Tag Archives: Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College

Hakim Ajmal Khans last resting place: in a forgotten corner of Delhi

NEW DELHI :

Hakim Ajmal Khan a philanthropist, freedom fighter, famous hakeem and nationalist is a well known personality.

So I was very surprised when I was told that his grave was I one corner of The Hazrat Rasool numa compound in Panchkuian Road of Delhi

Now it’s a slum

In between a whole row of beds tucked away in one forgotten corner sleeps one of the greatest leaders of our Freedom movement. Revered by Muslims and Hindus alike.

Yes it was Hakim Mohammad Ajmal Khan. I checked up his dated on the net to find they were correct.

The lady who lives there then showed me many graves of Hakeems from his family scattered around the beds and chores of daily life.

Amita Paliwal a Delhi historian and keen heritage lover informs me this is probably the famous Doctor’s lane where Bernier apprenticed to learn Unani medicine.

It may have been famous then but it’s forgotten now and I don’t know why his very rich trust( he had gifted most of his income to charity) and rich family doesn’t do something about it.

You can read more about him below I have taken it from

He was the founder of the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. He is the only person to have been elected President of both the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League, as well as the All India Khilafat Committee.Hakim Ajmal Khan was born in 1863 to the illustrious Sharif Khani family of Delhi, family that traces its lineage to court physicians who served the Mughal emperor Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India.

Khan studied the Qur’an and traditional Islamic knowledge including Arabic and Persian in his childhood, before studying medicine at home, under the tutelage of his relatives. All of whom were well-known physicians.

His grandfather Hakim Sharif Khan sought to promote the practice of Tibb-i-unani or Unani medicine and for this purpose, had setup the Sharif Manzil hospital-cum-college that was known throughout the subcontinent as one of the finest philanthropic Unani hospitals that charged no fees from poor patients.

Once qualified, Hakim Ajmal Khan was appointed chief physician to the Nawab of Rampur in 1892. Soon he met Syed Ahmed Khan and was further appointed a trustee of the Aligarh College, now known as the Aligarh Muslim University.

Hakim Ajmal Khan took much interest in the expansion and development of the indigenous system of medicine, Tibb-i-Yunani, or Unani. Khan’s family established the Tibbiya school in Delhi, in order to expand the research and practice of Unani.

As his family of Hakims served as doctors to the British rulers of India, in his early days Hakim Khan supported the British. He was part of a deputation of Muslims that met the Viceroy of India in Shimla in 1906 and even supported the British during World War I. In fact, the British Government awarded him the titles Haziq-ul-Mulk and Qaiser-e-Hind for his contribution to the expansion of the Unani system of medicine.

But once the British government changed its stance and sought to derecognize the practice of Indian schools of medicine such as Ayurveda and Unani, this turn of events set Hakim Ajmal Khan gathering fellow physicians on one platform to protest against the Raj.

Actually, Hakim Ajmal Khan’s political career commenced with his writing for the Urdu weekly Akmal-ul-Akhbar, which was founded in 1865-70 and run by his family.

Subsequently, when the British clamped down on the freedom movement and arrested many Muslim leaders, Hakim Ajmal Khan solicited Mahatma Gandhi’s assistance and together they joined others to start the Khilafat movement. He was elected the President of the Congress in 1921, and joined other Congress leaders to condemn the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was imprisoned for many months by police authorities. Hakim Khan’s pursued his political career side-by-side his medicinal and educational endeavours. Often, the interests overlapped.

Hakim Ajmal Khan resigned from his position at the AMU when he realized that its management would not endorse the Non-Cooperation Movement launched by the Indian National Congress. He envisaged a place of learning that would be free of government control. He worked towards this aim with the help of other Muslim luminaries. Together, they laid the foundations of the Jamia Millia Islamia (Islamic National University) in Aligarh in 1920, in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s call for Indians to boycott government institutions. The JMI subsequently moved to Delhi and slowly grew to be the prestigious university it is today.

Ajmal Khan served as its first Chancellor until his death. He was a key patron of the university, financially bailing it out of sticky situations throughout the rest of his life.

In fact, Hakim Ajmal Khan also established the Tibbia College for higher studies in medicine. Realizing the need for private funding, he simultaneously established a commercial venture the Hindustani Dawakhana to manufacture Unani and Ayurvedic medicines and issued a diktat that doctors practicing in the Sharif Manzil could only recommend medicines from the Dawakhana. The Dawakhana is known to have patented 84 magical herbal formulas.

