“If we only remember Sir Syed over a plate of biryani once a year, we miss the essence of his mission. AMU was created to serve the community, and it’s our duty as graduates to stay true to that vision.”
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) recently celebrated the 207th birth anniversary of its founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, a visionary leader known for his contributions to education and social reform. On this occasion, Wali Rahmani, a prominent speaker and recipient of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Award 2024 for Excellence in Education, delivered a compelling message urging the audience to deeply understand the compatibility between science and faith.
During his address, Rahmani challenged the common notion that science and religion are separate, emphasising that the Quran encompasses scientific principles. “To say that one hand holds science and the other the Quran implies that the Quran lacks scientific understanding, which is a misconception,” he stated.
“The Quran isn’t void of science; it contains scientific wisdom. When we speak of education, we must start in the name of Allah. Education divorced from His name isn’t complete.”
Reflecting on Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s legacy, Rahmani highlighted how Sir Syed dedicated his life to the cause of education, building AMU to serve the community. He noted that Sir Syed’s vision extended beyond the establishment of a university; it was about empowering the community through knowledge and service.
“It is essential to remember why leaders like Sir Syed did the work they did,” he remarked, adding, “If we merely commemorate his work without continuing it, we aren’t doing justice to his legacy.”
Rahmani emphasised the need to go beyond token celebrations, stating, “If we only remember Sir Syed over a plate of biryani once a year, we miss the essence of his mission. AMU was created to serve the community, and it’s our duty as graduates to stay true to that vision.”
Expressing his gratitude, Rahmani acknowledged the honour of receiving an award in Sir Syed’s name, though he humbly expressed his doubts about deserving it.
“It’s an honour for my work to be recognised, but I also feel a sense of responsibility,” he shared. “While I cannot force anyone to become like Sir Syed, I can call them towards the truth, towards what is right.”
Rahmani’s words resonated with the audience, reinforcing the values and mission that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan championed – education, community service, and a harmonious integration of science and faith.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Education> Focus / by Radiance News Bureau / October 26th, 2024
In a landmark effort to uplift the educational aspirations of Muslim minority students across India, the Kalam Learning Centre has announced the launch of a substantial Rs.50 crore scholarship fund.
This ambitious initiative, which stands as one of the largest scholarships programs specifically targeting Muslim minority students, aims to provide essential financial support to deserving students, helping them achieve their academic dreams without the burden of economic constraints.
The scholarship program is open to students from Class 5 to Class 12, as well as recent 12th-grade graduates who are preparing for their next academic steps. The initiative covers a wide spectrum of students, making it accessible to a large segment of the Muslim minority population. To qualify, students will need to participate in a scholarship examination conducted by the centre, ensuring that the scholarships are awarded based on merit and need.
By offering these scholarships, the Kalam Learning Centre aims to empower young students with access to quality education, removing financial hurdles that often prevent talented individuals from pursuing higher studies. The centre’s vision aligns with the broader goal of enhancing the educational landscape for minorities in India, especially at a time when educational inequalities persist across different sections of society.
The `50 crore scholarships fund represents a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to promote inclusive education. It is set to play a pivotal role in the academic journeys of thousands of students, allowing them to focus on their studies, reach their full potential, and contribute meaningfully to society. This initiative will not only benefit the students but also strengthen the foundation of India’s future workforce by nurturing young minds through education.
In addition to this, the scholarships program resonates with the legacy of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s former president and renowned advocate for education. Several scholarships across India bear his name, each dedicated to advancing his dream of a fully literate nation. These scholarships, offered by various state governments, educational institutions, and organizations, aim to provide deserving and financially struggling students with the necessary resources to complete their education. Dr. Kalam’s legacy continues to inspire efforts like the Kalam Learning Center’s initiative, which seeks to build a more inclusive and educated India, one student at a time.
Through this scholarship, the Kalam Learning Centre is not only supporting individual students but also contributing to the broader mission of promoting literacy, equality, and opportunity for the underrepresented and marginalized sections of society. This initiative sets a precedent for other organizations to follow, encouraging more efforts to bridge the educational gap for minorities in India.
