in 2007. When Neeraj expressed his desire to learn, Dr Iftikhar trained him without charging a fee.
Neeraj subsequently secured admission to the Faculty of Visual Arts at Banaras Hindu University on his first attempt and completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He later obtained a diploma in Production Design from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and went on to work as a production designer on several films.
According to Neeraj, Dr Iftikhar’s guidance changed the course of his life. Had he not encountered the teacher at the exhibition, he believes he might never have pursued fine arts.
Dr Iftikhar’s philosophy is simple: talent should not be limited by a person’s financial circumstances. What matters is recognising that talent and giving it the right direction.
His commitment to this principle is reflected in an unusual practice. When the parents of one of his students insisted on giving him guru dakshina, he declined money and instead asked them to plant a tree.
Since then, he has encouraged students who wish to offer him a gift to plant a tree in a public place and care for it until it grows. For him, a student’s contribution to society is the finest gift a teacher can receive.
Mohammad Ayaz Raina
Mohammad Ayaz Raina, a Botany lecturer at Government Higher Secondary School Dalhori in Rajouri district on the Line of control in J&K, has spent 13 years in the education sector, combining classroom teaching with student guidance, educational activities and innovative methods, including the use of technology.
His contribution is particularly significant given the geographical challenges of Rajouri, a border district where many schools are located in hilly and remote areas. Limited infrastructure, connectivity and transportation can make teaching more difficult, yet Raina has remained committed to improving educational opportunities for his students.
His efforts have previously earned him several honours. He received the National Information and Communication Technology Award in 2017 and the Best Teacher Award of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in 2021. He has also received the Global Teacher Award 2021 and the Global Best Educational Poster Award 2020.
Mohammad Ayaz Raina with his students
These recognitions reflect his interest in combining conventional teaching with educational technology and creative approaches.
Raina described the National Teachers Award as a collective achievement rather than a personal accomplishment. He credited his students, fellow teachers, educational institutions, family members and others who supported him throughout his journey.
He said a teacher’s success is never the result of individual effort alone, but also reflects the hard work of students, the cooperation of colleagues and the support of family.
Mohammad Mustafa Kamal
Mohammad Mustafa Kamal, a resident of Wakha village in Kargil district, Ladakh, has been recognised for his contribution to education in one of the country’s most challenging geographical regions.
Kamal is posted at Middle School Lanakrchy Thang Sankoo. He also serves as District President of the General Line Teachers Forum, Kargil Ladakh.
In this capacity, he has played a role in popularising the Model School initiative through the teachers’ organisation.
Mohammad Mustafa Kamal (Right) in his school
His commitment to students became particularly visible during the Covid-19 pandemic, when conventional classroom teaching was disrupted. Kamal continued to support students through video and radio classes.
He currently serves as the Nodal Officer for Class 9 and Class 10 Tele and Radio Classes in the School Education Department, Kargil, in addition to his teaching responsibilities.
His educational services have previously been recognised with the Asian Education Award in 2020. He was also among three teachers from Kargil district nominated by the District Selection Committee for the National Award in 2020.
The school’s approach extends beyond academics. Sports, skill development and the preservation of local arts and culture form part of its educational programme, with the aim of developing students’ creative, physical and practical abilities alongside their academic skills.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Aasha Khosa / September 06th, 2026
Started as a local bi-weekly newspaper, Madinah soon commanded a massive subcontinent-wide circulation. While most newspapers at the time focused on major colonial urban centres such as Lahore, Delhi or Calcutta, Madinah instrumentalised its place of inception—Bijnor—as a political shield.
‘Madinah,’ a bi-weekly newspaper founded in 1912 by Mohammad Majeed Hasan, began in his courtyard in the small qasbah of Bijnor in the Northwest United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh). Its inception is later recounted in a dream narrative published in Madinah’s silver jubilee edition in 1939, which describes how Hasan dreamt of “a bright moon shining in the sky, being eclipsed by another moon appearing from behind and drifting away from it, becoming brighter as the dream continued.”
Hasan had been working as a journalist in Lahore while also preparing for a career as a judge. He is said to have had the dream shortly after abandoning his training and returning to Bijnor to continue working for the family newspaper Sahifa, whose modest readership had already begun to dwindle. Hasan later interpreted the dream as a sign that he should start his own newspaper, symbolised by a new shining moon.
Hasan’s first wife, Muhtarma Kaneez Fatimah, whose altruistic nature and firm belief in his venture compelled her to help him start the paper, sold her jewellery to support it. She later proved to be an intelligent and capable assistant in the newspaper’s production, despite being unable to read or write.
It was she who inspired the newspaper to include a separate women’s section named Akhbar-i-Nisvan on one of its last pages. The section frequently appeared during the newspaper’s first three years, from 1912 to 1915, and was intended to serve the interests of Muslim women by including editorials and creative pieces written by both men and women.
Soon, the paper had distinctly identified itself among its audience by creating a space for Muslim women, with a special focus on mothers, to discuss their issues through genres such as poetry and fiction.
The unlikely epicentre: importance of the Qasbah
Started as a local bi-weekly newspaper, Madinah soon commanded a massive subcontinent-wide circulation. While most newspapers at the time focused on major colonial urban centres such as Lahore, Delhi or Calcutta, Madinah instrumentalised its place of inception—Bijnor—as a political shield. In the same year as Madinah’s inception, Maulana Azad, at the age of 23, started the paper Al-Hilal in Calcutta, which was lauded among the Muslim elite and others for its publishing style and genre, soon reaching a pinnacle of readership.
In contrast, Madinah’s unique approach, which embraced the values of the gentry while also appealing to a broad readership beyond the traditional urban elite, distinguished the paper from the incessant urban cynicism that was becoming a prevalent theme throughout the landscape of production. Due to better readership and the greater availability of resources in urban areas, similar endeavours to Madinah redirected themselves to these spaces.
In its founding years, Madinah also addressed British officials, adopting varying strategic and bargaining stances against surveillance and strict government policies through explicit deference to colonial authorities. For instance, Hasan, the proprietor of the newspaper, cited the Ijazat (permission) of the Magistrate and Collector of Bijnor in its inaugural issue. This attentiveness to British intelligence provided the necessary immunity required for the functioning of the newspaper, unlike Azad’s Al-Hilal, which came under heavy scrutiny from the colonial government and had to cease publication by the end of 1914.
Newspapers in urban centres, such as Awadh Akhbar, persisted in their efforts to speak to a broad audience delineated more by language and culture than by religion, while papers such as Madinah reinforced an already rich discursive tradition surrounding religion and identity in the social crevices known as qasbahs (small towns). They also engaged with contested political themes debated by scholars and leaders, including the shaping of early narratives of separatism and communalism among Indian Muslims.
The success of Madinah can be attributed to the spatio-temporal advantages of the qasbah, which can be defined as a place of bureaucratic and market significance where a Muslim minority or majority lived alongside populations from other communities, alongside an influential enclave of intellectual vivacity and economic and political importance for Muslims. Scholar M. Raisur Rahman described qasbahs as “an alternative site for contestation with strong autonomous networks of culture, literature and religion”, while simultaneously defining them as a ‘unique space’ and a ‘microcosm of larger idealized national life’.
These spaces have been significantly important sites in the history of South Asian culture, shaping identities and literary traditions while remaining distinct from the typologies of urban environments, where modernity had already seeped through the sutures of cultural exchanges with the outside world.
Madinah and its role in politics
The political trajectory of Madinah transformed profoundly during the period of World War I, following the Balkan Wars. The paper broadened its purview by juxtaposing the localised ethos and culture of the qasbah with larger international crises, particularly the imminent dismantling of the Ottoman Empire.
Navigating the intricacies of a contested political landscape, Madinah supposedly guarded a global Islamic consciousness through its promotion of the Khilafat Movement and its shared affiliation with Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. Consequently, its support for the Indian National Congress and its anti-separatist stance against Jinnah became apparent, aligning with Jamiat’s idea of Composite Nationalism, as Madinah continued to anchor itself in the secular, anti-colonial bedrock of Urdu journalism.
According to scholar Gyanendra Pandey, Madinah served as a vital barometer of Muslim public opinion across this shifting timescape. Driven by the ideological synergy of Hindu-Muslim unity during the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements, the publication commanded an astounding peak circulation of 12,500 copies by 1922. However, this radical nationalism invited severe repercussions from the colonial state, notably resulting in the paper being banned in Punjab following its courageous and explicit reporting on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Following the ban, the paper was relaunched in August 1919 under a new name—Yasrab (Madinah in Arabic)—as an act of strategic defiance against the colonial government, with a couplet from Iqbal:
Khāk-i Yasrab az do ‘ālam khūshtar ast, Ā’e khunak shahre ke ānjā dilbar ast
(The dust of Madinah is better than both worlds, How wonderful is the city where the beloved is.)
