For the first time in the history of Aligarh Muslim University Student politics, three women have won the student union elections. Ghazala Ahmad, Sadaf Rasool and Labiba Sherwani all contested the polls for the first time and all three won posts of cabinet members in the AMUSU.
The results of AMUSU elections sent a positive message about gender equality in an university that had gotten bad press for restricting library access for undergraduate women students.
Ms. Ahmad is final year student of Bachelors of Social Work, Ms. Rasool is in the final year of B.U.M.S. and Ms. Sherwani is in her first year of Bachelors of Social Work.
In 2015, one female student had won the union elections. But this is the first time in the history of AMU that three women have won the polls in their maiden attempt.
Kehkashan Khanam, a student of Ph. D. in Theology had won the post of cabinet in the last AMU student union elections. Ms. Khanam had contested this time for the post of vice-president in the AMUSU.
While talking to The Hindu on phone from Aligarh, Ghazala Ahmad said she held the victory of three girls in their first attempt to be a “sign that students of AMU want to see more girls presence and participation in overall student politics”.
When asked how she convinced a male-dominated electorate to vote for her, Ms. Ahmad said, “I told everybody on the campus that time has come to change outsiders’ perception of AMU. I told them, lets show the outside world that AMU campus is friendly and open to girls.”
The twenty-one-year old Ms. Ahmad said her inspiration was her working mother Nahid Fatima, Principal of a Government Primary School in Aligarh.
The job of a cabinet member is to ensure that the problems faced by the students at the departmental and faculty level, should be conveyed and taken up with the president, vice-president and secretary of the AMUSU. “It is a male-dominated campus but the results show that students on the campus want to more participation from girls. After all girls are also there on campus. Who will represent them. It was a tough competition so I had to work really very hard,” said Ms. Ahmad.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Other States / by The Hindu / November 01st, 2016
Prof Shahab Fazal of the Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been conferred the prestigious National Geospatial Faculty Fellow Award at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay.
The award was presented in recognition of Prof Fazal’s significant contribution to advancing geospatial education through his textbooks and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). His work has played a vital role in popularising geospatial technologies and making them accessible to students across the country.
Padma Shri Prof Kiran Kumar, Former Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), presented the award during a special ceremony held at the Prof B. Nag Main Auditorium of IIT Bombay.
The award ceremony was a key highlight of the Open Source GIS Day Celebrations, organised by the FOSSEE GIS project of IIT Bombay. This initiative falls under the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT), Ministry of Education, Government of India.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / July 18th, 2025
Ather Siddiqi was a researcher of eminence in his field and his research has been nationally and internationally recognised in the scientific world.
Professor Ather H. Siddiqi was born on December 29, 1931, in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He attained his early education at the Govt. High School, Saharanpur and obtained the degrees of B.Sc. (1950) and M.Sc. (1953) from A.M.U. Topping the university in Science and Zoology, he received two gold medals. He did his PhD in 1956 under the supervision of Professor Babar Mirza from Aligarh Muslim University.
Ather Siddiqi joined the Department of Zoology as a lecturer in 1953. After three years, he joined Purdue University, USA and completed another doctorate in 1958. He became a reader in 1961 and was appointed as a professor in 1977. Prof. Siddiqi also taught at universities in Nigeria and Libya and returned to India in 1980. He served as the Chairman of the Department of Zoology (1985-88) and as the President of the Indian Society for Parasitology. He also served as the Dean of the Faculty of Life Science in 1988-89, finally retiring from his services in 1994.
His scientific work on helminth taxonomy was published by the New York Academy of Sciences in the form of an exhaustive monograph. Despite that, he received his basic training in classical zoology in the early sixties. Later on, he switched to experimental work in parasitology. Ather Siddiqi was a researcher of eminence in his field and his research is nationally and internationally recognised in the scientific world.
