Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Hindi Diwas observations
Aligarh : Esteemed speakers from Indian and foreign universities delivered eloquent speeches on selfless sacrifice and commitment of Indian freedom fighters and the great strides made in terms of education, health, industry, scientific achievements, and in lifting millions of people out of poverty in the past 75 years during the lecture series of Women’s College, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to mark the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
Prof Pushpita Awasthi (President at International Non-violence and Peace Academy, Amsterdam, Netherlands) said, “The ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is significant as it stands as a reminder of the sacrifices that many freedom fighters made for Indian independence. We owe this freedom to our valiant freedom fighters who didn’t hesitate for once to give up their lives for a free India”.
Speaking on the journey of Hindi as the official national language, Prof Pushpita said, “Like other languages, Hindi too has a paramount importance not just in the terms of exchanging words, but also in terms of sharing feelings and expressions.
Prof Shraddha Singh (Banaras Hindu University) pointed out that the history of Indian Freedom Struggle would be incomplete without mentioning the contributions of women as they fought with true spirit and undaunted courage and faced various tortures, exploitations and hardships to earn us freedom.
She spoke on the contribution of Annie Besant, who first visited India in 1893 and later settled here to become a part of the Indian nationalist movement.
Discussing the global spread of Hindi since Independence, Dr Ram Prasad Bhatt (Hamburg University, Germany) said that besides India, Hindi language is spoken in other countries as mother tongue by a part of the population.
He added: “Nepal, Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius and other countries have sizable Hindi speaking people. The language is also spoken by people of Indian origin in the USA, UK and European countries”.
Presiding over the lecture series, Prof Naima Gulrez (Principal, Women’s College) said that in various programmes organised to observe the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, we are focussing on aspiration of India’s youth, the future ahead in progress, policy, development, technology and other areas.
Prof Reshma Begum, Prof Abdul Alim, Prof Tasneem Suhail, Prof Iffat Asghar, Prof Shambhunath, Prof Roomana N Siddiqui, Prof Asma, Dr Anita, Dr Feroz Khan, Dr Shamim, Dr. Rahila Rais and Dr Sana Fatima also spoke on 75 years of Indian Independence.
Dr Nazish Begum conducted the programme.
Meanwhile, at the STS School, the richness and popularity of the Hindi language was celebrated to observe the ‘Hindi Diwas’.
Mr Faisal Nafis (Principal, STS School) stressed on the use of Hindi and other Indian mother tongues in education.
Mr Mohammad Tariq (Vice Principal, STS School) spoke on the growing influence of Hindi as a link language between Indians of different linguistic backgrounds.
Dr Naseem Ahmad conducted the programme.
School teachers, Adnan Ahmad, Farhan Habib, Khan Riyaz Ahmad, Jyoti Kusum Bal and Nilofer Anwar shed light on the growing global popularity of Hindi language.
School students, Md Shahbaz Shams and Md Yasir Arafat also delivered speeches.