As the landscape of production became increasingly fragmented by communal cynicism and the mass political momentum of the early 1920s waned, the paper witnessed a decline in readership, with circulation dipping to 6,500 in 1927 and further to 6,000 by 1931.
Despite this dwindling circulation, Madinah remained a formidable and persistent critic of communal separatism throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Engaging with the contested political themes of the era, the paper sought to dismantle the early narratives of the All-India Muslim League. Pandey highlights a remarkably bold editorial from the 1930s that dismissed the League as being “neither dead nor alive”, asserting that its existence was confined merely to “the brain and mind of Mr. Jinnah”.
By 1942, the newspaper had effectively transformed into an open town hall, enabling ordinary citizens to debate and largely resist the looming Pakistan movement from within the landscape of the qasbah.
The script and scripture
The prevalent Urdu script, Nastaliq, which had been used throughout South Asia for centuries and was imported from Persia, featured intricate details, ornamentation and a complex structural form forged through the meticulous amalgamation of the Naskh and Ta’liq calligraphic traditions. It became the most recognisable Urdu script and developed strong cultural and ideological ties with the Urdu language. However, due to the rise of globalisation and the growing demand to produce literature for the public, it became increasingly difficult to produce works in the script lithographically on a mass scale. By the end of the 1970s, Nastaliq began to advance with the help of Mirza Jamil Ahmad, who created more than 20,000 combinations to bring the script into the digital world under the name Noori Nastaliq.
By the time the digitisation process began, Madinah was already out of business, shutting down its press with its last issue in 1976. During the seven decades that the paper survived, its editors had no keys to the press and no screens to reflect upon. Instead, the issues of Madinah were produced solely by hand, by calligraphers and artists alike.
The Urdu script Nastaliq had been established as the standard for almost every copy of the holy book Quran in South Asia since the Mughal period. By the time Madinah began using the same script as its standard, it already carried connotations of purity, holiness and divinity within the cultural landscape. Combined with the organic practice of producing it by hand rather than by machine, the paper was considered by its readers to embody a deliberate resistance against illegitimate mechanisation and the rising industrialisation of the subcontinent, curating a new political discourse based on the cultural symbolism of the script.
By using and retaining lithographic practices in an era when other papers were increasingly relying on mechanical typography for efficiency, Nastaliq was perceived as a tactile and handcrafted discipline that preserved the inherent spirit of prose, shielding the paper’s contributions from the mechanical and indifferent processes of Western print capitalism.
The inevitable descent
By the 1940s, Madinah had begun engaging in intense print debates with the supporters and proponents of pro-Muslim League newspapers and writers, arguing in a polemical fashion that religion could not be the sole determinant of a nation’s survival. Despite the paper’s persistent efforts to resist the pro-League and separatist stance, it witnessed the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two parts. The social capital of Madinah was on the verge of collapse, as the paper saw affluent members of the Muslim community, who had constantly contributed to its production and editorials, leave for the other side of the border.
The Language Act of 1951 became a huge blow to the publishing house of Madinah, as Hindi was soon adopted as the state language in Uttar Pradesh, mandating officials and government offices to maintain all data in Hindi and extensively replacing Urdu in institutions under the newly formed Indian government. Although the apparent marginalisation of the paper’s foundational language and the loss of its social capital were significant blows in the paper’s history, they were unable to overshadow its continuing legacy.
Madinah, managing to survive, remained a prominent, albeit ageing, symbol of pre-Partition nationalist Muslim political identity, advocating for the preservation of Urdu heritage amid the growing socio-political shifts in Uttar Pradesh. At the same time, it continued to struggle against declining circulation as newer, faster-printed typographic dailies overtook the market. Its reports on the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and the creation of Bangladesh vindicated the paper’s historical assertion that religion alone could not hold a nation together, while it also continued reporting on rising communal tensions in the country.
The prodigious endeavour was about to culminate in the years following the Indo-Pakistani War. Near the end of its operational life, the paper’s traditional lithographic format and qasbah roots struggled to attract younger, urbanised readers. The deteriorating health of Hasan finally caught up with him, leading to his death in 1972. The handling of the newspaper remained in the hands of Hasan’s family until its last editor, Syed Hasan, finally ceased publication, quietly closing the press in 1975.
