Aligarh Alumni Association PO Box 1877, Ellicott City MD 21041

410-531-9492

March 2015

NEWS FROM AROUND WASHINGTON AREA
Annual General Assembly Meeting and Elections: The General Assembly of The Aligarh Alumni Association, Washington DC (AAA), met on Sunday, March 29, at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Fazal Khan. The Assembly heard the yearly reports, reviewing the activities of the past year from the outgoing office bearers, President, Dr. Fazal Khan, Chairman Board of Trustees, Mr. Tariq Farooqi and Secretary, Mr. Masood Farshori. The outgoing Treasurer, Mr. Khurshid Usmani and the Chairman Scholarship Committee, Dr. Aftab Ansari, presented a detailed account of the financial status of the Association, and the much vaunted scholarship and Feeder programs. Both are designed to financially help students at AMU, and in several Indian cities through a chain of coaching centers offering individualized tutoring.
The General Assembly elected three new Executive Council members, and one Trustee to replace the retiring officers. Please see below:
Executive Council (2015-2016)
President: Ms. Farzana Farooqi
Secretary: Dr. Mohammed Akbar
Treasurer: Dr. Arati Raziuddin
Dr. Fazal Khan (Ex Officio)
Executive Council-Elect (2016-2017)
President: Mr. Masood Farshori
Secretary: Ms. Humera Qadri
Treasurer: Mr. Khurshid Usmani
Board of Trustees
Ms. Aisha Khan – (4/01/11 – 03/31/16)
Dr. Aftab Ansari – (4/01/12 – 03/31/17)
Dr. Razi Raziuddin (Chair) -(04/01/14-03/31/18)
Mr. Tariq Farooqi – (04/01/14-03/31/19)
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah – (4/01/15-03/31/20)
Office Bearers Retired in March 2015
President: Dr. Fazal Khan
Secretary: Mr. Masood Farshori
Treasurer: Mr. Khurshid Usmani
Board of Trustees: Dr. Rafat Husain
Iqbal Memorial Lecture: The Iqbal Memorial Lecture and Dinner have been scheduled on Saturday, April 25, 2015, at 7 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn, Bethesda, MD. The chief guest and keynote speaker will be Mr. Husain Haqqani, former ambassador of Pakistan to the United States. Currently, he is the director for South and Central Asia Studies, Hudson Institute, Washington DC, and coeditor of the journal Current Trends in Islamic Ideology. Ambassador Haqqani is a well-respected diplomat, journalist and scholar. Please mark the date on your calendar.
Mr. Frank Islam’s Donation to AMU: Mr. Frank Islam, a distinguish alumnus of AMU, a philanthropist and a long-standing member of the AAA has recently made a donation of $2 million to build a New School of Management at Aligarh. His recent interview on the Voice of America can be accessed by clicking here.
NEWS FROM ALIGARH UNIVERSITY
Generous Donation from AAA New York: Dr. Intazam Khan, president of the Aligarh Alumni Association, New York, presented a check of $5,000 to the Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah, for purchase of new computers and special software for the Ahmadi School for Visually Challenged students.
Study Opportunities in Germany: The AMU Alumni Affairs Committee organized a Symposium on “Study and Research Opportunities in Germany” at the University Polytechnic auditorium. A large number of students and research scholars participated. German Academic Exchange Service leader, Dr. Shekha Sinha, explained that German universities offered excellent Ph.D. programs and charged no tuitions fees. She encouraged AMU students to explore these opportunities.
Secondary School and Computer Center Renamed: To pay tribute to its benefactors, the AMU has renamed its Senior Secondary School and Computer Centre after the two former Vice Chancellors, Mr. Saiyid Hamid and Prof. M. N. Farooqui, respectively.
AMU Secures Grade A: The University was awarded Grade A by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council which recently conducted an assessment exercise at the University campus. The vice chancellor expressed much happiness and satisfaction at the results of the assessment. (Source; AMU News)
Glimpses into the Past History of Aligarh
Mohammad Zakir Ali Khan obtained his Engineering degree from AMU in 1948 and then immigrated to Pakistan the following year. There, he served in many important positions and had a major contribution in founding the Aligarh Old-Boys Association in Karachi, serving as its much-admired General Secretary until the very end of his life. Zakir Khan had an abiding love for AMU and its traditions, expressed in several books he authored. He passed away in 2012. The following abstract is adapted and translated from his delightful book, Riwayat-e-Aligarh (1993).
“Like most academic institutions, AMU had a code of behavior that included the use of a specific uniform, black Sherwani and white pajama, for students. The degree of emphasis placed on observing the formal dress perhaps would be hard to imagine in these days of lax social norms. Thus, wearing a black Sherwani was mandatory whenever we went out to the dining hall, cinema, the Aligarh Exhibition or needed to see one of the officers of the University– the provost, or the vice chancellor. Sherwani had to be worn, with all buttons done up to the collar, with matching socks. At one time, the Turkish cap was also part of the uniform, but in my days it had largely disappeared, although occasionally someone would be seen with it, making him an object of instant curiosity and admiration.
Some professors were stickler for discipline and would occasionally scrutinize whether students in his class room were complying with the dress code. The result was that any AMU student was easily distinguishable anywhere by his smart appearance and pleasing demeanor. Even high Government officials would extend special courtesy to AMU students. There was some wisdom behind Sir Syed’s original decision to adopt a uniform for MAO College students, following the example of Cambridge University in England. Its use eliminated all distinctions in appearance between rich and poor students. Besides the uniform, the only other tradition, although not so noble, that has survived for a century is the poor quality of food served at the University dining hall. As I found on my last visit, it had not improved a bit as if a succession of chefs had been faithfully following the same recipes passed on from cooks dating back to Sir Syed’s days”.
Syed Amir (Editor)                                                               Khurshid Usmani (Web)

Fazal Khan (President)                                                        Tariq Farooqi (Chairman)

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