By TCN News
The Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association of Jubail, Saudi Arabia (AMU-AAJ) held Bicentennial Celebration of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan at the Marafiq Beach Camp on December 14, 2017. Dr.Talat Ahmad, an Alumnus of AMU and JNU and the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia & Renowned Indian Earth Scientist graced the event as Chief Guest, while Prof. Mohd. Muzammil – Former Vice Chancellor of BR Ambedkar University, Agra and MJP Rohilkhand University,Bareilly, was the guest of honour.
Special guests were Mukarram Ali Khan, the senior-most AMU Alumni of Eastern Province and Suhail Ahmed, President of AMUOBA, Riyadh.
The program commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran, by Master Affan Quarni. Function was opened by Nafees Ahmad followed by an introduction to the Chief Guest by Meraj ul Arfin.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Talat shared the greatness of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as he tried to uplift downtrodden Indians that included both Muslims & Hindus, to get them educated. He was of the opinion that the development of any society can be done only by educating the masses.
Dr.Talat focused on education and quality of education, he mentioned the participation of minorities and under-privileged section is the need of an hour in Bureaucratic Services. In order to gain this objective, JMI is working keenly through their free Residential Coaching Academy of Jamia Millia Islamia. The academy is now planning to increase the annual intake from 100 to 200. The aspirants are selected on the basis of an all-India written test followed by individual interviews. They appoint the best faculties and are developing a very conducive environment to study. He requested NRIs Alumni to contribute in terms of providing guests lecture in their concerned departments, share the expertise of the field with the students, conduct seminars to educate them and also in terms of monetary assistance whenever and wherever required for educational purpose.
The guest of honor Prof. Muzammil talked about the development of Modern Society with the help of Science, technology, engineering, and stressed on the importance of social sciences. If new technology makes the society advanced, social sciences make the mankind civilized and able to use the resources. Society needs people trained in both. He expressed his gratitude to the AMU-AAJ to be a part of the wonderful evening.
Special guest Suhail Ahmad highlighted the life of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, his mission & legacy. He stressed on the importance of Modern Education which was foreseen by Sir Syed more than 150 years back. Addressing the occasion, Suhail Ahmad encouraged the philanthropy of Aligs and shared the progress of the “Riyadh Hall” which will be a hall of residence in AMU Aligarh by the AMU fraternity. It will be four-storey hall equipped with all modern facilities to accommodate around 1,000 students. He thanked those who participated in this generous cause & urged the Jubail AMU Alumni to come up and share in this good deed which will be a landmark.
Mukarram Ali Khan Sb who has devoted all his life in the field of education as a true Aligarian, in his unique style, mesmerized the audience and kept them spell bound while telling about Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the historical events.He welcomed the guests and inspired the audience with his fluent combination of Urdu, Hindi, Persian and English couplets.
Outstanding student of IIS-Jubail Taha Bin Tasneem was awarded trophy for achieving CGPA of 10 in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), grade 10.
Shazia Akram, Areeba Farhan , Mohd Anas, Arbaz Jalees, Nabeel Rizwan, Affan Quarni & Shayan delivered speeches on the life of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and were awarded trophies by the chair persons.
Nayeemur Rehman was awarded for his serious inclination in sport and selected in Indian Roller Skating Hockey Team (Under 20) for International championship held in China this year.
A skit on AMU Hostel life with a title “Aligarh Ki Yaadein”, was performed by old boys and the presenters were Arif Ali, Navaid Khan, Asif Jamil,Mohd Anas, Saquib Khan & Ubaidur Rehman.
On the auspicious occasion of Bi-Centenary celebration of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, a Jubail resident Rehan Alam Siddiqui announced a small contribution of Rs 20 lakh each for AMU Aligarh and Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi.
The members of the Association who played key role in organizing the Sir Syed Day celebration include Meraj ul Arfin, Anis Baksh, Rizwanullah,Asif Siddiqui, Shujat Ali Mirza, Syed Baqar Naqvi, Akramul Haque, Wais Quarni, Navaid Khan, Nafees Ahmed, Mohammed Shiraz, Asif Jamil, Ubaidur Rehman, Obaidur Rehman, Tariq Saeed, Saquib Khan,Sarwar Khan, Muazzam Shakeel, Mohammad Salahuddin, Tahzeebul Afreen, Iqbal Hussain, Qamar Azam, Khalil Ahmed, Abu Shariq, Anas, Saquib Jaunpuri.
AMU-AAJ presented an appreciation certificate to the chief guest.The evening came to an end after vote of thanks proposed by Saqib Jaunpuri Sb & followed by dinner.The University Tarana was sung by Abu Shariq and other Jubail Aligs.
The Bicentenary Celebration evening was anchored by Syed Baqar Naqvi, a well-known Urdu Poet.