Iqbal Academy opened at Calicut, By K Hamza
The Milli Gazette Online
Calicut : Kerala governor R.L. Bhatia inaugurated the Allama Iqbal Academy here on 21 April. The Academy is functioning under the Allama Iqbal Indian Humanitarian Foundation which was formed on same day last year in memory of the great poet and visionary of India, Allama Iqbal, the composer of the famous patriotic song, Sare Jehaan se achcha Hindustan hamaara. The inaugural function was also part of the centenary celebration of the composition of this great patriotic song.
The building of Allama Iqbal Humanitarian Foundation is situated at Jaffer Khan Colony Road in Calicut. The renowned orator M.P. Abdussamad Samadhani MP is the director of the Foundation. As part of the anniversary celebration, the Foundation has launched two new ventures: Allama Iqbal Academy and Barrister Iqbal Legal Study Chamber. The Academy has already ventured into book publishing related to the oriental renaissance, particularly the pioneering philosophy of Allama Iqbal whose ideology was so profound that it requires experts to explain it to the ordinary people.
Governor Bhatia said in his inaugural speech that the focal point of Iqbal’s thought was the ordinary human being. He wanted the human beings to transcend the limitations of the mundane in order to reach the highest pinnacles of self-realization.
On 23 April, Union Minister for Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal, inaugurated the Barrister Iqbal Legal Study Chamber and presented it to the nation. In his inaugural speech, Sibal said that knowledge is our greatest potential which will help the nation stride ahead in the 21st century since India is the youngest country in the world because a staggering 547 million Indians are youths below the age of 25, who provide greatest forte being inexpensive and readily available human resource. Due to this fact, India is being wooed by the western countries for research and development.
The Foundation has two other branches of service: the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies in Philosophy and Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal School of the Self. The School of the Self would help personal development through a variety of courses and campaigns. The Institute of Advanced Studies will provide research facilities in philosophy. The day April 21 was chosen for celebration as it is “Humanitarian Day” since Allama Iqbal was a great visionary who upheld humanitarian values throughout his life, said the director of the Foundation. The Barrister Chamber will offer space for legal discussions and will work for the implementation of humanitarian values in law as visualized by Iqbal who had studied in the West and taken his law degree from England. Minister Sibal said that Allama Iqbal stood for those human values which are relevant to the contemporary age and modern issues. Iqbal was never culturally westernized even though he studied in the West. He stood for the reconstruction of civilization and opposed tyranny and exploitation”, said Sibal.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the High Court Judge, Justice K.A. Abdul Gaffoor, MLAs K.N.A. Kader and A. Sujanapal T.P.
