JEDDAH, 23 June 2005 — The stage has been set for the National Education Day program being organized by Urdu Academy, Jeddah, at the Consulate General of India premises today at 7.30 p.m. The function is dedicated to the memory of India’s first Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
Abul Kalam served as minister of education in Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet from 1947 to 1958. He died in August 1958. Azad was honored with the “Bharat Ratna,” highest civilian award, posthumously in 1992.
Well-known journalist and Director Doordarshan TV Qurban Ali and a prominent columnist Zafar Agha will attend the function as guests of honor.
Indian Ambassador M.O.H. Farooq will be the chief guest and Consul General Ausaf Sayeed will preside over the function.
The National Education Day program first started in 2001 and since then it has become an annual feature, which generates huge enthusiasm among Indian expatriates.
A veteran journalist, Qurban Ali, who had a long inning with BBC world service, said such programs give an insight into the life and values of our national heroes.
“An evening dedicated to Mir-e-Karawan Abul Kalam is a perfect tribute to a man who worked tirelessly for national unity and reconciliation. His message still remains valid,” Qurban said.
Abul Kalam was not only a Muslim leader but an icon of Hindu-Muslim unity and commands respect in all sections of society. He was an erudite scholar of Islamic theology, with a strong intellectual bent of mind and an inborn flair for literary writing. Essentially a thinker, Abul Kalam was thoughtful and reflective with a mind like a razor, Qurban said.
Qurban urged non-resident Indians, irrespective of religion and the region to which they belong, to work toward strengthening the secular and democratic credentials of their country and to bring laurel to their motherland.
Agha, a well-known columnist and political analyst, described Abul Kalam as legendary freedom fighter and reformer who made his debut on the Indian political scene as a young journalist and grew over the years into a front-ranking Indian nationalist who steered the destiny of the Indian National Congress as its president twice, first 1923 and from 1940 to 1946 subsequently, Agha said.
“Abul Kalam ranks together with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as one of the foremost leaders of the India’s freedom movement. He was a firm believer in the inseparability of politics from religion,” Agha said.
Urdu Academy President Jamalullah Quadri is delighted with the community’s response to the program.
“Visit of prominent journalists helps them understand in a better way the issues pertaining to the expatriates. They get to know the Saudi society well which dispels many a myth about the country and its inhabitants,” Quadri said.
Last year, the academy invited former NDTV Managing Editor Rajdeep Serdesai and Indian express Senior Editor Sagarika Ghose to be its guest in Jeddah. Their visit was met with enthusiasm. Year before last, the academy invited Kuldip Nayar to its function.
