AMU honours Anjuman-I-Islam with Sir Syed Excellence National Award

The prestigious Sir Syed Excellence National Award was conferred upon the Mumbai-based educational institution, Anjuman-I-Islam, at a virtual ceremony.

The Anjuman-I-Islam was presented this award by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for its exemplary efforts and contribution in the field of education among the Muslims and marginalised sections of the society, on the occasion of Sir Syed Day.

Chief guest of the event, Satyapal Malik, Governor of Meghalaya and former MP from Aligarh, attended the ceremony virtually, that was also live streamed on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, etc. The virtual ceremony was also attended among others by VC registrar, and members of the AMU.

While thanking AMU and its management for conferring this honour, Dr Zahir I Kazi, president, Anjuman-I-Islam, said, “We are proud to receive this award from a University that was established at around the same time as Anjuman-I-Islam, with similar objectives of providing quality education to the masses, so as to bring them out from economic backwardness. Both the organisations have grown over the last 145-plus years on the lines of the dreams and vision of their founders.”

Anjuman-I-Islam is one of the largest minority educational and social Trust in Mumbai focusing on marginalised sections of the society and empowerment of women.

The Trust, through its 97 institutions, provides education to the students from their formative years of primary and pre-primary education to post graduation and research subjects, and has approximately one lakh students studying in these institutions, with teaching and non-teaching staff of 3,000 dedicated to providing quality education to these students at lowest possible cost.

Professional institutions cover the diverse disciplines of Engineering, Unani medicine, Architecture, Pharmacy, Hospitality, Catering and Hotel Management, Law, Business Administration, Home Science, Teachers’ training Institutes and Other Skill development programs. Over 40 per cent students of Anjuman-I-Islam are girls and a majority of the teaching faculty is women.

The alumni of Anjuman-I-Islam are recognised leaders across many countries in diverse fields of business, technology, arts, sports, media, medical sciences, politics and allied fields.

To name just a few, MA Pathan, ex-Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation, a Fortune 500 Company, former CM of Maharashtra AR Antulay, late Ismael Merchant of the Merchant Ivory Production, Thespian and Padma Vibhushan Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan), Padma Shri Fatima Zakaria, ex-deputy editor of Illustrated Weekly, and ex-editor of Mumbai Mirror and Sunday Times, famous cricketers like Salim Durani, Ghulam Parkar, Wasim Jaffer, advocate and Member of Rajya Sabha Majeed Memon.

Over the last 10 years, under the leadership of senior radiologist Dr Zahir I Kazi, the organisation has rapidly expanded and huge infrastructure at Panvel, near Mumbai. It has an integrated campus comprising Colleges of Engineering, Pharmacy and Architecture and added a College of Law.

Over the year, post-graduate courses and research centres in Engineering, Pharmacy, and the like were also established. Major modernisation projects at Institute of Hotel Management and Catering, historic Karimi Library and Sobani Hostel, CST Campus in Mumbai, Public School, Panchgani, Kalsekar Hospital, Versova, Schools at Kurla, Ahmed Sailor School, Nagpada, etc., have been completed. Capacities in several institutes were enhanced for greater intake to meet the rising demand. Plans on the anvil for a Medical Campus comprising Allopathy, Nursing, Physiotherapy, a new wing for post-graduate and research studies at Saboo Siddique Engineering College, and a campus in Sholapur. Anjuman also runs two girls’ orphanages and a ‘Sahara Sponsorship’ programme for educational aid for the poor and the needy and for supporting destitute women.

The motto at the girls’ orphanages is ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao, BetiBasao’ and where they are nurtured, educated, settled and monitored even after marriage for several years.

Anjuman is one year older to AMU as it was founded in 1874 while Madarsat-ul-Uloom which later became Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College was founded in 1875. MAO College was converted into Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1920.