Kolkata

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan established Aligarh Muslim University, but not many students have ended up seeing personal success as the goal of education and have not followed the spirit of the founder to give it back to society.

These views were expressed by Wali Rahmani while receiving the Sir Syed Award at the Kolkata Muslim Institute.

At 26, Wali Rahmani raised 10 crores to build a school in 10 days. He took one year to build the school for Muslim children with a donation of Rs 50 crore. Rahmani announced a scholarship of Rs.50 Crores for Muslim children on the birth anniversary of APJ Abdul Kalam. He also announced the setting up of a Kalam Learning Center. 

After receiving the Sir Syed Award, Rahmani said that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had walked the talk "His idea was to serve the society. Today, people just talk, none is even close to Sir Syed's vision."

He said the founder's dream was not to produce alumni who would work at the university and retire. "It's the era of technology, and I wonder what's the contribution of the most successful alumni of the AMU in this field."

Wali Rahmani further said that we have ended up linking education with earning bread and butter which was not Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's vision. "He did not want education as a means to fill one's stomach. He (Sir Syed) said that education is not only for livelihood; its purpose is to play our role in society and fulfill our responsibility."

Wali Rahmani said that technology is changing the world. "If we keep singing praises of Sir Syed and do nothing to promote his vision, we will be left behind. We have to move ahead and embrace technology," Wali Rahmani said.

ALSO READ: Wali Rahmani fathers 300 children and seeks to free them of the cycle of poverty

He said only by raising slogans and singing peans of Sir Syed the Msulims not move ahead. "If we remain only buyers of technology, no one will recognize us, and no one will appreciate us. Muslims today need to advance in the field of technology, we need a man who will develop an app like WhatsApp."