Taleem ki taquat Patna Edition

Taleem ki Taquat VOL I  ISSUE No 2

EDUCATION FIRST TO UPLIFT COMMUNITIES

taleemkitaquat

@Taleemkitaquat

Embrace education

FIRST PERSON Zafar Sareshwala

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ature somehow has a knack of reminding you that every benchmark you set is one till you surpass it the next time. It happened with the second edition of Taleem Ki Taquat at Patna. I thought the inaugural conference at Mumbai would be difficult to emulate and, lo and behold, Patna exceeded all expectations and only proved that education is a subject that is close to every Indian's heart.

I am grateful to Union Minister for Communication and IT, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, for finding time in his campaign schedule in Bihar to be the chief guest at this conference. As usual he had plenty of new ideas to offer. My grateful thanks to Dr S N Pathan, Prof J S Rajput, Shri R C Lodha and Maulana Shamshuddin Mohammad.

All in all, Patna was a real high. I want to thank all my colleagues at the backend who are the real heroes and heroines of Taleem Ki Taquat and keep the flag flying in venue after venue. We shall now meet next in the city of Hyderabad in this journey to take education to every nook and corner of our great nation.

TRANSFORMATIONAL PROGRAMME: Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, speaking at the Patna edition of Taleem Ki Taquat

INSIDE

P2-3 GLIMPSES FROM THE EVENT

P4-5 COMMUNICATION AND IT MINISTER RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD ON THE TRANSFORMATIONAL NATURE OF EDUCATION

P6 SELECTION OF NEWS CLIPPINGS

Those armed with education are unstoppable 6 Sep 2015 Hindustan Times (Patna) Rai Atul Krishna

Zafar Sareshwala is the Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University

Linking minds A

highlight of the programme was the use of a satellite link to connect the Patna ATNA: Modern education is the way forward for Muslims as venue with a virtual classroom in a Mumbai much to enable the community at large to make informed suburb. The two-way interaction saw Chief political choices as to address their aspirational goals with any Guest Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad conversing degree of proficiency. with teachers and techniUnion information technology minister Ravi cal experts to understand Shankar Prasad joined PM Narendra Modi’s leading points, man how the programme worked and how the techamong Muslims Zafar Sareshwala and a host of educationists nology was able to reach in disseminating this message at a well attended, well organ500+ schools in the Greatised function here on Saturday. The platform was provided by er Mumbai area. The idea A live demonstration of the second ‘Taleem ki Taquat’ (Power of education) conference is to use Taleem ki Taquat education through satellite organised by Sareshwala to send out the message that spread of take education and skill education among Muslims was the best way to bring out socioto the corners of the country through the economic uplift of the community. use of such technology at minimum cost.

Union minister Prasad described ‘Taleem ki Taquat’ as a “transformaIn forthcoming editions of the programme, tional programme” which held out the promise to inspire positivity that there will be an emphasis to elaborate and illustrate the use of this facility to reach the could enable Muslims to come step in step with other communities in the people. quest for development and all its fruits.

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EDUCATION UNLIMITED

The Patna edition of Taleem ki Taquat was attended by people from all over Bihar and the unanimous opinion of those present was that we need more initiatives like these.

Apart from Chief Guest Ravi Shankar Prasad, others who addressed the conference included Dr. S N Pathan, Vice Chancellor (Retd.) Nagpur University, Prof. J S Rajput, eminent educationist, former Director NCERT, Shri R C Lodha, Executive Director of Central Bank of India and Maulana Shamshuddin Mohamed, Chief Imam Makka Masjid, Chennai.

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Glimpses from the confe

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Education, skill development should be above politics, says Prasad Abhay Singh,TNN | Sep 5, 2015

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atna: Communications and information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday that all sections of the society should come out openly against terror so that economic development of the country manages to record new heights.

Speaking at a conference on 'Taleem ki Taquat' with specific bearing on Muslim community, Prasad said, "All would have to come together against terror, as the world community is looking up to India as a stable influence in South Asia. Countries the world over have been looking at India as a major economy."

Criticizing the practice of vote bank politics, Prasad said matters of education and skill development should be above party politics. "The practice of vote bank politics has never been linked with progress and economic development," he said.

The theme of the conference was how education could energize communities. Its first conference was held at Mumbai on August 3.

