First Education Minister of India, Know the Name

Following India’s independence, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad assumed the role of first education minister of India. His birthday, the 11^th November, is commemorated as “National Education Day” in his honor. Maulana Azad was a multifaceted individual, being a staunch advocate for education, a prominent freedom fighter, a seasoned politician and an accomplished journalist.

Personal details of 1^st Education Minister

Name: Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (Maulana Azad).

Birth Date: 11^th November 1888

Birth Place: Mecca, Hejaz (Saudi Arabia)

Death: 22^nd February 1958 at Delhi, India

Early Life

Azad began his journey as a Journalist. In 1905, he participated in revolutionary activities, to which he was introduced by the prominent Hindu revolutionary Aurobindo Ghosh and Shyam Sundar Chakravarty. In 1908, he travelled to Turkey, Syria, France and Egypt where he met several revolutionaries and became a fierce critic of both the British Government and Muslim politicians.

Indian National Congress

In 1920, Maulana Azad joined the Indian National Congress and supported the Non-Cooperation Movement. He was chosen to serve the All India Khilafat Committee’s president as well. Shortly after that, he became the youngest president of the Indian National Congress in the year 1923. Azad presided over the Delhi University Conference in 1924 and used his authority to push for the union of the Khilafat and Swarajist leaders under the Congress’s unified flag.

As 1^st Education Minister of India

As the first education minister of India from 1947 to 1958, Maulana Azad brought the following reforms:

• Free and compulsory primary education for all children up to the age of 14 as he believed everyone deserved the basic right to Education.
• Maulana Azad created the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi in 1935 and helped found the IITs, IISc and the School of Planning and Architecture.
• He also contributed to the emergence of additional educational institutions and was a crucial figure in the creation of India’s higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission.

Books written by Maulana Azad

The books written by Maulana Azad are as given below:

• India Wins Freedom
• Tazkirah
• Ghubar-e-Khatir
• Tarjuman Al-Quran

Awards received

Maulana Azad has been honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992.

Colleges named after Maulana Azad

There have been many institutions across India that have been named after Maulana Azad in his honor. Some of them are listed below:

• Jamia Millia Islamia
• Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal
• Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad
• Maulana Azad Kalam Azad College of Pharmacy, Raipur
• Maulana Azad Kalam Azad University of Technology in Kolkata
• The Maulana Azad Centre for Elementary and Social Education (MACESE Delhi University).
• The Maulana Azad Library
• Maulana Azad College of Arts- Science & Commerce
• Maulana Azad Institute of Professional Studies, Ujjain

Former Educational Minister List from 1947 to 2023

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