The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has
said that the Aligarh fraternity -
students, teachers and well wishers – need to prepare for the future, to march
in step with fellow citizens, to contribute in adequate measure to public good
and to benefit from it fairly. Addressing at the inauguration function of the
“Professor K.A. Nizami Centre for Quranic Studies, Aligarh
Muslim University,
Aligarh” today, he has said that the emphasis needs
to be on what comes by right, rather than through concessions and largesse.
He said that
this occasion brings to mind two aspects of the Aligarh Muslim
University that need to
be recalled. It is, in the first place, a university or a place of higher
learning in the fullest meaning of the term. It has, secondly, a specific
association with the study of the civilisation of Islam. Neither is possible
without acquisition of knowledge. It also demands quality in the world of today
wherein standards are perforce global.
Shri Ansari said that our
gratitude to Sir Syed is often a ritualistic exercise. Some, but not many,
remember the three distinct yet interconnected aspects of his work. He
established an institution of modern education, he initiated a scientific
society to help educate his compatriots into the achievements of modern
sciences, and he called for a deepening of the understanding of faith in the
context of our times. Each required hard work, an open mind and the attainment
of excellence. Aligarh
contributed to it in good measure but could have done more.
The Vice
President opined that when we introspect, we need to be candid. Did we slacken
in our quest for quality? Have we kept pace with the changing requirements,
nationally and internationally?
`Following is the text of Vice
President’s inaugural address :
An Aligarhian
needs no excuse to return to the AMU campus to revive memories, recollect
moments of joy, introspect on all may have transpired then or since. To someone
as old as I am, a less pleasant aspect is the thought of those who are no
longer with us.
My visit today,
nevertheless, is occasion specific. It is to formally inaugurate the Centre for
Qur’an Studies, established in memory of the late Professor Khaliq Ahmad Nizami
sahib. I do hope that in the years to come the Centre would contribute
significantly to Qur’an studies and become a locus for institutional links with
similar centres elsewhere in the world.
The occasion
also brings to mind two aspects of the Aligarh Muslim
University that need to
be recalled. It is, in the first place, a university or a place of higher
learning in the fullest meaning of the term. It has, secondly, a specific
association with the study of the civilisation of Islam.
Neither is
possible without acquisition of knowledge. It also demands quality in the world
of today wherein standards are perforce global.
This, then, is
the challenge. The Aligarh
fraternity - students, teachers and well wishers – need to prepare for the
future, to march in step with fellow citizens, to contribute in adequate
measure to public good and to benefit from it fairly. The emphasis needs to be
on what comes by right, rather than through concessions and largesse.
Our gratitude
to Sir Syed is often a ritualistic exercise. Some, but not many, remember the three
distinct yet interconnected aspects of his work. He established an institution
of modern education, he initiated a scientific society to help educate his
compatriots into the achievements of modern sciences, and he called for a
deepening of the understanding of faith in the context of our times.
Each required
hard work, an open mind and the attainment of excellence. Aligarh contributed to it in good measure but
could have done more.
When we
introspect, we need to be candid. Did we slacken in our quest for quality? Have
we kept pace with the changing requirements, nationally and internationally?
Some years back
when I had the honour of heading this great institution, a casual conversation
took place with a group of students who had come out of the University mosque
after the Friday prayers. There are three things, I said, done by anyone coming
for prayers: wuzu, waqt ki pabandi, and
saf main khare hona – in other words, cleanliness, punctuality and
discipline. I enquired why these practices were not observed in daily life
outside the mosque.
The answers, I
am sorry to say, were evasive. All of us need to think about this dichotomy and
its implications for the work we undertake in this institution. Do we measure
up to the required standards in terms of inputs and outputs? How can we improve
our performance?
Our task today
is to give a practical shape to the ideals and aspirations expressed in the Tarana sung by us here and in all
corners of the world.
*****
Sanjay Kumar/VPI/24.09.2012