Abul Kalam Azad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Abul Kalam Azad | |
|---|---|
| November 11, 1888 — February 22, 1958 | |
 |
|
| Place of birth: | Mecca (now in Saudi Arabia) |
| Place of death: | Delhi, India |
| Movement: | Indian independence movement |
| Major organizations: | Indian National Congress |
Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed (b. November 11, 1888— d. February 22, 1958) was an Indian writer, journalist and scholar who became an important leader of the Indian independence movement. In his youth, he adopted the pen name Azad (Free) and was popularly addressed simply as Maulana Azad.
As a young man, Azad composed poetry in Urdu as well as treatises on religion and philosophy. He arose to prominence through his work as a journalist, publishing works critical of the British Raj and espousing the causes of Indian nationalism. Azad became a leader of the Khilafat movement during which he came into close contact with Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Azad became an enthusiastic supporter of Gandhi's ideas of non-violent civil disobedience, and worked actively to organise the Non-cooperation movement in protest of the 1919 Rowlatt Acts. Azad committed himself to Gandhi's ideals, including promoting Swadeshi (Indigenous) products and the cause of Swaraj (Self-rule) for India. He would become the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress in 1923.
Azad was one of the main organisers of the Dharasana Satyagraha in 1931, and emerged as one of the most important national leaders of the time, prominently leading the causes of Hindu-Muslim unity as well as espousing secularism and socialism. He served as Congress President from 1940 to 1945, during which the Quit India rebellion was launched and Azad was imprisoned with the entire Congress leadership for three years. Azad became the most prominent Muslim opponent of the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and served in the interim national government. Amidst communal turmoil following the partition of India, he worked for religious harmony. With India's independence, Azad served as the first Minister for Education.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
| Architecture |
| Major figures |
| Communities |
|
North Indian Muslims • Mappilas • Tamil Muslims |
| Islamic Sects |
| Culture |
| Other Topics |
|
Indian Muslim nationalism • Indian Wahabi movement |
Azad's ancestors descended from a line of eminent ‘’Ulama’’ or scholars of Islam, hailing from Herat in Afghanistan and had settled in India during the reign of the Mughal emperor Babur. His mother was a local Arab, the daughter of Shaikh Muhammad Zahir Watri and his father, Maulana Khairuddin was of Afghan origins. The family lived in the Bengal region until Maulana Khairuddin left India during the Indian rebellion of 1857 (referred to in India as the first war of independence against the British) and settled in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, where he met his wife.[1][2] The family returned to Kolkata (then Calcutta) in 1890 where his father earned a reputation as a learned Muslim scholar. Azad's mother died when he was 11 years old.[2]
Azad was raised in an environment steeped in religion and Islamic culture. He was given a traditional Islamic education, tutored at his home and in the family mosque by his father and later religious scholars.[1] After mastering Arabic and Persian languages he also acquired proficiency in Urdu as well as Hindi. He was trained in the subjects of mathematics, philosophy, world history and science by reputed tutors hired by his family. Azad was an avid learner and determined student, and succeeded in completing the traditional course of study at the young age of 16, nine years ahead of his contemporaries. At the age of 13, he was married to a young Muslim girl, Zuleikha Begum.[2] He could have been considered a follower of the Ahl-i Hadith movement of India which advocated strong emphasis on the Hadith literature, and compiled many treatises, reinterpreting the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the principles of Fiqh and Kalam.[1] His erudition led him to repudiate Taqlid or the tradition of conformity and accept the principle of Tajdid, or innovation in transforming society and solving modern challenges.[3]
A young man, Azad was also exposed to the rich and modern intellectual life of Kolkata, the then capital of British rule and the centre of cultural and political life. He began to doubt the traditional ways of his father and secretly diversified his studies. Azad learned English through intensive personal study and began learning Western philosophy, history and contemporary politics, reading advanced books and modern periodicals. Azad grew disillusioned with Islamic teachings and was inspired by the modern views of Muslim educationalist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, who had promoted rationalism. Increasingly doubtful of religious dogma and traditions, Azad entered a period of self-described "atheism" and "sinfulness" that lasted for almost a decade.[3][2]