References
Jones, J. (2023). Megan Eaton Robb: Print and the Urdu Public: Muslims, Newspapers, and Urban Life in Colonial India. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021; pp. xi + 247. Journal of Religious History, 47, 151–153. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12917
Abduhu, G. R. (1973). The Educational Ideas of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Sterling Publishers.
Rahman, M. Raisur. (2014). “Beyond Centre-Periphery: Qasbahs and Muslim Life in South Asia.” South Asian History and Culture, 5, 163–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/19472498.2014.883762.
The Faculty of Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), condoled the demise of Dr. Syed Wajid Ali Naqvi, former faculty member of the Department of Biochemistry, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), who passed away Sunday last.
Expressing a deep sense of grief at a condolence meeting of the staff and students of the Faculty of Medicine, the Dean, Prof. Mohammad Khalid conveyed heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family. Faculty members and students also prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and strength and patience to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.
A proud Aligarian, Dr. Naqvi had a close association with AMU spanning several decades. He joined the University as an undergraduate student in 1954 and obtained his B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Ph.D. in Biochemistry from AMU. He joined JNMC as a faculty member in 1965 and served until his retirement in 1996.
During his long association with the University, Dr. Naqvi held several academic and administrative responsibilities, including membership of the Academic Council, and served as Warden of Sir Syed Hall and Habib Hall, Acting Provost, Member of the Sports Council and President of the Gymnasium Club.
After his retirement from JNMC, he continued his academic association with medical education, serving on the faculty of ERA’s Lucknow Medical College & Hospital and Al Fateh Medical University, Tripoli, Libya.
The faculty members recalled Dr. Naqvi as a link between generations of Aligarians, having himself been an Aligarian and later becoming the father of four Aligarians. His long association with the University, both as a student and teacher, and his contributions to academic and residential life will be remembered with respect and affection.
source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / Home / by Public Relations Office / August 11th, 2026
Professor Mohammad Mobin, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been conferred the prestigious Professor B.P. Verma Memorial Award for 2025 by the Indian Chemical Society (ICS), recognising his contributions to research, development and innovation in Chemical Sciences and Engineering.
The honour marks a significant achievement in Professor Mobin’s academic career and reflects his sustained efforts towards advancing scientific research and translating innovation into meaningful technological and societal applications.
In a communication dated August 14, 2026, Prof. G. D. Yadav, President, Indian Chemical Society, conveyed the Society’s appreciation of Professor Mobin’s distinguished professional accomplishments, which have enhanced the stature of Chemical Sciences and Engineering and contributed to the advancement of Indian chemical and allied industries and society.
As part of the recognition, Professor Mobin has been invited to deliver the Professor B.P. Verma Memorial Award Endowment Lecture at the 63rd Annual Convention of Chemists (ACC 2026) of the Indian Chemical Society from December 14–16 at Graphic Era University, Dehradun.
Professor Mobin is presently serving as Vice Chancellor of Cluster University of Srinagar on deputation from AMU. His academic and research contributions span Chemical Sciences and Engineering, with particular emphasis on Materials and Corrosion, research innovation and technological development.
The Indian Chemical Society, one of India’s leading professional bodies in chemical sciences, has played a vital role in promoting chemical research, technology and industry while fostering collaboration among academia, research institutions and industry.
The Professor B.P. Verma Memorial Award adds another distinguished recognition to Professor Mobin’s achievements and brings pride to AMU and the wider academic and scientific community.
source: http://www.indiaeducationdiary.in / India Education Diary / Home> Educational News> University News / by iednewsdesk / August 17th, 2026
An Inspiring Journey of IIT Bombay Professor Dr. Azizuddin Khan from a Small Town in Bahraich to Global Recognition in Science and Research
In a landmark achievement for Indian Science and Research, Prof. Dr. Azizuddin Khan, eminent Psychologist, Neuroscientist and Psychophysiologist at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), has been recommended for the prestigious J.C. Bose Fellowship (ANRF J.C. Bose Grant).
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) recommended the honour in recognition of Dr. Azizuddin Khan’s outstanding scientific research, innovation and contributions aimed at improving human well-being in August 2026.
The J.C. Bose Fellowship is one of India’s prestigious recognitions for active senior scientists and engineers who have made outstanding contributions to science, engineering, medicine and related fields. The fellowship provides research support to enable distinguished scientists to continue advanced research and mentor the next generation of researchers.
