Community Initiative

Ambur Muslim Educational Society


Ambur’s industrial rise is entwined with the considerable progress the Muslims have made in the sphere of modern education.


Ambur, though turns out millions of pairs of trendy shoes, the town is hardly known outside Tamil Nadu. Located on the bank of the occasionally flowing Palar river, it has gained significance recently due to its high-tech leather industry which is stated to contribute 21 per cent of leather and leather goods produced in the country. The town is home to some of the brand names in shoes such as Unisco, NMZ, Florind etc which are mainly exported to the West. It also produces high quality finished leather. Much of the technological induction into the leather industry has come about in the last four decades during which Ambur attained the zenith of development with buyers making a beeline to its tanneries and shoe units.


Tucked 180 kms away from Chennai, in Vellore district, Ambur’s industrial rise is however entwined with the considerable progress the Muslims have made in the sphere of modern education. Perhaps the townsfolk did not realise this so much when they, last month observed the centenary of the Ambur Muslim Educational Society. But for the strides made by them in modern education, Ambur’s leather industry too would have been mired in backwardness. Ambur’s Muslims were fortunate enough to have visionaries like T. Abdul Wahid who stewarded the industry on the path of modernisation. In the 70s, a debate whether the leather industry should opt for switching over to finished leather or stick to its specialty, i.e., half-tanned (known as East India) leather, Abdul Wahid had put his foot down firmly in favour of the former. Conservatives were skeptical of the success as it required induction of heavy investment, new technology and skills. The debate died down by the 80s and Ambur’s leather lobby won hands down. Thanks to that initiative, the industry, and by its extension, the Muslim tanners and exporters are reaping a rich harvest. The town is today dotted with units making some of the world’s best known brand of shoes.


However, what is not so well recognised is that the success on the industrial front mostly owed itself to the commensurate support it received from the development of the human resources, most notably from the Ambur Muslim Educational Society (AMES). Perhaps, the founding father of the Society, Mr. T. Abdullah himself would not have imagined the far-reaching significance of his visit to Aligarh, a trip he undertook in 1905 to see Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s Muslim Anglo Oriental College. Thus germinated the seeds. Abdullah returned to Ambur to take over the Chowk Masjid in the sleepy town. He renamed it as Madrasa-e-Mazharul Uloom for imparting religious as well as secular education. Instructions began in the elementary school on August 6, 1906 with just about 20 students.


Looking at the enthusiasm of the pioneers, leading businessman and philanthropist, Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem, who had been conferred the title of ‘Malikut Tujjar’ (literally ‘King among businessmen’), came forward and constructed an impressive edifice of the Ambur Market and dedicated it for the purpose of running the Mazharul Uloom institutions with its proceeds. It was constructed at a cost of Rs. 35,000. It even stands today and serves the purpose. The first SSLC batch of students came out of the M.U. Secondary School in 1928. Founder headmaster of the school was Mr. T. S. Ramaswamy Iyer from 1907 to 1923. The first government grant of Rs. 75,000 for construction of the school building came in 1946. However, these were insufficient and the building could be completed only in 1955 at a cost of Rs. 2 lakh. Realising the difficulty of pursuing Urdu medium in a Tamil dominated state, the medium of instruction was converted to Tamil in 1953. Later English medium was introduced under self-financing scheme.


Perceiving the need to educate women, the AMES took over the Madrasa Hasnath-e-Jaria and turned it into the Hasnath-e-Jaria School in March 1946. Next year, it became an aided elementary school. It became a high school soon and opened its building in 1964. Business tycoon, Mr. N. M. Zackriah constructed a two-storey building-the NMZ-Safiyama Block. A computer lab came up with an investment of Rs. 15 lakh. Mazharul Uloom College was inaugurated on July 21, 1969. It has a current strength of 950 students for both evening and day college.


Mazharul Uloom Coaching Centre for Women was started on September 15, 1997 as a forerunner to a women’s college. Today, the college offers even post-graduate courses in certain disciplines.

At the centenary celebrations, the AMES honoured six personalities — M. Mohammed Hashim, an industrialist and social activist of Melvisharam, P.S. Rajagopal Naidu of Vellore, a prominent Parliamentarian and father of the cooperative movement, C.M. Fazlur Rahman, an eminent educationist of Pernambut, Malayalam Anver, a social worker from Vaniyambadi, G. Viswanathan, Chancellor of VIT, Kaka Mohammed Zubair, an educationist of Vaniyambadi, K. Joel Nesaraj, Director of Bethesda Hospital, Ambur for his services to the poor and C. Krishnan, a renowned merchant and social worker of Ambur.

The tiny town of Ambur made history when President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam became the first head of the state to visit the town. The occasion was the centenary celebra-tion of the Ambur Muslim Educational Society (AMES). Dr. Kalam in his inaugural address, said Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) had pronounced that education and acquisition of knowledge was mandatory for both men and women. The Prophet had also stated that a scholar’s drop of ink was more sacred than a martyr’s drop of blood. Noting that only 50 per cent of the people of Ambur, especially women were literate, he wanted the students to take a vow to impart literacy to five illiterate persons each, by taking classes for them during their weekend holidays. He also wanted them to plant five trees each.


The President called upon the teachers to play their role in moulding their students into good citizens. “If he or she is a good teacher, he or she becomes a role model for the students,” he noted. He advised teachers to be selfless and not to accept any favours from others if these were intended to compromise their situation.


Most of the students of the Mazharul Uloom Higher Secondary School here raised their hands, when the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, asked how many of them would like to become doctors, how many of them engineers and how many of them teachers. But only a few raised their hands when he asked how many of them would like to become political leaders. Students raised interesting questions during the lively interactions. Referring to the poor response to his specific question, the President called upon the students to think of becoming political leaders in order to usher in a corruption-free government.


N.M. Zackriah, president, AMES welcomed the gathering. T. Rafeeq Ahmed, chairman, centenary celebrations committee said that the Madrasa-e-Mazharul Uloom, which was founded in 1905 with 16 students, had now blossomed into the AMES with six institutions and 6,500 students.

On the second day of the celebrations, Salman Khursheed, President of the UP Congress Committee, exhorted the Muslims to promote diversity within the fold of the community as well as in the country. Referring to the controversy over singing of the Vande Matram, Khursheed said certain elements were interested in only raising the polemical issues. Yusuf Ansari, advisor to Rahul Gandhi urged the Muslims to bring their educational efforts in line with the changes in the economy. Leading advocate, Habibullah Badsha from Chennai urged dedication among teachers and discipline among students.


Dr. Md. Iqbal Hasnain, vice chancellor of the Calicut University who addressed a seminar on Muslim education, said that instead of setting up high-end colleges like medical and engineering which required high investment, it will be advisable that Muslims should come up with institutes offering degree or diploma in hospitality and hotel management, fashion designing and para-medical and technical courses. He said such courses can enable even the poor to be skilled.


Maqbool Ahmed Siraj, journalist from Bangalore, highlighting the contours of the new knowledge economy, advised the North Arcot Muslims to switch over to either English or Tamil medium for their schools, to enable students to develop high communicative skills in English and nurture precision in them. He said computerisation and information technology were the most major turning points in economy after industrial revolution. He also exhorted the schools to nurture values like hardwork, efficiency, promptness and punctuality etc, along with rituals. He said most Muslim students were headed for engineering and medicine, while the community required thinkers, writers, planners and administrators. He also outlined the need for providing hands-on training for women in several sectors integral to day-to-day life. He stressed the need for taking up genuine research on local issues pertaining to Muslim economy, society and environment by 50 and odd Muslim colleges in Tamil Nadu.