Hyderabad: To keep India a robust democracy, Indians should keep religious and linguistic prejudices away from them, said Dr M Aslam Parvaiz, Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, today.
Speaking at the second two-day National Urdu Science Congress at the university campus the Vice-Chancellor underscored the role of science and said it plays a critical role in rooting out the prejudices and personality worships and promotes harmonious living among people.
The Vice-Chancellor who spoke in detail about the works the University has undertaken in spreading knowledge in Urdu asked to students to learn English along with their mother tongue so as to improve their prospects in employment in India and abroad.
“We are an Urdu University but we have not undermined the role of English in fetching employment. The university has designed special courses for students to improve upon their proficiency in English,” he said.
He informed the gathering that it were Maulvi Zakaullah and Master Ram Chandar who started translating knowledge of science into Urdu from other languages.
He released an Urdu dictionary of terms in zoology and entomology published by the Directorate of Translation and Publication of the University. The dictionary has been prepared by Shamsul Islam Farooqui who is considered an expert in entomology. He also released eight other Urdu books, including a novel, on different dimensions of science.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Parvaiz, an accomplished scientist, has been editing and publishing a monthly journal in Urdu, Science, for the last over 25 years.
Dr M A Sikandar, Registrar of MANUU, assured that the University would continue supporting those who wish to write on scientific subjects in Urdu.
Shah Shamsuddin Osmani, Principal Emeritus of a school in Dubai, speaking as special guest at the congress said that to increase the volume of work on sciences in Urdu, the writers have to immerse themselves in the cause.
Dr Abid Moiz, Consultant Centre for Promotion of Knowledge in Urdu at MANUU, spoke about the objectives of the conference while Prof Najmul Hasan, Dean School of Sciences, proposed a vote of thanks. (INN)