[edit] Revolutionary and journalist
Azad developed political views considered radical for most Muslims of the time. Ahead of most Indian politicians, Azad advocated complete freedom for India from British rule,[citation needed] fiercely criticizing the British for racial discrimination and ignoring the needs and issues of common people across the nation. He saw the Indian National Congress of the time as ineffectual for its "slowness" in working for Indian political rights, and for neglecting the concerns and issues of India's people.[citation needed] He also criticised Muslim politicians for focusing on communal issues before the national interest, and rejected the All India Muslim League's ambiguous agenda and communal separatism. Azad developed curiosity and interest in the pan-Islamic doctrines of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and visited Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. But his views changed considerably when he met revolutionary activists in Iraq and witnessed the fervent anti-imperialism and nationalism.[1] Against common Muslim opinion, Azad had opposed the partition of Bengal in 1905 and became increasingly active in revolutionary activities, to which he was introduced by the prominent Hindu revolutionaries Sri Aurobindo and Shyam Sundar Chakravarthy. Azad initially evoked surprise from other revolutionaries, who were skeptical of Muslim commitment to their cause, but Azad won their praise and confidence by working secretly to organise revolutionaries activities and meetings in Bengal, Bihar and Mumbai (then Bombay).[1]
Azad's education was shaped for him to become a cleric, but his rebellious nature and affinity for politics turned him towards journalism. He established an Urdu weekly newspaper in 1912, calling it Al-Hilal and openly attacked British policies and politics, elucidating the challenges facing common people in India. Espousing the ideals of nationalism, Azad's publications were aimed at encouraging young Muslims into fighting for political freedom and Hindu-Muslim unity.[1] His work significantly improved the relationship between Hindus and Muslims in Bengal, which had been soured by the partition of Bengal and the granting of separate, communal electorates.
With the onset of World War I, British policies of censorship and restrictions on Indian political activities increased, and the Al-Hilal was consequently banned in 1914 under the Press Act. Azad started a new journal, the Al-Balagh, which increased its active support for nationalist causes and communal unity. In this period Azad also became active in his support for the Khilafat agitation to protect the position of the Sultan of Turkey, who was the caliph for Muslims worldwide. The Sultan had sided against the British in the war, and the continuity of his rule came under serious threat, causing distress amongst Muslim conservatives. Azad saw an opportunity to energise Indian Muslims and achieve major political and social reform through the struggle. With his popularity increasing across India, the government outlawed Azad's second publication under the Defence of India Regulations Act and arrested him. The governments of the Bombay Presidency, United Provinces, Punjab and Delhi prohibited his entry into the provinces and Azad was moved to a jail in Ranchi, where he was incarcerated till January 1, 1920.[3]
[edit] Non-cooperation
Upon his release, Azad returned to a political atmosphere charged with sentiments of outrage and rebellion against British rule. The Indian public had been angered by the passage of the Rowlatt Acts in 1919, which severely restricted civil liberties and individual rights. Consequently, thousands of political activists had been arrested and many publications banned. The killing of unarmed civilians at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919 had provoked intense outrage all over India, alienating most Indians, including long-time British supporters from the authorities. The Khilafat struggle had also peaked with the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the raging Turkish War of Independence, which had made the caliphate's position precarious. India's main political party, the Indian National Congress came under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, who had aroused excitement all over India when he led the farmers of Champaran and Kheda in a successful revolt against British authorities in 1918. Gandhi organised the people of the region and pioneered the art of Satyagraha — combining mass civil disobedience with complete non-violence and self-reliance.
