National Education Day 2024: Understanding legacy of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

India is celebrating National Education Day today, November 11, 2024, on the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
During Azad’s tenure as the education minister of India, the country got statutory bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, the first IIT in the country. He also played a key role in the establishment of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI).
On National Education Day 2024, we look back at the life and career of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad-
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was born Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin on November 11th 1888 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. His father, Maulana Khairuddin, was a renowned Islamic scholar.
Azad was inspired by the modernist writings of Indian philosopher and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.
As a teenager, Azad published Al-Hilal, a Calcutta-based Urdu newspaper that was subsequently banned by the British.
Azad had a brief participation in the Khilafat Movement, during which he held the post of president of the All-India Khilafat Committee.
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, he actively participated in the Dandi March and the Quit India Movement. He was imprisoned several times between 1920 and 1945. He was involved in the negotiations for independence with the British, and he vehemently opposed partition.
He became the president of the Indian National Congress on two occasions—in 1923 and 1940.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces on a Congress ticket. He served on five committees and intervened in the debates around national language and education.
After independence, Azad was appointed as the Education Minister and he held the post for a decade until 1958 in the cabinet of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is credited with setting up the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Sahitya Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, Sangeet Natak Academy, and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
He played a pivotal role in the establishment of several renowned educational institutes, including IIT Kharagpur in 1951, the UGC in 1953, and the Central Institute of Education, Delhi (now the Department of Education of Delhi University). He also emphasized the development of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Faculty of Technology of Delhi University.
Azad died on February 22, 1958.
The government of India in 2008 declared November 11 as National Education Day and the then President, Pratibha Patil, inaugurated the celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Maulana Azad was posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country, in 1992.