By TCN News,
Murshidabad (WB): The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Murshidabad Centre celebrated the 199th Birth Anniversary of the founder of AMU Sir Syed Ahmad Khan with all traditional gaiety and charm.
Dignatories on Dias
To pay homage to the great founder and visionary, Quran-Khawani was organized on Monday in the Mosque after Zohr (Noon) prayer. A large number of teachers and students recited the Holy Quran, and prayed for the noble soul.
The commemoration ceremony was organized in the evening. The Chief Guest of the function Dr. Abhijeet Mukhurjee, Member of Parliament and Court Member AMU said that it is high time people from all walks of life and belonging to different political shades should come together for the development of the Centre. He said that despite being one of the largest districts of West Bengal, Murshidabad is still deprived of any full-fledged university. He emphasized that quality education is hallmark of AMU and it should not be compromised at any cost while converting this Centre into an independent university. Supporting the idea of establishment of a school at the Centre, he said that the school will act as a feeder institution for the Centre attracting local students. He assured all possible help and support for this purpose. He also suggested that there is a dire need for starting and encouraging student exchange program at the Centre in collaboration with other institutes of higher learning.
Dr Mukhurjee Addressing the Gathering
Director of the Centre, Dr. Badaruddoza welcomed the distinguished guests, alumni, teachers, students and non-teaching staff to the event. He stated that the students of Murshidabad are not only ‘Aligs’ but are in fact ‘Murshid-e-Alig’ and hence they share a greater responsibility towards the society at large. He further said that “Just getting degrees and taking corporate jobs will not suffice. It is the duty of every student and faculty member of Murshidabad Centre to strive hard towards community development and eradication of illiteracy from the region.”
Expressing gratitude towards the Honorable President of India, His Excellency Pranab Mukhurjee, Dr. Badaruddoza said that it was with the blessings of Honorable President that the Centre was established and is being run under his noble guardianship. He said that students of the Centre have got tremendous talent and the alumni from the Centre are performing well in various fields across the globe. He informed the gathering that during the last one year the Centre has successfully got recognition from National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) for its B. Ed. program and Bar Council of India (BCI) for BALLB course. He urged the students to study the life history of Sir Syed, to draw lessons from it, and to implement the learning in their day-to-day life.
MDI Director_AMUCM Director ,Dr Abhijeet Mukhurjee
The Guest of Honour, Mr. Badaruddoza Khan, Member of Parliament and Court Member AMU expressed happiness over the manner in which the Centre is being administered. He stated that though the Centre has progressed in many fields but the real objectives for its establishment will only be met with sufficient funding. He expressed his desire to work in collaboration with other MPs from Murshidabad and surrounding areas to request the government to release the sanctioned funds urgently.
The Guest of Honour, Mr. Md. Sohrab, Ex-MLA Jangipur congratulated the entire ‘Alig’ community on this occasion. He told the students that they should not worry about any kind of discrimination if they have the skill set that the corporate and industry requires.
Dr. Gurudas Gupta, Director MDI Murshidabad while speaking as a special invitee said that on this day every student should introspect that whether they are the true followers of Sir Syed. He said, “To be successful in life, students should focus on two things. First is to gain more and more knowledge and to excel in academics. Second is to develop a sense of social responsibility towards the society.” Drawing analogy from Sir Syed’s famous ‘A bride with two beautiful eyes’ statement, Dr. Gupta said that AMU and MDI are two beautiful eyes of Murshidabad and when these two eyes will see in same direction, perfect vision will be achieved. He said that though Murshidabad can be termed as one of the remotest part of India but it should never be considered as backward because it is an intellectually enriched place for hundreds of years. The district has a glorious past and inherits the great legacy of Nawabs of Murshidabad who were patrons of education.
AMU Alumni and President of Old Boys’ Association Behrampore, Mr. K G Murtuza, speaking on behalf of Old Boys expressed the desire to work more closely with the Centre in future. He said that SS Day is the occasion to revitalize the bond of ‘Alig Fraternity’ once again.
Industrialist Mr. Shajahan Biswas committed to contribute towards the construction of a couple of rooms in the proposed boys and girls hostel. Mr. B. B. Chattoraj, CO Suti expressed his desire to see the Centre getting transformed into a university soon as envisioned initially.
Ms. Hafsa, B. Ed First Year student mesmerized the audience with a beautiful song. Mr. Irfan Karimi, MBA Final year student also expressed his thoughts on Sir Syed and Aligarh Movement. Prizes for various co-curricular events held under Sir Syed Week were also distributed among the students.