Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birth anniversary, 11th November, is observed as National Education Day. For those who have forgotten him and those who are trying to ensure that people forget him, he was a freedom fighter and the first Education Minister of independent India.

He stood for a modern, unified India —a secular India with a composite culture.

“If an angel were to descend from the heavens and proclaim from the heights of Qutab Minar: Discard Hindu-Muslim unity and within 24 hours Swaraj is yours, I will refuse the preferred Swaraj but shall not budge an inch from my stand. The refusal of Swaraj will affect only India, while the end of our unity will be the loss of our entire human world,” he said.

At 35, he became the youngest ever to hold the office of the President of the Indian National Congress. He was the Chief Spokesman of the Congress during the Quit India Movement in 1942. He played a vital role in bringing key reforms to the Indian education system. Azad was instrumental in the creation of several educational institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, the School of Planning and Architecture, and the Jamia Millia Islamia.

He established the Sangeet Natak Academy (1953), Sahitya Academy (1954) and Lalit Kala Academy (1954) and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (1950). Maulana Azad was a prolific writer and wrote books in Urdu, Persian and Arabic, notably amongst which is ‘India Wins Freedom’, his political biography.

He led a very simple life and owned no property or bank account. All he had in his personal almirah was some cotton ‘achkans’, a few khadi kurta-pyjamas, two pairs of sandals, an old dressing gown and a used brush. However, he owned many rare books that are now a part of the nation’s property.

Maulana Azad, in 1950, conceptualised the practice of learning the National Anthem of the country by all children in schools, as evident from this letter from the National Archives of India (NAI), along with its original and translation.

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, respected his graciousness and deep knowledge. He mourned Maulana Azad’s death in these words-

“Maulana Abul Kalam Azad is one of those rare personalities through whom the distinctions of the 20th century can be recognised and possibilities of the 21st century determined. He stood for a learning society through liberal, modern and universal education, combining the humanism of Indian arts and the rationalism of western sciences, a society where the strong are just and the weak secure, where the youth is disciplined and the women lead a life of dignity – a non-violent, non-exploiting social and economic order. He was free India’s first Education Minister and guided the destinies of the Nation for eleven years”.

“We mourn today the passing of a great man, a man of luminous intelligence and mighty intellect with an amazing capacity to pierce through a problem to its core. The word “luminous” is perhaps the best word I can use about his mind. When we miss and when we part with such a companion, friend, colleague, comrade, leader and teacher, there is inevitably a tremendous void created in our life and activities”.

“We have had great men and we will have great men, but I do submit that the peculiar and special type of greatness which Maulana Azad represented is not likely to be reproduced in India or anywhere else.”