Andhra Pradesh names Urdu varsity after Pakistan's Moulvi Haq

Hyderabad: In what could be a major embarrassment to the Telugu Desam as well as its ally, the BJP, officials of the Education department in Andhra Pradesh have committed a major goof-up and named the proposed Urdu University to be set up in Kurnool after undivided India-born Pakistani professor Moulvi Abdul Haq.

Ironically, even the AP Legislative Assembly passed the ‘Moulvi Abdul Haq Urdu University Bill-2016’ in the House on Wednesday, making it an Act.

Interestingly, members of the ruling TD and Opposition YSR Congress vied with each other in projecting themselves as champions of promoting Urdu language after the Bill was introduced by minorities welfare minister Dr Palle Raghunatha Reddy on behalf of human resource development minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao.

When contacted, officials in the office of the minister excused themselves stating the Mr Raghunatha Reddy had introduced the Bill on behalf of his colleague Ganta Srinivasa Rao and the HRD minister should be contacted for a clarification. However, efforts to contact him proved futile as his phone was switched off. During the discussion on the varsity in the Assembly, Mr Raghunatha Reddy said that the particular name had been chosen as Moulvi Abdul Haq had played an outstanding role in the development and promotion of Urdu as a language and medium of instruction in Osmania University.

Officials may face suspension
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly named the proposed Urdu University to be set up in Kurnool after undivided India-born Pakistani professor Moulvi Abdul Haq. He was born on November 16, 1872, in UP. He was a graduate of the famous Aligarh University, but it was in Hyderabad where he earned his merit as the foremost scholar of Urdu.

He served as a translator at the home department, provincial inspector and was also elected as secretary, department for the Promotion of Urdu at the Delhi All-India Muslim Educational Conference. He founded the Anjuman Taraqi-e-Urdu in Aligarh in 1903 and later became the principal of Osmania College Aurangabad, from where he retired in 1930.

The naming of a university in AP has come at such a time when the country has been rocked with sedition charges against students. While officials responsible for this blunder are in serious trouble and face suspension, sources said that the officials of the AP government may have got confused between noted educationist and philanthropist Dr Abdul Haq and Moulvi Abdul Haq. The Unani Medical College and Hospital in Kurnool is named after Dr Abdul Haq, who had worked for the upliftment of Muslims in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Dr Haq had established at least half-a-dozen educational institutions of repute in AP, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and is known as the Sir Syed of South.

Former professor of department of Urdu in UoH and OU Prof. Baig Ehsas said Moulvi Abdul Haq’s contributions for the promotion of Urdu is immense. “There is another outstanding personality whose contributions are immense for Urdu, and he is Dr Abdul Haq. May be officials wanted to name the varsity after him,” he said.