Taking charge of the Congress, Gandhi also reached out to support the Khilafat struggle, helping to bridge Hindu-Muslim political divides. Azad and the Ali brothers warmly welcomed Congress support and began working together on a programme of non-cooperation by asking all Indians to boycott British-run schools, colleges, courts, public services, the civil service, police and military. Non-violence and Hindu-Muslim unity were universally emphasized, while the boycott of foreign goods, especially clothes were organised. Azad joined the Congress and was also elected president of the All India Khilafat Committee. Although Azad and other leaders were soon arrested, the movement drew out millions of people in peaceful processions, strikes and protests.
This period marked a transformation in Azad's own life. Along with fellow Khilafat leaders Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan and others, Azad grew personally close to Gandhi and his philosophy. The three men founded the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi as an institution of higher education managed entirely by Indians without any British support or control. Both Azad and Gandhi shared a deep passion for religion and Azad developed a close friendship with him. He adopted Gandhi's ideas by living simply, rejecting material possessions and pleasures. He began to spin his own clothes using khadi on the charkha, and began frequently living and participating in the ashrams organised by Gandhi.[citation needed] Becoming deeply committed to ahimsa (non-violence) himself, Azad grew close to fellow nationalists like Jawaharlal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das and Subhash Chandra Bose.[3] He strongly criticised the continuing suspicion of the Congress amongst the Muslim intellectuals from the Aligarh Muslim University and the Muslim League.
The rebellion began a sudden decline when with rising incidences of violence; a nationalist mob killed 22 policemen in Chauri Chaura in 1922. Fearing degeneration into violence, Gandhi asked Indians to suspend the revolt and embarked on a fast-unto-death to repent and encourage others to stop the rebellion. Although the movement stopped all over India, several Congress leaders and activists were disillusioned with Gandhi. The following year, the caliphate was overthrown by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the Ali brothers grew distant and critical of Gandhi and the Congress. Azad's close friend Chittaranjan Das co-founded the Swaraj Party, breaking from Gandhi's leadership. Despite the circumstances, Azad remained firmly committed to Gandhi's ideals and leadership. In 1923, he became the youngest man to be elected Congress President. Azad led efforts to organise the Flag Satyagraha in Nagpur. Azad served as president of the 1924 Unity Conference in Delhi, using his position to work to re-unite the Swarajists and the Khilafat leaders under the common banner of the Congress. In the years following the movement, Azad travelled across India, working extensively to promote Gandhi's vision, education and social reform.
[edit] Congress leader
Azad had become an important national leader, and would serve on the Congress Working Committee and in the offices of general secretary and president many times. The political environment in India re-energised in 1928 with nationalist outrage against the Simon Commission appointed to propose constitutional reforms. The commission included no Indian members and did not even consult Indian leaders and experts. In response, the Congress and other political parties appointed a commission under Motilal Nehru to propose constitutional reforms from Indian opinions. In 1928, Azad endorsed the Nehru Report, which was criticised by the Ali brothers and Muslim League politician Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Azad endorsed the ending of separate electorates based on religion, and called for an independent India to be committed to secularism. At the 1928 Congress session in Guwahati, Azad endorsed Gandhi's call for dominion status for India within a year. If not granted, the Congress would adopt the goal of complete political independence for India. Despite his affinity for Gandhi, Azad also drew close to the young radical leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Bose, who had criticised the delay in demanding full independence. Azad developed a close friendship with Nehru and began espousing socialism as the means to fight inequality, poverty and other national challenges.