Siddiqi’s Immersion in Urdu Writing
Apart from research articles, his popular writing in Urdu started in the 1980s. His first article in Urdu appeared on the life and scientific contribution of his mentor Professor Babar Mirza in the Quarterly “Fikr-o-Nazar” (January 1987). He published two articles in the early years of “Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq”, Aligarh: ‘Ilm-ul-Hayatiat ke Isatiza se Khitab’ (December 1987), ‘Mohammad Babar Mirza-Apnay Chaman ka Aik Deedawar’ (August 1989).
After his retirement in 1994, he devoted himself completely to Urdu writing. His lengthy article, ‘Mashriq say bezar na Maghrib say Hazar Kar’ narrateing the scientific and cultural activities of European countries was serialised in January 2005-June 2006 issues of “Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq”.
Similarly, his Urdu travelogue ‘Saat Haftay Inglistan Main’ (Seven Weeks in England) was published in the June and July 2006 issues of “Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq”. It carried interesting information regarding the scientific and cultural development of England.
His article based on his visit to Spain ‘Undlus Ka Shandaar Mazi’ (The Bright Past of Spain) discussed the scientific and cultural development of medieval Spain.
Ather Siddiqi along with Syed Zillur Rahman, contributed a chapter, ‘Aligarh Muslim University: Development and Progress of Science Teaching and Research, 1877-1947’ in Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, c. 1784-1947 (ed. Uma Das Gupta), Centre for Studies in Civilisation published in 1999.
A Glimpse into his Published Works
He is regularly contributing a literary column ‘Hairat Sarai Ke Kahania’ to “Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq” which consists of the translation of interesting short stories taken from the internet.
Recently, his popular science articles ‘Parasitism: Aik Dilchasp Tareeq Zindagi’ (Parasitism is an Interesting Way of Life) and ‘Yek khuliya Tufailiati Beenariyan’ (Unicell parasitic diseases) appeared in the February 2022 and February 2023 issue, respectively, of the Urdu monthly ‘Aajkal’, Delhi.
After retirement, Ather Siddiqi devoted himself to Urdu writing and authored, translated and edited dozens of books. The names of some of his books are: ‘Kiya aur meri Hayat Kiya’, ‘Lizzat Aabla Pai’, ‘Nishat Aabla Pai’, ‘Hairat Sarai ke Kahaniyan’ (Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4). In 2022, he published “Rah wa Rasam Aashnai”, his last book. He also rendered Retd IAS officer Musa Raza’s book, “Land of Regrets: Kashmir”, in Urdu as “Kashmir Sarzamin Pashemani”.
Ather Siddiqi was one of the best teachers, an internationally acclaimed Zoologist, and a passionate Urdu writer. And above all, he was a wonderful human being. He passed away on 8th November, 2023, in Delhi at the age of 92 years due to old age illness.
References:
Tehzib-ul-Akhlaq, Aligarh (various issues) Science and Modern India: An Institutional History, c. 1784-1947 (ed. Uma Das Gupta), Centre for Studies in Civilisation, New Delhi, 1999.
source: http://www.heritagetimes.in / Heritage Times / Home / by Dr Asad Faisal Farooqui
Kodangallur, KERALA / Fulat(Phulat)Village (Muzaffarnagar District), UTTAR PRADESH :
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Vision International Academy (VIA), situated in the village of Fullat in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh. It was a journey I had long awaited. Spending time with the children there—even briefly—was a moving experience. Before me sat over 300 Huffaz—young children who had committed the Qur’an to memory. But the academy is not merely a Hifz institution. As the name “Vision” suggests, it embodies a deeper insight into human potential, blending spiritual excellence with academic brilliance.
Mammooty Anjukunnu
That evening, while returning to Darul Uloom Deoband, I received a call from Babukka. He sounded emotional. He had called to express his joy—not just about my visit to Vision or meeting the students—but about something much greater. Because what I had visited was not just another educational center. It was a mission. A dream. And behind it stood the journey of a visionary man.
Let me tell you that story.
