Azamgarh’s stars

Of late, everyone knows about Azamgarh, one among many not-so-significant districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. It took the recent blasts in Delhi for all the attention to zoom in on this economically backward area. Today, the place is in the news for ‘nurturing’ the ‘dreaded mafia’ as well as suspected terrorists.“Abu Salem is one among many who got their lessons in crime here”, is how Azamgarh is being projected after the recent arrests of some youth, alleged to have played a key role in the recent bomb blasts across the country. Prime time national television space is replete with terms like ‘Azamgarh ya Atankgarh’ or ‘Azamgarh – Den of Terror’. Even the UP government, indulging in political blame-game, has blamed the previous government for making Azamgarh a nursery for anti-social elements.But, amid all this talk of terror, only a few know that this place was once the epicentre of learning and produced scholars of great repute. Rahul Sankrityayan, one of the most widely-travelled scholars, also known as mahapandit for his great works during the pre- and post-independence period, was jailed for three years for his nationalist anti-British writings and speeches. Sankrityayan was awarded a Padma Bhushan in 1963. His famous book Volga se Ganga has been translated in various languages across the world.Kaifi Azmi, the well-known Urdu poet, who spoke the language of peace through some of his great works, gave a new dimension to this place, which came to be known as a intellectual hub or ‘Home of Scholars’. There are many more such illustrious names.It is ironical that despite such shining stars and historic glory Azamgarh was unknown to the country till a few ‘symbols of terror’ shook its reputation. May be, the times have changed.
Ajay Kumar Shukla