Hyderabad|India|November'2009: University of Hyderabad organized the 2nd Moulana Abul Kalam Azad Education Oration Lecture on "Islam in South Asia: Too Little, too Late". The lecture delivered by Professor Mushirul Hasan, Former Vice Chancellor, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Director, Academy of Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia at University Campus.

In his lecture Professor Mushirul Hasan said that the “classical heritage of Islam has remained external to Indian history with the majority of literati positioning the Muslim faith outside their frame of reference. A large number of writers have subordinated the entire medieval historical process to an abstract theory rooted in the tyranny of the Muslim rulers, their depiction of Hindu culture and the destruction of the sacred unity of the motherland”.

A writer of many books, Prof. Hasan selected Nirad Chaudhuri and V S Naipaul to illustrate his point of view, which is part of a larger study he has undertaken on Islam in India. He said those who panned Islam followed the British writings which wanted to establish the rightness of British rule by contrasting it with the evil deeds of their Muslim predecessors.

Prof. Hasan asked young researchers and students not to fall prey to prejudices and bigotry in the study of history. Prof. Syed E. Hasnain, Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad, presided over the function.

Reachout's News Bureau
November' 2009