Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Biography - Birth date, Achievements, Career, Family, Awards

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born on 11 November 1888 in Mecca, Osmani Kingdom (now Saudi Arabia). His childhood name was Syed Ghulam Muhiuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini. His father's name was Maulana Syed Muhammad Khairuddin bin Ahmed Al-Husseini and his mother was Sheikh Alia Bint Mohammad.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad died on 22 February 1958 (age 69 years) in Delhi, India.

Azad studied in home-school from the beginning and taught himself. After fluency in Arabic as the first language, Azad began to specialize in several other languages ​​including Bengali, Hindustani, Persian and English. He was also trained in the interests of Hanfi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali Fiq, Shari'a, Mathematics, Philosophy, World History, and Science by his family-appointed tutors. When he was fifteen years old, nine years ahead of his contemporaries, he completed the traditional course of study at the age of sixteen and took out a journal at the same age.

In 1923, Maulana Azad became the youngest president of the Indian National Congress. He strongly criticized the British for racial discrimination and ignored the needs of common people across India. He criticized Muslim politicians for focusing on communal issues before the national interest and rejected the communal separatism of the All India Muslim League. But his views changed considerably when he met racially oriented Sunni revolutionary activists in Iraq and was influenced by their ardent imperialism and nationalism. Azad entered politics when British rule in 1905 divided Bengal on religious grounds. The Muslim middle class supported this partition but the Azad were opposed to this partition. Azad took an active part in the freedom movement. He joined secret gatherings and revolutionary organizations. Azad then came in contact with Aurobindo Ghosh and "Shyamsunder Chakravarty", and he went on to build Akhand Bharat. In 1905 he met the great revolutionary Arvind Ghosh. He also founded some secret circles of Muslims.

After his release in January 1920, he met Gandhiji at the house of Hakim Ajmal Khan in Delhi. After his release from prison, he was one of the leaders of the anti-Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Apart from this, he was also the head of the Khilafat movement. Khilafat was opposed to the damages imposed on the Osmani Empire of Turkey when it was defeated in the First World War. At that time the Ottoman (Usmani Turks) were in control of Mecca and they were the Caliphs of Islam. Due to this there was anger among the Muslims all over the world and in India it emerged as a Khilafat movement which opposed the empire of the Allies (Britain, France, Italy) who defeated the Osman. After India's independence, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first Education Minister of independent India. He guided the nation's education policy for eleven years. To Maulana Azad, "Indian Institute of Technology" means "IIT". And is credited with the establishment of the "University Grants Commission". He established excellent institutions to develop education and culture. In which Sangeet Natak Akademi (1953), Sahitya Akademi (1954), Lalitkala Academy (1954) were the President of the Central Advisory Education Board, universal primary education in additional universities both at the Center and in the States from the Government, all children up to 14 years Advocated for reforms like free and compulsory education, girls' education, vocational training, agricultural education and technical education.

Posthumously in the year 1992, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was awarded the 'Bharat Ratna', the country's highest civilian honor. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's birth anniversary (November 11) is celebrated every year across the country as "National Education Day". At the time of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's death, he had no property nor any bank account. Abul Kalam Azad's mausoleum is located next to Jama Masjid in Delhi. In recent years great concern has been expressed by many people in India over the poor maintenance of the mausoleum. On 16 November 2005, the Delhi High Court ordered that in New Delhi The tomb of Maulana Azad be renovated and preserved as a major national monument. Azad was portrayed by actor Virendra Razdan in the 1982 biographical film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough.