The very First National Urdu Science Congress, was organised by the Anjuman Farogh-e-Science (Organisation for Science Promotion, Delhi), at Zakir Husain College, Delhi, India during 20-21 March 2015. The inaugural session was presided over by Dr. Khwaja Mohd. Ekramuddin, who is Director of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL, http://www.urducouncil.nic.in/). This very first event had over a hundred delegates from across the nation with over 25 presentations. The conference successfully attracted scientists, renowned scholars of Arabic, Urdu and Persian languages, educators, writers, poets, historians, heads of institutions, science reporters and Islamic scholars.
Science Congresses have been around over a century and play important roles in enabling science communication and collaboration across the scientific community. The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA, http://www.sciencecongress.nic.in/) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January every year. The ISCA owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British chemists, namely, Professor J.L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon. It was modelled after the successful British Association for the Advancement of Science. Today, ISCA has membership strength of more than 30,000 scientists. The 102nd Indian Science Congress was held during 3-7 January 2015 in University of Mumbai (http://www.isc102.in/).
The long tradition and the grand success of ISCA have inspired other initiatives such as the National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC, http://www.ncstc-network.org/). The NCSC provides the children of 10 to 17 years from all over the country a unique opportunity to use their scientific temperament and knowledge to make their own dreams come true. The programme was initiated in 1993, with the following objectives. It provides a forum for young scientists. NCSC is held annually from December 27-31. After a scrutiny at district and state levels, about 500 children take part in this five-day long deliberations and fun-filled science activities (http://www.ncstc-network.org/).
The first Urdu Science Congress aimed to foster communication between scientists and researchers interested in presenting their works in the Urdu language. The conference covered the following topics:
1. The Problem of Teaching Science in Urdu Medium Schools
2. General Understanding of Scientific Literature in Urdu
3. Environment and Scientific Literature
4. Scientific Experiments in Urdu
5. Teaching and Learning of Science in Madrasas
6. Modern Medical Knowledge and Scientific Literature
7. Islam and Science
The conference had a very rich programme, including keynote talks by renowned speakers and oral presentations. A brief documentary with the title ‘Muslim Heritage in our World’ was also screened.
At the end of the two-day Congress, there were several recommendations. The first and foremost recommendation was to recognise and give credit to the place of Urdu in the Indian society. It is to be recalled that Urdu is the official language of five Indian states (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir). It is to be noted that Urdu along with intelligible sister language Hindi the percentage of native Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu) speakers becomes 50% of India’s total population. It was recommended that the basic education of children should be done in their mother tongue. It was further said that the Urdu Medium Schools should have a strong programme in Hindi and English languages; this will enable the students to pursue higher studies that continues in other mediums of instruction.
Anjuman Farogh-e-Science is a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO), established in 1992. The NGO works towards the promotion of sustainable development. Since 1994, it has been regularly publishing a popular science monthly magazine, Urdu Science Mahnamah (Urdu Science Monthly). It has also held science popularisation conferences in Urdu. It organises an award giving function, recognising school students with highest scores in science subjects.
Zakir Husain Delhi College, formerly Zakir Husain College, Anglo Arabic College and Delhi College, founded in 1692, is the oldest existing educational institution in Delhi, and is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, offering undergraduate and post graduate courses in Arts, Commerce and Sciences. It has had a considerable influence on modern education as well as Urdu and Islamic learning in India, and today remains the only Delhi University College offering BA (Hons) courses in Arabic and Persian (http://www.zakirhusaindelhicollege.in/).
Dr. M. Aslam Parvaiz, Principal Zakir Husain Delhi College is to be congratulated for creating the National Urdu Science Congress. Dr. Parvaiz is also the founder and Editor of the Urdu Science Mahnamah, the only monthly popular Science and Environment monthly published in the country.
The First National Urdu Science Congress is a major step and a milestone for the Urdu Community and far beyond. By the Grace of Allah Almighty and his efforts, a new situation has been brought into being, which augurs to be the starting point of a cultural and intellectual renaissance, the nature and magnitude of which cannot be fully foreseen at the present time. We are eagerly looking forward to the proceedings of the NUSC with the defining Blueprint of the various programmes it envisages.
[The writer teaches at Engineering Department, Salalah College of Technology (SCT), Salalah, Sultanate of Oman. [email protected]]