Following India’s independence, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad assumed the role of first education minister of India. His birthday, the 11th 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.
Name: Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (Maulana Azad).
Birth Date: 11th November 1888
Birth Place: Mecca, Hejaz (Saudi Arabia)
Death: 22nd February 1958 at Delhi, India
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.
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 the first education minister of India from 1947 to 1958, Maulana Azad brought the following reforms:
The books written by Maulana Azad are as given below:
Maulana Azad has been honoured with Bharat Ratna in 1992.
There have been many institutions across India that have been named after Maulana Azad in his honor. Some of them are listed below:
| S. No. | Name | Period |
| 1. | Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad | 1947- 1958 |
| 2. | Dr. K.L. Shrimali | 1958- 1963 |
| 3. | Shri Humaun Kabir | September 1963- November 1963 |
| 4. | Shri M.C. Chagla | 1963- 1966 |
| 5. | Shri Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed | November 1966- March 1967 |
| 6. | Dr. Triguna Sen | 1967- 1969 |
| 7. | Dr. V.K.R.V. Rao | 1969- 1971 |
| 8. | Shri Siddhartha Shankar Ray | 1971- 1972 |
| 9. | Prof. S. Nurul Hassan | 1972- 1977 |
| 10. | Prof. Pratap Chandra Chunder | 1977- 1979 |
| 11. | Dr. Karan Singh | 1979- 1980 |
| 12. | Shri B. Shankaranand | January 1980- October 1980 |
| 13. | Shri S.B. Chavan | 1980- 1981 |
| 14. | Smt. Sheila Kaul | 1981- 1984 |
| 15. | Shri K.C Pant | 1984- 1985 |
| 16. | Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao | 1985- 1988 |
| 17. | Shri P. Shiv Shankar | 1988- 1989 |
| 18. | Shri V.P. Singh | 1989- 1990 |
| 19. | Shri Rajmangal Pandey | 1990- 1991 |
| 20. | Shri Arjun Singh | 1991- 1994 |
| 21. | Shri P.V. Narsimha Rao | 1994- 1995 |
| 22. | Shri Madhavrao Scindia | 1995- 1996 |
| 23. | Shri P.V. Narsimha Rao | January 1996- May 1996 |
| 24. | Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee | May 1996- June 1996 |
| 25. | Shri S.R. Bommai | 1996- 1998 |
| 26. | Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi | 1998- 2004 |
| 27. | Shri Arjun Singh | 2004- 2009 |
| 28. | Shri Kapil Sibal | 2009- 2012 |
| 29. | Sr. M.M. Pallam Raju | 2012- 2014 |
| 30. | Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani | 2014- 2016 |
| 31. | Shri Prakash Javadekar | 2016- 2019 |
| 32. | Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ | 2019- 2021 |
| 33. | Dharmendra Pradhan | 2021- present |
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The first Education Minister of India after Independence was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. His birthday that is 11th November is celebrated as ‘National Education Day.’ He was also an advocate for education, a freedom fighter, a politician and a journalist.
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad was born on the 11th November 1888 in Mecca, Hejaz (Saudi Arabia).
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