For more information or registration, you may click here, or download Kalam Learning Centre App, or call KLC helpline number +91-9335004071.
source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education> Focus / by Radiance News Bureau / October 15th, 2024
Children at Umeed Academy. | Picture by arrangement
Wali Rahmani’s work has earned him recognition and respect and people have come forward to sponsor the students in whatever way they can.
Kolkata :
Budding lawyer, human rights activist, orator, motivational speaker, social entrepreneur and a proud father to 140 children, 23-year-old Wali Rahmani hopes that one day all his children will be successful leaders and prove to be invaluable assets to the nation.
The 140 children who fondly call Wali Rahmani Abba Ji hail from different slums of Kolkata. Many of them are orphans and all of these children are from families caught in the vicious cycle of poverty.
Wali with his boys dressed for a skit on harmony. | Picture by arrangement
Wali Rahmani was just 18 when he first took 3 kids from a slum under his wing. These 3 kids, around 3-4 years old, were orphans. Wali, their Abba Ji, washed the soiled clothes of the kids, bathed, cooked and fed them–playing the role of a mother, a father, a nanny and a maid. His determination did not waver. Gradually, he found more and more people joining him which encouraged him to start and register ‘Umeed’, which served both as an orphanage and an educational academy.
The journey of Umeed When Wali Rahmani was just turning 18, many changes were taking place in the country which he said, “changed him as well.” The assembly elections of 2017 in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which brought Yogi Adityanath as the Chief Minister, became the turning point in Wali’s life and brought in its wake an energized goal and mission to work for the upliftment of the society.
Rahmani said he was “aghast that someone like Ajay Singh Bihist a.k.a Yogi Adityanath could become the CM.” He took to social media to talk about the injustices, violations of human rights and atrocities that were happening in the country. This was the beginning of Wali’s political journey. Soon, his fearless voice got him thousands of followers on Youtube, Facebook and other social media.
At one point, Wali paused to reflect that he is the only one talking against the oppression and gross injustices meted to people. Where are all the other youth leaders? Why are they not standing up against injustices? He spoke to his peers but they were keen only on pursuing their education, having fun and enjoying life. They did not want to take up these issues or even talk about them.
“I realized that my suggestions did not go down well with my peers. They did not want someone to tell them to ‘do this and do that.’ It became more of an ego thing,” Wali said, reminiscing the early days.
People who heard his talks on social media, his debates on the television channels looked up to him as the leader of the future. Wali, however, was not happy being a leader. He wanted more leaders in the community. According to him, a true leader is not someone who does not leave any legacy behind. He believes that a true leader creates more leaders and leaves behind a rich legacy. Instead of asking other youth to join him in the mission to raise their voice against the wrongs of society, he thought it is better to create new leaders. He believed that these will be small children who can be successfully molded to become strong leaders. He took a break from his studies for a year to work on this idea of creating future leaders.
“But where would I find these children whom I could train? Would any parent trust me enough to send the child to me? Then by chance, I came across a Hadith by our beloved Prophet (PBUH) wherein he mentioned the status of a Muslim who is kind to orphans. I felt that through this hadith, Allah was guiding me. So, I decided to take in children who had no parents,” Wali said.
“I had made up my mind that I want to be a father of 10 before I turn 20. And people laughed at me. They advised me to go study and asked me blunt questions related to my financial capability,” Wali said, “But I did not give up. It was the womenfolk who came forward to help me realize my dream”.
Wali said that he approached several people who had wealth and could easily help him but instead they scoffed at his idea.
“The very first person to help me was my mother. She believed in my dream. She was the first donor for Umeed,” Wali said while giving details of other donors who were also women.
He remembers the first donors fondly and with gratitude. One woman gave her gold finger ring because she was not earning and wanted to give what belonged to her. Wali likens this to the woman who donated her gold bangles to Sir Syed Ahmed when he was seeking donations for the Aligarh Muslim University.
Some girl students also promised monthly payments from their pocket money. And as they say, small drops of water make a mighty ocean, Wali Rahmani’s dream project began taking a concrete shape.
Today he runs the Umeed Academy in a rented apartment with 140 children. Some of these children are day scholars who are at the academy for at least 12 hours.
