National Education Day was established by India's Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2008 to honor Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (born November 11, 1888), a distinguished Islamic scholar, journalist, leader of the Indian National Congress, and independent India's first Minister of Education (1947–1958). Azad believed that education is the fundamental birthright of every citizen without distinction of caste, religion, or gender. Under his visionary stewardship, India established the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Kharagpur in 1951), the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) expansion, and national academies of arts and literature including the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
National Education Day was established by India's Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2008 to honor Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (born November 11, 1888), a distinguished Islamic scholar, journalist, leader of the Indian National Congress, and independent India's first Minister of Education (1947–1958). Azad believed that education is the fundamental birthright of every citizen without distinction of caste, religion, or gender. Under his visionary stewardship, India established the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Kharagpur in 1951), the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) expansion, and national academies of arts and literature including the Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi.
