AMUAAQ marks 203rd birth anniversary of Sir Syed virtually

The Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association Qatar (AMUAAQ), an associate organisation of the Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF) under the aegis of the embassy of India in Qatar, recently celebrated the 203rd birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), under the managing committee of the association. The programme was chaired by Jawed Ahmad, AMUAAQ president.
Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister Delhi, attended the event as chief guest from India. Dr Deepak Mittal, Indian ambassador to Qatar, was the chief guest from Qatar. Professor M M Sufyan Beg, principal of ZHCET and chairman of Alumni Affairs Committee Aligarh, and P N Baburajan, ICBF president, were guests of honour. Waseem Ahmad Kazi and Professor Shehper Rasool, vice chairman Delhi Urdu Academy, were special guests. The guest speaker was Mohamed Wajiuddin, senior editor with The Times of India. Dr M S Bukhari attended the programme as the patron of the association.
Over 1,200 alumni and AMU well-wishers connected live with the event through Zoom and Facebook to remember and appreciate the achievements of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Dr Nadeem Zafar Jilani, alumnus and medical director of Sidra Child Advocacy Program, and Dr Ashna Nusrat, AMUAAQ chief joint secretary, compered the event and welcomed all the guests from across the world. Dr Jilani also anchored the second part of the programme – Mahfil-E-Sukhan (mushaira). Professor Shepher Rasool presided over the second part. Mamnoon Ahmad Bangash started the programme with recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an.
Professor Beg spoke about the vision and mission of Sir Syed. He also addressed that all alumni should come together to fulfil the AMUAAQ mission. He welcomed Dr Mittal and thanked him for the supporting and patronising the affiliated association. P N Babu Rajan said that AMUAAQ initiated the food drive campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic in India and in Qatar. They also worked jointly with ICBF and the Indian embassy for the Vande Bharat Mission and supported food distribution, medicine, and medical camps.
M S Bukhari said all Aligarian in Qatar should come together to fulfil the AMUAAQ mission of supporting the community and alma mater.
Farman Khan briefed about the activities undertaken by AMUAAQ. Jawed Ahmad delivered the welcome address including a brief about Sir Syed. He reiterated the long-standing demand to the government of India to confer Sir Syed with the Bharat Ratna award in recognition of his contributions towards development of the nation and works for education and communal harmony.
Ambassador Mittal said that Sir Syed was one of the greatest educationists in the world and felt great to be the part of this event. Manish Sisodia appreciated the remarkable work done by Sir Syed and emphasised on the importance of education in all spheres of life. He appreciated the role of the alumni groups in supporting development and construction projects in the university.
Mohamed Wajiuddin spoke high of the life, vision and mission of Sir Syed.
Faisal Naseem, AMUAAQ vice president, thanked all the attendees and the guests. The national anthems of Qatar and India along with AMU tarana – song – were also played at the end of the programmes.
The event concluded with the mushaira. Shehper Rasool, Johny Foster, Ahmad Ashfaque, Maqsood Anwar Maqsood, Dr Arti Kumari, Wasi Ahmad Wasi, Ashfaque Deshmukh, Amreena Qaiser, Jyoti Azad Khatri, Zeenat Sheikh, Moscha Gupta, and Raquim Azmi mesmerised the attendees with their poetry.