Many of these children are kids from slums whose parents are alcoholics, orphans who are homeless, kids who have parents but stay with their guardians to avoid the brutality that their parents either go through or make them go through, children with parents serving jail time. Some kids have homes not suitable to live in. The children of his academy are mostly from Muslim Ghettos.
Umeed Academy’s vision Wali envisions creating leaders who in turn will become capable to create more leaders. Year after year, Wali hopes, Umeed will produce leaders who will carry forward the legacy of Wali and his academy Umeed.
“Each child that graduates from Umeed shall be an institution builder and a leader. They will leave their imprints in the sands of time,” he said.
Inside Umeed Academy There are no wardens at the Umeed Academy, only house parents who take care of all the needs of the children. From the time of their enrolment to the time they pass out as students have completed their 12th standard ICSE curriculum syllabus, all their costs are borne by the academy including their residential cost, health cost, books, clothing and sports.
The focus is on the holistic development of girls and boys. For their spiritual growth, they are taught Quran and Islamic values.
The children are taught regular subjects of the school curriculum which is ICSE and apart from that, they are taught self-defence, drawing, sports, Quran, Hadith and ethics. They are encouraged to participate in many activities conducted in their academy.
Class room in Umeed. | Picture by arrangement
“The transformation in the children is visible. They are all so disciplined and neat that despite sharing common toilets and bathrooms, they keep it all clean,” Wali says proudly, adding, “Ask them to recite the Duas (prayers) of eating, sleeping, going out, going to the toilet, or when it rains, they will recite it.”
The house parents bring up these children as they would bring up their own, insists Wali. He also does his bit by interacting with the children every day, listening to them, talking to them and thus making strong the bond they share.
The core team members, who are his well-wishers not only guide him but also help him make the right decisions.
Asma Alam, director of Umeed, Ghazala Imam and Yusuf Haque who taught Wali at school are now part of the core committee. Others who have joined his mission are an army veteran Abhishek Mukherjee, educationists Shabana Anwar, Usha Banerjee and Mufti Anwar Khan Sargiroh.
Wali Rahmani, with his staff and children of his academy. | Picture by arrangement
Awards and recognitions Wali Rahmani has appeared in various national television debates and is perhaps the youngest Indian TV debate panellist.
He says that his work for society is not social work, but “his social duty.” He has been awarded the young social Hero award in 2019 at the South India NGO conference. He has also been featured as one of the young top 20 achievers in India under the age of 20 by Mumbai Coworking, and also received the Shan-e-Hindustan award by Youth Ekta Front, Delhi. His work has been acknowledged and featured by India Times, Brut India, and the Indian Express.
Many prestigious institutes and organisations have invited applications from Wali to apply for the awards but Wali Rahmani says “his work should speak for him,” and does not believe in applying for any award.
“The ultimate award will be when these children grow up and lead the nation and establish peace and harmony around them,” he said.
Future of Umeed Wali Rahmani’s work has earned him recognition and respect and people have come forward to sponsor the students in whatever way they can. One generous donor has donated 2 Acre (87120 square feet) of land to Umeed Academy worth Rs 2 Crore.
Wali has plans to construct fully functional hostels on the land for students with separate dormitories for boys and girls, a housing facility for the staff members and a campus which can accommodate approximately 600-700 students at once.
The construction work has started and the cost of the entire project has been approximated at Rs 13.5 crores. Wali intends to complete this work within the next two years and requests donations for his lofty mission through donations.
Maulana Wali Rahmani | Photo Courtesy: Clarion India
What set Maulana Wali Rahmani, an Indian Sunni Islamic Scholar, academician and founder of Rahmani30, apart was his efforts towards the promotion of education among Muslim youth. Although Rahmani was a multi-lingual man, he had evident love for the Urdu language. In February this year, he launched a campaign for education among the Muslim community and promotion of the Urdu language.
The well-known torchbearer of India’s Muslim community, who strove to work for the promotion of education, Maulana Mohammad Wali Rahmani would have turned 78-years-old on June 5 this year. On April 3, Maulana Wali Rahmani breathed his last at a Patna hospital after a brief illness and other complications.
