Centre to promote education and competitive exam preparation; scholarships announced for 25 children
Report: Shozab Muneer
ALIGARH: The Citizen Society inaugurated the Ali Raza Khan Study Centre at Imtiaz Market on Muhammad Ali Road in the historic Upperkot locality of Aligarh, with a focus on promoting education, guiding students and preserving Urdu literature and culture.
Professor Zubair Shadab, Director of the Urdu Academy at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), inaugurated the centre. The initiative aims to provide students with opportunities for academic guidance, competitive examination preparation and civil services coaching.
The programme was presided over by Professor Razaullah Khan, General Secretary of the All India Muslim Educational Conference. Former Aligarh Mayor and India Islamic Cultural Centre Vice-President Muhammad Furqan attended as chief guest, while AMU Public Relations Officer Umar Saleem Pirzada was the guest of honour.
Addressing the gathering, Professor Zubair Shadab said the historic neighbourhoods of a city preserve its history, culture and collective memories. He stressed the need to maintain Upperkot’s heritage while expanding educational opportunities for its residents. He said the area had an important place in Aligarh’s social, cultural and educational history and that study centres could help students prepare for competitive examinations and civil services. He also said he would try to initiate projects to benefit local students and residents.
Muhammad Furqan described the centre as a commendable initiative, saying education was essential for the development of any locality. He called on social organisations to support students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds by providing access to learning resources and guidance.
Professor Razaullah Khan said education was the foundation of society and that young people needed quality education, proper guidance and adequate resources to achieve their goals. He praised the organisers’ efforts and emphasised collective support for such initiatives.
Umar Saleem Pirzada said education and literature were vital to society’s intellectual development. He congratulated the organisers, assured them of his support and announced scholarships for 25 children to help meet their educational needs.
Organiser Muhammad Ahmad Shivan said the centre had been established to provide students in Upperkot with a better learning environment and encourage them to build a brighter future. He said the Citizen Society sought to bring positive social change through education and literature.
The programme also featured a mushaira conducted by poet Dr Mujeeb Shahzar, who said Urdu poetry helped connect younger generations with the language, literature and cultural heritage while reflecting society’s challenges, struggles and aspirations.
The mushaira featured Professor Sarwar Sajid, Joni Foster, Dr Owais Jamal Shamsi, Babar Ilyas, Javed Akhtar Warsi, Syed Musharraf Hussain Mazhar, Naseem Noori, Dr Kamal Ahmad Mujeebi, Naseer Nadan, Muztar Jalesari, Sarwar Patialvi, Meraj Hasan Nishat, Faraz Mujeeb, Dr Mujeeb Shahzar, Kazim Rizvi, Arman Khan and Hashim Raza, among others. Their poetry received enthusiastic appreciation from the audience.
Joni Foster was presented with the Shafaq Imam Memorial Award 2026 in recognition of his literary and poetic contributions. Aiza Kamran thanked the guests.
Those present included Engineer Feroz Ahmad, Dr Arif Ali Khan, Muhammad Qamar Alam, Ibtisam Ahmad, Mukarram Ali Siddiqui, Dr Shahid Ali, Muti-ul-Ghaffar, Shafi Ahmad Khan, Dilshad Ahmad, Zeeshan Ahmad, Mazahir Naeem, Muhammad Muzaffar, Zia-ul-Haq, Farhan Muhammad Khan, Mufti Muhammad Rashid, Mujeebur Rahman, Asad Yar Khan, Dr Kunwar Arif Ali Khan, Maulana Mujeeb, Iftikhar Alam, Dr Afzal Ahmad, Nazar Ali, Dr Shahid Siddiqui, Chaudhary Rabbani, Inzar Sabri, M. Khurshid Khan, Imran Ansari, Dr Rehan Akhtar Qasmi, Atif Zaman Khan, Hafiz Sabir, Parvez Ahmad, Haji Muhammad Sufyan, Irshad Faridi, Dr Ubaid Iqbal Asim, Ghiyasuddin and Dr Mudassir Ali.