The Fifth National Urdu Science Congress was held at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Hyderabad during 28 February to 1 March 2019. It is to be noted that every year, 28 February is observed as the National Science Day across India in order to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect by the Indian Physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. He discovered it on 28 February 1928, which fetched him the Nobel Prize in 1930. The Centre for Promotion of Knowledge in Urdu (CPKU) of MANUU in association with School of Sciences jointly organised the Congress. Dr Abid Moiz, Consultant, CPKU was the Convener of the Congress and gave introductory remarks. Eminent Scholar, Dr Syed Qazi Siraj Azhar, Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Michigan, USA was the Chief Guest of the inaugural session. He is also a practising doctor at Flint, Michigan.
The guests of honour included: Professor Zahid Hussain Khan, (Retired) Professor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Dr. (Mrs.) Kaiser Jamil, Head, Department of Genetics, Bhagwan Mahavir Medical Research Centre, Hyderabad. Dr. Syed Najamul Hasan, Professor of Mathematics and Dean School of Sciences served as the Director of the Congress. During the preparatory stages, he strived to attract teachers, students and writers to the Congress. He proposed the vote of thanks. Dr Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz, Vice-Chancellor, MANUU presided over and Dr M A Sikander, Registrar delivered the welcome address.
As per the MANUU tradition, the inaugural function was webcast live (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXpLiDPFkaI). Dr. Ameena Tahseen conducted the proceedings. The participants include practitioners of science, academicians, students, Urdu writers with interest in science and other stakeholders. Nine technical sessions witnessed more than 50 paper presenters from different parts of the country. Dr. Parvaiz described the effort as an attempt to promote and propagate popular science. We need literature aimed at bringing scientific temper among the masses. Urdu Science Congress successfully persuaded a few young writers to write on popular science. There were nine such first time paper presenters in the Congress. The two-day Congress came to an end with a call to popularise science.
Prof. Qazi Siraj Azhar addressed with his remarkable initial comment that “People who do not invent either vanish or go into obscurity”. He also motivated all the students by saying “Invention gives man reason to live”. He also highlighted the significance of the National Science Day which coincided with the Fifth National Urdu Science Congress.
Dr. Kaiser Jamil, former president of the Organisation for Women in Science in the Developing World, addressed the audience in the context of contribution of women in Science. She also pointed out the importance of knowledge and education in today’s ever-changing world and emphasised to the students to keep themselves abreast of the latest technologies so as to face the new challenges of the world. Dr. Kaiser further exhorted the students to have faith in their culture, traditions, and ethics if they want to succeed in life.
There were nine sessions of the conference along with several Special Sessions: (1) Quran, Science and Religion, (2) Botany, (3) Science Education, (4) Physics, (5) General Sciences, (6) Zoology, (7) Miscellaneous, (8) Mathematics and (9) Chemistry respectively.
A dedicated session to release about a dozen books in the Urdu language was also held. The books released included: Digital Electronics & Computer Architecture by Mahboob-ul Haq; Tauzeehi Farhang: Ghiza aur Taghzia by Dr. Abid Moiz; and Buniyaadi Usool Hasharyaat by Shamsul Islam Farooqui. In addition to these, the Directorate of Translation and Publishing, MANUU, also published four books, which belong to different science streams in Urdu for various Graduation courses ongoing in the Urdu University.
Dr. Aslam Parvaiz highlighted the efforts being taken by the university to provide textbook material in Urdu to the students. A unique book on “Eye and Urdu Poetry” by Dr. Abdul Moiz Shams was also released. The Department of Mathematics, School of Sciences has the distinction of producing the “first doctoral thesis in Mathematics in the Urdu language”, under the supervision of Professor Najamul Hasan. Mr. Rais Ahmed is the PhD candidate and the topic is “Study of Different Sequence Spaces”.
A special session was held to commemorate the Urdu monthly magazine “Science” for successfully completing 25 years of its continuous publication. A special book “Karwan-e-Science”, compiled as tribute to this success, was also released on the first day of the Congress. The magazine is being published without fail every month. This session undoubtedly drew the most attention and was an emotional moment for the organisers and the participants alike. Dr. Parvaiz was felicitated by several organisations, including the Bazm-e-Khawateen, a renowned Women’s Organisation from Hyderabad. Dr. Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz was interviewed by Anis Ahsan Azmi, Chief Consultant, Centre for Urdu Culture Studies at MANUU to mark the occasion.
The Annual Azad Tek Fest 2019 was organised on February 27 and 28 in connection with the National Urdu Science Congress, at the ITI and Polytechnic Buildings of the University. Posters and Projects were presented on a wide range of topics including: protective shield of plants, solar tracking system, variation of refractive index of polluted water, dialysis, safe environment, women empowerment through mushroom cultivation and artificial intelligence. School students from around five Urdu medium schools from Hyderabad also presented their innovative projects in the Tek Fest. Prizes were also distributed among students who participated in elocution, essay writing and other competitions on “Science for people, and People of Science” held in connection with National Science Day.
Urdu is one of the languages, which is spoken by millions of people across India and abroad. It is extremely essential that awareness of science be made in the Urdu language. Absence of scientific literature in the Urdu language is felt with severity. Doing this may be challenging but equally important. This task is not that difficult as in the recent past Urdu was the medium of scientific instruction and enquiry. We need to revive the rich heritage of Urdu in the context of scientific disciplines. A prime example in this direction is the Anjuman Farogh-e-Science (Organisation for Science Promotion, Delhi), 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). The Anjuman has also held science popularisation conferences in Urdu. It organises an award giving function, recognising school students with highest scores in science subjects.
The very First National Urdu Science Congress was organised by the Anjuman Farogh-e-Science, at Zakir Husain Delhi College, Delhi, India during 20-21 March 2015. One of the recommendations of this landmark event was to hold the Urdu Science Congress every year by rotation in different cities. Following the grand success and the recommendations of the first one, the Second National Urdu Science Congress was held during 20-21 February 2016 in Aligarh. The Third National Urdu Science Congress was held at Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad during February 16-17, 2017. The Fourth National Urdu Science Congress was also held at Maulana Azad National Urdu University Hyderabad during 8-9 February 2018.
Following the grand success of the three National Urdu Science Congresses, the “First National Urdu Social Science Congress” was convened during 14-15 December 2017, again at MANUU, Hyderabad. Following the impressive success of the First Social Science Congress, the “Second National Urdu Social Science Congress” was held during 15-16 November 2018 at MANUU, Hyderabad. It is envisaged that both the Congresses will be continued and held annually.
During the Fourth Urdu Science Congress (8-9 February 2018), the idea of an “Indian Urdu Science Association” was proposed. This idea was warmly welcomed and about a hundred participants from the Fourth Congress had spontaneously registered as members of the Association. During the Valedictory Session of the Fifth Congress, it was brought to the notice of all participants by Professor Azher Majid Siddiqui (Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi) that since the idea has matured and formalised, it is time to expedite the task. Dr. Majid’s presentation, “Physics, Technology and Civilization” was very illuminating, informing the role of physics in both basic and applied sciences. It is well-known that physics has a direct bearing on sustainable development and played a crucial role in the arena of international science collaborations. This prompted the United Nations to celebrate the 2005 as the World Year of Physics and 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies. Both were well-covered by Dr. Majid in this and previous congresses. Professor Majid has enthusiastically volunteered to organise the next Congress at Jamia Millia Islamia and this proposal was also spontaneously accepted.
[SAMEEN AHMED KHAN teaches at Department of Mathematics and Sciences, College of Arts and Applied Sciences, Dhofar University, Salalah, Sultanate of Oman. [email protected]]