When Gandhi embarked on the Dandi Salt March that inaugurated the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, Azad organised and led the nationalist raid, albeit non-violent on the Dharasana salt works in order to protest the salt tax and restriction of its production and sale. The biggest nationalist upheaval in a decade, Azad was imprisoned along with millions of people, and would frequently be jailed from 1930 to 1934 for long periods of time. Following the Gandhi-Irwin Pact in 1934, Azad was amongst millions of political prisoners released. When elections were called under the Government of India Act 1935, Azad was appointed to organise the Congress election campaign, raising funds, selecting candidates and organising volunteers and rallies across India.[3] Azad had criticised the Act for including a high proportion of un-elected members in the central legislature, and did not himself contest a seat. He again declined to contest elections in 1937, and helped head the party's efforts to organise elections and preserve coordination and unity amongst the Congress governments elected in different provinces.[3]
At the 1936 Congress session in Lucknow, Azad was drawn into a dispute with right-wing Congressmen Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari regarding the espousal of socialism as the Congress goal. Azad had backed the election of Nehru as Congress President, and supported the resolution endorsing socialism. In doing so, he aligned with Congress socialists like Nehru, Subhash Bose and Jayaprakash Narayan. Azad also supported Nehru's re-election in 1937, at the consternation of many conservative Congressmen. Azad supported dialogue with Jinnah and the Muslim League between 1935 and 1937 over a Congress-League coalition and broader political cooperation. Less inclined to brand the League as obstructive, Azad nevertheless joined the Congress's vehement rejection of Jinnah's demand that the League be seen exclusively as the representative of Indian Muslims.
[edit] Quit India
In 1938, Azad served as an intermediary between the supporters of Gandhi and the Congress faction led by Congress President Subhash Bose, who criticised Gandhi for not launching another rebellion against the British and sought to move the Congress away from Gandhi's leadership. Azad stood by Gandhi with most other Congress leaders, but reluctantly endorsed the Congress's exit from the assemblies in 1939 following the inclusion of India in World War II. Nationalists were infuriated that the viceroy had entered India into the war without consulting national leaders. Although willing to support the British effort in return for independence, Azad sided with Gandhi when the British ignored the Congress overtures. Azad's criticism of Jinnah and the League intensified as Jinnah called Congress rule in the provinces as "Hindu Raj," calling the resignation of the Congress ministries as a "Day of Deliverance" for Muslims. Jinnah and the League's separatist agenda was gaining popular support amongst Muslims. Muslim religious and conservative leaders criticised Azad as being too close to the Congress and placing politics before faith.[3] As the Muslim League adopted a resolution calling for a separate Muslim state in its session in Lahore in 1940, Azad was elected Congress President in its session in Ramgarh. Speaking vehemently against Jinnah's Two-Nation Theory — the notion that Hindus and Muslims were distinct nations — Azad lambasted religious separatism and exhorted all Muslims to preserve a united India, as all Hindus and Muslims were Indians who shared deep bonds of brotherhood and nationhood. In his presidential address, Azad said:
"...Full eleven centuries have passed by since then. Islam has now as great a claim on the soil of India as Hinduism. If Hinduism has been the religion of the people here for several thousands of years Islam also has been their religion for a thousand years. Just as a Hindu can say with pride that he is an Indian and follows Hinduism, so also we can say with equal pride that we are Indians and follow Islam. I shall enlarge this orbit still further. The Indian Christian is equally entitled to say with pride that he is an Indian and is following a religion of India, namely Christianity."[3]
In face of increasing popular disenchantment with the British across India, Gandhi and Patel advocated an all-out rebellion demanding immediate independence. The situation had grown precarious as the Japanese conquered Burma and approached India's borders, which left Indians insecure but resentful of the British inability to protect India. Azad was wary and skeptical of the idea, aware that India's Muslims were increasingly looking to Jinnah and had supported the war. Feeling that a struggle would not force a British exit, Azad and Nehru warned that such a campaign would divide India and make the war situation even more precarious. Intensive and emotional debates took place between Azad, Nehru, Gandhi and Patel in the Congress Working Committee's meetings in May and June of 1942. In the end, Azad became convinced that decisive action in one form or another had to be taken, as the Congress had to provide leadership to India's people and would lose its standing if it did not.
