Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari has advocated modern education for the Muslim community and termed it as the most important challenge for them. Calling for introspection and corrective action from within the community, he asked Muslims to take up modern education to overcome their social challenges.
While inaugurating the two-day Muslim Education Conference organised by the Maulana Azad Vichar Manch in Mumbai on Wednesday, the Vice President said that Muslims should take up modern education to keep be in sync with changing times and to overcome their social and economic backwardness.
“Education is the most important socio-economic challenge for the Muslim community; its deficit is the biggest obstacle to its progress, prosperity and empowerment,” Mr Ansari said. He also said that even though Islam stressed a great deal on education and learning, many Muslim communities in India have ignored the need to acquire education for a long time.
Mr Ansari stated that the educational backwardness among Muslims was known before, but the Rangnath Mishra and Sachar Committee reports sanctified the ground reality with official data.
He added, “India cannot emerge as a modern, developed nation-state without its largest minority being a part and parcel of the growth story and being fully integrated in the national mainstream in social, political and economic spheres.”
The two-day conference, which is being attended by over 1500 delegates, will deal with strategies for vocational and technical education, education for Muslim girls, utilising Wakf funds for educating the community, among others.