KARACHI, Sep 13: The Sindh Madressatul Islam celebrated its 122nd Foundation Day with great zeal, said a statement issued here on Wednesday. The occasion is being marked as an annual festival of the Madressah, which was founded on Sept 1, 1885, it said.
Principal of the Madressah Lt-Col (r) Taj Mohammad Memon read out the message of President Pervez Musharraf at a ceremony held on Tuesday evening.
“I believe a tree is known by the fruit it bears and the Sindh Madressatul Islam has every right to feel proud of the achievements of its former students, of whom the illustrious Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, was the most prominent,” the president remarked, adding, “any institution could justly be proud of being the alma mater of so great a leader.
The president said that he considered this an appropriate opportunity to applaud the teachers of this great institution, which had played significant role in shaping our destiny. This institution has remained a force in the advancement of Muslim education and its usefulness has not decreased with the passage of time.
The laurels earned by Sindh Madressah are fabulous and mostly it is the teachers who make it so.
He wished them all the success in their endeavours, and assured them of all possible help by the government.
“I also urge upon the philanthropists of our country to extend all possible assistance to this great institution, thereby promoting the cause of education. My best wishes are with the Principal, faculty, staff members and students of the Sindh Madressatul Islam and I pray for its sterling future,” the president said.
In his message, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that the Sindh Madressatul Islam was an institution of which the whole Pakistani nation felt proud, not only because it was the alma mater of our founding father, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, but also because it had produced a whole galaxy of national personalities during its existence.
“It is my firm belief that such educational institutions are national assets and real treasures, and, therefore, must be maintained with great care. They are the bedrock on which stands the edifice of youth power and that is why it is the duty of both government and the civil society to sustain them at the standard that has made them famous.”
Mr Aziz said his government was committed to the promotion of higher education and would do all that was possible to enable these institutions to go on rendering quality service.
Speakers on the occasion highlighted the role of the institution and described the efforts by its founder, Khan Bahadur Hassanally Effendi, and his colleagues towards promotion of education as ‘Sindh Madressah Movement” like the ‘Aligrah Movement’.
They said that Khan Effendi and his colleagues carried forward and accomplished their mission all odds, including a big challenge from their own Muslim community and resistance from other communities of the region.
The Sindh Madressah has not only educated hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Pakistan, particularly Sindh, but also spread and strengthened national consciousness in the country.
Lt-Col (r) Taj Mohammad Memon, in his welcome address, said that the SMI also enabled Muslim community of Sindh to strive for their independence from the British rule.
“This movement had been led by the Madressah’s old students -- Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Abdullah Haroon, Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Mohammad Ayub Khuhro – and other great leaders,” he recalled.
He also highlighted the services rendered by Allama I. I. Kazi, Dr Daudpota, Allama Ali Khan Abro, Justice Tufail Ali Abdul Rehman, A. K. Brohi and other such students of the Madressah. Shamsherul Hydri and Syed Zafar Hassan Zaidi were among those who spoke at the ceremony.—APP