A man from Kodungallur, Kerala—Ameer Ahmad Babu Manappat—never imagined that his life would take a turn into the field of Islamic education. A former student of Aligarh Muslim University, he was first struck by the concept of Hifz during a visit to Delhi. Intrigued, he began exploring madrasas in Saharanpur, Deoband, and surrounding areas of North India. He wanted to understand the intellectual capacity of Huffaz. People had told him these children possessed extraordinary memory and brilliance.
However, while interacting with them, he found something amiss. These bright children, despite having memorized the entire Qur’an, were often unaware of the world outside. And he, in turn, was a stranger to theirs. This encounter exposed a painful reality: two different worlds existed—and there was a vast, unbridged distance between them.
In North India, the term “madrasa” is broad and includes Hifz centers, Arabic colleges, and basic religious schools. Many children are enrolled in such madrasas without access to formal education. They might learn basic arithmetic or science, but there’s little focus on academic rigor or integration. Most teachers remain confined to their own disciplines. The idea of combining Qur’anic and modern education barely exists.
Ameer Babu, grandson of Kerala’s renowned Muslim reformer Manappat Kunhahammad Haji, felt a growing sense of responsibility. He believed that Huffaz—gifted with sharpened intellect and memory—deserved access to high-quality general education. Their potential, he thought, could be channeled for the upliftment of society and the community.
He spent months researching and, with experts, developed an innovative bridge course—an academic fast-track that compresses eight years of schooling into one. After two more years, students would be ready for the 10th-grade public examination.
Many doubted his vision. He met numerous religious scholars and explained the idea, but most dismissed it. “We already teach school subjects,” they would say. “What more do you want?”
In reality, over 35,000 Huffaz graduate annually from madrasas in Uttar Pradesh alone. Yet less than 10% of them appear for the 10th-grade board exams. Most do not pursue further education. Many end up in manual labor, small trades, or low-income jobs.
Still, Ameer Babu did not abandon his mission.
His journey brought him to Fullat, near the UP-Delhi border, home to a vast madrasa campus named Jamia Shah Waliullah, founded by Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, a renowned scholar and spiritual leader. The madrasa is located in the birthplace of Imam Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, one of the greatest Islamic scholars in Indian history.
When Ameer Babu shared his vision with the people there, he was told, “Let Hazrat come, he will help you.” Soon, Hazrat arrived—dressed in white, with a radiant smile and graceful demeanor. It was Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui himself.
After listening carefully, Maulana asked Ameer Babu:
“Ameer Saab, what do you want?
Land? Buildings? Some support?”
Then he stood up, led him to a nearby three-acre plot of land adjacent to the madrasa, and asked: “Is this enough?”
That was the beginning.
In August 2017, Ameer Babu admitted 76 Huffaz in the first batch. The results were astounding. These students, with their incredible memory skills, were able to learn up to 1,500 words a week. They completed an entire year’s academic syllabus in just 13 to 18 days, using innovative learning techniques. Simultaneously, their Qur’anic memorization was maintained through a dedicated revision system (daura).
Under the Open School system, the first batch achieved a 92% pass rate in the 10th-grade board exams. Encouraged, they transitioned to the more rigorous UP State Board—and the pass rate rose to 96%. Then, Vision shifted to the CBSE curriculum, and the first batch passed with a 100% success rate.
Classes were expanded to include Plus One and Plus Two, with both Science and Humanities streams. Today, more than 300 Huffaz are enrolled at VIA.
Among its graduates:
2 are now in medical colleges
7 in engineering colleges
8 in law schools
Over 50 in various Arts & Science colleges
Vision’s students now come from across seven Indian states. They are fluent in English, academically competitive, and grounded in Qur’anic values.
Last year, during Ramadan, 235 VIA students led Taraweeh prayers as Imams in 17 Indian states, including Kerala—showcasing both their spiritual and intellectual discipline.
