India / AMU is mini-India, its help to society unprecedented: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday praised the Aligarh Muslim University and said it has worked to strengthen India's relations with many countries of the world in the last 100 years.

Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), he said that the research done at AMU on Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages, research on Islamic literature, gives new energy to India's cultural relations with the entire Islamic world.

"The way AMU has helped society during the coronavirus crisis is unprecedented - free tests, building isolation wards, plasma banks and contributing a large amount to the PM CARES Fund shows the seriousness of fulfilling your obligations to the society," PM Modi said via video conferencing.

"In the last 100 years, AMU has also worked to strengthen India's relations with many countries of the world. The research done here on Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages, research on Islamic literature, gives new energy to India's cultural relations with the entire Islamic world," he added.

The Prime Minister said that the history of education attached to AMU buildings is India's valuable heritage.

"Today, people from AMU have trained in hundreds of countries of the world, along with the best places in India. The educated people of AMU represent the culture of India, anywhere in the world. History of education attached to AMU buildings is India's valuable heritage," PM Modi said.

"I often meet AMU alumni during my foreign visits, who very proudly say that they've studied from AMU. The university campus is like a city... We also see a Mini India. The diversity of AMU is a country's power. We should not forget this strength nor let it become weak. We have to work towards strengthening the feeling of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat'," he added.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi released a postal stamp as part of centenary celebrations of AMU. This is the first time PM Modi is participating in a programme of the Aligarh Muslim University.

AMU became a University in 1920, through an Act of Indian Legislative Council by elevating the Mohammedan Anglo Oriental (MAO) College to the status of a Central University. MAO College was set up in 1877 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the PMO release stated.

The University has a campus spread over 467.6 hectares of land in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. It also has three off-campus centres in Malappuram (Kerala), Murshidabad-Jangipur (West Bengal) and Kishanganj (Bihar).