The Second National Urdu Science Congress was held under the aegis of Anjuman Farogh-e-Science (ANFROS), Aligarh Chapter at Aligarh during 20-21 February. The inaugural session was presided over by Lt. General (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.
This landmark event was graced by eminent personalities including: Dr. Iqtedar Hussain Farooqui (former Director of National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow), Dr. Mohammad Aslam Pervaiz (Vice Chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad), Padam Shri Hakeem Syed Zillur Rehman (Founder; Ibn Sina Academy, Aligarh) and over 50 delegates from all across the nation. The Congress successfully attracted scientists; renowned scholars of Arabic, Urdu and Persian languages; educators; writers; poets; historians; heads of institutions; science reporters and Islamic scholars. Professor Abdul Moiz Shams, a renowned ophthalmologist, served as the Convener of the Conference and Asad Faisal Farooqui as the Secretary.
In present times science and technology have a crucial place in our lives. A possible way to achieve its awareness is by delivering the relevant scientific content in a simplified manner in their native language.
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 Urdu. Absence of scientific literature in Urdu 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, the only popular Science and Environment monthly published in the country. 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. Credit for all this goes to Dr. Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz, former Principal Zakir Husain Delhi College, and now VC MANUU.
It is to be recalled that Dr. Parvaiz created NUSC last year. The very First National Urdu Science Congress was organised during 20-21 March 2015. One of the recommendations of this landmark event was to hold the Congress every year by rotation in different cities. Following the grand success and the recommendations of the first one, the Second Congress was held during 20-21 February 2016 at Aligarh.
The Conference covered topics like Qur’ān, Islam and Science; Scientific Literature in Urdu for Children; Urdu, Technology and Modern Means of Communication (necessity of Modern Times); Religious Institutions and Science; Scientific Literature in Urdu (Past, Present and Future); Scientific Disciplines in Schools (need of the hour); Scientific Terms and Translations in Urdu; and Inheritance of Science among Muslims.