Authors: Ishfaq Majid & Shazia Kouser
Published by: South Asia Journal - Commentary Section
National Education Day is being celebrated every year
in India on 11th November. It is being celebrated in the birth
anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad who was the first education minister of
independent India serving from 15th August 1947 till 2nd
February 1958. On 11th September 2008, the Ministry of Human
Resource Development in India announced that 11th November would
will be celebrated to commemorate the birthday of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad by
recalling his contribution to the cause of education in India. After 2008 onwards,
11th November onwards is annually celebrated as National Education
Day in India without declaring it as a holiday.
Maulana Kalam Azad was a senior leader of INC, an
Indian scholar and an independence activist during the Indian independence
movement. After Independence, Maulana became the First Education Minister in
India. Maulana worked for establishing the educational foundation in India
which is recognized by celebrating his birthday as National Education Day
across India.
As a young man, Maulana Azad was found of composing
poetry in Urdu as well as treatises on religion and philosophy. Maulana Azad
believed that Schools or the educational institutions are the laboratories
which have the capability to produce future citizens of the country. Maulana
Azad became the leader of the Khilafat Movement, during which he came into
close contact with the famous Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Maulana Azad became
a supporter of Gandhi's ideas of non-violence and worked to organize the non-cooperation
movement in protest of the 1919 Rowlatt Acts. He also worked for the unity of
Hindu and Muslims through Al-Hilal newspaper. He was having a firm belief in the philosophy that
only true transformation can be achieved through education. Maulana Azad was a
key contributor through his pen where he contributed his writings through many
books including India Wins Freedom, Ghubar-e-Khatir, Tazkirah, etc. On the
grounds of working for education and communal harmony, Maulana Azad was awarded
Bharat Ratna.
Maulana Azad laid the base for higher education and
was very clear about the primary purpose of education. While addressing CBSE in
their first meeting, Maulana Azad said that the goal of any system is only to
create a mind that is of balance nature and that cannot be misled by anyone. As
stated earlier the role of Maulana Azad in higher education, it is with his
efforts towards nation-building, Maulana made it possible to establish the University
Grants Commission, Indian Institutes of Technology and various other bodies in
India. He founded various other institutions like the Sangeet Natak Akademi,
Sahitya Akademi and Lalit Kala Akademi. The base for these institutions was to
promote the education and culture in our country.
As India was celebrating the day, Ministry of Human
Resource Development announced to launch Swayam 2.0 in an effort to take
education to every doorstep of the country. The announcement further reads that
Hon'ble Union Minister of will is launching it. SWAYAM is a programme initiated
by the govt. to provide the best teaching-learning resources to all.
As we celebrate National Education Day, we should
work for humanity. The teachings of Maulana Azad should be spread
everywhere to let the people be aware of the day. Let there be no child
without education and there exist no differences on the basis of caste, creed,
colour and religion.
Authors Bio.:
Ishfaq Majid
Ishfaq Majid is PhD Scholar in School of Education,
Central University of Gujarat. He is currently working in the area of ICT in
Education. His writings have earlier appeared in Economic and Political Weekly,
Mainstream Weekly, Café Dissensus, South Asia Journal, London Institute of
South Asia, The Rising Kashmir and Counter-Currents. The author can be mailed
at Ishfaq.majid@cug.ac.in
Shazia Kouser
Shazia Kouser is PhD Scholar in School of Education,
Central University of Gujarat. She is currently working in her interest area of
ICT in Education. Her writings have earlier appeared in South Asia Journal.
