About: Kennedy Hall

Kennedy Hall is the Central Auditorium of AMU. Apart from screening the award winning movies during the Film Festival, it hosts a plethora of events. The events include Musical Nights, Plays, and interactive sessions with University guests, high-profile alumni and dignitaries visiting the campus.
Performing at Kennedy auditorium is a feat in itself for AMU students. Anyone who could repeatedly perform successfully on this stage would be good enough to face any kind of audience. It's a platform which brings out the best of talents in the country. For that matter, it is not only about Kennedy Auditorium. It could very well be Strachey Hall or any other Literary and Cultural event stage at AMU. AMU audience is ever ready with bouquets in one hand and brickbats in the other. I can go on to the extent of claiming that AMU also nurtures the best critics on acting, singing and oratorical skills. One who is carried on the shoulders for his outstanding talent at AMU has the potential to make it to one of the India's best talents.

My memories of Kennedy Hall include the Film Festivals where the students shouted their favourite movie dialogues in chorus even before the actor would deliver them in the movie scene. I also remember the occasion when the students coerced the Vice chancellor into wearing a cap while addressing the gathering as it was an age old AMU tradition.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan - A Legendry Personality

Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadur,(also Sayyid Ahmad Khan)(Urdu: سید احمد خان بہا در; October 17, 1817 – March 27, 1898), commonly known as Sir Syed, was an Indian educator and politician, and an Islamic reformer and modernist^[1][2]. Sir Syed pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India by founding the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which later developed into the Aligarh Muslim University. His work gave rise to a new generation of Muslim intellectuals and politicians who composed the Aligarh movement to secure the political future of Muslims in India.

Born into Mughal nobility, Sir Syed earned a reputation as a distinguished scholar while working as a jurist for the British East India Company. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 he remained loyal to the British and was noted for his actions in saving European lives.^[3] After the rebellion he penned the booklet Asbab-e-Bhaghawath-e-Hind (The Causes of the Indian Mutiny) — a daring critique, at the time, of British policies that he blamed for causing the revolt. Believing that the future of Muslims was threatened by the rigidity of their orthodox outlook, Sir Syed began promoting Western-style scientific education by founding modern schools and journals and organising Muslim intellectuals. Towards this goal, Sir Syed founded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 with the aim of promoting social and economic development of Indian Muslims.

One of the most influential Muslim politicians of his time, Sir Syed was suspicious of the Indian independence movement and called upon Muslims to loyally serve the British Raj. He denounced nationalist organisations such as the Indian National Congress, instead forming organisations to promote Muslim unity and pro-British attitudes and activities. Sir Syed promoted the adoption of Urdu as the lingua franca of all Indian Muslims, and mentored a rising generation of Muslim politicians and intellectuals. Although hailed as a great Muslim leader and social reformer, Sir Syed remains the subject of controversy for his views on Hindu-Muslim issues.

About: Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University leaders, and was established by the Indian Muslims and the Act of Indian Parliament made it University. It is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Modelled on the University of Cambridge, it was among the first institutions of higher learning set up during British Occupation. Originally it was Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, which was founded by a great Muslim social reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Many prominent MuslimUrdu writers and scholars of the subcontinent have graduated from the University. Aligarh Muslim University is a residential academic institution of International repute offering more than 250 Courses in traditional and modern branch of Education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a great social reformer of his age felt the need for modern education and started a school in 1875 which later became the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental College and finally Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. This is a premier Central University with several faculties and maintained institutions and draws students from all corners of the world, specially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, seats are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries. The University is open to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sex. Aligarh is situated at a distance of 130 km, South-East of Delhi on Delhi-Calcutta Railway and Grand Trunk route

History

The University grew out of the work of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who in the aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 felt that it was important for Muslims to gain modern education and become involved in the public life and Government Services in India at that time. Raja Jai Kishan helped Sir Syed a lot in establishing this university. The British decision to replace the use of the knowledge of Persian in the 1830s for Government employment and as the language of Courts of Law caused deep anxiety among Muslims of the sub-continent. Sir Syed then clearly foresaw the imperative need for the Muslims to acquire proficiency in the English language and "Western Sciences" if the community were to maintain its social and political clout, particularly in Northern India. He began to prepare the road map for the formation of a Muslim University by starting various schools. In 1864, the Scientific Society of Aligarh was set up to disseminate Western works into native languages as a prelude to prepare the community to accept "Western Education". Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah, The Aga Khan III has contributed greatly to Aligarh Muslim University in terms collecting funds and providing financial support.

In 1875, Sir Syed founded the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College in Aligarh and patterned the college after Oxford and Cambridge universities that he had visited on a trip to England. His objective was to build a college in tune with the British education system but without compromising its Islamic values.

It was one of the first purely residential educational institution set up either by the Government or the public in India. Over the years it gave rise to a new educated class of Muslims who were active in the political system of the British Raj, and who would serve as a catalyst for change among not only the Muslim population of India, but of the entire subcontinent. When Viceroy to India, Lord Curzon visited the College in 1901, he praised the work which was carried on by the College and called it of "sovereign importance" ^[1].

The college was originally affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and was transferred to the Allahabad University in 1885. Near the turn of the century it began publishing its own magazine, and established a law school. It was also around this time that a movement began to have it develop into a university to stand on its own. To achieve this goal, many expansions were made with more and more programs added to the curriculum. A school for girls was established in 1907. By 1921(exact year 1920), the College was transformed into a university, and it was named Muslim University. Its growth continued. The first chancellor of the university was a female, Sultan Shah Jahan Begum. In 1927, a school for the blind was established, and the following year, a Medical School was attached to the university. By the end of the 1930s, the University had also developed its Engineering faculty.