Supporting the call for the British to "Quit India," Azad began exhorting thousands of people in rallies across the nation to prepare for a definitive, all-out struggle. As Congress President, Azad travelled across India and met with local and provincial Congress leaders and grass-roots activists, delivering speeches and planning the rebellion. Despite their previous differences, Azad worked closely with Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad to make the rebellion as effective as possible. On August 7, 1942 at the Gowalia Tank in Mumbai, Congress President Azad inaugurated the struggle with a vociferous speech exhorting Indians into action. Just two days later, the British arrested Azad and the entire Congress leadership. While Gandhi was incarcerated at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, Azad and the Congress Working Committee were imprisoned at a fort in Ahmednagar, where they would remain under isolation and intense security for nearly four years. Outside news and communication had been largely prohibited and completely censored. Although frustrated at their incarceration and isolation, Azad and his companions attested to feeling a deep satisfaction at having done their duty to their country and people.[citation needed]
Azad occupied the time playing bridge and acting as the referee in tennis matches played by his colleagues. In the afternoons, Azad began working on his classic Urdu work, the Ghubhar-i-Khatir. Sharing daily chores, Azad also taught the Persian and Urdu languages, as well as Indian and world history to several of his companions. The leaders would generally avoid talking of politics, unwilling to cause any arguments that could exacerbate the pain of their imprisonment. However, each year on January 26, the leaders would gather to remember their cause and pray together. Azad, Nehru and Patel would briefly speak about the nation and the future. Azad and Nehru proposed an initiative to forge an agreement with the British in 1943. Arguing that the rebellion had been mis-timed, Azad attempted to convince his colleagues that the Congress should agree to negotiate with the British and call for the suspension of disobedience if the British agreed to transfer power. Although his proposal was overwhelmingly rejected, Azad and a few others agreed that Gandhi and the Congress had not done enough. When they learnt of Gandhi holding talks with Jinnah in Mumbai in 1944, Azad criticised Gandhi's move as counter-productive and ill-advised.[citation needed]
[edit] Partition of India
With the end of the war, the British agreed to transfer power to Indian hands. All political prisoners were released in 1946 and Azad led the Congress in the elections for the new Constituent Assembly of India, which would draft India's constitution. He headed the delegation to negotiate with the British Cabinet Mission, in his sixth year as Congress President. While attacking Jinnah's demand for Pakistan and the mission's proposal of June 16, 1946 that envisaged the partition of India, Azad became a strong proponent of the mission's earlier proposal of May 16. The proposal advocated a federation with a weak central government and great autonomy for the provinces. Additionally, the proposal called for the "grouping" of provinces on religious lines, which would informally band together the Muslim-majority provinces. While Gandhi and others were suspicious of this clause, Azad argued that the Jinnah's demand for Pakistan would be buried and the concerns of the Muslim community would be assuaged.[citation needed] Under Azad and Patel's backing, the Working Committee approved the resolution against Gandhi's advice. Jawaharlal Nehru replaced Azad as Congress President and led the Congress into the interim government. Azad was appointed to head the Department of Education. However, Jinnah's Direct Action Day agitation for Pakistan, launched on August 16 sparked communal violence across India. Thousands of people were killed as Azad travelled across Bengal and Bihar to calm the tensions and heal relations between Muslims and Hindus. Despite Azad's call for Hindu-Muslim unity, Jinnah's popularity amongst Muslims soared and the League entered a coalition with the Congress in December, but continued to boycott the constituent assembly.
Azad had grown increasingly hostile to Jinnah, and had in 1942 described him as the "Muslim Lord Haw-Haw", whereas Jinnah called him a "Congress Showboy".[4] Despite being a learned scholar of Islam and a Maulana, Azad had been assailed by Muslim religious leaders for his commitment to nationalism and secularism, which were deemed un-Islamic.[citation needed] Muslim League politicians accused Azad of allowing Muslims to be culturally and politically dominated by the Hindu community. Azad continued to proclaim his faith in Hindu-Muslim unity:
"I am proud of being an Indian. I am part of the indivisible unity that is Indian nationality. I am indispensable to this noble edifice and without me this splendid structure is incomplete. I am an essential element, which has gone to build India. I can never surrender this claim."
