Centenary Celebrations Of AMU, PM Modi As Chief Guest.
Centenary Celebrations Of AMU, PM Modi As Chief Guest.
P
rime Minister Narendra Modi was present on Tuesday, December 22, as a chief guest at the centenary celebration of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). PM Modi addressed the iconic university via a video link where he said that the country is on the way to equality for all regardless of their religion as all the citizens are assured of rights given to them through the constitution and the future of the nation is safe where no community is left behind.
PM Modi was present along with the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank who was the Guest of Honor on the occasion. The Chancellor of University Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin was also present at the event.The vice chancellor of AMU professor Mansoor thanked PM Modi for accepting the invitation of celebrating the completion of 100 years of the university. During the event the Prime Minister also released a postal stamp and this is the first time PM Modi has been a part of an event at the Aligarh Muslim University.
In his address to the AMU, PM Modi said that the government’s schemes for the poor are reaching all sections “without any religious bias” and claimed that when it came to the nation's progress and development, keeping ideological differences aside was cardinal.
The Prime Minister said “Whatever religion we are born in, it is important to see how to blend our aspirations with national goals. There can be ideological differences in the society but when it comes to the nation’s development, everything else is secondary. When it comes to the nation there is no question of ideological differences. It is logical for me to say this here because AMU produced many freedom fighters- they had their ideological differences but they set that aside for freedom. Like freedom united them, we have to work on the common ground of ‘Naya Bharat’.”
PM Modi emphasized that the nation’s advancement should not be viewed through a political spectrum. He further added “Yes, when we come together for this goal, some elements will feed negativity. But when our thoughts are focused on new India foremost then such elements will have diminished space. Politics and society can wait but the country’s development cannot wait. In the last century a lot of time has been lost over differences. There is no more time to lose.”
The hostel students of the AMU were urged by the PM to take up ‘an extra-curricular task’ of conducting research and bringing the spotlight to the freedom fighters that are unknown, to mark the 75 years of independence.
The Muhammadan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College became Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on December 1, 1920 and it was formally inaugurated on December 17, 1920. MAO College was first set up in 1877 by Syed Ahmed Khan. The University is in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh which is stretched over 467.6 hectares of land. The three off campus centers of the AMU are located in Malappuram (Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and in Kishanganj (Bihar).
