‘Gandhiji was the first to have lifetime membership of AMUSU’

The Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union came into being with the foundation of the AMU in 1920. Mahatma Gandhi visited the university in the same year and

The Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union came into being with the foundation of the AMU in 1920. Mahatma Gandhi visited the university in the same year and was the first person to be conferred the lifetime membership of the students’ union, said Omar S Peerzada, public relations officer, AMU.

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“Gandhiji considered AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as a ‘Prophet of education’. He acknowledged Sir Syed as one of the architects of modern India, who foresaw the imperative need to acquire proficiency in English language and modern sciences, if Indians were to maintain social and political identity,” stated Peerzada.

Mahatma Gandhi had been to Aligarh in 1916 also when AMU was ‘Aligarh College’. He stayed at Nishat Kothi, the present day Aligarh Public School of AMU. Gandhiji came to Aligarh again in 1929, to propagate the Swadeshi Movement.

“Today, Gandhiji is remembered for his passionate adherence to the practice of non-violence and his supreme humanism, in every corner of the world. Only a few people in the history of civilization have made an everlasting impact as huge as Mahatma Gandhi. To pay tribute to Gandhiji who was a pivot behind India’s struggle for freedom against the British rule, AMU will commemorate Gandhi Jayanti on October 2,” said Peerzada.