International seminar on Sultan Jahan Begum held at Aligarh University

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The monumental contributions of Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum, the first Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and a ruler of Bhopal, were highlighted during a two-day international seminar held in Aligarh, India, recently.

   

Dr Aziz Qureishi, the Uttarakhand Governor, recalled that Sultan Jahan Begum was the first female ruler who worked tirelessly for the promotion of education amongst the Muslim community and established a Trust with an endowment of four lakh rupees for educational advancement of females. 

He observed that the educational trust established by Sultan Jahan Begum has now become a private trust, urging Sharmila Tagore, who was also present on the occasion, to revive the trust for the benefit of mankind. 

Dr Aziz Qureishi, who himself hails from Bhopal, lauded the accomplishments of Sultan Jahan Begum, revealing that Bhopal was the first state that produced four female rulers in its 240 years’ history. 

The Uttarakhand Governor felt that the services and contributions of Bhopal were largely neglected after independence. He urged the female students to excel in their education and provide leadership to the country and community.

   

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Moosa Raza, former Secretary, Government of India, urged the Muslim community to establish Monitoring Committee to track the implementation of the government programmes and schemes concerning minorities. 

He said that the AMU was the intellectual headquarter of Muslims of India and it could play an important role in providing an Academic Information Bank and intellectual leadership for the underprivileged sections of Muslim society in India. 

Referring to a report of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, Dr Moosa Raza said that Muslim women were quite ahead of their Hindu counterparts at the time of partition as 8.5 percent of Muslim women attended college compared to Hindu women whose attendance was merely 2.4% in 1947.

Noted personality of the celluloid world, Sharmila Tagore, cautioned against any attempt to politicize issues related to female education, especially those related to Muslim women. 

She said that there was a growing perception that official statistics pertaining to the status of female education of Muslim women of India did not reflect the ground realities. 

Sharmila Tagore said she was prepared to take up responsibilities, having fallen on her shoulders as regards the historic Begum Sultan Jahan Trust, established by the great grandmother of her late husband, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, a former Indian cricket captain, for the purpose of promoting women’s education in the country. 

In his presidential address, AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. General ® Zameeruddin Shah talked about the enhancement of grant of the J N Medical College Hospital having been raised to Rupees one hundred crores in the Union Budget. 

He remarked that the safety, security and dignity of the female students were a matter of prime concern for the University, hoping that the AMU would produce several hundreds of Sultan Jahan Begum. 

Earlier, the Secretary of Female Education Association, Prof Zakia Siddiqui welcomed the dignitaries and recalled the contribution of Begum Sultan Jahan in the field of women’s education. On this occasion, Prof Bilquees Nasim Waris, Principal, Women’s College, also addressed the inaugural function while Prof Sagheer Ifraheem presented the vote of thanks.