It was an evening that reunited nearly 250 distinguished alumni of the historic educational institution
Syed Khaled Shahbaaz
HYDERABAD – Madrasa-i-Aliya, the country’s premier educational institution, celebrated 150 years of its foundation at Nizam Club here at the weekend with nostalgia. The occasion provided an opportunity to school’s illustrious alumni to meet and discuss all mundane and extraterrestrial issues.
Aliya School is now known as Aliya Government School. It was established in 1872 by the sixth Nizam Nawab Mir Mehboob Ali Khan. The institution’s sesquicentennial celebrations (1872-2022) took place at the 138-year-old Nizam Club, another historic institution of the Nizam era.
The reunion event was organised by a group of Aliyans whose efforts brought together students from 1949 to 1980s batches. Many Aliyans were posthumously remembered as the alumni revisited the remarkable history and legacy of the institution in a short documentary produced by Media Plus Foundation. Exhilarated by the reunion, senior citizens recalled their school days, and nostalgia was apparent on the faces of the alumni as the documentary was previewed. Former Indian cricket team captain Mohammed Azharuddin was the cynosure of the evening and distributed mementos to distinguished Aliyans. Football legend Shabbir Ali was also in attendance.
Zahid Ali Khan, Chief Editor Siasat Daily, an alumnus of Aliya School, released the Aliya School souvenir in the presence of senior alumni including noted businessman Abdul Munim; President Nizam Club and Secretary Sultan ul Uloom Education Society, Zafar Javeed, in the presence of organising team comprising Iftakhar Hussain, Hamid Lateef, Ghulam Mohammed, Syed Abdul Mutakabbir, Mohammed Yousuf Jaffar, Mohammed Nayeem Siddiqui and Mohammed Qutubuddin, among others.
The souvenir documents the history, the alumni of Aliya, their recollections and contributions and also contains the alumni directory containing names and phone numbers of over 300 Aliyans.
When Madrasa-i-Aliya was established in 1872 for noble and aristocratic families, there were 125 schools in the Hyderabad state and 16 in the city of Hyderabad. Madrasa- i-Aliya was the only English medium school in those days. Top mathematicians and English tutors were hired to teach at this institution.
Madrasa-i-Aliya was first housed in the mansion of a British businessman Horace Rumbold in King Kothi area. It was later moved to a portion of Asad Bagh, the present-day Nizam College, belonging to a great noble Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk. In 1949, it was moved to its present premises, also a residence of Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk. When the Aliya School was thrown open to the common public, it helped countless dreamers become distinguished achievers.
Earlier, students of TMREIS Bahadurpura Boys school presented the Tarana-i-Aliya.
The Aliya School’s close proximity to the Nizam College inspired many budding sportspersons to play for Aliya School, then for the Nizam College, and further at the L.B. Stadium in the vicinity. From here, many great cricketers were born who went on to play at national and international levels. They include Ghulam Ahmed and Mohammed Azharuddin, who led the Indian cricket team, and Asif Iqbal Rizvi, who first played for South Zone and then led the Pakistani cricket team as its captain.
The institution also churned out sports greats like Abbas Ali Baig, S.M. Hadi, Nawab Mohammed Hussain, Edulji Bujorji Aibara, and Shabbir Ali, former captain of the Indian football team – to name a few.
Earlier, the website of Madrasa-i-Aliya www.madrasaialiya.com was launched by noted businessman and philanthropist Abdul Muneem. The website is developed by Tericsoft.
Speaking on the occasion, senior journalist Somasekhar Mulugu announced that an alumni foundation will be set up to help pay back to the institution that served as the launch pad for many of its students to become distinguished achievers. Aliyans pledged to take initiatives to help restore the now-dilapidated premises of Aliya to its former glory.
Media Plus Foundation Secretary Syed Khaled Shahbaaz compeered the program. Syed Abdul Mutakabbir presented a vote of thanks. The program concluded with the alumni singing the national anthem followed by a reunion dinner.