From a Small Town to IIT
Prof. Dr. Azizuddin Khan hails from Mahinpurwa, a small town in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. After completing his early education at a local inter college, he chose psychology as his field of study despite family expectations.
He secured first position in his undergraduate studies at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) & subsequently completed his M.A. in Clinical Psychology. He later earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from IIT Kanpur, which laid the foundation for his distinguished research career.
Distinguished Research at IIT Bombay
Prof. Khan has been associated with IIT Bombay for nearly two decades and currently serves as an India Value Chair Professor. He is among the leading researchers associated with the Psychophysiology Laboratory.
He is also associated with important research initiatives including the Sunita Sanghi Centre for Ageing & Neurodegenerative Diseases (SCAN), Koita Centre for Digital Health (KCDH) and the IIT Bombay-FedEx ALFA Centre.
He has played an important role in developing an advanced Psychophysiology Laboratory at IIT Bombay, where researchers use technologies such as EEG, Eye Tracking, Event-Related Potentials (ERP), Neurofeedback and other modern neuroscientific techniques to study the human brain, cognition and behaviour.
Diverse and Human-Centred Research
Prof. Khan’s research is closely connected with real-life human challenges. His major areas of research include:
Dyslexia and Reading Disorders
Autism and ADHD
Memory and Prospective Memory
Attention, cognition and brain processes
Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease
Psychological stress and depression
Brain activity during Urdu, Hindi and bilingual reading
Urdu script and its processing in the human brain
Artificial Intelligence and mental health
Human psychology under extreme environmental conditions
Through his multidisciplinary research, he has contributed significantly to the fields of psychology, psychophysiology and neuroscience.
Technology-Based Research for Dyslexia
One of the most significant areas of Prof. Khan’s research is dyslexia. He has contributed to the development of ‘Brainu’, a screening application designed to facilitate the early identification of children who may have reading difficulties.
The application uses engaging, game-based activities to assess certain reading-related abilities and help identify children who may require further assessment or support.
He has also worked on innovative Haptic Belt/Bracelet technology, which uses specific vibrations to help children recognise and experience the correct sounds associated with letters and words.
Such technology has the potential to support children learning Urdu, Hindi, Marathi, Arabic and English, particularly those experiencing difficulties in reading and phonological processing.
Pioneering Research on the Urdu Script
Another distinctive area of Prof. Khan’s research is the neural processing of the Urdu script. His research examines how the human brain processes Urdu text written from right to left while simultaneously dealing with numbers written from left to right.
Using Eye Tracking and EEG technologies, he has investigated the cognitive and neural processes involved in Urdu and bilingual reading. His work has contributed to the scientific understanding of how multilingual readers process different writing systems.
Research in Antarctica
Prof. Khan has also participated in India’s Antarctic research programme, where he studied human psychology under extremely cold and isolated environmental conditions.
His research examined aspects such as memory, mental health, emotional well-being and behavioural changes among people living and working in extreme environments. He has also undertaken research related to self-awareness in penguins, attracting attention within the scientific community.
Representing India on the Global Research Platform
Prof. Khan has represented India at numerous international academic and scientific forums. He has presented his research in countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Finland, Spain, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries.
His academic contribution includes more than 200 research publications, several international book chapters, patents and research projects. He has also guided numerous Ph.D. scholars, many of whom are today working as professors and researchers at leading IITs, NITs and universities in India and abroad.
An Inspiring Message for Young Students
According to Prof. Dr. Azizuddin Khan, success depends not merely on intelligence but on hard work, curiosity, perseverance, patience and a continuous desire to learn.
His own journey demonstrates that a student from a small town can achieve global recognition through education, determination and sustained research.
A Matter of Pride for the Nation
The recommendation of Prof. Dr. Azizuddin Khan for the J.C. Bose Fellowship is not only a personal achievement but also a matter of pride for the Indian scientific community, IIT Bombay, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the residents of Bahraich.
His continuing work in psychology, neuroscience, education, mental health and artificial intelligence is expected to open new avenues of research and contribute to improving the lives of children, students and society at large.
[The writer, Akhlaq Shaikh, is a Career Counsellor, Mumbai. He alsow writes for Urdu Daily Inquilab.]
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Education & Career / by Akhlaque (Akhlaq) Shaikh / August 18th, 2026