Amidst more incidences of violence in early 1947, the Congress-League coalition struggled to function. The provinces of Bengal and Punjab were to be partitioned on religious lines, and on June 3, 1947 the British announced a proposal to partition India on religious lines, with the princely states free to choose between either dominion. The proposal was hotly debated in the All India Congress Committee, with Muslim leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Hasrat Mohani expressing fierce opposition. Azad privately discussed the proposal with Gandhi, Patel and Nehru, but despite his opposition was unable to deny the popularity of the League and the unworkability of any coalition with the League. Faced with the serious possibility of a civil war, Azad abstained from voting on the resolution, remaining silent and not speaking throughout the AICC session,[citation needed] which ultimately approved the plan.
As an advocate of a united India and opponent of the partition on any religious or ethnic groupings, Maulana Azad worked hard for Hindu-Muslim unity. However, in response to the uncompromising attitudes of the Congress leaders, Azad couldn't resist saying that,
"It would not perhaps be unfair to say that Vallabhbhai Patel was the founder of Indian partition."[6]
[edit] Leading India
India's partition and independence on August 15, 1947 brought with it a scourge of violence that swept the Punjab, Bengal, Kolkata, Delhi and many other parts of India. Millions of Hindus and Sikhs fled the newly created Pakistan for India, and large caravans of Muslims left for West Pakistan and East Pakistan, created out of East Bengal. Violence claimed the lives of an estimated one million people. Azad took up responsibility for the safety of Muslims in India, touring affected areas in Bengal, Bihar, Assam and the Punjab, guiding the organisation of refugee camps, supplies and security. Azad gave speeches to large crowds encouraging peace and calm in the border areas and encouraging Muslims across the country to remain in India and not fear for their safety and security. Focusing on bringing the capital of Delhi back to peace, Azad organised security and relief efforts, but was drawn into a dispute with the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel when he demanded the dismissal of Delhi's police commissioner, who was a Sikh accused by Muslims of overlooking attacks and neglecting their safety.[citation needed] Patel argued that the commissioner was not biased, and if his dismissal was forced it would provoke anger amongst Hindus and Sikhs and divide the city police. In Cabinet meetings and discussions with Gandhi, Patel and Azad clashed over security issues in Delhi and Punjab, as well as the allocation of resources for relief and rehabilitation. Patel opposed Azad and Nehru's proposal to reserve the houses vacated by Muslims who had departed for Pakistan for Muslims in India displaced by the violence.[citation needed] Patel argued that a secular government could not offer preferential treatment for any religious community, while Azad remained anxious to assure the rehabilitation of Muslims in India.
Maulana Azad had been appointed India's first Minister for Education, and served in the Constituent Assembly to draft India's constitution. Azad's persuasion was instrumental in obtaining the approval of Muslim representatives to end the communal electorates, and was a forceful advocate of enshrining the principle of secularism, religious freedom and equality for all Indians. He supported provisions for Muslim citizens to make avail of Muslim personal law in courts.[citation needed]
Azad remained a close confidante, supporter and advisor to Prime Minister Nehru, and played an important role in framing national policies. Azad masterminded the creation of national programmes of school and college construction and spreading the enrollment of children and young adults into schools, in order to promote universal primary education. Elected to the lower house of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha in 1952 and again in 1957, Azad supported Nehru's socialist economic and industrial policies, as well as the advancing social rights and economic opportunities for women and underprivileged Indians. In 1956, he served as president of the UNESCO General Conference held in Delhi. Azad spent the final years of his life focusing on writing his book India Wins Freedom, an exhaustive account of India's freedom struggle and its leaders, which was published in 1957.
