Maulana Azad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to an eminent Indian scholar and an Arab mother. He was brought up and educated strictly along Islamic lines in Calcutta, but he secretly learned English. However, in spite of his firm belief in Islam, he did not accept the partition of India on religious grounds. Maulana Azad worked towards the solidarity of the nation and was never influenced by religious fundamentalism.
Not many people are aware of the contribution he made towards the freedom struggle. Maulana Azad never came to the limelight and let Gandhiji and Pt Nehru take all the credit. He even formed the Nationalist Muslim Party within the Congress to disprove the claim of the Muslim League that it represented all Muslims. Pt Jawaharlal Nehru considered Azad a symbol of courage and culture.
Maulana Azad founded the University Grants Commission. His contribution towards psychological study and technical education is also immense. He also founded the All India Council for Technical Education.
On the one hand, he showed an interest in adult literacy, female literacy, scientific and technical education and higher education; on the other, he also worked for the acknowledgement of arts, music and literature at the national level. He founded the Sahitya Akademi, the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi with much zeal. Sahitya Akademi is a national organisation and promotes literature in all the prominent languages of India by giving awards to the best writers in regional languages. When the Sahitya Akademi was founded, it did not have a building. Maulana Azad gave a portion of his house to set up an office of the Akademi. In his 10-year stint as education minister, Maulana Azad contributed a lot for the promotion of education, art and literature.
Maulana Azad was a recipient of many literary awards. He also translated the Koran. Maulana Azad had a firm belief in Islam. His life is an example of the impact religion makes on a true follower. Pt Nehru said that Azad was an ideal religious person.
He said the following words to the people affected by the communal riots immediately after Partition.
Chalo Aao Tumhe Dikhayein
Jo Bacha Hai Mahatal-e-Shehar Mein
Ahal-e-Sidak Ki Turbatein
(Come, I’ll show you what is left of the town of executioners. Here lie the graves of true, honest and religious men.)
Maulana Azad was known for his integrity. In his book, India Wins Freedom, he blames both the Congress leaders and Mohammad Ali Jinnah for the partition of the country. He was strongly opposed to partition.