Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (11 November 1888-22 February 1958) was Minister of Education of India from 15 August 1947 to 2 February 1958, preceding K.L. Shrimali. Azad was the senior Muslim leader of the Indian National Congress and a close ally of Mahatma Gandhi, supporting home rule for India.
Biography[]
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad was born in Mecca, Hejaz Vilayet, Ottoman Empire on 11 November 1888, and he grew up in Delhi, British India. He became a renowned Urdu poet, writing treatises on religion and philosophy; he even translated the Quran into Urdu. Under the pen name "Azad", he rose to prominence as an anti-imperialist journalist, criticizing the British Raj and supporting Indian nationalism. As the leader of the pro-Ottoman Khilafat Movement, Azad came into close contact with Indian National Congress leader Mahatma Gandhi, and the two supported nonviolent civil disobedience. In 1923, at the age of 35, he became the youngest person to serve as President of the INC. Azad espoused Hindu-Muslim unity, secularism, and socialism, and he was imprisoned alongside the entire Congress leadership from 1940 to 1945 during World War II. As the first Education Minister of India (1947-1958), he established free primary education and modern institutions of higher learning. He left office in 1958, and he died exactly 20 days later.