By: Imtiyaz Sheikh and Ambreen Shah
Srinagar: Late Agha Ashraf Ali, one of Kashmir’s most illustrious educationists and public intellectuals, was fondly remembered at a special memorial program for his contribution to education in Jammu & Kashmir and for his intellectual mentorship to innumerable men and women throughout his life of teaching and public service. The memorial program, jointly organised by the Agha Shahid Ali Writers’ Cooperative (a forum formed by Agha sahab, and comprising of several prominent writers of Kashmir) and Ziraat Times, was attended by several eminent personalities from Jammu & Kashmir and outside.
At the memorial, the participants, besides sharing their experience of close acquaintance, friendship, working and mentorship from late Agha sahab, also pledged to preserve and propagate the legacy of the late educationist in Jammu & Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Asgar Samoon, Principal Secretary, Education Department, J&K, said that Agha sahab’s demise had left a big vacuum, which was difficult to fill in.
“Although he has left us, but he has left a clear path for us to follow”, he said, announcing that the Education Department would seriously consider introducing aspects of Agha Ashraf Ali’s life in education curriculum in J&K, besides providing support to any literary endeavours that would seek to highlight his contribution to education in Jammu & Kashmir.
He also proposed to hold a webinar reflecting on Agha Ashraf Ali’s contribution in education and the new Education Policy.
“The biggest tribute to Prof Agha Ashraf Ali will be to provide good quality education to our children. We should spread ideas, knowledge and the new education policy has provided us an opportunity. That has also given us an opportunity to treat our youth as a solution and not as a problem”, Dr Samoon said.
Vijay Dhar, one of Kashmir’s most distinguished educationists and chairperson of Delhi Public School (DPS) Society, while recalling his and his family’s long association with the Agha family, fondly remembered how he, as a student of a Srinagar school, was taken out by Agha sahab from there and personally taken to Jamia Millia in Delhi for education.
Noting that some of the practices in the school, that he as a student was supposed to follow then, were not perceived to be appropriate by Agha sahab for him, he wanted him to study in a different environment.
“Many years later when I asked him why he took him out of that school, Agha sahab replied: To me that is secularism”, Mr Vijay recalled in an emotional tone.
Observing that Agha sahab’s contribution to education in J&K was enormous, and that he believed that if teachers were not educated, children will not be educated, Mr Vijay recommended that the College of Education at Srinagar be named after him, as a tribute to him for establishing that institution.
J&K’s senior lawyer and philanthropist, Zaffar Shah, while sharing his tributes, said that “Agha sahab was a fearless man”, adding “he would say what he wanted to. Not all people are able to say what they wish to. Education was very close to his heart, and he would often bring grassroots education in his conversations. He was rich with his own self. His self respect, his honour did not flow from the official position he held. He had his own personality and charm. What made him great was his cherished dream that all our young people should have a very good quality education.”
G. R. Sufi, former Chief Information Commissioner, J&K, while reflecting on his experience of knowing Agha sahab as a public intellectual and as a neighbour, said that “when he first met him, he felt as if he had known Agha sahab for years.”
“He was an educationist to the core and education was all over his heart and mind. Lately, I have been reading his Urdu memoir “Kuch toa kahiye ki loag kehte hain”. It is a book that reflects 70-80 years of history or education in J&K. He has also slightly touched upon politics and has not minced words in that expression”, Mr Sufi added.
Prof Siddiq Wahid, former vice chancellor of Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), while recalling his interface with Agha sahab during his initial days, said that he has known Agha Ashraf Ali as someone who loved his intellectual independence, and that was something that was “common between them.”
“One of my regrets is that I, as the Vice Chancellor of IUST, never invited him to speak at the university”, he said, emphasising that “we need to recognise people like him and recognise them completely, not to idolise them but to know the spirit and the ideas they had and presented to us. They were the kind of people who embraced knowledge wherever it was coming from”.
Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of Kashmir Times, spoke at length about her family’s long association with Agha sahab and his family.
“In order to take forward Agha sahab’s great legacies, it is important for us to understand those legacies. He was larger than life. We are not only talking only about his intellectualism but also the values that he espoused and we need to preserve those which ever way possible. The other thing is education, that was the prime motive of his life. It is also bringing his vision about quality education. He would often say that he hates it when people buy books and keep those to themselves. He believed in sharing knowledge. And that is what we need to do to take his legacy forward”, she said.
Arjimand Hussain Talib, one of the members of the Agha Shahid Ali Writers Cooperative and Founder of Ziraat Times, who is also a Salzburg Global Fellow, while thanking the participants for joining the memorial expressed regrets to those eminent men and women who wished to attend the program, but could not do so due to logistical reasons.