Tibbia College is presently located Delhi’s Karol Bagh area. As a mark of respect to this man, Karol Bagh’s most popular part is still called Ajmal Khan Road.

Hakim Ajmal Khan died in 1927. In the ensuing years, both the Sharif Manzil and the Dawakhana have languished for want of upkeep and restoration.

Although Hakim Khan renounced his government awards during the freedom movement, Indians who appreciated his work and held him in high esteem conferred upon him the title Masih-ul-Mulk (Healer of the Nation).

Freedom fighter, educationalist and beyond doubt, the greatest contributor to Unani medicine in India in the 20th century: Hakim Ajmal Khan.

Dr. Khan died of heart problems on December 29, 1927. He was succeeded in the position of JMI Chancellor by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari.

Rana Safvi is the author of the book “Where Stones Speak”.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Articles / by Rana Safvi / May 08th, 2016

Muslim Lifestyle Beyond Maqbara, Masjid and Madrasa

December 2, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, World OpinionAjmal Khan Tibbia College - Aligarh Muslim University, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Hakim Syed Zillur Rehman, Ibn Sina Academy-Aligarh, Museum of Medieval Medicine and Sciences, Museum of Muslim 'Tehzeeb', Padma Shri Hakim Syed Zillur Rahmanmpositiveone@gmail.com

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Housed in the Ibn Sina Academy, Aligarh, the museum is one man’s effort to preserve articles of Muslim lifestyle or tehzeeb that include textiles, crockery, manuscripts, and musical instruments among other things.

While Taj Mahal may be the edifice of the moment, caught in the eye of a political storm and being showered with both barbs and bouquets, not very far from it is a museum of Muslim ‘tehzeeb’ that brims with tales of nobility and sophistication. Housed in the Ibn Sina Academy, Aligarh, the museum is one man’s effort to preserve articles of Muslim lifestyle or tehzeeb that include textiles, crockery, manuscripts, and musical instruments among other things.

The academy is primarily a museum of Medieval Medicine and Sciences, founded by Padma Shri Hakim Syed Zillur Rehman in the year 2000, but soon it diversified into chronicling Muslim lifestyle and tehzeeb of the past. People wonder why a science museum would be generous enough to grow into accommodating the articles of Muslim lifestyle. And he answers all of the queries with a note of hope and love for future, “I have the articles of Muslim houses preserved in the cupboards of my museum, from the royal families of Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Rampur etc.”

He said that he is preserving all this for posterity – “After acquiring education, prosperity and wealth there will be a time when they would want to know their civilizational facts, culture and past and at that time my museum will give the future generation a glimpse into their tehzeeb and lifestyle. It will respond to their search for roots.”
There are almost 4,500 articles of Muslim tehzeeb showcased in his museum – which include crockery that keeps the food warm till the last bite because of the vacuum that takes hot water, there are dupattas three meter long that were tied differently in different Muslim societies of Hyderabad and Bhopal etc., there is a fruit tray from the dining table of Begum Sultan Jahan of Bhopal, her brooch made of precious stones, with her name inscribed in gold, a chogha that belonged to the Qazi Shamsuddin of Rewari, dating back to 1830, a paandaan weighing over 5 kg and a betel stand to name a few.

There are other items that chronicle Muslim culture through objects like: gramophones, harmoniums, costumes for weddings and trays for biryanis designed keeping the sense of style and comfort of those times. There are heavy paandaan (a box for preserving items used to make paan), ugaldaan (spittoon for the pan user), fancy haath ka pankha (a hand fan), and pretty batua (wallet), gem-studded gharara (a dress item), there are also silver-lined razais (quilts). The museum grew out of his fondness for all things with rich history, some of which were also priceless – coins from ancient times, stamps, pens and other artefacts. He makes sure to mention the source of the specimens he gets from Muslim families and pin them in the cupboard with the name of the person donating it or belonging to.

Times for Muslims have also changed in many ways, he said, “Somehow they are not able to think beyond maqbara, masjid and madarsa. They are always ready to contribute in the growth of masjid and madarsa but don’t understand the values of museum of heritage and culture of Muslim families. In this time of collective ignorance about out past I designing this for the future generation that will come in search for roots,” he added. Some of the objects on display were inherited by him. Some were gifted by people who saw that he had the wherewithal to preserve priceless items for posterity.

