On the 22nd of February, Nitin Gadkari pays Tribute to the great freedom fighter Bharat Ratna Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on his death anniversary.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, also known as Maulana Azad, was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and an esteemed educationist. He was one of the foremost leaders of India’s independence movement, serving as the first Minister of Education in independent India. He was also a prolific writer, philosopher, and a leading figure in the Indian Muslim community.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born on November 11, 1888, in Mecca, and he passed away on 22 February 1958, in Delhi India, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire. His father, Maulana Muhammad Khairuddin, was an Islamic scholar who had migrated from Bengal to Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. Azad’s family returned to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1890, where he received his early education at home under the tutelage of his father and other renowned scholars. Azad was a prodigy and had mastered several languages, including Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, by the age of ten.
Azad’s father passed away when he was only eleven years old. However, his thirst for knowledge continued, and he immersed himself in studying Islamic theology, philosophy, and the Quran. Azad also developed a keen interest in mathematics, science, and literature. In 1905, at the age of seventeen, he started publishing a magazine called Al-Hilal, which became a platform for promoting nationalism and anti-British sentiment in India.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was an ardent nationalist and played a significant role in India’s independence movement. He joined the Indian National Congress in 1916 and was elected as the president of the party in 1923. Azad’s speeches and writings played a crucial role in mobilizing people against British rule.
Azad also participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. He was arrested several times and spent a total of nine years in British jails. However, Azad continued his fight for independence even while in prison. He wrote extensively during his confinement, and his works, including his autobiography, “India Wins Freedom,” became seminal works on the Indian freedom struggle.
After India gained independence in 1947, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad became the first Minister of Education in independent India. He worked tirelessly to build a modern education system in India that would help uplift the masses and create a more egalitarian society. Azad believed that education was the key to India’s progress and development and worked hard to promote it.