[edit] Criticism and legacy
During his life and in contemporary times, Maulana Azad has been criticised for not doing enough to prevent the partition of India. He was condemned by the advocates of Pakistan and by religious Muslims, especially of the Deobandi order for his perceived affinity and proximity to Hindus.[5] During and after partition, Azad was criticised for not doing enough for Muslim security and political rights in independent India. However, Azad is remembered as amongst the leading Indian nationalists of his time. His firm belief in Hindu-Muslim unity earned him the respect of the Hindu community and he still remains one of the most important symbols of communal harmony in modern India. His work for education and social upliftment in India made him an important influence in guiding India's economic and social development.
Azad has been criticized by Flemish Indologist Koenraad Elst who alleges Azad of insincerity and two-facedness in his dealings with Hindus; that is, underlying his call for Hindu-Muslim amity and opposition to partition was a desire for the eventual Islamization of all of India, in line with the orthodox pan-Islamic Deobandi school. Elst considers this exemplified in Azad's equating of Hindu-Muslim cooperation to Muhammad's treaty with the Jews of Medina, however with Hindus unaware of the tale's closing: two of the three tribes were driven away, the other was massacred. Elst furthers cites Azad's proposal to stave off partition by giving the 24% Muslim minority 50% representation, as well as Azad's criticism of the tolerant Moghul Emperor Akbar, and praise for his hardline theologian Ahmad Sirhindi.[7]
Maulana Azad is the namesake of many public institutions across India such as the Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, the Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, the Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the Maulana Azad College in Kolkata. He is revered as the one of the founders and greatest patrons of the Jamia Millia Islamia and the Aligarh Muslim University. Azad's tomb is located next to the Jama Masjid in Delhi. In recent years great concern has been expressed by many in India over the poor maintenance of the tomb.[5] On November 16, 2005 the Delhi High Court ordered that the tomb of Maulana Azad in New Delhi be renovated and restored as a major national monument. Azad's tomb is a major landmark and receives large numbers of visitors annually.[8]
[edit] See also
| First Indian Cabinet |
|---|
|
Nehru, Prime Minister and Extl Affrs • Patel, Home • Baldev Singh, Defence • Chetty, Finance • Maulana Azad, Education • Jagjivan Ram, Labour • Babasaheb Ambedkar, Law • Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Communications • S.P. Mookerjee, Industry • Amrit Kaur, Health • Mathai, Railways |
[edit] References
- Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life (1992)
- Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Feathers and Stones (1946)
- UNESCO Courier, Feb 1989 p10(2)
[edit] Notes
 |
This article contains Indic text. Without rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes or other symbols instead of Indic characters; or irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. |
| Find more information on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad by searching Wikipedia's sister projects | |
|---|---|
 |
Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary |
 |
Textbooks from Wikibooks |
 |
Quotations from Wikiquote |
 |
Source texts from Wikisource |
 |
Images and media from Commons |
 |
News stories from Wikinews |
 |
Learning resources from Wikiversity |
- ^ a b c d e f Islam, Sirajul (2006-07-23). Azad Biography (PHP). Retrieved on July 23, 2006.
- ^ a b c d Gandhi, Rajmohan (1986). Eight Lives: A Study of the Hindu-Muslim Encounter. USA: State University of New York Press, 219.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Huq, Mushirul (2006-07-23). President Azad (PHP). Retrieved on July 23, 2006.
- ^ Story of Pakistan. Glimpse of the Quaid (PHP). Retrieved on November 6, 2006.
- ^ a b c Mushirul Hasan. "Maulana Abul Kalam Azad" (PHP), India Today. Retrieved on November 6, 2006.
- ^ Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam, 1988, India Wins Freedom, Orient Longman, p. 198, ISBN 81-250-0514-5
- ^ Koenraad Elst. "Chapter 2, Negationism in India" (HTML), Negationism in India. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.
- ^ "Restore Maulana Azad’s grave: HC" (PHP), Express News Service, Expressindia.com, 2005-11-17. Retrieved on November 6, 2006.
