The varsity’s original logo carried inscriptions in Arabic and Urdu with the upper side showing the crown of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh (and last) Nizam
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — More than 11,000 people have already backed a live online petition demanding restoration of the old logo of Osmania University in Hyderabad.
The petition was started in the wake of concern raised by many including the alumni over frequent changes made to the logo by the successive governments.
Zuhair Madani launched the petition on Change.org over the weekend and it quickly garnered traction.
The varsity’s original logo carried inscriptions in Arabic and Urdu with the upper side showing the crown of Mir Osman Ali Khan encircled in wandering beams of light. Khan was the seventh (and last) Nizam who founded the premier University.
The Arabic words read ‘Noorun Ala Noor’ and a Hadith of Prophet Mohammad which translates: I am the city of Knowledge and Ali.
In the current logo, Arbaic and Urdu is replaced by Telugu and Hindi and the crown too is gone.
People are posting comments on their social media pages reminiscing about the old logo and lamenting how the changes were made without people giving any attention.
According to Hyderabad news outlet Siasat, Sibghatullah, an architecture student, had last year “decoded a version of the logo which went viral and triggered an internet campaign for the same”.
He claimed that the medium of instruction has also shifted in the classrooms at the campus.
The hashtag #OULogo trended in some circles on Twitter in Hyderabad as social media users urged the government to restore the old logo. Some students, including non-Muslims, said that changes in logo bereft of Urdu and Arabic shows the communal mindset of the government.
#OULogo @asadowaisi @KTRTRS
Sir our city is not like some other cities who changes the name of everything
Such a beautiful logo has been modified we don't want such new logo #Hyderabad #OsmaniaUniversity pic.twitter.com/Pei1S4CQQs— Vasuli Bhen (@kaikokisab) June 7, 2021
Kab tak Khamosh Baithenge Kab jagega Zameer hamara
We want old Logo of Osmania University.
Please start # trend on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram to#kcr #ktr #trs #urdu #OsmaniaUniversity #pacarbangke pic.twitter.com/r2QDNaFJ5E
— سیدہ فاطمی (@sayyidatasneem) June 7, 2021
Osmania University was founded in 1917 by the Nazim. The medium of instruction was Urdu until 1948 when Hyderabad acceded to India.
