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Prime Minister pays tribute to Maulana Azad on his birth anniversary
About Maulana Azad(1888-1958)
- He was born on 11th November 1888 in Mecca(presently in Saudi Arabia)
- His other names-Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin also called Maulana Abul Kalam Azad or Maulana Azad
- He was an Islamic theologian and one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement against British rule in the first half of the 20th century.
- Azad was influenced by the Indian educator Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan and his ideas of English knowledge
- Maulana Azad began his journalism by publishing a weekly Urdu-language newspaper in Calcutta, Al-Hilal (“The Crescent”) which influenced the Muslim community for its anti-British stance
- He joined INC in Calcutta and became president of INC in 1923 and 1940-46
- He was an active participant in the Khilafat movement(1920-24)
- During this Khilafat movement, Gandhi and Azad became closer and he was involved in Gandhi’s various civil-disobedience campaigns, including the Salt March (1930) and Quit India campaign.
- Maulana Azad advocated for a single India that would embrace both Hindus and Muslims while strongly opposing the partition of British India into independent India and Pakistan.
- Post Independence he served as minister of education in the Indian government of Jawaharlal Nehru from 1947 until his death.
- In 1959 his autobiography India Wins Freedom, was published posthumously.
- He was awarded Bharat Ratna in the year 1992
Source: PIB & Britannica
