ALIGARH, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) today celebrated the 80th Independence Day with traditional patriotic fervor, with Vice Chancellor Prof. Naima Khatoon calling upon young people to transform their energy into knowledge, capability, and meaningful action for building a developed and humane India by 2047.
After hoisting the National Flag at the historic Strachey Hall, Prof. Naima Khatoon said this year’s theme, “Yuva Shakti for Viksit Bharat 2047,” placed the youth at the core of the nation’s journey towards development. She said that while the first generation of independent India had asked how the country would become free, the present generation must ask what it would make of that freedom.
Emphasizing the role of universities in this national endeavor, Prof. Khatoon said the greatest infrastructure of a developed India would be the intellectual infrastructure of its young citizens. She called for nurturing curiosity, scientific temper, imagination, ethical judgement, and the courage to solve problems that previous generations could not.
Recalling Sir Syed Ahmad Khan’s vision of education as an instrument of transformation, she said AMU must evolve into a more intellectually adventurous institution that equips students not only to secure employment but also to create opportunities for others. She described this as the transition from youth energy to youth agency, the ability to investigate, build, improve, and change.
Highlighting AMU’s academic and professional achievements, Prof. Khatoon said the university today stands at the intersection of its rich traditions and the frontiers of the future, with contributions ranging from public service and pioneering scholarship to artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cybersecurity, advanced medical research, international collaborations, geospatial research, renewable energy, and the Green Campus initiative. She also noted that during 2025-26, J.N. Medical College and Hospital recorded several lakh outpatient visits, over 1.28 lakh admissions, and more than 32,000 major and minor surgical procedures, while its Interdisciplinary Paediatric Cardiac Centre performed 200 cardiac surgeries and interventions.
Prof. Khatoon also stressed that a developed India must be technologically advanced as well as ecologically sustainable. Referring to the challenges posed by misinformation, artificial intelligence, and climate change, she urged students to develop intellectual independence and adopt the habit of reading, investigating, comparing, and verifying information before forming their judgement.
She said AMU must create an environment where young minds can take intellectual risks and make innovation a culture rather than an occasional activity. Envisioning the future AMU graduate, she called for professionals who can work with artificial intelligence without surrendering human intelligence, scientists who understand society, entrepreneurs who understand responsibility, scholars who understand the world beyond the university, and citizens who can disagree without hatred and succeed without compromising integrity.
Prof. Khatoon concluded by calling for a future in which India is not merely developed but “deeply humane,” while urging the AMU community to remember its past without being imprisoned by it and embrace the future without becoming disconnected from its values.
AMU Registrar Prof. Aasim Zafar conducted the proceedings.
To mark the occasion, the Vice Chancellor, along with other university officials, including Pro Vice Chancellor Prof. M. Mohsin Khan, Dean Students’ Welfare Prof. M. Athar Ansari, Proctor Prof. M. Naved Khan, and other officials, participated in the ceremonial activities. She also planted tree saplings on the lawns of Sir Syed Halls (South and North) and distributed fruits to ailing students at the University Health Service.
Earlier, the iconic university buildings, including the Administrative Block, Maulana Azad Library, Victoria Gate, University Polytechnic Auditorium, Baab-e-Syed, and the Arts Faculty building, were illuminated in the Tricolour.
As part of the celebrations, the Department of Urdu also organized a poetic evening on the eve of Independence Day (August 14) at the Assembly Hall of the University Polytechnic. The Pro Vice Chancellor, Prof M. Mohsin Khan presided over the Mushaira proceedings, and Prof. Syed Siraj Ajmali welcomed the guests and read out the message of the Vice Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon.
Poets coming from outside Aligarh included Prof Ahmad Mahfooz, Ameer Imam, Dr Adnan Qasim, and M.R. Qasmi Alig, while a number of local poets read out their impactful poetry.
Prof Zubair Shadab, Director, Urdu Academy, conducted the programme, while Prof Mohammad Rizwan Khan, Dean, Faculty of Arts, proposed a vote of thanks.
The celebrations reflected AMU’s continuing commitment to the values of freedom, intellectual independence, social responsibility, national development, and harmony.
Source : Aligarh Muslim University News