ALIGARH : "The services of Aligarh Muslim University's Department of Urdu are unmatched and eternal and this department has carved a special niche for it on the basis of its unique history which is illuminated by the stalwarts of Urdu like Rashid Ahm
The campaign for the protection of the AMU’s “Muslim Character” started in 1965 in reaction to the AMU (Amendment) Act. It was supported by the Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the Pro-Congress Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind and Jamaat-i-Islami, joined the Old Boys’ Associations.
Pilgrimage to Aligarh
Mohammed Wajihuddin
The sun on a lazy Sunday afternoon in February at Aligarh felt soft and soothing on the skin. I chatted with a caretaker at the guest house while Dr Rahat Abrar, ex-PRO and director, Urdu Academy at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), desperately waited for his driver at his house. He finally arrived in an SUV to pick me up.
People come to AMU with different purposes. Many come here to give tests, seek admission themselves or for their wards or give interview for jobs. My purpose to visit AMU, except the first time in mid-1980s for admission in Class 11, has always been uni-dimensional. Even if I am here for something else, I consider it as a pilgrimage and treat the opportunity as such.
Modi at AMU centenary celebrations December 17, 2020, 9:29 PM IST
A senior assistant editor with the Times of India, Mohammed Wajihuddin writes about Muslims, their issues, hopes and aspirations. Committed to upholding inclusiveness, communal amity and freedom to dissent and debate, he endeavours to promote peaceful existence. A passionate reader of Islam, he endeavours to save the faith from the clutches of the jihadists. An ardent lover of Urdu poetry, he believes words are the best weapons to fight jingoism. LESS. MORE
The way Aligarh works, the way Aligarh thinks, the contribution Aligarh makes to Indian life will largely determine the place Musalman will occupy in the pattern of Indian life.” So said Dr Zakir Husain whom Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first education minister, chose as Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) VC after Independence. They wanted him to inject hope in the varsity and help it heal the wounds partit