Apart from a two-hour event at Shastri Bhawan for a closed group of govt officials, there was no UGC order to observe the day.

After ensuring celebrations across universities and educational institutions on Quit India Movement anniversary, National Handloom Day, Swachh Bharat anniversary, Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, International Yoga Day and Matribhasha Diwas among others, the HRD ministry's silence on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's birth anniversary on November 11, observed as National Education Day, has sparked outrage among educationists, historians and a section of government officials.

The UGC, which sends out circulars and notices on the behest of the HRD ministry through the year, instructs universities, colleges and educational institutions to conduct events to mark various occasions, but apart from a two-hour programme in Shastri Bhawan for a closed group of government officials on November 11, it did not issue any such directive to universities to observe the day, pointed out officials.

"While there were directives to observe Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary with 'unity runs' across educational institutions and to treat the event as a 'priority', the first education minister Maulana Azad's anniversary fell off the government's priority list this year. Only a handful of government officials were called for a small meeting at the ministry on National Education Day," said a senior ministry official. "Earlier, there used to be elaborate celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan and debates and discussions were organised."

Calling it 'tokenism of the saddest kind', Syeda Hameed, educationist and Maulana Azad's biographer, told Mail Today, "This is an attempt at minimising and obliterating Maulana Azad's existence. We are not just doing disservice to a great leader but also crushing our history. His 100th birth anniversary was celebrated with much fanfare, but in a matter of a few years, he is no longer remembered, except for a few tweets by some leaders. Why is there such a huge contrast in the way Maulana Azad is commemorated? Who were the speakers at the ministry meeting? Were any of them an authority on the leader?"

Literary historian and commentator, Rakshanda Jalil added, "It is sad. We see the seeding of a certain ideology and weeding out of a worldview... the planting of ideas of icons such as Deendayal Upadhyay, whereas the weeding out of several other public icons. Why should it be left to the minorities alone to protest against this? Maulana Azad was the first education minister and hence an icon for all Indians. Why is this not offensive to everyone but just a handful?"

'BLAME UPA, NDA BOTH'

Maulana Azad's grandson and writer Firoz Bakht Ahmed, however, refused to place the blame squarely on just the BJP, but pulled up the UPA government too. "It is very unfortunate that such a great man whose contribution was no lesser than that of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru or Sardar Patel, is not even being acknowledged. While Children's Day and Teacher's Day have been popularised, very few know of National Education Day," he said.

"However, it will not be right to blame just the BJP government. In 2013, during UPA rule, Maulana Azad's 125th birth anniversary was hardly celebrated, whereas the very next year, Nehru's 125th birth anniversary was observed with much fanfare. The Congress has never looked beyond birth and death anniversaries of the Gandhi family or Nehru, whereas the BJP has glorified Veer Savarkar and KB Hedgewar," Ahmed added.

Officials in the ministry maintained that newspaper advertisements marking the occasion were issued, though in some states it could not be carried due to the model code of conduct ahead of elections. "The Prime Minister and other senior leaders tweeted on the occasion," an official added.

UGC chairman VS Chauhan clarified, "A meeting was called that lasted two hours and a lot of people remembered Maulana Azad. Good quality observation was made. We went from home to attend the meeting on a holiday. What else could have been done?"