Hyderabad: Maulana Azad National Urdu University organised an online national essay writing competition in connection with Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s birth anniversary, celebrated yesterday as National Education Day. The theme was "Political and Social Thoughts of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad". Overall, 640 students, 299 male and 341 female, participated in the competition. Out of them, 347 were undergraduate level, 137 were postgraduate and 32 were research scholars. It included 60 PWD students.

According to Dr Md. Athar Hussain, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Programme, the competition was held in three languages, i.e., Hindi, English, and Urdu. Most of them (336) opted to write in Urdu, whereas the number of participants in English and Hindi was 207 and 97, respectively. The top three students from each language have been selected as winners.

In the Urdu language, Abu Sufian (Nadwat-ul-Uloom), Asma (P.hD in Education, MANUU) and Muhammad Shefullah (Shadab College of Dangarpura) secured first, second and third positions, respectively. In the English language, Bushra Fatima (B.Ed, MANUU) secured the first position, while Abhishek Chaudhary (SS Jain Subodh PG College, Jaipur) and Muhammad Samatullah Ansari (Annamalai University) secured second and third positions, respectively. Shazia Fatmi (D.El.Ed, Manuu) secured the first position in the Hindi language, while a BA student, Fiza Anjum (FAAG PG College), and Muhammad Nafees Alam (MBA, MANUU), secured the second and third positions, respectively.

While announcing the winners in a meeting held yesterday, Dr Md. Athar Hussain, while announcing the winners, threw light on the thoughts of the great freedom fighter and the country's first education minister, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He also expressed heartfelt gratitude to the members of the Organizing Committee, Dr Ashwani, Mr Misbah-ul-Anzar, Dr B. L. Meena, Dr Shaeed Meo, Dr Muhammad Akbar, Dr Shaikh Ehteshamuddin, Dr Shaista Praveen, Mrs Rabia Ismail, Mrs Firdous Tabassum, Mr Ashraf Nawaz, Mr Jahangeer AlThe winners will be awarded cash prizes and mementos, whereas e-certificates will be given to all the participants, he added.