Who is the first education minister of India?
The first education minister of India was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. His tenure as Education Minister started from 15 August 1947 till 2 February 1958. The institutions which Maulana Abul Kalam Azad laid the foundation of as the education minister, today the same institutions are working to take India towards development. Among these institutions prominent are IITs, IIMs and many Central and Autonomous Universities. In this article we are going to tell you about Who is the first education minister of India and short biography?
Who is the first education minister of India and short biography?
On 11 November 1888 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born in Mecca. Mecca then came under the Ottoman Empire, and today it comes under Saudi Arabia. You may know him by the name of Maulana Azad but he did not have this name, his name was Abul Kalam Ghulam Mahiuddin. His father’s name was Maulana Mohammad Khairuddin and his mother’s name was Zulekha Begum. His parents had left him in his childhood. His early education took place in his home, he learned almost everything by reading and writing himself.
His knowledge can be filled from the fact since childhood he had a good knowledge of Urdu, Hindi, Parsi, Bengali and English. He could write and speak in all these languages. He traveled to Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Turkey to increase his knowledge. From these visits, Abul Kalam got to see the world outside the British Raj and after that his turn towards politics was decided.
Also Read: Abul Kalam Azad: The snake that bit India’s education system
Career and notable works
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad founded an Urdu newspaper named Al Hilal. In this newspaper, he fiercely opposed the British Government, and upset by this, the then British Raj banned his Newspaper Al Hilal. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad played an important role in the establishment of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Despite being a religious scholar, he strongly opposed the partition of Bengal. He took part in the non-cooperation movement by taking membership of the Congress. By now he was being counted among the important members of the Congress. By 1923, Abul Kalam Azad was elected the president of the Congress. In 1940 also, he was once again elected the President of the Congress and remained on this post till 1946. The very important Quit India movement was launched throughout the country during his Congress presidency.
The leaders of then Muslim League kept trying their best to give Congress the status of a Hindu party, but how could such an effort be successful when the president of this party was a Muslim. Abul Kalam Azad did not agree at all with the argument of the All-India Muslim League. In independent India, Abul Kalam Azad was made the education minister keeping in mind his knowledge.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad died on 22 February 1958 due to heart attack. Maulana Azad was posthumously awarded by the Bharat Ratna in the year 1995. Famous Bollywood actor Aamir Khan comes from his family.
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