By Bushra Salahuddin

Aligarh : A 1.5 tonne time capsule with documents narrating the heritage and history of the Aligarh Muslim University, it’s 100-year journey and it’s achievements has been buried in front of the Victoria Gate on the campus on Tuesday on the occasion of the country’s 72nd Republic Day.

Glorious States
Celebrated Living Languages
Religions with Spirituality
Ethnic groups in Cordiality
Major Festivals in all the zeal and charm
And One Large Country!

Today, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has scripted another page of history when the Vice-Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor buried a time capsule containing the history and achievements of the institution in front of the Victoria Gate as part of the centenary year celebrations.

Our country has witnessed a long drive of the rich cultural traditions in the past. Almost every sphere captures a segment of our rich heritage of diversity. Our country soon after attaining it’s own Constitution, planned and crafted with an idea of Equality, Fraternity and Democracy, witnessed a bloom of rights to freedom of speech, Expression, dissent when the clouds of British Rule stopped hovering around the future of our country and turned into a clear sky of a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic India!

The notion of “ Unity in Diversity” overcoming the “Divided We Fall”, is the breeze of the Pluralistic culture of our country in which, despite of our Unique and Different cultural identities, United We Stand! But Since the previous year, the winds of reversal were turning the pages the other way round, the nation witnessed the ruining and fragmentation of our Pluralistic culture, which fortunately enough to the wits of the masses, was successfully taken under the process of restoration.

A committee was constituted to determine the content to be placed in the capsule. A similar exercise, although it was not termed so, of burying a time capsule was undertaken by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the founder of AMU, on January 8, 1877, during the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College.

The Vice Chancellor during his speech in the Republic Day Celebrations at Strachey Hall, Aligarh Muslim University, exhorted everyone to strengthen Indian democracy by being united, fearless and positive. He also reminded everyone about the struggles of the founding fathers of India in achieving ‘Purna Swaraj’ and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Dr B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Maulana Azad among other leaders.

Because of the very Indian roots we inherit from our forefathers, we are more prone to generalize the bad than good so to renew or reaffirm the tarnished images of pluralism, we must avoid to hook everything within an enclosed arena. After all diversity is the true essence of a rich culture. Hence, it’s our square responsibility to hold the pages of Unity and Integrity together. And to this as it fits really well to say that- “Plurality doesn’t only mean Freedom, It means cherishing Democratic Rights. Living Freely in the Human Domain, never ever forget our Freedom fights!”