Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday attended the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) along with Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and AMU Chancellor Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin through video conferencing.
During the event, Modi released a postal stamp as part of the centenary celebrations of the University.
Addressing the ceremony, PM Modi underlined the contributions of AMU in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic saying that the institution conducted free tests, made isolation wards and created plasma banks. He also hailed the university's contribution to the PM Cares Fund. "All this shows the seriousness of fulfilling your obligations towards society," he said.
Focusing on the state of education of Muslim girls, PM Modi said – "The school dropout rate among Muslim girls was more than 70 per cent and this situation persisted for 70 years. In these circumstances, the government started Swachh Bharat Mission, built toilets in villages and toilets for school-going girls. Now, this (dropout) rate has fallen to nearly 30 per cent."
Speaking to ANI, AMU Public Relations Officer (PRO) Omar Saleem Peerzada had said – "A centenary celebration is a landmark event in the history of any university. We are celebrating this event following all protocols of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are webinars, seminars and symposiums going on."
This is the first time in five decades that a prime minister has attended an AMU event as the chief guest. The last time a prime minister attended an event at AMU was Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964. Before him, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had visited the AMU four times."
PM Modi also invited suggestions from students of AMU to achieve the goal of 'Vocal for Local', New India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
