Part- 1
By Mumtaz Alam, Muslim Mirror,
When he entered Aligarh Muslim University as an undergraduate student in 1993 he was just 20 but already a Sir Syed was growing up in him. He had read about the vision, sacrifice and works of visionary Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. During next seven years at AMU he would often visit the mazar of the one and only educational revolutionary Indian Muslim and sit there for long hours enlightening himself with the vision of the founder of AMU. When the Karimganj youth Mahbubul Hoque was leaving the university in 2000 with first class B.Sc. and MCA degrees high-paid lucrative job offers from MNCs, King Fahd University and AMU itself came up to him but now the grown-up Sir Syed in him turned down all offers. The 27-year-old Hoque came back to home state Assam and made a very humble start in 2001 towards his vision and dream. The next 10 years saw a miracle being played by Hoque in North East.
In an exclusive interview with Muslim Mirror, Mahbubul Hoque talks in details about his dream, how he actualized the dream and what is his idea and vision about the educational uplift of the Muslim community in India. He talks about why Aligarh Muslim University could not be replicated in 200 years and how the educated class of the Muslim community in general and AMU alumni in particular have failed the community.
When you left AMU in 2000 you had two degrees in one hand and an old computer in the other. In next 10 years, you did a miracle – you set up one technical university and three technical colleges besides several schools and educational institutions. What converted a 27-year-old youth into a Sir Syed of our time in just 10 years?
“My parents’ contribution is immense. There was tradition of education at my home. More importantly, I got a chance to study at AMU. I had read about Sir Syed even before going to AMU. When I came to AMU I did not get mere education in my seven years stay at AMU. I would move around the campus, I would visit the mazar of Sir Syed, stay there for hours and think about his contribution – he started a college which became Aligarh Muslim University where today 30-35 thousand students study. I wanted to do something like him,” says Mahbubul Hoque.
“After MCA I got several offers from MNCs, from King Fahd University and even from the AMU itself, but I politely declined all and came back to my home state Assam. My friends and relatives told me I am doing foolish act by rejecting the golden job offers. However, I remained stick to my dream and ambition,” says Hoque.
Many people in Assam had appreciated his ambition and promised to help him but they backed off when it time came.
“Many rich people in Assam had appreciated my ambition to do a Sir Syed in North East and promised to support, but when I came back to the state to start work on the dream, they did not keep promise and refused to help me,” says Hoque.
“However, this did not deter me and I decided I will have to do it on my own. I started with giving tuition to four students of IGNOU in Guwahati with my old and one computer,” he informs.
This humble start turned into a sort of educational revolution in North East in just 10 years. Hoque did a miracle – a Sir Syed. The man who started with just one computer in 2001 he has around 700 computers in labs at his educational institutions spreading over Assam and Meghalaya today. He is founder chairman of one technical university and three technical colleges besides other institutions.
But this all took lots of sacrifice and determination of Hoque.
“In last 10 years I have learnt that you cannot get everything with money. You need honesty, sacrifice and right vision. If you have these things then you must get success one day after facing problems and hurdles in the way,” says Mahbubul Hoque, Founder Chancellor of University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya. Hoque acquired a piece of land for the university and in 2008 Meghalaya government approved the university by passing an act in the Assembly.
In 10 years, you have set up a technical university, three technical colleges and various other educational institutions, but in last 60 years, the Muslim community has gone far behind in the field of education. What do you think are the main reasons for it?
“It is true the millat is backward in the field of education. What has the educated class of the community done to remove this backwardness? It seems generally an educated person of our millat thinks that he has got education just for a job at govt or private institution. This is set in our mind, and we have got good and higher positions and jobs in India and abroad. Hardly any of this educated and well off class of the millat ever thinks about his village and mohalla where he was brought up,” says Hoque, Founder and Chairman of Central IT College, Guwahati. Hoque started this institute with one computer and four students in the year 2001. Today with 3500 students enrolled, it is the 2nd largest computer training center in India.
“Sir Syed set up an institution with sacrifice and vision. If every pass-out of AMU had enacted even small part of this vision and sacrifice, the face of the county would have changed. It is really sad that AMU could not be replicated in so many years. The AMU since its birth has given birth to so many talented persons that if even some of them had set up an institution in their village there would have been a number of AMUs across the country.”
“We are going to others to get education, we could not educate our millat. It is shame for us. Our religion starts with education, Quran started revealing with Iqra. Allah asked the Prophet to read but we have forgot that. We are getting education for job, we are becoming engineers to get good job, we are becoming doctor for money. We should change our mentality. I think job should be secondary. If I had opted for a job, I would be doing it for my family alone, but today Alhamdulillah, 650 people are working with me,” says Hoque, Founder & Chairman of Regional College of Higher Education, Guwahati. It is a professional college affiliated to North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. It is approved by All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.