Speakers at the conference included chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University Zafar Sareshwala, former Nagpur University vicechancellor S N Pathan, former NCERT director J S Rajput, Central Bank of India executive director R C Lodha, and chief Imam of Makkah Masjid (Chennai) Shamsuddin Qasimi.

Prasad said the NDA government at the

Centre, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, has been carrying out "transformational programmes" like Digital India and skill development. Stressing the need of education and literacy drive for Muslims in the country, he said their literacy rate was 59% against 65% of the Hindus.

All other speakers also dwelt at length on the urgent need for education and skill development of Muslims. Presenting his own case, Pathan said it has been non-Muslims who played a significant role in his education at critical points starting from the middle school days. "Muslims have got ingrained in their minds that there is no need for education for them. This mindset must change," Pathan said.

Rajput said the word 'ilm (skill)' is mentioned 812 times in the Quran, but over decades, this aspect of their community life has been forgotten. Citing Vivekananda, he said the country needs "man-making education," as Mahatma Gandhi talked about education of the body, mind and spirit. "Future empires shall be empires of knowledge, but every individual has to think as to where he or she stands," Rajput said.

Sareshwala said Sir Syed Ahmad Khan had first stressed the need to have the Quran in one hand and book of science in the other. "Now, Prime Minister Modi talks about the Quran in one hand and computer in the other for Muslims," he said. Qasimi said even the mosques could take to imparting education, as he has been doing in Chennai.

Ravi stress on PM's digital dream

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atna, Sept. 5: Focusing on the concept of Digital India, Union minister of communication and information Ravi Shankar Prasad today highlighted the importance of technology in the field of education.

Addressing a conference on Saturday titled - Taleem Ki Taqat (Power of Education) - organised by the chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Zafar Sareshwala, Prasad said 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country were on the process of being digitally connected. He said the Digital India dream could be made possible only if all gram panchayats were digitally connected, if government services could be provided with a digital platform and if every Indian could be made aware of the power of the digital world. "Digital India will fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Muslim youths with a Quran in one hand and a computer in the other," he said .

"We have created the biggest infrastructure in India by laying over 70,000km of optic fibre till now. We dream that drivers, carpenters, and others would use smart phones to find employment one day," he said.

Vice-chancellor of Nagpur University J.S. Rajput praised the Skill India initiative of the Centre and emphasised the need and importance to provide the youth with appropriate skills and abilities to tackle global challenges.

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Those armed with education...

Citing ‘nation builder’ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s firm view about those armed with proper education would be unstoppable, Prasad said the Modi government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative needed to be embraced by all to employ technology as a medium of advancement.

“This is a politically neutral, community neutral and India positive programme, which holds true, as well, of the quest for education”, the union minister said. “Even the most traditional people are now using smart phones to further their work”, he pointed out.

Injecting a small dose of politics into the proceedings, Prasad said every community had to seek accountability when going out to vote: for whom it had been voting and what it had got in return.

Sareshwala, chancellor of Maulana Azad

National Urdu University, said unless Muslims were empowered by education, they would remain a fringe player. “Once you take control of education, everything else will fall into place”, he argued. He called upon Muslims to draw upon the enlightenment provided by education to eschew confrontation and get down to resolving issues through dialogue.

Sareshwala cited PM’s Modi’s ‘financial inclusion’ initiative as one of the most effective instruments of empowerment since India’s independence. A popular speaker at the function was Maulana Shamsuddin Kasmi, chief imam of a Chennai mosque, who has started an IAS coaching academy for both, Muslim boys and girls, at the mosque.

“It is a small effort to show that if Muslims set their mind to it they can join the bureaucracy in a big way. We have nothing to lose except our negativity”, the Imam said drawing a big applause from his mainly Muslim audi-

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ence. He advised Muslims not to beg for job reservation and to have faith, instead, in Allah, the great benefactor and in their own ability to make something of their lives through their own efforts.

Former Nagpur university vice chancellor S N Pathan was greatly appreciative of PM Modi’s ‘skills India’ programme, arguing education and skills ought to go hand in hand to bring maximum benefit to the native.

Former NCERT director JS Rajput said education was final arbiter for anyone to rise in life. “Those who get the best education hold the potential to rise the highest”, he argued.

Central bank of India executive director RC Lodha spoke on the various financing schemes that banks offer to those pursuing education and skills enhancement programmes.

A large number of Muslim students and teachers were present during the ‘Taleem ki taquat’ proceedings.

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