By TCN News
The arrival of the New Year may have been celebrated in myriad ways by people across the globe; but for 120 students, December 31 and January 1 will remain cherished for slightly different memories. Over these two days, thanks to the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, they were bestowed with scholarships worth Rs 4 crore for attaining distinction in board exams.
The event was organised as part of the organisation’s silver Jubilee convention held at the Kedar Nath Sahani Auditorium in New Delhi to celebrate the accomplishments and mark a milestone in the organization’s history. The convention was held in coordination with the Delhi Youth Welfare Association.
The 120 students, selected from across the India, were awarded gold, silver, and bronze for attaining meritorious distinction in the board exams. In addition, the prestigious Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Award conferred to leading Mumbai philanthropist Dr. Abdul Kader Fazlani Sopariwala.
The Mir Taqi Mir Award was given to Sanjiv Saraf, founder of the popular web portal Rekhta, for his contributions in promoting the Urdu language. The website now features more than 22,000 titles of Urdu books.
Excellence Awards were given to former Chief Electoral Commissioner S.Y.Quraishi and the historic Anglo Arabic Senior Secondary School.
The awards to top students were given at the hands of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. He praised the work of AFMI and that more such efforts need to be undertaken to uplift the society. He mentioned that education remains the top priority of the Delhi government with as much as 25% of the state government’s budget dedicated to it.
AFMI’s flagship awards program has been instrumental in spreading awareness about educational excellence and empowerment across the country. Dr.A.R. Nakadar, AFMI’s founding trustee, said that the fruits sown by AFMI at its inception are now bearing fruit. He said that due to such efforts there has been a remarkable improvement in the educational scenario of Indian Muslims.
Citing the latest census reports, published in Indian Express, he stated that there has been a 98.8% increase in the number of Muslim graduates between 2001 and 2011. During the same period, the Indian Muslim literacy rate increased from 59.1% to 68.5%. He said that the day is not too far when, through the collective efforts of all, AFMI’s dream of 100% literacy will be realised.
The inaugural session of the convention was addressed by Justice Rajinder Sachar, Anil Swarup, Secretary Education and Literacy (Government of India), Naseem Ahmad, Chairman of National Commission for Minorities, and convention chairman Mohammad Naeem, president of Delhi Youth Welfare Association. The session was ably moderated by AFMI Trustee and leading scholar Dr. Aslam Abdullah.
The convention was also addressed by Prof. Akhtarul Wasey (Vice Chancellor of Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur); Mr.Siraj Hussain, IAS, former VC Jamia Hamdard, Dr. S.Y.Qureshi (former Chief Election Commissioner), Justice Fakhruddin, Ali Quraishi (New Mexico), Tayeb Poonawala (New York), Siraj Thakore (Canada), Farhad Rahmani, Ayub Khan, Prof. Janaki Rajan, Dr. Shabistan Gaffar, Mohsin Siddiqui, Suhel Tirmizi (Editor, Gujarat Today), Dr. Husain Nagamia (Florida), Shafi Lokhandwala (Detroit), Khalil Ahmad, etc.
Dr. Nakadar thanked all the organisers and volunteers of Delhi Youth Welfare Association, under the leadership of Mohammad Naeem, for a memorable convention.