Recollecting his days of intellectual mentorship from Agha sahab, Mr Arjimand shared the story of the library movement he and some of his friends initiated in Kashmir in their college days in early 2000s, which was mentored by Agha sahab.
“We had just arrived in Srinagar during our college days in South India with an idea of establishing a public library in Srinagar, when he called us to meet him. To begin with, he shook us, by telling us the history of the Reading Room movement of Fateh Kadal, which, he said, was a precursor to Sheikh Abdullah’s political career. He almost jolted us by asking if we had any idea about what we guys were up to”, Arjimand recalled.
“We were, frankly, taken aback for we were not really aware of the political dimensions of establishing a public library during that tumultuous time. But, actually, he was being too affectionate and was testing our resolve. He was so delighted to join the movement that he took an active part in the library campaign and collecting books for that. And when we held a public engagement seminar on the library movement at the B. Ed College, at which he delivered the keynote address and Nusrat Andrabi ji was so kind to provide the necessary logistical support for that, many things changed for the better. However, fate had something different in store for that library movement”, Arjimand said.
On behalf of ASAWC, he also expressed gratitude to local media organisations Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Observer, Kashmir Life, Kashmir Monitor for producing highly insightful articles and commentaries about the life and legacies of Agha Ashraf Ali during the last few days.
Chairman, INTACH, J&K, for former Director General, Tourism, Saleem Beg likened Agha sahab’s work in ensuring right to education in Jammu & Kashmir to the “Land-to-Tiller” watershed event in J&K’s history.
“Just like the Land-to-Tiller Movement has a major contribution in ensuring relatively better socio-economic situations in J&K, Agha Sahab’s work in the field of education helped ensure right to quality education here”, Mr Beg said, adding “he have had the distinction of studying comparative education, the knowledge of which greatly empowered him in implementing great educational ideas in Kashmir.
“And let me also say this that Agha sahab didn’t have a comfortable career here. During his active lifetime, we have had ten vice-chancellors for Kashmir University but Agha Saheb was never made the vice chancellor of any university despite having the best credentials to be one”, Mr Beg said.
Farooq Nazki, famous Kashmiri poet, writer and broadcaster, while paying his tributes to Agha sahab, said that while “a man is usually known in the time of his difficulties, and not in happiness, he got to know Agha sahab more profoundly after the loss of his beloved son Agha Shahid Ali.”
“Agha Shahid’s loss had impacted him deeply, but he never let that tragedy to overwhelm him. Such was the strength of his spirit, Mr Nazki said.
Former Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation and Registrar Cooperatives, J&K, Dr G. N. Qasba, who also has the credit of registering Agha Shahid Ali Writers’ Cooperative and providing it the initial financial support, said that “his association started with Agha sahab when he started taking interest in civil services coaching institutions. When he shared his idea of forming the Agha Shahid Ali Writers’ Cooperative, to me it was a fascinating idea, and I did whatever I could, Dr Qasba said.
“I would often visit him along with my daughter, Sheema, and we would feel so enlightened listening to him and his suggestions about the books that Sheema should read.”
As far as our tributes to him are concerned, we will have to remember him and the best tribute to him will be to promote quality education in Kashmir, Dr Qasba added.
Dr Nusrat Andrabi, former Principal Govt Women’s College, Srinagar, whose family is amongst the ones with the most intimate ties with the Agha family stretching to several decades, in an emotional tone shared her stories of learning, reflection and share moments of joy and lughter with Agha sahab.
She recommended naming the road from the Lal Ded Hospital to Zero Bridge as Agha Shahid Ali Bridge, which, she said, was a cherished wish of Agha Ashraf sahab.
At the memorial, Faisal Agha Ali, who is a member of the extended family of Agha Ashraf Ali, and is writing a book tracing the history of the Agha clan in Kashmir, also shared his experience of learning and benefitting from Agha sahab’s wit, knowledge and wisdom.
Prof Shafi Ayub, who teaches Urdu at the Jawahar lal Nehru University (JNU), while recalling his days of knowing Agha sahab, announced to contribute one thousand books for any library that will be developed in his memory in Srinagar.
He also pledged to provide all possible support for any other literary endeavors for paying tributes to Agha sahab’s memory.
G. N. Var, Secretary General of the Agha Shahid Ali Writers’ Cooperative and Chairman of J&K Private Schools Association while presenting a vote of thanks said that, as a follow up to this memorial, Agha Shahid Ali Writers Cooperative and Ziraat Times would invite people with any literary and visual resources related to Agha sahab so as to compile a consolidated knowledge resource about the late educationalist and thinker.
He also said that a follow-up memorial program will also be organised to have the views of those people who were influenced by Agha Ashraf Ali’s life and how to take his mission of quality education forward.