Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s 200th birth anniversary celebrations held

Sir Syed Day is celebrated by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and its alumni every year in the memory of its founder. In Muscat, it was celebrated recently at Golden Tulip. It was a special occasion, marking the 200th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.

The gala event was graced by Salman Khurshid, Ex Cabinet Minister, Govt of India, H E Indra Mani Pandey, India’s Ambassador to Oman, Ajay Chaudhary (IPS), an AMU Alumni and Joint Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, and S Khusro Khan, vice president AMUOBA, New Delhi.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, one of the architects of modern India, was born on October 17, 1817 in Delhi and started his career as a civil servant. He was one of those early pioneers who recognised the critical role of education in the empowerment of the poor and backward Muslim community.

In more than one ways, Sir Syed was one of the greatest social reformers and a great national builder of modern India. He began to prepare the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. He instituted Scientific Society in 1863 to instill a scientific temperament into Muslims and to make the Western knowledge available to Indians in their own language.

AMU is considered as one of the top ranked universities in the world with its alumni spread across the world, who are connecting their successes with their alma mater and contributing in all possible ways.

The Aligarh Muslim University grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who in the aftermath of the Indian War of Independence of 1857 felt that it was important for Muslims to gain education and become involved in the public life and government services in India.

In 1877, he founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities. Sir Syed breathed his last on March 27, 1898 and was buried in the premises of the university mosque in the Sir Syed Hall, AMU.