He takes pride in showing the guests original royal orders of Mughal emperors that have come to Rehman from his father, and a paper weight made of shells that was used by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. These orders come from Aurangzeb, Babur and calligraphy by Bahadur Shah Zafar. When asked how he continues to enrich the museum of Muslim past in times of attack on Taj Mahal, he said, “The attacks on Taj Mahal or anything associated with our past are just seasonal things, it is more to do with politics than our society and its commitment to celebrate history.”

In his view these attacks don’t mean anything in the larger picture of history, “Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar are part of our pride, we cannot be attacking them because they were made in medieval times. By that logic Connaught Place and Parliament should also be broken down because they were made angrez (British),” he added.

Rahman served as a professor and chairman, department of Ilmul Advia at the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University. After serving as a dean, faculty of Unani medicine, he retired after 40 years. He is the author of 45 books and several papers on different aspects of Unani and boasts of being the possessor of the largest collection of books on Unani medicine. Conferred the Padma Shri in 2006 for his contribution in the field of Unani medicine he is now expanding his museums to start taking items like animal skin, which formed an important part of households of the past.

Also, unsure of who will take it forward after him, Rahman has given this endeavor to a Trust to take charge of it. There is huge collection of Ghalib’s work, which he claims to be one of the largest in South Asia and attracts scholars from other parts of the country to study. In his library lined with thousands of books, manuscripts and dedicated works of Ibn Sina and medieval medicine, sciences, youngsters from all backgrounds especially economically weaker come to study in the quiet atmosphere.

source: http://www.news18.com / News18.com / Home> News18> India> Sunday Feature / by Eram Agha, News18.c0m / November 05th, 2017

This professor’s Unani medicine for diabetes is all set for clinical trials

August 26, 2017Amazing Feats, Education, Leaders, Science & Technology, World OpinionAjmal Khan Tibbia College - Aligarh Muslim University, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Cure for Diabetes, Imrana Naseem, Naeem Ahmad Khan, Prof. Imrana Naseem, Prof. Naeem Ahmad Khan, Professor Imrana Naseem, Professor Naeem Ahmad Khanmpositiveone@gmail.com

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Four years back, Naeem Ahmad Khan, professor at faculty of Unani Medicine, Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University, set a goal for himself– he wanted to find a cure for diabetes.

It was possible only if he could regenerate the primary function of beta islet cells of the pancreas to store and release insulin.

Four years on, he claims to have succeeded in his mission. He has developed a medicine that, he says, will not only improve the function of pancreatic cells, but also protect them. Besides, it will regenerate beta islet cells and improve their health by giving them required nutrition.

“My medicine will regenerate the natural process of the pancreas. This medicine will help diabetic respond to fluctuations in blood glucose concentrations quickly by releasing stored insulin,” says Dr Khan.

He believes that the medicine, if clears clinical trials, will be a better alternative to the existing drugs. “Modern diabetic medicines stimulate beta cells to produce and release more insulin. If a person develops diabetes at a younger age, these medicines stop working after a few years. Then the alternative before the patient is to take insulin supplement, which is an expensive as well as painful treatment,” he says.

The clinical trial of the medicine, he believes, will help standardise traditional medicine system in India and bring it at par with modern medicine

“Apart from restoring the normal functioning of beta cells, I believe that this medicine will also bring down the number of pancreatitis cases in diabetes,” he says.
Khan says that his medicine has already been tested on animals and has gone through the necessary toxicological studies to rule out any heavy metal impurities and other toxic effects. It has been passed by the Government of India’s Institutional Ethical Committee, he adds.

The drug will soon be tested clinically before it is available in the market. “We will study it in a controlled environment where we will monitor its effect on diabetes in non- insulin dependent patients. We will also compare it with other existing popular modern drugs,” says Khan.

The clinical trial of the medicine, he believes, will help standardise traditional medicine system in India and bring it at par with modern medicine. “Evidence-based traditional medicine is the need of the hour. We need to exploit their potential to help people deal with various lifestyle diseases,” he says.

Khan says that this medicine has been developed from eight different medicinal plants, some of which were used by ancient Unani practitioners. “These medicines are as scientific as allopathic drugs. We need to validate their worth and that’s what I have been trying to do all these years, ” he says.

source: http://www.healthpost.in / Healthpost.in / Home / by HP Correspondent / Saturday – January 28th, 2017