Such was his repute and respect among the community that he had 8.5 lakh followers who took the oath of allegiance to him as “Sajjada Nashin” of Khanqah Rahmani in Munger in the Indian state of Bihar. Rahmani became “Sajjada Nashin” of Khanqah Rahmani, Munger in 1991 after the death of his father Sayyid Minatullah Rahmani. At present, Rahmani was the Secretary-General of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). He was Ameer-e-Shariat, or the head, of the renowned religious organization Imarat-e-Shariah of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. However, what set him apart was his endeavour in the field of education. His organization, Rahmani30, founded in 2008, was his gift to the Muslim community of Bihar, and the country.
Had there been no Rahmani30, hundreds of students might not have heard about him and many poor Muslim students could not have realized the dream of making it to India’s top engineering institutes; the IITs or the Indian Institute of Technology.
The Rahmani30 has since then expanded to NEET or the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for medical education. Top accountancy and Law entrance tests have also been included now.
Rahmani30 is modelled on Super30 founded by famous mathematics teacher Anand Kumar of Bihar who started selecting 30 poor students and grooms them for IITs. Super30 was a big success. So is Rahmani30. Since its inception, Rahmani30 had the services of Bihar senior police officer Abhayanand, who retired as DGP Bihar. Every year test exams are held for the selection of Rahmani30 and the selected candidates are provided with free residential coaching with food.
Maulana Wali Rahmani was a political personality. His proximity with political leaders got him brickbats too. He was elected to the Bihar Legislative Council on April 7, 1974, and continued till 1996. In 1984 and 1990 he was elected as deputy chairman of Bihar Legislative Council. He was criticized after his (in)famous Deen Bachao Desh Bachao (Save Islam, Save Country) rally at Patna in 2018. Just after the rally, one of its organizers were declared as the candidate from Nitish Kumar’s party for the Bihar Legislative Council. Maulana Rahmani was accused of compromising with Nitish for ‘a seat in Bihar council.’
He, however, was also praised for his bold statements before the top political leaders when the issues related to the Muslim community were discussed.
His birthplace Khanqah Rahmani is a well-known religious place that was founded in 1909 by his grandfather Maulana Mohammad Ali Mungeri, who was a co-founder of Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow. Maulana Wali Rahmani’s father Maulana Minatullah Rahmani was also a renowned religious scholar who also held the post of General Secretary in All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Maulana Rahmani got his initial education at Rahmania Urdu School, Jamia Rahmani in Munger, Bihar and then proceeded to Nadwatul Ulema and Darul Uloom Deoband. He also studied at Bhagalpur University which is now known as Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University in Bihar.
At the age of 22, Maulana Rahmani joined ‘Naqeeb’, a weekly published by Imarat-e-Shariah. He also served at Jamia Rahmani.
In 1991, following the demise of his father, he was made Sajjada Nashin of Khanqah Rahmani.
He was made Ameer-e-Shariat at Imarat-e-Shariah in November 2015 and held the post till his last breath. Here too, Maulana Rahmani’s focus was on education. He also worked for the better medical facility at Sajjad Memorial Hospital being run by Imarat-e-Shariah.
Although Maulana Rahmani was a multi-lingual man, he had evident love for the Urdu language. In February this year, he launched a campaign for education among the Muslim community and promotion of the Urdu language.
He also campaigned for the upliftment of the Madrasas.
His biography Hayat-e-Wali penned by Shah Imran Hasan states, “Maulana’s untiring efforts and timely steps to save the country’s Madrasas are worth mentioning. He met several dignitaries, including the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and presented before him the case of Madrasas in the context of their roles in the country’s freedom struggle and nation-building.”
Maulana Rahmani was a man who loved to make friends in other Muslim organizations too. He kept Maulana Rizwan Ahmad Islahi, the young Ameer-e-Halqa (Bihar chief) very close to him. Maulana Rizwan recalls that when representatives of Muslim organizations went to meet Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, everybody wanted Maulana Rahmani to talk to him but he proposed his name (Maulana Rizwan’s). “Such was his generosity,” he said.
Maulana Rahmani will be missed at many places, including at AIMPLB and Imarat-e-Shariah. However, his absence would be felt most at Rahmani30. The passing away of Rahmani poses a challenge for both Imarat-e-Shariah and Rahmani30 to take his dream further.
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Sami Ahmad, TwoCircles.net / April 05th, 2021