Some of these students have now joined the SAFI Institute in Kerala, where Ameer Babu serves as Vice Chairman—an ongoing experiment in integrated education. His goal is to nurture a generation of confident, competent Muslim youth who carry the Qur’an in their hearts and knowledge in their minds.
During my visit, Babukka shared with me his dream—to build 100 such institutions across India for Huffaz. I responded with a story.
In 1992, Balbir Singh, a leader in the mob that demolished the Babri Masjid, returned to his village a hero. But his father rejected him. His wife left. Disgraced and broken, he eventually arrived at Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui’s khanqah in Fullat. There, he broke down and wept. He embraced Islam and became known as Mohammad Aamir.
Following Maulana’s advice, Aamir joined Tablighi Jamaat for four months. Later, he told Maulana:
“Hazrat, I was one of those who demolished Babri Masjid. I must build 100 mosques to atone.”
Before his death in 2021, Mohammad Aamir fulfilled that dream.
Now, from the same khanqah, Ameer Babu has set out on his own mission—to build 100 schools for Huffaz.
When Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui’s dawah efforts began shaking the status quo, the authorities arrested him under fabricated charges. That is a different story altogether.
But Ameer Babu carries on, undeterred.
He serves— the Qur’an, and those who carry it within.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Education> Positive Story / by Mammooty Anjukunnu / June 07th, 2025
Dr. Fasna K receiving the best paper award at Mumbai
Aligarh:
Dr. Fasna K, a Junior Resident-III in the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Dr. Z.A. Dental College, Aligarh Muslim University got the Best Paper Award at the 21st National Postgraduate Convention of the Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry (PedoSoch 2025), held in Mumbai, recently.
Her Guide, Prof Saima Yunus Khan, Chairperson of the department congratulated Dr. Fasna on the achievement.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / February 05th, 2025
Prof Naima Khatoon, Dr Hamida Tariq, Prof Subuhi Khan and others during the condolence meeting of Seemin Hasan
Aligarh :
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) community gathered to honor the memory of the late Prof Seemin Hasan, who passed away on May 23.
During a heartfelt condolence meeting organized by the AMU Women’s Club, Vice Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon paid rich tributes to Prof Hasan, reminiscing about their days together in Abdullah Hall. She prayed for Prof Hasan’s soul to find peace in Jannah and offered solace to her family and friends.
Prof Hasan, a senior faculty member in the Department of English and a valued member of the AMU Women’s Club, was remembered fondly by her colleagues and friends.
Dr. Hameeda Tariq, the founding Patron of the Club, highlighted Prof Hasan’s exceptional abilities as a professional, a friend, and her remarkable culinary skills.
Prof Azarmi Dukh Safavi, former President of the Club and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, spoke of Prof Hasan’s caring and generous nature. Prof Syeda Nuzhat Zeba, current President of the AMU Women’s Club, praised Prof Hasan’s exemplary character and recounted their long-standing professional and personal relationship.
Prof Subuhi Khan, Secretary of the AMU Women’s Club, expressed the profound sense of loss felt by the community, describing Prof Hasan as a great source of inspiration. Dr. Faiza Abbasi, Director of the UGC MMTTC and founding Joint Secretary of the Club, lauded Prof Hasan as an outstanding English scholar and gracious teacher, emphasizing her role as a diligent role model.
On behalf of the family, Prof Hasan’s son, Dr. Saif, paid rich tributes to his mother and thanked the club members for their support during this difficult time. He mentioned that AMU was integral to her identity and announced the family’s intention to establish an endowment in her name. This endowment will fund commemorative lectures, literary and scholastic events, and quality publications at the university.
The condolence message was handed over to Prof Abrar Hasan, Prof Seemin Hasan’s husband and former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, by Vice Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon, Secretary Prof Subuhi Khan, and other club members.
A two-minute silence was observed in memory of Prof Hasan.
Prof Seemin Hasan is survived by her husband, Prof Abrar Hasan, and her sons, Dr. Saif and Dr. Shabih.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / June 10th, 2024
