Jeddah Aligarians mark Sir Syed Day with fervor, gaiety

Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Aligarians in Jeddah celebrated Sir Syed Day with all traditions at a resort on the outskirts of the city recently in line with the celebrations taking place at their alma mater. Attended by more than 150 families, the highlight was the screening of webcast from the Kennedy Hall of the pioneering Indian institution where the chief guest Prof. Ved Prakash, chairman of the University Grants Commission, urged the staff at Aligarh Muslim University to change their outlook and brace for the new system of education. He also advised the students to brace up for new ventures and particularly commended the newly elected president of AMU students union in his demand for setting up an aeronautical wing at the Engineering College. Prof. Prakash emphasized that the teachers will have to invest in research, course correction and most of all placements for students to become No. 1 university in India and find a place in the top 00 universities. This, he said, can only happen with hard work. He paid rich tributes to the founder of the university and urged the staff and students to follow in in his footsteps. Prof. Prakash got a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameeruddin Shah shared the achievements of the university during his tenure and assured the students that with the help of the alumni he was doing his best to solve the accommodation problem of the students. He thanked the alumni for the generous contributions. Selected alumni were given mementos for their contribution in the onward march of the alma mater. The significance of holding Sir Syed Day dinner on the eve of Oct. 17 was succinctly put by A.G. Danish, an alumni of AMU. He said: “Do we ever miss any of the important dates in our personal lives and look for conveniences. Why play around with this date? This trend of holding the function for the conveniences of a select few has to stop”. The hallmark of the evening was that there were no speeches nor was any one invited as chief guest. “We all are chief guests on this day when we remember one of the greatest social reformers of India,” said Jamshed Ahmad, another alumni. “It is time that we follow the thought process of the visionary and not follow the photo ops and hijacking of this great day by non-Aligs and work for the betterment of the community,” he continued.