By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Aligarh : Aligarh Muslim University has instituted Sir Syed International Award for communal harmony and decided to move the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the creation of Sir Syed Chair in the University. Vice-Chancellor Prof. P.K. Abdul Azis made an announcement to this effect while addressing a grand function organised here in the University premises Wednesday to mark the 190th birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the Founder of this citadel of modern higher learning.
The Sir Syed International Award, carrying a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh, will be selected by a national jury yet to be constituted.
The proposed Sir Syed Chair aims at providing facilities for students and research scholars to study Sir Syed’s mission and vision in its real perspective.
The Vice-Chancellor emphasised the growing relevance of Sir Syed’s thoughts for the larger society and outlined the University’s contribution to the ideals of quality education and peaceful co-existence which Sir Syed professed and practised all through his life.
"The yeomen services rendered by Sir Syed in the reconstruction of modern India are
unforgettable," he said, adding that "Aligarh Muslim University is our national and cultural heritage."
The Vice-Chancellor also announced the decision to provide the students with 24-hour high speed Internet facility to promote information technology and e-learning as well as better hostel and games and sports facilities.
Referring to the chain of events which led to the recent closure of the University sine die, Dean Management Faculty Prof. Javed Akhtar made a fervent appeal to the University authorities and students to celebrate the Sir Syed Day as the Day of Accountability. He also suggested introduction of a Sir Syed Course as a mandatory subject.
The first biography of Sir Syed in Bangla, authored by the chairman of the Department of Modern Indian Languages, T. B. Chakraborty, was released. An exhibition on Sir Syed’s writings and books was also inaugurated at the Sir Syed Academy.
Later Prof. Azis distributed prizes to the winners of the first ever all-India essay writing competition on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, His Life and Contribution. Atendrajeet Kaur, a student of M.A. in Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar received the first cash prize of Rs. 25,000 while Shweta Rao of M.A. (Final) Mangalore University and Saba Iqbal of Aligarh Muslim University bagged the second cash prize of Rs. 15,000 and third cash prize of Rs. 10,000 respectively. Besides, other participants in the essay writing competition were given consolatory prizes of Rs. 5,000 each.