Introduction:- “A normal human tendency is to forget the past and march ahead. ” On August 15,1947, at the dawn of the midnight hour, India emerged as an independent democracy with the world’s largest constitution. Over the time, India has emerged as a fountain of knowledge for the world, be it in the field of academics, technology, culture, etc. Indian software engineers, doctors, professors, etc are scripting a phenomenal story of growth round the globe.
In the US too, Indians are making an incredible impact in the form of Bobby Jindal, Fareed Zakaria, Sanjay Gupta, eleven Indo-American Nobel Laureates, Late Kalpana Chawla, etc. This has been made possible through their sheer hard work and the quality education imparted to them. At this juncture, we must not forget the contribution made by one of the earliest architects of India’s freedom struggle and it’s focus on education was a Muslim scholar- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Maulana Azad, also known as Mir-i-Karawan, was a man of enormous tastes, a remarkable person by any standards.He was a freedom fighter, a journalist, a scholar, a politician and a statesman. He was born in Mecca on November 11, 1888 in a family of traditional Islamic scholars, who taught Islam in Mecca and Calcutta.
He received a traditional education in Islamic Sciences. But in his early teens, he realized that much of his education was religious indoctrination. So, he rebelled against it, declared his intellectual freedom and took the pen name, ‘Azad’, meaning ‘free’. Contribution Towards Education In Modern India:- Maulana Azad was a man of enormous tastes.
Rated high in the realm of education, he has all along played a prominent role in keeping the education movement alive in this country. He became the first ‘Education Minister’ of free India. Packed with several achievements, he oversaw the establishment of a national education system with free primary education and modern institutions of higher learning. Maulana Azad was the first to raise the issue of the ‘National System of Education’, which is today, the bedrock of the ‘National Policy on Education’, according to which, all the students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or gender have access to education of a comparable quality.He stressed that all educational programmes must be carried out in strict conformity with secular values and the constitutional framework.
He stood for a common educational structure of10+2+3 throughout India. According to him, “The wealth of a nation is not in the country’s bank, but in primary schools. ” He stood for a learning society through liberal, modern and universal education, a society where the strong are just and the weak secure, where the youth is disciplined and women leading a life of dignity.He established three National acaedemies, viz, the ‘Sangeet Natak Academy(1953), Sahitya Academy (1954) and Lalit Kala Academy (1954). As a ‘chairman’ of the ‘Central Advisory Board of education,’, he advocated free and compulsory education for all children upto 14 years of age, girls’ education, vocational training, agricultural education and technical education.
He established the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1956. On the technical front, he strengthened the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE). followed by the establishment of Indian Institutes of Technology at Kanpur, Bombay, Madras, Kharagpur and Delhi. The School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) came into existence at Delhi in 1955. Contribution Towards Culture In Modern India:- Throughout his life he stood for the chords of cordiality between Hindus and Muslims and the composite culture of India. He stood for modern India with secular credentials, a cosmopolitan character and international outlook.
He always stood for the unity of India and it’s cultural integrity.He established the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in 1950 with a view to foster cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other nations, as well as the people. The mission of ICCR is to demonstrate the diversity of Indian culture and facilitate interaction among world cultures. Conclusion:- Abul Kalam Azad was one of those geniuses whose names are written with golden letters in the pages of history. All of them contributed their energies in various ways.They not only structured the syllabi but also formulated the policies in order to carry the light of education in the remotest rural areas.
They also chalked out programmes for the training of teachers to make them abreast of the developments taking place in the world of education. The Cabinet’s approval to the ‘Right to Free Edcation Bill’ and ‘National Flagship Mission’ mode projects would definitely act as a tribute along with the declaration of Maulana Azad’s birthday as the ‘National Education Day’ acting as a treatise on the life, struggle and contribution of this great educationist and culturalist of the country.
